Beyond The Control

Chapter 28

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m really sorry, but could I ask you for a favor?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well…”

Why is she hesitating? It doesn’t seem like her personality.

Although it’s impossible to fully understand someone in a short time, from what I’ve experienced today, her personality seemed as cold as her cool face. So her hesitation made me wonder what was going on. Just as I was about to urge her on, Choi Young-sun spoke again.

“Could you possibly spray some water on me?”

“…What did you say?”

Song Ji-hyeok involuntarily questioned. He couldn’t understand Choi Young-sun’s words.

“I know it’s a rude request. But I’m covered in dirt, and the monster fluids won’t come off with wet wipes… I’m sorry for the imposition, but could you please help?”

Only then did Song Ji-hyeok understand her meaning and let out an incredulous laugh.

“So, you’re asking me to give you a shower with water streams from my skill?”

“…Yes. It’s okay if you refuse.”

His temperament would have normally made him ask if she was crazy. But remembering that she had accompanied him because of his request, he moved to a nearby open space.

“This is a one-time thing.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

A blue energy immediately rose from Song Ji-hyeok’s right hand. With a slight movement, a gentle stream of water shot towards Choi Young-sun.

After a moment, when he withdrew his skill, she looked like a drenched mouse. But at least the dirt covering her body had been washed away cleanly.

Song Ji-hyeok approached her without hesitation. Now it was his turn to make a request.

“Please guide me.”

Hearing this, Choi Young-sun seemed a bit flustered.

“N-now?”

“Yes.”

Song Ji-hyeok slightly furrowed his brow at this unexpected response.

“Didn’t you come along to guide me?”

“That’s right. But it doesn’t seem like you’ve accumulated much Unfit energy yet… Usually, we do it when it’s built up a bit more.”

At these words, Song Ji-hyeok’s expression hardened further. Regardless of how much Unfit energy had accumulated, shouldn’t a guide provide guidance whenever an Esper wants it? Isn’t that the very reason for a guide’s existence?

Choi Young-sun, being somewhat perceptive, quickly changed her words.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do it right away.”

It was a quick response, but Song Ji-hyeok’s mood had already soured a bit. It felt like he was forcing her to do something she didn’t want to do. This wasn’t like he was some trash extorting a woman.

“Give me your hand.”

Still, he obediently held out his hand as he had a purpose. Choi Young-sun took his hand and immediately began guiding.

Soon, a shallow energy gradually spread throughout his body, seeking out the knotted energy. At that moment, Song Ji-hyeok instinctively realized. As objectively high matching rates suggested, his compatibility with Choi Young-sun felt quite good.

“It’s done.”

As Choi Young-sun had guessed, since he hadn’t used much energy, the guiding ended early. As he was about to thank her while releasing their hands, he noticed Choi Young-sun’s slightly pale face.

He could have turned away pretending not to notice, but out of courtesy after the guiding, he asked her:

“Are you not feeling well?”

“No, I’m fine. How about you, Esper? Are you alright?”

“…Yes. Not bad.”

“I’m glad. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

Choi Young-sun excused herself and left. On the other hand, Song Ji-hyeok remained motionless. Instead of moving right away, he stared down at the hand he had been holding with Choi Young-sun until just now.

It was true that their compatibility was good. But honestly, it felt like something was lacking compared to Lee Su-hyeon. Despite the difference in matching rate, Lee Su-hyeon was two ranks higher and better to show off to others, so he had high expectations and was a bit disappointed.

“Sigh…”

Song Ji-hyeok let out a long sigh and massaged his stiff neck. On the back of his hand was a red scar that looked like a burn. It was a wound that had appeared sometime during the battle without him noticing.

After sighing again, he belatedly started walking. His expression was visibly not good. He felt that something was subtly going wrong from the first day of the raid.

***

“We’re here. Wake up.”

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder. We had arrived at the guild, and I could see the familiar sight through the drawn curtains of the car window.

Finally getting off the bus, I stretched big. I must have buried my head while sleeping because when I turned my stiff neck, there was a loud cracking sound.

The time was already past 3 PM. Usually, we bid on dungeons not far from the guild, but for some reason, we had three long-distance dungeons in a row, resulting in over five hours round trip just in travel time.

Apart from the disappointment of being excluded from the 4th raid, I had to do my job. I had been studying by reading the accumulated dungeon strategy reports and going on dungeon expeditions as an Esper belonging to Team 3. Today too, I had just returned to Daejeon after three days on a business trip with the team led by the deputy team leader.

Entering the guild, I immediately sent a guiding request message to Kim Young-joo. Even though it was the same B-rank dungeon, going as Song Ji-hyeok’s guide and going as an Esper were completely different. Constantly on edge and sleeping uncomfortably made me feel worn out all over. That’s why I had fallen asleep on the bus on the way back.

Although I had sent a guiding request message to Kim Young-joo in advance, the wait was quite long today. It was because the two team members who had returned with me received priority guiding.

Of course, their ranks were higher than mine. It’s reasonable that more valuable individuals receive preferential treatment, so I wasn’t particularly upset.

When it was finally my turn, I sat face to face with Kim Young-joo. As usual, after a brief greeting, Kim Young-joo immediately started guiding.

Through our touching hands, a warm and fluffy energy flowed in. Proportionally, it seemed that peace of mind was also returning. To be honest, when I first sat down, my condition was not good at all and I was feeling irritable, but as the guiding continued, I could feel my vitality being revived in real-time.

Feeling the energy circulating quickly like medicine being absorbed into a wound, I had an idle thought for the first time in a while. As a dual awakener, why couldn’t I self-guide? It’s not like a monk can’t shave his own head…

When I grumbled about this out loud once, Kim Young-joo retorted as if I was stating the obvious: Have you ever seen a doctor operate on themselves?

That’s true. But it seems like they should at least be able to operate on their own arms and legs.

While I was lost in these useless thoughts, the guiding ended. Expressing deep gratitude for my much-improved physical condition, I left the guiding room. As I was walking with lighter steps, an employee at the desk suddenly called out to me in a small voice.

“Excuse me, Lee Su-hyeon.”

“Yes?”

Guild members addressed me differently depending on the situation. Sometimes they called me Esper, sometimes Guide, and in ambiguous situations like now, they just called my name.

Anyway, the person who called me was a veteran employee in charge of guiding schedules. As soon as our eyes met, he got straight to the point.

“Two teams have returned simultaneously, so there’s a backlog of guiding sessions. If it’s alright with you, could you please guide Esper Jeon Hyeon-wook? He seems to be in a bit of a bad state.”

Towards the end, he spoke almost in a whisper and subtly gestured somewhere. When I turned my head, I could see several Espers sitting in the waiting room chairs. I thought I could immediately tell which one was Jeon Hyeon-wook. Even from behind, his seated posture exuded anxiety.

With my experience, I grasped the situation at a glance. In that condition, while not quite an emergency, he should have received priority guiding, but it seemed he had been pushed back in the queue due to his rank, like me.

I turned my head back to the employee and asked,

“What about his rank and matching rate?”

“Just a moment.”

Following the sound of typing keys, the employee’s voice continued.

“He’s B-rank, and the matching rate is 62.2%. With the guide from the team with the earliest waiting number, it’s 57.1%.”

Oh, I’m much higher.

There are quite a few Espers who insist on receiving guiding from someone even 1% higher, but it seemed we didn’t have to worry about that. Of course, I wasn’t sure if he would want to receive guiding from me, belonging to a different team.

Fortunately, the Esper with the innocent impression was very pleased and honored. I soon took him to room 3-4.

When I held his hand, I could feel, as expected, Unfit energy knotted up in various places inside him. While far from going berserk, it must have been quite painful at this level. Looking closely, I could see a faint red energy in his pupils, so I immediately started guiding.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yes, I’m fine.”

Seeing him flustered and unable to make eye contact, he seemed to have an unusually timid personality for an Esper. Anyway, my thoughts were a bit different. Even as I concentrated on pushing in energy, it felt like it was flowing sluggishly.

I looked at the man in front of me while continuing the guiding. His build was massive, but his behavior was the opposite. Instinctively, he should have been anxious or demanding stronger guiding in an overbearing manner, but he just sat there quietly as if even this was more than he deserved.

Seeing him like this made me want to do more for him. It was also my natural duty as a guide.

“Is membrane guiding okay with you?”

“Pardon?”

The head that had been lowered suddenly jerked up. When I asked for his opinion again, he once again showed signs of being overwhelmed with gratitude.

“If- if you’re willing to do it, I’d be so grateful…”

“Close your eyes.”

Although it was part of guiding, I didn’t want to rub faces with someone while staring wide-eyed at each other. As he quickly closed his eyes as instructed, I cupped the back of his neck and pressed our lips together. The result was as expected.

I could feel the energy flowing much faster than when we were just holding hands. Moreover, Jeon Hyeon-wook was very cooperative. Thanks to him not acting on his own and staying still, I was able to complete the guiding stably.

“It’s done…”

Knock knock-

As I stepped back and spoke, suddenly there was a knock at the door. Reflexively looking at the door, my eyes filled with puzzlement.