“I’ll enjoy it.”
The tea extracted from magic stones from an A-rank Gate had a peculiar green tint and wasn’t particularly appetizing to look at. Park Shinui blew on the hot steam before bringing it to his lips. Gulp. A liquid less bitter than green tea but more astringent than oolong tea went down his throat.
“It’s delicious.”
It was half a polite response thrown at a taste that wasn’t as bad as expected, but the Division Chief’s expression brightened considerably at just the word ‘delicious.’
“As expected, your discernment is different. They said you weren’t an ordinary person—indeed.”
Park Shinui stared intently at the Division Chief’s face and subtly cut off his words.
“You said you had something urgent to discuss. It’s 9 o’clock work time.”
The clock hands had already passed 9 o’clock. Since it had come to this, it would be more beneficial to at least scrape together as much information about this place as possible through the Division Chief’s mouth.
“My goodness, I don’t know if it’s right to detain such an honored person on their first day of work and say such things. Whether it’s okay to take up Park Shinui-ssi’s time like this……”
Even though he hadn’t yet brought up the main point, the Division Chief was already acting as if he felt ashamed.
“Please speak comfortably.”
“It’s nothing else but…… Kang Taejun Esper hasn’t sent the donation money he promised yet.”
“Donation money?”
Park Shinui’s brow furrowed slightly at the unexpected word. Donation money?
“Ah, now Park Shinui-gun is here, but previously our Center’s Lee Jisoo Guide was the Dedicated one who guided Kang Taejun Esper. He’s been steadily sponsoring donations since that time.”
“Dedicated Guide?”
Kang Taejun had a Dedicated Guide? Park Shinui scanned through the novel’s contents in his head. He’d never seen such a setting. Of course, there had been a description that Kang Taejun had at least found a Guide with the dismal number of a 5% matching rate, but there was no story anywhere that he had maintained a relationship while receiving guiding directly from that Guide.
Moreover, the name Lee Jisoo was something he was hearing for the first time. Even though he’d read to the end, not remembering it meant either the person didn’t exist in the original work or had such little importance that they’d passed by—one of the two. But could a Dedicated Guide have little importance? No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
“Yes, Lee Jisoo-ssi is also our Guide Center’s only A+ rank Guide.”
The Division Chief straightened his shoulders proudly and continued. Then followed a lengthy explanation of how miraculous the 5% Guide who appeared like a miracle was, how competent and dedicated, in the days when Kang Taejun didn’t have a single Guide who matched even 1%. Then he cleared his throat with a cough and pushed a fancy gift box across the table.
“Why are you giving this to me……?”
“It’s small but it’s my sincerity. It’s the tea you just drank, and it has very good functions for, you know, that sort of thing. Lee Jisoo-ssi used to drink it every time when guiding Kang Taejun-ssi. Go home and drink it together with Kang Taejun Esper. It’ll be very good.”
The Division Chief narrowed his eyes and made a suggestive expression.
“You don’t need to give me such things.”
“Yes, I know. You two have an amazing matching rate of 99.99%, don’t you? I can fully imagine how hot you’d be day and night even without this kind of help.”
He made a meaningful smile, then added in a lowered voice.
“It’s just my sincerity, sincerity. It’s quite precious.”
“No. I’m really fine.”
“Oh no, please accept it. If it’s really burdensome, please convey my words well to Kang Taejun Esper. After all, didn’t our Center officially confirm the matching rate with Park Shinui-ssi?”
“I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say……”
“I mean the donation. Kang Taejun Esper’s promised donation has been silent for several months now.”
“If that’s the case, tell Kang Taejun-ssi directly. That person comes to work at the Center every day.”
“Are you tactless for a young person? It’s not just the Center’s official donation I’m talking about—I’m saying the donation that used to come to me ‘separately’ has been cut off.”
“……What?”
“So, Park Shinui-gun, go home and talk about it. When will he deposit it, how much longer do I have to wait?”
“……Ah.”
What on earth would there be to donate to the Guide Division Chief personally? By the looks of it, this wasn’t his first or second time receiving such things.
“Then, can I trust only Park Shinui-gun and rest easy?”
The Division Chief seemed to have thrown away his servile attitude from just moments ago and patted Park Shinui’s shoulder with a face relieved that things had been resolved easily. It was as if he’d received a definite answer. Park Shinui inadvertently stood up along with him and grasped the hand he held out.
‘I need to understand the situation first.’
In the main story, there was no description of Kang Taejun receiving guiding from someone, so information was woefully insufficient. He needed to find out what the reality of this donation money was, and who this ‘Dedicated Guide Lee Jisoo’ that the Division Chief praised until his mouth went dry was. Just how amazing was that guiding that even personal backdoor money changed hands?
“But where is my workplace?”
“Ah, for our Park Shinui-ssi’s workplace, naturally I should personally guide you.”
The Division Chief, whose mood had improved greatly, opened the door himself and led the way.
“In fact, Park Shinui-ssi won’t have anything in particular to do. Just being exclusively dedicated to our Kang Taejun Esper would be patriotic enough, wouldn’t it? Hahaha.”
Flattery poured down on his back, praising someone who didn’t even need to come to work as having a thorough work ethic. It was somehow an unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling.
The Division Chief didn’t guide Park Shinui directly to his workplace. While walking down the corridor, he received someone’s phone call, then suddenly turned his steps saying Park Shinui had previously missed a test.
Park Shinui entered a testing room densely packed with medical equipment. The Division Chief left him behind as if passing him off and departed without lingering. Park Shinui, suddenly abandoned in an unfamiliar space, had to endure the gazes pouring from all directions for a while as if he’d become a monkey in a zoo.
“Change into these clothes and come out.”
The testing room staff froze as if by agreement at the appearance of the famous person who appeared without notice. They stared blankly at Park Shinui before belatedly scrambling to search the system and bring up test records on the screen.
Park Shinui inadvertently accepted the test gown held out by an employee in a green gown and entered the changing room. Then he let out a deflated sigh, briefly thinking ‘What am I even doing here right now?’ It felt like being dragged to a hospital in perfect health when he wouldn’t go even when sick unless he absolutely had to. He couldn’t even understand what kind of test they were going to do.
Park Shinui changed into the test gown and went outside.
“Please sit over here.”
Was it that the only test he’d received after manifesting as a Guide was measuring the matching rate with Kang Taejun? He didn’t know how the Center managed its affiliated Guides, but judging from the examiners’ flustered reactions, it seemed certain that there was almost no meaningful information about Park Shinui here.
“Stand on the shape marked on the floor.”
The test began with dry guidance. Park Shinui walked to the front of the machine and stood on the mark on the floor. Then immediately a beeping sound began to ring out regularly.
“Height 178, weight 63, vision both eyes 1.5.”
Sharp mechanical sounds followed each time the examiner’s finger pressed a button while reading out the numbers that appeared on the screen. Park Shinui felt a strange sense of kinship at the fact that the figures on the screen matched his original physical data from before the possession, and underwent the test.
“56, 87, 232, 1002……”
As time passed, only numbers whose meaning he couldn’t understand were listed, but the testing process itself continued smoothly.
Even if the equipment before his eyes was in a form he’d never seen in his life, after all, wasn’t this place a world inside a fantasy novel? There was no need to be frightened since special abilities that suddenly opened heaven and earth wouldn’t be discovered in himself, who wasn’t the ‘real’ Park Shinui.
‘Or not? Since guiding worked on Kang Taejun last night, the ability hasn’t completely disappeared.’
Still, he felt subtle doubt about whether the miraculous matching rate of 99.99% would remain intact for himself who was fake.
“We’ll do a blood test.”
He rolled up his sleeves following the examiner’s instructions. When the cold needle pierced the skin and dug deep into the vein, red blood slowly filled the syringe.
“We’ll attach electrodes.”
The examiner who finished the blood collection with skilled hand movements mechanically guided the next step. Cold metal devices attached to his head, chest, wrists, and ankles. Park Shinui entered a transparent capsule with all sides blocked while dangling with equipment.
What would happen if the matching rate came out different from before? Park Shinui glanced down at the ring Kang Taejun had put on him and positioned himself according to the guidance. He’d tried everything this morning to take it off, but the ring wouldn’t budge as if it had taken root in his flesh. It was a strange occurrence that couldn’t be explained by common sense.
