Yujin blinked dazedly and quickly let go of Lee Siyun’s hand. Then he fixed him with a wary glare.
This bastard — did he just read my memories?
Lee Siyun, who possessed psychic-type abilities, could hear a person’s thoughts or read their memories through physical contact. Since Yujin hadn’t been thinking about Yujin Langford just now — he’d been focused on Guiding — it was obvious that Siyun had read his memories.
“I can’t read you at all, and yet that one thing came through loud and clear.”
“You——”
Yujin took a slow, deep breath. It was hard to tell whether Siyun was simply messing around or had some other ulterior motive. But considering Yujin Langford’s personality, there was no way he’d have been on friendly terms with Lee Siyun.
“What do you think you’re doing? Why are you reading someone else’s memories without permission?”
When Yujin snapped at him, Lee Siyun’s expression finally shifted slightly. The faint smile that tugged at his lips — as if he was in a good mood — was infuriating.
“But why can’t I read you? Did you switch items?”
“What?”
Yujin paused at Lee Siyun’s question. The repeated complaints about not being able to read him made him belatedly remember the existence of the system.
The system must be blocking it again.
Even in the novel world, the system had automatically blocked the skills of psychic-type Espers to prevent anyone from discovering that Yujin was a Transmigrator. The psychic-type Espers he’d encountered there had been just as puzzled as Lee Siyun was now. Yujin answered in a composed tone.
“Right, because you kept causing trouble like this.”
“Hmm……”
Normally, a high-ranking psychic-type Esper of Lee Siyun’s caliber would be subject to many institutional restrictions on the use of their abilities. Trying to read a superior’s thoughts or memories so carelessly like this would normally result in disciplinary action — and yet Lee Siyun had apparently been brazenly attempting to read Yujin Langford’s memories on a regular basis.
The system would have blocked Yujin Langford to some extent, too.
So that’s why Siyun had asked earlier whether he’d “switched” items rather than “bought” them. It was a little unexpected that the system hadn’t blocked Yujin Langford’s information as much as it had blocked his own. Was that a difference in system tendencies? Or was there another reason? Yujin didn’t have the space to think too deeply about it, and pressed on.
“If you try to read my memories one more time, I’m reporting you to the Association.”
“Come on, it was just a little joke.”
“A joke?”
Yujin’s eyes sharpened as he turned them on Lee Siyun, who was trying to brush the whole thing off as nothing.
If Siyun had managed to read something other than his memories about Yujin Langford, things could have gone very badly. Of course, since Yujin Langford hadn’t been doing any actual work during the time he’d occupied the body, no center secrets would have leaked — but going forward, important information would inevitably accumulate in his head as he did his job. Lee Siyun’s actions were more than enough to rub superiors the wrong way.
“If you think the Association is going to write this off as a joke, go ahead and keep it up.”
“……”
At Yujin’s threat, Lee Siyun’s mouth snapped shut.
It’s hard to get a full read on someone from the brief summary on their profile alone. But Lee Siyun’s records noted that he’d been abandoned by his biological parents even before his awakening, and had entered an Association-affiliated research institute the moment he awakened.
S-rank psychic-type Espers are extraordinarily rare. Even in the novel world, he hadn’t come across a single S-rank psychic-type Esper. They would be just as scarce here, on a global scale. It was a formidable power — the ability to unconsciously read the unspoken thoughts of others, even before awakening.
Because of that, Lee Siyun had been abandoned by his biological parents, who had found him unsettling, and had drifted through orphanages before eventually awakening and entering a research institute under Association management. He must have learned to control his abilities there from a young age. And as an invaluable specimen, he’d no doubt been subjected to a great deal of experimentation, too.
Would a place like that really not have put measures in place to keep Lee Siyun on a tight leash? Judging by how quickly his mouth had shut the moment the Association — not the military — was brought up, that seemed to be exactly right.
“Did you do something wrong, or not?”
“…I did something wrong.”
Watching Lee Siyun answer obediently with a sullen look on his face eased Yujin’s mind a little.
Not that it guaranteed he wouldn’t pull something like this again in the future, of course. But at least he’d be a bit more cautious. It seemed like Yujin would need to be more careful when Guiding Siyun from now on.
It’s a bit cruel to turn on the device during Guiding, though.
From what he’d heard, the device on Siyun’s neck not only restricted his voice but also interfered with his ability usage. And according to the profile, it caused Lee Siyun just as much pain as the side effects that came with a rising Contamination level. Yujin thought about it briefly.
“Pull this again and you’ll be getting Guided with that device turned on.”
“Aww, that’s too harsh.”
“Answer me properly.”
“…Yes.”
This isn’t disciplining a child — what am I doing. Yujin shot a disgruntled look at Lee Siyun, who had already flipped back to his usual playful self.
Why is it that not a single Esper is completely normal? Yujin let out a long sigh and got to his feet.
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yeah, Guiding’s done.”
Whether he’d actually enjoyed the Guiding or not, Lee Siyun made no effort to hide his disappointment. Yujin turned away without a second glance and left him behind.
“Phew.”
He didn’t know exactly how Yujin Langford had treated Lee Siyun in the past, but judging by that reaction, they must have been quite at odds. From Siyun’s perspective, it was probably strange that a Guide’s thoughts were unreadable. He’d brushed it off with the item excuse, but that might have actually wounded the pride of an S-rank psychic-type Esper.
It would be a problem if he kept trying to read memories under the guise of fooling around like that. The probability of being read seemed to go up during Guiding, since energy flowed directly at that point. That was probably why Yujin Langford had refused to even touch Lee Siyun.
Well, regardless — now that I’ve made my threat, things should be quiet for a while.
Lee Siyun wouldn’t want to be Guided with that frustrating device switched on, after all. Yujin headed back to the office, completely oblivious to the fact that a troublemaker was a troublemaker through and through.
* * *
“Min Jaeha’s return is delayed?”
“Yes.”
Yujin frowned at Hayeong’s report.
Min Jaeha’s Guiding session had originally been scheduled for the afternoon. But a mission that had been underway since morning had no clear end in sight, throwing the schedule into disarray.
Jaeha’s Contamination level is already on the higher side.
On top of that, this mission could push the level even higher. Yujin chewed his lip in concern.
“Three people went out on this mission, right?”
“That’s correct.”
He’d planned to Guide another Esper in the meantime while Jaeha was away, but since the other three had all gone out together — excluding Lee Siyun — that wasn’t an option either. There was nothing to do but wait for the three of them to return.
“And are these all the Guides assigned to our team?”
“Ah, yes. That’s all of them.”
Having reviewed all the Espers’ profiles, Yujin was now looking over the members of the Guide team. And the further he read, the more the sighs piled up.
Originally, Guide Team A — the team he led — was a special unit with only himself and Hayeong as members. It had likely been created on the orders of his adoptive father, Kwon Seunghyeok, specifically to have him — as an S-rank — Guide Alpha Team 1.
But the moment Yujin Langford had possessed his body, that plan had been thrown into chaos. The person who was supposed to do the Guiding had been refusing that duty for a long time.
So they had begun quietly adding other Guides to the special unit, Guide Team A. They were supplementary personnel meant to Guide Alpha Team 1 in his place.
“I’d like to have a meeting with this Guide — Yu Haneul.”
“Ah, Guide Yu Haneul……you mean?”
Yujin tapped a finger on the pad screen, indicating someone specific. Hayeong’s eyes flickered slightly at that.
Why does he look so flustered? Yujin gave him a quizzical look.
“That — why would you want to see Guide Yu Haneul……”
Hayeong asked, fumbling over his words. Yujin cast an expressionless look down at the screen displaying the profile.
Yu Haneul was a D-rank Guide. As a general rule, it was rare for a D-rank Guide to suddenly be recruited into a special unit at the Association headquarters. Getting a foot in the door at this headquarters at all was difficult for a D-rank Guide to begin with.
If that were possible, there was only one explanation: even if a Guide’s rank was low, it was possible if there was a high-ranking Esper with an exceptionally high matching rate with them. And Yu Haneul was exactly that case. His matching rates with the Espers of Alpha Team 1 were on the higher side — and with Kang Taejun in particular, it was close to 100%.
Surprisingly identical to the original work’s main lead, isn’t it.
Leyan, the main lead of the original work, had been in exactly the same situation as Yu Haneul. A D-rank Guide, but with high matching rates with S-rank Espers — she had swiftly stolen the hearts of the male leads right out from under Yujin Langford. Her appearance had been nothing short of a death knell for the villain, Yujin Langford.
It could simply be dismissed as coincidence, but something about it nagged at him. The fact that Yujin Langford had possessed his body right when the situation was beginning to mirror the original work left him with a strange, unsettling feeling.
I should meet Yu Haneul once.
In the original work, the main lead Leyan had been a kind and gentle character. She was someone who had been unilaterally bullied by Yujin Langford, so it wouldn’t be difficult to improve the relationship simply by treating her a little more warmly now that he’d taken over the body. If Yu Haneul turned out to be the same, then even if this world was starting to resemble the original, it wouldn’t pose a significant threat to him. Yujin nodded to himself, settled in that thought.
