In reality, Jiwon found radiant guiding even more difficult. Since he still couldn’t properly contain his overflowing energy, whenever he got distracted doing something else and came back to his senses, guiding energy was already leaking out of his body on its own.
It was practically the same as having already done radiant guiding, but when he actually tried to emit it intentionally, it felt even harder.
“Haa… I find radiant guiding more difficult though…?”
Guide Bae Hyeonji could only look at Jiwon with an incredulous expression as he easily succeeded at the high-difficulty direct guiding right away, yet struggled and fumbled with the much easier radiant guiding.
After that, he diligently attended classes every day, going back and forth between the dormitory and the Center. Guide Bae Hyeonji found Jiwon adorable for never being late once and faithfully following along with the lessons, so she tried to teach him even more of her own experiences and know-how beyond the basic curriculum.
And so, Jiwon completed the basic training over the course of two weeks.
Though his control over his energy wasn’t perfect yet and radiant guiding would still leak out sometimes, it had improved significantly compared to the beginning of the training. Since it wasn’t a major issue, Jiwon was able to start working right away.
“Now, this is Guide Kim Jiwon’s personal private room. Let’s start by registering your fingerprint and iris.”
In front of the door marked Room 705, Jiwon registered his information in the sensor on the side as Team Leader Lee Juyeon instructed.
“Now try opening it.”
When he placed his hand on the fingerprint recognition pad, the door opened automatically.
“Woaaah…. What? This is a personal private room?”
“Pretty nice, right?”
“It’s not just nice! It’s like a hotel. I could just live here instead of going to the dormitory. Wow….”
“Pfft…. Stop being so amazed and go on in. They’re not all like this—because Guide Kim Jiwon is A-rank, your private room is bigger and better. They put some thought into the interior too.”
Perhaps to separate the work and living spaces, marble was laid extensively from the entrance all the way to the work desk area.
On top of the white work table sat a small monitor, a work tablet, and a simple organizer, with two comfortable-looking blue chairs facing each other.
The inner area had a slightly raised threshold, clearly separating the spaces. Jiwon put on the indoor slippers that had been prepared and went inside. The spacious area was finished with clean yet luxurious-looking white molding, the flooring had a wood pattern, and there was even a large window.
Behind a white wall pillar with a vintage-style painting hung on it was a large bed, and he could see a plush sofa, a table, and storage furniture.
On the opposite wall were a sink, coffee pot, water purifier, and refrigerator, and there was even a utility room and laundry room—everything needed for daily living was there.
There was even a separate dressing room, and when he quickly opened another door to the side, there was a spacious bathroom decorated with pretty light green and gray-toned tiles.
“This is insane!”
“Pff… Pfuhahaha…. Really, Guide Kim Jiwon, you’re so… hahaha.”
Team Leader Lee Juyeon, who had been smiling warmly at the sight of Jiwon exploring like a puppy sniffing around and wagging its tail after arriving at a new home, finally couldn’t hold back her laughter when Jiwon threw both arms up and shouted.
Though Jiwon saw Team Leader Lee Juyeon laughing while clutching her stomach, he still couldn’t contain his emotions.
What do I do, it’s so nice! The work environment is insane!
Jiwon was extremely satisfied with the workplace welfare. Honestly, it looked even better than the dormitory.
After bouncing around and finishing his tour, Team Leader Lee Juyeon, who had been beside herself with laughter, calmed down a bit.
“Ha… haa…. Thanks to Guide Kim Jiwon, I laughed hard for the first time in a while. At our Center 1, including Guide Kim Jiwon, there are three A-ranks. There should be private rooms nearby. They’re assigned sporadically and it’s mostly empty, so you probably won’t run into them. Other guides greet each other while passing through the lobby, but since A-ranks all work in their private rooms, unless you meet while working as a field guide, there’s not really any interaction.”
“Ah…. That’s fine. I’m originally a homebody, so I’m good at entertaining myself.”
“Still, if you get bored, come up to the office anytime for a cup of coffee.”
“Yes!”
“Just proceed the way we did during training. If you have any questions, contact me, and fighting on your first day of work!”
“Fighting! Thank you, Team Leader~!”
First day of work, huh….
Jiwon placed his clenched fist on his pounding chest. He’d never even done a common part-time job, yet he’d suddenly been hit with employment.
After seeing Team Leader Lee off, Jiwon looked around the personal private room once more, then changed into the navy-colored work uniform he had requested and received in advance.
It was a V-neck top with sleeves that came down below the elbows and long pants, with white accents on the collar and sleeve hems, and a clean and comfortable uniform with a white wing emblem on the lower left of the top.
Though guide uniforms weren’t mandatory, Jiwon still wanted to wear one.
He sat at the desk, turned on the work tablet, and when he entered the standby screen, a list of Espers who had requested guiding appeared.
It showed each Esper’s face, name, gender, age, rank, current gauge percentage, and wait time. There was also a column for matching rate, but since Jiwon hadn’t taken a matching rate test yet, they were all blank.
In some ways, it could be considered excessive disclosure of personal information, but it was said to be one of the implementation rules under the Guide Protection Act, to allow guides to filter out problematic Espers. In fact, there was a memo section where guides could record information about the Esper, allowing them to keep a blacklist or note any special matters.
As Jiwon looked through the rather long waiting list, he tilted his head at the wait times.
Why is the wait time over 76 hours…?
That meant three days had passed. He’d heard during training that there was a shortage of guides, but he didn’t know it was backed up to this extent.
Jiwon had only heard people say that guide work was easy and good, but after receiving training, he realized it really was a great job to have.
Compared to Espers who made enormous amounts of money from hazard pay and gate byproducts, guides received basic salaries equivalent to regular civil servants.
Of course, there were differences by rank. Starting from D-rank where actual guiding was possible, it was 2 million won per month, C-rank was 2.5 million won per month, B-rank was 3.5 million won per month, A-rank was 5.5 million won per month, and S-rank was 10 million won per month.
But this was literally just the base salary.
If you accumulated guiding performance beyond the mandatory quota, additional allowances were added. Also, if you worked as a field guide, you could accumulate a lot of performance and receive hazard pay, and if you had a pair, a portion of the pair Esper’s income would also go to the guide. If the guide was willing, they could generate several times the income.
Unlike Espers, there was almost no backlash from using abilities, they were given private rooms for work, and company housing was provided. If desired, they could be assigned a secretary and driver, and their families received protection and support.
The social treatment was good, there was no worry about being fired from work unless you caused serious problems, and there were even low taxes as an ability user benefit…. It was truly a honey of a workplace.
Of course, there were disadvantages too.
Working in two shifts with irregular days off, the possibility of being emergency-called depending on dangerous gate situations, and having to give up existing studies or work regardless of one’s own wishes.
The two-shift work schedule was from 8 AM to 5 PM and from 5 PM to 2 AM, but for convenience they were called morning shift and afternoon shift based on the start time.
“Hmm….”
Jiwon examined the guiding request list in detail.
Thinking that the higher the Esper wave gauge, the longer the discomfort and pain would have been continuing, he approved guides starting with those who had long wait times and high gauges.
About five minutes later, a CCTV screen appeared on the monitor on the desk with a chime, showing the face of an Esper waiting in front of the door and the information of the Esper he had just approved. The system even verified that they were the same person.
When he pressed a button below the monitor to open the door, an Esper with a pale-looking face entered. At a 76% gauge state, it was a dangerous condition where the waves inside his body would be rampaging.
“Welcome!”
When Jiwon gestured quickly for him to sit down, the Esper sat in the chair across from the desk and took Jiwon’s outstretched hand.
When guiding, he could automatically feel the Esper’s internal state and energies. The higher the guide’s rank, the better they could sense it.
Guiding worked even if you just transmitted energy, but if you could find the Esper’s unstable waves, it was more effective to directly move guiding energy to release them.
As he quietly sent guiding energy and released the tangled waves of the Esper he could feel, just like he’d practiced during training, the other person’s expression relaxed, perhaps feeling a bit more comfortable.
After concentrating on guiding for a moment, he checked the watch on the Esper’s wrist. Fortunately, the gauge numbers were dropping smoothly, perhaps because the matching rate was decent.
Since he was an A-rank Esper, he’d need to increase the amount of guiding, but hand guiding alone seemed like it would be fine. Though it was work, Jiwon had still been hesitant about readily making physical contact with strangers, so he was relieved.
“Hello. Esper Lee Minhyeok-nim.”
Feeling that his condition was improving, Jiwon belatedly offered a greeting.
“Yes. Hello, Guide Kim Jiwon-nim. You’re new here, right?”
“Huh?! How did you know?”
When Jiwon asked in surprise, one corner of Minhyeok’s mouth lifted as he chuckled. He was an Esper with a somewhat sharp impression despite being handsome, but as his expression relaxed from the guiding, he gave off a gentle atmosphere.
