# Chapter 36
At that moment, sympathy appeared on the Guide’s face. As if he had become Cheon Taeyun himself, his face sank into sadness.
“Huh… What can we possibly do…?”
But Jaehee seemed indifferent. He was focusing only on the data displayed on the tablet screen. Jaehee’s gaze was intensely sharp.
7%, 12%, 8%, 6%…
These miserably low figures flashed by in succession. And finally, the person Jaehee was looking for caught his eye.
‘Matching rate 52%.’
Jaehee checked again. He zoomed in on the screen, examining each detail of the matching rate test information between Taeyun and the potential Guide. He didn’t miss even the matching rate test date.
“…?”
When Jaehee’s gaze remained fixed on the tablet as if nailed to it, the Guide made a slightly puzzled expression.
‘What is he staring at so intently?’
The Guide discreetly leaned forward to check the profile displayed on the tablet.
“Oh? It’s the youngest one!”
The person Jaehee was looking at was the newest, youngest Guide who had recently joined. Being from the same team, he knew him well.
“52%? That matching rate is actually quite high compared to the others, isn’t it?”
But soon the Guide let out a soft sigh.
“But it’s still a shame. Even with 52%, since the youngest one’s rank is a bit low, there won’t be any guiding effect at all…”
When there was a significant difference in ranks, a matching rate of at least 60% was needed to see proper guiding effects. After seeing numbers in the 10% range continuously, 52% might seem impressive, but ranks existed for a reason. In the current situation, Jaehee with his 10% matching rate would actually produce much better results if he performed the guiding.
Regret flashed across the Guide’s face.
But suddenly Jaehee asked a question.
“This person, do they have a bonding partner already?”
At Jaehee’s words, the Guide looked at him with an expression that said, ‘Of course not.’
“Of course not. They only joined the Center recently. There’s no way they would have found a partner in that short time.”
The Guide stated firmly that it was impossible.
“So… they’re a Guide without a bonding partner yet.”
That’s what Jaehee said. Everyone at the Center would believe the same.
However, that was incorrect information. Jaehee knew this.
‘They’ve already completed a bond. It’s just that few people know about it.’
Having already heard about the youngest Guide’s bonding from Dohyun, Jaehee couldn’t not know.
Jaehee recalled what Dohyun had said.
‘Our team’s youngest did a bonding without the Center knowing. And with the newest member of the Guide team, too.’
And if it was the youngest of Dohyun’s team,
‘Esper Jeong Hyeono.’
Esper Jeong Hyeono, who had been constantly showing up to watch over him at Dohyun’s request. He was the bonding partner of the youngest Guide.
‘Then the matching rate with Cheon Taeyun should normally be 0%. But 52%…’
Jaehee checked the matching rate test date displayed on the tablet screen. And recalled the date when he had heard about it from Dohyun.
‘The matching rate test date is after the bonding was done.’
Why? If it was after the bonding, it should be 0%.
‘Was the matching rate entered incorrectly?’
Jaehee stared at the tablet screen. He examined the information without missing anything.
Among them, there were a few cases like the youngest Guide who had ambiguously high matching rates with Esper Cheon Taeyun. But in all those cases, the ranks were low. All the cases with high ranks and matching rates over 60% were deceased.
Ultimately, if one were to combine all the information displayed on the tablet, one conclusion emerged.
“…This is serious.”
“Pardon?”
The Guide, who had been focused on finding those with high matching rates, looked up in surprise at Jaehee’s words.
“What is it? Is there a problem?”
The Guide asked with his face full of question marks. To this, Jaehee replied with a bitter expression.
“There isn’t a single Guide who can properly guide Esper Cheon Taeyun.”
That was it. All the data pointed to that conclusion.
“What? Not even one? No way! That can’t be possible!”
In contrast, the Guide wore an expression that said it was absolutely impossible. He soon brought his face so close to the tablet that he was almost touching it.
“There should be at least one, no matter how bad it is!”
Since there had never been an Esper who didn’t match with anyone before, the Guide thought Jaehee must have missed something. So he frantically scanned all the data again, including the lower parts of the documents that he hadn’t yet seen. But no matter how many times he looked, the conclusion remained the same.
“How is this possible? How is Esper Cheon Taeyun supposed to survive…?”
The Guide looked at Taeyun’s photo with regretful eyes, as if he had seen an Esper with stunningly bad luck.
“Indeed. How could something like this happen…”
Just as the Guide expressed his regret towards Taeyun, Jaehee also showed sympathy for that emotion. However, Jaehee’s eyes were completely calm in contrast.
Jaehee became certain after seeing Cheon Taeyun’s data.
‘The matching rates have been manipulated.’
And that would have been done because he couldn’t properly receive guiding from any Guide.
‘They did it to avoid any suspicion.’
But normally, people wouldn’t think this far. Even if they knew about the youngest Guide’s bonding, they might simply think, ‘Oh, one matching rate was entered incorrectly?’ and leave it at that.
But there was something that those who manipulated the numbers didn’t consider.
The fact that Jaehee had already experienced the future once and had returned. That he also knew the original work that was the source of this world. That gave Jaehee a huge advantage. Even if the opponent planned several moves ahead, he already knew all of them and could make even more advanced moves.
‘…Cheon Taeyun.’
Of course, he didn’t notice it when he first saw Taeyun. Since they rarely met, he couldn’t recall immediately. But that somehow familiar face. After much contemplation, he realized that the familiarity came from his memories before the regression.
‘About a year from now, was it? Everyone was surprised then. Because there had never been a case where an Esper was directly assigned to the upper ranks.’
And the person who surprised everyone was none other than Cheon Taeyun.
What also surprised people was that the identity of his bonded Guide was kept secret. Because of this, rumors spread differently every day, which was why Jaehee vaguely remembered.
‘Back then, many people were trying to figure out who the Guide was. And now I know.’
Clearly, before the regression, Lee Jaehee didn’t know what that meant. It wasn’t just Jaehee. Everyone couldn’t even imagine and only spread strange rumors.
But after returning, by connecting information from the future and present, Jaehee came to understand what had happened then.
‘…An Esper who tried to overwrite a bond.’
Jaehee’s lips tightened.
‘It wasn’t just Geonwoo.’
Before recalling the memories, he had only felt something slightly strange. Cheon Taeyun’s subtly distorted expressions when receiving guiding, the fact that even Guides who boasted matching rates above 60% with everyone couldn’t guide Taeyun.
When his memories from before the regression were added, Jaehee conducted an experiment. While guiding Cheon Taeyun, he used his ability to subdue Espers.
‘But it didn’t work at all.’
Was it because of the low matching rate? No.
‘It’s probably because another guiding energy that caused a one-way bond is already dominating most of his body.’
In the end, the fabricated records they created became the final puzzle piece, turning Jaehee’s thoughts into complete certainty.
And then such a person came to the examination room to treat Geonwoo right when the upper ranks had taken Geonwoo. Moreover, requesting guiding in a situation where guiding was almost ineffective…
‘They must have been quite curious about my abilities.’
The upper ranks’ intentions were obvious. He knew for certain that they hadn’t given up on Geonwoo.
But the upper ranks were in a precarious position right now. It hadn’t been long since what they had done had spread throughout the Center. In a situation where they needed to be more careful than ever, for them to target Geonwoo again while taking risks,
‘It means they know how to erase a bond.’
The difference between erasing a bond and overwriting it wasn’t big. If erasing a bond meant gradually diluting it with another Guide’s guiding, overwriting a bond meant seizing it by injecting a large amount of guiding energy without the dilution process.
In the end, both Jaehee and the upper ranks wanted the same thing: for Geonwoo not to die while the bond was being erased. They knew the method, which was why they approached again despite the risks.
‘They know the method…’
Ironically, that brought great relief to Jaehee. Because he could obtain the method he had been searching for from them.
So Jaehee deliberately ignored his heated thoughts. Despite being angry at the fact that they were targeting Geonwoo again, he maintained a calm demeanor. It was the result of only thinking about what to do next.
That’s why he chose to show the appearance that Cheon Taeyun would want to see. No, he showed exactly what the upper ranks wanted to see. As if to say, use me as much as you want.
‘Because that’s how I’ll be able to use you.’
