Whether the Espers were surprised or not, Onyul found all of it bothersome and chased everyone out.
“If you’re not buying anything, everyone get out!”
When he was finally left alone, the strength left his legs.
Phew. It’s fortunate I knew how to coax Gu Baekyoung, otherwise it would have been a disaster.
Gu Baekyoung exuded intimidation, but in truth he was no different from a child begging to be bought what he wanted.
However, he didn’t know how to obtain what he wanted and only showed an intimidating attitude. In such cases, it was effective to firmly point out what was wrong.
And then he just needed to teach him step by step how to obtain what he wanted. That’s how he had coaxed him in his previous life.
Well, he didn’t know he’d use that method in this life too.
No, but why did that guy suddenly come to the convenience store and ask to hold his hand? Did Yoon Jihyuk say something strange?
Onyul stared down at his own hand, which still seemed to have Gu Baekyoung’s warmth remaining.
Do I really have some kind of ability?
***
The rumor that Gu Baekyoung had appeared at Company C convenience store spread through word of mouth. And that whispering also reached Na Geonwoo’s ears.
Baekyoung tried to hold the convenience store owner’s hand?
It was unbelievable that Gu Baekyoung, who had little interest in others, would do such a thing.
Na Geonwoo immediately investigated the convenience store owner.
Name was Kang Ian, age twenty-six. After becoming an adult, worked like crazy and recently opened a small convenience store…… That was all.
It was a bit strange that there were no childhood records at all, but if he was of orphan origin, it made sense.
The whereabouts of his birth parents were also unclear, and it didn’t seem like he was particularly close with anyone either.
How should he put it. He should say he was someone who had lived a life filled only with work.
He had also taken the mandatory ability user examination in his senior year of high school. Until then, he was clearly an ordinary person.
Still, there were those who manifested after becoming adults, so there was a possibility he was a Guide.
Could it be that Gu Baekyoung instinctively recognized a compatible Guide and demanded his hand?
Na Geonwoo spoke to Gu Baekyoung, who looked somehow dejected. He had been dispirited ever since entering the Alpha Team member room.
“Baekyoung-ah.”
“……Yes, team leader-nim.”
“Did you go to the convenience store Jihyuk mentioned and ask the manager to hold your hand?”
“Yes.”
“Was it because of Guiding?”
Gu Baekyoung, who he thought would naturally answer yes, shook his head.
“I’m not sure.”
“Huh?”
Then he spat out bizarre words so seriously.
“It seems the reincarnation you told me about has come true.”
Upon hearing the word reincarnation, ‘Kang Onyul’ came to Na Geonwoo’s mind.
That Esper who had an extraordinary appearance and even a rare ability, so people followed him well even when he stayed still.
When he was young, Gu Baekyoung, who had closed his heart after experiencing many harsh things, also liked Kang Onyul. He liked him so much that he rampaged when he heard Kang Onyul had died.
<Say it again. Who died just now?>
Gu Baekyoung, who saw Kang Onyul’s corpse brought to the Management Bureau, rampaged. His main ability, telekinesis, burst out explosively and the Management Bureau building collapsed mercilessly.
If Alpha Team hadn’t stopped Gu Baekyoung, the Management Bureau might have disappeared on the spot. Even Alpha Team, who had stopped him, was quite seriously injured.
Several Espers rushed at him and barely managed to calm Gu Baekyoung down and bind his limbs. He was confined to the deepest part of the Guide Center with his entire body bound.
Only after numerous Guides and mental-type Espers calmed him down for several days could he barely return to his right mind.
But since they weren’t sure if it was okay to release Gu Baekyoung, the confinement continued for quite a long time.
What calmed him down, who had seemed anxious the whole time, was unexpectedly a word from Na Geonwoo.
<Baekyoung-ah…… I know you’re sad, but if you act violently, Onyul won’t like it more. He’ll be sad seeing you broken down.>
<But Onyul hyung is dead. He’s dead, so how can he be sad? How can he dislike me?>
<Yeah, Onyul is dead. But as long as you keep remembering him, he’ll live forever in your heart. Maybe Onyul could reincarnate and you could meet him again.>
<Reincarnate……>
Of course, Na Geonwoo was a staunch realist who didn’t believe in things like reincarnation.
But as a thoroughly socialized realist, he simply knew how to efficiently soothe a beast that had gone crazy and was rampaging.
In other words, he didn’t believe in reincarnation, but if it could calm down Gu Baekyoung, who was going crazy and rampaging, he could also use the unrealistic matter of reincarnation.
And the effect was definite.
Gu Baekyoung clearly calmed down after that day. Enough to release him from confinement.
Gu Baekyoung had also asked to be released, saying he would never rampage again.
<Hyung…… liked seeing me be active. Please let me do that.>
The released Gu Baekyoung, as he had said, not only didn’t rampage but was far more active than before.
As a result of diving into dangerous Gates without sparing his body, the number of ability users dying or getting injured in Gates definitely decreased.
Having recalled up to that point, Na Geonwoo thought, No way……
There’s no way Gu Baekyoung had been ruminating on that unrealistic advice until now…….
“Baekyoung-ah, don’t tell me you think Onyul reincarnated as that convenience store manager?”
“Yes.”
……He does?
Na Geonwoo rubbed his innocent chin. If he said now that there’s no such thing as reincarnation, Gu Baekyoung, who had been barely calmed down, might rampage again.
It seemed he was maintaining his sanity with the bizarre belief that Kang Onyul would ‘reincarnate’.
“Um…… Sorry to say this, but for it to be a reincarnation, Manager Kang Ian is twenty-six……”
But he should at least point out the blind spot. It was a fact Gu Baekyoung would notice anyway unless he was a fool.
Gu Baekyoung, as if he had already recognized that fact, answered calmly.
“Reincarnation means coming back to life, not being born anew.”
It was a subtly logical answer.
“Then what’s the basis for thinking that?”
“I only met him once so I don’t know about other things. However.”
“…….”
“The faint energy lingering in the convenience store, the energy I felt from the manager’s hand…… All of it resembled Onyul hyung. I’m not wrong.”
It was an answer filled with firm conviction.
But Na Geonwoo’s thoughts were a bit different. He still didn’t believe in reincarnation, but he also didn’t doubt Gu Baekyoung’s intuition.
Then…….
Rather than reincarnation, maybe he finally found a compatible Guide.
Na Geonwoo’s cold gaze didn’t leave Gu Baekyoung. The guy who had been dejected regained his vitality as soon as he talked about the convenience store manager.
Of course, Gu Baekyoung having a Guide was a welcome thing.
But Na Geonwoo was somehow worried. Whether it was okay to treat the manager as Kang Onyul, whether Gu Baekyoung’s excessive interest might rather harm the manager who was an ordinary person…….
“Baekyoung-ah, it’s fine that you’re interested in that manager, but I think you should restrain your expression of interest a little.”
“Why?”
“There’s nothing certain yet. Your interest might harm the manager.”
“…….”
“You’re the most watched Esper in South Korea right now. On the other hand, the manager is still an ordinary person, so you need to be more careful.”
At Na Geonwoo’s advice, Gu Baekyoung, who quickly became dejected again, opened his lips slowly.
“Then…… I just need to be careful?”
Na Geonwoo, who knew how to appease Gu Baekyoung, generously agreed.
“Of course. Meet quietly when there are no people.”
“Yes.”
“And if you get the chance, ask. Whether he’ll take the Guide examination.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Gu Baekyoung nodded.
Na Geonwoo was curious what answer he would hear.
***
Onyul spent a hectic day as usual. This life would probably continue until the large convenience store reopened.
What was strange was Gu Baekyoung. As if he had forgotten yesterday’s events, he didn’t visit the convenience store.
……He absolutely wasn’t waiting for him, it’s just like that!
When even Yoon Jihyuk didn’t stop by the convenience store, he even felt unnecessarily worried. Wondering if he was too busy to stop by the convenience store.
A little past 11 PM, the convenience store that had been hectic during the day finally became quiet.
Onyul caught his breath, stuck a straw into the chocolate milk that Yoon Jihyuk hadn’t bought, and gulped it down.
The white hand holding the chocolate milk suddenly entered his field of vision. Then Gu Baekyoung, who had shamelessly demanded his hand, came to mind again.
“…….”
What was it they felt from this hand that caused all that fuss?
As Onyul speculated, there were two possibilities.
The first was that his therapy ability from his previous life was gradually returning, but he hadn’t realized it yet.
Onyul naturally recalled the past when he experienced his first manifestation.
Even before it was determined that he was a therapy ability user, many people had clung to him.
<You smell really good.> <I feel so good being with you…….>
Usually for those reasons, everyone regardless of gender approached Onyul. It turned out it was because of the therapy ability that leaked faintly from his body.
Only after fully awakening could he properly handle the ability. Perhaps even now, others were feeling the uncontrolled energy.
The second was that the Guide ability latent in Kang Ian was manifesting due to the soul change.
Manifesting as an ability user after one’s twenties was rare, but the possibility wasn’t completely nonexistent.
The problem was that both possibilities meant ‘ability user’.
