Of course, that self-sacrificing guide might consent while making a tearful face at just one word saying it was Do Ganghyun’s request, but there was something in him that surpassed that gentle disposition.
“Besides, with his grandmother’s treatment at stake, will he let you go?”
That was right. Just as she couldn’t abandon her younger brother and was taking care of him like this, Guide Myeong Eunha also had one family member he couldn’t abandon. Moreover, having lost everyone, only one family member who raised him remained.
‘That’s why he’s endured until now.’
Until now, this had worked as a positive factor for Do Ganghyun, but it would definitely act as an obstacle in dissolving the imprint.
Do Ganghui clicked her tongue at the unfolding situation.
No matter how much one cared for their pair Esper, if one had their head screwed on straight, they wouldn’t make the choice to remain by their side despite being rejected like Myeong Eunha. Because in the relationship between Espers and guides, guides held the absolute upper hand. She had keenly realized this watching Do Ganghyun suffer without a guide for the past 10 years.
However, Myeong Eunha was different. With such a gentle disposition, he had remained by Do Ganghyun’s side until the very end. To say he remained purely because of feelings alone, there was something ruthless about him somewhere.
Sure enough, the reason was immediately revealed. It was so famous that there was no need to search for it with difficulty.
Grandmother.
A first-generation guide who had contracted a rare disease was his family. Moreover, one who had lost both her ability and usefulness along with the death of her imprinted Esper.
Generally, the mere reason of not having an Esper by a guide’s side wouldn’t result in being ostracized like Myeong Eunha’s family. The number of guides was absolutely insufficient compared to Espers.
However, the disease Myeong Eunha’s grandmother suffered from was the problem. The disease called guiding depletion.
She herself was useless, and with that upright character, she even had a history of confronting the government. There couldn’t be anyone to help in such a situation. That’s why even after being admitted to the guide ward, she was consistently neglected. Until Myeong Eunha manifested as a guide.
Only after Myeong Eunha manifested as a guide and became Do Ganghyun’s pair did the center move. Even that was only to the extent of life-prolonging treatment and testing new experimental drugs, but even that would have been a level they should be grateful for.
‘I heard she even regained consciousness once recently.’
But could Myeong Eunha really give up all of that?
Telling Guide Myeong Eunha to take the imprint dissolution drug wouldn’t just mean giving up Do Ganghyun alone, but giving up his family as well.
“Who said I’d get consent?”
“If you don’t get it?”
“I don’t need consent or anything. I’ll have him take it slowly in divided doses.”
Then Do Ganghyun said something that would make anyone jump if they heard it. Do Ganghui, who heard it directly, naturally jumped as the obvious sequence.
“Are you sane? After rampaging, did something not your body but your head burst out?!”
‘Are you saying you’ll proudly commit something illegal right now?! And in front of me, who has to obtain the drug!’ Do Ganghui admirably held back what she wanted to shout. If this place hadn’t been a hospital, she would have already shouted it and more.
No matter how thorough the security, words leaked out from anywhere. Do Ganghyun must have known there were no surveillance eyes around using his excellent physical abilities and easily put the plan into words, but her shouting it out in shock was an entirely different problem.
“Be quiet.”
“Is being loud the issue right now? Haven’t you lost your mind or something? What if something goes wrong? No, what if you even get caught? Just how will you take responsibility? You’re talking about ruining one person’s life right now. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ruin what? I said I’d have him take it in divided doses so there’s no strain on his body. If there’s no strain on his body, what’s there to get consent for?”
They couldn’t communicate. Really, he wouldn’t listen at all. Was he really insane?
“I can’t do it. Father didn’t accept knowing that far, right? If he knew, he’d never consent. Same for me. If you proceed with this, I’ll go to Guide Myeong Eunha and tell him the truth, and formally to the center—.”
“Why, will you formally report it or something?”
Just then, Do Ganghyun sneered coldly.
“Like that time?”
“……”
“I guess you forgot who’s the reason I still can’t stand properly in front of cameras.”
Then he whispered lowly.
“What did you say at first… It doesn’t seem like my younger brother, was it?”
“That’s—.”
“After that, you said my consciousness was clear during manifestation, and I did everything deliberately.”
At those words, Do Ganghui’s complexion turned deathly pale.
What Do Ganghyun was saying now was what the media had been spouting when he manifested. All of it came from her mouth and planted trauma in him.
Of course, Do Ganghui hadn’t stood before the media wanting this. At that time, her age was merely nineteen, and though she was approaching adulthood, she was strictly a minor. She didn’t know the scariness of the media and had simply revealed her confusion as it was while requesting help.
In short,
‘You know that wasn’t the meaning.’
They were words she had said, but they weren’t words she had said.
However, Do Ganghui didn’t make the mistake of mentioning this directly.
Do Ganghyun confirmed that her momentum before his eyes had subsided and opened his mouth again.
“You promised then. That you’d help with anything I wanted.”
‘Right, noona?’ While bringing out a very old address he no longer used. So she absolutely couldn’t refuse.
***
The disadvantage of imprinting is that guiding can only be received through the imprinted guide alone. In reality, guiding from other guides wasn’t completely impossible, but the problem was that an Esper’s waves wouldn’t try to receive half-baked guiding when they had a perfectly fitting guide. This was something that occurred regardless of the Esper’s own will, so there was no helping it.
To explain simply, it’s like this. After eating spicy and salty stimulating food, whatever else you eat, you don’t feel much taste from other foods—it’s the same principle.
However, in Do Ganghyun’s case, since there had been no fitting guide from the beginning, he thought it wouldn’t be a big problem. And it actually was like that.
Unexpectedly, the problem was elsewhere.
“Damn, shit…”
“As expected, guiding supplements don’t work either.”
“……”
Precisely, guiding supplements also didn’t work.
In the case of ordinary Espers, it was fine because using supplements wasn’t common, but Do Ganghyun, who sought supplements like a habit, was different.
“But looking at the matching rate, you don’t have to devote as much time to guiding as before. Rather, it turned out well—.”
“Turned out well? Does this look like it turned out well to you?”
Do Ganghyun immediately glared and pressured the Research Director.
I shrank my body and held my breath at that sight.
With no broken bones anywhere, just a body that had collapsed from exhaustion, I quickly recovered after resting for a week while receiving excellent treatment in the hospital room. Including the two days I was unconscious, I faced Do Ganghyun after almost ten days, and from then until now, the atmosphere had continuously been ice-cold.
It got worse after checking the matching rate again and confirming with his own eyes that it was indeed natural imprinting.
[Matching Rate 94%]
It was a value that had risen by a whopping 12% from the last confirmed matching rate of 82%.
I wondered if it could rise like this in such a short time, but considering “hearts being connected,” one of the conditions for natural imprinting, it didn’t seem impossible. Hadn’t I already experienced it directly through clinical experiments? That the matching rate could rise through emotions.
However,
“An SS-rank Esper’s fate is about to be swayed by just one C-rank guide—does this seem okay to you?”
The problem was that looking at Do Ganghyun’s attitude, it seemed the condition for natural imprinting itself couldn’t be established.
Looking at that appearance, I wondered where the condition of “hearts being connected” could be established. Even Do Ganghyun himself seemed unable to accept it at all. So I had no choice but to quietly shut my mouth and kill my presence.
Actually, killing my presence wasn’t that difficult. From the moment Do Ganghyun entered this place, he had been consciously avoiding everything about me. Not only ignoring my greetings, but he restricted his movements as if excluding the space I was in itself. At that sight, I let go of even the hope I had harbored for a moment. Resignation was familiar, and now it had become a habit.
“…I think it would be good to start with guiding first.”
However, I had to say what needed to be said.
Even amidst such commotion, work didn’t decrease, and Do Ganghyun had to go out soon for a gate raid. I thought he should rest more since he had even rampaged recently, but the center’s position was firm. The long-term suspension of an SS-rank Esper’s activities directly led to a weakening of national power.
It wasn’t completely nonsensical, but if an SS-rank Esper temporarily suspending activities created national problems that couldn’t be handled, that meant there was a problem from the beginning.
