“I came running right after getting the call. Did you wait long?”
A woman hurriedly exited the elevator that had just arrived and rushed toward Park Shinui. She was slightly out of breath, and her glasses had slipped crookedly to one side. Yet her expression was relaxed. For someone who had rushed over, her face was quite composed.
“No. It’s fine.”
“Oh, now that I think about it, isn’t this physical training time? Why did it end so quickly?”
“Well… something came up.”
He mumbled his words, finding it awkward to explain in detail. Fortunately, the trainer didn’t ask further and immediately guided him to the training room.
The Guiding training room had a different atmosphere from the physical training room. The interior, made of cold metal frames and transparent glass walls, was efficient, but it could give a person standing inside an unpleasant feeling as if they were exposed while naked. On one wall, dozens of response test equipment were lined up, and sensors that would measure a Guide’s brain waves and heartbeat in real time glittered on each machine. Being a sealed space without even a single window, even the air felt cut off from the outside.
In the novel When That Day Comes, where Espers were the protagonists, there was almost no information about Guiding training. The protagonist Kang Taejun had appeared from the start as an already complete EX-grade ability user.
“Ah, right, I’m late with introductions. I’m Lee Haneul, in charge of Park Shinui-ssi’s Guiding training.”
“I’m Park Shinui.”
“Yes, I know. You’re someone just as famous in South Korea as Esper Kang Taejun right now.”
“Is… is that so?”
“But the atmosphere is quite different from the rumors?”
Lee Haneul smiled as she pushed up her glasses and guided Park Shinui to a chair.
“Actually, there was quite a conflict of opinion among trainers about who would take charge of Park Shinui-ssi.”
He could tell without seeing. They’d probably squabbled over not wanting to take it.
“But somehow Lee Haneul-seonsaengnim ended up becoming my trainer.”
Park Shinui smiled awkwardly as he sat in the chair. Lee Haneul began attaching sensors to his arm with practiced hand movements.
“Yes, everyone said they didn’t want to and backed out, so I just raised my hand saying I’d do it. But what do you know, I never knew you’d be such a handsome person. I feel like I’m the one who struck it rich.”
Her expression as she winked had none of the public’s disgust or ridicule. There was only pure interest and goodwill visible. Lee Haneul took off the jacket she’d been wearing and put on a white coat. Doing so gave off an atmosphere more like a doctor than a trainer.
“So, Park Shinui-ssi, how are you feeling right now?”
“Feeling? I’m fine.”
“Really? You’re not trembling or nervous, or feeling like your heart is beating too fast and might burst?”
Lee Haneul’s expression became deliberately serious as if entering full-scale measurement. Park Shinui assessed his condition and shook his head.
“Yes. No different than usual.”
“That’s strange. That can’t be right.”
“Why? Is there some problem with the numbers?”
“It’s a big problem. How can you not be trembling or nervous when you have a beauty like me right in front of you? That’s not a problem with your Guide abilities, that’s a problem with your character.”
“What?”
What’s with this person? Is she serious? Lee Haneul burst into laughter watching Park Shinui, who had stiffened in bewilderment.
“Hoho, loosen up your expression. It’s a joke. As expected, my first impression of Park Shinui-ssi was right.”
“What do you mean…”
“Usually when receiving their first training after awakening, everyone is scared or nervous. But I don’t see any of that from Park Shinui-ssi at all. Even when I touch your hands like this, there’s no particular reaction.”
“……”
“You seem to have guts, so I really like it.”
Lee Haneul tapped Park Shinui’s hand and smiled brightly. Park Shinui still looked at her with a dubious expression.
Her manner of speaking, difficult to gauge whether it was a joke or sincere, was strangely not unpleasant. It was rare for his heart to soften so easily toward someone he was meeting for the first time. Park Shinui found it difficult to explain the reason precisely. If he had to point to something, it was that from this person called Lee Haneul, he didn’t feel calculated kindness or hidden intentions toward him like from other people. She just seemed to treat him as he was.
“From what I see, the bond with Esper Kang Taejun also seems stably connected…”
Park Shinui thought there was something ironic about it. The bond was stably connected, yet he couldn’t even see that partner’s face. He felt exactly like a woman who had been abandoned by her groom on their wedding night in a classical novel. Of course, it wasn’t like he was looking for Kang Taejun because he liked him either.
“Then, shall we start with sensory sensitivity response today?”
“Sensory sensitivity?”
“Yes, it’s training to develop the ability to detect an Esper’s wavelength and assimilate with that flow. It’s directly connected to the precision of Guiding, crisis response ability, and reading changes in the other person’s emotions. It’s a very important process. I heard you don’t know how to Guide at all?”
“Yes…”
“There’s nothing to worry about. Guiding is ultimately instinct. Once you become aware of your own power, you’ll quickly learn the method.”
Lee Haneul did a final check of the sensor readings attached to his arm and turned on the device’s power. Then in the next moment, her figure before his eyes disappeared like a mirage.
That wasn’t all. The scenery of the training room filled with machines instantly distorted and crumbled.
Park Shinui had at some point been left alone in the center of a white room where nothing existed, whose end couldn’t be known. Sound, smell, even the sensation of the floor disappeared.
“…Teacher?”
What’s this again? Is it like a hallucination? Park Shinui surveyed his surroundings with a furrowed brow. Then Lee Haneul’s voice was heard from the air.
“Wow, you’re not surprised at all even by this?”
“…Teacher?”
He turned his head toward where the sound came from, but in his field of vision there was only indifferent white.
“Park Shinui-ssi is so composed that I keep forgetting to explain without realizing it.”
This time the voice rang out from behind.
‘What is this person saying? Is she crazy?’
Just as Park Shinui was inwardly clicking his tongue, the voice continued as if answering.
“I’m not crazy. For now, let’s just say it’s a type of training.”
“…!”
“For reference, I’m a Guiding trainer, but I’m also an ability user who can read people’s inner thoughts. I’m a Guide and at the same time a mental-type Esper.”
“What? No, what?”
“But I can’t keep reading continuously, so don’t be too scared. My ability level only lasts for brief moments.”
‘Reading people’s inner thoughts. Jackpot.’
“Yes, thanks for the compliment. Now then, let’s start the full-scale training from now on. Soon you’ll feel emotions faintly vibrating around Park Shinui-ssi. There’s no life response, but tracking the faintly laid emotional wavelength is the core of this training.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll start in 3 seconds.”
The countdown began. 3, 2, 1. As soon as the numbers ended, even the faint noise that had been audible drained away like an ebb tide. Park Shinui held his breath in the silence that had become like a perfect vacuum.
Park Shinui set his nerves on edge while gazing at the white space where even the sound of breathing had vanished. It was to capture that ‘vibration’ Lee Haneul had mentioned.
‘Is it there?’
His head turned to the right. Visually he couldn’t see anything, but only a certain sensation was transmitted clearly to his mind like a brand. However, that energy soon dispersed, and a much fainter wave arose from the opposite side. Park Shinui tenaciously chased the tail of the wavelength as instinct led him. The more he concentrated his nerves, the faster time flowed like an arrow.
“What you just did was a micro-wavelength tracking test, and amazingly, Park Shinui-ssi found them all without a single error.”
Only when Lee Haneul’s voice, filled with excitement, was heard did he realize the first training had ended.
“Is that so impressive?”
“Of course! It’s absolutely not an easy training because you have to rely only on your senses. It’s the course that Center Guides dread the most. If you misstep even once, your nervous system flows backward and side effects like severe tinnitus, motion sickness, or loss of sense of direction follow.”
“……”
“Oh my, I guess I didn’t tell you that?”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you’re cursing me inwardly? Unfortunately, I used up all of today’s ability, so I can’t read Park Shinui-ssi’s thoughts right now, so please hold back on cursing. I really did forget.”
If she says so, what can he do? Park Shinui lightly shrugged his shoulders instead of answering.
“Anyway, your tracking numbers are legendary. Then shall we move on to discrimination training this time?”
“Yes.”
What’s ‘discrimination training’ now?
“Esper wavelengths will be exposed in sequence. It’s training to delicately separate the emotions felt from them. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
As if there was much to be ready for. Park Shinui calmly caught his breath. Honestly, compared to physical training, this was a piece of cake. No, it was easy to the point of being close to child’s play.
