By Zephyria 
Come to think of it, the man didn’t even know what an automatic blood pressure monitor was, and his knowledge of ability users seemed meager. There was a high probability he was born here. Since he said his parents weren’t ability users, it seemed he had awakened after skipping a generation. Everyone living in the 13th District had a heartbreaking story. Gyeong-su guessed that he was likely from one of the ability-user families that had vanished while protecting those who remained here after Neo was established.
To result in an A-Class through re-awakening after an initial awakening, the base had to be at least B-Class. Re-awakening that jumped two grades did exist, but it was extremely rare. Other than the case of the youngest son of the Ha family who underwent a two-grade re-awakening eight years ago, there hadn’t been a single case since.
“Could it be that it wasn’t a re-awakening?”
But that was also unlikely. Awakening after reaching adulthood was also rare.
His frozen body suddenly became busy. Hurrying his steps, Gyeong-su immediately searched through the man’s medical chart. Name: Ji Seung-hyun, Age: 23. Information on parental traits: unavailable.
“Ah. How do I find this person?”
Lost in thought while stroking his chin, Gyeong-su remembered something and picked up the satellite phone. Before long, the other party answered. The tone was sophisticated yet sly.
[I guess you found a decent piece of meat? Seeing as you’re actually calling.]
“Stop talking like that. It’s not that, but an A-Class Guide came up.”
Laughter echoed from the other end of the receiver.
[We should check the matching rate first, shouldn’t we? If not, I’ll just take the blood. How about giving it to the Oni as a nutritional supplement?]
Gyeong-su frowned as the person on the other end casually spouted cruel words. He felt like his head would explode if he kept listening to this man.
“Just find his whereabouts first. Release some of the kids.”
A brief silence followed as the other party didn’t answer.
[Gyeong-su.]
“Yeah?”
[I have a really good feeling about this one.]
* * *
Seung-hyun’s large eyes blinked blankly as he stared down the clean, empty hallway. The fatigue accumulated over the past two weeks had reached its limit. Seung-hyun closed his eyes and struggled to open them. His rounded back was filled with lethargy. He knew it wasn’t time to sleep yet, but his eyelids were too heavy. Unable to endure it, he rubbed his eyelids and pulled at his cheeks.
“…….”
After giving his tingling cheeks one last pat, a faint sigh escaped Seung-hyun as he fixed his gaze on the tips of his worn-out sneakers.
After receiving the unbelievable diagnosis of being an A-Class Guide, the world changed. No, it flipped upside down. A clean city. A safe place. He still couldn’t believe he was here.
The past two weeks had been the busiest and most chaotic time of Seung-hyun’s life. As someone from the 13th District, the procedure to enter Neo was more complex and difficult than he had expected. An aggressive screening to prepare for any potential risks took place over several days. He underwent general physical exams and re-exams, and was even disinfected under the pretext of preparing for unknown pathogens. The bag and a few items—the only things he could bring from the 13th District—had to undergo tedious, repetitive quarantine.
The immigration screening, which he wouldn’t have even dared to attempt, was possible solely because of his Trait. The immigration official who handed Seung-hyun his ID card upon granting entry had spoken in a tone of renewed surprise.
‘This is my first time seeing a Backsplash Class.’
Backsplash, the highest among A-Class, was Seung-hyun’s detailed grade. The official looked at Seung-hyun with curiosity and held out a stark white piece of paper.
‘Please sign here….’
Neo consisted of four major cities, and one city was roughly the size of several small nations from the Old World. The levels of economy and public safety were highest in Haon, followed by Erto, the Rokan Empire, and Sian. The place Seung-hyun had come to was Haon, the wealthiest and innermost city of Neo.
Seung-hyun followed the guidance of a man who introduced himself as a staff member dispatched from the Awakener Center. He spent half a day on a plane. He stayed overnight near the airport and boarded another plane. He had started moving since the crack of dawn, and before he knew it, the sun was high in the sky.
‘You must go to the Center first and register as a Guide belonging to Haon to use the general Center facilities. I will let you know where you’ll be staying after that.’
The place he entered was the ‘Haon Branch Awakener Center,’ and it had been ten minutes since he was told to wait for the attending physician and sat in the designated area. He had been sitting for only ten minutes, but sleep was crashing over him like crazy. It was because the tension had snapped the moment he realized this was the destination of his long journey.
Everything had been new to Seung-hyun, and he had experienced too much in two weeks. Today, he had even taken a plane. It was the first time in his life he realized he had a fear of heights, but he couldn’t get off. The fact that he had briefly lost consciousness during takeoff became his own little secret.
The urge to sleep was rampant. While barely chasing away the sleep demon by rubbing his face, the door finally opened. Sensing a presence, Seung-hyun’s head whipped around. A man wearing a stark white doctor’s coat was walking in. He was quite tall and had a clean overall image with his bangs swept back.
As soon as he saw Seung-hyun, he gave a bright, smiling look. His green eyes, contrasting with his light brown hair, seemed to melt into the smile. It seemed that people wearing those clothes used smiles as greetings. Setting aside his fatigue, Seung-hyun curved the corners of his mouth.
“Mr. Ji Seung-hyun?”
“Yes. Hello.”
As he shifted his hips to stand, the doctor waved his hand and walked over.
“Nice to meet you. I am Daniel Gray, your attending physician.”
“I am Ji Seung-hyun.”
The man passed behind Seung-hyun, walked around the table, and sat in a chair. He held a tablet in his hand. Likely, the information Neo had dug up on Seung-hyun was packed in there.
As soon as he settled in, Daniel stared intently at Seung-hyun’s face. It was a gaze that seemed to carve Seung-hyun’s features into his memory. He took in everything he could observe and scan meticulously. It was a gaze that forgot they were meeting for the first time.
“I am really, really glad to meet you, Mr. Ji Seung-hyun.”
His tone was thick with an emotion that Seung-hyun couldn’t understand. Seung-hyun simply scratched his head.
“You can think of me as the person who overall cares for your condition.”
The tone, which might have felt business-like at a glance, didn’t sound that cold, perhaps because his expression was so friendly. Seung-hyun nodded, feeling an unnecessary sense of relief.
The man, who had been scrolling through the screen, smiled as if something satisfied him. Seung-hyun glanced at the mouth that curved in a sly arc and then lowered his eyes.
“The matching rate with Jae-il is really….”
“……?”
Jae-il? Who is that? And what is a matching rate? When he looked at the man’s face with eyes that said he knew nothing, Daniel shrugged.
“Ah, you might not know.”
Ji Seung-hyun was from the 13th District.
“What is a matching rate?”
At Seung-hyun’s innocent question, Daniel met his eyes. He felt an intention to convey some meaning, but there was no way to know. He simply did what he could. When he faced the man’s gaze honestly without avoiding it, Daniel gave a deeper smile than before.
“We’ll start the education tomorrow, but the higher the matching rate, the better the guiding effect. So….”
Daniel’s gaze briefly shifted diagonally before coming back down as he chose the right words.
“Right, you can think of it as something like chemistry.”
“…….”
Not fully understanding because he didn’t know the meaning, Seung-hyun nodded mechanically. Ah. There’s such a thing. He accepted it only to that extent. It seemed like a very basic concept. Since he was told education starts tomorrow, he felt he should brace himself and learn.
“While we’re at it, do you want to meet Jae-il?”
“Pardon?”
“Matching rates are something you understand instantly once you experience it directly, rather than through numbers.”
Seung-hyun’s eyes widened as he asked. With a slightly frightened face, he looked restless.
“I, I…. Do I do guiding? I don’t know how to do it.”
Daniel showed a smile to reassure him.
“No. I’m not telling you to do it right now. I’m just saying you should say hello. Jae-il is at the Center right now. Looking at the numbers, it seems you’ll be meeting him the most, so why not.”
Ha Jae-il had refused guiding again today. Because he was reluctant to receive guiding unless absolutely necessary, Daniel, his attending physician, had just come back from scolding him.
But before Daniel’s eyes was the A-Class Guide he had been waiting and waiting for. He had a matching rate of 98% with Jae-il, and as someone from the 13th District, he was a pure ability user who hadn’t developed the desire for dominance or sense of authority that was a chronic nature of Guides. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a custom-made Guide for Ha Jae-il. Where had he been hiding to appear only now? Daniel was the only one anxious to let them meet immediately. This was because Seung-hyun looked bewildered, as if he had been given a monumental task.
“Do I really just say hello?”
“Of course.”
Daniel responded with a deep smile. He swallowed the words, ‘What could I possibly expect from someone who doesn’t even have a concept of matching rates.’