← The Resurrected Guide Wants to Live Quietly
She wasn’t wrong. He couldn’t guarantee there’d be no side effects. Unlike the days when he’d thought dying didn’t matter, the current Yi-yeon was full of the will to live, so he decided not to insist.
The center he was assigned to — perhaps Min-young had been considerate — was a little removed from the downtown bustle, not too crowded. It wasn’t far from the dormitory, there were plenty of parks, and it seemed good for passing time quietly. Yi-yeon especially liked that the library was close.
And above all, they’d said it had no connection to Yu-geon’s guild, Seonyeon. …Hearing there’d be no chance of running into him stung a little, but this was probably right. No need to run into him and cause confusion for nothing.
Taking a deep breath, Yi-yeon carefully stepped inside the center.
"S-class esper Seon Yi-yeon," who’d gone around with his burn-crushed face hidden behind a mask, had stood out wherever he went, and few didn’t know him, what with his past and his exploits making him newsworthy in so many ways — so he’d naturally drawn attention.
In contrast, now he was a civilian with no title or anything, so he’d expected no one to pay him any attention — but to his surprise, the moment he stepped into the center, eyes locked onto him. Very passionately.
The direction of that attention was just somewhat different from when he’d been "Yi-yeon."
"Who’s that beauty?"
"Wow… freaking gorgeous."
"Is he a celebrity? An actor? Why don’t I know that face?"
"No, why would a celebrity come to a guiding center?"
"Filming something? Like a variety show?"
"No, probably not. A real celebrity would have a manager with them."
"Then what is that face…"
It was clearly about him, but the content was rather out of left field. Incomprehensible remarks erupted from all directions at once, making his head spin.
As Yi-yeon wondered whether he should leave for now, and if so where to go, a man approached him — tall and lean with a dry build, and a friendly impression overall.
"Ah! You must be Guide Lee Ha-neul? Welcome!"
"Yes. Hello."
"I’m Kim Ju-ho. I’m a guide too. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Ha-neul. I look forward to working with you."
A very nervous Yi-yeon bowed his head. In his ears, Jo Min-young’s voice from when he’d left the lab echoed like a refrain.
"Yi-yeon! Now that you don’t have burns on your face and won’t be walking around with murder in your eyes for revenge, people are going to love you. Be confident, don’t shrink back for no reason, make friends, get along with your colleagues! Got it?"
For a fellow outsider no less awkward herself, she sure could nag.
But now that he was living a new life, Yi-yeon did want to get along with others. *I’ll get along with my colleagues.* He steeled his resolve quietly.
"Let me show you around the center. It’s not very big, but good to know your way around."
"Yes, thank you."
"I hear you’re twenty now, Mr. Haneul? A-class is impressive. The highest-ranked guide at our center was B-class — thanks to you, we’re now a center with an A-class guide."
"…"
Making his resolve seem pointless, Yi-yeon’s face reflexively stiffened the moment he heard "twenty years old."
It was true. On paper, "Lee Ha-neul" was twenty this year. Considering Yi-yeon had been thirty when he died, that was a full ten years younger. Counting the roughly six years since his death, he was lying about sixteen years.
"Hey, Seon Yi-yeon. Look in the mirror right now! The age that fits that face is exactly twenty. Half the people who see you carrying it around will suspect you’re a minor. Your real age is absolutely out! What would people say!"
The moment he saw the new-identity papers he’d protested to Min-young that it was absurd, but she hadn’t listened at all.
Whether rebuilding his body had made him young, healing even his old wounds, or whether this had been his face all along, he didn’t know — but even to his own eyes he looked quite young now, so he couldn’t object too strongly.
That didn’t make the shame go away, though. Being treated as twenty when he was past thirty. He was younger than the current Han Yu-geon, wasn’t he?
"Don’t be so nervous."
"Yes, thank you."
Still, there were good points to being young on paper.
Namely, that when Yi-yeon — whose social skills had atrophied from years of outsider living — acted clumsy, people understood it as "well, he’s young."
Had this been Min-young’s scheme too? She seemed to live thoughtlessly, going with the flow, but she was an elite for a reason, and often moved with schemes others overlooked.
In any case, Yi-yeon and Kim Ju-ho then toured the cafeteria, supply room, break room, meeting rooms, and so on — chatting lightly and going over the work guide.
The last place they arrived was familiar yet unfamiliar to Yi-yeon, who’d been an esper. A special room usually installed in the most secluded spot on the first floor of every guiding center.
The moment they arrived, Kim Ju-ho’s manner changed.
"These are the private rooms for emergency guiding. When you want to use one, just request a key card. You can use them from thirty minutes up to two hours."
Wearing a suggestive smile, he seemed to expect a reaction from Yi-yeon.
Wondering why, Yi-yeon realized faint moans were leaking out — from two of the three rooms, no less.
One of the two rooms’ doors was visibly rattling.
It was so blatant that even the most naive adult would know what was happening inside.
Yi-yeon’s expression hardened.
"Um, was there an emergency today?"
"…Huh? Emergency?"
"It looks like most of the rooms are in use."
"Huh?"
Kim Ju-ho, blinking at Yi-yeon as if to say what on earth he was talking about, suddenly burst out laughing.
"Haha. No. They’re called ’emergency’ rooms, but people use them normally too. Efficient guiding needs more intimate contact, after all. If you meet a nice esper, give them a try, Mr. Haneul."
"Why that face? Are you put off by mucous-membrane guiding? Espers mostly have great bodies, and better stamina and vigor than ordinary people. Since you were born a guide, you should enjoy what you can. It’s something both sides do because they want to. Consider it with an open mind. Try it once and you’ll be hooked, Mr. Haneul."
"…Thanks for the advice."
*They do level-two mucous-membrane guiding even when it’s not an emergency?*
Yi-yeon found it hard to understand, but there was no rule against it, exactly.
Thinking back, quite a few espers had used the private rooms. The centers he’d mainly used in his previous life probably just had better soundproofing, or were tucked somewhere secluded enough not to cross his path often. He’d usually used places two or three times bigger than this center.
"Lastly, at the end of this hallway is the room you’ll use, Mr. Haneul. Our center mostly runs on regulars, so it’ll probably be quiet for a few months. But don’t worry too much. You’re pretty, so you’ll have plenty of regulars in no time."
"Is that so. I’ll keep it in mind."
"I’ll head back now. Message me if you don’t know something."
"Yes. Thank you for the kind tour."
He’d felt it since Ju-ho suggested trying the private rooms: Kim Ju-ho smiled with a friendly manner, but his eyes were another story.
The looks that swept him up and down now and then were blatant. Mocking "young and naive" Lee Ha-neul on paper, or wary of him — either way, it was a strange feeling for Yi-yeon.
In his previous life, there’d been people who frowned at his looks as disgusting, but none who saw him as a rival and were wary. For his looks, at least — his skills were another matter.
But it wasn’t worth thinking deeply about; it was only a three-month connection anyway. And with few clients likely to seek a new guide, he could just stay quietly and leave.
Entering the room with the "Guide Lee Ha-neul" nameplate, Yi-yeon sank deep into the chair and, as Kim Ju-ho had explained during the tour, turned on the computer first.
*…Can I do this well?*
Even though he’d leave this center soon, he’d have to keep guiding after leaving. He was a guide now, after all.
He’d at least gotten some simple coaching from the espers at the lab in his spare time. But researchers and field espers were probably different. They’d use their powers far more, and be more aggressive.
He regretted not watching more closely, back when he was an esper receiving guiding, how the guides did it. He’d just taken what he needed, simply, and it hadn’t moved him much —so he had no idea what "good guiding" was.
But if he was going to do this, Yi-yeon wanted to do his full share properly. Especially since he knew how hard espers had it.
With no work coming anyway, maybe he’d run a mental simulation. Recalling his guiding practice at the lab, he logged into the work messenger.
[Guide Lee Ha-neul, currently 2 people waiting.]
[A visiting esper is currently on the way to the guiding room.]
And yet, somehow — the moment he set his status to available, people were waiting.
"Lee Ha-neul" was this center’s only A-class, but his rank wasn’t supposed to be disclosed until he’d adjusted to the work.
The veteran guides were all in — why would anyone specifically request a rookie who’d just arrived today? Or had the system glitched?
While Yi-yeon stammered at the unexpected situation, a knock came at the door — the client must have come up.
Faced with the client, Yi-yeon grew unexpectedly calm. To survive, the calmer in a crisis —an old occupational habit kicking in.
"Come in."
At his words, two people entered the guiding room.
A huge man wrapped head to toe in black, a cap pulled low; and a woman in a flashy suit that would stand out anywhere.
Their clothes and their auras were complete opposites. So were their feelings toward Yi-yeon. The woman smiled and bowed lightly; the man, for some reason, had a cold look in his eyes.
"There are two of you? As a rule I can only guide one person at a time."
"He just tagged along. I’m the only one getting guiding."
"I see. Then please have a seat here. And your companion will—"
By the rules, anyone but the guiding recipient should leave the room. Even the most basic hand-contact guiding was still close physical contact — some people felt embarrassed, and for the guide’s safety, alone was better.
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