Episode 7
“So, the match rate is a complex numerical representation of things like the efficiency when a Guide transfers power to an Esper.”
Regardless of Yeongwon’s internal anguish, the TMT’s lesson continued.
“The term ‘match rate’ itself is familiar, right?”
“Yes.”
“Usually, if it exceeds 50%, the Esper and Guide feel a sense of mental euphoria—to put it more sensationally, pleasure. The Esper tends to sense it much more sensitively.”
Professor Yoon winked with a playful expression behind her glasses.
“When Espers approach 70%… Oh my, this is really good, but I can’t say what, and this isn’t R-rated, so I can’t let it get censored, hehe. They feel that kind of euphoria.”
Yeongwon nodded.
“Conversely, Guides are said to be enveloped in that feeling only when they exceed 75%.”
This was information she could find through an internet search.
“But the problem is, when the match rate starts to drop below 50%, both sides feel intense pain. And when quantified, it’s much stronger than pleasure.”
When Yeongwon first learned this information online, she finally felt like the pieces of the puzzle were coming together.
The reason why Kim Yeohyeon was treated as a national hero, yet everyone refused to guide him.
Also, the reason he ended up going berserk in the middle of Myeongdong after his vessel was completely emptied.
The main body of the iceberg, hidden beneath the surface, slowly revealed itself.
“That’s why Guiding is prohibited by law when the match rate is below 35%. Because the pain transmitted is practically torture, especially for the Esper.”
“…”
“And conversely, if the match rate is too good, there’s a risk of addiction and dependence, so the Center tends to frown upon pairings with a match rate exceeding 70%.”
“So, higher isn’t always good.”
“Yes. But you don’t have to worry.”
“Why not?”
Professor Yoon smiled gently as she answered.
“Because such cases are extremely rare. 98% of people don’t have a single partner with a match rate over 75%.”
“…”
“Over 80%? We’ve only recorded a total of 35 cases across the entire planet so far. Over 90% have zero cases. However, some Espers have multiple matches below 10%.”
There was no need to elaborate on which Esper that was: Kim Yeohyeon.
“We guess that reaching close to 90% might grant a level of serenity comparable to meeting God, but that’s all it is—a guess. It probably can’t exist in reality.”
Perfect stability, the ultimate peace rooted in paradise. It’s something on a different dimension from sexual pleasure.
“Anyway, even cases with a match rate over 80% are few and far between. Especially for S-ranks, there’s only one case. Who met a very unfortunate end.”
“…”
“The famously known ‘Hell Summer.'”
It was an incident from which Europe was still suffering severe after-effects.
“Of course, there’s not much to worry about, as the vast majority of match rates are clustered between 45% and 55%. Neither incredibly good nor incredibly bad. However, in the case of S-ranks or Non-Selectives…”
Professor Yoon looked intently at the Non-Selective Guide in front of her.
“…There are often exceptional outliers. Either the match rate with the vast majority is incredibly high, or conversely, incredibly low, and so on.”
Yeongwon pondered the information the professor had confirmed. But the details she had explained so far weren’t particularly special, as she could find them through internet searches.
So, to ask for the high-level information that searches couldn’t answer, she broached the subject first.
“But Professor, what is ‘Reverse-Guiding’?”
“Reverse-Guiding is…”
Professor Yoon paused for a moment.
“Normally, Guiding is done willingly by the Guide… But if the Esper’s power is overwhelming, the Esper side might have to take control to pull the power out. That’s called ‘Reverse-Guiding.'”
“…”
“Think about it. How scary would it be if your body moved against your will while your mind was perfectly conscious? Imagine everyday actions like washing your face at the sink or drinking water from a dispenser happening against your intention.”
“…”
“If an Esper’s control is poor, Reverse-Guiding can kill the Guide. When all the power is exhausted, both the Esper and the Guide can die. Guides only have a terrifyingly fast natural rate of vessel replenishment compared to Espers, and they just don’t go berserk from having an empty vessel at the end.”
“…”
“Like a match rate below 35%, Reverse-Guiding is also prohibited by law. Therefore, except in a few special situations defined by law, performing Reverse-Guiding results in criminal punishment. Because it’s a crime.”
And the puzzle pieces all clicked into place.
Why, despite being an S-rank Esper, was Kim Yeohyeon rejected by the Guides? His scarred appearance didn’t seem to be the main reason.
Kim Yeohyeon performed ‘what should be forbidden’ Reverse-Guiding with the state’s permission.
“…”
Yeongwon was lost in thought for a moment before asking:
“Would Reverse-Guiding also… cause the Esper pain if the match rate is low?”
“According to past research papers, the lower the match rate… the more extreme the pain the Esper feels compared to regular Guiding. Very, very much so.”
“…”
“It’s a pain whose reality no one truly wants to understand, so it hasn’t been deeply researched.”
“…”
“So, it feels paradoxical, doesn’t it? In cases of low match rate, the one feeling the truly agonizing pain from Reverse-Guiding would be the Esper, the one who is criticized for the act.”
A brief silence followed, then the topic of conversation changed.
Kim Yeohyeon.
Awakened around the age of ten, or even earlier.
According to the World Tree’s announcement, he had the highest potential in the Republic of Korea field when S-rank Espers were Selected.
Domestic S-rank ranking 3rd, World ranking 9th.
But a balance breaker whose ranking would be meaningless the moment his potential bloomed.
A ‘Physical System’ Esper, one of the two classifications (‘Illusion System’ or ‘Physical System’), which is much rarer and more powerful.
However.
Even though he’s a national hero, he’s a devil to the Guide, who has to be exclusively assigned to him.
Yeongwon closed her eyes and thought about Kim Yeohyeon for a long time.
It felt stifling.
“Let’s be clear.”
Yeongwon spoke to the unresponsive something.
This kind of talking to herself was a habit left over from the memories of the past, Shim Yeongwon, who communicated with the unseen.
“The problems in this neighborhood are none of my business.”
She didn’t want to get dragged into Kim Yeohyeon’s misfortune. But she needed Kim Yeohyeon to get out of the Center, which was desperate to exploit the Non-Selective Guide.
‘The past situation keeps coming back to me.’
It felt like an insect crawling up her arm. Just like that, something indefinable was very unpleasant and bothersome.
“I have no intention of joining your mission.”
Even as she said that, she admitted she couldn’t completely ignore it.
Before falling asleep, Yeongwon stood by the window with the blinds open for a long time. It was a position where the Annex building was clearly visible.
In that state, she traced the back of her neck, which was clean without a single scar. It felt even emptier since she had cut her hair short on the second day of arriving at the Center.
“…I’ll bear the pain with you.”
No matter what the match rate comes out to be, sharing Kim Yeohyeon’s pain is nothing to her.
“It’s just because I don’t want to freeload in a 200pyeong place. It’s not because of some grand cause.”
The iceberg-like gray building looked particularly dark.
Tomorrow, just tomorrow, Kim Yeohyeon would be coming to that building across the way.
The long-awaited return day.
Yeongwon checked her meticulously planned schedule and left the dormitory.
Her first appointment was a meeting with Yoryeon around 7:15 AM. At a time when she normally couldn’t even get out of bed, her determination to definitely enjoy the sweet life in the penthouse dragged Yeongwon out of bed.
“Yeongwon! Over here!”
Yoryeon waved her arm vigorously in front of the Annex side door. Yeongwon vaguely waved back and ambled toward her. Yoryeon smiled even brighter.
“Seriously, our Deputy Director has been in such a good mood these past few days that he allowed an outsider to enter the Annex. We have to finish before 9 AM, before the Matching Lab researchers come to work.”
“Uh-huh…”
“Oh, Yeongwon. Here, here’s the caffeine.”
“Thank…”
“I should be the one thanking you!”
Pat, pat. Yoryeon lightly patted Yeongwon’s thick, padded jacket. While doing so, she handed Yeongwon a coffee.
It was clearly hand-dripped coffee, bought outside the Headquarters early in the morning. Yeongwon took two sips of the warm coffee with a slightly complex feeling.
‘I guess… there’s no need to mention that I had another intention, right…’
Yoryeon requested security clearance for one accompanying person along with herself from the Center’s managing AI.
Yeongwon followed closely behind and entered the Annex.
Since the first day, Yeongwon and Yoryeon, who lived on the same floor of the dormitory, had quickly become close. After learning they were only two years apart, they naturally started speaking informally.
They ate dinner together every other day, and a few days ago, they even had a second round of beer. It was then that Yoryeon, slightly tipsy, revealed a secret: she was developing a match rate testing machine on her own.
‘At first, I was obviously planning to refuse the request to participate in the machine test as a Non-Selective Guide.’
But then, a thought suddenly struck her: the Matching Lab where that test machine was stored would be in the Annex.
Annex.
The 93-story underground building with the tightest security in the Headquarters.
Most importantly, Esper Kim Yeohyeon’s workplace.
So, she subtly probed. Did she ever run into Esper Kim Yeohyeon directly in the Annex?
“Over there.”
Arriving at the 4th basement floor, Yoryeon pointed through a glass wall.
“There?”
“Uh-huh. That’s the designated parking area for Esper Kim Yeohyeon that I told you about. All 16 parking spots in that block.”
“Ah, you did say that.”
Yeongwon concealed her dark motive and imprinted the location in her mind.
“His office is around the 60th basement floor? So you hardly ever run into him during work, but very rarely you’ll see him getting in or out if he drives himself.”
Yeongwon decided not to focus on the stretched-out ‘very rarely’. For some unknown reason, Yoryeon had revealed one more secret while tipsy:
‘Esper Kim Yeohyeon will definitely park his car in that parking lot on his first day back to work.’
After saying that, Yoryeon succumbed to the alcohol and collapsed.
Beep. Beep.
Flash.
The Matching Lab lit up.
Yoryeon briefly left Yeongwon by the door and quickly moved back and forth across the lab, setting up the machine.
Watching Yoryeon, who was so enthusiastic about work not even required by the state, Yeongwon felt a slight pang of self-reproach.
‘She’s really… serious about Non-Selective research…’
‘What is it? That coolness in her greasy hair and sparkling eyes?’
‘The world definitely needs honest people like her.’
‘But not me.’
‘I hate it.’
‘Refuse.’
Yeongwon was struggling just to fight off the drowsiness that even caffeine couldn’t shake.
“Yeongwon, sit there.”
Plop.
“Put your arm in.”
“Here?”
“Uh-huh.”
Yeongwon scanned the meaningless gauges attached to the large machine.
“It will take a few days for the results to come out.”
Zzzing. Beep. Beep.
The machine began to work.
Whoosh.
The machine, which had squeezed her arm like a blood pressure cuff, gradually loosened.
“As I said, it’s not the final product yet, and it’s still under testing, so it will only calculate the match rate with the 10 Espers whose data I’ve input.”
She felt more relieved knowing that only 10 Espers were included for match rate comparison.
With only 10 people, that data probably wouldn’t be statistically significant.
Various other tests continued until 8:30 AM. As the official starting time for work approached, Yeongwon became slightly impatient.
“So, that’s it?”
“Yeah! But I need to organize these program functions a bit…”
“No need to walk me out. I’m not a kid.”
Yeongwon pretended to graciously refuse to be escorted.
“I’ll just take the elevator. It’s only a few floors up since we’re on the 4th basement, you know.”
Yeongwon didn’t think she was lying.
She would eventually go to the 1st floor above ground. Just a slight delay in timing.
Tap. Tap.
Finally, Yeongwon went to the spacious 4th basement parking lot alone.
There are many ways to meet a VVIP without a prior appointment.
Yeongwon decided to choose the most classic method, which boasted a long history and tradition.
Just waiting.
In professional jargon, Stakeout.
Usually, the simplest answer is the correct one.
And truly.
Vroom. Rumble. Whirr.
She didn’t have to wait long before she heard the sound of a car entering the 4th basement parking lot.
Wooong.
The engine noise of the incredibly expensive car, driven by Kim Yeohyeon, grew louder and louder.
