Chapter 10 : Swapped

Lunchtime arrived after the end of the fourth period.

Jihan and Sekyeom, having finished their meals quickly, strolled across the school grounds, each holding an ice cream.

On the field, some kids who had already finished eating were starting soccer, while others began playing basketball.

It was the usual peaceful scene of a high school, no different from any other day.

“What flavor do you even taste in that?”

Jihan, eating a pear-flavored tube ice pop, frowned at the white ice cream bar Sekyeom was holding.

Sekyeom took a large bite of the white bar, which had red bean filling inside, and shrugged.

“This is the least sweet among ice creams.”

“…Ice cream is supposed to be eaten because it’s sweet, you know?”

Sekyeom smiled faintly at Jihan, who was glaring as if he didn’t understand.

Despite avoiding sweet foods himself, Sekyeom always bought an ice cream whenever Jihan did.

Shaking his head as if he couldn’t figure Sekyeom out, Jihan quickly changed the subject.

“Did you watch the news yesterday?”

“What news?”

“The interview with Esper Park Juhwan.”

“You talking about that Esper again?”

Sekyeom turned his gaze away with a look of distaste.

Despite Sekyeom’s blatant reaction showing his disapproval of the topic, Jihan’s eyes sparkled as he eagerly described the interview he had seen yesterday.

“Esper Park Juhwan dealt with the monster that appeared in Garak-dong yesterday, right?”

“Like this, like this!”

“He just flicked his fingers, and this huge fire appeared…!”

Jihan enthusiastically described and imitated Esper Park Juhwan from the news, flicking his fingers.

Of course, no flames appeared following his gesture, but his face was radiant with excitement, seemingly thrilled just talking about it.

Sekyeom glanced down at him, then turned his gaze away with a sullen expression.

Even during the short lunchtime, a few students were already running back and forth across the school field, determined to play ball.

Sekyeom stared blankly at the familiar school grounds scenery and asked casually.

“Do you like that Esper that much?”

“Yeah, totally!”

“He’s so cool!”

“If it was Garak-dong, my uncle probably went too…”

“Probably.”

“Your uncle is close to Esper Park Juhwan, right?”

“They’re in the same guild too.”

“I mean, doesn’t my uncle seem cool to you?”

“Ah…”

“Why ask something like that?”

“Of course, he’s cool.”

Jihan quickly gave a thumbs-up towards Sekyeom, who was asking about his uncle.

However, his eyes didn’t sparkle, nor did he show the same excitement as when talking about Esper Park Juhwan.

As Sekyeom’s gaze turned slightly knowing, Jihan felt awkward, lowered his hand, and scratched his cheek.

“Well, it’s hard for Guides to be in the spotlight, you know.”

“And Espers are stronger, so they seem cooler too.”

“…Espers are stronger?”

“Generally speaking, yes.”

“No matter how strong they are, without guiding, they’re living on borrowed time.”

“Considering that, isn’t the Guide cooler and stronger?”

Jihan looked up quietly at Sekyeom, who finished speaking with a cynical tone.

He figured Sekyeom was reacting sensitively because his uncle was a Guide.

Unsure what to say to him, Jihan awkwardly just sucked on his tube ice pop.

Guides and Espers.

They were beings who appeared alongside the monsters that suddenly invaded this world one day.

Humanity could have faced extinction due to these strange monsters impervious to Earth’s weapons.

This was a bizarre phenomenon occurring globally, simultaneously, irrespective of time or place.

It began with black lines that looked like cracks.

From these lines, which appeared as if someone had drawn them in mid-air with a pen, ominous black smoke seeped out.

Then, shortly after, the inside split open, revealing a space from which various monsters emerged.

It was a Gate opening.

The world plunged into chaos due to this sudden event.

But as they say, heroes emerge in times of chaos, right?

Following the appearance of monsters that destroyed cities and threatened survival, beings called Espers also emerged.

They used their powers, without fully understanding why, to protect people.

And then they rampaged, unable to handle their own strength.

Some said side effects occurred because it was too much power for humans to possess.

The existence necessary to resolve these side effects was the Guide.

A Guide’s ability was to calm down Espers whose energy ran wild the more they used their powers, and to unravel the tangled energy before it

could rampage.

Because of this, Espers and Guides became an inseparable pair, like spoons and chopsticks, ramen and kimchi, chicken and pickled radish.

So, Espers were needed to close the Gates, and Guides were needed to calm those Espers.

These three things always went together, like a bundled snack set sold at the supermarket.

For that reason, Espers and Guides were treated better than any other profession, becoming jobs where one could grasp both money and

fame.

Instead, they were equally dangerous.

And slightly… embarrassing.

The quality and quantity of guiding were usually determined by matching rates or ranks, but the method was generally similar.

Skinship.

Guiding typically occurred through skinship between the Guide and the Esper.

Therefore, female Guides were generally preferred, while male Guides were unpopular.

Sekyeom’s uncle, Shin Jinho, was the leading figure among male Guides who fought for the advancement of Guide rights.

Before his activities, blatant sexual harassment and dismissive attitudes towards Guides were rampant, but these significantly diminished

starting from the period he became active.

In that sense, Shin Jinho was a remarkable person.

He was the leader of the top-ranked guild in the country and a figure respected by Guides.

However, Jihan was more interested in Espers than Guides.

The reason was simple.

“Still, Espers are more fun to watch.”

“Their abilities are flashy too.”

“If you’re talking about visual appeal, just watch a movie.”

“Movie special effects are pretty good these days.”

“…Do you have some grudge against Espers?”

“Why do you dislike them so much?”

Jihan, who had been squeezing his tube ice pop with his hands to melt it, tilted his chin up curiously.

Sekyeom lowered his head, meeting Jihan’s gaze briefly, then tossed the remaining bit of his ice cream bar into his mouth, chewed noisily,

and answered indifferently.

“It’s not about liking or disliking.”

“They’re people we should be grateful to for getting rid of monsters.”

“I’m just saying I think Guides are cooler than Espers.”

“Hmm.”

“And because you keep saying you like an Esper who’s practically an old man…”

Sekyeom trailed off, suddenly lowering his voice.

Jihan, focused on the frozen, hard-to-eat ice pop, didn’t catch it and leaned closer, asking, “What was that?”

But Sekyeom shook his head and changed the subject.

“It works out then.”

“If we ever awaken abilities, you can be the Esper, and I’ll be the Guide.”

“An Esper?”

“Could I really become an Esper?”

Jihan’s eyes widened in surprise.

His expression, as if he’d never considered such a thing, held a subtle hint of excitement.

Seeing this, Sekyeom also curved his lips into a pleased smile.

“Anyone has the potential, right?”

“Wow, then I’ll talk to your uncle and join the Taepyeong Guild!”

“Then I could meet Esper Park Juhwan there too.”

“Right?”

“Why derail the conversation like that?”

Sekyeom frowned deeply and, with a fierce gesture, pulled the wooden stick from his mouth and threw it towards the trash can.

However, Jihan simply laughed it off, thinking it was just playful banter about something unlikely to happen.

It was a conversation they had exactly one year before Sekyeom would awaken as an Esper, completely unaware of what was to come.

The hospital room, decorated much like a hotel suite, was luxurious.

Beside the bed, a large picture window offered a panoramic view of the outside.

Not only was it furnished with a TV, table, and a sofa made of soft fabric, but next to it was even a conference room with a long table.

It was a special space reserved only for VIPs.

Unfortunately, however, the atmosphere within was as chilly as the air before a battle.

“So, what you guys are saying is, when you came to your senses, your bodies were switched?”

“That’s what I said.”

“How many times do I have to ask?”

A man with an average appearance, clad in loose patient garb over a thin frame, picked his ear with his little finger and sneered mockingly.

His smirk contrasted sharply with his neat face and gentle features.

“…Stop talking nonsense!”

“Who would believe such a thing!”

The middle-aged man confronting him slammed his hand hard on the sofa’s armrest and shot up from his seat.

Unable to contain his anger at the thought of being mocked, his face flushed red.

At this angry outburst, the handsome man with a large, sturdy physique that made the patient gown look small flinched and shrank back into

the sofa.

Although his narrowed brow suggested he wasn’t meek, his reaction seemed somehow naive.

“What are you going to do if you don’t believe it?”

“It already happened right before your eyes.”

“Do you think we have time to waste messing around with you, Uncle?”