“…Young Esper. Wake up.”
“Mmm….”
Haeyoung frowned at the sound of someone waking him.
Who would be waking him up in a house where he lived alone?
The thought that someone might have broken in made his eyes snap open.
Because he opened them so suddenly, light flooded his vision all at once.
The sturdy eyes of an Esper didn’t feel pain from such a thing, but it still took time to recover his sight, just like a normal person.
After blinking several times, he saw a ceiling much higher than his own and fluorescent lights that were different from those at home.
“Ah….”
He quickly realized that the place where he opened his eyes was not his house.
“I told you not to sleep in the infirmary. If there’s an urgent matter, the Center will call you, so you don’t have to pull duty like this. Besides, Esper Kang Haeyoung, you can’t even use your abilities if no one else is around….”
The first person to arrive at work today was, unfortunately, his supervisor with the most nagging tendencies, Lee Yuna.
She was an A-class Healing Esper who had been assigned to take sole charge of Haeyoung after he escaped Field Team 1 exactly four months ago.
She was in charge of everything, starting from personal physical training to the use of his abilities.
Four months had passed since he joined the internal team and the year had changed, but Lee Yuna was still helping Haeyoung with his training.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have had to listen to such ear-splitting nagging, but of all people, Lee Yuna had to be the first one in….
“You’re not listening. You can’t even receive proper guiding, so shouldn’t you at least get proper rest?”
“…I slept well though….”
“Esper Kang Haeyoung.”
When Haeyoung muttered as if making an excuse, Lee Yuna called his name in a low, stern voice.
Haeyoung had no choice but to say he was sorry, but there was a clear reason why he was sleeping in the infirmary like this.
That was why he didn’t say he would go home and sleep well.
He had to sleep in the infirmary until that reason was resolved.
At the very least, he didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep before autumn arrived. Seeing Haeyoung like that, Lee Yuna let out a sigh.
“What are your levels?”
“39%. It’s not that high.”
“Not high? Are you kidding?”
Lee Yuna furrowed her brow and sighed.
Clicking her tongue, she turned on the guiding machine located in a corner of the infirmary.
If he was going to sleep in the infirmary, he should have at least turned on the guiding machine; why was he being so stubborn, huddling in a corner to sleep….
“Sit down. Hurry.”
Instead of saying it wasn’t necessary, Haeyoung quietly sat down on the guiding machine.
Other Espers rarely used the guiding machines because there were Center guides available, even if they weren’t part of a specific team or pair.
Therefore, the person who used the guiding machine the most in the internal team was Haeyoung.
There was a guiding machine that looked exactly like this one at Haeyoung’s house as well.
The Center had installed it for Haeyoung, who could not receive proper guiding from guides.
The reason Haeyoung couldn’t receive guiding was similar to why he had been ostracized when he was on the field team.
The only thing Haeyoung could copy was an Esper’s wavelength.
Like any other Esper, he could only feel guiding energy; he couldn’t copy it.
However, whether it was because of Choi Juhoon’s manipulation or something else, the majority of guides believed their abilities were being stolen.
As a result, they refused to have contact with Haeyoung, and he could only receive radiation guiding.
Even then, Haeyoung felt uncomfortable being in a room alone with someone who rejected him, so unless it was an emergency, he decided to lower his levels through medication or machines.
However, there was a condition.
If the level exceeded 50% or came close to it, he had to receive guiding through a guide.
Haeyoung was working hard to keep it under 50% to avoid the situation of being guided by a guide.
“At least tell me the reason. Why do you keep sleeping in the infirmary?”
“Mmm, I just dozed off and missed the timing to go home….”
“If you’re going to say something that doesn’t make sense, it’s better to keep your mouth shut. It’s the same excuse every time. You don’t even put in the effort to change it up….”
Under Lee Yuna’s fierce gaze, Haeyoung closed his eyes and surrendered his body to the guiding machine.
He couldn’t exactly say it was because ‘Shim Yeonwoo,’ who was caught in a monster attack, would soon awaken as a guide and be transported to the Center.
And that time happened to be in the early morning.
If asked how he knew this, Haeyoung’s only answer would be that he read it in a novel.
If he said that, it would be a direct ending in a psychiatric ward…. Although they probably wouldn’t lock an S-class Esper in a psychiatric ward now that he had become useful, one could never be sure.
Thus, there was no answer he could give to Lee Yuna’s question.
Beep, beep.
The notification sounded that the guiding was finished, and Haeyoung was able to step away from the machine.
“Go wash up. It’s not time to start work yet.”
“Yes. I’ll be back.”
Watching his supervisor, who had come to work even before it was time, he swallowed a sigh and headed to the shower room inside the infirmary.
Shortly after, his phone notification rang.
He had set the alarm for a time when he could wake up and wash before other team members arrived.
Letting out a groan, Haeyoung turned off the alarm and quickly washed and came out of the shower.
When he came out, Kwon Yuri, an infirmary colleague and friend of the same age, had also arrived at work.
Although it was called the internal team, they worked in different areas, so he rarely saw anyone except for the two healing Espers he met in the infirmary.
Calling it an infirmary was an understatement; an entire three-story building was the infirmary.
It was practically a hospital.
The three floors consisted of hospital rooms, treatment rooms, and even operating rooms.
The reason it wasn’t called a hospital was to distinguish it from the general hospital in the Center.
Only those with supernatural abilities could receive treatment at the infirmary where healing Espers were stationed.
The general hospital was one of the welfare benefits for the regular employees belonging to the Center.
“Okay, it’s my turn today. Here’s my hand.”
Kwon Yuri, who had been leaning back in his chair after arriving, reached out his hand toward Haeyoung. Haeyoung quickly grabbed the hand extended to him.
Yuri was a fledgling who had awakened as a B-class healing Esper only six months ago.
Being the same age as Haeyoung, they became friends quickly.
The two healing Espers in the internal team, especially within the infirmary, didn’t say it out loud, but they welcomed Haeyoung’s presence immensely.
After all, healing Espers were called here and there and had to go on business trips without hesitation, so there was no way they wouldn’t welcome even one more person.
Since Haeyoung had to be with someone to copy their ability, he couldn’t go on business trips, but he was still welcomed.
Originally, it would have been great if Kang Haeyoung had joined the internal team from the start, but since the story wouldn’t progress that way, it couldn’t be helped.
Haeyoung held Kwon Yuri’s hand, copied his ability, and stored it.
As he repeated the training, the time and amount he could store gradually increased.
Now, he could store about 8 hours’ worth.
Ding-dong—
A call chime rang, and information about the hospital room number and the patient appeared on a screen on one side of the infirmary.
Today, a guide patient who needed healing due to intense guiding had pressed the bell.
Lee Yuna, shaking her head, got up and headed to the room where the bell rang.
And so, Haeyoung’s infirmary routine began once again.
