Returning to the world after so long, I didn’t hesitate—I shot straight toward the source of Mana I sensed. And there, I found a precious intruder, seconds away from death under an ogre’s attack.
I dropped the dumb ogre in one strike and, after rescuing the intruder, managed to communicate just enough to get outside.
'…Ten years.'
It had taken ten years just to get out again.
It was a miracle I didn’t go insane enduring that stretch of time.
'…If ten years have passed, the beginning of the webtoon should be underway by now, right?'
The time when Shin Biho starts to show his qualities as a protagonist and grows—
The time when he gets swept up in one incident after another.
'…Of course, I need to verify the details.'
I hurried my steps.
For ten years I’d kept thinking about what I would do first once I got out, how I would live.
Now I could finally put that into practice.
First of all, I was going to look for Kim Wooju.
'Kim Wooju. Wait for me.'
I’ll come see you again soon.
Holding down the swell in my chest, I strode forward with purpose.
***
'Damn it…'
With the vow to meet Kim Wooju again, I searched day and night, moving relentlessly to find him—but in the end, it didn’t pan out.
I’d been too hasty and too ignorant about this world.
I realized that only after I barely managed to get a foothold in this webtoon world.
"Welcome."
"Yeah. Guide, I’ll be in your care again today."
"Of course. Please sit here and close your eyes, relax."
I greeted the visiting Esper kindly.
From behind the overgrown bangs that hid my view, I began guiding with eyes that, for all my polite tone, held no real feeling.
The hidden function of my energy that I learned through Kim Wooju—
Guiding.
I didn’t even do guiding, not exactly.
If I just let my energy unfurl, it guided on its own. Convenient.
While I worked, a self-mocking smile tugged at my lips.
Even now, my head was full of nothing but Kim Wooju.
'…It was a mistake for an extra like me to think I could meet him easily.'
In the ten years since, he’d become a celebrity even faster than in the original.
I had worried a lot about how he’d live after I left, but thankfully, after we were separated like that, it seemed he caught the original current and succeeded in awakening.
Just like in the webtoon, after awakening he founded a villain group called Box Code, became its leader, and is now very active.
Originally, driven by revenge against the government, he attacked government Centers and interfered with the Espers and Guides there so they couldn’t complete their missions. But now it had shifted—he was taking the initiative to destroy Dungeons instead.
'…Why the change? Is it the butterfly effect from me killing Kang Cheon, the target of his revenge?'
Because of that, where he’d once been nothing but an object of fear in the webtoon, he now stood as another force opposed to the government.
A lot of future Espers had started saying they wanted to join Box Code.
I entered the Center to obtain proper information and an identity.
Before I got in, I went through a lot of trial and error.
Thinking I had to meet Kim Wooju no matter what, I chased my memories of the original and combed through places he might go; I moved according to the gossip about Box Code and the news I found on a phone I lifted in a crowd.
But, damn it, meeting Kim Wooju was no easy task.
He had climbed too high for me to reach.
'…This is as far as I go.'
In the end, I decided to give up on meeting him.
Whatever the case, he had grown well along the original path, and though the direction was a little different, he was consistently active.
Every time he moved, the news erupted, so even from afar I could keep up with what was happening.
So I chose to be content with that.
Wanting to meet him in person just to talk again—maybe that was only my selfishness.
'…Maybe not meeting is what’s best for him.'
In the end, it had been my decision to leave him—who begged me not to go, to stay with him—and head into the forest.
I still couldn’t forget the look in his eyes then.
If he had chosen to make me the object of his resentment, and that’s why he was destroying Dungeons instead of attacking the government…?
'…Sounds plausible.'
I smiled bitterly at myself.
Ten years without coming back—he’d be justified in resenting me.
He hated being abandoned more than anything.
All the more because of the pain of being abandoned in his childhood… That’s why, the very first thing I did upon returning to the human world was to look for him.
I wanted to meet him properly one more time and clear up the misunderstanding.
To say I didn’t abandon you… that it was something I never even imagined would happen. Even if it sounded like an excuse, I wanted the chance. But the world doesn’t hand you chances to explain.
If it’s resentment, that’s almost a mercy.
He might have simply forgotten me altogether.
Ten years is a very long time for a human.
'…Bitter.'
I couldn’t help the sting in my chest whenever I thought of Kim Wooju.
It seemed I’d grown far too attached while traveling with him.
The way that beautiful face kept surfacing unbidden in my mind said as much.
During those ten years trapped, the thing that kept me from going mad—the thing that kept me going—was Kim Wooju.
In the end, we never met again… but who knows… maybe someday, if the chance comes, I’ll at least see him from afar….
"Uh, c-could you stop… it’s too strong."
"Ah, I’m sorry. Let’s finish here, then. How do you feel?"
I must have sunk too deep into my thoughts; the guiding had gotten too intense.
I dialed back my energy, and the Esper’s face noticeably eased.
I hadn’t spent those ten years idly, either.
I honed my dragon abilities, and now I could regulate my aura without putting up a shield.
"…I feel refreshed now. Thank you so much."
"Sure. See you next time."
After a perfunctory exchange, the Esper left.
That was the last appointment for the day.
Finally, time to go home.
I stretched my tired body and stood up.
A small mirror on the desk caught my eye; I picked it up.
I’d chopped my long hair because it was a hassle, then hid my eyes with my bangs because my face drew too much attention—staring back from the mirror was a gloomy-looking man with shaggy hair.
C-rank Guide, Kim Aru.
That’s my new name.
Even this rank, I only got after suppressing and suppressing my energy.
If I’d let them test me at full strength, I would’ve come out SSS-rank.
'…A Guide. All things considered, this isn’t a bad life.'
I was fairly satisfied with my new human identity.
'Being a government Guide makes it easy to slip into the original’s plot…'
Shin Biho, the protagonist, is an Esper; he often visits the Guide Center for sessions.
They won’t give a C-rank like me the chance to guide him, of course, but I know from the webtoon—
Soon enough, there will be an opportunity to go into a Dungeon together….
A C-rank Guide is handy manpower, so I’m sure I’ll end up in that episode, too.
When that happens, I plan to make a quiet impression on the protagonist.
Not too conspicuous—just enough to exchange a natural hello. Any more and he might fixate.
Back then, he probably got overly attached because he was swept up by my aura when I didn’t know how to control it. I figure things will be different now.
And if I spend time around Shin Biho, there’s a small chance I’ll run into the villain, Kim Wooju, at least once.
'…I should buy a cold beer on the way home.'
I cut off the stray thoughts and headed out—pushing the afterimage of Kim Wooju, which kept rising in my mind, far, far away.