99 Percent Love

“Let me introduce you. This is Lee Yuwon, the new S-Class Guide who just joined us. Apparently, he took his physical right after graduating from high school, and he’s one of those rare S-Class!”  

The centre director spoke with a beaming smile.  

“I’m Lee Yuwon.”  

A young man who looked stern but still had a boyish air about him bowed his head in greeting.  

“Seriously, most kids these days postpone their physical exams as much as possible, so how does an S-class like him show up right after graduation? We didn’t have a single non-matching S-Class Guide, so I was worried, but this is great, isn’t it?”  

“Yes, it’s impressive. Hello, I’m Kang Rion.”  

“Feel free to speak casually.”  

“Oh, really?”  

Rion didn’t hesitate to accept his suggestion and didn’t even bother with a polite refusal. If he was an S-class guide, he would be helpful regardless of the matching rate. Since they were going to see each other often, it was better to make things comfortable from the beginning, wasn’t it?  

Switching to a lighter tone, as if he had never been formal before, Rion asked,  

“Twenty years old?”  

“Yes.”  

Yuwon avoided Rion’s gaze as he answered.  

What’s wrong with him? Confused, Rion looked at the centre director for a hint.  

“Uh… looks like Yuwon is quite shy around strangers. Hmm, well, uh, okay. How about we start by testing your matching rate?”  

The centre director was just as nervous. He had noticed Yuwon’s shyness when they first met, but he hadn’t expected him to act like this in front of Rion.  

Normally, shy new recruits would be excited or fascinated to meet Rion. Finding him unusual, the Centre Director led them to the matching rate tester.

After the emergence of Espers and Guides, technology developed rapidly, but their temperaments could not be captured by machines.

No matter how much data was collected, it rarely lasted more than three hours before disappearing, so despite the inconvenience, Espers and Guides had to sit in front of the machine every time to check their matching rates.

“I’m not asking for much. Kang Woo has a rate of 34%, right? Since Yuwon is S-Class, even if he’s at 30%, it will be a great help”.

The centre director said this to calm Yuwon down. Yuwon, with an unreadable expression on his face, silently put his hands on the machine and sat down.

“Well, he’s S-class. Regardless of the result, it’ll be good for the centre.”

Rion said casually as he sat down. Maybe it was because of the continuously decreasing matching rates, but it had long since ceased to be a hope for anyone to have a high matching rate.

‘But since he’s S-class, even if our matching rate isn’t high, he’ll still help the Centre and the world.’

Rion thought positively as he put his hand on the machine.

“We’ll start now.”

The Centre Director pressed the power button on the machine. With a low hum, the machine began to work.

“You know this, Rion, but you’ll have to wait a few minutes for the results. Keep your hand on the machine, even if it’s uncomfortable.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, are you always this blunt?”

“A bit.”

The short answers made it impossible to continue the conversation and Rion felt uncomfortable and closed his mouth.  

‘Geez, he looks so reserved… ‘ 

Is that how kids are these days?  

Rion remained silent and stared at the hand he had placed on the machine. No, wait. I’m the elder and the senior here, so I shouldn’t give up just because the kid is a bit shy.  

“The test was done quite early. Were you interested in that area or something?”  

“Yes.”  

“Really? That’s surprising. A lot of people make a lot of money but don’t want to work in this field.”  

When you turn twenty, you must undergo a mandatory test to determine if you have the temperament of an Esper or a Guide.  

While being an Esper or Guide is a lucrative profession, most people don’t want to risk their lives or sacrifice their youth for such dangerous work.  

So unless someone is in financial trouble or has no other choice, not many people choose to take the test when they’re twenty – usually between twenty and twenty-five.  

From the looks of it, money doesn’t seem to be a problem for him.  

As Rion looked at Yuwon’s clothes and watch, he asked,  

“Was there a special reason why you decided to do this job?”  

“Just because. Anyway, I think the results are in.”  

Once again Rion felt uncomfortable when Yuwon pointed out the results. This guy… he really doesn’t know how to handle things.  

He didn’t seem to like him very much, so the match rate would be terrible, as expected. After all, the match rate is also affected by the trust between the two.  

As Rion thought this, he shook his head slightly,  

“Is it broken?”  

But the Centre Director’s reaction was strange. Maybe the results were really low. Rion said, rubbing his numb hand from the test.

“What’s wrong? Did it come out as 10% or something?”  

“No, it’s not that…”  

“Then what is it?”  

Could it be a single digit? The lowest match rate so far had been 12%, but did it come out lower than that? Even an S-class guide wouldn’t be of much use if it was that low.  

Rion thought as he stood up. He blinked, doubting his own eyes as the matching rate appeared before him.  

“…9.9%?”  

Two numbers appeared on the screen. Rion couldn’t believe what he saw.  

“No, there should be a decimal point, but why isn’t there a point…?”  

Meanwhile, Yuwon, who had also stood up, was checking the gauge on top of the machine. After a moment, Yuwon quickly left the measuring room before either the director or Rion could react.  

[99%]  

“Y-Yuwon, Lee Yuwon? Wait, is the machine broken? This… Hey, get a pair with a high matching rate… No, never mind. Just grab every Guide and Esper that comes by. Get the equipment team too. Hurry!”  

The highest match rate in history flashed on the machine.

***

“…99%. At this point I can only think of it as a matching guide”.  

They had called people to check the machine several times, and had retested with several Guides, but the results were the same.  

“You have to go through the pair registration period, but with a match rate like this, it’s basically 100%. Honestly, it’s just a formality, so if you make it through the month, you can register as a couple straight away.  

In theory, every Esper and Guide is a perfect match.  

In reality, however, there are very few cases of an Esper and a Guide matching, even worldwide.  

For one thing, the matching partners don’t necessarily manifest their abilities at the same time, nor do they necessarily come from the same region.  

Some countries require a temperament test as an adult, but many don’t.  

Espers often discover their abilities naturally, without the need for a test, but Guides can live their entire lives without ever realising that they are Guides.  

Even if both the Esper and the Guide are lucky enough to discover their abilities, the world is vast. Because the match rate must be tested individually, finding a perfect match is nothing short of a miracle.  

“Normally, a match rate of 80%, no, even 70% is considered extremely high, and if it’s over 90%, it’s practically a guaranteed guide match, you know?”  

“I can’t believe this is happening to me.”  

Rion said, still in disbelief. He had imagined that his matching Guide would be somewhere on Earth, but he had never expected this.  

To even have a 99% match rate with an S-Class Guide from the same country, the same centre. This could only be explained by fate.  

“Do you really need an adaptation period?”  

“It’s necessary. I once had a matching rate of 85%, so I registered as a pair right away, but something felt off, and a few months later, a 91% Guide showed up, which caused some trouble.”  

Of course, with your 99% there won’t be any such variables. Anyway, after that, a one-month adjustment period became mandatory.  

The centre director kindly added an explanation and handed over some documents.  

“Fill this out first.”  

“And what about him? Does he have to fill this out too?”  

“Of course. It’s not just anybody, it’s your matching guide, Kang Rion. Besides, it’s much more beneficial for him to take care of only you.”  

“But he seems… he doesn’t like me.”  

Rion said with a slightly hesitant expression.  

Although the shyness and reticence could be attributed to his personality, there were a few things that bothered him.  

Like the fact that Yuwon had left as soon as the match rate was announced yesterday and hadn’t been seen since. Even though the centre director must have passed on his contact information, Rion hadn’t received a single message.  

“Did I do something wrong?”  

“Who knows? To be honest, I’ve never seen anyone so stiff with Kang Rion. But… well… he was supposed to do the job, right?”  

“Right. It’s work, after all.”  

Rion nodded as he spoke.  

Regardless of personality, with a match rate of 99% and being an S-class guide, Yuwon was someone Rion couldn’t afford to miss. There would be no more struggles with a lack of guides and no more worries about being forced to go on holiday.  

‘I think we can save a few more people now.’

That was all that mattered. So a little rudeness was something I could easily tolerate.

Knock, knock.

“Well, they say even tigers come when you mention them.”

Yuwon opened the door to the centre director’s office with a neat knock. It was the first time I’d seen him since he’d run away right after checking the match rate yesterday.

“You heard, right? With a 99% match rate, it’s a bigger loss not to register for the mating. And from your point of view, registering for the pairing is…”

“I’ll do it.”

Yuwon spoke without even letting the Centre Director finish his sentence. The surprised director blinked and looked up at Yuwon.

“You heard what I said, right? I said you should sign the papers.”

“I’m here to do that.”

Yuwon glanced at the documents at the director’s fingertips and signed them without hesitation. A neat signature, as simple as his demeanour, took its place in the leader’s section.

“Ha ha. Yuwon has a more determined personality than I thought. But just because you submit this, it doesn’t mean it will be processed immediately. You have to go through a one-month adjustment period before you can officially register for pairing.”

“I don’t care.”

Yuwon handed Rion the signed documents.

I thought, ‘What kind of a guy is this?’ but in any case, Yuwon was someone Rion needed. Rion forced a smile and said. 

“Alright. I’ll sign too.”

The application for the registration of the couple, with the names of Esper Kang Rion and Guide Lee Yuwon, was complete. 

“Well, I’ll submit this to the association. Your familiarisation period starts tomorrow, so go out and have a meal together. You’ll be working as a pair from now on, so it would be nice if you get along.”

The centre director patted them on the back. They were clearly going to be the strongest pair ever, with the highest matching rate ever.

I felt so bad watching Kang Rion wither away for four years, but now I can finally rest easy. The centre director secretly wiped away tears as he thought this. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t take a week for the tears to dry.