Dulce Periculum

4. Voodoo Doll

Bora showed Yunho the spacious cafeteria and introduced him to a few of her friends along the way. He got three free meals a day, and they used the opportunity to sit at one of the long tables so Yunho could have a snack and look around the community. 

The powers of espers and guides could manifest at any age, so it came to no surprise to see elders and even children roaming around. Everyone wore variations of their designated colours to make it easy to tell their roles apart. In colourful cliques, they sat together and laughed, like regular coworkers or students. 

Life here wasn't so different after all, but Yunho still felt alienated. When he told Bora about it, she suggested he slept first and took his time to settle in. Before some basic training, he wouldn't get sent out on a mission.

Thus, Yunho's first day in his new home ended. He texted his parents he arrived safely and apologised to his boss at the store for ditching his job to suddenly. After a shower, he rested in his bed for a long time, unable to get used to the foreign walls and mattress. 

When he woke the next day, he received a message from another unknown number. 

To Jeong Yunho

Please come to the medical offices on the second floor by 11 AM to receive a consultation. You will learn your training schedule there.

No sign off, but Yunho assumed these messages were regulated by staff. He checked the clock and got ready, making sure he looked orderly. Bora sent him a message to text her after his consultation so they could eat together and figure out a training schedule that worked for both. Apparently, it was important for esper and guide to be in harmony with each other, especially in life and death situations on the battlefield.

Yunho found the medical wing thanks to the golden plates on the walls. When he made his way inside, its interior resembled the hospital he visited after the incident in Yongsan. The equipment was top-notch and robots rolled around, ready to treat smaller emergencies. Even here, the lofty feeling of an expensive hotel persisted.

Another staff member greeted him at the counter. Her smile was just as kind.

"Are you here for your first consultation?"

Yunho nodded meekly. He handed her his ID, and she checked it for him, before she gave it back with a grin. She beckoned at the corridor behind her, making space for bright offices.

"Room 12."

"Thank you," Yunho muttered as he made his way inside. Bookshelves and medical posters met him. More potted plants, but little personality in the white walls.

Room 12 welcomed him in with an open door, so Yunho knocked on the frame before he ducked inside. A man in a white lab coat awaited him and greeted him with a handshake.

"Jeong Yunho, welcome in. I am Doctor Han, your therapist. We will see each other often." 

When he nodded at Yunho to sit, he complied. The questions on his face must have been open for the world to see, since the doctor began talking as soon as he sank into his seat on the other side of the table.

"All espers are required to keep a close eye on their health, physical and mental. The guides help, but the guides can't diagnose when something goes majorly wrong. I am here to help you understand your powers and what they will do to you."

Yunho fiddled with nervous fingers in his lap.

"I hear they make an impact, yes."

While Doctor Han retrieved his papers, Yunho tried to unwind. He would finally learn what was so special about him. Somehow, he was more terrified than ever before. No grade was as weighty as this.