* * *
“Apologies. Under the Guide Protection Act, I felt your actions might be misinterpreted, so I had to speak up.”
Siwoo let go of the President’s arm, his face unnervingly composed.
There was nothing about his demeanor that suggested he’d just been rude to the top-classing official.
The President and his aides all stared at him in confusion.
“Ah… haha. Right. There are reporters around too. I should’ve been more careful.”
After getting a whispered reminder from one of his aides, the President forced a nod.
It seemed he had decided to let Siwoo’s behavior slide with a favorable interpretation.
“It’s admirable to see you looking out for your guide like that.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Well then, carry on.”
The President, once again in a good mood, reached out to pat Raon’s back—then paused awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
He probably hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, but it seemed like an unconscious habit he couldn’t quite control when he liked someone.
Once the whirlwind of people finally moved on, Raon could breathe again.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to Siwoo.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you even know who that was? You can’t act like that. Seriously.”
Raon recalled the moment the atmosphere had gone cold.
Unlike Guides, Espers were affiliated with the military and generally under stricter discipline.
And Siwoo had just stood up to the Commander-in-Chief himself.
In any other context, this would be seen as outright insubordination.
While high-class Espers now had more autonomy and weren’t as tightly bound by military rules, the world was still in a wartime state.
If the Association President turned against Siwoo, even his S-class status might not be enough to protect him.
Siwoo was already in a precarious position compared to other top Espers.
And now he’d gone and antagonized the commander.
Raon bit his lip in frustration.
“Hyung, you’re okay now, so don’t bite your lip like that.”
“You little—!”
Siwoo didn’t seem to care about Raon’s concerns at all.
Instead, he was worried Raon might hurt himself by biting his lip too hard.
Raon was so frustrated he almost exploded.
Just then, Dasom and Jamie, who had finally caught up, stared at them with wide, startled eyes.
Raon tried to rein in his temper, aware of their presence.
“You know I don’t care about that stuff. Right?”
“Haa…”
Siwoo’s tone was soothing, as if trying to calm Raon down, but it only made Raon more irritated.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply.
Raon truly didn’t care about promotions or position.
He could afford to, because he was a Guide.
But Siwoo couldn’t afford to veer off course like this.
He was more worried about what would happen to Siwoo once he, Raon, was gone.
Without his pair guide, Siwoo’s stats would drop like before, and his standing in the military would weaken.
Siwoo said he didn’t care about that, but Raon couldn’t just accept it.
“And besides, I really was in pain.”
“Ah!”
Just then, Siwoo grabbed Raon’s shoulder, and he involuntarily let out a sound of pain.
The aching throb flared up again, and he couldn’t suppress the noise.
“Let me see. That’s probably bruised.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Siwoo’s voice was firm, his brow furrowed in concern.
Without hesitation, he reached to remove Raon’s jacket, causing him to stumble back in surprise.
“He’s right, Team Leader. If you’re hurt, let us check.”
“I agree. Regular people need to be extra cautious about injuries.”
“Wait, no…”
Even Dasom and Jamie chimed in, siding with Siwoo.
That one slip of pain had gotten all of them worried.
Left with no choice, Raon followed them into a nearby meeting room and took off his jacket.
As he undid his shirt slightly, a large, dark bruise on his shoulder came into view.
He’d known it hurt, but not this badly.
Even Raon was taken aback.
Surrounded as he was by Espers, the President probably hadn’t realized how much strength he was using.
“Oh no… Team Leader, that must hurt a lot.”
“It’s really not that—”
“I’ll heal you!”
Dasom, nearly in tears, placed her hand on Raon’s shoulder.
A gentle white light began to radiate from her palm.
Back when she hadn’t fully awakened her abilities, there’d been no such visible glow during healing.
But after training with Jamie and learning to harness her power, even the visuals had improved—along with the effectiveness.
Raon watched the bruise fade away almost instantly.
“How does it feel? Still hurt?”
“Hmm… I’m okay now.”
“That’s such a relief!”
Raon rotated his arm gently.
The pain was gone.
Seeing that, Dasom finally relaxed, letting out a deep breath.
“Lunch break’s almost over. Let’s get going.”
“Yes, Team Leader!”
They had taken longer than expected, so lunch was going to be tight.
Checking the time, Raon quickly picked up the pace, and the others followed closely behind.
“Ahem.”
Raon cleared his throat and glanced at the unusually silent Siwoo.
Now that he had calmed down, he understood why Siwoo had reacted that way.
If he had seen someone hurt Siwoo like that, he’d have been angry too.
Siwoo still hadn’t spoken.
His clenched jaw and tensed muscles showed he was still upset.
Ever since seeing the bruise, he’d been grinding his teeth.
Raon worried Siwoo might go start another scene back at the base.
He gently tugged at Siwoo’s arm.
“Siwoo, I’m fine now. You can’t get mad at anyone else about this, okay? Got it?”
“…….”
“Hm? Okay?”
Only after Raon asked again did Siwoo give a small nod.
It wasn’t enough to completely ease Raon’s mind, but it would have to do.
He let out a quiet sigh as they entered the cafeteria.
“Oh my, isn’t that Team Leader Raon? You’re only just coming to eat now?”
“Haha, yes.”
“Eat plenty before you go!”
“Thank you.”
Raon gave a slightly awkward smile as he looked at the mountain of rice piling up on his tray.
The cafeteria was usually buffet-style, but upon seeing him, the lunch lady had come over and heaped rice onto his plate.
Her nephew was one of the espers who had entered the gate as part of the special unit.
Because of that, she treated Raon like a lifesaving hero who had saved her nephew’s life.
It was a bit overwhelming, but he couldn’t show it, so he just stared at the growing mound of rice in silence.
“Sorry we’re so late. We’ll eat quickly and head out.”
“Oh no, it’s fine. Take your time, okay?”
“Yes, thank you.”
With that small privilege, Raon and his team found seats near the tray return station.
Raon looked down at his tray with a helpless expression, having received more rice than he could ever eat.
If he tried to finish it, he’d get indigestion, but if he left it, he’d feel bad.
“Hyung, if you can’t finish, just leave it. I’ll eat it.”
“What?”
Now that he thought about it—Siwoo was a big eater.
Raon turned to look at him in surprise.
Siwoo, who had piled his tray just as high, spoke nonchalantly.
Still, wasn’t it kind of gross to eat someone else’s leftovers?
Raon had never once considered eating after someone else.
Honestly, even if it were Siwoo’s leftovers, he didn’t think he could do it.
But Siwoo said it so casually that Raon was caught off guard.
“Forget it, that’s unsanitary.”
“It’s fine if it’s yours.”
“I said it’s not fine.”
“Come on, you’ve done worse things.”
“Hey…!”
Raon shouted, shocked by what Siwoo had just said.
But Siwoo shamelessly started eating his own food as if nothing had happened.
“Ahem.”
Raon cleared his throat and ducked his head, feeling the gazes of Dasom and Jamie on him.
He started shoveling food into his mouth in a hurry.
He was too embarrassed to meet anyone’s eyes.
Why did Siwoo say that kind of thing in front of others like it was nothing?
Raon’s face flushed hot, and he struggled to calm himself.
He suddenly remembered a certain day when Siwoo had buried his face in a place far less hygienic than leftover rice.
‘Ugh, I’m losing it.’
He shouldn’t be thinking about that now, but with one offhanded comment, Siwoo had brought a steamy night back to life in his mind.
He forced himself to chew, trying desperately not to lose composure in a public place.
In the end, Raon couldn’t finish his food, and Siwoo, insistent as ever, took his leftovers.
Raon was too drained to argue anymore and just let him have his way.
The four of them quickly finished eating and headed back to the training ground.
The others had already arrived and begun training.
“Sorry we’re late.”
“It’s fine, Team Leader.”
Juwon and Taehyuk accepted Raon’s apology without fuss.
They seemed used to this by now, since Raon was frequently called away due to his rising reputation.
“By the way, Esper Mikhail has been showing up at the training grounds a lot lately.”
“Mikhail Esper?”
“Yeah.”
Juwon approached Raon and lowered his voice. Raon frowned at the mention.
After getting chewed out by his superior for trying a reverse guide on Raon the first day they met, Mikhail had sulked in his room and hardly come out.
But lately, it seemed he’d gotten restless and started showing up again.
“He’s not here though?”
“Not here—he’s been going to the training area where the other special unit espers are.”
“Hmm.”
Juwon, who had surprisingly wide connections, flitted around like a sparrow gathering news.
Raon nodded thoughtfully at what he said.
Since they didn’t need to guard Jamie inside the center, Mikhail was likely killing time by hanging around other teams.
Raon gave a small smirk.
‘That kind of pisses me off.’
Unlike Jamie, Mikhail wasn’t a military medic, so he wouldn’t be joining the guide team in the gate.
He’d probably be used to fill in for Dojin’s now-empty role.
Still, Raon—now the team leader of the guide unit—would be leading the gate suppression efforts in Dojin’s place.
He needed to understand Mikhail’s capabilities beforehand.
Mikhail knew that too, and yet he was deliberately avoiding him, choosing to train with other teams instead.
The disregard was irritating.
But Raon calmed himself.
Mikhail, like most S-class espers, was an arrogant jerk.
A childish, emotionally stunted jerk at that.
No need to get worked up over any of his behavior.
Raon turned calmly and spoke with a serene expression.
* * *
