* * *
“Just sign here.”
“…”
The pairing contract with Siwoo was signed in a bleak atmosphere.
Raon skimmed the document and signed where the center staff pointed.
As he stared down at his scrawled signature, he lifted his gaze.
“I’ll continue overseeing the Alpha Team 1 Espers, excluding the team leader.”
“Do so.”
Seokhyeon still eyed Raon with suspicion, but he had no reason to object if Raon wanted to handle the Alpha-1 Espers while being paired with Siwoo.
Dojin, who had Hamin, wouldn’t need guiding.
As for Taegeon, a bit of broadcast guiding was enough when his self-hypnosis didn’t work.
Now that he was paired with Siwoo, Raon didn’t need to worry about the others anymore.
“What about Siwoo?”
His name was already listed on the contract Raon had just signed.
Which meant Siwoo had checked and signed it before him.
Unlike Raon’s sharp signature, Siwoo’s round handwriting was surprisingly cute—didn’t suit him at all.
Raon nearly laughed at the contrast, then turned to Seokhyeon and asked.
The other Espers would be returning from their missions soon.
“He’s probably resting in the dorm.”
“Should we do the guiding session now?”
“…I’ll call him.”
Seokhyeon nodded and tapped his watch.
Then he hesitated.
“I rushed to get the contract signed too, but now that it’s official, why don’t we recheck the match rate?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Wasn’t your last compatibility check two years ago? Unlikely, but things might’ve changed.”
“Hm…”
That was true.
Raon had joined Alpha-1 around the same time as Siwoo—two years ago, to be exact.
That’s when they first tested compatibility.
It wouldn’t hurt to check again after all this time. Raon nodded easily.
“Sure. Let’s schedule it.”
“Alright.”
Both were S-class, so unless something had gone wrong with their abilities, the match rate should be similar.
Raon left the director’s office and headed to the guiding room where Siwoo was supposed to meet him.
Since the director had called him, he should be on his way.
“…Why isn’t he coming?”
But no matter how long he waited, Siwoo didn’t show up.
Raon frowned, pacing around the empty room.
“There’s no way he didn’t get the call…”
S-class Espers are prohibited from removing their watches due to military law.
Unlike guides, who can take them off briefly to sleep, Espers can’t remove them at all.
So Siwoo definitely got the call.
Which meant one thing—he was deliberately ignoring it.
“…Unbelievable.”
He’s ignoring me when I’m offering to guide him?
Anger flared for a moment, but Raon forced himself to calm down.
He had, after all, spent years pushing Siwoo away while acting the part of a villain.
Of course things wouldn’t magically smooth over just because they signed a contract.
With a sigh, Raon shook his head.
“Guess I’ll just have to wait it out for now…”
He muttered and sat in the guiding chair.
He stared for a moment at the empty seat across from him, eyes tinged with bitterness.
Beep. Beep-beep.
“…!”
Suddenly, a sharp alarm blared from Raon’s watch.
For a guide, especially one rarely entering gates, this kind of alert was almost unheard of.
“What the…?”
Raon stared at the screen in confusion.
The screen turned crimson, and a name appeared.
[Yoon Siwoo – Contamination Level: DANGER]
If the Esper’s pollution level dropped below 30%, a warning alarm was set to go off from their watch.
For S-rank Espers, there was usually a bit more leeway, but most Espers were marked for termination if it fell below 15%. Raon shot up from his seat.
“You idiot!”
He couldn’t wait for Siwoo to come to the guiding room at this rate.
By now, even moving must be a struggle for him.
Even before regression, there were times when Siwoo’s levels would drop, setting off the alarm on his watch.
But guiding him had never been Han Raon’s role—he was the villain, after all.
Since the novel never depicted Siwoo going berserk from lack of guiding, Raon had grit his teeth and ignored him.
But now, he didn’t want to do that.
With the system no longer interfering with him, he had to find a way—any way—to stabilize Siwoo’s levels.
Raon exited the guiding room and checked Siwoo’s location via his watch.
Thankfully, he wasn’t far.
He was in his assigned dorm.
“This is Han Raon, Esper Yoon Siwoo’s paired guide! This is an emergency!”
Raon called out urgently to the guards posted at the dorm as he stepped inside.
His eyes swept across the large room.
It was as barren as the personality of the room’s owner.
Other than a few necessary items and furniture, the place was completely empty.
Raon looked around the vacant living room and moved deeper in.
“Siwoo!”
Siwoo was collapsed in the middle of the room.
Startled, Raon rushed over to him.
“Yoon Siwoo! Snap out of it!”
“……”
Sweat was pouring off of him like rain, soaking his pale face completely.
Raon looked down at him in concern, seeing that he couldn’t even open his eyes.
Scattered across the floor were small white pills.
It was immediately obvious they were drugs used to reduce an Esper’s pollution level.
But for S-rank Espers, drugs rarely worked.
That’s why, to enhance the effect, they often included ingredients that temporarily lowered immunity.
In short, these pills were essentially poison.
Lethal to a normal person.
“Damn it.”
Siwoo had taken the drugs instead of receiving guiding.
And as a result, he had collapsed.
Raon clenched his jaw, a curse slipping through his teeth.
“Ugh…”
“Siwoo, can you hear me?”
To stabilize his levels even a little, Raon gently grasped Siwoo’s wrist.
Siwoo flinched and let out a faint groan.
“……”
“Siwoo?”
His eyes were open, but they were unfocused—just blankly staring up at Raon.
There was no more time to waste.
Raon began guiding him immediately.
Energy flowed from his hand into Siwoo’s body.
“Ghh—”
Even in his unconscious state, Siwoo reacted poorly to Raon’s guiding.
His body, having gone years without proper guidance, struggled to accept the sudden influx.
Naturally, it was overwhelming.
And now, with the drug wreaking havoc inside him, even the strong body and mind of an S-rank Esper were breaking down at a molecular level.
Raon looked at Siwoo trembling in agony, eyes filled with pity.
“Han… Raon?”
“Yeah, Siwoo. It’s me.”
“……”
Siwoo finally seemed to come to his senses, weakly calling Raon’s name.
Though not fully conscious, his voice was slurred.
Raon glanced at him, frequently checking his watch to monitor the pollution levels.
The critical alarm had stopped flashing red, so for now the worst was over.
But the danger hadn’t passed—if the guiding stopped, he could deteriorate again in an instant.
“What… are you doing…”
“Your levels are a mess. I have to keep guiding you—”
“Get off.”
“……”
Siwoo frowned and pushed Raon’s hand away.
It wasn’t strong for an S-rank Esper—dampened by the drug—but it was more than enough to knock away Raon, who was just a regular human.
Raon narrowed his eyes and glared at him.
“Yoon Siwoo, this isn’t the time to be stubborn. You—”
“I said get off.”
“……”
Siwoo repeated himself like a child, pushing Raon away again.
Even in this feeble state, he was rejecting Raon to the end.
Something began to boil inside him.
Was it anger at Siwoo’s stupidity, or self-loathing for letting him get to this point again?
Raon raised a hand and flicked Siwoo’s forehead.
“Ah.”
“Is that how you talk to your hyung?”
“W-what…”
“Just stay still.”
Raon spoke forcefully and grabbed Siwoo’s wrist again. It was still icy cold.
Beep, beep.
“Damn it…”
The rate of pollution was rising faster than Raon could guide it away.
The warning alarm went off again.
Raon frowned.
This wasn’t going to work.
As he hesitated, his eyes fell on Siwoo’s red lips.
The man no longer had the strength to even push him away—he was just gasping, shallow breaths coming and going.
If contact guiding wasn’t working… it was time for the next step.
Mucous membrane guiding.
Raon stared down at Siwoo and opened his mouth.
“Siwoo.”
“……?”
“You trust me, right?”
* * *
