* * *
“Yes… I did, but…”
What does that have to do with you?
His tone seemed to imply exactly that.
Dojin’s thick brows twitched ever so slightly.
“What exactly happened last night?”
“…Esper Yoon Siwoo’s levels dropped enough that it triggered an alert for me. So I went for an emergency guiding session.”
“And you were with him until morning?”
“It was that kind of situation.”
No matter how high his position, it was improper to pry into the affairs of a paired esper and guide.
Raon didn’t care to know what kind of guiding Dojin and Hamin had done, or for how long.
After all, he wasn’t really Han Raon.
“Even if you are my superior, I have no obligation to report the details of my relationship with my paired esper.”
“……”
“Then, I’ll be going—”
Raon tried to leave, sensing the mood was turning strange.
Dojin had never acted this way toward him before.
Something about it felt off.
Thud.
“Ugh…!”
But Raon didn’t get far before Dojin grabbed him.
His wrist was firmly caught in Dojin’s grip.
Raon looked at him in disbelief.
“What the hell…”
“You don’t think you need to report it?”
“Urgh—”
“Then what about you?”
Dojin’s grip tightened around Raon’s wrist, his voice low and menacing.
“You had a reason when you were poking around, asking questions about me and Guide Lee Hamin?”
“That was…!”
Raon was about to say it hadn’t been of his own will—but stopped himself.
He couldn’t tell anyone he had possessed someone’s body, so explaining himself to Dojin was pointless.
He calmed himself with effort, trying not to lose his composure.
“…If I offended you, I apologize. As the team’s designated guide, I was overly concerned and overstepped. It won’t happen again.”
“Hah.”
Raon replied brazenly.
Everyone knew Han Raon had feelings for Dojin—clinging to him, obsessively chasing after him.
But Raon didn’t want to acknowledge that in front of him.
At least not now, when he was no longer bound by the system.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but just so you know—there’s no way I’ll ever look back at you.”
“……”
The cold voice dropped like ice between them.
Raon raised his head and stared at him.
Suddenly, he remembered the very first words Dojin had said to him after he ended up in this body.
[Your guiding disgusts me.]
Back when Hamin hadn’t even entered the picture, Dojin had immediately expressed his displeasure, as if he was only forcing himself to take Raon’s guidance to avoid a meltdown.
The disgust in his voice and expression was unforgettable. Raon loathed him, truly and deeply.
“…Please don’t misunderstand. I have no feelings for you, Captain.”
“What?”
Even though he knew he’d regret it later, Raon couldn’t stop the words from coming out cold.
“Well, that’s perfect. Because I always found it disgusting to have to guide you, too.”
“……”
Smack.
When he shoved Dojin’s hand off, it surprisingly dropped without resistance.
Raon walked away, leaving the speechless man behind.
Despite the unpleasant encounter earlier, Raon didn’t feel so bad—thanks to Siwoo, who had quietly shown up for their compatibility check.
“Siwoo, did your mission go well?”
“…Yes.”
His reply came late, but at least he nodded.
Compared to before—when he’d ignore Raon completely and just walk off—this was real progress.
Even the center staff kept sneaking glances, confused by the shift in their dynamic.
Raon used to criticize and insult Siwoo constantly, while Siwoo simply ignored him.
So this change was clearly unsettling to the staff.
Looking back, Raon realized how bad it had been.
More than all the pathetic groveling to Dojin, the worst part was lashing out at someone as young as Siwoo.
But now, seeing Siwoo blush like a newlywed bride after their first night together—it instantly lifted Raon’s mood.
“Ahem, then let’s begin the examination,”
One of the center staff, sensing the strange atmosphere, spoke carefully.
Since Raon had done this many times before in his past life, he silently extended his arm.
Han Raon had constantly begged for matching tests just to get closer to Dojin.
Recalling that, Raon felt slightly embarrassed and leaned back against the chair as the staff took his arm.
Siwoo sat across from him.
“All done. The results will be ready shortly.”
“Okay.”
After the test, Raon exited the exam room.
Unlike him, Siwoo seemed restless and fidgety.
“How’re you feeling today?”
“…Huh?”
“Was your condition alright?”
“……”
Raon turned back and asked as soon as they stepped out.
Siwoo seemed at a loss for words.
But he couldn’t bring himself to ignore the way Raon looked at him with those bright, shining eyes—and finally opened his mouth again.
“…Yes. Thanks to you.”
“Haha, good to hear.”
“……”
Still, compared to how he’d looked that morning, Siwoo had regained his poker face.
Raon found himself oddly disappointed by that.
“The results are in.”
Following the staff’s lead, the two of them headed to the director’s office.
Seokhyeon was already seated inside.
“You’re both here.”
“…?”
“Take a seat.”
But for some reason, Seokhyeon’s expression looked off.
Raon sat down, feeling tense for no particular reason.
“Is something wrong? Did the match rate drop or something?”
The only explanation Raon could think of for Seokhyeon’s stiff expression—who had already received the test results—was that the match rate had dropped.
Was he regretting pairing them up unnecessarily?
But if the match rate had dropped, there should’ve been some difficulty guiding Siwoo yesterday.
Raon tilted his head in confusion.
“No, it’s the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
“…You two have a 97% match rate.”
“…What?”
Ninety-seven percent?
Raon was so surprised he turned to look at Siwoo.
He looked pretty shocked too.
If he remembered correctly, when they first tested their match rate two years ago, it was 82%.
And now it had jumped 15% to 97?
Didn’t Dojin and Hamin have a 95% match rate?
Raon clicked his tongue in astonishment.
“There’s never been a case where the match rate spiked like this all of a sudden. It’s quite baffling.”
“……”
Seokhyeon spoke with a hint of concern in his voice.
But Raon had a hunch.
The match rate test had already been done by the time he possessed this body.
Maybe the match rate changed because he had taken over?
Not to mention, he had regressed three years into the past, too.
There were plenty of things that could have caused this.
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing, right?”
Raon tried to lighten the heavy mood with a playful tone.
Even though Dojin and Hamin had a 95% match rate, the center had been flustered because they were an S-rank and a B-rank pair.
But both Raon and Siwoo were S-rank, so there shouldn’t be any problem.
“A sudden spike in match rate also means there’s a chance it could suddenly drop again.”
“Ah.”
Unlike Raon, Seokhyeon seemed to be considering all possible outcomes.
And it was a plausible theory.
But even if it did drop, it would probably just go back to its original level.
The original owner of this body had already matched at 82% with Siwoo.
Raon was the only one here who knew that, which explained why he was staying calm and collected.
“That might be true, but I think things will be fine for now. This is the perfect chance to help boost Esper Yoon Siwoo’s numbers.”
“Sigh…”
Seokhyeon let out a sigh as he watched Raon grin.
Still, he wasn’t wrong. Siwoo had always shown faster-than-average awakening compared to other Espers on Alpha Team, but that also made his numbers unusually unstable.
So forming a pair with Raon now that their match rate was this high was actually a golden opportunity.
But was this really Raon’s personality? Seokhyeon sighed again, staring at him through his glasses.
The guy had changed a lot in just a few days.
His personality, his behavior—completely different.
“Well then, we’ll be heading off now.”
“Alright. Get some rest.”
Though still suspicious, Seokhyeon let the two of them go.
Raon’s behavior might be strange, but he hadn’t done anything to harm the center.
On the contrary, he’d only been surprisingly helpful so far.
With dark eyes, Seokhyeon watched their backs as they left the director’s office.
“The match rate went up that much, huh?”
“……”
“You were surprised too, weren’t you?”
Raon glanced at Siwoo as he asked.
From the moment they heard the results in the director’s office, Siwoo hadn’t said a single word.
Raon, already used to his silence, simply turned his head away.
“…?”
But something felt off, so he turned back to look again.
Siwoo was walking at a steady pace, looking completely normal on the outside.
‘What do we have here?’
Except for one part that gave him away.
Siwoo’s earlobes were flushed a bright red—undeniably, unmistakably red.
* * *
So cuteeee