* * *
Suhyeon froze in his seated position on the sofa, blinking rapidly.
The refreshing scent of spring filling the room was no hallucination.
Nor was the fact that the energy, which had stubbornly refused to budge from his body until just moments ago, had suddenly burst forth in a massive wave.
Until mere minutes ago, he’d had to focus until his head felt like it would explode just to squeeze out a tiny fraction.
Now, it unraveled softly and buoyantly.
Involuntarily, Suhyeon tried to pull it back in.
The wave—which previously had snapped back like a released rubber band—returned gently to his chest, moving entirely according to his will.
Suhyeon dazedly pressed a hand to his chest, then tried moving the wave once more.
Like magic, the sweet energy flowed out, wrapping around his entire body.
When he tried pushing it a bit further, he realized he could actually project it away from himself.
Moving and controlling it wasn’t the least bit difficult.
As if it had never been disobedient or made his mind go white with strain, the wave brushed against him with a soft, cozy touch.
It almost felt like it was acting cute.
The words he had heard until he was sick of them—that handling guiding waves was a matter of instinct, similar to moving one’s limbs—had made zero sense to him until now.
But in this moment, he understood them instantly.
The guiding wave was moving perfectly according to his intent.
So naturally.
‘This… it just happens this suddenly?’
“……My goodness.”
While Suhyeon was still blinking in a daze, a voice thick with shock pierced his ears.
When he looked up, Soyoung was staring at him.
Her eyes, which usually crinkled kindly with fine lines, were wide with blatant astonishment.
“Guide-nim?”
“……Ah, I’m sorry.”
Soyoung blinked rapidly as if snapping out of it only after Suhyeon called her.
Then, she flashed her familiar smile.
“Goodness, so this is why you’re an S-rank. I could feel the guiding all the way over here. Just now, you even performed radiation guiding.”
“Radiation guiding?”
“Drawing the wave from the core is the method used for contact guiding. Radiation guiding is discharging the wave completely outside the body. When you succeeded just now, you were performing radiation guiding. Heavens… for another Guide to feel the wave so clearly…”
Clearly shocked, Soyoung, who had been quiet and gentle throughout the training, began pouring out words rapidly.
Suhyeon pursed his lips and, without thinking, drew up the wave again.
This time, completely outside his body.
It was certainly harder than just pulling it up internally, but it felt no more strenuous than lifting a heavy object with his arm.
A scent much sweeter than before lingered at the tip of his nose.
“Ah, Suhyeon. Oh dear.”
If her previous sound was a gasp of wonder, this time Soyoung let out a low groan of concern.
Suhyeon tilted his head.
The wonder on her face had stiffened into concern.
“Suhyeon, your guiding… it’s too strong. I don’t think you should draw it up recklessly unless you’re actually guiding an Esper. The fact that I can feel it means it’s already beyond normal levels. It’s a huge relief that this room is designed to block guiding waves from leaking out. I think I understand now why the entire Association was in an uproar when you went into rampage.”
Suhyeon blinked.
He looked down at his pale palms.
‘Is my guiding energy really that strong?’
It didn’t quite feel real, but the woman before him was an expert.
There was nothing to lose by listening to her warning.
When Suhyeon nodded, Soyoung’s expression softened again.
“You’ll need to be careful with that part, but regardless, congratulations. You’re now ready to guide your assigned Esper, and you’ve completed all your education today, haven’t you? From now on, unless there’s special training, you don’t need to come to the Association except for your duties with the Esper. I thought this might take a long time, so I’m glad you got the hang of it.”
‘It’s really over?’
Suhyeon looked at her, bewildered.
It felt so sudden and easy that he felt like there should be more verification.
While he was obviously happy to have achieved his goal, he still felt inexperienced…
“Do you feel like the wave will escape your control?”
Suhyeon looked up.
Soyoung was smiling warmly, as if she could see exactly what he was thinking.
Suhyeon looked inward at the wave huddled like a well-tamed pet inside his body and realized the answer himself.
This was his energy.
He didn’t feel like he would lose control of it.
Soyoung smiled as if to say, ‘See?’
“Exactly. You’ll need training to refine your control, but from here on, that’s training you can do yourself. It’s part of your growth as a Guide.”
‘I see. It’s really finished.’
Suhyeon finally felt a creeping sense of relief rising from within.
He could finally guide Hajin.
He had met the basic requirements of a Guide.
“I’ll send a brief report to the Association President. It was an honor to help an S-rank Guide, Suhyeon. Say hello if we cross paths again.”
Soyoung concluded their final training session with a warm smile and a farewell.
Suhyeon bowed deeply to express his gratitude and stepped outside, still unable to hide his dazed expression.
“Suhyeon,”
The moment he left the room, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind into a familiar embrace.
As if he had been waiting, Hajin pulled Suhyeon into his chest and buried his face in Suhyeon’s shoulder.
“……Haa.”
Suhyeon, dangled in Hajin’s arms, blinked and flinched at the heavy sigh against his neck.
He turned his head to look at Hajin.
Hajin, who had left early this morning, looked every bit as exhausted and weary as that sigh suggested.
Suhyeon had never seen him look like this.
“Are you okay?”
“……I’m fine.”
His low voice sounded anything but fine.
Suhyeon remained frozen for a moment, then looked at the watch on Hajin’s wrist.
The watch that every Esper must wear—the one that detects guiding levels.
Since Suhyeon could now guide, he could help him.
“Can I see—”
“Team Leader!!!!”
Just as he was about to ask to see the level, someone came sprinting down the hallway with a loud clatter.
“Team Leader, what are you doing without receiving guiding— ah,”
The person who ran up shouted urgently but stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Suhyeon.
But Suhyeon had already heard. His face hardened.
“Don’t mind him. It’s nothing.”
Hajin said quickly, shooting a sharp glare at the newcomer.
But Suhyeon had already reached out.
The screen of Hajin’s watch flickered briefly, displaying a number in a deep orange, bordering on red.
45%.
Suhyeon’s light-brown eyes shook.
Even the colleague who had run up turned pale upon seeing the number.
In that short interval, the number dropped another point to 44%.
The watch vibrated, emitting a soft, repetitive beeping warning that echoed chillingly through the silent hallway.
“Suhyeon, really, you don’t need to—”
“Hajin.”
Suhyeon cut him off. Hajin’s blue eyes wavered.
44%.
Only 14% away from the 30% mark, the threshold for a potential rampage.
Suhyeon snatched the energy shimmering in his chest.
Suhyeon threw his arms around Hajin’s neck. Hajin’s eyes widened.
Their soft lips met.
It was Suhyeon’s first time guiding a person directly, but he had no room left to worry about that.
The guiding wave, now entirely his to command, surged forth faithfully in response to its master’s will.
The light, sweet scent of his own guiding wave—which he had smelled until he was sick of it lately—spread through the air.
“Suhyeon—”
Hajin’s attempt to stop him was cut short.
His eyes, which had been dark and heavy with exhaustion, fluctuated wildly.
Hajin knew he was cutting it close.
Lately, he had been feeling a constant searing sensation, as if his brain were being burned alive.
It had been quite a while since he had reduced the frequency of the radiation guiding he used to receive just to barely maintain the 50% range despite the poor compatibility.
It had started from the day he tasted that sublime sweetness and distant, perfect sensation when Suhyeon went into rampage—a sensation with zero irritation.
His body, having once experienced that brilliant sensation, now burned with a thirst that seemed impossible to quench by returning to the past.
To make matters worse, all the radiation guiding he had been forcing himself to accept began to feel nauseating.
Anything that wasn’t Suhyeon’s guiding—any sensation that wasn’t that fresh, warm sweetness—he hated it all.
Every time he felt another Guide’s wave, a surge of revulsion rose within him, making him want to vomit everything up.
—……Inject it.
The fastidiousness he had carried since childhood seemed to have finally extended even to guiding energy.
However, he couldn’t pressure his lover with something like this.
To Hajin, Suhyeon was already a supreme being.
Thus, he chose not to receive guiding unless the situation was truly dangerous.
He could endure it.
But perhaps the mistake was going straight to Suhyeon immediately after closing a Gate without receiving guiding.
When he faintly caught the lingering scent of the guiding wave—the one that provided him such ecstasy—on Suhyeon’s body as he left the training room…
Hajin felt the walls of his reason, which he had so firmly reinforced, begin to char.
A craving that felt like it would char his throat consumed him.
Fatigue poured in like a tide.
A searing pain that felt like it would snap the wires in his brain occupied his entire body.
A hint of a rampage peeked its head out, just a tiny bit.
‘Ah, this is a bit dangerous.’
Just as he grit his teeth, what poured over him like a miracle was—.
* * *
