* * *
Hearing Siwoo curse for the first time, Raon was taken aback.
He usually scowled or ignored others when annoyed—he never used such violent words.
Even Siwoo’s deeply serious expression felt unfamiliar.
That he’d get this worked up over a scratch on Raon’s cheek only made it stranger.
“It’s nothing—”
“Nothing? Your face is totally swollen!”
“….”
He hadn’t realized it looked that bad.
Myunghoon must’ve been stronger than most unawakened.
Guides only had the ability to stabilize Espers—they didn’t differ physically from ordinary people.
If he had been an Esper, he would’ve dodged the hit.
Or if he had been struck, the wound would’ve already healed by now.
Maybe he should’ve stopped by the infirmary when Hamin had panicked earlier.
He hadn’t expected anyone to worry about him seeing his injury, which left him caught off guard.
“Tell me—who the hell did this to you?”
“Hey! Are you going to keep saying ‘hell’ and ‘bastard’ in front of your hyung?”
“….”
Raon intentionally scolded him like an elder.
Siwoo’s face twisted in disbelief.
He knew it sounded old-fashioned and completely unfit for the situation.
But even so, he couldn’t tell the truth.
Myunghoon already disliked the fact that he and Siwoo were paired.
If Siwoo went after him now…
The thought alone gave Raon a headache.
It would spiral out of control.
So, he decided to play dumb.
“No one hit me. I just fell…”
“Do you think I, an Esper, can’t tell the difference between an injury from a fall and one from a punch?”
“….”
Fair point.
Raon found himself nodding before he even realized it.
Siwoo’s glare sharpened.
“Who was it? Why won’t you tell me?”
“Siwoo, look, it’s really—”
“Was it someone here?”
Soon, Siwoo turned his sharp gaze toward the others in the training room.
The first to come under suspicion was Hamin, who had been standing closest to him.
“I-It wasn’t me.”
“……”
Flustered, Hamin frantically waved his hands.
No one would’ve thought that gentle, good-natured Hamin was responsible—and yet, the fact that Siwoo even suspected him was telling.
When Raon eventually stepped in and said it wasn’t Hamin, Siwoo moved on to his next target.
“Was it you?”
“It wasn’t me either.”
Juwon, who had been just about to leave the training room, looked bewildered as he replied.
Raon shook his head firmly.
“Siwoo, that’s enough.”
“If you’re not going to confess, just stay quiet. I’ll find out who it is.”
“What the…”
At this rate, Siwoo looked ready to tear the whole center apart—never mind that the person who’d actually hit him wasn’t even here anymore.
While Raon was still reeling, Hyunseung, who had come to see Juwon, frowned in clear irritation.
“What the hell is going on? I told you, it wasn’t Juwon hyung.”
“That’s what you say.”
“Tch.”
Hyunseung let out a scoffing snort, then turned his gaze to Raon.
That’s when Raon finally noticed the swelling on Hyunseung’s cheek.
Honestly, he hadn’t even cared.
Who in this whole center would be insane enough to worry about Han Raon’s well-being?
With a personality like that, most people ran the other way.
Hyunseung clicked his tongue inwardly.
They said Yoon Siwoo had paired with that crazy Guide.
He must’ve lost his damn mind in the process.
“The S-Rank Guide’s sessions must be really something, huh?”
“…What?”
“You acted like you hated him at first, and now after a few sessions you’re like some dog in heat…”
“……”
Hyunseung’s insolent eyes ran up and down Siwoo’s body, slow and mocking.
From the look on his face, this wasn’t his first time trying to pick a fight.
‘Was he always like this?’
Raon realized he didn’t remember much about Hyunseung.
The real Han Raon had barely paid attention to anyone outside of Dojin.
As someone now playing Raon, he also hadn’t interacted much with Hyunseung, who was on a different team.
But judging from this, it seemed these guys didn’t harbor good feelings toward Raon—or even toward Siwoo, for that matter.
‘Come to think of it, Team 1 and Team 2 never really got along.’
Dojin, the leader of Team 1, and the leader of Team 2 had a rivalry of sorts.
Though, really, it was more like the Team 2 leader had an inferiority complex and constantly tried to pick fights with Dojin.
Because of their conflict, when the major crisis of the novel—the Black Gate—occurred, the teams couldn’t cooperate easily.
They missed their chance to respond early, which made the situation spiral into a catastrophe.
A typical narrative device to increase the protagonists’ suffering.
“And watch your mouth. I’m older than Esper Yoon Siwoo.”
“……”
While Raon was briefly lost in thought, Hyunseung kept sneering.
Now he was acting like an old man flexing his age.
What’s so great about being older, anyway?
Raon sighed and stepped forward.
“Esper Jung Hyunseung, Guide Hyun Juwon. I apologize if anything I said came off as unpleasant.”
“……!”
“Still, Esper Jung Hyunseung, I think that kind of crude talk is a bit much. Are you trying to escalate things further?”
Raon gently took Siwoo’s clenched fist.
His hand, ice cold just moments ago, returned to normal almost instantly.
Water dripped from his clammy palm.
‘Siwoo, you idiot. Were you really about to use your ability just because you were angry?’
‘Was he always this easily agitated?’
Raon smiled like nothing was wrong, but inside, cold sweat was breaking out.
“Hey, you’re the one who started this—”
“Hyunseung, that’s enough.”
Sensing things were getting out of hand, Juwon finally stepped in and stopped him.
Hyunseung, who’d been so rude to Raon and Siwoo, instantly became docile in front of Juwon.
“Tch. Fine.”
“Siwoo, you too. The person who hit me isn’t in the center anymore.”
Raon had no choice but to come clean to Siwoo.
But he couldn’t say it in front of everyone, so he moved the conversation to the guiding room.
“…CEO Han Myunghoon?”
“Yeah. My father. He… has a bit of a temper sometimes.”
“……”
Raon tried to play it off like it was nothing, but Siwoo’s face only grew colder.
Raon instinctively glanced at him, gauging his reaction.
“Does CEO Han hit you regularly?”
“No! This was the first time.”
“……”
That much was true.
The real Han Raon had usually obeyed his father, so there hadn’t been much conflict.
In the past timeline, Raon had played his role well and gotten along with Myunghoon just fine.
This was the first time he’d defied him.
“Let’s get you treated first.”
“What about your guiding?”
“Is that really the priority right now?”
“…?”
‘Isn’t it?’
Raon looked confused by Siwoo’s response.
But Siwoo didn’t seem to care and pulled him along.
They could’ve guided and treated him, right…?
If they’d worked with Team 2, the Gate must’ve been a big one.
Siwoo should be in urgent need of guiding too.
‘He’s really… too kind.’
Raon followed behind, gazing at the back of Siwoo’s dark head like it was something precious.
‘Would he get mad if I patted him?’
That silly thought crossed his mind just as—
“Just get treated for now. I’ll be back soon.”
“O-Okay.”
As soon as Siwoo dropped him off at the infirmary, he left.
‘Where’s he going at this hour? Didn’t the mission already end?’
Raon briefly wondered about it, but quietly let the medic treat his cheek.
The medical officer was an Esper with healing abilities, so it was over in just a wave of the hand.
Raon, who rarely got injured and almost never came to the infirmary, found it a little fascinating.
“All done?”
“Oh, yeah.”
‘Wow, that was fast.’
After a short wait, Siwoo returned.
Raon stood up and walked over to him.
“Let’s go do the guiding now.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“…?”
As Raon got close, a particular scent wafted from Siwoo.
It was… kind of like the smell of raw water?
It wasn’t raining outside or anything, so it was odd.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Siwoo asked as Raon tilted his head.
Raon just shook his head, thinking it was probably nothing.
Maybe he just went to the bathroom.
It was too short a time to think he’d used his ability somewhere.
Raon smiled and opened his mouth again.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Maybe yesterday’s warning worked—Siwoo was surprisingly obedient today.
That made the guiding easier.
Raon looked at Siwoo’s stats, more stabilized than yesterday, and smiled with satisfaction.
He’d been worried that the large-scale Gate today would’ve tanked his numbers, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Satisfied, Raon returned to the dorm.
And that’s when he saw something absurd.
He turned on the TV absentmindedly—and in the breaking news, a very familiar name popped up.
[CEO Han Myunghoon’s Office Submerged in Water]
* * *
