Guiding the Rampaging Sub Male Protagonist chapter 19

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Haebom, who had just been guiding, stared at his hand in shock, then looked at Wonho.

Wonho’s eyes were trembling violently, as if shaken by an earthquake.

— Wonho, sit down. That’s nowhere near enough for a matching rate test. You know that. Why are you acting like such a rookie today?

Wonho acting strange was nothing new, but today, his behavior was even more bizarre.

Even Jin Seyoung’s voice over the speaker carried a hint of bewilderment.

Wonho gritted his teeth, as if trying to endure something.

Then, he sat back down.

The only difference from before was that instead of sitting with his legs stretched out naturally, he now sat with them crossed.

“Can I do it?”

“…Yeah.”

Haebom placed his hand over Wonho’s again.

His hand felt even hotter than before.

At this point, shouldn’t he be going to the hospital?

Or maybe it didn’t matter since he was an Esper.

So Haebom concentrated again and let the guiding energy flow.

This time, he could feel Wonho flinching through their clasped hands.

Were all Espers like this when they were being guided?

Haebom stared at him, curious.

Normally, Wonho was highly sensitive to others staring at him, but today, he didn’t seem to care.

As time passed, Haebom noticed that Wonho was becoming increasingly agitated.

He was still flinching, his crossed leg was trembling, and he was biting down on his lower lip with his upper teeth.

Just as Haebom began to worry that he might hurt himself, Jin Seyoung’s voice came through the speaker, signaling that they could stop.

The moment Jin Seyoung’s voice was heard, Wonho bolted up from the couch without a moment’s hesitation.

He got up with such force that if he had been sitting on an ordinary chair instead of a couch, he might have been launched across the room.

Without so much as a farewell, he stormed out.

Left alone, Haebom blinked in confusion, his gaze darting around the room.

“Huh? Wait, why is he talking informally to me? He doesn’t even know my age…!”

Of course, Haebom and Wonho were the same age.

In the world Haebom had originally lived in, it was autumn of his twenty-first year, but here, it was the beginning of winter—a difference of just a few months.

Still, only Haebom knew that.

Even knowing they were the same age, Haebom had spoken formally to Wonho out of courtesy since they had just met.

Well, technically, they hadn’t just met, but that wasn’t the important part….

Click.

The door opened.

For a second, Haebom thought Wonho had come back, but the person who walked in was Jin Seyoung.

He had an expression of utter exasperation.

“He’s not usually like that… Sorry, Haebom. No, wait, we’ve signed the contract now, so I should properly address you as Guide.”

“Just call me whatever’s comfortable.”

“Should I? Then I’ll call you Haebom.”

Jin Seyoung smiled lightly before continuing.

“Well, the matching rate test with Esper Wonho is done. The results will take some time to come out. Once we have them, we’d like to proceed with the Pair Contract. Are you okay with that?”

Haebom found it strange.

Usually, Pair Contracts were only made after a Guide had fully awakened and completed their training.

That included two weeks of matching rate tests with various Espers.

Of course, in the original story, the female protagonist had only tested with Na Hyunjoon and Wonho.

That was because they had the highest compatibility and needed a Guide the most.

Naturally, they wouldn’t have wanted any competition….

Since guiding was a matter of life and death for Espers, they tended to be highly sensitive about it.

But Haebom couldn’t let on that he already knew about the system.

If he wasn’t affiliated with the Center, it would make sense for him to be unfamiliar with the training and contract process.

So all he could do was make his own guesses.

It seemed like Jin Seyoung wanted to secure a Pair Contract between Haebom and Wonho before Haebom had the chance to interact with other Espers.

A bit of a sneaky move….

“…But it seems like Esper Wonho doesn’t want this. Is that okay?”

Haebom didn’t particularly mind forming a Pair with Wonho.

He still wasn’t sure why he had ended up in this world, but he had thought, at least once, that he wanted to save Wonho.

Maybe that was why he had been brought here.

If that wasn’t the reason, then why else would he have come?

The thought itself was absurd, but it was all he had.

Besides, staying at the Center was the best way to figure out how to return to his original world.

And if he could save Wonho, whom he had wished wouldn’t die, then that was good enough for now.

The only problem was that the other party didn’t seem to want this arrangement.

Jin Seyoung glanced at the door Wonho had stormed out of before turning back to Haebom.

“There’s no way he doesn’t want it. No Esper in this world would ever reject a Guide with a high compatibility rate. So don’t worry, Haebom.”

“Hmm… okay.”

With Haebom still looking unconvinced, Jin Seyoung moved on to explaining what would happen after they formed a Pair.

There wasn’t much to it.

Guides were given specialized equipment that allowed them to constantly monitor their paired Esper’s condition.

If anything happened, they would receive real-time updates.

Guiding requests could be made by either the Esper or the Guide, though it was usually the Esper who initiated them, so Haebom didn’t need to worry too much.

However, considering Wonho’s attitude, Haebom had a feeling that if they did become a Pair, he’d be the one making all the requests instead.

Additionally, he learned that guiding wasn’t limited to official requests.

As long as he was near his Pair, he could guide them anytime.

Requests were mainly for cases when an Esper was far away and needed emergency guidance.

Guiding was an obligation for all Guides.

While a Pair was expected to prioritize each other, they could still guide other Espers if necessary.

“But that doesn’t apply to you, Haebom,” Jin Seyoung added.

“Unless there’s an Esper about to go berserk right in front of you, you won’t be guiding anyone else.”

“Why not?”

He wasn’t asking because he wanted to guide another Esper; it was a question born purely out of curiosity.

Jin Seyoung must have noticed because he gave a faint smile.

“Because you are Esper Wonho’s pair guide. No Esper would have the guts to ask an S-rank Esper’s pair guide for guidance. Even if someone tried, I’d stop them first. Wonho’s condition is too bad….”

A single session of guiding wasn’t enough to fix the lack of guidance that had persisted for years.

Wonho’s wavelengths were like clogged arteries, filled with residue that blocked proper circulation.

Inside his body, his wavelengths were tangled, clumping together like a ball of fur, while remnants of his abilities had piled up inside him.

Continuous guiding was necessary to break through those blockages.

If he had been receiving guidance steadily over the past year, his condition might have improved somewhat—but now, he was practically a ticking time bomb.

One wrong move, and he could explode at any moment…

That was why, even if Jin Seyoung had known in advance that Wonho was entering the Gate, he wouldn’t have stopped him.

No one could predict what would happen if an S-rank Esper went on a rampage.

It was all because of that irresponsible guide.

But Jin Seyoung left Choi Yoonseo out of his explanation to Haebom.

It wasn’t that it would have mattered if Haebom knew; he just didn’t feel like bringing it up.

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