* * *
Beep, beep-beep.
“….”
“….”
The sudden sound made both of them pause for a moment.
As a gap formed between their tightly sealed lips, a thin string of saliva stretched between them.
Judging by the sound, it wasn’t an emergency, just a simple call.
Since Raon’s watch was ringing, it was likely from Director Seokhyeon.
Still, something could be happening — Raon instinctively reached for his watch.
Tap.
“Huh?”
“Check it later.”
“Wait—mmph.”
Once again, Siwoo covered Raon’s watch with his hand and forcefully resumed the kiss.
Raon couldn’t bring himself to properly protest against his stubborn behavior.
‘This might give him bad habits,’ Raon thought briefly but couldn’t push Siwoo away.
Chup, chup — the embarrassing sounds echoed inside the guiding room.
The more skilled Siwoo became, the better it felt.
His tongue roughly swept across Raon’s palate, and every time he sucked on Raon’s lips, a tingling pleasure shot through the back of Raon’s head.
It was natural for espers to feel pleasure during guiding — but did guides feel the same?
As his mind started to grow hazy, Raon couldn’t help but wonder.
Beep-beep-beep!
“…!”
The repeated call startled Raon back to his senses.
At some point, Siwoo had unbuttoned Raon’s uniform shirt and was licking his neck.
“Haa… come on, stop now.”
“No, just a bit longer…”
“Mmgh, no more.”
Barely holding himself back, Raon spoke — though it was practically a message to himself.
“Ahem, this is Han Raon speaking.”
— What were you doing that you took so long to answer?
“I was guiding.”
— …I see.
After a brief silence, Seokhyeon continued.
— About the team you’ve restructured — if you’re free, how about meeting with the team members today?
“Right now?”
It was better to meet them sooner than later, but the timing was sudden.
As if sensing Raon’s hesitation, Seokhyeon explained further.
— The higher-ups are pressuring us to start guide team training as soon as possible. Since everyone’s off right now, it seemed like a good chance to gather.
“I see.”
The fact that the irregular gate recently changed colors was a rare event — probably making the upper management more anxious.
Just the fact that the Alpha Team 1 struggled with the gate was enough to make them feel threatened.
Accepting this, Raon nodded.
“Understood. I’ll head over right away.”
— Good. Esper Yoon Siwoo… is with you, I assume? He should come along too.
“Yes.”
After ending the call, Raon stood still for a moment, exhaling a hot breath.
The sudden turn of events had caught him off guard.
“You’re really leaving?”
“Of course I am.”
“What about my guiding?”
Come to think of it, the reason behind that intense kiss had been the mucosal guiding.
In the heat of the moment, he’d lost his head and completely forgotten it was supposed to be part of their work.
“Hmm, let’s do it later, okay?”
“Tch.”
Seeing Siwoo unable to hide his dissatisfaction, Raon lightly kissed his lips to soothe him.
The action came so naturally that even Raon was slightly startled.
‘Well… this much should be fine.’
Since they were already paired as partners, it was better to get along anyway.
Thinking that, Raon adjusted his collar and left the guiding room.
Everyone gathered in the conference room carried a tense expression.
The guides Raon had called for this team totaled five, including himself.
They were: Lee Hamin from Alpha Team 1, Hyun Juwon from Alpha Team 2, Kim Taehyuk from Alpha Team 3, and Park Dasom.
‘Why me, though?’
The most confused of them all was none other than Dasom.
She still couldn’t figure out why she’d been selected.
Though she’d awakened as a guide at a relatively young age, she was only ranked B.
While not a particularly low rank given how few guides there were, in a team full of S- and A-rank guides, there seemed to be no reason to choose her specifically.
At least Lee Hamin, also a B-rank, had a high compatibility rate with an S-rank Esper.
She didn’t even have that.
‘I’ve worried so much that my head hurts.’
Dasom was feeling dizzy from all the overthinking.
Her stomach ached, making it hard to eat properly.
Click.
“…!”
At that moment, the conference room door opened.
There were only two people who could be entering now.
“Oh, everyone’s already here.”
Raon spoke awkwardly, his face still faintly flushed.
All eyes immediately turned to him.
‘Yep. They definitely did it.’
Since they were all seasoned ability users, they instantly caught on to what Raon and Siwoo had been doing just prior.
Raon’s lips were slightly swollen, curving into a soft smile, while Siwoo standing beside him looked visibly displeased.
They had clearly been in the guiding room when they received Seokhyun’s summons.
The team members tried their best not to let their eyes drift to the red marks peeking out from Raon’s collar.
“Nice to meet you all. As you know, I am S-rank Guide Han Raon.”
After introducing himself, Raon looked around the room.
All of the members he had recruited were present.
Scanning the familiar faces of the guides, Raon paused briefly on the nervous-looking Dasom before moving on.
There weren’t only guides here; Espers who would serve as their escorts were also present.
Though not many, since Siwoo was already there.
“Shall we go around for brief introductions?”
“Ah, yes.”
The guides stood up one by one to introduce themselves, followed by the Espers.
“Alpha Team 1, S-rank Esper Yoon Siwoo.”
Siwoo spoke bluntly.
The next Esper who stood up had a very cheerful, hearty presence.
“Hello! I’m Lee Yeojoon, A-rank Esper from Alpha Team 3. I look forward to working with you!”
His booming voice echoed through the room.
Raon couldn’t help but smile at how exactly the same Yeojoon looked as he remembered.
In fact, Alpha Team 3 wasn’t a particularly notable team.
Most of its Espers were A-rank, with even lower-level members filling the ranks, so aside from Taehyuk, their assigned guide, they rarely appeared in the original story.
Despite that, Raon had specifically recruited Yeojoon for one simple reason — his ability synergized well with Siwoo.
‘Even before my regression, I always thought it was a shame.’
Yeojoon’s ability was electrokinesis.
Though A-rank, when combined with Siwoo’s water-based power, the two could create incredible synergy.
Plus, thanks to his upbeat personality, Yeojoon generally got along well with Siwoo.
He was a year older but had attended the same university, so Raon often heard about him.
“Ah, hello. I’m… Song Minjae, C-rank Esper… um…”
Next was Song Minjae, a C-rank Esper with psychic abilities.
Whether due to his low rank or his inherently timid nature, he looked terribly nervous.
‘Well, it’s understandable since he doesn’t really belong to any team.’
While the other guides and Espers had at least specialized skills or belonged to teams, neither Dasom nor Minjae had that advantage.
Still, psychic abilities were highly valued, so the center likely utilized him in various ways.
But even so, the heavy pressure seemed to weigh on Minjae, making him especially anxious.
“Um, excuse me…”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“May I ask… why I was chosen for the special team? Wasn’t there some kind of mistake…?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Minjae timidly voiced his question.
Raon calmly fixed his gaze on the pale-faced Esper.
“No, it’s not a mistake. I personally recommended you, Song Minjae.”
“But… why me?”
Minjae asked again, utterly unable to understand. Raon chuckled softly.
Everyone here, including Minjae, probably had only one person in mind when it came to psychic Espers: Taegeon.
Naturally, they must have assumed the psychic Esper for Raon’s newly formed special team, which included both guides and their escorts, would be Taegeon.
But Raon had a different opinion.
And not just because he didn’t get along with Taegeon.
“Do you all know exactly what happened inside the Irregular Gate?”
“Ah, yes. The Center shared the data with us.”
“Then you’re aware that inside, the guides and Espers were separated at one point.”
“Yes…”
The team members nodded, though still looking confused as they struggled to connect that event with why Minjae was chosen over Taegeon.
“Inside the Irregular Gate, interference often makes communication impossible when separated. In those cases, a psychic Esper is needed to connect mentally with other psychic Espers.”
“Ah…!”
Dasom gasped softly as if she’d just realized something. Raon nodded at her.
“Esper Nam Taegeon is, of course, excellent, but he needs to be positioned on the front lines for combat. That means someone else must remain with the guides to prepare for emergencies.”
In short, both Taegeon and Minjae would serve as communication relays inside the Gate.
Taegeon on the front lines with Dojin’s combat unit, and Minjae in the rear with the guide team.
Only then did the team members finally understand Raon’s reasoning and nod in agreement.
* * *
