GTLTGIDES chapter 18

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“Like me.”

Those brief words stir my heart. It seems my bold behavior wasn’t entirely seen as bad.

I quickly caught up with Cha Junseong, who was striding ahead with his long legs.

Unable to grab the pristine, wrinkle-free suit, I held his hand instead.

I smiled brightly at Cha Junseong, who turned around in surprise.

“Junseong, why don’t you be honest now?”

“…About what?”

“You want to be guided, don’t you? It’s been a while since your last session.”

“…”

With a difference in grades this significant between a B-grade and an S-grade, even the slightest contact allows emotional impurities to seep in for the lower grade.

But right now, Cha Junseong wasn’t leaking any impurities into me. Even though he’s acting calm, it means he’s incredibly tense and controlling himself.

Sure enough, Cha Junseong averted his gaze as if I’d hit the mark.

“Not today.”

“I’m the only guide available anyway. It’ll be harder if you keep holding it in and then try to release it all at once.”

I gently pulled down his glove to reveal his palm and touched it with my tongue.

As expected, as soon as my tongue touched his palm, a thick wave of impurities poured into me.

My body tingled with the sensation of being tightly constricted.

“Ugh…ha…”

I trembled as if struck by lightning.

Tears welled up from the pain, but I didn’t stop licking Cha Junseong’s palm.

I took a deep breath, making sure the impurities I absorbed didn’t flow back into him.

“Yang Heewoon, you…”

“See? I can do it.”

I wiped my streaming tears and tried to appear as composed as possible.

Cha Junseong, seemingly not expecting me to go this far, looked down at me with a complicated expression.

But once an esper has tasted the relief of releasing the accumulated impurities, there’s no resisting the temptation of guiding.

“…Damn it.”

Cha Junseong cursed shortly, grabbed my arms, and pulled me into his embrace. Then he pressed his lips onto mine mercilessly. His tongue boldly invaded my mouth.

“Ugh…”

As soon as I willingly parted my lips and our tongues met, I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.

It feels like I’m going to die. Like the monsters I once saw crushed and compressed into beads, I fear I’ll lose my form and become something other than human.

The powers that everyone admires and finds impressive are threats to me.

But I opened my mouth wider and hugged Cha Junseong with my arms, wrapping my tongue around his.

Even if guiding kills me now, I’ll do my utmost.

Until Eunsoo joins, I’m the only one who can guide them.

---

It wasn’t an incident related to a gate, after all.

An unregistered esper, holding a grudge against an ex-lover, attempted a terrorist act but was discovered beforehand due to the lover’s quick report. A chase was currently underway.

The team involved was ‘Special B Team,’ to which Jake Powell belonged.

There had been some trouble during the process, causing a building to collapse.

Though civilians were evacuated in advance, there were no casualties, but Cha Junseong, who manipulates gravity, was needed for the building’s recovery and cleanup.

After confirming the situation, Cha Junseong approached me.

“I’m going. Stay here and eat something. If you bill it, I’ll pay you double, so eat a lot.”

“I just ate. I’m not particularly hungry…”

-Grrr.

Just as I wondered why he told me to eat again so soon, my stomach growled loudly.

My face flushed with embarrassment at the blatant sound.

“Ah…”

“Eat. Definitely.”

Cha Junseong emphasized once more and pressed my head down before heading towards the staff calling him.

‘Why did my stomach have to growl then…’

I felt too embarrassed to lift my head. I rubbed my face awkwardly like a cat washing its face.

‘Well, I did expend a lot of energy…’

Workaholic Cha Junseong had been holding back an enormous amount of emotional impurities while I was unconscious.

After accepting and processing all of it at once, I felt so drained that I was half-exhausted during the car ride over.

‘I should eat…’

If I collapse again, Cha Junseong might forcibly transfer me to another team.

That can’t happen! Absolutely not!

I bought an energy bar and a mint candy for potential refreshing mucus guiding, along with a coffee milk from a nearby convenience store.

While sipping the coffee milk, I wandered around the temporary headquarters.

‘Where is he?’

I heard that the Special B Team had returned after causing the building collapse incident.

So, he should be around here somewhere.

And if it’s ‘Jake Powell,’ he’d definitely make his presence known…

“Damn it, is it my fault? I told you to block it properly!”

Sure enough.

A man was yelling loudly in a temporary tent set up for the operation meeting.

‘I guess I’m good at interpreting characters.’

It’s just as I expected.

I stopped walking and listened to the voices.

“If you missed it while watching blankly, just shut up! Don’t shamelessly yap!”

“I wasn’t watching blankly! You didn’t say anything in advance! How could I know when you were on the opposite side!”

“Shouldn’t you be able to figure that out by the direction I was heading? Is the GPS device just for show?”

“It’s not that easy! If you were just a bit more cooperative, we could’ve handled it!”

“Don’t you think you ask too much of me? Shouldn’t you be at least smart if you’re barely an A-grade?”

“What does grade have to do with anything?”

There was a heated argument going on.

Judging by the conversation, I could guess the situation.

Jake Powell acted without any coordination, leaving the team unable to respond properly.

As a result, the Special B Team hadn’t caught the unregistered esper and was currently focusing on the cleanup and resolving internal conflicts.

…Though the ‘resolving internal conflicts’ part doesn’t seem to be going well.

‘That jerk… He thinks he’s a king.’

In the original work, he’s just part of Eunsoo’s backstory.

The settings for Jake Powell were almost my own interpretation, based on Eunsoo and Special A Team’s brief recollections of the past, but he perfectly matched my imagined personality.

Still as unlikeable as ever.

‘Screw him.’

I raised my middle fingers at the tent. One wasn’t enough, so I used both.

“Okay. I’m tired, so let’s talk later.”

At that moment, a man stepped out from the tent.

Short blonde hair. A build comparable to Rex. An expression as if everything in the world is pathetic.

The description was reminiscent of what I had read in “The Genius Guide’s Melancholy”

There’s no doubt. That man is Jake Powell.

A silent scream escaped me involuntarily.

‘Why does he have to show up right now!’

I quickly pulled back my middle finger, but Jake Powell was faster at noticing me.

His already displeased expression grew even more menacing.

“Who are you?”

“……”

I swallowed.

It’s better to keep a low profile in front of Jake.

He’s an A-rank Esper. Praised for his abilities comparable to S-rank Rex, thanks to Eunsoo’s excellent guiding.

Even his backing is substantial. While Cha Junseong’s family is powerful in our country, the Powell family is renowned worldwide for producing Esper talents.

He had merely come to our country to avoid the country where his family’s activities were concentrated due to his inferiority complex. He was definitely not someone to be underestimated.

In terms of sheer physical and social capability, he’s incomparable to Yang Heewoon. There’s nothing to gain from clashing with him.

I know it, I know it all too well, but I can’t control my emotions.

As soon as I realized his identity, an uncontrollable surge of hatred erupted within me, despite knowing he would definitely sense my animosity.

He is a fictional character. I tried to calm myself by reminding that his actions towards Eunsoo were just part of the setting, but I couldn’t extinguish my hatred.

As I kept glaring at Jake, he smiled as if he found it amusing and then irritably brushed his hair back.

“Damn. What’s with this bastard’s eyes? Ugh, on top of my already shitty mood, now this… hmm?”

I had expected a threat. Although Jake’s abilities were intimidating, I wasn’t afraid of threats.

After all, there are many people around.

Anyone trying to harm me would only end up harming themselves. He’s not dumb enough to make such a rash move.

But.

“……You look familiar.”

I didn’t expect him to say that.

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