* * *
“After you left, Guide Choi Yoonseo ended up going to Esper Na Hyunjoon. They are paired, so it’s only natural. But trying to hand off your own partner to someone else’s? Ridiculous. Who even breaks the matching rules like that?”
Yoon Geonwoo scoffed as if he found it all absurd.
Kim Jihyun, next to him, nodded vigorously in agreement.
The three of them had all tried guiding Wonho after becoming Guides.
But unlike other Espers who, even with low compatibility rates, still accepted guiding energy despite reduced efficiency, Wonho found the act of guiding itself to be painful.
So they had tried guiding him—but never for long.
Even then, he struggled to accept it.
That had always been the case until Choi Yoonseo awakened.
Even though Wonho was young, being an S-class Esper meant they couldn’t treat him carelessly, and everyone felt sorry for him.
Some Guides were drawn in by nothing more than the label “S-class Esper.”
Because of all that, Wonho came to avoid guiding altogether.
So when it turned out Choi Yoonseo had a high compatibility rate with him, the center practically went into celebration mode.
Even though Choi Yoonseo picked Na Hyunjoon as her Pair, everyone assumed she’d still help with the guiding.
But that was a mistake.
The three hadn’t known that Wonho no longer wanted to keep living.
Still, they pitied him.
That’s why some among the Guides viewed Choi Yoonseo poorly—parading around like a queen with two S-class Espers in tow.
“He didn’t go fully berserk, so they said it was possible to calm him down. Though it did take a while.”
“How long?”
“Three days. Quite a while, right? Their compatibility rate was high enough to pair up, but it wasn’t exactly exceptional.”
Haebom looked at Yoon Geonwoo with wide eyes, shocked that the guiding had lasted three days.
Geonwoo just shrugged.
This was all because both Choi Yoonseo and Na Hyunjoon got greedy.
It was their own fault—no one felt sorry for them.
Well, maybe Choi Yoonseo’s followers did.
“I heard Na Hyunjoon might suffer lasting side effects. His rank could even drop. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
Even after three days of guiding, he still wasn’t fully conscious.
That showed how serious his condition was.
But Haebom didn’t feel any desire to help or intervene.
Even if it seemed selfish, he couldn’t help it.
Not that anyone had the right to call Haebom selfish in the first place.
Even if the compatibility rate wasn’t extremely high, as long as they could pair, careful and consistent management would prevent any berserk episodes.
Haebom had done a good job with that so far.
It was obvious Na Hyunjoon had deliberately neglected his condition to induce a berserk state.
What Na Hyunjoon wanted was clear.
He’d taken Wonho’s Guide away, and now he was trying to discard Choi Yoonseo and reach for Haebom.
Or maybe he wasn’t planning to discard Choi Yoonseo—he probably just wanted both.
It was infuriating.
Haebom couldn’t understand what Wonho had done so wrong to deserve this.
Even in the original novel, Wonho only clashed with Na Hyunjoon during guiding.
And even then, it was only because Choi Yoonseo was worried—so Wonho held out with radiation guiding, medication, and machines.
Haebom hadn’t read it in a novel—he’d seen it himself in Wonho’s medical records.
To force someone to endure such horrible side effects from chronic guiding deficiency and then act like nothing happened—how shameless could he be?
So when someone said Na Hyunjoon might drop in rank, Haebom found it satisfying.
“How much lower could his rank go?”
“No one knows. They say they’ll only find out once he wakes up.”
“How do you even hear about all this stuff?”
“Where else? There are ways, kiddo.”
Yoon Geonwoo lightly tapped Kim Jihyun on the forehead with a finger as Jihyun stared wide-eyed in fascination, then cast a glance at Haebom.
He seemed to be checking whether Haebom might feel sympathy for Na Hyunjoon after hearing all this.
But it looked like Haebom wasn’t that soft-hearted, which was a relief.
If Haebom had shown even a hint of sympathy, Geonwoo had planned to firmly tell him not to.
But there was no need.
Haebom didn’t seem shaken at all by Na Hyunjoon’s story.
“…What about Guide Choi Yoonseo?”
Three days of guiding—even an A-class Guide shouldn’t have been able to withstand that.
Haebom was an S-class Guide, and even he needed a full day of rest after guiding Wonho.
And they had a high compatibility rate.
He wasn’t asking out of concern—just curiosity, since the topic came up.
“I heard Guide Choi Yoonseo woke up yesterday. She was bedridden for a few days too. A Healing Esper was assigned, but she took quite a mental hit. I mean, her own boyfriend turned into a beast and came at her—who wouldn’t be traumatized?”
At Yoon Geonwoo’s words, Haebom tilted his head.
If Wonho really went berserk and came after him, he wouldn’t feel scared or traumatized.
He’d feel sad.
He’d be worried.
He would’ve tried everything to help.
Sure, maybe it was easy to say without actually experiencing it, but… If someone he loved was in that much pain and still wanted him, what was there to be afraid of?
Then again, it was strange from the start—trying to send Haebom in when they all knew exactly what kind of situation was brewing.
The protagonists of the novel Haebom had read were slowly falling apart—and now, they were completely shattered.
“She won’t be returning anytime soon.”
“Well, with her Pair Esper out of commission, she probably won’t have much to do for a while.”
Even if Choi Yoonseo tried general guiding, her main duty was to guide her Pair Esper.
So even if she came back, there wouldn’t be much for him to do.
Lee Taeyoung figured she wouldn’t return for quite some time.
He glanced over at Haebom.
Hmm? Haebom tilted his head, and Lee Taeyoung let out a small sigh.
Despite Haebom’s soft appearance, he had a surprisingly strong will.
Still, he couldn’t help but worry.
Haebom wasn’t the only Guide he’d trained, but he felt particularly attached to him.
Even his own Esper was jealous.
“You should be careful, Guide Haebom.”
“Careful?”
“Yeah. Choi Yoonseo really likes S-class Espers. If Na Hyunjoon’s rank drops, the only S-class Esper left in the Seoul branch will be Wonho. And remember? She once said she’d rather go to Wonho than her own Pair.”
Lee Taeyoung sighed, muttering that Choi Yoonseo clearly wasn’t in her right mind.
Her followers thought she was charming and good at guiding, which was why she had two S-class Espers at her side.
But from Lee Taeyoung’s perspective, she was just an attention seeker.
She didn’t seem unhinged enough to harm Haebom, but she might try to use her pitiful situation to lean on Wonho.
For now, Wonho liked Haebom enough that he probably wouldn’t give in—but who knew what might happen if it continued?
After all, Wonho and Haebom weren’t even in a relationship.
And it was common knowledge at the center that Wonho used to like Choi Yoonseo.
“He’s right. Or hey—just accept his confession already! You like Esper Wonho too, right? Why aren’t you two dating?!”
Kim Jihyun pouted and stuck out her lower lip.
Yoon Geonwoo nudged her from the side, but she ignored it.
Talking about someone else’s love life was always more fun than your own.
* * *
