* * *
“…Huh? That reaction was kind of suspicious.”
Up until now, whenever he said something like this, Haebom would get all flustered and insist it wasn’t because of that.
But today, his reaction was a little strange.
His face did turn red, but he didn’t deny it like he usually would.
Instead, he just rolled his eyes around awkwardly, like he had something to hide.
There’s no way Kim Jihyun—who acted like a hyena when it came to others’ love lives—was going to miss that.
Judging by the reaction, it hadn’t been long.
Probably ever since they told them Wonho liked Haebom, that’s when he started realizing things.
“Hah, nothing weird about this at all, huh?”
“You even stuttered. So suspicious~. You’re dating, right? With Esper Wonho. Since when?”
It’s not like he was trying to keep it secret, but he also hadn’t planned to say it so suddenly.
They’d just been talking about Choi Yoonseo and Na Hyunjoon, and suddenly blurting out “I’m dating Wonho!” would’ve been weird.
That’s why Haebom hadn’t said anything to ease Taeyoung’s concern.
And yet… they figured it out right away.
“…It’s only been a few days…”
In the end, Haebom decided to confess.
He raised both hands in surrender.
If he didn’t, Kim Jihyun would tear him apart.
And not just Jihyun—Taeyoung and even the usually calm Yoon Geonwoo had that same gleam in their eyes.
There was no way he could hold out without coming clean.
At Haebom’s surrender, Jihyun chuckled and said, “Knew it.”
“Let me guess—Esper Wonho confessed first? When was it?”
“That day… the day we met.”
Haebom told them the whole story of how it happened.
The three of them burst into laughter.
They asked if he had told Wonho about it, said he probably freaked out, and even regretted not getting to see the look on his face.
“Ugh, I should’ve seen it with my own eyes. Too bad. Well, then it’s all good now. I’m not so tasteless I’d hit on someone else’s boyfriend. Like Guide Choi Yoonseo.”
“Of course. Guide Haebom, now that you’re dating Esper Wonho, make sure it really shows. We’ll take care of spreading the rumors.”
“R-Rumors? Is that… necessary?”
“Definitely necessary. Esper Wonho can’t receive guiding from anyone else. You know how many people are after him?”
He was an S-class Esper, young, handsome. Taeyoung started listing all the reasons Wonho was popular with guides.
His bad personality?
Not even an issue—apparently, all Espers had trashy temperaments.
He even added that it wasn’t just guides who were after him.
Apparently, quite a few staff at the Center had confessed to Wonho.
He didn’t seem to notice at all—like he didn’t even realize they were confessions.
In the end, those people got so embarrassed they transferred to other branches.
Learning about your boyfriend’s “past” like this… though Haebom wasn’t sure if being confessed to counted as a “past” when they hadn’t even dated.
“There are people who think having a Pair Guide means guiding will work better now. Some even treat having a Pair Esper like a trophy.”
Haebom nodded.
Even Yoon Geonwoo, who had mostly stayed quiet, shared his own story.
He once dated an A-class Esper who suddenly called off their Pair bond and broke up.
Turns out, they’d fallen for some newbie guide who had only been certified for two months.
Geonwoo shook his head in disbelief.
He said he’d dumped that Esper without regrets, but later, when the rookie guide matched with a higher-classing Esper, they got dumped and came crawling back to Geonwoo.
He even said, “Isn’t that crazy?”
“Not that you and Esper Wonho need to worry about stuff like that—you two have insanely high compatibility—but you never know. Some people will start with guiding and try to take it from there…”
“Well, in that case, there’s really nothing to worry about. Esper Wonho still can’t receive guiding from anyone else, right?”
They hadn’t checked recently, but Haebom assumed it was still true.
No one knew why only his and Choi Yoonseo’s guiding worked, but Jin Seyoung called it a rare condition—like an allergy to guiding energy.
Apparently, Wonho was the only known case, and she was still studying it.
Wonho said it didn’t need further research, but Jin Seyoung kept going.
She wasn’t one to give up on a mystery, and Haebom was in favor of her continuing the research.
He wanted to always stay by Wonho’s side—but life is unpredictable.
He honestly didn’t want to go back, had no intention to.
In fact, he didn’t think he’d ever felt less attachment to his old life in over twenty years.
Still, he couldn’t help but be afraid.
What if, like how he suddenly appeared in this world, he suddenly disappeared again?
If that happened, Wonho might not be able to handle it and go on another rampage, charging into a Gate all on his own.
That terrified him.
He hated the idea of Wonho receiving guiding from Yoonseo, but if Haebom disappeared… there might be no other choice.
“Alright, enough of the depressing talk. Let’s eat something good. We gotta celebrate Haebom’s first romance!”
With a sly grin, Kim Jihyun slung an arm around Haebom’s shoulders.
What was supposed to be just a casual meetup… well, judging by Jihyun’s expression, Haebom wasn’t getting home early.
Not that he had anything urgent to do anyway.
He shot a pleading look at Taeyoung and Geonwoo, but they were also grinning with sparkling eyes.
Then, suddenly, something occurred to him.
“…How did you know this was my first relationship?”
“Oh, come on. You didn’t even realize someone liked you, and didn’t know how you felt either. It’d be weirder if we thought you had dated before.”
“Ah…”
At Taeyoung’s words, Haebom let out a small groan.
Geonwoo nodded in agreement beside him.
So now the whole world knew he’d never dated before.
Well, used to never—he wasn’t single anymore.
Still, he felt embarrassingly exposed.
The three of them laughed brightly at his devastated expression.
While he sat there groaning, Jihyun stood him up, and the four of them headed out of the Center and straight into a BBQ place in broad daylight.
“Boss, three servings of pork belly to start. One soybean stew and a bottle of soju. Oh, Haebom, what kind of soju do you drink?”
“Soju? Are… are we drinking?”
Haebom had assumed they were just getting meat, so his eyes widened at the mention of alcohol.
Taeyoung patted his shoulder and shook his head, probably to say good luck.
“You can’t celebrate without booze. I’ve been meaning to have a drink with you anyway. Don’t worry—I won’t force you. Just drink what you’re comfortable with. If not, I’ll just drink for you.”
With a mischievous grin, Jihyun finished placing the order.
Taeyoung and Geonwoo, as if they’d done this a hundred times, ordered their drinks too and started setting up the utensils.
Everything felt natural to them—except for Haebom, who was the only one still trying to catch up.
“Where the hell is this now.”
Wonho frowned as he exited the training hall.
He was sure he had dropped Haebom off at the building with the guide office before training started.
He even got a message saying Haebom had met up with three guides he’d recently become friendly with.
It annoyed him that Haebom was spending time with someone else, but since it was those three, he let it slide. It seemed safe enough.
The guy who caused trouble was still in the hospital bed, but that didn’t mean others weren’t after S-class guide Haebom.
* * *
