“Guide… Haa…”
The hot, sticky breath brushing over the back of his hand made Haebom frown hard.
In that moment, he felt his guiding energy pulse erratically.
He barely held back the curse on the tip of his tongue.
“Can’t we pair up? Even if the sync rate is under 50%, I have the highest compatibility in the Busan branch! Right? I’m at 49%! Don’t you hate just holding hands to guide, too? Don’t you?”
It wasn’t just the breath that was sticky.
The slow, insistent rubbing of his palm made Haebom’s forehead tighten with a snap.
He couldn’t take it anymore—he pressed the End Guiding button firmly.
“We’re done here.”
“…What?”
“I said we’re done. Please get up and leave. If you don’t, I’ll call someone.”
The man brushed off his hands briskly, and Haebom’s eyes drooped in irritation.
Some might say he had a handsome face, but to Haebom, he was just unbearably greasy and annoying.
Of course, it hadn’t been that way from the beginning.
Unlike the Seoul branch, which had a relatively high number of Guides, other regions struggled with a chronic shortage.
High-ranking Espers usually transferred to Seoul, so the ones left in the other branches were mostly Grade B or lower.
Naturally, high-ranking Guides followed suit and relocated.
Thankfully, the Busan branch was a large enough city to have an A-rank Esper.
And the man sitting in front of Haebom right now was the highest-ranked Esper in the Busan branch.
Despite having access to Guides with compatibility rates well over 80%, he hadn’t formed a Pair.
The excuse?
That the Guide was only C-rank.
Haebom had been dumbfounded when he first heard that.
Yet somehow, under the guise of “temporary Pairing,” he still managed to get everything he needed from the situation.
And then, Haebom—an S-rank Guide—appeared at the Busan branch.
His arrival didn’t just shake Busan; it sent shockwaves through every center across the country.
When a Guide awakens, the first thing done is to simulate compatibility rates with unpaired Espers in the region.
But for some reason, Haebom’s compatibility with all Espers failed to go over 50%.
Normally, if no match is found within a branch, testing proceeds in neighboring branches.
But in Haebom’s case, the next priority was not the nearby branches, but directly Seoul.
That was because Wonho, an S-rank Esper in Seoul, was in a dangerously unstable state without a Guide.
It was only natural.
Haebom had wanted to leave for Seoul immediately, but the day he returned, Wonho had entered a gate.
There was heated debate online: Was it really okay to keep sending an Esper with a risk of rampaging into gates?
Others argued that, if he was going to lose control, better inside the gate than out.
After reading those articles following his evaluation, Haebom felt a deep ache in his heart—he could sense why Wonho kept forcing himself into gates.
Though the administration claimed that Haebom had been erased from existence, he was sure that Wonho would remember him
. There wasn’t even a sliver of doubt in Haebom’s mind that Wonho might’ve forgotten him.
So Haebom’s plan to get his evaluation in Busan and immediately head to Seoul was delayed.
While S-rank Guides had compatibility testing priority in Seoul, that priority existed solely for Wonho.
Haebom had no choice but to wait until Wonho returned from the gate.
The center was a closed-off place and didn’t allow newly awakened Guides to leave easily.
Even when Haebom suggested they just simulate compatibility like with the other Espers and send him to Seoul if it was high, the Guide division head of the Busan branch only responded with an awkward smile.
Something about S-rank Esper waveforms being state secrets… or whatever.
While he waited, Haebom had to go through Guide training and practice Guiding.
And the man in front of him now was the Busan branch’s only A-rank Esper.
“You’re not leaving? Should I call someone?”
“Ha! You know full well there isn’t an Esper here who’d take you besides me. You think being S-rank means something? Not even a 50% match? I’m the only one above 40%, and yet you act like this. Fine. I’ll wait a little longer.”
The man licked his lips, staring at Haebom with a sleazy expression.
Haebom stared coldly at him for a moment, then pressed the button firmly.
The man scoffed and raised both hands in mock surrender as he left the room.
It was a moment before the on-duty Esper entered.
The Esper on duty looked troubled as he glanced at the A-rank.
He likely couldn’t overpower him, but since the Guide had requested help, he had to intervene.
Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any physical harm.
“If the Guiding’s over, you should leave now.”
“Clicking your tongue again? See you later, Spring Guide.”
Without waiting for a response, the man left the Guiding room.
Haebom gave the on-duty Esper a small bow, embarrassed.
The Esper simply gave a nod and exited Haebom’s office.
Wonho would be out soon, so he just had to wait.
Still, Haebom wasn’t just sitting around.
He’d tried contacting Jin Seyoung, but with no connections inside the center, there was little he could do.
When he was still at the Seoul branch, he hadn’t felt this helpless.
Without Wonho, he was powerless.
Knock knock—
“Yes, come in.”
While lost in his thoughts, the door opened slightly, and a young man with a rather cute face peeked in.
Looking around quickly, he flashed a bright smile.
“Guide Spring! You’re here… again today?”
“Yes…”
At Haebom’s answer, the young man’s expression fell, and he walked into the Guiding room to gently pat Haebom on the back.
Haebom let out a sigh as he looked at him.
He was the only friend Haebom had made at the Busan branch.
Truthfully, he hadn’t planned on staying long, nor had he intended to form bonds with anyone.
Memories of his Guide friends still stung, leaving him no room for anything else.
And yet, he’d formed this connection—because of that insane bastard.
“Guide Chanyang, that jerk didn’t mess with you today?”
The boy—no, Chanyang—smiled innocently and nodded.
Lee Chanyang, twenty this year, had awakened as a C-rank Guide about a year ago.
The very first Esper he met after awakening was that same insane bastard who kept pestering Haebom.
Supposedly, when Chanyang had been a minor, the guy had been kind and attentive.
Not that Haebom believed it.
Still, Chanyang had fallen head over heels.
And once he became an adult, he gave everything—heart, soul, guts—to that Esper.
He thought they were lovers, but of course, that wasn’t the case.
Despite having Chanyang, the Esper continued flirting with other Guides and only came back when it suited him.
The boy had been deeply hurt.
When he saw that the guy was also coming on to Haebom, he’d even warned him not to fall for it.
He was that kind of sweet kid.
Some Guides said Chanyang was just jealous because Haebom was getting attention from that Esper, but Haebom didn’t see it that way.
Chanyang genuinely didn’t want Haebom to get hurt—despite being the one most hurt himself.
“Ugh, did he swallow a stick of butter? Why is he so disgustingly greasy…”
At Haebom’s comment, Chanyang burst into clear laughter.
But when Haebom groaned and pulled at his own hair in frustration, Chanyang quickly pulled out some chocolate from his pocket and placed it in Haebom’s hand.
“You’ll be able to transfer to the Seoul branch soon, right? I think he’ll be coming out any day now…”
Chanyang knew Haebom wanted to go to Seoul.
He didn’t know exactly why, but he understood.
Haebom nodded silently, a gloomy expression on his face.
As he looked at Chanyang’s bright smile, he tried to quell the boiling storm inside.
It was bad enough how that man treated him, but it upset Haebom even more that someone as kind as Chanyang had been hurt.
Even though Chanyang acted like it didn’t bother him, he still flinched whenever the man came up.
And when Haebom left for Seoul, that man would undoubtedly turn his attention back to Chanyang—it was frustrating.
There was nothing Haebom could do.
“Let’s go eat, Guide Chanyang. Chocolate’s for dessert, after we eat.”
“Okay! Let’s go!”
Haebom sighed as he watched Chanyang beam at him.
He wished Wonho would come out of the gate soon.
With every passing moment, he kept checking the news, worried that something might have happened inside.
By the time anything was reported, it would be too late.
Even as an S-rank Guide, the information he had access to as someone newly awakened was severely limited.
