* * *
The moment Haebom saw Wonho’s name, the composure he had just managed to gather wavered.
Seeing him half-asleep earlier was one thing, but facing him like this was entirely different.
Still, since he had come all this way, Haebom opened the door.
When the door slid open, Wonho stood there with his usual expressionless face.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
Haebom tilted his head when Wonho didn’t step inside, despite the door being open.
Well, considering what happened last night with that drunk, it made sense that Wonho would be wary.
Espers had the power to subdue guides at any time.
But that didn’t mean guides were completely powerless against espers—just not physically.
Instead of approaching him, Haebom took a step back.
The sofa and bed seemed a bit risky, so he walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair.
Only after Haebom moved deeper into the office did Wonho finally step inside.
Once he did, the door shut, leaving just the two of them in this space—far smaller than their shared home.
Realizing this, Haebom suddenly felt nervous, unconsciously swallowing hard.
“…So, why are you here?”
“What?”
Ah. The words had slipped out before passing through his brain, making Haebom flustered.
But honestly, he was curious.
Wonho never showed up when he was being searched for, so why now?
Was yesterday’s guidance that good?
Did he finally decide to receive guidance properly?
A thousand questions raced through his mind.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just… didn’t expect you to respond to the call so suddenly.”
“Hah… Is it a problem that I responded? Should I leave, then?”
“No, no. Hold on….”
Haebom muttered to himself, wondering why he had to be the one pleading when Wonho was the one who would literally die without guidance.
But considering what he did yesterday, he decided to let it slide.
Wonho’s face twisted in irritation as he stood near the door, glaring—or rather, openly scowling—at Haebom.
“…I came to tell you not to call me or come looking for me unnecessarily. Guidance should be done once a day, through radiation guiding. No more than that. I’ll come find you myself, so don’t call me.”
His voice was firm, delivering his message with pinpoint accuracy, as if he had rehearsed it.
Watching him, Haebom thought he sounded like an AI.
There was nothing in his tone except cold determination.
If Wonho knew what Haebom was thinking, he’d probably consider it a success.
Radiation guiding required more concentration than physical contact or close-proximity guiding, which would make things harder for Haebom.
But he didn’t really care.
As long as he provided guidance, it didn’t matter how.
The one who would struggle with radiation guiding was Wonho.
Haebom considered pointing that out but decided to just accept it.
Running away for a week and now voluntarily receiving guidance—wasn’t that already a huge improvement?
Besides, if guidance made him feel good, then it must be uncomfortable for him to receive it from someone while having feelings for Choi Yoonseo.
Haebom, being the generous person he was, decided to understand.
He had messed up too, after all.
“Alright. Then let’s do today’s guiding first.”
“What? No, I’m good. Hey…!”
Wonho had received enough guidance yesterday, and since he wasn’t planning to use his abilities today unless necessary, he figured he didn’t need any more.
But that was only his opinion.
Haebom, remembering Jin Seyoung’s strict instructions to guide him daily, noticed Wonho was about to bolt and wasted no time releasing his guiding energy.
The distance between them made it slightly difficult to extend the energy, but thanks to his focused training, he managed.
He felt his energy reach Wonho.
Wonho clenched his teeth as Haebom’s presence flooded the room, wrapping around him like waves crashing on a shore.
It started as a tingling sensation on his skin before seeping inside, untangling his twisted and knotted energy strands, dissolving the accumulated impurities.
Guidance from anyone other than Choi Yoonseo had always made him feel sick and in pain.
Even with Choi Yoonseo, he had never felt anything quite like this before.
If he wasn’t careful, he might…
No, he was already halfway there.
“…Shit.”
Wonho felt as if Haebom’s vast and overwhelming guiding energy had shackled him in place.
But with sheer willpower, he forced his heavy feet to move and turned around, marching straight out of the guide office.
“…Huh?”
Haebom, who had been focusing on spreading his guiding energy, opened his eyes in surprise at the sudden noise.
The moment his target disappeared, his energy dissipated instantly.
He stared blankly at the door that had just slid shut.
Wonho ran away again.
Haebom couldn’t understand what his problem was, but at least he had received some guidance.
Checking the monitor, he saw that Wonho’s energy levels had dropped slightly.
It confirmed what he suspected—radiation guiding took far longer to be effective.
Holding hands would be way more efficient.
Haebom shook his head and turned on his laptop to record today’s guiding session.
Of course, he didn’t record yesterday’s session.
He had no idea what to even write.
[XX Month XX Day X-day, 3:05 PM, Wonho (E), Radiation Guidance Start: 4 minutes]
Looking at the pathetic number, he groaned.
But hey, at least he did something.
After logging the session into the guide management program, he sighed.
Guiding logs were crucial to avoid reports or disciplinary actions.
Being a guide was practically a government job—full of regulations and responsibilities.
Once Wonho stabilized a bit more, Haebom thought about taking on other esper guidance requests.
Sure, being a ‘salary thief’ was nice, but this was getting ridiculous.
Once his guide training was over, he’d only have Wonho to guide, so taking on extra work might be the better option.
He still had to exercise, but… that was a problem for future Haebom.
Three days had passed since then.
Perhaps trying to stay true to his words, Wonho had been receiving guidance from Haebom once a day for those three days.
The problem was that the shortest session lasted only a minute, while the longest barely stretched to five.
Unlike direct-contact guiding, which required physical touch and a strong focus on the recipient, radiation guiding was more about spreading guiding energy outward rather than concentrating it on a single person.
This meant that it needed to be done for a much longer duration compared to direct-contact guiding.
In other words, a process that could be completed in an hour with simple hand-holding would take at least three hours through radiation guiding.
Still, the fact that Wonho had extended his sessions to five minutes was, in some sense, progress.
Even so, Haebom could only shake his head in frustration.
“Don’t let your mind wander while exercising. Guide Yoon Haebom, you could get hurt if you lose focus.”
“Ugh… Yes, sir.”
Haebom’s lips drooped at the voice coming from behind him.
Ever since Jin Seyoung had suggested he start working out, he had been putting it off.
But today, he had finally dragged himself to the gym.
Unlike Espers, who trained independently, guides had access to a dedicated fitness center with in-house trainers.
Most guides weren’t well-versed in exercise, so this was a welfare benefit designed to teach them how to train efficiently in a short amount of time.
Not that Haebom particularly appreciated this benefit.
They had promised to start light, yet he ended up working out until his legs were shaking.
On top of that, he got an earful about his poor stamina.
“You need a healthy body to provide proper guidance…”
* * *
