* * *
As soon as Seyoung opened Haebom’s general guiding availability, requests from Espers flooded in.
Haebom, unaware of this, simply stood behind Seyoung with an innocent expression, waiting quietly.
“Hmm…”
Seyoung scanned the names of the requesting Espers one by one, selecting the first candidate for Haebom’s general guiding session.
He chose an A-class Esper known for his polite and respectful attitude during guiding.
The Esper had a pair, but she was on parental leave.
Of course, the child was his own.
He was married, and his relationship with his guide was famously good, meaning there was no risk of him mistreating Haebom.
“Just try guiding one person for now. Technically, you could just rest until Wonho comes back from the gate…”
“No, I’ll do it. I can do this.”
Haebom clenched his fists in determination, though his tiny hands only made him look more fragile rather than reliable.
Seyoung smirked and accepted the Esper’s request.
“He’ll come to your guide office in thirty minutes. Like I said earlier, don’t forget the call button, alright?”
Haebom nodded at Seyoung’s reminder.
Having someone worry about him felt… strange.
Despite all the suspicious circumstances surrounding him, Seyoung was genuinely concerned about him.
His toes tingled, and he couldn’t stop his lips from curling up.
“Hello. My name is Kang Junghoon.”
“H-Hello…”
Haebom awkwardly bowed, and Kang Junghoon let out a small cough at the overly polite greeting.
Sniff.
Haebom sniffled and lifted his head, quickly turning away.
It felt strange to be alone in his office with another Esper who wasn’t Wonho, and he kept displaying odd behaviors as a result.
He walked further inside, set his tablet on the table, and opened the necessary app for general guiding.
Once logged in, Junghoon’s personal information popped up.
Their matching rate was 58%.
It wasn’t enough to qualify for a pair, but it was relatively high.
“P-Please sit here.”
“Thank you. This is my first time receiving guidance from an S-class guide, so I’m a little nervous.”
Junghoon smiled as he took the seat across from Haebom, with the table between them.
Haebom was tense—this was his first time guiding anyone other than Wonho.
Because of that, he wasn’t fully registering what Junghoon was saying.
Junghoon noticed his nervous state and let out a quiet chuckle.
It had been a long time since he’d seen such an anxious, fledgling guide.
At the same time, he was reminded of his own pair, his wife, and the first guiding session she had given him.
She had been just as nervous back then.
The memory made him smile, and he had to consciously lower the corners of his lips.
“Alright, let’s begin the guiding session. Please place your hand here…”
Haebom pressed the start button on the app and placed his right hand on the table.
His left hand still gripped the emergency call button Seyoung had given him.
Junghoon, suppressing a smile, placed his left hand over Haebom’s right.
“I’ll be in your care, Guide.”
“Y-Yes…!”
Unlike Wonho, who was always irritable, Junghoon’s composed attitude helped Haebom gradually relax.
A guide’s emotional state was crucial to a guiding session, so it was best to stay calm.
As he guided Wonho, he had never been this nervous before…
Haebom let his guiding energy flow through his fingertips.
“Haa…”
Junghoon exhaled in admiration.
To be honest, he had been expecting a lot from an S-class guide.
His pair was a B-class guide, but their matching rate was high, and they worked well together, so he had never been dissatisfied.
Even now, receiving Haebom’s guidance didn’t change his feelings toward his wife. She was his destiny.
But separate from that, the guiding energy flowing from Haebom was beyond words.
Their matching rate was only slightly above average, yet the sensation seeping into him through their joined hands was blissful.
The accumulated fatigue within his body melted away, leaving him in awe.
At this level, any Esper would be captivated by his guiding.
“…This is amazing.”
Every time Kang Junghoon let out a sigh, Haebom flinched. But when he heard Junghoon’s words, his face noticeably brightened.
He had been worried that his guiding might not be good enough.
Even though it was just one person, he had felt discouraged because of Wonho.
But now, he felt a bit more confident.
It wasn’t that his guiding was bad. Wonho was the strange one.
Regular guiding was done solely through physical contact, usually by holding hands, and could last anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours, depending on the Esper’s condition.
Since Kang Junghoon was unable to receive guiding from his Pair, the session had to be the full two hours.
With the compliment lifting his mood, Haebom found that his guiding was even more effective than usual.
After exactly two hours, the tablet emitted a sound, signaling the end of the session.
Hearing the notification, Kang Junghoon immediately let go of Haebom’s hand.
As soon as he was free, Haebom flexed his fingers, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Holding hands for two hours straight had been more tiring than he had expected.
Still, since he had been focused on guiding, time had passed quickly.
He had worried that it might feel awkward, but it hadn’t been too bad.
“Thank you. S-rank guides really are on another level. Wonho Esper is lucky to have you.”
Junghoon, feeling lighter than he had in a long time, looked at Haebom with a deepened smile.
Haebom grinned as well, pleased by the thought that he had been able to help someone.
It felt good to be praised by someone other than the guy who had been running away from his guiding all this time.
“Can I request you again next time?”
“Oh! Yes, of course. You worked hard for two hours.”
“You’re the one who worked hard, Guide-nim. Thank you.”
With that, Haebom successfully wrapped up his first official guiding session.
After sending Junghoon off, he collapsed onto the bed in the corner of the room, arms and legs spread out.
Guiding required more stamina than he had realized.
When he guided Wonho, the longest session had been five minutes at most, so he had never felt this exhausted.
Even yesterday, when he had done it while holding him, the session hadn’t lasted long enough to tire him out.
Now, he finally understood why physical training was part of a guide’s welfare program.
If he really wanted to guide Wonho properly, he would need to start working out.
But why should he have to exercise for that runaway bastard?
The thought annoyed him, and he let out a deep sigh.
Just wait until you step out of that gate…
Muttering to himself, Haebom imagined Wonho’s irritating face and growled under his breath.
Bang!
Screeeech! Kuaaak!
With a flick of his hand, massive ice pillars shot down from the dark sky, slamming into the ground with a deafening crash.
The monstrous creatures shrieked in agony as the ice speared through their bodies.
“Whoa, Wonho Esper. You’re in good condition today.”
Na Hyunjoon, who normally wouldn’t have even spoken to him, approached and made a comment.
Wonho glanced at him briefly before turning back to the battlefield.
A third-grade gate like this was something Na Hyunjoon could have handled alone.
Still, two more Espers stood at his side—C-rank support-type Espers that always accompanied him whenever he entered a gate.
Under normal circumstances, there was no way he would have ended up in the same gate as Na Hyunjoon.
But he had been too preoccupied to check which gate he was applying for, and that was a mistake.
If he had seen Na Hyunjoon’s name listed, he never would have entered.
With Choi Yoonseo back, he should have expected that Na Hyunjoon would return as well.
All this trouble because of one tiny guide…
He swallowed a sigh.
* * *
