The recent Gate anomalies were not a fluke.
As if they had been waiting for the official “Gate Rush” declaration, high-rank Gates began to open one after another.
Every Esper team was placed on emergency alert, and the Guides were no exception.
Originally, Guides didn’t have separate operational teams like Espers did.
However, considering the unique circumstances of a Gate Rush, the Association President issued an order for Guides to form their own tactical units.
For those with exclusive contracts, teams were organized based on their partner Esper’s unit.
The members of Esper Team 1 were each formidable individuals, and almost all of them had exclusive Guides.
However, assigning all of their partners to the same team created a manpower shortage.
Thus, Guide Team 1 was formed with a carefully selected group of six.
Since Suhyeon was Hajin’s irreplaceable Guide, he was naturally assigned to Team 1.
While team leaders were usually determined by a strict rank system, Suhyeon’s unique status was taken into account.
Instead of him, Ryu Jihun—an A-rank Guide and the partner of Esper Lee Jeonghyeon—took the role of leader for the six-member Guide Team 1.
The reason Guides were forming teams was simple: to follow the Espers directly to the Gate sites.
With the increasing frequency of Gates, high-rank Espers had to move from one site to another without rest.
There simply wasn’t enough time to return to the Association for guiding.
Naturally, the Guides had to head into the field as well.
When Esper Team 1 deployed, Guide Team 1 followed to provide on-site support.
This was the new system.
“Are you okay, Suhyeon?”
“Ah, yes.”
Suhyeon nodded to Ryu Jihun, who was handing him a mug of warm water.
Rumble…
Beyond the entrance of the tent, the silhouette of a Gate was faintly visible in the distance.
Occasional monster roars and heavy vibrations shook the fabric of the tent.
Yes. Suhyeon was currently at a Gate site.
—Suhyeon. This isn’t right. It’s fine, so don’t come out here. I’ll tell the President myself—
Hajin had tried to stop him with a near-obsessive fervor, but it was unavoidable.
Suhyeon, surprisingly, accepted the situation quite calmly.
Of course, the first time he went out, he had been stiff with tension, ducking in and out of the tent or base buildings while his hands shook uncontrollably.
But after a few visits, Suhyeon began to regain his usual composure.
It wasn’t as hard as he’d feared.
To begin with, “going to the field” didn’t mean Guides were standing right in front of the Gate.
Since combat usually took place around the Gate perimeter, they couldn’t even if they wanted to.
They waited in a safe location sufficiently far from monsters and potential accidents, guarded by a rotating off-duty Esper and a crowd of bodyguards.
Additionally, just in case, all the Guides were armed.
He had expected to be waiting right in the thick of it when he heard the word “field,” but that wasn’t the case at all.
Granted, the distance to the Gate was much closer than the one time he had stepped out before.
The monster roars that felt like they would tear his eardrums and the tremors in the earth kept him on edge, but that was part of the job.
“Suhyeon, come over here!”
“Yeah, come chat with us!”
Fortunately, the people in his Guide team were all kind and friendly.
Once they learned about Suhyeon’s unique circumstances, they all treated him like a “newborn” Guide, competing to take care of him.
While Suhyeon was technically the youngest among them, the others were in their late twenties or early thirties, so the age gap wasn’t massive.
‘Or was it?’
Since Suhyeon had three years of his life deleted, perhaps the gap was larger than it seemed. Regardless, he had no intention of rejecting their kind hospitality.
“Didn’t you say you got a confession recently, Jihun?”
“Oh, right! You said your partner confessed to you.”
“Honestly, I think you’d look good together. Why did you say no?”
“Well…”
Since the Guides had nothing specific to do while on standby, they often gathered to chat.
Suhyeon found this quite pleasant.
He had never really talked to other Guides or made friends in this field before.
Though he wasn’t particularly social by nature, listening to their idle chatter was a good way to pass the time.
The members of the team seemed to know each other well, but the vibe wasn’t the cold, sterile atmosphere of mere coworkers, which felt refreshing.
—Gate cleared.
—No casualties.
After a long session of chatting, the announcement of the Gate’s clearance came through the earpieces.
Now, their work officially began.
The Guides, including Suhyeon, stood up and moved to their respective stations.
It would take about ten minutes for the Espers to arrive.
—Suhyeon.
Ding.
At the small notification sound, Suhyeon picked up his phone.
—Did it end well?
—Yes. Are you doing okay, Suhyeon?
—Yes.
—(Sticker)
—(Sticker sending a heart)
Seeing Hajin make full use of the stickers Suhyeon had gifted him made Suhyeon’s expression soften.
The man was unexpectedly cute in strange ways.
“Suhyeon.”
Suhyeon looked up from his texting.
Jihun, who had been taking extra care of him—perhaps because he was the team leader—held up his phone.
“Could I get your phone number? We’ll be seeing each other often, and I’d like to get closer.”
Suhyeon blinked.
The look in Jihun’s eyes was purely bright, devoid of any hidden romantic intent.
“Oh, I definitely don’t mean it in that way. You know that, right?”
Realizing how it might have sounded, Jihun laughed and waved his hands dismissively.
There was no harm in having a Guide acquaintance.
As Suhyeon took the phone and began typing his number, the tent flap was pulled back.
“Ugh, I’ve got blood on me.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“Jihun! I’m back.”
“We’re home!”
The Team 1 Espers entered the tent, boisterous and loud.
Seeing them splattered with monster blood here and there was a sight Suhyeon was now quite used to.
“Suhyeon.”
And at the end of the line was Hajin, looking perfectly neat and unruffled.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Hajin wrapped his arms around Suhyeon’s waist and showered his forehead with kisses, completely ignoring the stares of the other Espers and Guides.
The people who used to gape at them like they were seeing ghosts had now seemingly grown accustomed to it, offering only brief glances.
Thanks to that, Suhyeon felt less embarrassed.
He used to think he didn’t care much about the gaze of others, but Hajin always took it a step further.
“Suhyeon, what is that phone?”
Just as Suhyeon was about to stroke Hajin’s back to begin guiding, Hajin, who had been nuzzling into Suhyeon’s shoulder, suddenly let out a sharp tone.
Suhyeon looked down at his hand. He was still holding Jihun’s phone, having not yet finished entering his number.
“Oh, it’s Jihun’s.”
Ryu Jihun, who was already guiding Jeonghyeon, looked up.
Seeing Hajin about to glare at Jihun with the same ferocity he used on Asher, Suhyeon released his guiding fluctuations and gently covered Hajin’s eyes.
His jealousy was truly extreme.
“Ah, yes, yes. I swear, I see the most fascinating things whenever I’m with Suhyeon.”
Jihun smiled slightly and took his phone back with his free hand.
‘Is a boyfriend being jealous really that fascinating?’
Suhyeon blinked but focused on rubbing Hajin’s solid back while releasing his energy.
“It’s not like that.”
Suhyeon whispered into Hajin’s ear as he confirmed the guiding levels were rising.
He could feel the tension in Hajin’s brow relax much faster than it did when Asher was involved—likely due to the guiding.
When Suhyeon pulled his hand away, he saw Hajin’s blue eyes looking a bit pouty.
Suhyeon interlaced his fingers with Hajin’s and spread his guiding energy to soothe him.
Once Hajin’s guiding was finished, another Team 1 Esper approached hesitantly.
Hajin’s gaze turned sharp again, despite having just been calmed.
He immediately wrapped his arms around Suhyeon’s waist from behind, clinging to him.
However, he didn’t say anything about Suhyeon guiding others.
That was because there were over a dozen Espers in Team 1 but only about six Guides.
The combination of the pre-existing Guide shortage and the new Gate Rush meant that the Guides in this tent were required to guide those other than their partners.
Still, guiding others ended much faster than it did with Hajin.
They quickly packed up to head to the next Gate site.
Being busy enough to lose track of time while visiting three or four sites a day was exhausting, but the fieldwork with the team was surprisingly peaceful and manageable.
It might have been difficult if the Espers came back with physical injuries, but the Team 1 members almost never got hurt, and the fellow Guides were kind.
Suhyeon began to think that perhaps even this disaster called a “Gate Rush” might end peacefully for him as a Guide.
But, as always, Suhyeon’s life did not flow quite so smoothly.
