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Guiding the Rampaging Sub Male Protagonist chapter 44

* * *

After sharing a chocolate cake with Wonho and even getting seen off, Haebom felt as if they had gotten at least one step closer.

Except for when he was very young, he couldn’t remember ever telling someone he was heading out.

Even while living with Wonho, he had never had the chance to either send him off or be sent off himself—Wonho had always left the house first.

It felt strange.

Every time he went out, he was used to speaking his goodbyes into empty space.

But now, he was saying it to a person.

And not just anyone—Wonho, the very person who had made Haebom restless every time he appeared in the novel.

Despite trying to suppress it, the corners of his mouth kept tugging upward.

Haebom, unaware of how stiffly Wonho was staring at him, simply beamed as he stepped out of the house.

Wonho had only asked where he was going, not why.

So all he could do now was stare blankly at the empty entranceway.

No—rather than simply staring, it was more like glaring.

Unlike the oblivious Haebom, who was simply delighted at being seen off, Wonho noticed every little movement Haebom made on the first floor.

‘He’s going to the Center… but why does he look so damn happy about it?’

Not knowing the answer only made Wonho frown deeper as he continued to glare at the front door—as if staring at it long enough would somehow give him an answer.

But the person who could answer had already left.

Still, it wasn’t long before Wonho figured it out.

About ten minutes after Haebom had left, a soft notification sounded from Wonho’s gear.

If it were an emergency alert—something related to a gate, an on-site incident, or a criminal—his ears would be ringing from the volume.

Even calls from the research facility inside the Center were significantly louder than this.

But this alert was quiet.

[ Yoon Haebom G (Pair E: Wonho) – Currently Guiding ]

Pairs could always track each other’s locations, but they couldn’t tell exactly what the other was doing.
They could only make rough guesses based on their whereabouts.

However, there was one exception.

If a Esper provided guidance to someone other than their Pair, or if they received guidance from another Guide, an alert would be sent.

It was a precaution against potential accidents.

The moment Wonho saw the notification, his thoughts ground to a halt.

‘Why?’

‘He’s guiding someone else?’

‘Why’

A flood of question marks exploded in his mind.

Wonho knew better than anyone what happened when an Esper received Haebom’s guidance.

He wasn’t concerned about whether all Espers reacted that way—it wasn’t his problem.

No.

It was his problem.

The guiding education materials had stated that such reactions were especially strong when the match rate was high or when the guiding involved deep physical contact.

But Wonho knew better.

‘Even without deep contact, it still happened.’

Before he knew it, he was moving.

Bang!

The loud slam of his door echoed through the house.

A crack split across its surface, but Wonho didn’t care.

He strode down the stairs, straight through the front door, and toward the Center.

‘Why am I going?’

He wasn’t sure.

But he couldn’t stay still.

At that moment, he had to see Yoon Haebom’s face.


“Hello.”

Haebom tilted his head slightly as he looked at the Esper sitting in front of him.

He had accepted the request, but he still found it strange.

“You were here yesterday too, weren’t you?”

“Yeah. Since early this morning, I’ve been chasing down unregistered Espers and training hard. So now, I need some guiding, Mr. Guide.”

The Esper across from him smiled, his voice dripping with sweetness.

It was so sweet it might as well have been dripping honey.

But Haebom didn’t know what this man’s usual tone was like, so he just assumed this was normal.

He’d always heard that Espers were generally prickly, but apparently, that wasn’t always the case.

Satisfied with his reasoning, Haebom nodded and checked the Esper’s runaway energy level on his tablet.

His gear was strictly for monitoring his Pair, but the tablet displayed limited information about the Esper requesting guidance—name, rank, ability category, and runaway percentage.

[ 57% ]

Compared to Wonho, who was always at 80% or higher, it was laughably low.

But for an ordinary Esper, it was still considered high.

Even so, Haebom didn’t let down his guard.

One of the senior Guides had advised him never to be too careless around Espers.

Of course, that rule didn’t apply to his Pair.

…Not that he could afford to keep treating the person he lived with differently.

“Give me your hand.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

This was just work.

He was getting paid.

But for some reason, the Esper looked way too happy about it.

Haebom quickly glanced at the tablet again.

The name… hmm.

Lee Jungwoo.

He’d seen it yesterday, and again when the request came in, but had already forgotten.

Placing his right hand over Jungwoo’s outstretched palm, Haebom pressed the “Start Guiding” button with his left.

“Esper Lee Jungwoo, I will now begin guiding.”

“Yes, please take good care of me.”

No matter how much Haebom tried to steel himself, it was difficult to ignore the overly friendly smile in front of him.

Especially since today’s session was scheduled to last a full two hours.

Two whole hours, in the same room, holding hands.

He already felt awkward.

“Haah… This feels so good. No wonder people get addicted to Guides with high match rates.”

Jungwoo’s honey-dripping voice trembled with emotion.

A slight wetness seeped into his tone.

Suppressing a shiver, Haebom focused on releasing his guiding energy more precisely.

Then he glanced back at the tablet.

His match rate with Jungwoo was 68%.

Compared to Wonho, it was laughably low—nowhere near the threshold for forming a Pair.

But for Jungwoo, who didn’t have a Pair, Haebom was the highest match available.

That was all Haebom needed to know.

“…Is that so? I wouldn’t know. It’s not like I’ll ever experience it myself.”

“That’s a shame. I wish you could feel the same way I do when I receive your guidance, Mr. Guide.”

Just moments ago, Lee Jungwoo had been so overwhelmed with bliss that he thought he could die without regrets, but his expression quickly shifted, his eyes drooping downward.

His lips threatened to follow suit, making him look so dejected that it was almost pitiful.

But that didn’t mean Haebom could do anything about it.

Other than feeling awkward and uncomfortable holding another man’s hand, he felt absolutely nothing.

And he couldn’t exactly lie and pretend he did, could he?

‘It wasn’t like this when I guided Wonho…’

Haebom didn’t realize he was thinking about Wonho again.

His thoughts kept drifting to him whenever there was a spare moment, an unconscious habit he hadn’t even noticed.

And because he didn’t think there was anything strange about it, he failed to recognize it himself.

Lee Jungwoo, on the other hand, thought his words had worked when he saw a faint flush creep up Haebom’s otherwise composed face.

Was it possible that this small, adorable Guide had even a sliver of affection for him?

* * *

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