* * *
“Siwoo, over here!”
Hamin was the first to greet Siwoo, flashing a bright smile.
Siwoo gave a small nod and slowly walked over.
As he drew closer, Raon tensed up for no good reason.
‘Damn it, what’s wrong with me?’
His heart pounded wildly.
Maybe it was because, in the end, only Siwoo had truly tried to save him.
He hadn’t cried or screamed then, but the desperation in Siwoo’s voice still echoed in his ears.
Scrape.
A chair was pulled out.
When Raon looked up, Siwoo sat across from him with a blank expression, deliberately avoiding his gaze.
Come to think of it, their relationship had been terrible around this time too.
Raon’s social ties had never been good with anyone, but Siwoo probably harbored deeper resentment than most.
After all, the guide who was supposed to pair with Siwoo had chased after another Esper, half-heartedly guiding him, if at all.
Even Raon himself would’ve wanted to tear that guy apart.
‘Still, he’s a good kid.’
Perhaps he’d just given up and become indifferent, but from what Raon remembered, Siwoo had always been like that since the beginning.
He joined Alpha Team 1 at eighteen, the youngest member at the time.
From the start, he had little expression and was naturally reserved.
Whether that was just his personality or there was a deeper reason, Raon didn’t know.
Still, even as he suffered from chronic guiding deficiency due to Raon, he never once got angry.
He just ignored Raon like he was doing now—like someone mildly annoyed.
In the end, he even cried out Raon’s name with desperation, telling him not to die.
Compared to those who outright hated or ostracized him, Siwoo was far kinder and more respectful.
Raon silently stared at Siwoo’s side profile as he continued to be ignored.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
Dojin said in a calm tone.
What had happened around this time again?
Raon tried to recall.
When he first joined Alpha Team 1, he was too busy pretending to be the original Raon and struggling with the system’s interference.
But by the second and third years, he had started to get used to it.
Humans are creatures of adaptation, after all.
‘Come to think of it, those two still haven’t become a pair yet.’
Dojin, the main top, and Hamin, the main botto..
Despite their overwhelming 95% compatibility rate, they still weren’t officially paired.
Of course, that was because the villain—Raon—kept getting in the way.
Back then, Hamin was a B-rank guide, before his reawakening.
Normally, B-rank guides weren’t strong enough to support S-rank Espers.
Still, because their match rate was so high, even the Association recommended their pairing.
But Raon had strongly objected, saying Hamin wasn’t good enough because he was only B-rank.
Strangely enough, the Association listened to Raon—not because of his background, but because they too weren’t confident in such an unusual S-rank/B-rank pairing.
So Hamin ended up joining Alpha Team 1 as a support guide, constantly under Raon’s watchful eye, struggling to guide Dojin while being scolded and micromanaged.
‘Now that I think about it, I do feel a little bad.’
Even if it hadn’t been sincere, Raon remembered all the harsh words and sharp actions he had thrown at Hamin.
Maybe this was just a brief moment of rebellion while the system was down, but for now, he wanted to try getting along with him.
“Han Raon, focus.”
“Ah.”
Raon turned his head and met Dojin’s piercing turquoise gaze.
It seemed he’d been caught spacing out.
He lowered his head obediently.
“Apologies.”
“……”
The sharp gaze lingered on him for a moment before disappearing.
Dojin resumed speaking.
‘Whew.’
That was a close one.
But this wasn’t anything new.
Raon couldn’t show it, but every time he faced an S-rank Esper, his skin prickled and his hair stood on end.
Their presence was overwhelming.
Even as an S-rank himself, Raon often found it hard to handle being around other S-ranks.
Moreover, they all disliked Raon, without exception.
While they carefully controlled their energy around others, they had no such restraint with him, often lashing out freely.
Raon quietly exhaled, his face pale.
Even without the system, Han Raon was still Han Raon.
He had already become a target of resentment—nothing would change so easily.
Resigned, he waited for the meeting to end.
“…Alright then. That’s all. Meeting dismissed.”
“Yes, sir!”
As soon as Team Leader Dojin wrapped up, Taegeon responded with enthusiasm and got to his feet.
Calling it a “meeting” was generous—it was really just Dojin issuing orders and assignments.
Raon stood up as well.
The espers were about to head out for their mission.
Unless it was a special case, Guides rarely accompanied espers to the field.
So Raon mostly stayed inside the Center.
Fortunately, that was the case now too.
“Yoon Siwoo!”
“…?”
Siwoo, who had been heading out of the meeting room with the other espers, turned his head in confusion.
Seeing his cold expression, Raon stepped closer.
“You’re about to go on a mission, right? I’ll guide you before you leave.”
“…”
“There’s an available guiding room right now…”
Raon tapped on his watch, searching for an empty guiding room, but before he could finish, a sharp voice cut him off from above.
“What’s your level?”
“Huh?”
When he looked up, Siwoo was frowning faintly, looking down at him with a frosty gaze.
Raon stared back, momentarily at a loss for words.
“You never offered before. Why now, all of a sudden?”
“Ah…”
Raon blinked slowly, seeing the wariness in Siwoo’s eyes.
It made sense.
After all, Raon had been avoiding guiding him, making excuses.
Approaching him out of the blue like this could definitely raise suspicion.
Siwoo probably thought he was trying a new tactic.
Raon shook his head and replied, “No, I genuinely want to guide you…”
“I don’t need it.”
“But your vitals are really low…”
“…”
As the designated Guide for Alpha Team 1, Raon could check the espers’ stats on his watch.
Thanks to Hamin, who was always dutiful about guiding despite the cold treatment, Dojin was in good shape.
Taegeon, being a psychic-type esper, held up decently on his own.
But Siwoo, a nature-type, was running on empty—his vitals were flashing red on Raon’s screen.
If he went on a mission like this, something could go terribly wrong.
To Raon’s knowledge, Siwoo had never lost control or gone berserk.
He probably held himself together through sheer will or relied on medication.
But that wasn’t good for his health.
Now that Raon was free of the system’s surveillance, he wanted to restore Siwoo’s condition, even just a little.
Maybe it was the only way he could begin to atone.
“…Fine. Let’s do it. The guiding.”
“O-oh, okay.”
The moment Raon brought up the vitals, Siwoo responded in a low, subdued voice and strode ahead without hesitation.
Raon quickly followed.
Without even checking his watch, Siwoo somehow found an empty guiding room and flung the door open.
Bang!
He shoved Raon inside.
“Ah…”
The force behind it made Raon let out a small groan.
It felt like Siwoo couldn’t suppress his tension, even before they began guiding.
“Just give me your hand.”
“…Okay.”
Siwoo sat down in the guiding chair and turned away, offering his hand without looking at him.
It was the same way Raon had guided him in the past—without so much as glancing at his face, saying even that was too much.
Suppressing a sigh, Raon took the seat opposite him.
But unlike Siwoo, Raon looked him straight in the eye and gently took his hand.
Flinch. Siwoo’s body trembled visibly as he continued to look away.
Raon slowly let his guiding energy flow into the hand he held.
‘It’s a mess.’
Siwoo’s hand, like his aura, was cold and clammy.
Inside, his energy was tangled and chaotic, twisted from a lack of proper guidance.
Raon didn’t even know where to start.
He hadn’t done much more than the bare minimum while pretending to be the real Raon, so he hadn’t realized how bad Siwoo’s condition was.
Guilt swept over him, and Raon bit his lip.
“Ngh.”
As the guiding became more intense, beads of sweat formed on Siwoo’s forehead.
It was his first time receiving proper guidance, and his body resisted.
His grip on Raon’s hand tightened.
But as Raon gently soothed the rough energy like calming turbulent waves, Siwoo suddenly stood and violently jerked his hand away.
“Cut it out!”
“…Ah.”
Siwoo’s black eyes glared at him, his breath coming quick and shallow, his face flushed with confusion and anger.
Raon, hand still suspended midair, stared at him in silence.
For the first time, Siwoo was openly showing strong emotion.
“What the hell are you doing, all of a sudden?! You think just because you do this, I’ll…!”
“…”
“Do you know how much I—!”
His voice cracked as his pent-up resentment echoed through the guiding room.
Raon bowed his head, quietly listening to the rage.
Siwoo’s anger was justified. He had every right to be furious.
“…I’m sorry.”
For the first time, Raon sincerely apologized.
* * *
