Chapter 17 :
Although he already knew it in theory, experiencing it firsthand was completely different.
Her direct rejection was more shocking than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was because she was the one with the highest Matching Rate with him.
“I can’t just devour a baby Guide who hasn’t even completed his training. I don’t have that kind of hobby.”
“Baby…”
“Be careful. You can’t just Guide any Esper without completing your training.”
Baek Joo-won chuckled at her tone, as if she were lecturing a clueless child.
“Is this the end of your training for today?”
“…I have more in the afternoon.”
“So you have some free time? Let’s go to the cafe on the first floor. They have this amazing Strawberry Chocolate Frappe. Do you like sweets, Mr. Baek Joo-won?”
“I don’t dislike them.”
“Perfect! Let’s go have some. Actually, I was looking forward to having it when I came to the Center today.”
“It sounds like you were more excited about the drink than seeing me.”
“…No, that’s a misunderstanding.”
It didn’t seem like a misunderstanding. It seemed accurate.
When Baek Joo-won gave her a suspicious look, Seo Jae-yi forced a smile and gently pushed him towards the cafe. He played along, obediently following her lead.
As she walked behind him, Seo Jae-yi glanced back.
Baek Joo-won seemed oblivious, but someone was standing at the end of the hallway, behind him.
Kwon Yi-soo, with his dark hair and cold-looking glasses.
“…”
“…”
They used to be somewhat friendly when she was younger, but now they only exchanged curt nods when they crossed paths.
Seo Jae-yi left Kwon Yi-soo standing there, his expression unreadable, and headed to the cafe with Baek Joo-won.
He was more important to her now than Kwon Yi-soo.
***
After sharing a Strawberry Chocolate Frappe with Baek Joo-won, Seo Jae-yi successfully obtained his precious contact information.
This wasn’t a number she had obtained through shady means, like digging through his background. Baek Joo-won had given it to her directly.
‘Guild Master! I’m doing well!’
‘Good job, Seo Jae-yi.’
Kim Yoo-sung was also delighted when she told him.
Seo Jae-yi clenched her fists, feeling triumphant.
She continued to visit the Center for several days, slowly getting closer to Baek Joo-won.
It seemed like someone was trying to prevent others from meeting him, but… it was useless against the instinct of an S-rank Esper craving Guiding.
Moreover, whenever she couldn’t find him, she would simply call him directly, so she rarely missed him.
Finally, when the unidentified individuals interfering with their meetings grew tired and gave up, Baek Joo-won’s practical training began.
“Guiding practice?”
Seo Jae-yi didn’t go to the Center today. She had been neglecting the greenhouse while focusing on Baek Joo-won, and it had become quite messy.
Although the flowers didn’t wilt easily and lasted a long time thanks to the life force, it was her responsibility to maintain them. She decided to skip the Center today and focus on tending the greenhouse.
But she never expected to receive such a call from Baek Joo-won after his training.
“He’s already doing that?”
What was the most important aspect of Guide training?
Theory, physical training, and firearms practice were all crucial for dungeon raids, but Guiding was the top priority.
Even though Baek Joo-won was an S-rank Guide, he needed to learn his limits through practice and master the techniques to prevent Reverse Guiding, where an Esper could seize control and drain his energy.
If a Guide lost all their Guiding energy to an Esper’s demands, they would die instantly, so this was crucial.
“So has your Guiding practice partner been decided?”
To prevent overload during practice, the first partner was usually an Esper with a moderate rank and a stable overload level.
—I haven’t heard who it is, but I was told it’s likely to be an A-rank Esper.
That made sense. A B-rank Esper would have a significant rank difference, and an S-rank would be too risky.
It was highly unlikely that Seo Jae-yi, who was at risk of overload, would be his partner.
She knew that, but…
“Hmm.”
Seo Jae-yi paused, lost in thought as she trimmed the overgrown leaves in the flowerbed.
S-rank Guiding, like an S-rank Esper’s abilities, was incredibly potent and pure, unmatched by lower ranks.
The problem was that lower-ranked Espers could become addicted to this pure S-rank Guiding.
If that happened, there was a high chance of Reverse Guiding, where the Esper would forcefully drain Baek Joo-won’s energy.
“Have you learned how to cut off Guiding?”
—In theory.
“That’s not enough. Hmm… Can I come visit that day?”
She had no intention of receiving Guiding from him. As she had said before, she was the most dangerous person to him right now.
“The Esper might become addicted to your Guiding. You’ll need someone to subdue them if something happens.”
—Are you saying you’ll do that, Ms. Seo Jae-yi?
“If it’s an A-rank Esper, an S-rank can subdue them the fastest. And I’m the most free S-rank in the country.”
Even if Baek Joo-won agreed, the Center might refuse, but she didn’t care. She had never been one to follow rules.
If she had been obedient, she wouldn’t have caused a ruckus and would have quietly submitted to the experiments at the Center in the past.
—I’m okay with it.
Baek Joo-won’s approval was all that mattered.
“Then I’ll contact the Center as well. Let me know when the date is set.”
—Won’t the Center inform you?
“Ah, I’m going even if they tell me not to come.”
Baek Joo-won’s laughter came through the phone at her bold declaration. His low chuckle was incredibly pleasant to her ears.
—I’ll let you know.
The call ended with his kind reply.
“Ah, I can’t wait for that day.”
Seo Jae-yi muttered as she put her phone in her apron pocket, then she was startled by her own words.
“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve looked forward to the future.”
Since awakening as an Esper, her life had been a cycle of experiments, causing chaos, and fighting monsters.
She had never felt anticipation for the next day, stuck in a monotonous routine.
But now, the words had naturally slipped out. It had only been a year since she started living freely, yet she had become accustomed to this life.
So much so that she never wanted to go back.
“This must be how normal people live, right?”
It was bittersweet to experience this luxurious normalcy only as her life was nearing its end.
‘Of course, this will all be over if Mr. Baek Joo-won rejects my offer…’
She would be disappointed, but she wouldn’t have any regrets. She was grateful that he had brought joy to her life.
It was enough that he had given her happy memories, someone who had spent her life on the battlefield until her dying breath.
***
The long-awaited day of Baek Joo-won’s Guiding practice arrived.
Seo Jae-yi made another bouquet as a gesture of support. However, her smile, as bright as the blooming flowers in the beautifully wrapped bouquet, vanished as soon as she entered the Guiding practice room.
Kwon Yi-soo was standing in the observation room, separated from the practice room by a transparent window.
“You actually came.”
“Of course I did!”
Seo Jae-yi replied confidently to his first words.
When she had informed the Center of her intention to observe Baek Joo-won’s first Guiding practice, they had expressed concern and refused.
But as she had told Baek Joo-won, she ignored their objections and came anyway.
“You knew I would come, Center Head.”
Kwon Yi-soo, who had known her since she was young, couldn’t possibly be unaware of her personality. He must have anticipated her arrival, regardless of any obstacles.
“I thought you would have planted someone to obstruct me, but there’s no one, surprisingly.”
Contrary to her expectations of Center staff trying to thwart her attempts to meet Baek Joo-won, she hadn’t encountered any interference on her way here.
However, Kwon Yi-soo scoffed at her words.
“Don’t you remember the time you coughed up blood and pretended to be on the verge of overload when we tried to prevent you from meeting Baek Joo-won?”
That’s right. When the number of people trying to prevent her from meeting Baek Joo-won increased, Seo Jae-yi had spat out some blood and pretended to collapse.
Seeing those panicked individuals scatter like startled gazelles had been quite amusing.
“You shouldn’t have interfered. I wasn’t faking coughing up blood.”
“I know. That’s why I never ordered anyone to interfere.”
Seo Jae-yi was startled. She had assumed it was Kwon Yi-soo’s doing.
“I’m well aware of your condition.”
“…”
His words meant he didn’t want her to die.
It was the first time she had heard him express his feelings so directly, considering he rarely revealed his true intentions. She was dumbfounded. Why couldn’t he always be this straightforward?
‘If Kwon Yi-soo didn’t order it, then who was interfering?’
Well, there was no need to ask. It was definitely the government. Meddling in unnecessary matters was their specialty. Seo Jae-yi snorted.
“What’s that?”
Kwon Yi-soo gestured towards the bouquet of red roses in Seo Jae-yi’s arms. His face was slightly contorted for some reason.
‘Is it strange?’
There was no way. The bouquet was perfect, with red roses and an abundance of white baby’s breath, the perfect complement.
“It’s his first Guiding practice, so I brought it as a gesture of support for Mr. Baek Joo-won.”
“I remember you saying you opened a flower shop. I thought you would have quit by now.”
Seo Jae-yi glared at him.
“Why? I’ve been doing well for six months.”
“I assumed the shop would have burned down by now.”
“…”
She didn’t understand why everyone said that to her.
Well, there had been a few close calls…