Chapter 59:
‘How can Guiding feel like this?’
It wasn’t that she had never received Guiding before. She had to survive, so she had received Guiding from numerous Guides, including Kwon Yi-soo, even though a highly compatible Guide hadn’t appeared.
But none of them had possessed an energy like Baek Joo-won’s.
‘Was it because I received Guiding in such terrible circumstances?’
The Esper experiments, conducted under the pretense of maximizing S-rank Espers’ abilities.
Seo Jae-yi, a minor with no parents, had been a perfect subject, powerless to resist.
She had been subjected to more experiments than other S-rank Espers and had received Guiding like charity whenever her overload level increased.
It was already horrible being an unwilling test subject; how could she enjoy receiving Guiding from incompatible Guides just to endure more experiments?
Back then, Guiding had been just another experiment to her. She hadn’t had the time or the mental capacity to truly feel it.
But Baek Joo-won’s Guiding erased all those memories.
His energy, forcefully imprinted on her body, as if demanding she forget all other Guiding she had ever received.
She was completely addicted to this pure, clean energy. She felt like she could never receive Guiding from anyone else.
Only Baek Joo-won’s Guiding could truly satisfy her.
Haah. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips.
But then, the Guiding, which felt like it would last forever, abruptly stopped.
“…Huh?”
Seo Jae-yi’s eyes flew open.
Ah, it wasn’t that it had stopped. The Guiding, which should have been flowing solely into her, was leaking. As if someone had stolen it.
She looked up sharply. Her eyes landed on a large hand gripping Baek Joo-won’s shoulder.
“Wow, this… This is…”
An Esper stealing her Guiding.
At that moment, Seo Jae-yi didn’t see her longtime friend Grayson; she saw an Esper stealing what was hers.
Bang!
She jumped to her feet and grabbed Grayson’s hand, ripping it away from Baek Joo-won. Grayson froze, his hand numb from her merciless grip.
“Who are you touching?”
Seo Jae-yi glared at Grayson, pulling Baek Joo-won into her arms. Her eyes, filled with possessiveness and desire, gleamed dangerously.
A cracking sound, as if bones were breaking, echoed from Grayson’s hand.
“Seo Jae-yi, calm down. I was wrong.”
Sensing the danger, Grayson quickly raised his other hand.
“I wasn’t trying to steal your Guide. I never intended to. I was wrong.”
His hand was red and swollen from her grip.
It was Baek Joo-won who calmed the situation.
“Seo Jae-yi.”
He placed his hand on her cheek. Her eyes regained their focus, feeling his gentle touch.
“Ah…”
She finally realized what had happened and frowned, releasing Grayson’s hand. It looked bad; he might have broken a bone.
But it would heal quickly, as it wasn’t inflicted by her ability.
“I’m not apologizing. You know you were wrong, right?”
Seo Jae-yi scolded him, and Grayson nodded.
“I know. I’m sorry. Baek Joo-won, I apologize for stealing your Guiding without permission.”
Grayson apologized to both of them, his usual playful demeanor gone.
Interfering with a Guiding session was extremely dangerous.
The Esper receiving Guiding could lose control, like Seo Jae-yi had just done, or the Guide could be injured by the sudden split in the energy flow.
It was a clear mistake on Grayson’s part.
“Why did you do that?”
“I wanted to know what your Guiding felt like. It makes even S-ranks lose control; I was curious.”
But that wasn’t the only reason why Grayson had taken such a risk.
He knew how dangerous it was; he wouldn’t have interfered just out of curiosity.
He had done it because he needed to confirm something.
‘It’s truly amazing.’
Grayson looked at his swollen hand.
Baek Joo-won’s Guiding was incredibly sweet and addictive. He had received Guiding from countless Guides as the next US Association Head, but he had never felt anything like this.
But what shocked him even more was Seo Jae-yi’s reaction.
He had known her for almost ten years, but this was the first time she had genuinely tried to kill him. The moment he stole her Guiding, she had seen him not as a friend, but as an Esper who needed to be eliminated.
In other words, Baek Joo-won was that important to her.
‘I’m glad I came here myself.’
Grayson sighed and gently shook his swollen hand. The broken bones were slowly setting back into place.
“By the way, honey.”
“Yes?”
“How long are you going to hold him like that? I know he’s precious, but…”
Grayson smiled mischievously, seeing that Seo Jae-yi had calmed down.
A question mark appeared above her head.
Holding him? What was he…?
“Huh?”
She finally realized she was clinging to Baek Joo-won, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Eeeeek!”
She shrieked, feeling his warm breath on her neck, and quickly jumped back, releasing him. She was so startled that she tripped and fell backwards.
Grayson burst out laughing, witnessing the rare sight.
“Oh my god! An S-rank tripping and falling on flat ground? You’d be ridiculed if it happened during a fight, and it happened here, where there’s nothing?”
S-rank Espers were S-ranks for a reason. Their sense of balance was monstrous; they could dance the most intense techno with one leg and do backflips without losing their balance.
“You wouldn’t be this surprised even if you saw a bug.”
Baek Joo-won, who had been subjected to her embrace, clicked his tongue, and Seo Jae-yi quickly apologized.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry. I’m sorry if you felt uncomfortable. I, I didn’t mean to…”
“You seem more uncomfortable than I am. I apologize for being hugged.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Seo Jae-yi tried to defend herself, but she couldn’t change his mind, which was already set.
But wouldn’t it be strange not to be surprised?
She rubbed her neck, where his breath had touched her. It shouldn’t have been burned, but it felt strangely hot.
She felt strange.
***
The nausea and dizziness had completely vanished after receiving Guiding. Her overload level had also dropped to 34%.
They left the training room after the Guiding session, which had ended without any major incidents, despite the minor mishap.
“By the way, Baek Joo-won, the tailor shop where you had your suit fitted called and asked you to come for a fitting. When are you free?”
“Oh, you had a suit fitted? Well, you have a great physique; suits suit you. Can’t I come too?”
“No. You’re too dangerous to take anywhere after what I saw today.”
Grayson shut up at her words, implying she couldn’t take him anywhere after he interfered with her Guiding.
He had made a mistake, but he had a reason!
But he couldn’t say that, so he just sulked silently.
“I’m available today. Tomorrow too.”
“Really? Then let’s go now.”
Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won made plans, ignoring Grayson.
“The lobby is busy.”
They headed down to the first floor to go to the tailor shop and noticed the unusually busy lobby.
It seemed strange for it to be because of the dungeon breakout cleanup.
“Why is the Center Head here?”
Yes, that was strange.
Kwon Yi-soo, who rarely left his office, was in the lobby, even though it wasn’t even closing time.
There had been a dungeon breakout, but it wasn’t serious enough to warrant his presence. What was going on?
“Ah, there you are.”
The people who had been talking to Kwon Yi-soo turned towards them.
Kwon Yi-soo also looked at them, and his face contorted the moment his eyes met Seo Jae-yi’s. It was the first time she had seen him make such an expression.
“Maggie, did you do something?”
“Honey, get rid of your prejudice that it’s my fault. It’s obviously your fault, right?”
It wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t done anything.
But the middle-aged man, who had been approaching them, stopped in front of Seo Jae-yi.
“You’re Esper Seo Jae-yi, right?”
She didn’t even have time to scold him for speaking informally to her. What, had she really done something wrong? No, she had been behaving herself lately.
‘Did the dungeon plants in my greenhouse go on a rampage?’
Was he here to hold her responsible?
As all sorts of thoughts raced through her mind, the man continued.
“I’m Chu Sung-won, in charge of the South Chungcheong Guiding Center.”
South Chungcheong? She had no connection to that region.
“I have some good news for you. But I didn’t have your contact information or location, so I asked the Center Head, and here you are. Is this fate?”
Seo Jae-yi glanced at Kwon Yi-soo, who was standing behind her. He was still frowning and sighed when their eyes met.
That expression… This didn’t feel like good news at all.
“Hey, Ju-hyun! Come here!”
Chu Sung-won beckoned, and a young man, looking surprised, rushed over. He had dyed brown hair, gentle eyes, and a puppy-like appearance.
He stood next to Chu Sung-won and bowed to Seo Jae-yi. His face was flushed, his gaze fixed on her.
Seo Jae-yi still couldn’t understand what was going on.
“This is Gong Ju-hyun.”
Gong Ju-hyun. A pretty name that suited his appearance.
“He’s an A-rank Guide who awakened a few months ago.”
“Ah, okay. And?”
“And his Matching Rate with you turned out to be a whopping 48%!”
48%. It was a surprising number for Seo Jae-yi, who hadn’t met a Guide with a Matching Rate higher than 37% in eleven years.
But she had just received Guiding from a Guide with a 93% Matching Rate. It was surprising, but nothing more.
“Ah, okay. And?”
She asked again, unable to grasp the context, and Chu Sung-won smiled brightly.
“The government was so delighted to hear this news that they decided to appoint Gong Ju-hyun as your exclusive Guide!”
What kind of nonsense was this?
Seo Jae-yi couldn’t believe her ears. Even Grayson gasped, not in delight, but in shock.
They were appointing a mere A-rank Guide with a 48% Matching Rate as an exclusive Guide for an S-rank Esper? And when there was an S-rank Guide with a 93% Matching Rate?
‘This is it.’
This was the government’s firm declaration that they wouldn’t allow Baek Joo-won to become her Pair.
Seo Jae-yi chuckled dryly. She knew they were desperate to keep Baek Joo-won at the Center, but this was unexpected.
She was speechless for a long moment.