Chapter 80:
“But…”
“Don’t you want your wish to come true?”
…His wish?
“Your wish to become Esper Seo Jae-yi’s sole savior. Don’t you want to be by her side, not that unknown Baek Joo-won?”
Park Jung-soo’s low, slow voice bound Gong Ju-hyun. The ominous feeling he had felt since entering this house crept up his legs.
But he couldn’t shake it off because it was rooted in the strong emotions he had built up over eight long years.
The admiration that had blossomed into love over eight years responded to Park Jung-soo’s voice, preventing him from escaping.
“If you give up now, it won’t be you who possesses Seo Jae-yi, but Baek Joo-won.”
“I, I…”
“Not you, who worked so hard to be by her side, but Baek Joo-won, who appeared out of nowhere. And you’ll never have Esper Seo Jae-yi. Baek Joo-won will take everything.”
Baek Joo-won. The name of the man who had suddenly appeared and stolen everything he had ever wanted shook Gong Ju-hyun to his core.
He moved powerlessly, guided by Park Jung-soo’s gentle push on his back.
Towards the cold, hard metal stool.
No, towards the lifeline that would bring him closer to Seo Jae-yi.
“I’ll help you. You can do it. I couldn’t bind her because my Matching Rate with her was less than 10%, but you can.”
He was so consumed by his obsession that he could barely hear Park Jung-soo’s voice.
Gong Ju-hyun simply followed his instructions. He sat on the stool, and thick belts tightened around his arms and legs.
“This experiment will definitely succeed.”
Park Jung-soo brought a vial containing a sample that emitted a brilliant red light. It looked like trapped flames, or perhaps the essence of a sunset.
Park Jung-soo gazed at it with an awestruck expression.
“With this Awakening Factor extracted from Seo Jae-yi…”
He popped the cork, and the scent of burning flames filled the air. Gong Ju-hyun, who had been dazed, flinched.
Ah, he hadn’t known before, but he knew now. He had just experienced it.
The heat he had felt when he Guided Seo Jae-yi. The scorching flames that threatened to incinerate him. The all-consuming inferno.
Seo Jae-yi’s concentrated Esper energy.
“Now, get used to it. The more you get used to it, the higher your Matching Rate with her will become. High enough to become paired.”
Gong Ju-hyun instinctively activated his Guiding, exposed to the Esper’s energy. It was a waste, as there was no Esper to receive it, but his instincts wouldn’t be suppressed.
He had to Guide this. He had to neutralize this scorching heat before it turned him to ashes. He had to cool it down.
Even if it meant burning himself.
“Ugh!”
His arms and legs, bound by the belts, strained. Veins bulged on his neck, which was being forced backwards. His eyes turned bloodshot.
Perhaps it was because of Seo Jae-yi’s energy. He saw her through his blurry vision.
Her, mercilessly slaughtering monsters, her, beautifully and swiftly taking their lives.
And the other Guide, standing by the side of the woman he had admired for so long.
Ah, no. He couldn’t lose Seo Jae-yi. Why was he doing this? Why was he going this far? It was all to become her Guide.
So he had to endure. He had to withstand it. To remove Baek Joo-won from her side.
He wouldn’t let anyone steal his Esper.
“Aaargh…!”
Gong Ju-hyun screamed. His body contorted in agony, but he gritted his teeth, enduring, refusing to give up.
For his desire.
Park Jung-soo watched him with an awestruck expression and then left the room, closing the glass door. Seo Jae-yi’s energy was too strong; prolonged exposure was dangerous.
“I wonder how high it will go.”
He had used this method to raise Gong Ju-hyun’s Matching Rate with Seo Jae-yi from 35% to 48% in a short period. He didn’t know how much higher it could go.
It might be the limit, but he hoped it would increase further.
He hoped to obtain meaningful experimental results.
‘I want to experiment on that Guide Baek Joo-won too.’
To have such high-purity Guiding skills that Espers lost control. It was natural for him to be more interested in Baek Joo-won than Joo Seon-min or Kwon Yi-soo.
‘Kidnapping him would be difficult with Seo Jae-yi around.’
It would be possible if Gong Ju-hyun became Seo Jae-yi’s new Pair as planned.
He hoped the experiment would succeed.
Most people assumed Seo Jae-yi was lazy. Baek Joo-won had thought the same.
She seemed like the type to spend her days lounging on the sofa, one leg dangling in the air.
But the Seo Jae-yi he was living with was far from lazy.
She was a perfect example of a morning person, waking up before dawn without an alarm and exercising.
“You’re awake? Did I wake you up?”
Seo Jae-yi, surprised to see Baek Joo-won at the door, put down the barbell she had been lifting. It had several heavy plates attached to it.
“…The house isn’t going to collapse, right?”
“Of course not. It’s not going to collapse from this.”
“It doesn’t seem like ‘just this’…”
Baek Joo-won looked uncomfortable.
“It wasn’t noisy. Do you always exercise this early in the morning?”
Seo Jae-yi resumed her workout, reassured. Her posture was perfect, almost trainer-level.
“Yes, it’s a habit. I’ve been working out at this hour every day since I awakened.”
She couldn’t stay still if she missed even a day.
“But I couldn’t do it after my near-overload last year, when my condition worsened rapidly. It was so frustrating. Thankfully, my body’s recovering after receiving Guiding from you a few times, so I can exercise again.”
Seo Jae-yi finished her deadlifts and smiled at Baek Joo-won.
“It’s all thanks to you that I can return to my normal routine. Thank you.”
“I’m getting sick of hearing those words. But you’ve been doing this since you awakened? Since you were thirteen?”
“Yes.”
“Every day at this hour?”
“Yes.”
“…It’s not even seven yet.”
“Yes!”
Wasn’t it a good habit? Seo Jae-yi smiled.
But Baek Joo-won looked uncomfortable.
“What time did you go to sleep?”
“Ah, it varied depending on the training schedule or if a dungeon emerged. I went to sleep around midnight if I was lucky.”
Baek Joo-won’s face hardened. Seo Jae-yi, seeing his rare display of displeasure, slowly put down the weights. What was wrong with him?
“Isn’t that child abuse?”
Ah. She finally understood why he was angry.
“You’re right. Making a child go through that. They’re truly evil, aren’t they? I wasn’t exaggerating when I told you not to go to the Center.”
“Is the reason why there’s not much furniture in your house also related to your experiences?”
Seo Jae-yi couldn’t answer. It wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t entirely false either.
“Hehe.”
She just chuckled, scratching her head, and Baek Joo-won sighed, massaging his forehead.
“It’s in the past now.”
“That’s not something you should… Sigh, fine. Forget it.”
Baek Joo-won approached her. As Seo Jae-yi’s eyes widened, his large hand cupped her cheek, which was warm from the workout.
“Ah.”
She felt a brief surge of his refreshing Guiding energy. Her body, heated from the exercise, cooled down slightly.
“You won’t refuse Guiding now that we’re paired, right?”
Thankfully, he quickly removed his hand. But the distance between them didn’t widen.
“If it’s natural for an Esper to give everything to their paired Guide, then it’s natural for a Guide to Guide their paired Esper.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Then accept Guiding obediently from now on. I agreed to be your Pair to make you healthy. And I’ll control it so you don’t lose control.”
Seo Jae-yi nodded, knowing it was only natural. Baek Joo-won’s slightly furrowed brows relaxed.
“Then continue your workout.”
After Baek Joo-won left, Seo Jae-yi touched her cheek, where his hand had been.
Guiding not out of necessity or urgency, but like a casual morning greeting.
Was this what living with a paired Guide was like? She was flustered by the naturalness of it, but also a bit excited.
“Wow, I really have a Guide now.”
It was ironic, but she finally felt like she was truly paired with Baek Joo-won.
A happy smile appeared on her lips as she turned to resume her workout.
Thank you for the chapters!