Chapter 136:
Airok clicked his tongue inwardly at Kim Yoo-sung’s sharp question. He wouldn’t believe him even if he insisted Baek Joo-won was an ordinary person, judging by that look in his eyes.
‘What is he up to?’
Well, it was a desperate situation; it was understandable that he couldn’t hide it.
Airok had been shocked when he first saw the site of Seo Jae-yi’s overload after emerging from the gate. It had been far more devastating than he had imagined.
He wouldn’t have been able to calm her down alone if he hadn’t regained his power.
“What does it matter if he’s an ordinary human or not?”
Airok spat out the magic stone he had been munching on and asked curtly, after looking at Kim Yoo-sung for a moment.
Kim Yoo-sung’s face contorted.
“What did you say?”
“Does it matter if he’s human or not? The important thing is that he’s helping Master.”
“…”
Kim Yoo-sung couldn’t answer.
Airok knew, despite his usual arrogance, that Kim Yoo-sung was genuinely concerned about Seo Jae-yi’s safety.
“He’s worried about Master too. He hates it when Master is in danger. He was furious this time.”
Airok reassured him,
“Nothing bad will happen to Master as long as he’s by her side. And one more thing. Master knows everything.”
Who Baek Joo-won was, his true identity, and even his intentions.
Kim Yoo-sung’s tense expression relaxed, hearing that Seo Jae-yi wasn’t being deceived.
Airok was right. Baek Joo-won’s identity didn’t matter as long as it was good for Seo Jae-yi.
‘…But…’
Kim Yoo-sung noticed something strange in Airok’s words.
Airok looked down on everyone except Seo Jae-yi. He was disrespectful and treated everyone like useless humans.
But now, he was calling Baek Joo-won “He” respectfully.
Kim Yoo-sung’s face hardened again, realizing this for the first time.
‘Could it be…?’
Baek Joo-won’s true identity…?
Kim Yoo-sung stared at Airok, who was munching on the magic stone, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
Knock, knock.
“It’s me.”
Kwon Ye-na, his paired Guide, arrived at his office. Kim Yoo-sung shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He couldn’t be distracted by this now.
After confirming that Airok had flown behind his desk with the magic stone, he answered,
“Come in.”
Kwon Ye-na entered. Kim Yoo-sung tilted his head, seeing her expression.
She always had a gentle smile, but today her expression was strange.
“What’s wrong?”
“We have a visitor who wants to see you.”
“I don’t have any appointments today.”
“I know, but he’s… concerning.”
“Let him in.”
Kwon Ye-na returned with someone. Kim Yoo-sung’s eyes widened in surprise, recognizing him.
“Guide Min Sung-jin?”
Min Sung-jin. A top-tier A-rank Guide, similar to Kwon Ye-na, and Taesan Guild Leader Park Hyung-woo’s Pair.
“What brings Guide Min Sung-jin here?”
His handsome face was unusually pale. Kim Yoo-sung, worried he might collapse, guided him to the sofa.
“You don’t look well. Should I call a doctor?”
He asked, seeing Min Sung-jin remain silent even after sitting down.
Min Sung-jin looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.
“I-I’m Guild Leader Park Hyung-woo’s paired Guide… Aren’t you going to kick me out?”
“Guide Min Sung-jin hasn’t directly harmed Haeil, has he?”
Kim Yoo-sung wasn’t always kind. He would have kicked him out if he had attacked a Haeil Guild member, who was like family to him.
But Min Sung-jin was just a Guide, powerless.
He hadn’t insulted or belittled Haeil, so there was no reason to treat him poorly.
“Ha, haha. I see.”
Min Sung-jin chuckled dryly, as if his answer was shocking.
He stared blankly at the table and then spoke again, as if having made a decision.
“…I know I should be going to the Center or the Association, but they don’t have a good relationship with Haeil, so I came here. They might try to bury the truth.”
“What are you…?”
Haeil’s current relationship with the Association and the Center wasn’t bad, but Min Sung-jin, still unaware of that, looked at Kim Yoo-sung and Kwon Ye-na.
And he revealed a shocking truth they didn’t know.
“Taesan Guild was also present in that village on the day Esper Seo Jae-yi overloaded. The unidentified group of Espers who evacuated the villagers was Taesan.”
“…What?”
Their faces hardened. But the shock didn’t end there.
“And when they realized the boss monster was too powerful for them to handle, they abandoned Esper Seo Jae-yi and ran away.”
Min Sung-jin, seeing them speechless, continued, his voice clear,
“They were there for one reason: to kill Esper Seo Jae-yi. They didn’t care how, as long as she died, so they left her alone with the boss monster and fled.”
The revealed truth was far more vile and disgusting than they could have imagined.
Kim Yoo-sung, and even Airok, who had been hiding, were enraged by the unexpected truth.
Seo Jae-yi, who had been in a deep sleep, suddenly woke up, as if her consciousness had been pulled to the surface.
But her body felt strangely heavy; it was difficult to even open her eyes.
‘What’s wrong with me?’
She hadn’t felt this heavy since her overload a year ago.
This heaviness had disappeared after she started receiving Guiding from Baek Joo-won. Why was she feeling it again?
And there was another strange thing. Her mood wasn’t bad, unlike usual when her body was in this state.
‘What happened?’
Seo Jae-yi tried to recall her memories. Or rather, she was about to try.
Until she felt something soft against her bare skin.
‘Bare skin? Bare skin?’
She didn’t have the habit of taking off her clothes in her sleep, so why was she naked?
And it wasn’t just her arms or legs exposed. She wasn’t wearing a single stitch of clothing. She could only feel the incredibly soft texture of something against her skin.
‘This feels good. Comfortable. But why?’
Her eyelids felt heavy, and question marks filled her mind, when…
“You’re awake?”
A low, husky voice, chillingly seductive, whispered in her ear. Her back arched involuntarily at the rough voice that seemed to scrape against her skin.
It was Baek Joo-won’s voice, but it sounded much deeper than usual. Why did it sound so sexy?
“Hae… Ahem, huh?”
Seo Jae-yi tried to call his name, ignoring her heavy eyelids, and then she was startled again.
Her own voice was also unusually hoarse. She grimaced, her throat sore.
“Wait.”
The presence that had been pressed against her retreated. She felt a sudden chill, along with a deep sense of emptiness.
‘Cold? I’m cold?’
It was absurd. She hadn’t felt “cold” since her Awakening. And she was feeling it now just because Baek Joo-won had moved away.
Seo Jae-yi couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Here.”
Baek Joo-won returned and gently rubbed her eyelids with his wet fingers. Her eyelids finally fluttered open.
He was standing before her, not as Baek Joo-won, but as Hae-wi.
“Drink some water.”
He helped her sit up and brought a glass of water to her lips. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was until then and gulped it down.
Her mind cleared as her eyes opened and she drank the water.
And then she realized that the blanket, which had been covering her up to her shoulders, had slipped down to her waist. She felt a chill on her exposed skin.
But what was even more absurd was that Baek Joo-won didn’t seem to care.
‘Isn’t he being too indifferent to my nice, hot body?’
Seo Jae-yi felt a pang of wounded pride.
“Hae-wi.”
“What? Are you uncomfortable?”
“Yes. My mind is uncomfortable. Why aren’t you reacting to me like this?”
Baek Joo-won, who had been casually tossing the empty glass aside, looked at her with a puzzled expression.
“What?”
“You’re not reacting to my nice, hot body?”
Baek Joo-won chuckled dryly at her shameless question.
“I didn’t expect you to be shy, but I didn’t expect you to be this bold either.”
“Why shouldn’t I be bold? I have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Right, that’s true.”
Baek Joo-won smiled mischievously and scanned her body with his eyes.
It was the same greedy look as before.
“Seo Jae-yi, you don’t remember anything, do you?”
“What?”
His hand pressed against her shoulder, pushing her back down onto the bed.
Seo Jae-yi blinked as he naturally climbed on top of her.
It was a familiar position, as they often Guided in this way, but… what was this? Why did it feel so natural today?
“You overloaded.”
Overload. Overload?
Seo Jae-yi’s eyes widened, staring at Baek Joo-won, who was kissing her shoulder and collarbone.
“A Rank 2 dungeon breakout occurred, and you overloaded while trying to stop it alone. Don’t you remember me calming you down and bringing you to the forest dungeon?”
Ah. The memories came flooding back.
That was right. Damn Taesan had ambushed her, and she had been planning to drag them back to her dungeon when the breakout occurred.
And then the boss monster appeared, those bastards ran away, and she had overloaded after being struck by lightning while trying to stop it alone.
Everything after that was blank.
“That son of a…”
Park Hyung-woo, that bastard.
He dared to run away in that dangerous situation? She would never forgive him. She would make sure there wasn’t even a mountain left, let alone a Bean Mountain.
“And I worked hard, very hard, to make you feel good until you calmed down. I poured my energy into every strand of your hair. Can you feel it?”
Baek Joo-won whispered, his voice a playful tease, as he stroked her body, from her shoulders to her stomach, his touch deep and lingering.
Her thoughts of pulverizing Park Hyung-woo vanished in an instant.
She had wondered why she didn’t feel bad, despite overloading, why her body only felt a bit heavy.
Unlike a year ago, she now had Baek Joo-won to heal her.
“But it’s not enough, is it?”
He asked, smiling.