# Chapter 45
Soon after, hyung relaxed his furrowed expression, and with a faint smile on his lips,
-So cute… it would have been nice to have made him happy since he was little.
He muttered as if talking to himself.
-Huh?
When Geonwoo tilted his head and asked about hyung’s incomprehensible words,
-It’s nothing. Just be happy from now on, not just when you’re grown up.
Hyung said that and grinned. Geonwoo didn’t understand what hyung meant, but because hyung smiled, he smiled brightly in return and said with sincerity.
-Hyung-a too!
-What?
-You be happy too! Let’s be happy together!
At those words, hyung’s expression became strange. It was a very odd expression that seemed both happy and sad. But soon after, hyung also smiled brightly at Geonwoo.
-Yes, let’s be happy together. I want to be happy too.
Hyung’s face, smiling brightly as he said that, was so radiant that Geonwoo just kept staring at him. Then, as if something suddenly came to mind, Geonwoo called out to hyung.
-Hyung-a! Hyung-a!
-Yes?
-Hyung-a’s name! Tell me hyung-a’s name too!
-Oh, I was wondering what it was so suddenly.
Hyung, who had been a bit surprised by Geonwoo’s urgent question, soon smiled gently again.
-My name is…
As hyung’s lips moved, the world distorted simultaneously. Once again, the surroundings became blurry and enveloped Geonwoo.
Hyung’s figure became hazy, and the two happy people were erased.
Everything disappeared without a trace.
“……”
Geonwoo opened his eyes. A black darkness wavered in his foggy vision. Geonwoo stared at the ceiling. Inexplicable tears once again flowed down both of Geonwoo’s cheeks. An unknown, deep longing came to Geonwoo.
Geonwoo let the remaining tears in his eyes flow as he moved his lips silently.
“…Lee Jaehee.”
Hyung had said:
-My name is Lee Jaehee.
Geonwoo remembered hyung’s last words before the world distorted.
An incomprehensible dream.
A memory clearer than reality.
A childhood different from the past.
Lee Jaehee, who occupied that place.
And even the overwhelming, deep longing for him.
‘……’
The inexplicable dream tormented Geonwoo. An emotion that constricted his heart made Geonwoo suffocate. Why was he having such dreams? He couldn’t understand the reason.
‘…One-sided Bond…’
In that moment, Jaehee’s previous words came to mind. That everything was fake. That it was all an illusion. That the emotions arose from a one-sided Bond.
‘Then these feelings toward the Guide, the hyung in the dream, and this deep emptiness that remains after dreaming… are they all illusions created by the one-sided Bond…?’
Because everything that seemed real was screaming that it was fake, because everyone was saying so, Geonwoo also couldn’t tell what was real.
He just… wanted to see Jaehee. He just wanted to be by his side.
So Geonwoo looked around, searching with his eyes for the person who should be beside him. He tried desperately to find the person he yearned for. But there was no one in the examination room, which was covered in deep darkness. Even Jaehee, who should have been by his side…
Geonwoo’s face contorted as if about to cry. Emotions welled up. Jaehee wasn’t there. The one who should have been in his arms had disappeared.
‘I have to find him.’
The desire to recover Jaehee, who wasn’t in his arms, dominated all his thoughts. He had to find him somehow.
So Geonwoo tried to gather his senses. He wanted to escape this dreamy state that seemed to be between dream and reality. To be by his side, to catch him, to find him, he couldn’t stay like this.
So Geonwoo reached out his hand. His body, having used its healing power to the limit, beaded with sweat on his forehead just from that small movement. But his trembling fingertips stubbornly moved toward the bedside table.
A little while later, when Guides and an examiner came to the examination room where Geonwoo was, after hearing the news of Jaehee’s collapse, everything had already happened.
***
“Guide Lee Jaehee, are you conscious?”
As Jaehee opened his eyes, Hyeono leaned his face right in front of Jaehee. With a deeply concerned expression, he carefully asked Jaehee.
“Are you alright?”
At that careful question, Jaehee blinked his eyes several times, then slightly shifted his gaze to slowly look around.
“…Where…?”
“This is the Guide recovery room. You suddenly collapsed, so we brought you here.”
Just as Hyeono said, several Guide recovery machines were attached to Jaehee’s body. Jaehee turned his head to check the examination machine. The Guiding energy levels were displayed there. As expected, the levels were showing the minimum. It was due to using too much Guiding energy.
Jaehee slowly raised his upper body. Perhaps thanks to resting a bit, the headache and dizziness that had been disturbing his vision had somewhat subsided. However, his body was generally lacking energy. Though there wasn’t much strain in moving, strength wasn’t entering his body well. It felt as if all energy had been drained.
Hyeono handled such a Jaehee carefully. Worried if he was thirsty, he poured water for him, and also advised him to lie down if he was struggling. Hyeono tried to do something for Jaehee.
This was the person that Dohyun had personally asked him to take care of. It bothered him that he had just stood by while things came to this. It was even more so because he could imagine how hard it would be for Dohyun when he returned and saw Jaehee like this. So Hyeono diligently looked after Jaehee.
From behind Hyeono, a low, dry voice was heard.
“You used too much Guiding energy.”
The owner of the voice was Cheon Taeyun. With furrowed eyes, he spoke in a much lower voice.
“You’ve reached your body’s limit because you used it to the point where it couldn’t properly recover.”
Taeyun mixed in a slightly reproachful tone as he spoke.
“You felt it while Guiding, didn’t you? No. You must have known.”
Because he had looked so unwell, Taeyun had suggested Guiding level tests from time to time, but Jaehee had always refused, saying he was fine. So Taeyun thought he was Guiding while maintaining at least a minimum level, but that wasn’t the case.
In that state, he even took the drug that distorted the properties of Guiding energy, so in a way, it was natural that his condition became this bad. After all, it was practically deadly poison to ability users, especially to Guides.
“Because your body has reached its limit, Guiding energy generation will be difficult for a while. Well, there won’t be much problem with moving. But you’ll get tired easily, and your physical strength will quickly hit bottom.”
It was the price of carelessly using Guiding energy, which was no different from a lifeline. All Guides knew this and were careful, but Jaehee wasn’t at all.
If one could use 10 units of physical strength a day, the current Jaehee was in a state where he could only use 2-3 units of physical strength a day. If not careful, he could be in a truly dangerous condition.
“Esper Choi Geonwoo’s treatment will be difficult for a while too. Since you can’t do Guiding, we’ll have to continue the treatment just enough to prevent it from getting worse.”
Taeyun’s expression as he said this wasn’t good. The same was true for Hyeono, who was looking at Jaehee.
As if confirming Taeyun’s words, Jaehee bowed his head and checked his body’s condition. The Guiding energy inside his body was clinging to the bottom, to the point of being calm. And Jaehee’s expression showed no particular change as he confirmed this. Because he already knew it would be like this.
Instead, Jaehee asked a different question to Taeyun. It was a very urgent question.
“Who’s in the examination room where Esper Choi Geonwoo is now?”
In the midst of hearing that he should be careful because his body was damaged, Jaehee thought of Geonwoo and pushed his own body out of concern. He prioritized Geonwoo.
“An examiner and a Guide went there, so don’t worry.”
Hyeono said that, but Jaehee stood up instead.
“I need to go back to the examination room.”
When Geonwoo couldn’t sense Jaehee’s Guiding energy nearby, his wave pattern levels would spike as if by magic. With the already slow recovery speed, if such a situation occurred, it would be dangerous.
“How long have I been lying down?”
Jaehee began to worry whether he had been separated for too long.
“Wouldn’t it be better to stay a little longer, until recovery… Your complexion still doesn’t look good.”
Hyeono said anxiously, seeing Jaehee trying to get up. From behind him, Taeyun spoke.
“He’s used a lot of healing power anyway, so it’s hard for him to wake up. Even if he wakes up, he’ll fall asleep soon, so don’t worry. Your Guiding energy also remains faintly in the room, so the wave pattern won’t rise that easily.”
While Geonwoo’s safety was important to Taeyun, Jaehee was also an important figure in this matter, so he couldn’t let his condition worsen like this.
Taeyun approached the bed to stop Jaehee, who kept trying to stand up.
It was then. Suddenly, the door opened urgently. And the one who appeared was the Guide who should have been in the examination room where Geonwoo was at this time.
“Something terrible has happened!”
He looked at Jaehee with trembling eyes.
“E-Esper Choi Geonwoo!”
With a pale blue face, he informed everyone about Geonwoo’s dangerous situation.
