Yu Haneul had liked Ryu Jaegeon from the start.
Even before manifesting as a guide, among the espers he’d encountered through media, excluding S-ranks, he was the most eye-catching man. Ryu Jaegeon, who only appeared relaxed behind the flames burning through the air, was cool to anyone who saw him.
His appearance was also that of a splendid handsome man, so his gaze naturally went to him. That such a person had been cohabiting for over a year with a guide with a severe rank difference was appealing on a human level too.
As soon as Yu Haneul’s guide rank was confirmed, he designated Ryu Jaegeon as his first matching target.
Of course, he would also do matching tests with S-ranks after that, but his calculation was that if he gained experience starting with an A-rank esper, he could do even better. If it didn’t work out well with S-ranks, naturally he planned to obtain Ryu Jaegeon on the grounds that he was his first esper.
He actually matched well with Ryu Jaegeon. The guiding efficiency was above average, and the matching rate was quite high too.
‘The sexual compatibility was good too.’
What was regrettable was, as expected, the rank.
Though Ryu Jaegeon already treated Yu Haneul as if he belonged to him, he coaxed and gauged his reaction. Just because he did that didn’t mean he could accept Ryu Jaegeon’s pair proposal without experiencing an S-rank esper.
‘Still, he’s decent material.’
When Ryu Jaegeon witnessed C-rank guide Han Seoha getting hurt, his waves surged in an instant and even burned through the control device. This kind of case was only possible for S-ranks.
Perhaps he was an A-rank close to S-rank. Once his judgment was made, he treated Ryu Jaegeon more warmly than before. When actually guiding the messed-up waves, he felt somewhat more overwhelmed than before.
He might really be close to S-rank. If he matched well with Baek Uihyeon, whom he’d test with today, naturally he’d form a pair with him, but if the matching rate was low, even if A-rank, Ryu Jaegeon was better.
Forming a pair didn’t mean they had to be one team forever.
Yu Haneul, who had been making various calculations and trying to approach the matching test with Baek Uihyeon with a light heart, frowned involuntarily at the esper waves he felt as soon as he entered the matching department.
“Ugh…”
His stomach churned from the terribly rampaging waves. The staff members, who didn’t feel any of this, only observed inside the glass wall.
Who knew the difference between ordinary people and ability users would be this severe? It was a world he had no idea about before awakening.
Even though the esper waves were in such chaos, they hadn’t urgently called Yu Haneul. Perhaps the treatment of S-rank espers might not be a big deal, and his heart sank at the thought.
‘Should I just do this half-heartedly and go back to hyung?’
Yu Haneul, having finished his calculations, was approaching the staff with a bright smile when he froze in place at the scene visible beyond the glass wall.
Why. Why was a C-rank there?
Ryu Jaegeon’s guide was crying in the arms of the S-rank esper. The voice whimpering that he couldn’t do it, flinching and showing fear each time Baek Uihyeon’s large hand brushed his cheek, was detestable.
So that’s why he stuck by Ryu Jaegeon for a whole year. It seemed he was a similar type to himself.
There’s no way a man over twenty years old whining like that could be real, right? Everyone’s eyes were crooked. But since he too had come to act cutely in front of espers after becoming a guide, they were two peas in a pod. When it came to acting like a fox, he was confident in that too.
He deliberately undid a couple of buttons on the shirt he’d meticulously buttoned up to his neck, and also disheveled the neatly combed hair. He also bit his lips firmly to bring out a red tint, then released his expression while letting out a soundless sigh.
His plan was to subtly reveal traces of sexual contact, the most intimate stage during guiding, to stimulate the S-rank esper. He’d learned through experience in just one day that espers treated guides as their possessions.
“Sorry for being late.”
“Eek, you startled me.”
“Yu, Yu Haneul Guide, when did you arrive?”
“I tried to come as quickly as possible, but Jaegeon hyung wouldn’t let me go…”
“Oh my, you had it rough.”
At the appearance of the staff members who welcomed him while being surprised, Yu Haneul subtly showed disappointment.
“Just because I was a little late, putting that person as a substitute is too much. He’s a C-rank guide—what if something bad happens to him like that?”
It was a light complaint delivered with a smiling face, but the staff’s reaction wasn’t light. When the staff members he expected to affirm and console him became flustered, Yu Haneul also gauged the situation. The team leader, who had been watching the matching room to the end, tilted his head toward Yu Haneul.
“Guide Yu Haneul, is that a question right now?”
“Huh?”
“Or you’re not advising the matching department staff, are you?”
The sound of the document folder being lightly set down sounded excessively loud because everyone wasn’t even breathing.
“What if something bad happens, you said. In other words, isn’t that saying we know less than a wet-behind-the-ears kid who hasn’t even been awakened for a few days, when we’ve been tumbling and bursting in the matching department for years, staring at data until our eyes fall out?”
“When did I ever say that…”
Yu Haneul was greatly flustered by the team leader’s attitude that was clearly displeased. Just a few hours ago, these people had been kind to Yu Haneul. They had been considerate in many ways in preparation for the shock the new guide would experience from the matching test.
Most of all, Yu Haneul was an A-rank guide. The goodwill and interest shown to an existence that would manipulate even S-rank espers at will was natural.
‘Why’s the atmosphere suddenly like this?’
Yu Haneul’s flustered pupils rolled here and there before reaching the two people beyond the glass window. Baek Uihyeon, holding Han Seoha in his arms, looked ready to leave the test room at any moment.
The staff’s mood wasn’t the issue. Yu Haneul opened the matching room door and entered as if nothing had happened.
“Sorry for being late! You had it rough instead of me, Seoha sunbae-nim.”
Before Han Seoha, whose eyes widened at the title he was hearing for the first time, could react, Yu Haneul approached with an eye-smile.
“You’re C-rank, so what if you overdo it like this? You were even abandoned by your A-rank partner… I’m so worried something might happen to you at this rate.”
“C-rank?”
When Baek Uihyeon asked back, Yu Haneul was startled and grabbed and pulled Han Seoha’s arm.
“Good heavens, you were killing time without even knowing that? Please let him go. Even if you’re S-rank, you shouldn’t do this to a C-rank guide.”
At Yu Haneul’s behavior of continuously mentioning rank while pulling Han Seoha, Baek Uihyeon obediently released his hand.
Yu Haneul felt relieved that Han Seoha’s stupidity in being dragged along without being able to say anything meant he was genuinely an innocent type rather than a fox.
“Wow…”
Alone together, Yu Haneul looked at Baek Uihyeon standing in the middle of the matching room and was impressed.
The footage hadn’t captured even half of him. If Ryu Jaegeon’s splendor had come alive well in footage, Baek Uihyeon’s plain exterior had merely appeared like a wholesome youth. In person, he was a handsome man striking enough to make one’s eyes pop open. Standing before Baek Uihyeon, Yu Haneul naturally smiled even without trying.
“My introduction is late. I’m A-rank guide Yu Haneul.”
“Hello, I’m Baek Uihyeon.”
“You’re an S-rank esper, aren’t you? The national hero—I’m a fan.”
“Thank you.”
For some reason, Baek Uihyeon was lukewarm, different from the reaction Yu Haneul had expected, but it seemed like hero-like composure.
“You need to do a matching test, right? Your waves are a mess… Which one will you do?”
If needed, he could head straight to the bed for third-stage guiding right away, but thinking it wasn’t good to show too much as a newcomer, he waited for Baek Uihyeon’s answer.
If it weren’t for Han Seoha, like with Ryu Jaegeon, he could have pretended to be innocent for the first time and stimulated the esper’s desire to conquer, which was regrettable. Perhaps because of that, Baek Uihyeon also sat in the test chair and placed his hand down without unreasonable demands. When Yu Haneul swallowed his disappointment and took his seat, the staff members came in and connected the equipment. Data collection was possible without attached devices, but directly touching devices were more accurate.
“Wow, your hands are really big. So cool.”
“Thank you.”
“You can grip a little harder. I’m not that delicate.”
“Yes.”
At Baek Uihyeon’s consistently calm attitude, Yu Haneul became unpleasant beyond feeling anxious. What was this sullen attitude receiving A-rank guiding when his waves were a mess?
Having tired somewhat from guiding Ryu Jaegeon, he gave up on conversation and concentrated.
“Oh, the numbers are rising sharply?”
“It’s showing the highest numbers so far.”
The staff became busy watching the data change in an instant. There were even those who gave a thumbs up at the positive signal.
Baek Uihyeon felt the energy entering through his hand become more vivid when Yu Haneul, who had been continuously talking, concentrated on guiding. The guiding energy entering in chunks through his palm was fierce as if showing off its strength. If guiding had a form, it seemed ready to tear apart all of Baek Uihyeon’s wave strands. It didn’t matter either way. Guiding had always been pain to Baek Uihyeon, so it was no different.
His nerves were entirely directed toward Han Seoha, who wasn’t here.
‘C-rank.’
So that’s why the guiding had been so thin.
Even so, the guiding that had been calm and warm enough not to matter was like the first sweet taste Baek Uihyeon had experienced. It was also like the first spring water tasted after drinking muddy water all his life. Most of all, despite being three ranks apart, throughout the guiding Han Seoha showed no sign of being overwhelmed. The guide’s exhaustion phenomenon due to rank difference, which was generally known, wasn’t visible. It was also the reason Baek Uihyeon had misunderstood Han Seoha’s rank.
‘His name was Seoha.’
It was a name befitting the pale beauty who suited tears.
When Yu Haneul entered the matching room and pulled Han Seoha, though it hurt, he was dragged along obediently. Each time information about Han Seoha popped out of Yu Haneul, he saw despair flash across the pale face.
When he was completely driven outside and Yu Haneul approached Baek Uihyeon, Han Seoha didn’t show resentment or anxiety. What cast over Han Seoha’s face was resignation.
Throb.
The emotion Baek Uihyeon swallowed and came to display as a smile. His stomach burned at the emotion cast over the face of the guide he’d considered his for the first time.
Beep.
It was a short alarm indicating that the soaring wave level had entered the stable range. Yu Haneul quickly reached out to check Baek Uihyeon’s watch and smiled brightly.
“Wow, I think our matching rate will come out pretty good.”
“I see.”
At another time, even in a situation where Baek Uihyeon would have been happier than anyone, he was calm. Even though the meaningful matching rate numbers that made even the watching staff excited rose in real-time, Baek Uihyeon felt hollow laughter.
The guiding Yu Haneul pushed in entirely followed the path Han Seoha had laid out. This was the power of a C-rank guide whose value no one knew.
Before anyone noticed, he had to obtain him.
Instead of showing impatience, Baek Uihyeon wore his familiar smile. Hoping this meaningless time would pass quickly.
