What is this situation?
When he opened the dormitory door, a staff member holding all sorts of gift boxes and bouquets filling the hallway wall held out a pen, asking for a signature confirming receipt. When he pretended to sign and checked the sender, the three characters of Baek Uihyeon’s name caught his eye.
“You did a matching test yesterday and already hooked an esper?”
“Bae, Baek Uihyeon? So the rumors were true?”
It was too fast. At this rate, Han Seoha’s daily life could become tiresome with jealousy before sympathy could even settle in. Han Seoha grabbed the staff member who was turning around with a startled face.
“This was delivered to the wrong place.”
“Guide Han Seoha-nim, I’ve confirmed delivery to the customer.”
“No!”
Han Seoha deliberately raised his voice to gather the surrounding gazes, then shook his head with a tearful face.
“You confused Guide Yu Haneul’s name with mine. He was already confused in the matching room yesterday.”
It was a lie, but people easily agreed when they heard what they believed.
“Guide Yu Haneul is A-rank. I’m C-rank.”
“Ah, then these gifts were delivered wrong… I apologize.”
When the staff member became flustered upon realizing the gifts had been misdelivered due to the esper’s mistake, Han Seoha returned the bouquet.
“Yes, these are gifts that should go to Guide Yu Haneul.”
“Might I know which room number that person is staying in?”
“That’s…”
Those who had been murmuring closed their mouths to see Han Seoha’s reaction. In the quieted hallway, Han Seoha’s moisture-laden voice spread small but clearly.
“You can go to the esper dormitory.”
When Han Seoha deeply lowered his head as if it was too hard to say who to look for there, the staff member was bewildered.
“Who should I look for…”
“Goodness, how can you be so clueless? Just go and look for Yu Haneul.”
“Guide Han Seoha, are you okay?”
When the guides who had been peeking into the hallway crowded around and surrounded Han Seoha, the flustered staff member hurriedly moved the boxes to the cart. The guides also inadvertently lent a hand at the frustration of Han Seoha helping again with reddened eyes, and in an instant the gift boxes that had been like a pile of luggage were cleared away.
In the place where the staff member had left, Han Seoha bowed to the guides.
“Thank you for helping.”
“We didn’t really do much. Ah, if you haven’t had breakfast yet, want to go together?”
“Let’s go together. Our dormitory breakfast has a hotel-trained chef who bakes bread.”
“Can I… join you? It seems like the three of you are friends, so I don’t want to be a bother…”
At Han Seoha’s cowed appearance of being happy at the invitation but anxious about making a mistake, the guides realized he was a docile person who couldn’t even find his own rice bowl.
“We’re the ones who should apologize for speaking carelessly. Let’s eat together as an apology.”
“It’s nice to have a pair. Let’s go, let’s go.”
Having just misunderstood, with even slight guilt added, they actively showed friendliness to Han Seoha.
In his previous life, Han Seoha, who received contempt and cold treatment from guides, had no friends. Guide friends approaching for the first time in this life. The moment he tried to grasp the connection that Han Seoha would have gladly accepted, a call sound rang out.
Beep. Beep.
At the short consecutive sounds, the guides immediately released his hand. They all sent pitying glances to the puzzled Han Seoha and withdrew.
“Why is everyone like this?”
“That’s Lee Yeongjin’s summons.”
“An outsider entered the dormitory, so it can’t be helped.”
“Ugh, we don’t want to hear nagging, so we’ll pass. Let’s eat next time.”
The guides hurriedly left, and Han Seoha, left alone, walked calmly while recalling the management office location. Since it was still early, he organized his thoughts while walking through the hallway.
‘They were boxes with luxury brand logos plastered all over them. Sending gifts this way even after tasting A-rank—it’s blatant.’
Even yesterday, Han Seoha’s plan had proceeded faster and more favorably than scheduled.
Originally, he had only planned to make an impression with S-rank Esper Baek Uihyeon. If possible, it would be good to earn sympathy and receive a favor. The good deeds of the Association’s poster boy and hero would happen as naturally as breathing. If he saw injustice, he’d help in some way, so he’d counted on that.
Han Seoha’s attempt met a different phase due to Ryu Jaegeon’s unexpected behavior.
Yu Haneul’s absence. The active behavior of the matching department staff created the plausibility for Han Seoha to stay in the matching room until the afternoon.
‘Baek Uihyeon’s reaction was also unexpected.’
Even though Yu Haneul had touched him, his gaze toward Han Seoha remained the same. Baek Uihyeon’s clear eyes, skillfully hiding his passion, followed Han Seoha leaving the matching room to the very end.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Baek Uihyeon’s waves felt like thick ropes, but each bundle of that cluster was in the form of thin threads tangled together. If he beat guiding into him right away saying he lacked it, it would be as painful as blood vessels swelling dozens of times but unable to burst.
Han Seoha caressed such waves of Baek Uihyeon with guiding that was flexible as if soaking in. It was possible because Han Seoha’s guiding was incomparably delicate compared to other guides.
‘Is it Han Seoha’s nature? Or perhaps talent.’
Without even needing to play tricks separately, Baek Uihyeon recognized Han Seoha’s value. How comfortable must it have been to receive massage-like guiding rubbed with soft hands after being beaten with clubs or steel pipes?
You could tell just by looking at the hallway piled like a mountain with gifts from morning. But that alone couldn’t be concluded.
No matter what reasons one gave, the position of an S-rank esper was difficult for a C-rank to covet, not just as a pair but even as a partner position. Prejudice was also a problem, but most of all, Baek Uihyeon didn’t seem like he would explain Han Seoha’s merits point by point. If he ended up pairing with a B-rank with a high matching rate, the one in trouble would be Baek Uihyeon.
‘I’m thinking of securing at least an A-rank.’
Let’s decide the relationship with Baek Uihyeon through push and pull.
He abandoned the plan to become Baek Uihyeon’s auxiliary guide through the hero’s sympathy and be written somewhere at the very bottom of the rotation. He should moderately ride the line and catch a useful esper so as not to belong to Baek Uihyeon.
Han Seoha, who had decided so, made up his mind to use Lee Yeongjin’s summons that had just come in.
‘Like Han Seoha. Bewildered by sudden attention and goodwill yet unable to suspect—like the gentle and good person he is.’
All the way to the management office, he maintained an anxious expression even though he didn’t know the reason.
“Seoha-ssi.”
Han Seoha, who had been walking slowly through the management office hallway with his head lowered, was startled by his name being called suddenly and stepped back hesitantly. The sudden movement broke Han Seoha’s balance, and the esper with good dynamic visual acuity didn’t miss the opportunity.
“I made you startled due to my habit of not making any sound.”
“Baek… Esper Uihyeon-nim?”
What appeared on Han Seoha’s face was only pure surprise—he didn’t reveal even a speck of the thought “Why are you popping out here?” Perhaps because of that, Baek Uihyeon also greeted Han Seoha with a smile full of the clarity of a virtuous young man in his courteousness.
“Seoha-ssi, since everyone knows we’re an esper and guide, you can just call me by name.”
“Then… Baek Uihyeon-nim?”
“I’d like you to call me more familiarly, but I’ll work on that going forward.”
Though his polite speech was full of ulterior motives, Baek Uihyeon didn’t force it.
Last night, in between handling his remaining schedule, he had learned everything about Han Seoha.
Han Seoha’s course of bearing everything for a single esper was a sacrifice. Fortunately, no one appreciated it.
It seemed people around them started to notice as soon as he broke up with Ryu Jaegeon, but fortunately he’d caught the opportunity to obtain him first. Baek Uihyeon couldn’t miss this opportunity.
While standing up the uncomfortable Han Seoha, he didn’t let go of his hand. At the same time, he naturally led Han Seoha toward the elevator. Han Seoha, who had been obediently following for a few steps, became flustered when they passed the management office.
“Ah, I came to meet Manager Lee Yeongjin.”
“Since that business is me, you don’t need to worry.”
“Huh?”
Baek Uihyeon, who had completely pushed Han Seoha into the elevator he’d already secured, felt thirsty at the sight of him obediently following while puzzled. He didn’t even want to imagine how much this fragile and gentle guide had been exploited by the A-rank esper until now. Yet he still came to expect Han Seoha’s still-gentle reactions.
“I wanted to come pick up Seoha-ssi, but they said espers are prohibited from entering the guide dormitory. So I asked the manager to summon you.”
“Me?”
At Han Seoha’s reaction, more pure for not knowing his own value, Baek Uihyeon steadied his mind several times to not act hastily, but it was useless. Once alone together, his body approached first.
“Um, Esper-nim?”
“It’s Baek Uihyeon, Seoha-ssi.”
“Ah, yes. Baek Uihyeon… nim.”
Han Seoha, who carefully called Baek Uihyeon, couldn’t point out that he was excessively close and only pursed his lips while hesitating.
Baek Uihyeon couldn’t take his eyes off the lips that held his name. Most of all, he couldn’t find a reason to restrain his impulse.
“I know it’s still before work hours, but will you approve it?”
“Approve?”
Han Seoha was startled by the sound of his watch ringing consecutively and checked it. Along with matching request alarms, the letters ‘S Baek Uihyeon’ popped up consecutively.
9:00 S Baek Uihyeon
10:00 S Baek Uihyeon
11:00 S Baek Uihyeon
“Y-you can’t request only one person consecutively like this.”
“I can.”
“I, I can’t. You’re S-rank. If you guide me like this, I’ll die.”
“You can call the security team anytime you need to stop during guiding. So.”
Baek Uihyeon, who had already approached close enough to brush lips with Han Seoha, didn’t back away even while fully feeling the other’s trembling.
“So open up, Seoha-ssi.”
Even knowing the pressure an S-rank esper gave, he didn’t have the leisure to console Han Seoha.
