Rescue 1 Team Leader’s Dedicated Guide
All three people simultaneously turned their heads to focus on the monitor. His heart pounded noisily. He almost unconsciously reached out his cold hand to grab Kang Hyeseong. He rubbed his damp, sweaty palms on his combat uniform pants to wipe them.
And then, the moment he looked at the number displayed on the monitor.
Yeoul froze with his eyes wide open and his mouth half-open.
85%…?
Was something wrong with his eyes? Or was he dreaming… Yeoul closed and opened his eyes hard several times to check if his vision was working properly.
No one opened their mouth. The room was simply enveloped in silence. Yeoul sneakily turned his gaze to gauge the Director and Kang Hyeseong’s reactions. Both were just staring at the monitor with expressions that were either shocked or angry—impossible to tell which.
“This is…”
The Director finally opened her mouth. Her voice sounded as if her soul had left her body.
“I can’t believe it. 85%? A number this high, does this even make sense?!”
She jumped up from her seat with an excited expression. Yeoul flinched in surprise and looked up at her blankly.
“At this level, you can form a pair right away. Aide, go get the contract.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Major Kang! Congratulations. For a Guide with such a high matching rate to appear…!”
The Director shouted with an extremely excited expression and placed her palm on Hyeseong’s shoulder. It was the first time seeing the Director, who only seemed gentle and calm, show such a side.
She immediately turned her head toward Yeoul, then grabbed Yeoul’s hand with a face as bright as the sun and shook it wildly.
“Second Lieutenant Kim Yeoul, thank you. Really, where were you hiding all this time before appearing now?”
“Th-thank you!”
“Please take good care of Major Kang. I feel like my long-standing worry has finally been resolved.”
She pushed forward like a bulldozer, saying they should complete the contract while they were at it. Yeoul signed as instructed with a bewildered face. Kang Hyeseong then signed next to it. His face was so expressionless that it was impossible to know what he was thinking, but he didn’t add anything else. As if he had expected from the beginning that they would form a dedicated contract.
Unlike the composed him, Yeoul could hardly suppress his excitement. The contract was completed before he could even accept the tremendous content he had never imagined—forming a pair relationship with Kang Hyeseong. The Director patted Yeoul’s shoulder several times with an extremely elevated face.
After the Director left the room feeling relieved, the examiner explained future guidance matters to Yeoul. He also received guiding supplies, an Esper wave level measuring device, and an emergency caller synchronized with each other’s locations.
Even the moment all procedures were finished and he left the diagnostic examination building with Kang Hyeseong, Yeoul felt like he was dreaming.
I’m… Kang Hyeseong’s pair Guide.
Unbelievable things keep happening. Wishes he had buried away, not even daring to hope for fully because he thought they couldn’t come true, are vividly coming to life as reality before his eyes.
His heart felt like it would burst from being overwhelmed and excited. Yeoul grabbed the arm of Kang Hyeseong standing beside him with eyes soaked in emotion.
“Hyung… I really can’t believe it.”
He just quietly looked down at Yeoul. Even while the Director demanded the contract with an excited face and Yeoul received various explanations from the examiner, Kang Hyeseong remained consistently calm throughout.
“I’ll do my best. So that you won’t have a hard time anymore, hyung, I’ll really do well for you.”
“Okay. How commendable, our baby.”
Kang Hyeseong raised the corners of his mouth. Then he naturally stroked his head as smoothly as flowing water. Yeoul forgot about rank and place and glared at him. He treats him like a baby as naturally as breathing.
“They say to strike while the iron is hot, let’s do guiding right now. The Director said you’ve accumulated a lot during this time. Ah, I have this. Should I measure your wave level first, hyung?”
Excited Yeoul tore open the Esper wave measuring device kit right there. As he raised his hand holding the electrode to attach it to Kang Hyeseong’s nape, he gently stopped him by grabbing Yeoul’s wrist.
“Yeoul, wait a moment.”
“Hm?”
“I understand your feelings well, but you’re too excited right now. Just calm down a bit.”
Hyeseong looked down at Yeoul with a calm gaze.
“Let’s take it slow. We can do guiding later, so first I’ll show you around the team office.”
“Ah… okay. Got it.”
Yeoul nodded with an embarrassed face. Embarrassment came belatedly. Did I get too excited by myself? Is Kang Hyeseong really not affected at all by our matching rate coming out so high? Looking at the Director’s reaction, it seemed like quite a big deal…
He felt a bit frustrated too. Had he ever been this curious about Kang Hyeseong’s heart before? When seeing him at home, he was just a caring hyung who adored him. The media always makes a fuss about him having a mysterious image or a cold impression… but he had never once felt that way about Kang Hyeseong.
However, as soon as he came to the Security Bureau, he couldn’t gauge his heart at all. Even when he awakened as a Guide, when he appointed him as an R1 team member, and even though the matching rate came out this high. He had no idea what Kang Hyeseong was thinking.
He knew that he was inherently calm and not very expressive of emotions, but it felt particularly more so since he became a Guide.
He was about to feel strange, but Yeoul soon shook off the uncomfortable feeling. Separate from his disappointment, Kang Hyeseong was now the team leader of the team he belonged to and his pair Esper bound by contract. And this place was the Supernatural Abilities Security Bureau, not home. He couldn’t prioritize his emotions here while whining like a child.
First, as Kang Hyeseong said, he should tour the office, greet the team members, and then if there was time afterward, he should suggest going straight to the guiding room. He could talk about these feelings slowly after a bit more time had passed.
They moved to the main building and boarded the elevator. The elevator shot upward at a dizzying speed. Yeoul got off the elevator feeling like he was dreaming. Hyeseong stood side by side next to Yeoul and walked matching his steps.
He stopped in front of a room with a sign that read [Rescue 1 Team].
“This is our team office.”
Kang Hyeseong opened the office door wide.
“There are no other team members, so look around comfortably. Originally everyone comes to work around this time, but as you know, everyone worked all night yesterday so they’ll be sleeping in the dormitory.”
“Woooow…”
Yeoul let out an exclamation and stepped into the office. The office was very spacious and comfortably furnished. This space, equipped with a refrigerator, table, and a sofa large enough to be used as a cot, was a bit different from ordinary office workers’ offices.
“We have frequent emergency dispatches, so in urgent cases or when it’s hard to get to the dormitory, we often all live here together. So pretty much everything is equipped.”
“Ah…”
“Over there are the team members’ individual rest rooms. You can use the one attached to my office.”
In the place Kang Hyeseong pointed to, several cozy rooms like single rooms were arranged. They had a business hotel atmosphere, with beds and showers equipped in the small space.
Yeoul lost himself and looked around the office here and there. Am I really becoming a member of this place…? Becoming a member of South Korea’s frontline unit… His chest naturally swelled with grandeur and motivation filled him. I really have to work hard. He clenched his fists tightly with that determination.
“Oh, what’s this?”
Inside a space separated by glass walls, a desk and sofa were placed separately. When Yeoul pointed there and asked carefully, Hyeseong approached with steady steps and opened the door for him.
“It’s hyung’s office. Want to go in?”
“Yeah! I want to look around. If hyung doesn’t mind.”
“As much as you want.”
Yeoul stepped into the team leader’s office with a very excited heart. He had come and gone as naturally as breathing in Kang Hyeseong’s house and room, but this was the first time in the office where he worked. His heart couldn’t help but pound.
Befitting Kang Hyeseong’s space, the interior of the team leader’s office was clean to the point of being stark. The office that all the team members used together had an appropriate sense of living since people had come and gone there, but this place was sterile enough to bring to mind the phrase “lacking human warmth.”
Then Hyeseong gently placed his hand on Yeoul’s shoulder.
“Look around comfortably. I’ll be right back.”
“Huh? Okay.”
He tilted his head watching him suddenly turn his back and leave the office. Is he going to the bathroom? If it’s that, there’s one inside the office, so where is he going? Does he have some other urgent business?
Left alone, Yeoul carefully looked around the interior of the team leader’s office. In the nearly empty space, the only thing to look at was the desk. After hesitating for a moment, he approached the desk. Since Kang Hyeseong said to look around comfortably, this much should be okay…
A bookshelf was located beside the computer, and it was densely packed with binders organizing documents. On the wide desk, there were only a couple of fountain pens and a few approval boards. And three picture frames set up in a row.
Yeoul’s gaze naturally went to the frames. The first one his eyes stopped at was a group photo taken with several people. They were familiar faces thanks to photos steadily uploaded to internet articles and communities. Looking at the group photo of R1 team members, Yeoul covered his mouth.
‘It’s really amazing…’
Including Esper Seo Giwon, other team members were laughing while striking confident poses. He could see Kang Hyeseong’s face standing in the center. With a faint smile, befitting the vanguard leader, he had dignity even among South Korea’s top-flying Espers.
This photo is really so good. I’ll be able to join group photos like this later too… With a pounding, excited heart, he stared at the photo for a long while before turning his gaze with difficulty. And the moment he saw the other photo next to it… Yeoul’s ears burned.
‘…It’s me.’
