Then the guiding wavelength that had filled the room was sucked into him in an instant. It was as if water that had been filled in a bathtub was draining out. I was drawn by that tension and looked toward where Do Ganghyun was as if entranced.
“You’re here?”
When I hurriedly greeted him, Do Ganghyun looked at me without a word. At that sight, I swallowed nervously for no reason.
He looked at my face for a long time, slowly scanning as if searching for something, then soon turned his gaze away and answered shortly.
“Yeah.”
Ah, he’s dissatisfied with something right now.
I could tell as soon as I saw him. That he was displeased with me.
To Do Ganghyun, an SS-rank, my existence as a C-rank guide would always be unsatisfactory, but this was distinctly different from that.
‘Is there something on my face?’
I tilted my head while glancing at the mirror with the corner of my eye for no reason, then bowed my head. His esper wavelength was sticking close to me as if protesting.
‘Is it because the guiding is insufficient…’
I hastily spread and deployed my wavelength widely. Although I had prepared radiation guiding in advance, it had disappeared in an instant, so I thought he might be dissatisfied with that. Soon proper guiding would begin, but an esper’s negative emotions or uncooperative attitude would ultimately affect the guiding speed, so it was good to accommodate if possible.
“Who do you think is crazy about guiding? Never mind.”
“…Yes.”
I answered awkwardly and withdrew the guiding I’d released. I quietly glanced at his esper wavelength spinning around at my feet, but as expected, he seemed unaware of what state his wavelength was in.
“I’ll get ready soon, so wait.”
Saying that, he went straight into the bathroom. Looking at his disheveled wavelength and appearance, it seemed he’d come straight to the guiding room after the gate strategy.
Certainly, if he’d stopped by the lodging, there was no way he’d come at this time. It was an S-rank gate with an expected strategy time of at least half a day.
While waiting for him, I sat comfortably on the sofa rather than the bed. This place, the exclusive guiding room for SS-rank, had a 1.5-room separated structure unlike other places, and with all kinds of furniture, it was a space where simple cooking as well as daily life was possible.
Click.
That’s when it happened. Along with hazy steam, Do Ganghyun came out after finishing his shower. Through the open gown, his intricately woven muscles immediately caught my eye. Including the fact that there were no traces of sexual activity.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t heard talk of him being with other guides lately.’
I thought it was unusual—he’d been pathologically meeting with guides who didn’t even match his wavelength, if only to erase my traces.
At the same time, I recalled his appearance kissing another guide at his lodging. Even though I should have forgotten by now, I forced a bitter smile at the memory of that day circling in my head again.
“Shall we start guiding?”
***
On the surface, guiding with Do Ganghyun went smoothly. However, the reality was completely different. It was twice as slow as usual, even though I’d prepared radiation guiding in advance.
‘Is it because of the S-rank gate strategy?’
But to say that, his wavelength level was 47%, which was a good state for having strategized an S-rank gate. It was thanks to steadily conducting guiding with him and managing his wavelength. Therefore, it was difficult to simply attribute it to the gate.
Moreover, it was unreasonable to simply say it was poor condition. First of all, Do Ganghyun was very cooperative with guiding, and his wavelength was also voraciously devouring the guiding as soon as it was given, clamoring for more.
‘So in the end, it means I’m the problem…’
It felt like my wavelength was spinning around him, acting lukewarm, and also like I was blowing breath into him through a thin straw.
Perhaps Do Ganghyun felt this too, as his brow furrowed with dissatisfaction. I quickly intercepted his words before his mouth could open.
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit tired today, this never happens normally…”
I hastily apologized and rattled off excuses. Then, worried he might tell me to quit the communal guiding room work, I added that this didn’t happen normally. Although the Center had assigned communal guiding room work as a disciplinary measure, the additional allowance I gained through it was desperately needed for me.
“Tsk.”
Do Ganghyun clicked his tongue and irritably reached his hand toward me. His hand wrapped around the back of my head and our faces drew close, then in an instant our lips pressed together.
Startled, as I pulled my body back, strength entered his hand. As my body, which wouldn’t budge, gradually relaxed, his tongue invaded through the slightly parted lips.
However, having been completely unprepared, I turned my head and barely managed to open my mouth.
“W-wait…”
I was trying to awkwardly express my intent while speaking, worried I might bite his tongue, when—
“Open.”
Do Ganghyun, who briefly moved away and gave me space, commanded lowly.
“Tomorrow is also an S-rank gate. You know the entire team is deploying this time. There’s no time.”
With those final words, Do Ganghyun pressed his lips to mine again.
However, unlike the words uttered as if there was no compromise, the movement that gently licked my lips and urged me to open as if asking was nothing but soft. His tongue tracing my even teeth tickled, and somehow it felt like I might cry.
The guiding that had been sluggish starting from radiation guiding through light contact guiding was accomplished quickly as soon as it changed to mucous membrane guiding. It felt like having a fleeting sweet dream.
“The strategy will take long, so don’t come out early for no reason. Take good care of your condition.”
And as if to prove this, Do Ganghyun left immediately.
***
Ten days later, at the Center research lab.
“…The matching rate has dropped. 79.2%, so roughly 2% when rounded.”
The Research Director’s sharp gaze shot out. They were a Center official who had semi-coercively recommended the pair to me at the time of manifestation. Those eyes, unchanged even a bit from the past, were so fierce that my shoulders naturally shrank.
Currently, this place was a research lab secretly located inside the Center, where various tests and research were periodically conducted for the management of high-rank espers. If it had previously been used to develop guiding medication suitable for Do Ganghyun, now the purpose had changed slightly—while maintaining existing research, it was used to periodically check the matching rate between me and him like this.
And in that test, there was a change in the matching rate that had shown no change for the past year.
[Matching Rate 79.2%]
And in a very bad direction at that.
“Can the matching rate drop?”
“Well. In the early stages of manifestation, there are many variables so there can be fluctuations during matching rate tests, but this is my first time seeing it drop after almost a year has passed.”
Like that, the gazes of everyone in the research lab including Do Ganghyun gathered on me. The Research Director in particular openly displayed pressure to tell them honestly what was going on. Despite the fact that I didn’t know the cause either.
Just as the appearance of espers and guides had been sudden, there wasn’t much information known about matching either. Precisely, not much had been properly revealed.
The history was too short to derive any meaningful results, and rashly proceeding with research ran into human rights issues. It was especially delicate because the appearance of gates made the existence of manifesters inevitable.
So those who had devoted their lives to research would be more likely to know the cause than me, who manifested at a late age and barely managed to fill in only basic knowledge…
“I-I’m sorry.”
However, unfortunately, the answer I could give was predetermined.
“This isn’t a problem that ends with saying you’re sorry. The matching rate has dropped by as much as 2%, and that’s quite a threatening number. Is there anything you can guess? Like your lifestyle pattern changing drastically recently, or having deep contact with another esper.”
For a moment, I recalled my recent resolution to give up my feelings for him. However, since such insignificant feelings couldn’t possibly affect the matching rate, I quietly bowed my head.
The Research Director also didn’t ask further, as if having asked simply out of frustration, and turned their gaze away irritably.
“Making such a fuss over just 2%, such a fuss.”
“It’s not ‘just’! Why did Guide Myeong Eunha, a C-rank, become Esper Do Ganghyun’s pair? It’s because of that high matching rate you called ‘just’! If the rank is already low and the matching rate is low too—!”
“Noisy. Why are you asking an innocent person about a cause you couldn’t find either?”
“But…!”
“We can just break the pair. It’s just going back to square one anyway.”
Do Ganghyun replied nonchalantly.
At those words, both the Research Director’s and my face turned deathly pale. I’d bet my face turned paler.
‘Grandmother…’
It couldn’t be helped. The biggest portion of covering my grandmother’s hospital bills was the income from the pair contract with him.
The words that the pair contract must not be touched rose up to my throat, but there were no words I could let out of my mouth. I just bowed my head even deeper so as not to make eye contact with anyone. If I unnecessarily revealed my presence, the spark of contract termination might really fly.
“If you’re going to torment the kid with useless words, properly identify the cause first before coming.”
With those final words, Do Ganghyun kicked back his chair and left.
