# Chapter 35
It was a sudden question. He knew that Suhyun had been worried about him ever since he started entering dungeons.
He knew that Suhyun’s attitude had drastically softened afterward, stemming from concern.
But hearing the other person’s words directly felt different. Maybe it was natural to feel excited.
“There’s nothing to worry about. We have you, Esper-nim.”
Since Suhyun didn’t seem interested in responding to his question, Jiwon decided to wrap up the conversation on his own.
“With you here, Esper-nim, there’s nothing to fear. You’re the strongest, right? That’s why they say the field is more comfortable than the center?”
Strictly speaking, that wasn’t true. But there’s this funny thought that now is better. Despite working at the center for such a long period, he had almost no memories left, yet now, just thinking of Suhyun’s face brought a flood of incidents to his mind.
Well, recent events had been particularly intense.
“For the sake of my life, you’ll have to value your own life very dearly, Esper-nim.”
Jiwon said in a light tone.
“And I’ll have to be diligent in guiding you for your sake.”
Soon after, Jiwon removed his hand from Suhyun’s. It looked as if he was about to end the guiding, but it was actually the opposite.
“Since we’ll have to go back to dungeons tomorrow, shall we do proper guiding today and get a good rest?”
Jiwon suddenly spread his arms wide. As if gauging the meaning, Suhyun narrowed his eyes. Jiwon smiled while waving his arms.
“Come on.”
He meant to guide through a hug, and Suhyun clearly understood. He just hesitated for a moment.
Jiwon didn’t think he would refuse. It had been ages since he’d heard Suhyun say he didn’t need guiding. Though in reality, it probably hadn’t been that long.
“I wonder…”
Jiwon inadvertently opened his mouth but consciously closed it. He almost blurted out a frivolous curiosity.
It was just an old, yet still unresolved question.
He had always wondered why Suhyun avoided him and didn’t want to receive guiding.
There’s something he realized by observing Suhyun up close. He doesn’t easily let anyone near, but he doesn’t arbitrarily dislike people either.
The only person he openly distanced himself from and deliberately irritated was Jiwon. So naturally, he was curious about the reason.
“……”
But Jiwon didn’t ask. He didn’t want to strain their relationship, which had only just started to improve.
“…My arms are getting sore, Esper-nim.”
Jiwon again urged Suhyun, who was just staring blankly at him. Finally, with a short sigh, Suhyun moved.
Jiwon closed his eyes as he embraced Suhyun, who filled and overflowed his arms. His embrace was so warm that even after sleeping a lot, Jiwon felt drowsy again.
How wonderful would it be if this level of peace could continue? Jiwon hoped that this peace wouldn’t be temporary.
***
Research progressed actively based on Suhyun’s conjecture. And after about two weeks, significant results began to emerge from various parts of the world.
Some dungeon entrances displayed somewhat unusual wavelengths. This was evidence that not all entrances were the same.
Thanks to the entire world focusing on one research, dungeon entrances with unusual wavelengths were discovered in just two days. However, he heard that time was delayed because someone had to enter those dungeons to complete the verification.
Eventually, several Espers risked their lives to enter the dungeons, and they were able to confirm that all dungeons showing unusual wavelengths at the entrance were problem dungeons. They could distinguish dungeons even before entering them.
Unfortunately, all the Espers who entered the dungeons died. Turning on the TV, there were continuous memorial broadcasts expressing gratitude for their sacrifices.
Jiwon also mourned them. But on the other hand, he was relieved it hadn’t happened in Korea first. It was a selfish thought, but if it had, Suhyun would have entered those dungeons.
In any case, the verification was complete. With the researchers’ confidence that the majority of dungeons without perceivable wavelengths were in their original form, Espers now entered dungeons to exterminate monsters like before.
Suhyun was no exception.
“Hmm…”
And after some time, an anomalous dungeon appeared in Korea as well. It was news that naturally made him tense, but the fact that the dungeon was rated D-class, which was very low, and that it appeared on the foothills of Gangwon-do, an area with few people, reassured Jiwon.
Even if monsters came out, there would be no civilians to suffer harm. There was no need to rush.
Suhyun, along with several other Espers, decided to guard that dungeon. Jiwon thought they could depart for the dungeon late in the afternoon.
“The dungeon won’t open until tomorrow, do we need to go early?”
“It’s better to arrive there quickly.”
But Suhyun seemed to think differently. Seeing him, Jiwon’s relaxed mind became anxious as if it had never been calm. It was an inevitable response when the other showed such urgency.
“Bad feeling?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“I think it is.”
“I just think I’d be more at ease if I could see it directly in front of me.”
Realizing that Jiwon was tense, Suhyun responded in a calm tone. Jiwon narrowed his eyes but soon nodded.
“My feelings are a bit strange.”
Knowing it was a problem dungeon, it felt peculiar. Before, they would enter dungeons to verify whether they were problematic, but now they were going to prevent one they already knew about.
They had survived near-death experiences inside dungeons. Now, not having to enter them was such a fortunate thing.
“…Should we do more guiding before we go?”
But contrary to his feelings, once anxious, he felt like he needed to prepare something.
“This is because of you, Esper-nim.”
Until just now, everything was fine, but Suhyun’s rush made him suddenly feel this way, so it was indeed his responsibility.
“For my peace of mind, I need to do more guiding.”
Suhyun’s wavelength stability was currently at 84, which was a very good level. After the stability suddenly rose with a kiss in the dungeon, even just holding hands or hugging maintained a reading above 80.
However, Jiwon wasn’t entirely satisfied. Despite it being a number he couldn’t even dream of before.
Maybe it’s because there’s no sign of it going higher, making him feel frustrated.
Jiwon, thinking that Suhyun had implicitly agreed, embraced him first. It felt a bit like he was the one being held, but he decided to ignore that.
“Is it hard to raise the stability to 100?”
Since the emergence of ability users, cases of stability reaching 100 are said to be extremely rare. Of course, machines to measure stability were invented a bit late.
Anyway, there’s still no known way to raise stability to 100. From the very beginning, the existence of ability users, the reason for dungeon occurrences, what dungeons are—there was nothing certain about any of it, so it was better not to expect too much.
“I want to raise it higher…”
But human greed knows no bounds. In truth, Jiwon’s wish was difficult to fulfill from the start. Their matching rate was 89%.
Hoping for a stability of 100 with a matching rate that wasn’t even 90% was foolish.
‘If the matching rate is high, it should be completely high.’
As if there had never been a time when he prided himself on achieving decent matching rates with any Esper, dissatisfaction rose vigorously.
Well, it’s not like the matching rate would suddenly increase. If that were possible, there would be a line of Guides next to Suhyun right now. After all, many people wanted to be his Guide.
“Esper-nim.”
Jiwon, who was imagining placards confessing feelings for Suhyun, parted his lips. His chin was stably resting on Suhyun’s shoulder.
“…Shall we do it today?”
At Jiwon’s words, Suhyun’s body stiffened. But Jiwon didn’t consider his circumstances.
“We still haven’t confirmed it yet.”
“……”
“How much the stability rises with a kiss.”
Of course, despite earnestly persuading him to check, Jiwon had withdrawn first at that time. He made excuses that it was for Suhyun’s sake, but somehow, when it came to actually doing it, he felt very uncomfortable.
He thought that once or twice would be the same, but when faced with Suhyun, who acted awkwardly even when holding hands, he definitely became embarrassed as well.
But now, shouldn’t they confirm it?
It was time to precisely verify how much it stabilized Suhyun’s wavelength, if the stability truly rose from a measure in the 30s to over 80 at once because of the kiss.
