“…Grandmother, I don’t think I can cut things off.”
Not Do Ganghyun, nor Grandmother.
“I imprinted with Esper Do Ganghyun recently. Esper Do Ganghyun was in a rampage state so it was dangerous, but my matching rate with him was high…”
I was speaking when I closed my mouth for a moment.
The reason the matching rate had increased was naturally because of the clinical trial. This was a choice I’d made for Grandmother’s treatment.
When the arduous process came to mind, I couldn’t look at Grandmother’s face properly again. It felt as if Grandmother, lying with her eyes closed, was reproaching me.
“Somehow the matching rate increased, so that’s why we imprinted.”
In the end, I could only gloss over it and continue speaking.
“And the situation has changed a lot. Esper Do Ganghyun was also confused at first and rejected me like before, but now it’s different. Starting today, I’m living at Esper-nim’s house. I moved all my luggage too.”
I didn’t bother mentioning my internal confusion during that process. While seeming to convey only objective facts, I excluded all elements that I thought would bring me any negative changes.
Esper Do Ganghyun who suddenly changed his attitude without a clear reason, the Research Director who wanted to continue new experiments by somehow winning my favor, the Center people who were sizing things up and loitering near me—all of them.
“I haven’t lived together yet so I don’t know if it’s a good thing, but I hope it will be a good thing.”
I hope I’m not wrong this time.
I swallowed those words and forced myself to smile. Of course, there was no one to look at that smile.
Leaving that regret behind, I stood up from my seat. Besides the caregiver Do Ganghyun said he’d arrange, the Research Director had also been taking care of things until now, so even coming to visit Grandmother like this, there was no need to even look after her bedding. After lingering in regret while looking around for something to touch, I took a difficult step forward.
‘It’s still when the shuttle bus is running—’
I stopped my steps that had been heading toward the shuttle bus stop to go to the Guide dormitory.
‘Ah, I can’t go to the dormitory.’
My residence had changed from this morning’s crack of dawn, so I was confused. I hadn’t memorized Do Ganghyun’s house address yet, so what should I do?
Do Ganghyun had said he’d arrange a driver for me, but he’d taken me home and immediately gone to a Gate raid, so I hadn’t received the contact information. He probably didn’t even know I’d come to the hospital in the first place.
I sighed and turned my steps back.
I checked my phone to see if there were any new contacts, but as expected, there were no separate messages. Do Ganghyun was definitely in the middle of a Gate raid, or even if he’d returned home, he hadn’t looked for me yet. As long as I came back by today, he wouldn’t interfere much.
“I’ll just leave a text message first, and contact the Research Director to get the address—”
That’s when it happened.
“You came out early?”
While I was slowly heading back to the hospital entrance while scrolling through my phone, I heard a familiar voice right in front of me. A beat late, I also felt an Esper’s wavelength enveloping my entire body.
“Esper-nim?”
“Wasn’t this a proper, serious visit after a long time? I naturally thought you’d come out late.”
Before confirming with my eyes, I could tell right away. That the one who appeared calling me was Do Ganghyun.
I wasn’t distracted enough to not sense wavelengths, so he must have appeared using his ability. And that too, in the Guide ward where the suppressor was operating.
‘Even if it’s the entrance, the effect wouldn’t be small.’
Was it because he was definitely SS-rank? Do Ganghyun didn’t show any signs of difficulty at all. Though he did have experience smashing a communal guiding room where a suppressor was operating before.
For a moment, I thought I understood why people praised him, an SS-rank, saying “high-rank, high-rank.” How insufficient I, a C-rank, was too.
“What brings you here?”
I put all my skeptical inner thoughts about ranks behind me and asked the question.
This was before I’d informed him where I was or what I was doing. He’d even gone out for a Gate raid. It was suspicious how he’d appeared with such perfect timing.
“It was an A-rank Gate. Even that, the space was small so I entered alone.”
“Ah…”
A small exclamation burst from my mouth. From that short answer, I could understand how he could be outside instead of at the Gate at this time.
While an A-rank Gate might be threatening to someone, it naturally wasn’t to SS-rank Do Ganghyun. In a situation where the rank difference was this overwhelming, companions helping with the raid would actually be a burden.
Nevertheless, companions were needed depending on the Gate’s characteristics. However, if the Gate’s internal space was small and had no particular features so he proceeded with the raid alone, there would be nothing to worry about, so he could have finished the raid faster than anyone.
Of course, even so, his answer didn’t become the complete answer to my question.
“Anyway, the only places you’d go, Myeong Eunha, are the Center, the Guide ward, and my house, right? Since I’m not at the Center, there’d be no reason to go there either. So I told the Guide ward. That if you came, they should leave me a message when you leave.”
As soon as I had that thought, Do Ganghyun continued and answered my question. The problem was that there was a rather unsatisfactory aspect to that answer.
‘Isn’t that stalking?’
For a moment, I unconsciously looked at Do Ganghyun with eyes looking at a scoundrel. Do Ganghyun immediately noticed the negative gaze directed at him with an Esper’s sensitive perception.
“What kind of look is that?”
“What?”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Like you’re looking at a scoundrel.”
Without giving me a chance to say it wasn’t, he questioned me with conviction. He even came close and stood next to me as if telling me not to make excuses.
I smiled awkwardly, relaxed the strength in my eyes, and then lowered my gaze. However, even while hesitating, I clearly stated the reason.
“…I thought it might be stalking.”
“What?”
“No. I thought wrong.”
However, at his expression of raising his eyebrows, I hastily denied my previous words.
I shouldn’t have said it. That thought came to me naturally at Do Ganghyun’s questioning voice. He continued speaking with a growl, his voice lowered as if in a bad mood.
“Say it properly. What seemed like stalking? Me leaving word at the Guide ward to report your location?”
I rolled my eyes left and right, then slightly nodded at the silent pressure I felt from Do Ganghyun.
“Ha!”
He let out an empty breath as if exasperated, then opened his mouth menacingly.
“What did you think everything I’ve said until now was? Is imprinting a joke? Don’t you realize how dangerous it is for an SS-rank Esper’s imprinted Guide to wander around alone?”
“……”
“And your pattern of always going back and forth between just the Center and the Guide ward is the same every time. Do you know your behavior is perfect for getting kidnapped?”
My body instinctively shrank at Do Ganghyun’s fierce questioning.
However, in reality, to kidnap a Guide within the Center, there had to be an accomplice inside the Center or the insider had to be the kidnapper. The reality was that outsiders couldn’t even approach near the Center.
Although I was easily going back and forth between the Center and the Guide ward like this, the Guide ward was ultimately a building under the Center’s management. As the name suggested, ordinary people couldn’t enter, and the same went for Espers or Guides from other countries. That’s why the shuttle bus was operating.
In short, it meant the possibility of being kidnapped wasn’t completely absent, but it was extremely low. Because Do Ganghyun also knew this well, he’d neglected and left alone his only Pair Guide with matching wavelengths who went back and forth to the Guide ward and sometimes stayed out overnight.
‘But now?’
Besides, wasn’t his attitude of rejecting me still the same?
Recently, he’d been spending time with me more often and showing off at the Center that we were imprinted, but that was as far as it went. People around still couldn’t easily recall my image as ‘Myeong Eunha’ standing by his side, and there were many who didn’t feel Do Ganghyun’s changed attitude. Since I myself was being swept up inadvertently, how much more so for others?
While saying with his mouth that he wanted to improve our relationship, Do Ganghyun’s attitude clearly showed signs of forcing himself to do something he didn’t want to do. As if it was unbearably difficult to put up with.
So I couldn’t easily accept his words, and doubts sprouted like this. What his reason was for going this far.
‘Is imprinting that amazing?’
Even if so, I was in a situation where I couldn’t betray Do Ganghyun anyway.
Generally in the relationship between Espers and Guides, the one with the upper hand tended to be the Guide, but in Do Ganghyun’s and my case, it wasn’t. Before imprinting and after, the one with the upper hand was always him.
So if he requested guiding, I would do it, and if he told me not to stand out, I would disappear. In short, it meant Do Ganghyun didn’t need to make an effort toward me like now.
However, I didn’t make the mistake of voicing the doubts and numerous thoughts that arose. I just swallowed everything down.
Emboldened by that, Do Ganghyun gestured at my phone with his eyes.
“Why didn’t you contact me? Did what I said before about having many enemies sound ridiculous to you?”
For a moment, I recalled when Do Ganghyun had visited me every night disguised as kindness. And how he’d tried to hide me from his side with the words that he had many enemies.
