# Chapter 103
“Yeah, I thought you’d say that.”
However, Won Jungyeom didn’t seem surprised by Suhyun’s refusal.
“The rejection reaction itself…”
“Might not happen. But we can’t be certain, can we?”
He spoke decisively, acting as if he could see right through Suhyun’s thoughts.
“Let’s look at the situation objectively, Esper Suhyun.”
He crossed his arms as he stood.
“Until there’s definitive proof that such a thing doesn’t exist, Esper Suhyun needs to receive Guiding from another Guide.”
Suhyun’s lips moved as if wanting to refute, but he was cut off by Jungyeom’s continued words.
“What if rejection reactions are real? What if something happens to Esper Suhyun because of it?”
“……”
“Sorry to force this responsibility on you, but right now, Esper Suhyun is the only one who can enter the Riska dungeon. If something happens to you, ultimately no one will be able to solve the Riska situation.”
Jiwon hated the fact that only Suhyun could solve this. It meant he would have to fight alone.
But that was the objective truth. So Jiwon couldn’t say anything. He acknowledged that Jungyeom was right.
“You can’t refuse based on thoughts like ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘It’s uncomfortable.’ This isn’t that kind of matter.”
“……”
“And if you don’t like it, Guide Jiwon would dislike it even more. But he’s staying quiet. Why do you think that is?”
At Jungyeom’s words, which seemed to have caught on to Jiwon’s inner thoughts, Suhyun shifted his gaze. Meeting his eyes, Jiwon nodded slightly.
“…Because we don’t know what might happen.”
It wasn’t because of the grand objective of solving the Riska dungeon, but because he was worried about losing Suhyun if something went wrong.
Losing Suhyun versus him receiving Guiding from another Guide—there was no comparison to be made.
“……”
Suhyun didn’t say anything. His lowered gaze appeared somewhat stubborn.
Worried that his immediate nod might have hurt Suhyun’s feelings, Jiwon spoke up again.
“We need to eliminate all risk factors, right? If the situation were reversed, I think you would say the same thing, wouldn’t you?”
Suhyun frowned slightly. It seemed he couldn’t quite bring himself to deny it.
“You’ll receive the Guiding, right?”
Jiwon asked, moving closer to Suhyun. Finally raising his lowered gaze, Suhyun nodded with a brief sigh.
“…I understand.”
Pleased with the satisfactory answer, Jiwon smiled and looked at Jungyeom. He felt somewhat embarrassed thinking that he should have convinced Suhyun before Jungyeom and Jo Wooyeon stepped in.
“You’re looking happy now, Guide Jiwon.”
Whether he had sensed his thoughts or it was just his usual teasing, Jungyeom chuckled and shrugged.
“Who would’ve thought I’d live to see Guide Jiwon get a lover. No, wait. Come to think of it…”
He then stroked his chin, seemingly about to make some strange remark.
Jiwon, alarmed, quickly pulled Suhyun closer. Though Suhyun followed willingly, he kept his head turned, apparently curious about what Jungyeom was going to say next.
“What are you looking at? I’m right in front of you.”
Jiwon grabbed Suhyun’s cheeks with both hands to turn him around and asked with an awkward smile. Suhyun, looking at him, chuckled.
“You’re right.”
In truth, since Jungyeom had never actually seen him dating before, there was no need for such panic. The thought that he might have overreacted melted away at Suhyun’s smile.
Jiwon smiled back and whispered to Suhyun.
“Don’t smile like that in front of other people.”
Unfazed by the sudden comment, Suhyun replied:
“You should stop smiling too, Guide-nim.”
Why was that so cute? Jiwon, playfully pouting his lips, suddenly made a request of Suhyun.
“Just touching fingertips is enough for Guiding. So don’t do anything more than that. That would be cheating.”
Though said jokingly, he was entirely serious. Seeming to see through his true feelings, the smile on Suhyun’s face deepened.
“You two are completely ignoring me.”
Just as Jiwon was about to comment on how beautifully Suhyun smiled, Jungyeom’s grumbling voice was heard.
“Oh, you’re still here?”
Though it was a bit unkind, Jiwon, who had momentarily forgotten about his presence, started to apologize but instead asked bluntly. It was revenge for his earlier comment about past lovers.
“I didn’t know Guide Jiwon was such a rude person.”
His pretense of being hurt was quite convincing.
“Stop rubbing salt in my wounds right in front of me and get going now, Esper Suhyun. You’ve held out long enough, right?”
Jungyeom waved his hand at the two. Guessing that his visit wasn’t solely for persuasion, Jiwon nodded slightly.
He probably intended for Suhyun to meet that Guide today. They might even be waiting already.
“I don’t need Guiding right now.”
But Suhyun shook his head, either not having considered this or not caring.
Jungyeom sighed and tried to persuade him.
“They say ‘strike while the iron is hot.’ You should go right now while it’s being discussed. If you say ‘I’ll do it later,’ you’ll end up not wanting to do it again…”
“It doesn’t seem meaningful right now.”
But Suhyun shook his head again with a somewhat ambiguous remark. Then, as he checked his watch, Jiwon, as if entranced, raised his wrist to follow suit.
“…Huh?”
As a result, Jiwon made a stupid sound after checking the stability level.
“What is this?”
Jiwon muttered to himself, roughly rubbing his eyes. But the stability level on the screen didn’t change. He stood there stiffly, mouth agape.
“What’s the stability level?”
Sensing something unusual, Jungyeom approached and checked Suhyun’s watch. At the same time, a laugh of disbelief escaped from between his teeth.
“Haha…, ha. Well, looks like you two achieved something historic last night?”
That was when Jiwon’s frozen face exploded into a bright red blush.
“No…, how is this…”
Jiwon, now flushed red all the way to his neck, stammered without being able to complete a proper sentence.
“My watch isn’t broken, is it?”
“98. It should be the same.”
“…98, you say…”
- The wavelength stability was at a remarkable 98. It meant Suhyun was stable, nearly reaching a value of 100.
“Ahem…”
Such a high stability reading was extremely rare. So it should have been a purely joyous occasion.
But Jiwon couldn’t readily embrace the joy and just kept clearing his throat. This was because his mind was starting to flood with memories of last night’s events that had led to this stable reading.
“Ugh…”
Jiwon rubbed his face vigorously. The heat that had risen showed no signs of subsiding.
He couldn’t look at anyone’s face. Looking at Jungyeom was embarrassing, and looking at Suhyun vividly recalled his appearance from last night, making him feel shy.
“Wow, why is this so unpleasant to watch?”
Jungyeom’s voice, tinged with amusement, reached the ears of the flustered Jiwon.
“It’s so unpleasant I might have to tear it apart.”
“Esper Jungyeom can’t tear it apart even if he tries.”
When Suhyun joined in with a pretend grumpy response while actually smiling, Jiwon couldn’t help but grin.
“…Haha, wow. Guide Jiwon, did you hear that? How did you turn this wooden block of a person into such a devoted partner?”
As if he had been waiting for that reaction, Jungyeom approached Jiwon and asked.
“Well…”
Unfortunately, Jiwon had no answer to give. Because he didn’t know himself. He just knew for sure that Suhyun’s words made him feel good.
“Oh my, I’m way too interested in other people’s love lives.”
Jungyeom shook his head and quickly turned on his heel.
“Anyway, I’ll go to the dungeon with this wooden block.”
Then, grabbing Suhyun’s arm and pulling him, he briefly announced.
“If the wavelength is stable, we can just make it drop. I heard on the way here that a B-class dungeon has appeared, so we can use some abilities there and then have him receive Guiding.”
Deliberately lowering the wavelength stability to receive Guiding.
For the Suhyun of the past, this would have been unimaginable.
“Chief Jo Wooyeon told me not to think about coming home if I don’t get the Guiding done today, so I really have to do it, okay? If you want to stay next to each other and don’t want me to go, stop me.”
Is this what they call a sign of changing times?
Feeling both pride and a sense of security, Jiwon looked at Suhyun. Still, he wanted to leave the decision to him.
“…I’ll be going.”
Jiwon nodded slowly. If Suhyun could continue to remain this stable, contact with another Guide was truly nothing to worry about.
Besides, how fortunate it was that there was another Guide available. If there were none, they couldn’t even attempt this.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, take care.”
Jiwon smiled, firmly suppressing the childish dislike that was slightly welling up.
But despite his efforts, Suhyun, who was about to leave with Jungyeom, suddenly turned back.
Had he changed his mind? That shouldn’t happen…
“Why…”
Just as Jiwon, unable to hide his concern, was about to ask the reason.
Chu.
Suhyun’s lips briefly touched Jiwon’s before pulling away.
“Don’t cheat and wait for me. For you, Guide-nim, even fingertip touches count as cheating.”
With a grin, he turned right away and quickly disappeared from view.
Jiwon, who had been in a daze until then, belatedly sighed.
“Ah, Seo Suhyun…”
An empty laugh escaped for quite some time.
That’s right. How could this once wooden block of a person suddenly bombard his heart like this?
“Haha…”
Jiwon, laughing like an idiot, rubbed his own heart. His heart, which felt like a bomb had exploded inside it, was beating rapidly.
