# Chapter 3
“Guide Jiwon. What are you doing?”
“Packing my things.”
Jiwon, who had manipulated his watch to press the call button, answered calmly. B-class Esper Won Jungyeom, who had been staring blankly at him, frowned.
“Didn’t you just call Esper Seo Suhyun?”
“Ah, this? Yes, that’s right.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Why? Because he should come to the center for guiding since I’m here.”
Jiwon answered as if wondering why Jungyeom was asking about something so obvious, but Jungyeom didn’t look convinced.
“Isn’t it usually the Esper who calls?”
It was indeed common for Espers in need of guiding to press the call button. The problem was that Seo Suhyun, who was far from ordinary, hadn’t called Jiwon even once since their dedicated contract.
His wavelength stability, which Jiwon could check in real-time, was gradually decreasing. But since there was no contact from Suhyun, he had no choice but to press the button himself.
“He must be so busy with his work that I don’t know where he is or what he’s doing.”
Jiwon said playfully. Jungyeom was one of the few Espers with whom Jiwon was close, but he didn’t know about the complicated relationship between Suhyun and Jiwon.
In fact, not many people knew about it. Until now, Jiwon had only met Suhyun at the center, and since Jiwon was the only employee there, it was always one-on-one.
People like the Association employee who happened to find out during the contract signing had been silenced.
“I heard he entered a dungeon around midnight yesterday. Didn’t he call Guide Jiwon then? Ah, I guess he’s not the type to call a Guide at such a late hour.”
“Yes. He already submitted a written excuse saying he didn’t contact me because it was late. How thoughtful.”
“I keep telling you, he has a stubbornly good side.”
“Haha…”
“You’re lucky, Guide Jiwon. To have someone like Esper Suhyun as your dedicated Esper.”
Thinking Jiwon had laughed in agreement, Jungyeom literally talked nonsense.
‘Kind, my ass…’
It was really bullshit.
‘Don’t pretend to have a strong sense of duty, just continue doing what you’ve been doing.’
Wasn’t this the scam of the century? Everyone was being deceived. The words he heard two days ago buzzed in Jiwon’s ears.
‘I’m trying to fulfill my duty.’
‘Doing what you’ve always been doing is your duty, Guide.’
‘Why is an Esper arbitrarily defining my duties?’
‘Because I’m the one receiving the guiding, and that’s all I want.’
These were the words Suhyun had said when he visited the Guiding Center two days after they signed the dedicated contract.
Although Jiwon could no longer guide other Espers, so he should have cleared out all his things from the center before then, it was worth waiting because he thought Suhyun would visit according to scheduled appointments as usual.
‘I’m not working at the center anymore. From now on, I’ll follow you around, Esper. I’m also going to move my residence.’
It was exasperating to see Suhyun show up at the center after not responding to a single call. But Jiwon suppressed his emotions and spoke calmly.
‘Only to hear him preach about his sense of duty.’
Jiwon hadn’t expected Suhyun to rely on him for guiding just because they signed a contract. But did it have to be like this, with nothing changing—no, actually creating even more distance?
“I worry because he’s just kind without any flexibility.”
Jiwon had nothing to say. Well, he might not know about the latter, but he acknowledged the lack of flexibility. Even though it only made things harder for himself, Suhyun remained stubbornly silent no matter how many times Jiwon called. He was clearly showing his determination to ignore him.
‘If only he wasn’t an S-class Esper… No, if only there was another Guide with a matching rate over 50%.’
Then Jiwon wouldn’t have had to leave this center. Even the Association hadn’t wanted Jiwon to sign a dedicated contract.
Jiwon, who had awakened at 16, was an S-class Guide who showed a matching rate of at least 60% with any Esper brought to him. With his high average matching rate and good guiding ability, it seemed wasteful to bind him to just one Esper, even if that Esper was S-class.
Since a dedicated contract restricted a Guide’s guiding, the Association wanted to take more time to find another Guide for Suhyun.
By having Jiwon at the center, they could manage Espers who either didn’t have a dedicated Guide yet or needed additional guiding.
But Suhyun was an extremely picky Esper when it came to matching rates. Now, two years after his awakening, Jiwon was still the only one with a meaningful matching rate.
“Guide Jiwon, take good care of him. Tell him to stop going into dungeons so much. The threshold of the dungeon will wear out.”
He could only say this because he didn’t know that Jiwon couldn’t even contact Suhyun. Jiwon twisted the corner of his mouth and nodded.
Well, he didn’t plan to stay quiet like this. It’s not like he hadn’t anticipated this situation.
“I have to keep it in good condition even if he visits until it wears out.”
“Oh, you’re confident?”
Jiwon shrugged.
Suhyun would now receive guiding every day instead of the guiding he used to receive by visiting the center once every two days, or more typically once every three or four days. Of course, he would be fine.
‘Unfortunately, the level of guiding the Association requires is much higher than what you want, Esper-nim. I will follow the upper management’s directions. In that sense, let’s change the settings on the watch to enable location tracking.’
‘What the Association wanted was the contract. The degree of guiding, wavelength stability, these weren’t part of the contract conditions. There’s no problem if I call you when I need you.’
Well… it wouldn’t be easy, but.
‘But you won’t call, will you?’
‘I will if I need to.’
‘When do you need it? Is there a day when you need it?’
Although he was smiling brightly, Jiwon’s tone was somewhat sharp. Suhyun closed his mouth for a moment, then answered as if annoyed.
‘I’ll contact you if something comes up.’
It was obvious he was saying this just to end the conversation.
‘When? After the upper management contacts me because Esper Seo Suhyun is entering dungeons with unstable wavelengths?’
It was a question with basis, as about a year ago, Suhyun had abruptly stopped coming to the center but kept entering dungeons, leading the upper management to hold Jiwon responsible.
‘That won’t happen. Let’s stop now. I’m the one who loses out if I don’t receive guiding, so why is the Guide being so annoying?’
‘It was you who made me act this way, Esper. How can I trust that it won’t happen?’
‘But there’s no need to constantly check my location and follow me around.’
‘Why not? That’s exactly what I need to do. If your wavelength is unstable, I need to follow you and guide you.’
‘I know better than anyone what my wavelength status is like. There’s no need to check my stability levels.’
‘Wait, am I stalking you now, Esper Suhyun? You don’t like me checking your wavelength stability, and you especially don’t like me checking your location. Are you saying I should just wait quietly because you’ll come when it’s time?’
‘Yes. It’s not that difficult, is it?’
It was difficult. No, to be precise, it was infuriating.
“If only I could go into dungeons with just Esper Seo Suhyun, I’d have no other wishes…”
Jungyeom muttered as if lost in regret. Jiwon could absolutely not affirm this statement.
“You like Esper Suhyun?”
“That’s a strange question. Where else can you find an Esper who works so silently and diligently without a single complaint? And he’s strong too, being an S-class Esper. He may be a bit blunt, but he knows how to consider others and has a strong sense of responsibility…”
Was there another S-class Esper Seo Suhyun in our country?
Jiwon rubbed his face, thinking this wasn’t even funny.
Jungyeom was a B-class Esper who, at the age of 40, demonstrated A-class capabilities in the field. Perhaps because of his military background, he was a person accustomed to cooperating with other Espers and was known for being a good judge of character.
In other words, Suhyun really was that kind of person to Jungyeom. Confirming once again that Suhyun only acted like a dog towards him felt like shit, as expected.
“I’m worried he might get scammed by someone with a silver tongue. Honestly…”
“Honestly?”
“I’m a bit worried about Guide Jiwon too. What if he influences you?”
“Influences me? Are you rudely implying that he won’t need my guiding anymore?”
“Haha. I don’t mean to be rude… it’s just that Esper Suhyun is like a bear, but Guide Jiwon is like a fox. I’m a bit worried because it seems obvious you’ll keep him in the palm of your hand and play with him.”
Suhyun being like a bear. Well, bears tear people apart, so it was quite fitting. Though Jungyeom probably didn’t mean it that way.
“An Esper isn’t a toy, why would I play with him? I just want to take good care of him.”
“…Why does it sound ominous when you say you’ll take care of him?”
“That’s just your imagination.”
Jiwon smirked. Well, he was angry because of Suhyun… but he wasn’t surprised. He had expected Suhyun to act this way.
From the beginning, he had no intention of waiting quietly. He had already prepared countermeasures and just needed to implement them.
Suhyun would definitely regret not simply running over when called and allowing location tracking.
“He’s our precious S-class Esper, so I must take good care of him.”
It’s better to accept things that need to be accepted quickly. Jiwon really wanted to teach this to Suhyun.
“Oh my… I always get nervous when Guide Jiwon smiles like that.”
“They say you can’t spit on a smiling face… but I guess that’s an old saying now.”
“Hahaha!”
Jungyeom laughed loudly as if something was very funny. When Jiwon stared at him, the laughter gradually subsided.
“Ahem, but why isn’t Esper Seo Suhyun coming? I thought I’d see his face before leaving.”
Seeming embarrassed, Jungyeom obviously changed the subject. Jiwon, who hadn’t expected Suhyun to show up in the first place, smiled and answered.
“He probably can’t come. Well, I’ll see him tomorrow anyway.”
“Did you make an appointment for tomorrow?”
“Hmm… can it be called an appointment…?”
Jiwon’s expression became subtle as his voice trailed off. Jungyeom sensed that Jiwon was planning something. It was exactly the expression he made at such times.
***
And a few days later.
“What is this?”
Jungyeom’s guess was exactly right.
“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m moving in.”
Jiwon answered calmly to Suhyun’s seemingly startled question. The moving company employees were busy moving around between them.
“Ah, I haven’t greeted you yet.”
Jiwon stood facing Suhyun and smiled broadly.
“I look forward to living with you. As your roommate.”
It was a smile that looked refreshingly cheerful.
