# Chapter 54
“Hello, Guide-nim!”
“Oh, hello.”
“Has Esper Seo Suhyun-nim arrived?”
“Wow, Esper Seo Suhyun-nim! Guide Moon Jiwon-nim!”
What’s this all about?
Jiwon hesitated at the unfamiliar atmosphere in front of the dungeon. Suhyun felt the same way.
“You must be working so hard. How did you manage to come all the way here…!”
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“We could somehow handle today’s dungeon… You should just rest.”
“Isn’t it too much for you, Guide-nim? Going into the dungeon and all….”
It made sense—from the moment they arrived at the dungeon entrance, they’d been receiving an overwhelmingly warm welcome from fellow ability users.
He could understand the relief at seeing a high-ranked Esper arrive, or the excitement of seeing a familiar ability user, but this was the first time they’d received such an enthusiastic welcome.
“Really… you’re both so amazing.”
Even Jiwon himself was in the spotlight. Usually, all the attention went to the Espers. In that sense, today’s atmosphere was truly exceptional.
“We’ve been talking among ourselves. The dungeons we handle are nothing. Just look at how hard Esper Seo Suhyun-nim and Guide Moon Jiwon-nim work.”
“It’s fortunate that both of you handled the Riska dungeon. If not for that, we would have been dead too.”
“Ah, yes….”
Why did it feel so artificial when they were acknowledging their hard work?
Jiwon gave a perfunctory response and took a step back. Meanwhile, Suhyun was completely surrounded by ability users. Even though interest in Jiwon had increased, it still wasn’t comparable to Suhyun.
“……”
Suhyun stood there with a disgruntled expression. Jiwon wondered if he should rescue him, but he didn’t have the confidence to push through the Espers, and the slightly troubled look on Suhyun’s face was somewhat cute, so he concluded it was better to watch from a distance.
“Excuse me, Guide Moon Jiwon-nim.”
“Yes.”
In the meantime, a Guide approached Jiwon and addressed him. Jiwon responded half-heartedly without taking his eyes off Suhyun.
“I happened to hear something.”
“What is it?”
Jiwon reluctantly tore his gaze away from Suhyun. Someone more than a head shorter than him was looking up at him.
“That, Guide-nim… has a special ability…”
“A special ability?”
“…Yes.”
Jiwon raised an eyebrow as he looked at the other person. Judging by the absence of wavelength, they were a Guide, and since Jiwon didn’t recognize their face, it was likely their first meeting.
“How did you do it?”
What on earth was this Guide talking about?
“They said that you used some special ability on Esper Seo Suhyun-nim. That’s why only Esper Seo Suhyun-nim wasn’t affected by Riska’s hypnosis.”
Where on earth did they hear such a thing?
It wasn’t completely baseless, which made Jiwon even more confused.
“…Who told you that?”
The first face that came to mind was Adam. But something seemed off. What benefit would he gain from spreading such rumors?
“Why do you only use your ability on Esper Seo Suhyun-nim?”
Instead of revealing the source, the person continued with questions in a somewhat aggressive tone. Jiwon, who had opened his mouth in bewilderment, soon shook his head firmly.
“I don’t know what ability you’re talking about.”
It was just a supposition and a hope that he might have such an ability, but nothing was certain.
“How could I use an ability I don’t even know about?”
If Jiwon himself wasn’t aware of it, it was as good as nonexistent. He was the one who wished he had such an ability.
“If I had such an ability… I would never have hidden it.”
After just a few words from the other person, Jiwon had become a Guide who hid his abilities and disregarded other Espers.
It was absurd.
“I think Guide-nim is truly… amazing. Really. So, that’s why… please help the other Espers too…”
What followed was even more ridiculous. Tears welled up in the person’s eyes. They looked so pitiful that Jiwon felt like he should naturally feel guilty.
‘What guilt?’
It was an ability he didn’t even know about, so why should he feel any such emotion?
He’d clearly said it was an ability he didn’t know about. Yet the other person completely ignored that and treated him like a selfish person only interested in saving himself and his Esper.
Try something else? What more could he do? If the Espers were so precious to them that they were on the verge of tears, wouldn’t it be better for them to follow into the Riska dungeon and see for themselves if they had the ability?
“Guide-nim.”
Unsure what to say first, Jiwon kept his mouth shut for the moment. Just then, Suhyun, who had somehow approached, called out to him.
The moment he saw Suhyun’s face, his negative emotions vanished surprisingly quickly. It felt like his mind had completely cleared. Jiwon smiled broadly.
“Should we go in now?”
“Yes.”
“Be careful.”
Jiwon’s voice was extremely gentle. Suhyun seemed to nod slightly before looking at the Guide standing in front of Jiwon.
Jiwon, who had momentarily forgotten about the Guide’s existence, pulled Suhyun closer and said indifferently.
“I wish I had such an ability too. Then I could help more eagerly, making all this hard work seem like nothing.”
He quickly cut off any chance of Suhyun feeling sympathy for the Guide. Of course, Suhyun would understand too. The other person had excessive expectations about an ability that might not even exist.
But since it was true that Suhyun himself felt somewhat safer from Riska, Jiwon was concerned that after hearing such words from the Guide, Suhyun might push himself harder.
“…Will you be going back?”
Fortunately, Suhyun was easily pulled along as Jiwon wanted. But the following question wasn’t very welcome. Hadn’t he said that going alone was forbidden…
“Together.”
Jiwon, who had been narrowing his brows in dissatisfaction, flinched at Suhyun’s next words. The word “together” echoed in his ears.
Had Suhyun ever proposed doing something together with him before? Not in Jiwon’s memory.
“Ha… Um, that’s a good suggestion, but since we’re already here, I don’t think we can just leave, can we?”
Jiwon, desperately trying to suppress the rising of his cheekbones, answered rationally.
“Why not?”
“…Well, everyone’s happy that you’re here, Esper-nim.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
But somehow, his rational statement didn’t seem to work on Suhyun.
Well, Suhyun was right. It wasn’t like they absolutely had to come to this dungeon; they’d come purely out of goodwill.
“If we just leave like that, we’ll get a ton of criticism that we could have avoided.”
Honestly, Jiwon didn’t care what others said about him. But he didn’t want Suhyun to be criticized. Even more, he hated giving the impression that Suhyun was being dragged around by Jiwon, his Guide.
“You didn’t have to come, but you said you would, Esper-nim. So you have to take responsibility.”
“Were you reluctant, Guide-nim?”
What kind of question was that?
Jiwon was about to nod as if it was obvious.
“You seemed to like it.”
But Jiwon couldn’t make any movement. He had secretly been happy at the thought of being able to guide for longer… was it that obvious?
“How could that be?”
Though his response was somewhat delayed, Jiwon calmly shook his head.
“Knowing that you’re the only one suffering every time we go into a dungeon, how could I be happy about that?”
“…Is that so?”
“Take care of yourself. And be careful with your wavelength.”
It’s fine if the wavelength gets slightly disturbed. But only slightly. The thought of Suhyun struggling alone to lead those Espers and returning exhausted made him very upset.
“And don’t push yourself too hard.”
Jiwon emphasized again. His tone suggested that was absolutely non-negotiable.
“Yes.”
Suhyun answered very obediently.
“Wait in the car. I’ll go straight to the car afterward.”
“Yes, I will.”
This time, Jiwon answered compliantly. As he suspected, it seemed Suhyun had overheard their earlier conversation. There was a reason for suddenly suggesting to go home or asking Jiwon to wait in the car.
‘He’s become more affectionate…’
Somehow, it felt novel. It seemed Suhyun was moved by the fact that Jiwon kept worrying about him.
‘Wouldn’t it be stranger not to be moved?’
Maybe Suhyun had also approached and called out to him earlier as his own way of rescuing Jiwon.
Jiwon grinned. Suhyun had turned around and was heading straight for the dungeon. Jiwon watched his retreating figure before moving. In truth, he had no intention of going to the car. Jiwon was heading to the tent designated for waiting Guides.
While he appreciated Suhyun’s concern, he had no intention of ending the conversation so one-sidedly. He also didn’t want to be remembered as a selfish jerk who only thought of himself. And he needed to find out where that Guide had heard such a story.
“Ah, there you are.”
Without Jiwon even needing to enter the tent, the Guide from earlier emerged from outside.
“We should finish our conversation, shouldn’t we?”
Jiwon said with a crooked posture. The Guide who had earlier mentioned Jiwon’s special ability was now looking at him with a somewhat surprised expression.
