After leaving the building, Jiwon briefly gazed at the pitch-black night sky before entering the research building, which was just as quiet as expected. When he arrived at the matching test room on the third floor, Research Director Choi Seunghyeon and Team Leader Lee Juyeon were already there with Seo Gangwoo.
“Hello.”
“Welcome. This is your first time meeting him, right? This is Research Director Choi Seunghyeon.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Guide Kim Jiwon, and I’ll be conducting today’s matching rate test.”
“Yes. I look forward to working with you.”
The application must have already been filled out, as the two were immediately guided to the testing machines. Seo Gangwoo approached the machine on the side, removed his upper garment, and attached the machine’s devices to his body.
Once preparations were complete and the testing room door closed, it became quiet and the matching test began.
The lower part of Jiwon’s palm glowed blue as he guided. It took several times longer than the tests he’d done with other Espers before.
“Testing is complete. Please wait a moment, and we’ll test once more.”
Only after two rounds of testing were they finally able to leave the testing room.
Jiwon sat on the plush sofa and waited for the test results. The analysis time also took much longer than before.
Even while waiting, Jiwon held Seo Gangwoo’s hand and guided him while quietly chatting with Team Leader Lee Juyeon. It was late, but since he’d slept during the day, he wasn’t sleepy.
“You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? The test results are in. This is quite surprising.”
Research Director Choi Seunghyeon walked over holding two result sheets and placed them on the table. Team Leader Lee Juyeon’s eyes widened as she looked at the test sheets.
The matching rate that finally came out on the two test result sheets was 95.8%. Jiwon was also curious and leaned forward to check, showing the same surprised expression as Team Leader Lee Juyeon.
“95.8%?! That’s incredibly high!”
“We can basically consider it 96%.”
Even Seo Gangwoo, who had been sitting expressionlessly, showed a faint but surprised look. He’d expected it to some degree, but hadn’t thought it would be this high a number.
“Good heavens…. Cases where the matching rate exceeds 90% are rare in themselves….”
“For you two, not only is the matching rate high, but your energy compatibility also matches well, so the guiding efficiency will be extremely high.”
“Really? But the gauge is going down too slowly.”
Choi Seunghyeon added an explanation to Jiwon’s comment.
“That part is probably because the energy that Esper Seo Gangwoo couldn’t release through guiding has been continuously accumulating, and now it’s reached a critical point and is pouring out. His ability probably isn’t being controlled as easily as usual either. He’s in a considerably dangerous state right now. Even if an Esper doesn’t use their abilities, the gauge rises very slightly, but looking at Esper Seo Gangwoo’s current state, the gauge could suddenly spike rapidly even without ability use.”
“How long will that state last? It can get better, right?”
Jiwon asked more curiously than Seo Gangwoo, the person in question.
“We can’t determine that in his current state. This is an irresponsible thing to say, but the accumulated energy has become excessively dense, so the testing machines can’t measure it properly. The fact that he could accumulate this much unstable energy in his body is almost impossible, but it was possible because of an S-rank Esper’s recovery power combined with high ability to handle energy and strong mental fortitude.”
“Then we’ll need to monitor his condition more closely.”
“That’s right. There’s no method other than continuously releasing the energy through guiding until it stabilizes, so we’ll need to look at the guiding progress and conduct continuous detailed examinations. The timing of Guide Kim Jiwon’s appearance was really close.”
Jiwon nodded at those words.
Even thinking back on yesterday’s situation, it had been dangerous. Though it seemed that danger still hadn’t been resolved.
“Another important thing is that you must stop using the guiding substitute medication. As Esper Seo Gangwoo himself probably knows, you now have a high tolerance to the medication and there may be problems with your nerves. You’ve probably experienced severe headaches, insomnia, and numbness as addiction symptoms. The medication now has greater side effects.”
At Research Director Choi Seunghyeon’s words, Seo Gangwoo, the person in question, simply maintained a calm expression.
“If possible, you two should stay together for a while, and before Esper Seo Gangwoo’s energy stabilizes, ability use should be kept to a minimum. Naturally, dungeon or gate raids are out of the question.”
“Guide Kim Jiwon, will you be okay staying with Esper Seo Gangwoo?”
At Team Leader Lee Juyeon’s question, Jiwon nodded.
“We’ll need to coordinate the raid part in advance.”
“We’ll conduct detailed examinations of Esper Seo Gangwoo twice a week for now. We’ll gradually extend the examination period after seeing whether he’s getting better. If any problems arise in the meantime, you must contact us immediately or come to the research building.”
“Understood.”
“It’s late, so you two can head back. I have a few more things to discuss with Director Choi.”
“Yes. Team Leader-nim, finish up quickly and rest too. Director Choi, you worked hard at this late hour too~!”
With the test wrapped up, as they left the research building, Jiwon wondered whether he should enter separately from Esper Seo Gangwoo like before, but since there didn’t seem to be anyone around, Jiwon just moved together with him.
He looked around thinking he’d have to act like it was a coincidence if he saw anyone else. Fortunately, only the sound of the two people’s footsteps echoed in the quiet lobby.
The two arrived safely at Jiwon’s private room without running into anyone. Before they knew it, the time was approaching 5 AM.
Jiwon took off his coat and hung it up, rubbing his tired eyes as he approached the bed.
“Mmm, should we get some sleep first and then wake up?”
Jiwon slipped right into the fluffy blanket and lay down.
He hadn’t been sleepy just a moment ago, but once he entered the private room and the bed came into view, he wanted to sprawl out. The eventful two days felt too long.
Jiwon yawned once and closed his eyes. As he squirmed his body in drowsiness, he felt the movement of Seo Gangwoo settling beside him on the bed mattress.
Without even opening his eyes, Jiwon rolled once and stuck right to Seo Gangwoo. He stretched out his arms and embraced the large body—so different from his own—fully, and guided him.
As time passed, Seo Gangwoo’s cold skin assimilated to Jiwon’s slightly warm body temperature and melted to a similar warmth.
Feeling his body temperature seeping into Seo Gangwoo’s solid body, Jiwon contemplated forming a pair.
And the more he thought about it, the more his deliberation gradually tilted toward one side.
It seemed like he’d make a decision if he thought just a little more, but his tired brain refused to think any further.
Not long after, the blanket that had slipped down rose back up over Jiwon’s shoulder as he gradually fell asleep. The warm heat that couldn’t escape outside the blanket enveloped the two of them.
* * *
After getting a good sleep and guiding Seo Gangwoo in his private room, Jiwon came up to the office at Team Leader Lee Juyeon’s summons.
“Guide Kim Jiwon, welcome.”
Team Leader Lee Juyeon greeted him with a bright smile.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Of course. I slept in my private room and came to the office not long ago. Apple juice? Orange juice?”
She checked the drinks in the refrigerator installed in the office and asked Jiwon.
“Apple juice!”
“Then apple for me too! Come in this way.”
Jiwon followed Team Leader Lee Juyeon into a room that seemed to be used as a small meeting room.
“What happened yesterday? I never expected Guide Kim Jiwon would be guiding Esper Seo Gangwoo.”
Jiwon explained the situation to Team Leader Lee Juyeon. As expected, Team Leader Lee Juyeon showed a surprised expression after hearing about the perilous situation.
“That was almost a disaster. But fortunately, Guide Kim Jiwon handled it well. You must have been shocked.”
“It really was fortunate.”
Jiwon nodded. Even thinking back on it now, it had been a dizzying situation. He’d only recognized it was a dangerous state, not knowing it was serious enough to lead to a rampage.
“Did Esper Seo Gangwoo tell you anything about the pair?”
“Just that he currently has no pair and didn’t go through the normal process, and also that whether or not to pair with me is my choice.”
“That’s right. I’ll give you a more detailed explanation from there. Guide Kim Jiwon needs to know too.”
Jiwon couldn’t help but be shocked by Team Leader Lee Juyeon’s continuing story.
He couldn’t understand Guide Choi Hyerin, who had broken the pair to use the S-rank Esper as she pleased, and the people who had approved it.
On top of that, at the mention that she hadn’t properly guided him all this time, Jiwon’s face gradually hardened.
“How could they do that? Don’t they know Esper Seo Gangwoo’s condition?”
“In short, it’s selfishness. They knew his condition and still neglected it. Since there’s no Guide with a matching rate for Esper Seo Gangwoo even if you search the entire world, there’s no other alternative method.”
Beyond what he’d learned in training, during his week of work he’d directly witnessed Espers with highly charged gauges enduring pain. If it was that difficult even for a short time, Esper Seo Gangwoo had been bearing it for over 10 years.
It was a matter of life and death, yet the behavior of breaking even the pair contract just to use an S-rank Esper as they pleased made him angry even though it wasn’t something that happened to him.
“A Guide’s existing mandatory performance requirements are adjusted according to the rank and number of paired Espers. The higher the rank of the paired Esper, and the more Espers there are, the more it decreases. In the case of S-rank, there are no mandatory performance requirements. They can ignore emergency calls too. Even though there are sufficient conditions to focus more on and manage the paired Esper, Guide Choi Hyerin didn’t do that. She never came to the Center even once during the 5-year pair period.”
