# Chapter 17
Geonwoo wondered.
‘What hurts so much that you’re crying?’
‘What makes you so sad?’
But Geonwoo couldn’t ask. His tears were already soaking his cheeks so thoroughly that Geonwoo could only repeat these questions internally.
He gradually fell asleep after repeating those questions dozens of times. The peace that came after so long made it impossible to resist the pull of slumber.
***
A considerable amount of time passed. When Geonwoo opened his eyes again, he was gone. The staff wouldn’t tell him anything when he asked.
‘…Was it a dream?’
For a moment he thought so, but Geonwoo soon shook his head.
‘No, that couldn’t have been a dream. It wasn’t a dream!’
His body’s condition, clearly different from usual, proved it. He felt lighter than ever before.
‘If it wasn’t a dream, I’ll be able to meet him again.’
While Geonwoo was holding onto this hope, the Center staff gathered numerous Guides in the building for undeveloped Espers.
Geonwoo was visibly delighted to hear the news.
‘The Guides are coming? Then he must be among them, my Guide!’
There was no time to waste. Geonwoo immediately headed to his room. He kicked off his shoes, entered the room, and went straight to the closet. He pulled out various clothes and held them against his body, repeating this process over and over. In the end, he chose the outfit he liked the most.
As he dressed and looked in the mirror, Geonwoo’s face was tinged with a light peach color.
‘Are they almost here?’
The closer the time came, the more nervous Geonwoo became. He was a bit bewildered by this behavior so unlike himself. But also… he didn’t dislike this feeling. It wasn’t bad. Though he felt a little embarrassed by his own excitement.
Until the moment he left the room, Geonwoo was busy adjusting his clothes and hair.
Full of anticipation, he met the Guides. He smiled brightly at them, thinking that his Guide would be looking at him from among them. It was a smile that came naturally at the thought.
But.
‘…None of them are him.’
He wasn’t there. Geonwoo couldn’t feel that Guiding energy from anyone. Not only that, but the Guiding of all the other Guides didn’t match. It was strange. The Guiding that any Esper would desire felt repulsive to Geonwoo.
It was the same even when his body was suffering from manifestation pain. Even though accepting Guiding would free him from the pain,
‘…I don’t want to accept it.’
He felt aversion to the Guiding of every Guide.
Why? The question that lingered for days was unexpectedly answered nearby.
“It seems like he’s been marked, don’t you think?”
The voices of staff members whispering among themselves. The answer was right there.
‘Marked… you’re saying I’ve been…’
Yes, that would explain everything. Because he was marked, because his body already had a pair, it was rejecting the Guiding of other Guides.
Once the mystery was solved, it wasn’t difficult to figure out who his mark partner was. It was obvious. It could only be that person.
The Guide who cried endlessly.
‘So that’s why.’
The reason he kept thinking about him, desperately wanting him, missing him.
It was because he was,
‘My Guide.’
If that was the case, then what he needed to do was clear.
‘I have to find my Guide.’
After that, whenever Geonwoo met with Guides, he absorbed a little of their Guiding energy. Though it was nauseating, thinking it was to find him made it somewhat bearable. Since all he remembered was the feeling of his Guiding energy, there was no other way.
But the more Guiding he accepted, the more he felt something precious disappearing.
‘Could it be…’
Due to this anxiety, Geonwoo only accepted minimal Guiding. He would refuse more once the pain became tolerable, then accept again when the pain surged. He repeated this pattern.
All the while, he waited. Unable to leave the building for undeveloped Espers due to movement restrictions, unable to find him unless the Guide came here, Geonwoo desperately prayed for his arrival.
‘Please come soon… Guide-nim.’
He could endure this much pain.
‘Just come and find me…’
That was all Geonwoo wanted.
But then, the Center staff’s attitude changed. Suddenly, from one day, they began to forcibly inject Guiding energy. As large amounts of Guiding energy were forcefully poured into him, Geonwoo’s insides twisted.
This happened 24 hours a day, every day without fail.
Even while eating, while resting, even in those moments when he was asleep, they never stopped.
“Stop, I said I don’t want this!”
It made no difference even if he refused. Even when he begged them to stop, the staff paid no attention. They simply kept forcing him to accept the Guiding. They gave him no choice.
Through this, Geonwoo’s body came to understand what they were trying to do to him. What they were attempting.
‘Trying to… erase the mark?’
The staff were attempting to overlay a new mark on Geonwoo through the Guiding machine, one that suited their preferences.
‘No!’
Geonwoo was terrified. Feeling their intent to turn him into a puppet, he refused vehemently. Eventually, he began to reject even the minimal Guiding. They would try to force Guiding through at the slightest opening, so Geonwoo had no other option.
Thus, his body deteriorated due to their greed. Geonwoo had to endure terrible pain day after day. The more he suffered, the stronger and more desperate his feelings for his Guide became.
That his Guide would someday erase this pain. That he would come find him. That he would save him.
So, he could endure it.
So, even if he was late… please just come find him.
These words circled endlessly in Geonwoo’s mind.
The battle between the Center and Geonwoo continued without end. Finally, Geonwoo’s condition deteriorated to the worst. When that happened, the Center staff panicked greatly.
“Call a healing Esper right now!”
“It’s useless! We need to stop the Guiding injection first! You know this. If we continue like this, the Guiding rejection will only grow stronger! Besides, even if a healing Esper uses their ability, his body won’t accept it in this state!”
“So what? You’re saying we should stop now? When he might become a top-tier Esper? Absolutely not!”
Loud voices continued endlessly inside the examination room.
‘…So noisy.’
Geonwoo, who was already cycling between fainting and waking from the pain, felt his head throbbing from the staff’s shouting. Since none of his senses were functioning properly, the unintelligible voices were merely noise. And the noise was enough to drain what little energy he had left.
That’s when,
“Bring that one.”
“Excuse me? Who…?”
“I said bring Lee Jaehee!”
He didn’t know why.
‘Lee Jaehee.’
It was definitely the first time he’d heard that name. But strangely, only that name came clearly to Geonwoo’s ears.
Even while drowning in pain, Geonwoo repeated the name. Lee Jaehee. And he thought about it. There was only one person who could be named in this situation.
‘My Guide. Lee Jaehee… so that’s your name.’
Geonwoo endlessly repeated Jaehee’s name internally. To not forget. To call his name when he came to him.
Every day, recalling him from hazy memories, he prayed and prayed again to meet him soon.
And today, that desperate wish came true.
In the room filled with disgusting Guiding energy, his Guiding energy was mixed in. He could tell instinctively.
‘Lee Jaehee. Lee Jaehee. Lee Jaehee. Lee Jaehee. Lee Jaehee!’
His heart pounded violently. The fierce beating felt stronger than the pain.
He found him. Jaehee. It wasn’t difficult. Once marked, his Guiding energy had made his senses terrifyingly sensitive to him.
‘…I’ve finally met you.’
Geonwoo felt a sense of fulfillment. It felt like being rewarded after a long wait. He was right there. His Guide, who had only existed hazily in his memories, was now a reality before his eyes.
‘My Guide.’
Geonwoo gazed at Jaehee’s face endlessly, as if imprinting it in his eyes. But before long, Geonwoo’s eyes twisted slightly as he looked at him.
He was crying again.
‘Why are you always crying… Guide-nim.’
That question, full of concern, pooled in Geonwoo’s mouth without becoming sound. He wanted to raise his hand to wipe away the tears, but he could only move his fingertips.
Then, Jaehee looked at Geonwoo and spoke.
“Esper Choi Geonwoo.”
Hearing his name called, Geonwoo’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Did you… just call my name?’
Geonwoo couldn’t hide his joy at the fact that Jaehee had called his name. His lips curved up involuntarily. He was so happy that he didn’t even notice his dry lips cracking and tearing.
So Geonwoo focused on Jaehee’s words. Hoping that he would call his name again.
“Can you feel my Guiding energy around you? Accept it.”
As soon as Jaehee finished speaking, Geonwoo immediately opened his senses. The senses he had never opened despite the staff’s threats and the nearly fatal pain, he opened without a moment’s hesitation.
It was blind faith.
