# Chapter 88
Knock knock.
A soft knocking sound spread through the ward where Dohyun was staying. Hyeono turned his head toward the sound. Soon the door opened, and a handsome young man entered.
His appearance instantly created a strange tension in the room. This was because the person who had opened the door and walked in was Yoo Jiwoon, who had been rescued from the gate.
An S-class Guide, just like Lee Jaehee.
As a Guide possessing high-purity guiding energy that any Esper would desire, all the Espers in the room naturally turned their attention to him.
It should have been uncomfortable, but Yoo Jiwoon made eye contact with each of them and offered a faint smile.
“I heard a Guide was needed, so I came.”
“Ah, for that reason!”
At his words, one of the healing Espers approached Jiwoon.
“Please come this way.”
Dohyun needed guiding energy right now. Perhaps due to psychological instability, the wavelengths in his body wouldn’t settle and continued to fluctuate. Given Dohyun’s high rank, he needed high-purity guiding energy to suppress his wavelengths.
There was no one better suited than Yoo Jiwoon.
The healing Esper brought Jiwoon near the bed so he could provide guiding to Dohyun. Jiwoon sat in the chair next to the bed and placed his hand over Dohyun’s.
The treatment proceeded smoothly.
“……”
Hyeono, standing by the doorway, observed Jiwoon performing the guiding from behind. Unlike the other Espers, Hyeono, who already had a bonded partner, had an indifferent gaze. A familiar scene filled his eyes—the everyday sight of a Guide providing guiding to an Esper. Yes, it was a familiar and ordinary scene.
But something felt strangely off.
‘I thought I heard he had only awakened a week ago.’
Hyeono lowered his gaze to examine Jiwoon’s wrist.
[Newly awakened Guides must wear ability control devices designed for Guides.]
This was something he had heard repeatedly during basic training. However, there was no silver bracelet—the Guide’s ability control device—anywhere on Jiwoon’s wrist.
Moreover, for someone who had just awakened, he was handling guiding energy quite skillfully.
‘Because he’s an S-class Guide?’
Jaehee couldn’t be a point of comparison since he had awakened at such a young age and was in an unstable state. In the end, there was no way to confirm. Hyeono soon dismissed it with a thought of ‘Well, he’s S-class, so maybe that’s why.’
“Guide Yoo Jiwoon.”
Just as Hyeono finished his train of thought, an examiner approached Jiwoon, calling his name.
“Yes.”
Jiwoon answered with a smile.
“How are you feeling? Do you have a fever or anything?”
The examiner, responding to Jiwoon’s smile with one of his own, asked while checking his physical condition. Jiwoon immediately raised his hand to his forehead and replied.
“I don’t think I have a fever or anything like that.”
The examiner responded, “Is that so,” and continued.
“It seems your manifestation is a bit delayed.”
The manifestation of Omega and Alpha traits begins with a mild fever. Typically, it happens within a week after awakening as an ability user, or at the latest, within a month.
The examiner took out several types of medicine packets from a medicine container.
“I explained this before, but honestly, we don’t know which medicine will work for you. Most Guides manifest as Omegas, but there are exceptions. We also need to check how your pheromones respond to different medications. So, you need to find the right suppressant by trying them directly.”
The examiner gently placed the suppressants near Jiwoon’s hand, trying not to disturb his guiding.
“When you start feeling feverish, test them by taking small doses. If the fever subsides, that’s the suppressant that works for you.”
Then, as if remembering something, the examiner added:
“Make sure to take the medicine when you start feeling feverish. You should consider it impossible to control pheromones alone without taking suppressants.”
The examiner emphasized one more point to Jiwoon:
“And when you develop a mild fever, it’s best to avoid Alphas as much as possible. Alpha pheromones accelerate manifestation.”
Before you have time to find the right suppressant, that is.
***
“……”
Dr. Yoon frowned. Quite some time had passed since he had been dragged by Choi Geonwoo to care for Jaehee. During that time, Dr. Yoon had completed all the treatment he could provide. There was nothing more he could do, so there was no reason for him to stay.
But Dr. Yoon continued to pretend to treat Jaehee.
Perhaps due to everything catching up with him at once after pushing himself too hard, Jaehee couldn’t easily wake up. Though his major injuries had mostly healed, he frequently moaned in pain. This was because the physical and mental tension that had pushed him to his limits had suddenly been cut.
Additionally, Dr. Yoon couldn’t leave Jaehee alone with Choi Geonwoo, as it was uncertain whether traces of a bond remained in his body, even though it had been almost erased before awakening.
But this couldn’t go on forever. Dr. Yoon turned around and looked at Geonwoo, who was standing behind him, watching Jaehee. Geonwoo’s gaze was fixed on Jaehee. With no expression, he was simply taking in Jaehee’s presence. He seemed to have no interest in Dr. Yoon.
That’s when it happened.
“…!”
Rough wavelengths whirled around Geonwoo. Dr. Yoon, being an ordinary person, couldn’t sense it. But he could tell Geonwoo’s current state through something else—a reddish energy swirling in Geonwoo’s pupils.
It was a sign of an impending rampage.
The accelerated awakening had side effects on Geonwoo. The wavelengths in his body fluctuated more easily than others and wouldn’t calm down. He frequently approached the brink of a rampage.
Yet Choi Geonwoo hadn’t received any guiding since bringing Jaehee back from the gate. He was only holding on with the minimal guiding energy flowing from Jaehee’s body as he recovered.
‘Probably to preserve the one-way bond.’
But even if some of the bond remained, it was extremely minimal. At that level, it wouldn’t be surprising if the emotions had diluted and faded. Moreover, judging by his behavior when they tried to erase the bond in the examination room, he likely harbored significant resentment toward Jaehee.
In the end, Dr. Yoon thought that this obsession with Jaehee might be a mixture of hatred and lingering attachment to someone he couldn’t possess.
He couldn’t leave Jaehee with someone harboring such improper emotions.
“How long do you plan to keep Guide Lee Jaehee here?” Dr. Yoon asked Geonwoo.
“Do you intend to keep him here forever?”
“If he says he wants to leave, I’ll let him go freely whenever he wants,” Geonwoo replied in a flat tone.
But after hearing what followed, Dr. Yoon gritted his teeth.
However—
“After completing the bond.”
So it hadn’t been erased after all. Why was he so obsessed with that faintly remaining bond?
“Do you think Guide Lee Jaehee will agree to a mutual bond?” Dr. Yoon shouted.
“No. Don’t you feel that even maintaining a one-way bond completely is difficult in the current situation? Esper Choi Geonwoo, you’ll die from a rampage before Guide Lee Jaehee fully recovers.”
But despite these words, Geonwoo’s expression remained impassive. He seemed not to care about the rampage at all. Then suddenly, with just a faint smile at the corner of his lips, Geonwoo said:
“A bond isn’t the only kind that exists.”
Dr. Yoon narrowed his eyes.
What did he mean?
Soon, Dr. Yoon’s eyes widened.
Could it be!
“Guide Lee Jaehee is a Beta…!”
Dr. Yoon shouted, having caught on to Geonwoo’s meaning.
“No.”
But Geonwoo cut him off mid-sentence.
“Guide-nim.”
Geonwoo spoke in a resolute tone.
“He will manifest as an Omega.”
If dreams showed the future, this would certainly happen.
Because his hyung in the dream had been one.
“Ha……”
Dr. Yoon’s face turned deathly pale, then twisted miserably. ‘He’s completely insane!’ The words rose to the tip of his tongue. But before he could utter anything, a cold gaze met his. That made it difficult for any words to come out of his open mouth.
Looking at Dr. Yoon like that, Geonwoo said:
“You can leave now.”
Dr. Yoon frowned at these words.
“You don’t need to stay here anymore.”
It was a dismissal.
“The treatment isn’t finished yet, so I can’t…!”
Geonwoo stepped aside from the doorway. It meant ‘leave’. He had realized that Dr. Yoon had completed all the treatment he could provide.
Dr. Yoon left the quarters, practically being driven out. After the sound of the door closing was heard, Geonwoo approached the bed where Jaehee was lying. With a creaking sound, Geonwoo climbed onto the bed and slipped under the covers where Jaehee was.
“Guide-nim.”
Only after holding Jaehee did Geonwoo feel stable. Opening his hands that had been clenched so tightly his fingertips were numb, he pulled Jaehee close in a firm embrace.
After a while, the memory of Jaehee pushing him away came to mind.
Simultaneously, a viscous emotion rose up, seemingly taking control of his entire body.
‘…Never again.’
He didn’t want to lose him or let him go.
So.
“Wake up soon.”
Geonwoo whispered softly into Jaehee’s ear.
“That promise to become my Guide.”
You need to keep it.
