# Chapter 5
BL stands for Boys Love, an abbreviation that refers to stories about love between men.
I quietly stared at the words that appeared on my internet search page. So… this story would involve some kind of romance between men. And I was a man.
“Surely I’m not included in this, right?”
I laughed out loud like a madman. That couldn’t be possible. The novel I had been reading was just an ordinary web novel full of incidents and plots. For the genre to suddenly change…?
I hugged my head and thought. Everything that had happened to me seemed like a lie. Actually, was I still in a dream right now? A dream I couldn’t wake up from? It sounded absurd, but it made more sense than the situation I was currently facing.
I clutched my bangs as if I was going to tear them out. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t believe such a divine punishment had befallen me.
I hadn’t exactly lived virtuously, but I hadn’t done anything bad either. My parents were affectionate people, and my siblings were still young. I had never harmed anyone in my life, nor had I done anything to incur someone’s grudge.
Bad things I had done? As I mulled over them, I recalled something from not too long ago.
“Could it be because of that malicious comment…?”
That was the first time I had harbored ill feelings toward someone. And leaving such a comment, too. It was purely out of frustration as a C-class Guide who had returned after a fourteen-hour shift, but didn’t the author say they were hurt?
“But it wasn’t just me who did that!”
I felt indignant first. But the fact remained. Were all the people who wrote malicious comments experiencing such strange occurrences? What if punishment was being meted out to the worst offender, and that was me? Is that why the content of this damned BL novel was overlapping with my life?
No matter how logically I tried to think about it, it was impossible. It made no sense. I had lived an extremely ordinary life for thirty years. Such a thing had never happened before, and it shouldn’t happen.
I slapped both my cheeks hard, trying to come to my senses. The content of the novel was just a coincidence. Even if it matched word for word, that’s what I wanted to believe.
With that in mind, the problem was Kim Haewon, Nam Ihyeon, and me. According to Director Ham’s decision, I was to work as both the pair Guide for Kim Haewon, an SS-class water-type Esper, and as the temporary Guide for Nam Ihyeon, an S-class fire-type Esper.
“Well, this is dealing with both fire and water, isn’t it.”
Annoyance surged, but realistically speaking, it wasn’t bad. S-class received completely different treatment from C-class. The salary, working hours, and conditions were all different. Working like this for just a few years would quickly bring enough money to not worry about finances anymore.
It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing. I tried to think that way. I had been guiding for over 20 years anyway. Plus, I had the skill of dual-hand guiding, so it wouldn’t be difficult.
Guiding regardless of whether it was fire or water had been the same in the past as well. Of course, lower-grade Espers were mainly strength-type rather than elemental-type.
I decided to erase the complicated thoughts filling my head and focus only on this reality. I deleted the novel serialization site application where I could read the story. Rather than having strange thoughts, it was better to focus on reality.
That had been how I lived until now, and how I would continue to live. I flopped down on the bed. After organizing both the apps and my thoughts, I felt much better.
“But 98%? That’s truly historic. How did such a figure come about?”
It was a percentage so credible that even if you said it was a match made in heaven, I’d believe it. I had never seen a matching rate close to 100% in the past 20 years. I had never even heard that such a figure was possible.
And it was with Kim Haewon, who had been expected to go on a rampage someday because it was difficult to find a Guide. I wondered what he was thinking now. I couldn’t even check how effective my guiding had been. His wavelength was too chaotic and painful.
The next time Kim Haewon appeared, I needed to attempt guiding. I needed to know where and how to unravel the thread, so my life would be easier afterward.
Anyway, as a pair Guide, I would have to stay with him continuously. If I directly encountered such dizzying wavelengths all the time, being carried away unconscious like this would become commonplace.
Guiding progresses from holding hands to embracing. Honestly, no further guiding was necessary. That was how it was when I was C-class. Further guiding? I covered my lips as soon as I had that thought. I couldn’t lose my precious first kiss to some huge guy. Moreover, those letters “BL” came to mind.
I knew there were male-male and female-female couples within the association. I had actually seen them. However, I never thought it would become my business. I had been under the pair Guide prohibition clause anyway, and I was just like a band-aid, rolling around here and there, getting by.
The emotional synchronization through energy exchange between Espers and Guides was an old story. This job was closer to being a company employee now. These days, the marriage rate between Espers and Guides had decreased, and even with pair Guides, many maintained their own separate marriages.
How far would Kim Haewon and I need to make contact?
Truthfully, based on the wavelength I had felt, it wouldn’t be enough even if we stripped naked and pressed our bodies together right now.
But the problem was that I had never done it before. And I didn’t want to do it. Just thinking about it made my ass hurt. I wasn’t a child who didn’t know what went where. I was thoroughly versed in the theoretical knowledge. It was content included in the Guide education process.
There was no way that guy, as big as a house, would be beneath me, so naturally, top and bottom positions would be determined. And my ass would probably be split in two.
“No way.”
I thought while unnecessarily clenching my buttocks tight. This was a zone that needed to be protected. If I could just make that agreement with Kim Haewon, life as a pair Guide would be fine.
Perhaps Kim Haewon might not want this kind of thing either. With his sky-high popularity, there’s no way he would desire such things from a Guide like me.
I wasn’t worried at all about Nam Ihyeon, whom I would be taking on as a temporary Guide. His promiscuity was famous. Did he have seven lovers…? This was information I knew thanks to a senior who had said his dick might rot.
“He won’t thrust his rotten dick at me, will he…?”
“Rotten dick?”
“Huh?”
Muttering to myself out of habit, I looked up in surprise. I had been so busy organizing my thoughts alone that I didn’t hear the door opening. As I gaped in surprise, Kim Haewon looked at me intently. I awkwardly smiled and quickly changed the subject.
“That’s a thing. But how did you get here…?”
Just Kim Haewon’s presence made the surroundings feel frozen and calm. My posture became respectful, and my gaze lowered.
“It’s association policy for pair Guides to visit when their Esper is hospitalized. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, thanks to you…”
“If there’s anything uncomfortable, please let me know anytime.”
“Yes.”
The most uncomfortable thing was Kim Haewon’s existence itself. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. The thought of freezing to death if I said that came to mind first.
‘Killing one person would be nothing to him.’
A long silence flowed between Kim Haewon and me. I needlessly scratched my head and neck while looking elsewhere, then glanced at Kim Haewon.
He was emotionlessly working on a tablet PC. His face was very handsome in a different way from Nam Ihyeon. If there was a beauty that could cut, would it be like this?
The unfocused eyes and desperation I had seen that day in the isolation room didn’t come to mind at all. He seemed like a completely different person.
“What are you looking at?”
“Pardon?”
“Staring at someone like that. Isn’t it impolite?”
“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”
“Even if you’re in a sick state, I’d appreciate it if you maintained proper manners. Please refrain from informal speech or vulgar language from now on.”
“Yes. Yes.”
Kim Haewon drew a line with an attitude suggesting he had no intention of getting close to me at all. His response was so cold it made me want to laugh bitterly.
The first thought that came to mind was ‘BL’. That novel was wrong. BL, what nonsense… It seemed like he would never have such feelings for me.
The thought that I could protect both my ass and my first kiss made me smile. I covered my mouth with my hand as I smiled.
“When will you be available for guiding sessions?”
“Anytime is fine. Even now works.”
I spoke as pleasantly as possible. However, Kim Haewon slowly took his eyes off his tablet PC and looked at me.
“Don’t push yourself.”
“I’m not pushing myself.”
It was the unexaggerated truth. Having already guided Kim Haewon as an S-class Guide, I clearly remembered the limits.
But Kim Haewon said with a bitter smile:
“Can you even make that judgment yourself?”
At his tone, which seemed to doubt my guiding skills, I raised my eyebrows slightly. Even if he was “the Kim Haewon,” he was excessively rude.
I had no intention of getting along well with him in the future, but I also didn’t intend to be disrespected to this extent.
“Esper Kim Haewon.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have friends, do you?”
Kim Haewon frowned as if he was extremely displeased. I smiled at his expression.
