In a gathering of men who were young—even bordering on adolescent—dirty talk was a natural occurrence. Yet the reason for such bewilderment was because it was Jeong Iro who had brought it up. From someone who usually didn’t even make eye contact, let alone hold conversations, and who had been aggressive enough to try to kill them early on—to hear such a candid and frank sexual topic from him.
The group that received the question exchanged glances amongst themselves before huddling together.
“Is that even a real question?”
“Didn’t he just throw it out randomly to talk with us?”
“You think someone with zero social skills would be that tactful?”
“But he has a dedicated guide, doesn’t he?”
Opinions riddled with question marks went back and forth. When they glanced over to check, Jeong Iro was still looking at them. His blank face that showed no emotion remained the same, but only his eyes waiting for an answer were serious.
“Hey, you. You live with your guide, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why ask that? Are you asking because you don’t know? Or are you being a smartass?”
When Jeong Iro only blinked, not understanding, one of them whispered.
“He was neglected for years, you know. Maybe he really doesn’t know?”
“True.”
The trainee who agreed lowered his voice a bit and changed the question.
“Then… how many times do you masturbate?”
“Don’t know.”
“We’re all guys here, why are you hiding stuff?”
“Hiding? What?”
At Jeong Iro’s reaction of slowly blinking his eyes again, a frustrated large-built trainee waved his hand up and down mockingly.
“You know the word ‘dick’ but not masturbation?”
Jeong Iro, who had been staring blankly at the trainee’s hand gesture, answered a bit quickly at a scene that suddenly came to mind.
“I know that. Jerking off. The delivery guy makes money doing that.”
“…Huh?”
The gazes of those present quickly shifted back and forth, feeling an anxiety that they shouldn’t dig any deeper. At their silence, Jeong Iro realized his answer was insufficient and added an explanation.
“He’s a bad person. Only buys us half our food and pockets the rest. Money demon.”
The more they heard Jeong Iro’s explanation, the less it made sense. However, what they could clearly understand from this was the reason for Jeong Iro’s small build compared to his age and his hair that had turned so white it looked gray.
An environment where he only got half-meals and witnessed others masturbating. Just how neglected was he? The past he had experienced suddenly felt vividly real, like something tangible.
Those who had maintained an atmosphere of ostracizing and ignoring Jeong Iro felt guilt and sympathy in the face of this dark truth that hit them squarely.
In the awkward air, a bespectacled trainee stepped forward.
“Let’s go to a corner somewhere and have a serious talk.”
“A serious talk?”
“If you tell us why you asked that question and what you want to know, we’ll explain it to you as simply as possible.”
What Jeong Iro probably knew were only the vulgar words that criminals had carelessly spat out.
Afterward, for Jeong Iro who had likely never received sex education, they had to equip their mouths with proper and refined language.
At that moment when the distance between Jeong Iro and the trainees—who could be considered friends if judged by mental age—rapidly closed due to a question that was serious and important to him.
Han Seoha made plans to use Ryu Jaegeon to move up the investigation timeline for the sudden gate incident. If an A-rank Esper showed interest, the probability of it proceeding would increase, so he had to secure cooperation in some way.
Since he couldn’t arbitrarily find out an A-rank Esper’s location, he first checked Yu Haneul’s whereabouts. The method of finding Yu Haneul, who was a guide, was simple.
Another private room today.
The bulletin board that only guides could access was full of trivial talk. Among them, talk about the A-rank guide was a constantly recurring topic, even if they avoided direct mention. It wasn’t that Yu Haneul was the only A-rank, but the story about someone who had monopolized one of the few private rooms while staying in the lounge all day for the past few days was obviously him. The content was at most light jealousy about monopolizing premium desserts or playing around without doing any guiding.
- Wow is it real that he’s hogging the private room again today
- There’s only 10 and private rooms have priority so I can’t even see it
- Are pair guides originally this free?
- Nope I saw Ryu Jaegeon working his ass off earlier while this one’s taking it easy
While browsing the comments, Han Seoha found the content he needed. He had been trying to figure out Ryu Jaegeon’s location anyway, and now he had a clue.
Han Seoha, who immediately headed to the Esper Center, stopped by a cafe on the way to pick up coffee. Arriving at the reception desk, Han Seoha bowed in greeting as he approached the employee who recognized him.
“Hello. I’m Guide Han Seoha.”
“Oh my, I know. Thank you for the coffee every time.”
“By any chance, could you tell me where Jaegeon is?”
“Is your watch broken? I’ll issue you a temporary one.”
“Ah, no. I can’t check Jaegeon’s location anymore.”
“Ah… right. That happened. Then normally I can’t tell you…”
The hesitating employee held the coffee she had already taken a refreshing sip from and hemmed and hawed. Han Seoha quickly waved his hands and took a step back.
“I’m sorry for putting you in a difficult position. Then, have a good day.”
“Ah, wait a moment. It shows he’s currently entering a gate.”
If it were during daily life it would be difficult, but since gate entry was official business, the employee could inform him comfortably. However, Han Seoha’s complexion turned pale upon receiving the information, making the employee who had spoken casually flustered instead.
“Guide Han Seoha, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, well… it seemed like Jaegeon hasn’t been receiving guiding well lately. So I was a bit shocked to hear he’s at a gate.”
“But Esper Ryu Jaegeon paired with an A-rank guide. There’s no way his guiding would be insufficient… Huh!”
The employee was greatly surprised when she checked Ryu Jaegeon’s information already displayed on the screen and saw the wave count being reflected in real-time. Information that hadn’t been reflected while he was inside the gate had just synchronized as he came out, showing in red.
At the flustered employee’s reaction, Han Seoha approached with an anxious face.
“Is Jaegeon’s condition very bad?”
“I really don’t understand. Why are his numbers going wild more than when he was partnered with you, Guide Han Seoha, when he has a pair guide?”
At the employee’s question after quickly examining Ryu Jaegeon’s wave data, Han Seoha only felt worry toward Ryu Jaegeon.
“Are there enough on-site guides?”
“Um… the pair guide is on standby, but there’s no separate on-site guide waiting.”
“Then may I go to guide him?”
“You, Guide Han Seoha?”
Although paired individuals were supposed to guide each other, that was ultimately a rule for the guide’s sake. The reception employee quickly manipulated the screen to check Yu Haneul’s information as well.
“What the. Why is he in the lounge? Ugh… not even on standby at the dorm.”
The employee, who filed away the expression tinged with faint disgust, hastily tapped on the keyboard. Soon Han Seoha’s watch rang and Ryu Jaegeon’s name was activated.
“You’ve been temporarily connected for emergency guiding. You can access Esper Ryu Jaegeon’s location and information for twelve hours.”
“Thank you so much.”
“No, we’re the ones who should be thankful. There aren’t many people like you, Guide Han Seoha.”
Only after bowing to each other and expressing their thanks did Han Seoha hurry outside. He couldn’t miss this opportunity while Yu Haneul wasn’t doing his part.
I have to create opportunities myself.
Han Seoha’s steps grew faster and faster to create debt and collect on it. The gazes watching his retreating figure, almost running, crossed between warmth and pity.
“Really, Esper Ryu Jaegeon has no eye for people.”
“If I were an Esper, I’d never let him go.”
The reception employees clicked their tongues at Ryu Jaegeon’s incomprehensible actions while continuing their work. The other people around them also returned to their daily lives while gossiping about what they had just seen and heard. It was a moment when Han Seoha’s positive image accumulated, small but definite.
***
Ryu Jaegeon, who had exited the gate, quickly surveyed his surroundings. The guides who had been clustered together either ran toward their Espers the moment they spotted them or were conversely pulled into embraces, and guiding began without hesitation.
“I told you not to get hurt without my permission.”
“I used a potion. It doesn’t hurt at all, so guide me.”
“Why are your waves like this? Were you the only one working?”
“Oh my, hyung. The Team Leader will curse if he hears that. Let’s go to our dorm and guide.”
While those who welcomed and clung to each other like friends or lovers quickly moved, Ryu Jaegeon confirmed through his watch that Yu Haneul wasn’t there.
“Ha… This is too much.”
Even before leaving the dorm, Yu Haneul had insisted stubbornly that he wouldn’t even go near the gate. Even when persuaded that it was just a C-rank gate, not even a dungeon break, he had made a disgusted face while mentioning the previous incident.
Yu Haneul’s tantrum to just burn everything down since it was only C-rank and return to the dorm was mixed with irritation rather than fear. In the brief moment his gaze turned to Ryu Jaegeon’s fingers, he realized the reason for the petulance.
Yu Haneul, who had turned his back on Ryu Jaegeon with resentful eyes, had the item bracelet he’d given him fastened around his wrist.
There was no point recalling such things. He just needed to quickly return to the dorm and receive plenty of guiding from Yu Haneul.
“Good work. Will you write the gate report while moving in the car?”
“Just a moment.”
Before going back like this, his finger bothered him. As soon as he exited the gate, he felt the ring he shared with Han Seoha pulling. Puzzled by the excessively strong force that wasn’t even in the direction of the Association, Ryu Jaegeon moved his steps in the direction he was being drawn.
Past where the spoils brought from the gate were piled up, to a corner of the restricted area. There, the B-rank Espers who had been sent out first were gathered, surrounding something.
