Just then, Park Shinui spotted a servant walking toward him from the other end of the corridor and waved his hand happily. He bowed his head lightly in greeting to the person carrying a large basket beside them. But the two people who met Park Shinui’s gaze were startled, then hastily hid themselves inside.
‘Must be busy…’
Guided by the butler into the dining room, Park Shinui tilted his head as he sat in his chair. During the journey here, he’d encountered several more servants, but they too had uniformly not even glanced at Park Shinui. As if he were invisible.
“Strange.”
After finishing his meal and returning to his room, Park Shinui lay on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“What could it be?”
Though it had been an admirable meal worthy of praise, at the dining table, in the corridor, on the way back to his room—there hadn’t been a single person who properly exchanged greetings. Much less anyone who spoke to him.
Why does everyone seem to be avoiding me? If it was a situation where Kang Taejun had formed a pair bond with a guide he’d searched for over a long time, they should be gladly welcoming him, yet that wouldn’t even be enough.
“Well, seeing how cold even the butler-nim is, maybe he said something to them…”
Park Shinui, having fit together his own reasoning, let out a sigh and blinked his eyes slowly. Was it because of the vague certainty that everything was a dream and would end once he woke up? The people’s cold reactions didn’t linger in his heart as long as expected.
Come to think of it, it had been similar in the original world too. Eating meals alone, returning to his room alone, days where no one cared.
It was ultimately the same here. Just that what had been natural there seemed to have some other reason here, which bothered him.
But this is a fantasy novel—is it okay for absolutely nothing to happen like this? Usually in novels where ability users like Espers appear, monsters pop out, unidentified incidents occur, something should happen. But nothing was happening to the current Park Shinui.
“Still, I’ll be able to return tomorrow, right?”
Or was there a separate method to wake from this dream? Like certain specific conditions needing to be met… Thoughts that led to more thoughts tangled chaotically in his head. Park Shinui grasped his temples and forehead with both hands as if a headache was coming on.
No matter how much he mulled it over, no answer came. Why he’d suddenly entered this dream, and what he needed to do to escape this place—he couldn’t guess either one.
Park Shinui’s day, spent only repeating thoughts upon thoughts like that, simply flowed by without any special events.
***
“I… think I’m really in big trouble.”
While spending the night with open eyes, Park Shinui repeated the same thoughts countless times. Why won’t the dream end? The Pair Bonding Ceremony was over, he’d received the ring, and he’d even been asked for guiding by Kang Taejun. Wasn’t that dramatic enough? Then why am I still here?
The next morning, watching the outside of the window brighten, Park Shinui seriously acknowledged for the first time—this might not be a problem that would end if he just endured for a few days.
This place is a world inside a novel. A place where the story begins, develops, and must reach completion to end. Then nothing would change just sitting still and waiting for the dream to end.
So what do I do?
Even thinking about it himself, the clumsy excuse he’d blurted out to Kang Taejun didn’t seem likely to work. It was a story difficult for anyone to believe. But he couldn’t honestly confess that all of this was a story inside a book either. If he said that, he’d definitely be treated like a real lunatic.
“What do I do?”
Park Shinui bolted upright from the bed. Above all, the most urgent problem right now was guiding.
How exactly is that done? He understood that physical contact was necessary, but alone, he had no idea what to do.
What if it’s a method of gathering and releasing energy? Like drawing up internal energy in martial arts novels, couldn’t he just push out some kind of energy or something?
‘Yayaap!’
Park Shinui clumsily mimicked motions while recalling a scene he’d seen somewhere. He stretched both hands forward, took a deep breath, then shouted meaningless sounds as if releasing energy.
“Damn it.”
However, only unbearable shame arose, and he couldn’t feel anything remotely resembling guiding.
“Today is the second day Kang Taejun mentioned.”
It was past afternoon when Park Shinui, who’d been pulling his hair and agonizing over and over, left his room.
Whether he was holed up in his room or not, the mansion’s servants who hadn’t cared scattered silently this time too as soon as he came out to the living room. Even when he tried to speak to them, they vanished in the blink of an eye without looking back.
Left alone in the vast space, Park Shinui blankly looked around the living room when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He needed to know what kind of person Park Shinui was. Contacts, search history—wouldn’t there be something that could serve as a clue? Only then did ‘Park Shinui’s phone’ come to mind.
He’d been holding back thinking he couldn’t carelessly touch someone else’s personal belongings, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such propriety. Because he’d now clearly realized that nothing would change just vaguely waiting to wake from the dream.
What kind of life had he lived that no one contacted him, no one visited, and even the servants turned away from him?
‘First I need to know about Park Shinui. Let’s try to find clues for a solution there.’
Park Shinui began calmly examining ‘Park Shinui’s’ life, flipping through the phone screen as if fitting together an unknown puzzle piece by piece.
Park Shinui
As soon as he searched the name, the portal site screen filled with articles. Politics, society, economy, culture—a considerable number of the main articles without exception were related to Kang Taejun and Park Shinui’s Pair Bonding Ceremony. Just scrolling down a little, the same name repeatedly caught his eye again.
Well, since it’s Kang Taejun’s Pair Bonding Ceremony, it’s no wonder it’s this noisy.
Park Shinui resolved not to be surprised no matter what appeared and randomly picked a news outlet to click on the first screen. But how flimsy that resolution was proved itself the moment the screen opened.
‘VIPs from Around the World Assemble’ EX-grade Esper Kang Taejun’s Pair Bonding Ceremony Makes Headlines
The world’s only EX-grade Esper Kang Taejun held a Pair Bonding Ceremony with film actor Park Shinui. The Pair Bonding Ceremony was grandly held on the 5th at Sejong Palace in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the two walked side by side on the red carpet with the eyes of the entire world focused on them.
[Photo JPG]
Notably, this bond is known to have been formed after Park Shinui recorded a 99.99% matching rate with Kang Taejun, drawing even more attention for its rarity and symbolism. The government designated that date as a temporary public holiday to commemorate this bond. National flags and banners were hung on major streets and squares in Seoul, and the ceremony venue was broadcast in real-time not only throughout Seoul but also in major cities overseas through large screens. Political, business, and ability sector VIPs from various countries gathered at Sejong Palace to bless the two’s future.
Kang Taejun (28 years old) has been active as the world’s only EX-grade Esper from when he was appointed as the next head of K Group at age 15 until now. He majored in international history at Korean University and graduated from Esper Military Academy, and is currently classified as a national ability asset, also active under the Korean Ability Center.
Park Shinui (24 years old) debuted as a child actor, graduated from the Department of Acting, and built public recognition by appearing in numerous dramas and films. Last month, immediately after awakening as a guide, he recorded an unprecedented rate of 99.99% in the matching test with Kang Taejun, drawing focused attention from the ability industry.
This bond is being called the ‘Pair Bonding Ceremony of the Century’ among the media and public, gathering heated attention both domestically and internationally.
[Kang Taejun and Park Shinui, Birth of This Era’s Greatest Couple!]
5,596 comments
skimmed
It’s the end of the world that Kang Taejun bonded with Park Shinui, please someone tell me it’s a lie ㅠㅠ
└ Not a lie, it’s reality
└ When he gushed on broadcast last month about dating Kang Taejun, everyone ridiculed him… but to actually bond. I absolutely can’t accept this bond
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rfdfgs
Everyone knows Park xx is famous in the entertainment industry, how did Kang Taejun end up with that bastard
└ Kang Taejun is so pitiful, seriously
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kjrkewqq18
Shouldn’t the matching rate manipulation suspicions be properly investigated? This issue needs a special prosecutor
└ Instead of bonding, couldn’t he have just paid an appropriate amount and only received guiding? Kang Taejun is too precious for this
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