I turned away after watching Kim Yong-ha being dragged out of the lounge. I’d only come here to catch my breath for a moment—I never imagined I’d run into him, and certainly not like that. What a mess. If I’d known things would turn out this way, I never should’ve left the Guiding Room.
Since I warned him last time, I hadn’t run into him at all, so I thought it was over. But the look in his eyes when he called out to me—there was something more desperate, more twisted than before. It gave me chills.
What am I supposed to do with him?
What’s it going to take for Kim Yong-ha to finally let go of this obsession?
If I knew it’d come to this, I should’ve drawn a firm line from the start…
No—come to think of it, I did draw a line. At least, I thought I had. Clearly, it didn’t work.
Feeling unreasonably bitter, I crushed the paper cup in my hand, tossed it in the trash, and stepped out of the lounge. Staying put in the Guiding Room for a while seemed like the smarter choice. With my luck, I’d bump into Kim Yong-ha again, and who knows what chaos would follow if that happened.
Out of sight, out of mind. If we stop crossing paths, maybe he’ll give up eventually.
With that thought, I hurried back toward the Guiding Room—only to find a small crowd gathered in front of it.
What the…?
At first, I didn’t understand what was going on. Then I saw a man standing right outside my door.
…Kim Seong-gyeong?
He was leaning against the wall beside my Guiding Room, staring blankly at the floor. Even doing nothing, he still drew everyone’s attention—typical of someone that famous. But what was he doing here?
“Ah, Seol-bin!”
As I got closer, he snapped out of his daze, raised a hand, and called my name.
…Why is he standing in front of my room like this?
Something wrong? We’d barely ever crossed paths outside of official Guiding sessions, so this was unexpected.
“Kim Seong-gyeong. What brings you here at this hour…?”
“Ah, well… Are you free right now, by any chance?”
He glanced around cautiously and spoke in a whisper, as if trying not to be overheard.
What’s with all the secrecy? Is he trying to have a private conversation or something?
It didn’t seem right to turn him down in a situation like this, so I nodded and gestured for him to come inside. His whole face lit up—so much it almost sparkled—as he quickly followed me into the room.
“Please, have a seat.”
I gave him a quick once-over as he sat down. He looked healthier than I expected, which let me breathe a little easier.
“So, what brings you here today? I don’t think you submitted a Guiding request…”
“Oh, right, the Guiding… I actually was planning to request you, Seol-bin…”
He trailed off awkwardly, shifting in his seat, glancing at me every few seconds like he was gauging my mood. His hesitation made me even more curious. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke again, voice low and uncertain.
“But then… they told me to get Guiding from Guide Kim Yong-ha instead…”
“…Ah.”
Watching him fumble through his explanation, I could more or less piece together the situation.
So that order finally came down from the higher-ups.
Well, yeah. Having an S-Rank Esper like Kim Seong-gyeong receive Guiding from a D-Rank like me—lower than even an A-Rank—it was bound to raise eyebrows eventually.
But then, why now? They’d let it slide until this point.
Was it because of the recent incident? Did they think I was involved in the attack on the Center?
And if that’s the case… is that why Kim Seong-gyeong’s here? Did the government send him to dig for information?
Suspicion started creeping in as my thoughts turned darker. I glanced at Kim Seong-gyeong again, and after a brief pause, he continued.
“Well… I think there’s something wrong with Kim Yong-ha.”
“…What? With Kim Yong-ha?”
I blinked at the unexpected remark.
“Actually, right before everything happened… I came to see you for a Guiding session. But you weren’t there. Instead, that Esper I saw last time was looking for you.”
Last time…? Oh—he must mean Kang Biso.
“So I followed him around. Then I overheard someone talking about drugs or whatever… and that Guide Kim Yong-ha had taken you somewhere.”
“…Is that what they said?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t exactly sure what to believe, but when I heard you’d been abducted and taken outside the facility, I figured the first person to ask was Guide Kim Yong-ha. He seemed like he knew something.”
The whole time he spoke, Kim Seong-gyeong kept sneaking glances at me, clearly worried I’d take it the wrong way. Maybe he thought I’d been traumatized. But I wasn’t offended in the slightest, so I just nodded and let him talk.
Honestly, it would’ve been better if he’d just asked me directly. It’s not like Kim Seong-gyeong’s the gossiping type. Yeah, it would’ve been a little embarrassing, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.
“But…”
He stopped mid-sentence, lips pressed into a thin line. His expression turned uneasy—like even saying it out loud made him uncomfortable.
“…?”
“It’s just… the way he looked, the atmosphere around him—it all felt really off. Unsettling, even. I think you should be careful.”
I thought back to the way Kim Yong-ha had looked in the lounge. Even while being dragged away by Espers, his eyes had been full of obsession, possessiveness, and twisted affection as he stared at me. That must’ve been what Kim Seong-gyeong saw too, maybe even while they were talking.
He was worried about me. That thought alone made me feel grateful.
“Thanks for looking out for me. I’ll be careful.”
At my response, Kim Seong-gyeong’s fingers fidgeted, and a soft flush crept up his cheeks.
“If anything ever happens… please call me. I’ll help. I’ll make sure nothing like that happens again…”
“Ah… okay.”
“I mean it. Promise.”
“Yeah. I will.”
Even after I agreed, he made me promise three more times before finally exhaling a huge sigh, like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He must’ve gone back and forth a lot before deciding to bring this up.
“But… you did get properly guided, right?”
“I did… kind of…”
He started strong but ended with a mumbled grumble, his brows sinking. I extended a hand toward him. I already knew I needed to be careful around Kim Yong-ha, but coming all the way here to warn me showed kindness I couldn’t ignore. He hadn’t put in an official request, but a short session wouldn’t hurt.
“Here. Give me your hand. Let me guide you for a bit.”
“Oh, I’m fine, really—”
But the moment I reached out, he immediately grabbed my hand, like he was afraid I might pull back. Despite insisting he was okay, his eyes sparkled with anticipation, and honestly, it was a bit much.
Still, I’d offered, so I clasped his hand gently.
“Alright then… starting the Guiding.”
“Yes. I’ll be in your care.”
Thankfully, his condition wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. That said, it wasn’t exactly good either. It felt incomplete, like the session had been abruptly cut off halfway through. I couldn’t help but click my tongue internally.
Did he stop mid-session because he got upset?
Now that I was here, I figured I might as well do it properly. I started untangling the leftover energy that Kim Yong-ha had clearly failed to settle.
“Haa…”
A deep sigh escaped Kim Seong-gyeong, and I noticed the tips of his ears turning red.
I lowered my gaze slightly, trying to give him space as I focused solely on the Guiding. I could feel my own breathing hitch, but I forced myself to concentrate, biting my lip to stay focused.
At least one of us needs to keep it together.
Focus. Stay calm.
I poured all my energy into keeping the session controlled. At some point, without me noticing, Kim Seong-gyeong leaned in and rested his face on my shoulder.
Startled, my concentration wavered for a second. He was pressed up against me, breathing hot and heavy.
“Haa…”
Thankfully, that was all he did. It looked like he was trying to hold himself back in his own way. He began rubbing his forehead lightly against my shoulder, as if grounding himself. Watching him try so hard to suppress his urges brought someone else to mind—Kang Biso.
This could get bad…
That scene from a few days ago—when he’d been fuming with jealousy over Baek Beom—still felt fresh in my memory. If Kang Biso saw this…
And he had a habit of barging into my room without warning. I needed to be careful.
I gradually started easing the Guiding down. This much should be enough to keep him stable for now. Besides, he’d already received some Guiding earlier today.
Then suddenly, Kim Seong-gyeong reached out with his free hand—the one not part of the session—and grabbed my shoulder.
Startled, I looked up. His eyes were hazy, unfocused, filled with a feverish intensity.
“More…”
“…Kim Seong-gyeong?”
“Just a little more… please?”
He leaned into me, practically clinging, his voice trembling with need. But I couldn’t let this go any further. I shook my head.
“…That’s enough for today.”
“Ah…”
I replied firmly, pushing him away just enough to create some space between us. Then I waited, giving him time to calm down.
Thankfully, his rapid, heated breaths began to steady. The glazed look in his eyes faded little by little, replaced by that calm, ocean-blue clarity I was familiar with. Once he seemed fully grounded again, his face turned bright red as he realized what he’d just done.
“…Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay. But more importantly—how’s your body feel now?”
“…Much better. Seriously. A lot better.”
“I’m glad.”
He looked down at himself, checking his condition, then turned to me with a calmer expression. But for some reason, the way he looked at me felt… heavy. Intense. I quickly averted my gaze and checked the time.
He was calm now. I could send him on his way.
“…Looks like I’ve got another Guiding session coming up.”
“Oh—right. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time. Thank you, Seol-bin. Next time, I’ll submit a proper request before coming.”
“Yeah. See you next time.”
He hesitated for a moment like he still had something to say, but when I stood up, he followed suit, gave me a reluctant goodbye, and stepped outside.
Once I heard the door close, I let out a deep sigh and sank into my chair.
