The Villainous Guide’s New Life 37

“Take a break now. You can finish the rest after you’ve rested.”

The medical staff, insisting he at least get some nutrients, hooked an IV into Lee Tae-rim’s arm. Only then did Tae-rim perch on the edge of the bed and look around. Kwon Hae-beom, who had been writhing in agony earlier, now lay pale and unconscious—he must’ve passed out.

Still, where the hell did Choi Jiwoon go? Did they really not manage to save him? Worry mixed with curiosity, and Tae-rim craned his neck to search the room. Off in a corner, obscured behind Hae-beom’s bed, he spotted a figure slumped on the floor.

Choi Jiwoon sat dazed, blankly staring up at Kwon Hae-beom. He looked like he’d just taken a massive psychological blow. His appearance was a wreck—his hair and clothes completely disheveled. Tae-rim clicked his tongue to himself.

Was the kidnapping that traumatic for him? He was still mulling it over when he felt someone’s gaze. Turning his head, he saw Jung Jae-heon watching him. Tae-rim stood, dragging his IV stand along, and followed Jae-heon out of the room. Jae-heon led him to a quiet, empty spot and let out a long sigh.

“What happened?” Tae-rim asked.

“Jiwoon was almost kidnapped.”

“What?!”

He already knew, of course, but put on an act of surprise.

“Hae-beom ended up like that trying to stop it. As for Jiwoon… we managed to get him back, but the kidnappers all killed themselves. Fucking hell. Anyway, that’s not the point. You should start preparing to Guide Hae-beom.”

“…Alright.”

“We’ll need to run proper tests at Central, but even accounting for the strain, Guiding didn’t work at all earlier. He stayed calm, probably thanks to what he learned last time, and handled it well—but no matter how hard he tried, Hae-beom’s ESP level wouldn’t budge. He’s probably just as shaken by that. If it’s just temporary, brought on by the kidnapping, that’s fine. But if not… Well, if Jiwoon can’t Guide him anymore, Hae-beom might finally stop being so damn stubborn.”

“Got it.”

This wasn’t in the novel. A bitter taste filled Tae-rim’s mouth—he had a sinking feeling he was about to get entangled with people he’d been doing his best to avoid.

That day, Tae-rim finished the IV drip and managed to bring Kwon Hae-beom’s ESP level down to 10%. Any more would’ve been too much. Jung Jae-heon received Guiding from another Guide, and Seon Juho waited until Tae-rim had recovered a bit in the evening for his turn. Tae-rim tried to offer what little he could each time he recovered, but Juho wouldn’t let him.

The next day brought unexpected news. Just in case, they’d allowed Jiwoon and Hae-beom to share a room that night. The following morning, Hae-beom showed up with his ESP level at 0%. That meant the Guiding had worked.

Thanks to that, Jiwoon didn’t have to be transferred back to Central and instead received a brief check-up on-site. The doctor who examined him concluded that his condition had temporarily worsened due to stress. He was fine now and could once again Guide A-rank and B-rank Espers without issue.

The doctor said it was the first time he’d seen stress affect Guiding ability and found it fascinating. Yoon Ye-rin, on the other hand, was baffled. “I don’t care how stressed he was—how the hell does someone’s Matching Rate swing that wildly?” she scoffed. “What kind of Guide doesn’t deal with stress?”

Still, stress can be a matter of life and death. For someone like Jiwoon—fragile as glass—those past two months must’ve been hell.

You didn’t see S-rank Espers like that, but among the lower ranks, Espers were just as varied as any group of people. So it made sense that Jiwoon’s self-esteem had probably taken hit after hit.

Jung Jae-heon also let out a sigh of relief. Since he was being Guided by Tae-rim now, he couldn’t help but care about who else was getting Tae-rim’s attention. He might’ve acted cool about it yesterday, but only he knew what was really going on inside.

Kwon Hae-beom came to thank him again—this time in person, in the S-rank Guiding room. He said his thanks and then immediately walked out without sticking around. But at least he hadn’t done it in front of anyone else this time, so Tae-rim was satisfied.

Still… coming all the way back just to say thank you after being Guided was kind of weird. Tae-rim didn’t care who he Guided—he was getting paid, and that was that. When someone made a show of coming to say thanks, it was just their way of drawing a line. Tae-rim had already moved on, but they were the ones insisting on setting boundaries.

He clicked his tongue. “Go live happily ever after with your precious Jiwoon, why don’t you?”

The day they returned to Central, Tae-rim sat in the helicopter with a blank expression. Because of the kidnapping incident, Kwon Hae-beom and Choi Jiwoon had been ordered to return for a temporary debriefing.

The mood in the helicopter was tense and awkward. No one was openly hostile, but they didn’t try to look at each other either, which only made things more uncomfortable.

To make matters worse, Seon Juho clung to Tae-rim like usual, smothering him with playful affection. That only deepened the awkwardness. And right in the middle sat Jung Jae-heon, worn out and miserable, silently bearing the atmosphere.

As soon as the helicopter landed and the doors opened, the three of them were taken away for questioning. According to what Tae-rim had heard, everyone involved in the incident had already submitted detailed reports on the day it happened. So calling them in again probably meant the Center Director was just looking for an excuse to harass them.

And Hae-beom—he’d probably be facing disciplinary action again. This wasn’t a case where no Guides had been available; he’d stubbornly refused Guiding and nearly triggered a Rampage, putting the entire field team at risk. Anyone looking at the situation would see it was grounds for punishment.

Tae-rim clicked his tongue.

***

“When are you finally going to get married?”

“I just got home, and we’re already talking about marriage again?”

“Because I’m this close to losing my mind!”

“Yeah? Well, I’m doing just fine.”

“You ungrateful little brat! I swear, you—! Ugh!”

“Ow, ow! That hurts!”

Smack, smack. His mom’s palm still had some serious power behind it. Lee Tae-rim darted away, trying to avoid her.

Ah. This must be a dream.

As he weaved and dodged her scolding, Tae-rim realized what was happening. His mom nagging him about marriage—yep, it was one of his usual dreams.

“I’ve told you a hundred times—if you have kids too late, you’re the one who’s going to suffer! Everything I say is for your own good, you know!”

He wondered what had happened to the version of him left behind. Had he just died in that world? How had he ended up inside a novel? Those were the kinds of fundamental questions he’d long since given up on. There was no one to answer them, and no way to find out even if he wanted to. So all Tae-rim could do was quietly watch this nostalgic little dream play out.

He wasn’t homesick to the point of tears or anything—it wasn’t that kind of longing. The truth was, all his parents’ hopes had been pinned on his Alpha older brother. Tae-rim had always been the outsider in his own family. So he’d never grown particularly close to them.

Still, a brief wave of melancholy washed over him.

Just then, someone suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace from behind. The warmth of it caught him off guard. And the scent—clean and sweet—wrapped around him like velvet. It smelled really good. Comforting. Familiar.

It was… pheromones? An Alpha’s?

Tae-rim immediately wondered if he was just that pent up. What other explanation was there for him catching the scent of a stranger’s Alpha pheromones in a dream? Yeah, this had to still be a dream. …Wait. Was this turning into a wet dream?

The moment that crossed his mind, an icy chill ran down his spine.

Tae-rim jerked awake in a panic.

“H-Hyung…?”

“Mm? AH! Shit—sorry!”

Tae-rim scrambled backward in shock. He had just been nuzzling Seon Juho’s chest. And touching it. Juho’s face was beet red.

Tae-rim felt like he’d committed a crime.

Oh God. What the hell had he done?

Frozen mid-motion, his hand still hovering awkwardly, Tae-rim hadn’t yet pulled away when Juho gulped and slowly nodded, as if he’d come to some kind of solemn resolution.

“If it’s for you, Hyung…”

“…What?”

“My chest… I don’t mind.”

“HEY!”

Whack! Tae-rim smacked him square on the arm. Juho, unfazed, yelped in mock pain.

“Your chest? Seriously? It was an accident, alright? An accident. You’re always glued to me—of course something like that was bound to happen eventually.”

“Tch.”

“Tch what?”

“…I mean, it did feel kinda nice.”

“Ahem.”

“Aw, c’mon, Hyuuuung~”

When Tae-rim tried to put distance between them, Juho wrapped his arms around Tae-rim’s waist, pulling him back in. Tae-rim, who had been getting up to pretend he needed water just so he could escape, was forced to sit back down on the bed.

“I was just gonna get a drink—”

“I’ll come too.”

“…I’m going to the bathroom.”

“I’ll—ow!”

Tae-rim shot up from the bed. Juho, looking wounded, gazed up at him before flopping back with a dramatic sigh, burrito-ing himself in the blanket and grumbling to himself like a sulky caterpillar.

Leaving the muttering blanket worm behind, Tae-rim headed straight to the kitchen and downed a cold glass of water.

Thankfully, it hadn’t turned into a wet dream. By some miracle, nothing had happened down there. He let out a heavy breath of relief.

Outside, the world was still wrapped in darkness.

Author: Levia