“No, no. That’s just how she is. She didn’t even say hello when she first came in. A few people greeted her when she walked through the door, but she completely ignored them.”
“Ah…”
So that really was just her personality. Lee Tae-rim frowned. Wasn’t her name Min Se-ah? She seemed intense—hopefully, they wouldn’t run into each other.
“It’s lunchtime! Let’s go eat~”
Kim Hyo-il, who had been checking the time, shot up from his seat.
“What about Esper Seon Juho?”
“Looks like his tests aren’t done yet.”
“Whoa, so today we get to eat with Tae-rim?”
“A rare treat! Come on, Tae-rim.”
Tae-rim sent Seon Juho a quick message letting him know he’d be eating at the cafeteria, then stood up from his seat.
“Seriously though, what’s going on? That clingy guy who never gives up a second with Tae-rim isn’t around.”
“Right? Is it some kind of important test?”
“No clue.”
Normally, Seon Juho would show up at least ten minutes before lunch to stick to Tae-rim’s side and chatter away about what to eat. But today, he hadn’t even shown his face since arriving at the Center. Maybe the test results weren’t good? Tae-rim started to worry.
Even after lunch, there was still no reply. This was the first time Seon Juho had read his message and not responded. Tae-rim sat in a café inside the Center’s commercial wing with the other three, staring seriously at his phone.
“Still nothing?”
“No.”
“You said he was in Dr. Oh’s lab, right? Want to go check?”
“……”
If something serious had happened, Tae-rim—being Seon Juho’s exclusive Guide—would’ve been the first to get a call. Most issues with Espers could be resolved with a Guide nearby or through Guiding, so the Guide was always the first point of contact. So, it probably wasn’t anything major. Still, something about it made him uneasy. Maybe just because this had never happened before.
Eventually, Tae-rim made his way back to the Center. Just before he reached the main gate, Yoon Ye-rin nudged him in the side.
“There. That’s her.”
She jerked her chin toward someone. A girl in a school uniform was walking out. Because of the uniform, she stood out even more. Min Se-ah wore an expression like she was carrying the weight of the entire world’s problems on her shoulders. Tae-rim could tell right away: Ah, she’s smack in the middle of adolescence.
The other Guides were all avoiding her. Rumor had it her temper was nasty, and judging by how everyone but Tae-rim—who’d been away for a while—already seemed to know about her, it must’ve been true. So he figured he’d just head inside and keep his distance.
“Huh? Red?”
Tae-rim stopped in his tracks. Min Se-ah pointed directly at him and shouted, “Red!”
Guide uniforms had two stripes on the collar, and the color of the stripes signified rank. The order followed the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Red meant S-rank.
It wasn’t something he usually paid attention to, but being suddenly called out for it caught him off guard. Instinctively, he raised a hand to cover his collar.
“Young guy with red stripes… you’re Lee Tae-rim, right?!”
She pointed straight at him and marched over. Tae-rim was stunned by how casually she said his name, like they were longtime friends.
“I need to talk to you!”
“Hey! Don’t you know it’s basic manners to speak politely when you’re meeting someone for the first time?”
“Mind your own business, lady.”
“What?!”
Yoon Ye-rin clutched the back of her neck in disbelief. Tae-rim felt the same, but forced a smile anyway.
“What is it you wanted to say?”
I’m an adult. Let’s stay calm. That was the mindset he held onto as he smiled and responded—but all he got in return was a finger in his face.
“Take care of your damn Esper! Because of you, I got stuck with some old dude! Take him back!”
Tae-rim’s jaw dropped. Old dude? She had to be talking about Kwon Hae-beom. But was being assigned to Guide him really that bad for her?
“Miss, I think you might be misunderstanding something…”
“Kwon Hae-beom’s Matching Rate with you is 70%, right?! So why the hell am I the one stuck as his exclusive Guide?!”
Tae-rim shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again. Don’t lose your temper. Don’t lose your temper. He repeated the words like a mantra.
“Esper Kwon Hae-beom isn’t my exclusive—”
Just then, Lee Jae-hwa nudged him sharply. When Tae-rim looked up, he saw Seon Juho. Min Se-ah had been yelling so loudly that he must’ve heard everything. His face was twisted in anger. Tae-rim hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should step in to stop things—but he didn’t feel like it. He was only human, and honestly, he was getting pretty pissed too.
“And who the hell are you?”
“What’s your problem—wait, gasp!”
“He’s my Guide. Why are you talking to him about that old guy? And how old are you, huh? You think it’s okay to speak so casually to someone older?”
“Damn.”
“What?”
“Holy crap. He’s hot as hell!”
“…What the hell is wrong with this kid?”
Seon Juho’s mouth hung open in shock. Incredible. So this was the infamous wrath of a middle schooler in peak puberty. The warnings hadn’t been exaggerated. Lee Tae-rim didn’t even feel like stepping in—he just stood there, tongue-tied, silently admiring the sheer chaos.
Then came the click of a camera shutter.
“Awesome! I’m totally bragging to my friends!”
While everyone stood dumbfounded, Min Se-ah snapped a photo of Seon Juho with her phone and took off running without a second’s hesitation.
“Hey! You! Stop right there!”
Yoon Ye-rin shouted, but the girl was lightning-fast—she was already across the plaza. Unfortunately for her, all that effort was about to go to waste.
“What the hell?! Using powers on a civilian is illegal! You think you can get away with anything just because you’re good-looking?! I’m reporting you!”
Min Se-ah, now suspended midair by Seon Juho’s telekinesis, was being dragged back against her will. She yelled and thrashed, threatening to report him, but everyone around her just rolled their eyes. Yoon Ye-rin stepped forward with her hands on her hips.
“Are you seriously that clueless? Taking a picture and saying you’re gonna brag about it?”
“I—I never said that!”
“Everyone here heard you. Distributing photos of an S-rank Awakener without consent is also a crime, you disrespectful brat!”
“I didn’t share it yet!”
Calmly, Seon Juho used his ability to snatch the phone right out of her hands.
“My phone! Thief!”
“It’s evidence.”
He floated the phone in midair like he didn’t even want to touch it.
“Son of a bitch! Let it go!”
“Tsk. Looks like someone needs a little lesson. I’ll show you what really happens when you screw around.”
With poised elegance, Yoon Ye-rin pulled out her phone and dialed.
[Yes, this is the Esper Legal Affairs Team.]
The composed voice came through loud and clear over speakerphone. The air around them shifted immediately—faces went from Huh? to Oh no… in seconds.
“This is Guide Yoon Ye-rin from Team 2.”
[Yes, go ahead, Guide Yoon.]
She calmly explained that a trainee named Min Se-ah had taken a photo of Esper Seon Juho without permission and tried to run while shouting about showing it off to her friends. The voice on the other end grew slightly more serious.
[Understood. One moment, please.]
After a short pause, the line resumed.
[Have you secured the trainee and the evidence?]
“Yes.”
[Are you with them now?]
“Yes.”
[We’ll dispatch a teleportation-type Esper to your location immediately. Please stand by.]
Before the sentence had even finished, the Esper arrived. They sealed the floating phone into an evidence bag and took custody of Min Se-ah from Seon Juho. The tension was palpable now, and even Min Se-ah had gone silent, nervously glancing around. Yoon Ye-rin looked at her and scoffed lightly.
“Listen up, kid. Sharing information about an S-rank Awakener can fall under the National Security Act. Even if you didn’t post it, even if you didn’t mean to, you can still be fined. Just intending to share it is enough. Maybe now you’ll learn what it really means to be fucked. Next time, try thinking before you open that mouth of yours.”
Min Se-ah’s face twisted up in protest. She still didn’t look the least bit sorry—more like, What the hell is this lady talking about? Even now, with things having gone this far, she still hadn’t fully grasped the situation. Probably thinking, Come on, it’s not that serious…
[Guide Yoon Ye-rin?]
“Yes?”
[Is Esper Seon Juho present as well?]
“He is.”
[Esper Seon Juho, are you willing to show leniency?]
“No.”
[Understood.]
And just like that, the problem child vanished alongside the teleportation-type Esper.
Tae-rim felt like a massive wave had slammed into him and left him dazed. Something had just happened—but what, exactly, he couldn’t quite process.
“There’s clueless, and then there’s that.”
“No kidding. I didn’t think she’d be that bad. Kids these days are something else.”
“Seriously—completely beyond belief.”
Still in a fog, Tae-rim only came back to himself when he felt a quiet warmth step up beside him.
“Hyung.”
Seon Juho was smiling down at him, and Tae-rim couldn’t help but return the smile. That gentle grin was infectious.
“Yeah?”
Come to think of it, he’d originally been heading to the lab out of worry—but clearly, Seon Juho was fine. That effortlessly handsome face, paired with his calm smile, gave off an almost divine glow. Slowly, Seon Juho opened his mouth.
“I heard I Imprinted on you—one-sided.”
“…What?”
“Dr. Oh told me what an Incomplete Imprint is.”
Tae-rim quickly clamped a hand over Seon Juho’s mouth.
But he couldn’t stop anyone else’s.
