Complicated things were the worst. Who the hell made life this complicated? Kim Hye-min was tormented. Ugh, even agonizing over it was complicated. She felt like she was about to lose her mind.
Lately, the atmosphere in the training center had been off. It all started when Seon Juho and Lee Tae-rim began dating.
Jung Jae-heon whined that he was starved for love, and Choi Dong-ha had been acting like he’d just taken a serious blow now that Seon Juho and Lee Tae-rim were openly flaunting their relationship. As if he hadn’t hated it before—what was with the sudden shift?
To be fair, he’d been nearly ghosted by an S-rank Guide with a 78% Matching Rate and was now stuck receiving Guiding only from A-rank Guides. It was no wonder his mental state was in shambles. His pride had probably taken a hit too.
And to top it off, Seon Juho had an Incomplete Imprint. Dating someone like that… Yeah, it was pretty damn significant.
Maybe Tae-rim was just dating him because he liked him. But who knew how far he was really willing to go? Espers were obsessive as hell to begin with. But Seon Juho? He had a 90% Matching Rate and an Incomplete Imprint. That man was never going to let Tae-rim go—not even when he was old and gray.
Was Tae-rim actually considering a mutual Imprint? The old Tae-rim would’ve scoffed and gone, Why the hell would I? But the current Tae-rim was soft. Peach-soft. Especially around Seon Juho. So soft he was practically squishy.
And he didn’t even know the true nature of that split-personality freak. Poor, poor Tae-rim. Kim Hye-min clicked her tongue.
“Eighty percent… That damned 80%…!”
Jung Jae-heon was mumbling about his 80% again today. He’d figured there had to be at least one A-rank Guide in Korea who matched, but unfortunately, not a single one had shown up yet.
So he lowered the threshold to 75%, and finally—one person popped up. An A-rank Guide stationed in Zone 1. Sadly, that Guide already had a partner.
At first, Jung Jae-heon was willing to consider someone ten years younger, but he started saying it felt like a crime and bumped his age limit up to eight years. And with that limit, no Guides with over 80% Matching Rate showed up.
Now he was in despair. Is this a sign from above to just die single and alone?
For the record, he also capped the upper limit at eight years older. He was seriously dedicated to finding his match.
“Oppa, just try removing the age limit.”
“I’m scared of jail time, Hye-min.”
Kim Hye-min slammed her fist into Jung Jae-heon’s shoulder hard enough to make a crack. He groaned in pain.
“You asshole, I’m a woman.”
“Ah, y-yes ma’am.”
“God, seriously. If I were just a little older…! Be grateful you were born in the Land of Morning Calm, Jung Jae-heon.”
“You gonna hit me? Gonna hit poor little Jae-heon?”
“You lunatic…”
“Hahahahahaha~!”
He always put on this calm, mature front in front of others, but in truth, that man wasn’t even close to normal.
Kim Hye-min let out a heavy sigh. He was already unstable as hell, and this whole ‘eternally single old bachelor’ thing was pushing him further off the edge. Someone really needed to come along and just take him away…
“Noona. You’re thinking I’m the only normal one here, right?”
“Shut it, Jin Yun-tae.”
“I’m humbled by your grace—ACK!”
“You little shit, you really wanna die!”
Kim Hye-min grabbed Jin Yun-tae and started stomping him into the ground. Jin Yun-tae wailed, shouting that he was going to die. Sadly, the only halfway sane one among them, Jeon Jun-pyo, was out on site duty, so no one was around to stop this chaos.
And right in the middle of it all, Seon Juho didn’t give a single damn what they were doing. He was training to control his ability known as Darkness. His control was already flawless to anyone watching, but Seon Juho acted like it wasn’t enough—he was practicing even more delicate maneuvers.
And as always, because Lee Tae-rim wasn’t there, Seon Juho’s face was utterly devoid of expression. Moving that pitch-black mass with a dead-eyed look made him seem downright terrifying.
Even amidst all this madness, Kim Hye-min shook her head as she watched Seon Juho, who looked like he belonged in another world entirely. Tae-rim really needs to see what a social misfit he is.
But then, while she looked away for just a second, Seon Juho had vanished. Of course. A glance at the clock revealed it was nearly lunchtime.
He had looked so focused on training—but when the hell had he checked the time? Seon Juho never missed his scheduled time to see Lee Tae-rim.
“Are lovers just figments of fantasy? Is that it? Huh?”
Jung Jae-heon had noticed Seon Juho’s disappearance and started mumbling into the void. His condition was getting worse.
“C’mon, hyung. Just go for it already.”
“I can’t. I can’t go to jail…”
“Wow, now look at you trying to act all moral. What morality? You lost that the moment you started eyeing Guide Lee Tae-rim.”
This time, it was Jung Jae-heon who stomped Jin Yun-tae into the floor. His kicks were serious—so serious that Jin Yun-tae screamed in genuine pain.
“Aaaaagh! This S-rank Esper is gonna kill me!”
And he was an S-rank Esper himself, for god’s sake… Kim Hye-min clicked her tongue. There wasn’t a single normal person here. Not one.
***
Spring was in full bloom. Lee Tae-rim sat by the window, watching as the weather finally began to thaw.
Ever since he and Seon Juho had exchanged rings on his birthday, the way people looked at them had taken on a new weight. And understandably so—the ring was made from monster byproducts, something usually only seen in marriage proposals. No wonder it drew attention, glinting conspicuously on his middle finger.
“That ring still gets me every time I see it,” Yoon Ye-rin said—again. “Seriously, an S-rank Esper is just built different.”
Despite being all puppy-dog in demeanor, Seon Juho was undeniably an S-rank Esper. When Ye-rin heard from Lee Jae-hwa just how much the ring cost, her shock had been palpable. Who knew accessories made from monster parts were that expensive?
Honestly, Tae-rim had been pretty—no, very—surprised too when he first heard the price. But, according to Lee Jae-hwa, there were Espers who regularly commissioned accessories like that. They couldn’t just wear ordinary ones even if they liked them, so they had no choice but to go with monster-made items.
And to an S-rank Esper, that price tag was about the equivalent of a regular citizen buying a 14K gold accessory. A little pricey, sure, but not something they’d struggle to afford.
Tae-rim was also S-rank, but it seemed Espers and Guides operated on entirely different salary scales. That price definitely didn’t feel like some casual gold ring purchase to him.
He still remembered the day they escaped Molt’s main stronghold—the sheer destructive force of those monsters had been staggering. An entire mountain had vanished in seconds, and the underground research facility had been completely demolished. And the ones fighting against those kinds of monsters? The Espers.
What Guides did was important, sure—but when it came down to the actual defense of the nation, Espers were on the front lines. It only made sense that their paychecks reflected that. Still, it’s not like Tae-rim’s own salary was anything to scoff at. The first time he checked his bank account after coming here, he’d nearly popped his eyes out of his skull.
He could have afforded the ring himself if he really wanted to—it wasn’t out of reach. But it was a bit much, and definitely intimidating. Seon Juho, on the other hand, had insisted it wasn’t that expensive. Besides his regular salary, he’d also gotten a hefty bonus for his performance in District 6.
Tae-rim didn’t ask exactly how much it was. Juho looked like he wanted to brag and had even tried to show him his account balance, but Tae-rim refused. His heart might’ve exploded on the spot.
Maybe it was his memories from his past life as an average citizen, but just looking at his own bank account these days made his pulse race. Excessive wealth… it was bad for his health. Well, except when it came to booze. Then, not so much.
“Hyuuung~”
Knock knock.
The door creaked open as Seon Juho stepped in, wagging his metaphorical tail like an overexcited puppy.
“Is it lunchtime already?”
“See you later, Tae-rim.”
“Enjoy your meal~”
Lee Jae-hwa and Yoon Ye-rin waved their goodbyes and left. Kim Hyo-il was on field duty this week.
“Enjoy your lunch~”
Seon Juho called out to them too, then pulled up a chair and pressed himself right up against Tae-rim. Without missing a beat, he took Tae-rim’s hand and laced their fingers together.
“Hyung, I missed you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Tae-rim accepted the clingy Seon Juho without resistance. He’d gotten used to Juho whining about missing him even if they’d only been apart for three and a half hours.
Even though they were officially dating now, not much had changed between them. Maybe people were right all along—saying they were already like a couple and Tae-rim was just in denial. That truth still stung.
Today’s lunch was meat. In his past life, Tae-rim would’ve thought meat this early in the day was a bit much, but here? Totally normal. Espers with bottomless appetites basically needed meat to survive.
And since Espers weren’t exactly strapped for cash, they generally preferred beef over pork when grilling. It wasn’t about flavor or price—pork just took too damn long to cook.
That’s why restaurants within the Center that served grilled meat were equipped with larger tables, each fitted with two grills. Without alternating between them, you risked the unthinkable—a break in the meat flow.
Guys l want them make esper and guide babies 🥲😭