Survival Rules for D-Rank Guides – 5

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[Title: Esper Cha Jae-woo Finds a Guide After 18 Years… 97.8% Matching Rate]
Author: Anonymous

ㅇㅇ Title says it all.
You can check out the article (link) here.

[Comments]

— Holy sht, Cha Jae-woo finally got a Guide?

— Wow, his rampages were fcking terrifying. This is great news.

— Wait, what? 97.8%? Is that even possible?
└ First meeting, too.
└ Isn’t that basically impossible?
└ Maybe the journalist made a mistake? Maybe it’s supposed to be 9.78%.
└ That would actually make more sense.
└ Either the journalist or the matching rate device fcked up.*
└ It’s basically 100% though lol. Insane.

— If this is real, isn’t Cha Jae-woo basically invincible now?
└ LOLOLOLOL true.
└ Like, who’s even gonna dare squeak in front of Cha Jae-woo now?
└ Ah, but someone said in the replies it’s a D-Rank. So maybe not invincible after all.

— Why does the article title sound like he reunited with a long-lost family member?
└ Honestly, it’s that level. If his matching rate was even 30%, it would’ve been a huge deal.

— But did you guys even read the article? It’s a D-Rank.
└ A D-Rank?
└ A D-Rank for an S-Rank Esper?
└ WTF, isn’t that basically useless then?
└ Agreed.
└ Why would it be useless though? Isn’t a high matching rate still a good thing?
└ Even with a high matching rate, if there’s too much of a rank gap, the Guide probably can’t even handle a few sessions.
└ The Guide would need medical treatment after guiding him lol.
└ Guides are ranked based on their mana. If he’s D-Rank, that means he has almost no mana. And you expect him to guide an S-Rank Esper? His mana would drain the moment they touch, and he’d probably just collapse.
└ Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining!

— What’s the point of a high matching rate if he’s a one-time-use Guide anyway?
└ LOLOLOL. Come on, maybe he can survive two or three uses at least haha.
└ WTF LOL.
└ ? Don’t you think it’s kinda messed up to call a person “one-time-use” or whatever?
└ Ugh.
└ What’s the point of knowing how to type if you don’t have a brain?

— I got all excited reading the title, thinking I could skip my Guide evaluation, but… a D-Rank? Seriously?
└ Same here.
└ Thirded.
└ Fourth. I was so happy thinking he wouldn’t need one anymore with that 97.8%.
└ You guys know if Cha Jae-woo didn’t find a Guide, he would’ve gone berserk and died, right? You’re all being so selfish lol.
└ True. And it’s not just Cha Jae-woo who would’ve died. Haven’t you heard people say he’s basically a walking nuclear bomb?
└ Don’t exaggerate. “Nuclear bomb,” seriously?
└ LMAO. Look at all these fake saints acting virtuous. Bet they’d freak out too if they found out they had to guide him themselves.

└ Exactly lol. Who the hell actually wants to be a Guide? Even now, there are constant posts saying it’s basically like selling your body, and yet now everyone’s acting all high and mighty.
└ 66 (Agree)

― Man, I feel bad for the Guide. This is like getting struck by lightning out of a clear sky. No way a D-Rank can handle Cha Jae-woo… Judging by the article, it seems like they just plan to stick him next to him regardless.
└ But Cha Jae-woo’s never matched over 20% with any Guide before, right? I feel like he might actually treasure this one. Maybe he’ll just get guided a little at a time.
└ From what I know, the Guide is the one who has to control the flow during guiding sessions. The Esper just passively receives whatever the Guide gives. So if a D-Rank can’t control it properly, it’s game over.
└ Even if Cha Jae-woo wants to go easy, if the Guide can’t manage it, it’s meaningless.
└ Not to derail, but doesn’t it just sound weird imagining Cha Jae-woo “treasuring” something?
└ Same lol. Cha Jae-woo and “treasuring” don’t even belong in the same sentence.

― Either way, if that D-Rank wants to survive, they better practice control fast. But is that even easy?
└ No clue. Never done it myself. Got any Guide friends? Maybe ask them.
└ Fck, might as well ask if they have Esper friends instead.

***

[Title: “But seriously, if Cha Jae-woo goes berserk, is it really nuclear-bomb level?”]
Author: Anonymous

Heard rumors that half the planet could be wiped out if he rampages.
I mean, that’s gotta be exaggerated, right?
But seriously, how bad would it be?

[Comments]

― You do realize that if an Esper goes berserk, they basically die, right? And you’re still asking about the “power level”?
└ (Author) Yeah, obviously I know that. But it’s still nerve-wracking, so I’m just asking.
└ lol you just sound like you’re treating him like a weapon instead of a person.
└ (Author) I don’t know where you’re getting that from my post. If you’re not gonna actually answer the question, can you not leave rude comments?

― Considering that rampage scales with the Esper’s stats, Cha Jae-woo would definitely cause massive damage if he went berserk. But half the planet? That’s pushing it.

― Probably could wipe out an entire country, though.
└ (Author) An entire country??
└ Didn’t Cha Jae-woo destroy a Gate all by himself during his first rampage?
└ He did. But we don’t know how hard that Gate was.
└ Dude was ten years old at the time. Regardless of difficulty, it says a lot about his raw stats. Even among S-Ranks, no one can beat him.
└ Sorry, but what’s a “first rampage”? I’m not really into Esper stuff, so this is my first time hearing about it.
└ When an Esper first awakens, they lose their sanity and attack everything around them. That’s called the first rampage. Second rampage happens when they burn through all their power. First rampage usually causes a lot of civilian casualties.
└ So when Cha Jae-woo awakened, did he hurt a lot of people too?
└ Nope. He rampaged inside a Gate, so civilians weren’t harmed.
└ Pure luck. If he had lost it outside the Gate, it would’ve been a massacre.
└ He survived because he was an Esper—and because he was Cha Jae-woo. Otherwise, yeah, it would’ve been a disaster.
└ Still, it was Cha Jae-woo. That’s what matters.
└ Personally, I don’t think he’d wipe out an entire country. Maybe just destroy a whole region.
└ (Author) Even one region sounds terrifying. Should I temporarily move out of town or something?

― Whether it’s half the planet or not, the authorities would definitely “handle” it before that happens.
└ Handle it…?
└ You mean… kill him?
└ Yup. Exactly. That’s standard procedure. If an Esper’s about to go berserk, and especially if they’re burning out, they’re usually put down beforehand to prevent disaster.
└ Not like anyone’s asking for a reminder. Even if there are precedents, talking about killing someone like it’s a given feels gross. People already criticize it as a human rights issue.
└ Yeah, but it’s still reality. Besides, once they go berserk, they become mass murderers. It’s preventative, not punitive. There’s no other option once it reaches that point.

― This place is full of psychos.
└ Do you even see Espers as people?

― If Cha Jae-woo really did blow up a country, he’d probably flee overseas.
└ (Author) If it were me, I’d run too. Don’t act like you wouldn’t.

― Every time stuff like this comes up, I feel like people just lose their damn minds about Espers. They’re human too, you know.

― Without Espers, we’d all be dead from monsters spilling out of the Gates. You know that, right? Wild how people still talk sht.*
└ Maybe if there were no Espers, Gates wouldn’t exist either.
└ Lmao what kind of fantasy BS is that.
└ You in some cult or something?

― Honestly, people are way harsher toward Cha Jae-woo specifically. Other Espers don’t get trashed this hard.
└ Yeah. Especially after he stopped entering Gates, it got worse.
└ Just because there were rumors he might go berserk again, everyone lost their minds.
└ Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. He goes into a Gate? Problem. He doesn’t? Still a problem.

***

[Title: Rumor Has It the D-Rank Guide Is a Guy]
Author: Anonymous

He’s apparently only twenty-three years old and still a college student.

[Comments]

― Man, twenty-three and a college student? He had his whole future ahead of him, and now it’s wrecked like this.
└ Why are you acting like the D-Rank’s already dead?
└ Because at this rate, he might be soon ㅠ

― Stop posting unconfirmed information.
└ 22 Let’s stop being the breeding ground for baseless rumors.
└ 33 Delete the post. It’s against the community rules.

― I feel so bad for the Guide. Isn’t his entire personal info gonna get leaked at this rate? His social life is screwed.
└ Once you register as a Guide, you pretty much can’t do any other job anyway, right?
└ Work isn’t the only part of social life. Would he even be able to walk around in public with his face showing?

***

[Kim Geon-ung: (link)]

[Kim Geon-ung: Didn’t they promise not to release any personal information?]

[Kim Geon-ung: What the hell is this? Feels like the whole country knows already.]

Lim Haeyul stared at the messages Kim Geon-ung had sent for a long while without replying. He didn’t even dare click on the link. There was no need. Cha Jae-woo had already shown him most of the articles.

The contract had been changed. Not once, but twice. It was hard to believe this was reality. But it was already done.

Cha Jae-woo had even shown him the falsified contract. Even though Lim Haeyul knew he hadn’t sealed it, that he had signed properly with a pen, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“…Wow.”

Instead of protesting, he had simply nodded, helplessly staring at Cha Jae-woo’s smiling face. Of course. Undoing the contract? That was never going to happen. Even though he was well aware it wasn’t the document he had originally signed, nodding had been the only choice left to him.

“…I’m seriously screwed.”

Because Cha Jae-woo was so—so, so, overwhelmingly terrifying that even saying it a hundred times wouldn’t be enough. Even though he was smiling, if Lim Haeyul so much as said one word in disagreement, it felt like he would be killed on the spot.

Sure, he was the only Guide with a 98% matching rate for Cha Jae-woo. He probably wouldn’t actually kill him. But in that moment, it felt like his life was on the line. All Lim Haeyul could do was clamp his mouth shut and nod.

“Should I just terminate the contract?”

Even though Cha Jae-woo had already left the room a while ago, Lim Haeyul could still vividly hear his voice as if he were right there.

He yanked the blanket up to his chin, shivering under it. Despite it being the peak of summer, with the air conditioner blasting at full power, he was curling up under the covers like it was winter.

“I’ll let you terminate it.”

But Cha Jae-woo’s face hadn’t looked like he was letting him go at all. That indifferent expression from their first meeting had completely vanished—his eyes had practically sparkled.

So Lim Haeyul hadn’t answered.

Cha Jae-woo hadn’t seemed to mind.

“Instead, let’s make a new contract together.”

“He’s a complete con artist…”

Lim Haeyul muttered, pulling the blanket all the way over his head.

Calling him a con artist wasn’t even the half of it. He was just a lunatic. A lunatic who had used his power to blackmail him. Lim Haeyul had practically walked straight into a madman’s lair. There was no other way to describe it.

“I’ll even pay the penalty fee for you, so let’s make a personal contract instead.”

That sly, slow-rising smirk. That soft, coaxing voice, as if he were seducing him.

Almost like he had been hypnotized, Lim Haeyul had accepted the contract Cha Jae-woo offered. Even though he knew he had no choice, he still carefully read through it line by line.

The new contract stated that Lim Haeyul would become Cha Jae-woo’s exclusive Guide, that he would consistently receive training and practice for guiding control, and that he would have to maintain a daily minimum level of guiding.

Honestly, it was surprising. The fact that it even included a clause about practicing control. Maybe because it hadn’t been long since he collapsed just by touching Cha Jae-woo—less than a few hours, in fact. Compared to the contract Jang Gijun had presented, the one Cha Jae-woo brought almost looked more reasonable.

Especially when he saw the signing bonus—500 million won. Lim Haeyul almost had his eyeballs pop out. And on top of that, the monthly payments had increased, too.

For a brief moment, he thought, Is this my lucky break? But almost immediately, he forced himself to coolly scan for the penalty clauses.

He had just been sucker-punched hard. It was only natural to be suspicious.

But to his disbelief, there were no penalty clauses whatsoever. It was baffling. Was this just about rewriting the contract for the sake of adding the training clause? Even creating a penalty clause that hadn’t existed before?

It made no sense.

“For the Guide who’s gonna save my life, this much is the least I can do.”

And throughout it all, Cha Jae-woo had remained unfailingly kind to him.

Of course, Lim Haeyul knew that even while smiling, Cha Jae-woo was threatening him. If he said no, Cha Jae-woo would probably just forcefully grab his thumb and press it onto the paper himself.

That’s why he didn’t refuse. There was no way to escape this contract anyway.

‘Maybe that’s why…’

He had overlooked the most important fact.

The real issue had been how Cha Jae-woo had casually brushed aside a contract that offered him no real benefit whatsoever. Lim Haeyul was now paying dearly for stamping that contract without a second thought.

‘What… What is this?!’

There was a critical flaw in the contract Cha Jae-woo had handed him.

The promise he had made with Guide Association President Jang—the one stipulating that Lim Haeyul’s identity as Cha Jae-woo’s high-match Guide must never be revealed—was missing from this new contract.

The moment Lim Haeyul stamped his seal, Cha Jae-woo immediately shoved an article at him like he had been waiting for it.

Dazed, Lim Haeyul accepted the phone and almost passed out when he saw his own face splashed across the screen.

And the article’s contents were even worse. It detailed where he lived, which university he attended, how old he was—everything.

‘Even if the contract didn’t include the confidentiality clause…!’

“It’s not published yet.”

“Huh? What?”

“This article. It’s not out yet.”

“T-then when…?”

“Hmm. When should I post it?”

The slow, smiling curve of Cha Jae-woo’s lips told him everything. Lim Haeyul finally understood why there hadn’t been any penalty clause in the contract.

Even without an explanation, it was obvious: If he refused to guide or tried to run away, that article would be released to the world. It was a fresh, brutal kind of blackmail. So much so that paying a penalty fee would have honestly felt like the kinder option.

“Haah…”

‘Surely, he wouldn’t actually go that far?’

At first, Lim Haeyul had naively tried to reassure himself. Surely, he wouldn’t destroy someone’s life like that. But that had been a grave miscalculation.

He had completely overlooked the fact that Cha Jae-woo’s own life depended on this guiding, too.

Cha Jae-woo was the kind of man who would absolutely follow through if he said he would. Lim Haeyul realized this the moment he saw the careful way Cha Jae-woo had sprinkled enough details into the online sphere—not mentioning his name outright, but dropping enough hints that anyone could figure it out.

It became clear that Cha Jae-woo could expose him at any moment if he wanted.

As expected, the seeds Cha Jae-woo had scattered spread rapidly. The link Kim Geon-ung sent must have been one of them.

Lim Haeyul buried his face in his hands and shook his legs helplessly.

‘You insane bastard. How could you not see this coming?’

And why hadn’t he spoken up?

He should have shouted it in Cha Jae-woo’s face:

I signed the contract! I didn’t stamp it! You must have forged my seal while I was unconscious! How could you force me to rewrite such a ridiculous contract?!

[I’m screwed…]

No matter how much he flailed and kicked into the air on the bed, nothing changed.

His stomach twisted in knots. After firing off a message to Kim Geon-ung, Lim Haeyul collapsed onto the bed.

The luxury of the room, the ridiculously expensive mattress—none of it brought him any comfort. Well… even so, sleep came frighteningly fast.

Too much had happened. He had even fainted, after all. It was only natural that exhaustion overwhelmed him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, muttering excuses to himself as if that would make the crushing fatigue feel less pathetic.

It was true.

He really had lost everything.

It felt like he might cry.