It was thanks to waking up at the crack of dawn—something I normally would’ve never managed—that I found myself outside Cha Jae-woo’s house a little before 9 a.m. There had been no word from Cha Jae-woo about whether we were supposed to start so early, and I hadn’t bothered to ask anything before crashing into bed last night.
The only reason I even woke up at all was because of the persistent nagging of the housekeeper, who said she had breakfast ready.
I groggily pleaded to skip the meal, but it was useless. In the end, I forced myself to shovel food into my mouth with my eyes barely open, and before I could even set my chopsticks down, I had to get ready to leave. It was like being steamrolled.
“Good morning…”
“Yes, good morning.”
As soon as I finished getting ready under relentless pressure, the housekeeper informed me that a car was waiting outside and told me to follow the driver from here on out, before disappearing without another word.
I timidly approached the driver. Where exactly were we heading? I was curious, but somehow it felt too awkward to ask.
It felt like everyone here was somehow difficult to talk to. Cha Jae-woo went without saying, the housekeeper was too frenzied, and the driver, now waiting for me, had such a fierce appearance that striking up a conversation felt terrifying.
‘Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.’
A wave of gloom settled over me.
“Please get in. We’re heading to the Guide Center.”
At least I didn’t stay gloomy for long. The destination I had been dying to know was revealed immediately. On top of that, when the driver smiled slightly, he looked so unexpectedly kind that I felt guilty for being scared of him earlier.
With an awkward smile of my own, I quickly hopped into the car. Was I being too simple-minded? Then again, I’ve always been a little simple.
‘Still, the Guide Center, huh.’
So that actually existed.
There was a clause in the contract about learning how to regulate Guiding, but I hadn’t expected that training to happen at a place called the Guide Center. I had worried about how I was supposed to learn it on my own.
I had even nervously tried searching online, but naturally, I didn’t find anything useful. Instead, I just ended up stumbling across news articles about how Cha Jae-woo had gotten a Guide—and a D-Rank one at that. I had never once imagined that I would become a news story.
“We’re heading out now.”
“…Ah, okay.”
With the driver’s brief notice, the car glided forward so smoothly that if he hadn’t spoken up, I might not have even realized we had started moving. The ride was that comfortable.
‘Just how rich is Cha Jae-woo, anyway?’
The house, the car—everything about him screamed money. Even the payment he promised me had been wired into my account in one lump sum. How did he transfer 500 million won all at once? What’s the transfer limit for a single transaction? Or do rich people just not have transfer limits at all?
My thoughts drifted aimlessly. Really, they were utterly pointless musings. I was probably the only person in the world worrying about bank transfer limits in a situation like this.
“…….”
The distance between the back seat and the front seat was so vast that I found myself swinging my feet to try and banish the silly thoughts from my head. But that only made new worries bubble up. Sure, I had decided on my own to become Cha Jae-woo’s Guide, but now that the contract had switched to him, it felt like I had been forced into it.
It didn’t seem like President Jang of the Guide Association had enough power to stop Cha Jae-woo. So was I destined to just go along with whatever Cha Jae-woo wanted? Would my life… be in danger?
“Haah…”
I couldn’t be sure. No, still. It’s probably unlikely that Cha Jae-woo would harm me. We had a high matching rate. They said there had never been a Guide with a matching rate as high as mine before. If that was the case, it would be a waste for Cha Jae-woo to lose me.
Maybe that’s why he was investing in training me—to make sure I wouldn’t end up collapsing from exhaustion. Yeah, that had to be it. Learning to regulate my Guiding was ultimately a good thing for me, not just for him.
Thinking that way didn’t completely wipe away my anxiety, but it did help ease a lot of it. Only then did I start paying attention to the driver who was busy behind the wheel. His expression remained stern, but somehow, he seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe that’s why—I felt like I could get away with saying something. After hesitating for a moment, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Um, is Cha Jae-woo still at home?”
There really wasn’t any other topic the driver and I could talk about, so mentioning Cha Jae-woo was an inevitable choice.
“Yes.”
Fortunately, it seemed I’d chosen the right topic because the driver’s face brightened slightly. He must like Cha Jae-woo. That was the feeling I got, and it surprised me.
Honestly, I had thought there wouldn’t be a single person who liked Cha Jae-woo. Everyone around him only ever badmouthed him. The internet was full of stories detailing just how rotten his personality was. The Cha Jae-woo I’d seen in the media wasn’t much different from those accounts either. Sure, when I met him yesterday, he wasn’t quite as bad as I’d feared—but he wasn’t exactly pleasant either.
“He slept well yesterday, so he’s feeling good. He went out for a workout.”
The answer felt a little short, so the driver continued.
Wait, Cha Jae-woo exercises? Does he even need to? Do Espers have to work out too, just to maintain their physique? And when he says ‘exercise,’ does he mean what I think he means? Surely that thing I saw yesterday wouldn’t count as exercise… right?
The memory of all that exposed skin sprang unbidden into my mind, and I quickly shook my head to get rid of it. No way—that couldn’t have been considered exercise. Still, the scene had been so striking that it refused to fade from my memory.
Clearing my throat unnecessarily, I blurted out,
“He must have trouble sleeping, huh.”
It was just a random comment to chase away the wandering thoughts. I hadn’t expected that my words would instantly darken the driver’s expression. A heavy silence fell inside the car, and I was left awkwardly watching for cues.
“…Yes, pretty much.”
It took quite a while before the driver finally answered, his voice low and somber.
“Even after manifesting as an Esper, he’s barely ever received proper Guiding. From what I know, recently, he hasn’t been able to sleep at all.”
“Ah…”
“But thanks to you showing up, he was able to sleep soundly last night.”
The driver’s voice rose sharply with excitement. Through the rearview mirror, I could see his eyes crinkle at the corners—he looked genuinely thrilled.
Meanwhile, I was left dumbfounded. Sure, I had been drained pretty fast. But since it happened over a short period, I thought it hadn’t had much of an effect. And yet, to think that it helped alleviate even a little of Cha Jae-woo’s insomnia—it was fascinating but also a little unsettling.
‘Just how much stamina did he drain from me yesterday?’
Since it wasn’t something I could measure in numbers, it left me frustrated not knowing. Still, my body didn’t feel any worse for wear, right? Not that clenching and unclenching my fist would prove anything, but I did it anyway.
“He hasn’t properly slept in over a year now…”
“What? A year?”
I gawked at the driver’s murmured words, my eyes widening in disbelief.
The driver, however, responded nonchalantly.
“Yes. Back then, at least he managed to doze off now and then, but for the past three or four months, he hasn’t slept at all.”
A whole year… Was he really okay? Here I was, supposed to be worrying about my own safety, and yet Cha Jae-woo’s face floated into my mind. He didn’t look that bad yesterday—his skin had even looked somewhat smooth. No, wait, people had been saying he was on the verge of rampaging. There was no way he was fine.
“…….”
Scrunching my forehead, I ran a hand down my face. I remembered something someone once told me: “You really are unbelievably stupid sometimes.”
Back then, I got all defensive, but when they explained they meant I was so kind it was almost stupid, I had laughed it off and felt happy.
‘I thought being called kind was a compliment.’
The point hadn’t been about kindness at all—it was about being stupid. Here I was, having been practically tricked into this contract, and yet feeling sorry for the other party. If anyone deserved to be called stupid, it was me. And just moments ago, I’d been worrying about my own life.
Unable to hold it in, I smacked myself on the head. The driver, startled by my sudden action, glanced back at me with wide eyes, but I just laughed it off.
‘When I should barely have enough room to worry about myself, I’m out here pitying someone else…’
It was ridiculous enough to laugh at myself for hours.
***
‘Whoa…’
The Guide Center was way bigger than I’d expected. Since I’d never even heard of it before, I figured it would be tucked away in some back alley—but to my surprise, it was smack-dab in the middle of Seoul. I guess I just hadn’t noticed because I never paid attention.
I was immediately led inside to a training room. The training room was just big enough for maybe three or four people. Since it’s rare for multiple Guides to appear at once, I supposed a small space like this was enough for their sessions.
According to the person who guided him to the training room, Lim Haeyul was scheduled to receive one-on-one instruction from an S-Rank Guide. Since it was urgent to improve his Guiding abilities, they had assigned someone of such a high rank to train him. If a Guide couldn’t properly regulate their powers, they could have their stamina drained by an Esper. It seemed they were trying to make sure he could control his abilities as quickly as possible.
But why was he only finding this out now? Maybe President Jang hadn’t even considered arranging any training. Maybe he had simply intended for Haeyul to rot away in Cha Jae-woo’s house. In the end, that one hundred million won really had been no different from a life insurance payout.
Haeyul shook his head, pushing away the image of President Jang, who had sweet-talked him so deftly. What was the point of getting angry now? At least, in the end, he was getting trained—that was something to be grateful for. Besides, at this point, Haeyul was starting to think the original contract with President Jang might have been preferable to the one with Cha Jae-woo.
“Um… excuse me?”
Even knowing it was pointless, Haeyul kept circling back to thoughts about the contract. It wasn’t until he heard a stranger’s voice close by that he snapped out of it.
“Ah, yes!”
Startled, he jumped to his feet. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t even realized someone had entered and taken a seat across from him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come in…”
His face flushed with embarrassment.
The other man waved a hand as if to say it was no big deal. Judging from how naturally he had entered the training room, this must be the S-Rank Guide assigned to him.
He was male, a little smaller in build than Haeyul, with large, bright, light-brown eyes. The easy, warm smile on his face only made him look even more radiant. In short, he was very handsome—a thought that felt a little impolite but was hard to ignore.
Haeyul hesitated, lips parting slightly, unsure of how to address him. He had a rough guess who it was, but without confirmation, it felt awkward to speak first.
“Hello. My name is Kim Sol. I’ll be in charge of your training from today, Guide Lim Haeyul.”
Thankfully, the silence didn’t drag on. The man—Kim Sol—smiled brightly and broke the ice himself. He extended a hand toward Haeyul, clearly inviting a handshake.
But Haeyul couldn’t bring himself to take it right away. After all, it had only been yesterday that he collapsed the moment Cha Jae-woo touched him. The thought of touching another person still filled him with unease.
“I’m a Guide, so it’s fine.”
It was as if Kim Sol had read his mind. Rather than feeling embarrassed that his hesitation had been noticed, Haeyul was mostly relieved to hear he wouldn’t have his stamina drained. Only then did he reach out and grasp Kim Sol’s hand.
Just as promised, there was no strange sensation at all.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
Kim Sol’s eyes curved into a soft, genuine smile. That gentle expression made Haeyul’s own lips lift naturally, and a sense of calm settled over him. Compared to Cha Jae-woo’s house, this place already felt infinitely more comfortable—and for Haeyul, there was no helping that.
