# Chapter 49
Regardless of what kind of person Choi Jihyung was, Seo Jihan was always by his side.
Hajin frowned. To be so obsessed with a Guide that you make someone make the wrong choice, only to find a new love on your own.
Hajin clicked his tongue. Anyway, to target Choi Jihyung, he would first need to get rid of Seo Jihan.
Hajin pressed his forehead with his hand, realizing that he—once an ordinary office worker—now had to act like a protagonist in a spy movie.
* * *
Han Jiwoo was steadily progressing toward the future he had envisioned. As he had predicted, once another S-rank Guide appeared, the Association began showing active interest.
After successfully Guiding Alpha Team, Han Jiwoo went on to Guide other S-rank Espers without tiring, which completely changed how he was treated.
Although he hadn’t been treated poorly as an A-rank Guide, compared to his treatment after becoming S-rank, his previous treatment felt like nothing.
“Guide Han Jiwoo! You’re truly amazing! As expected from someone who cared about efficiency even as an A-rank, your Guiding efficiency is unbelievably good.”
“Thank you.”
Han Jiwoo pretended to be shy as he smiled at the praise.
“I’d like to measure your Radiative Guiding too…”
“Ah… could we do that next time? I’d like to rest a bit.”
“Of course! Certainly.”
Having skillfully deflected the next request, Han Jiwoo left the laboratory.
Even on his way back to the dormitory, people called out his name from all directions, and envious gazes from other Guides who had heard about his S-rank promotion were fixed on him.
The gazes from A-rank Guides, who had been at the same level as Han Jiwoo, and the B-rank Guides below them were particularly sharp.
This was because Han Jiwoo wasn’t satisfied with just Guiding S-rank Espers but was also Guiding lower-ranked Espers under the pretext of experiments.
‘Hmph. Just low-ranks putting on airs.’
While he inwardly scoffed, outwardly he maintained an expression as if intimidated by those envious gazes.
When he acted like this, those stupid lower-ranked Guides would approach him confidently as if they had the upper hand and pick fights.
“Han Jiwoo, living the high life now? You look pretty pleased with yourself.”
Just like that. Han Jiwoo bit his lip and lowered his head to hide the sneer that threatened to escape. The two who approached him were A-rank Guides who used to follow him around.
When Han Jiwoo pretended to be repentant and meek to deceive Hajin, abandoning the group he had created, they gradually began to assert themselves.
After allowing them to pick on him a few times to maintain his image, they started acting as if they were above him.
“It’s been a while.”
When he awkwardly greeted them as if he had nothing to say, they swaggered over and draped their arms over his shoulders, looking like they had caught him.
They seemed to be pretending to be close because people were watching, but unfortunately it only looked like Han Jiwoo was being dragged away unwillingly.
The A-rank slightly tightened the arm on his shoulder and asked.
“What did you do to suddenly raise your rank? If you knew something good, you should have shared it. How selfish, keeping it all to yourself.”
‘So ignorant, only brute strength.’
Han Jiwoo felt a surge of irritation at the pressure on his neck, but he arranged his crumpled expression to look as gentle as possible, making it appear merely troubled.
“I didn’t do anything special. Just, as you know, I was always insistent on Guiding S-rank Espers. I guess that’s how it improved.”
“Hey. Do you take me for a fool?”
Despite giving a plausible answer, the A-rank became serious and lowered his voice.
“If rank could improve just from that, it should have happened ages ago. Jiwoo, don’t try to deceive us. I don’t know what, but you did something, didn’t you?”
Han Jiwoo tried not to get serious, but being caught off guard from an unexpected direction, he momentarily lost control of his expression and frowned.
Not missing that fleeting moment, the A-rank began to press Han Jiwoo further, as if sensing he’d hit the mark.
“Come on, just tell us. Good things should be shared, right? Huh? Did the Association run some experiments on you?”
At this point, it almost seemed like he already knew everything and was just testing Han Jiwoo.
After all, he had guessed correctly that Han Jiwoo had done something equivalent to an experiment, except it wasn’t the Association’s doing.
However, there was no way that guy could know the truth, and even if he somehow knew everything, no evidence remained.
Han Jiwoo closed his eyes once and reopened them, steadying his wavering heart. Then he spoke to the somewhat triumphant-looking A-rank.
“There really isn’t anything special. I just did what I’ve always done. Experiments? Haha. What an interesting idea.”
When Han Jiwoo laughed casually and refused to give the answer he wanted, the A-rank’s expression soured, as if he was getting angry.
At the same time, the arm around his neck tightened, making it increasingly difficult for Han Jiwoo to breathe.
“*cough* Ju-Junsu. This is, *cough*!”
It was then, just as Jung Junsu was about to pressure Han Jiwoo further, that an employee who had been keeping an eye on the S-rank Guide approached and intervened.
“Please remove your arm.”
He glared once at Han Jiwoo and the employee who had stopped him, then roughly pulled his arm away.
Han Jiwoo, who was smaller and weaker than him, staggered without having to pretend, pushed by the rough force.
“Guide Han Jiwoo! Are you alright?”
The employee was startled and supported him when the precious remaining S-rank Guide stumbled.
Jung Junsu glared at the sight and turned away. He didn’t believe Han Jiwoo’s words.
When news spread that Han Jiwoo had become S-rank, the A-rank Guides were the most affected.
Although Han Jiwoo had a reputation for being unusually determined, there wasn’t an A-rank Guide who didn’t desire to Guide S-rank Espers.
However, Han Jiwoo’s aggression was severe, and even he couldn’t overcome the limits of his rank, so they had given up early.
But now that Han Jiwoo had overcome what they thought was an insurmountable limit, there was bound to be unrest among the A-rank Guides.
They didn’t believe Han Jiwoo’s claim that he had overcome the limit through effort alone.
Ironically, while they distrusted each other the most, the A-ranks had witnessed Han Jiwoo’s efforts up close.
Even with all that effort, it hadn’t happened before, so how could it suddenly happen now?
If he had consistently maintained that effort, it might have been understandable, but Han Jiwoo hadn’t trained as diligently for Guiding since Hajin appeared and his drive had diminished at some point.
Yet he claimed he just did what he had always done? The Association people who were simply thrilled to have another S-rank might believe it, but those who had been around Han Jiwoo did not.
‘There must be something…’
Junsu’s gaze flashed sharply as he looked back.
‘That damn bastard. Completely useless till the end.’
While showing an awkward smile to the Association employee, he inwardly cursed at Junsu who kept glaring at him until the end.
Han Jiwoo was confident he wouldn’t be caught, but being suspected by someone was quite irritating.
And Junsu wasn’t the only one who suspected Han Jiwoo. Though they were backing off for now, Han Jiwoo didn’t expect them to keep quiet.
They would probably stir up trouble everywhere to disrupt the atmosphere.
Of course, the Association wouldn’t stand by and watch internal turmoil, but by the time they stepped in, rumors would have already spread throughout.
‘Before that, I need to somehow make the Espers mine…’
The problem was that, contrary to Han Jiwoo’s expectations, the Espers’ reactions weren’t satisfactory.
There was no issue with the Guiding itself. Previously, he would have been exhausted after Guiding just one S-rank, but now he remained perfectly fine no matter how many S-rank Espers he Guided.
The efficiency wasn’t a problem either. He had visually confirmed multiple times that the coefficients dropped rapidly with just one Guiding.
This was something he had never experienced as an A-rank. He even trembled at the fact that just one rank difference could make such a change.
However, despite there being no problem with the Guiding—in fact, it had improved—Alpha Team’s Espers remained indifferent.
Espers who had never met Hajin showed surprise at seeing their runaway coefficients drop so quickly with Han Jiwoo’s Guiding. But that wasn’t the reaction Han Jiwoo wanted.
They shouldn’t just be surprised; they should act as if Han Jiwoo was the only one in this world, as if he was their entire world. But they were merely intrigued.
The disappointment didn’t end there. Those who had previously received Guiding from Hajin had even worse reactions.
“Hmm, there’s something odd about your Guiding.”
“Haven’t they found Guide Lee Hajin yet? I want to receive his Guiding…”
It was obvious they were directly comparing Hajin’s Guiding with Han Jiwoo’s.
Though their coefficients dropped and their wavelengths stabilized, making them comfortable, their reactions indicating “this isn’t it” forced Han Jiwoo to swallow his curses.
‘What, what exactly is different? Is it because my rank was artificially raised?’
Han Jiwoo mentally cursed Seo Juan, who hadn’t mentioned anything about these side effects. Damn bastard. If he were here, Han Jiwoo would have grabbed him by the collar and punched him.
After chewing his lips anxiously and nervously for a long time, Han Jiwoo finally drew blood before calming himself down.
‘Calm down. Even so, the Association can’t let me go. If Lee Hajin disappears, everything will be mine.’
However, he felt the need to adjust the timing of when he Guided S-rank Espers.
He had been continuously providing Guiding to imprint his importance, but if the Espers didn’t feel any excitement from it…
He would have to make them feel it by force.
If their runaway coefficients rose again and their wavelengths became unstable, they would have no choice but to seek out Han Jiwoo.
Imagining Espers desperately yearning for his Guiding, his anxiety subsided.
‘That’s right. Time is on my side anyway.’
Having finished his thoughts, Han Jiwoo began gradually reducing the number of Guiding sessions.
Reducing from ten times to nine, then to eight, seven, and six—the Association, which initially didn’t think much of it, started to get anxious.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
