“Hey, can we talk for a bit?”
There’s a saying: strike while the iron is hot. Right now, Rion felt like the timing was just right. The atmosphere was better than usual today, and he wanted to finish this conversation now.
“Yes.”
He spoke with a hint of tension, but Yu-won nodded with a completely calm expression.
“What the— You’re not picking another fight, are you?”
“Do you think all we ever do is fight?”
“Well… you kind of do.”
Rion casually brushed off Min-cheol’s comment and, worried another argument might break out, quickly grabbed Yu-won by the wrist.
Once Min-cheol’s voice was out of earshot, Yu-won—who had followed Rion without resistance—spoke quietly.
“Is it something important?”
“Mm, yeah, you could say that.”
Rion cleared his throat awkwardly. He’d dragged Yu-won here on impulse, but now that he actually had to start the conversation, he hesitated.
‘Ugh, it’d be weirder to back out after coming all the way here.’
“We’re not officially registered as a pair, but we’re still a matching pair, right?”
“Yeah. That’s true.”
“And not just any match—we’ve got that ridiculous 99 percent matching rate.”
Rion nodded, recalling the shock he felt the first time he saw that number pop up on the scanner.
“If you think about it, you could say it’s fate. Like, we were meant to be. Don’t you think?”
As he said that, Rion locked eyes with Yu-won. His gaze was a little intense, clearly hoping for agreement. Yu-won’s eyes shifted subtly to the left, as if trying to avoid the pressure.
“…I guess you could see it that way.”
The hand Rion had used to grab Yu-won’s wrist had gradually slid down until he was now holding his hand. Yu-won didn’t pull away or return the gesture—he simply stared at their joined hands in silence.
“We’ve fought a lot, and honestly, I haven’t always been the most understanding either… But after talking yesterday, I realized we were both just on edge.”
Yu-won’s expression looked incredibly uncomfortable, but Rion pretended not to notice and kept talking.
“So I want to try getting along better. I mean, sure, everyone already knows all about me from the internet, but I don’t usually open up like that myself. Saying it out loud made me feel like we got a bit closer.”
“Ah…”
“What, you gonna go blab about it somewhere?”
“What? No.”
“I’m kidding. It’s fine even if you do. Honestly, it’d be harder to find someone who doesn’t know about it.”
Yu-won looked genuinely flustered for once, and Rion let out a soft laugh. Feeling like the mood wasn’t so bad, he threw out a line that was half joke, half serious.
“Our matching rate’s already 99 percent, so I can’t help but wonder… what would happen if you liked me just a little bit more?”
“…What?”
Yu-won’s delayed reaction made Rion briefly question whether he’d just messed up. But it was too late to take it back.
“I mean, everyone knows matching rate’s influenced by closeness and feelings, right? With our rate already this high, if you started liking me just a bit more… maybe we’d hit an unprecedented 100 percent.”
Rion shrugged playfully. Of course, he knew 100 percent was a fantasy. But then again, wasn’t 99 percent just as ridiculous?
“Wait. Would it work the same way if I liked you more?”
While speaking, Rion snapped his fingers lightly, struck by a thought.
They were both uncomfortable with this situation anyway—so wouldn’t it be the same even if only one of them grew more attached?
“Alright, I’ll try liking you more too.”
Rion said it as if making a resolution. It was only a 1 percent difference, but maybe even that little bit could help fix their strained relationship.
Just that single drop could be the life-giving water their rocky bond desperately needed.
“So you try a little too, alright? You know I’ve got a short fuse. I blow up easily. Even though I’m the sunbae, I know it’s immature, but… try to understand, okay? I’ll work on it too.”
“…I don’t think I can like you any more than I already do.”
Crack. It was like Rion could hear a vein bulging on his forehead. He’d poured his heart into this embarrassingly sappy talk, and this was the reply he got? He felt his temper rising, but then Yu-won added one more thing.
“But… I’ll try to be someone you can like more.”
Yu-won’s hand, still held in Rion’s, seemed to tremble slightly. Was it just his imagination? Rion glanced down at their hands, then looked back up at Yu-won’s face.
His expression was calm, as if to say the trembling was all in Rion’s head. Maybe it was just the sunlight, but Yu-won’s cheeks looked faintly flushed—but only just.
“I’ll try.”
A statement that contrasted with his earlier words.
Rion paused, wondering how to interpret it, but decided to take it positively. He gave Yu-won’s hand a little shake.
“Yeah. Let’s do our best. No more fighting—we’ll get along from now on.”
“…Okay.”
Yu-won nodded. Rion, in a slightly teasing tone, added,
“By the way, I saw you getting along really well with Ye-ju noona earlier. It’s great to get along with the others too, but… try to be closest with me, alright?”
“…”
“I get jealous, you know.”
Of course I’d feel bad if my matching Guide—who can’t stand me—gets along fine with everyone else. No wonder I felt weird earlier.
Rion chuckled to himself. It was a good thing that Yu-won was on good terms with the team, but now he understood why it rubbed him the wrong way. After hearing Tae-hwan and Hee-soo talk, it all clicked.
“We’re a matched Esper and Guide. It’d be nice if we could be someone special to each other.”
It was like he could never fully let go of his feelings for Yu-won, even when they were constantly fighting.
And after opening up so much yesterday, he’d clearly gotten his hopes up.
“You know I’m not saying you shouldn’t get along with the others, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Good. Maybe it’s not exactly a secret, but I don’t usually talk about this kind of stuff. I guess that’s why I feel kinda weird.”
Rion scratched the back of his head awkwardly, like he was finally feeling embarrassed after saying all that cheesy stuff.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you.”
It had been a long day since early morning, full of unexpected events. Rion started walking ahead, lost in thought.
“If we stay out any longer, the others’ll think I dragged you off to chew you out. Come on, let’s head back.”
The tips of Rion’s ears were slightly pink. He’d sworn over and over never to put hope in Yu-won again, but this time… it really did feel different.
“What the— You were gone so long we were about to go looking for you.”
“I figured. We didn’t talk about anything serious.”
“Hey, someone check if Yu-won’s got any bruises in places we can’t see.”
The team threw in comments, clearly teasing. Rion waved a hand to shoo them away.
“Hey, hey, I’m not some kind of monster, alright? Right?”
“Yeah. We just talked a bit and came back.”
“He’s your only matching Guide—nothing wrong with treating him well.”
As Rion said that, he placed a hand on Yu-won’s shoulder. Immediately, all the team’s eyes snapped toward Yu-won.
No way… no way he’s gonna swat that hand away, right?
Rion-sunbae, don’t push it…
Why test fate when the mood’s finally good…?
Ooooh, here comes the drama.
Tension and silence rippled through the group. In that moment, Yu-won—now the center of attention—spoke.
“Yeah. He’s my only matching Esper.”
“See? Nothing happened. Stop being so dramatic and get dinner ready. They said the boss could show up any time starting tomorrow, so think of today as your last break.”
“They say people act weird before they die…”
“Yu-won, if something’s wrong, don’t hide it. I might not be much help, but…”
“Oh my god, quit being so dramatic.”
Rion shooed away the crowd gathering around Yu-won.
Sure, I did say I’d be a total idiot if I gave him one more chance… but isn’t this level of suspicion a bit much?
He grumbled internally at his teammates.
Meanwhile, one person stood apart from the group, not suspicious or worried—but intrigued.
“Hmmm.”
“Jin-ha oppa, Rion-sunbae didn’t, like, hit Yu-won or threaten him or anything… right?”
“I don’t think so. Rion might have a temper, but he’s not the type to go around punching people.”
“Still…”
With a look of genuine amusement, Jin-ha glanced back and forth between Rion and Yu-won.
He looked like someone with a whole lot of questions.
