“You got everything set up already, huh.”
“Vendors are pretty fast these days.”
“How much was all this? I’m the one who’s gonna use the bed, I should pay for it.”
“It’s fine. Just think of it as a housewarming gift.”
“Hey, I’ve got money, okay? You trying to make me look like the kind of senior who mooches off a newbie that just joined less than a year ago?”
“I’d rather have you be that kind of senior than act like some idiot dragging his feet through life like he owes the world a debt.”
“There he goes again…”
Rion frowned and shot Yu-won a glare, but Yu-won only shook his head, unfazed.
“Nope. Just take it. It’s really not a big deal for me.”
“You think I don’t know how much a rookie S-rank Guide makes? It’s not a small amount, sure… but I make way more than you do. You’ve got rent to pay, and with a place like this, the maintenance fees alone must be…”
“Why are you even worrying about that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? We’re living together now, so I need to split the costs too. I looked it up earlier while we were working—rent around here per month is…”
“You don’t have to. This place is actually a gift from my parents.”
Yu-won shook his head firmly, clearly unwilling to keep talking about money. To be honest, Rion had already figured he came from a well-off family, just from the outfit Yu-won wore on his first day at the Center. Even if that weren’t the case, the apartment and the car pretty much gave it away.
“Still, I feel bad.”
“Don’t. If you really can’t let it go, just cook dinner more often.”
“That’s not hard or anything, but…”
Rion looked at Yu-won with a face full of lingering guilt. But Yu-won wasn’t budging.
“Then that’s settled. You really don’t need to worry about stuff like this. Let’s just finish unpacking. You said you wanted to check out the home gym.”
“Oh, right. You’ve pretty much got everything in here. You don’t even need to go to a real gym anymore. I’ve been slacking off so much I feel like I’ve lost all my muscle. Might as well get back into working out…”
“Your leg’s not fully healed yet.”
“It’s fine as long as I don’t overdo it.”
“And working out isn’t overdoing it? Just being in a Gate is more than enough strain.”
Rion’s shoulders slumped under Yu-won’s firm tone. He couldn’t argue—this time, Yu-won was objectively right.
“Just check it out for now. You’ll be here for three months, so maybe you can start using it halfway through.”
“Yeah… guess I’ll just take a look today.”
Rion nodded. Things were going more smoothly than he’d expected.
Guess I’m getting used to this. If this were before, I probably would’ve blown up already.
“Man… we’re gonna be together all day now after work, huh? And I’m not even scheduled to enter a Gate for a while. Wait—what about you? Are you not going into any Gates for the time being?”
“I can’t say for sure. We haven’t officially registered as a pair.”
Yu-won shook his head. Though they hadn’t submitted a formal pair registration, he was still Rion’s match Guide, which meant they’d always been assigned to the same Gate. But since the pairing wasn’t official, situations like this could happen.
If the two of them had been officially registered as a pair, they’d be deployed together by default. And if Rion, an Esper, wasn’t going into a Gate, it would make sense for Yu-won not to either.
But they weren’t registered. And now, the Center had another Guide who could provide meaningful guiding to Rion.
On top of that, S-rank Guides were highly valuable resources. Unless officially paired, they couldn’t afford to assign one solely to a single Esper.
Since team assignments for Gate operations were handled by the Center’s system, there was a real chance Yu-won’s name could still appear on a deployment list.
“You’re right… Huh. Didn’t see that coming.”
He’d never even considered this possibility. Even if they weren’t a pair, if Rion got assigned to a Gate—which could last anywhere from three days to over a week—Yu-won had to go with him, being his match Guide. So they’d naturally been sharing schedules.
Normally, the Center Director and the staff, who were well aware of the situation, would distribute the workload accordingly. But there was no guarantee that while Rion was staying behind, Yu-won wouldn’t be sent out.
“If you’re gone for a whole week, this isn’t cohabitation—it’s just me living in your house alone.”
“True… but it’s not like I’d be gone all the time.”
“Aren’t you being a bit too optimistic?”
“It’s fine for me. But you really need to rest. And besides, if you’re not going into Gates, you won’t be in danger either, right? That’s the real relief.”
Yu-won spoke with a completely content expression. Well, of course he’d be satisfied. He’d nagged Rion to the brink of insanity about taking care of his body, so the Center Director’s decision must’ve been music to his ears.
“Must be nice for you, huh? I’m not going into any Gates, just helping out with the occasional support request. You’d love it if this went on forever, wouldn’t you?”
“Not really.”
The unexpected answer made Rion widen his eyes and look at Yu-won. Yu-won, helping him unpack, continued speaking.
“It’s not that I hate the fact that you’re an Esper. Honestly… I’ve always admired you.”
“You? Admire me?”
If he’d felt that way from the beginning, why’d he act so cold and prickly when they first met?
The words didn’t match his earlier behavior, and Rion stared at him blankly. Yu-won turned his head slightly and said quietly,
“You were already a famous Esper back when I was in middle school. Even if I didn’t care much, I still knew about you.”
“Well… sure, but knowing and liking someone aren’t the same.”
“I thought you were amazing. Enough to respect.”
“Then why didn’t you just say so from the start? Why were you such a—well—why were you such a jerk back then?”
Rion couldn’t hold back his curiosity. But instead of answering, Yu-won gave a completely unrelated response and walked off.
“Anyway, I’m not saying you shouldn’t work. I’m just saying, don’t act like you’re about to drop dead.”
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I think I should tidy up the storage room. You keep working on the bedroom.”
“You could’ve at least answered me…”
Rion grumbled with a sulky expression, clearly annoyed at not getting the answer he wanted. Seriously, what the hell was going on in that guy’s head?
Rion turned back to organizing the stack of guiding-related books he’d brought from the Center. Sure, the goal of this cohabitation was to improve his relationship with Yu-won—but there was something else just as important.
“The efficiency seems a little low considering how high your matching rate is.”
“Really? I feel totally fine though.”
“That’s not the issue. You’re both S-rank, and your matching rate is exceptional. Plus, your previous condition was pretty bad. So of course things seem better now—but based on your compatibility, the efficiency is still lower than expected. I think it’s because you’ve only been doing basic guiding.”
Rion recalled what a Center staffer had told him. Despite both being S-rank and having an outstanding matching rate, their guiding efficiency wasn’t as good as it should be.
“So… are you saying we need to try… a different kind of guiding?”
“Oh! Don’t get too nervous. It doesn’t have to be mucosal guiding. But compared to just holding hands, methods that involve broader physical contact and a relaxed state tend to be more effective.”
Rion had stiffened at the memory of that unfortunate kiss incident inside the Gate, but eventually relaxed his frown.
“Of course, mucosal guiding is the most effective and helps with adaptation, but unless you’re in a romantic relationship, it’s a bit much. It’s better to build up step by step, slowly increasing contact. Also, if your body is tense, it reduces efficiency.”
“Then… could you recommend some less extreme guiding methods?”
The book they’d recommended was buried in the back of Rion’s dormitory drawer. He must’ve shoved it there, thinking there was no way he’d go beyond holding hands when just that was enough to make his blood boil.
But now, he felt differently. He wanted to get along with Yu-won better—and if boosting guiding efficiency came along with it, that was a bonus.
“Guiding is not merely an act of assisting in recovery. Guiding is…”
“Okay, skip all that.”
Skimming past the painfully cliché intro, Rion flipped through the slim volume until he found what he was looking for.
“The basic form of guiding is hand-to-hand contact. The most effective guiding involves mucosal contact. However, if such contact feels psychologically difficult, it’s better to proceed in gradual stages.”
The book even came with illustrations. Thankfully, the poses were tame enough that he didn’t end up tossing the book across the room in horror.
“Start light, like putting an arm around the shoulders. Then move on to hugging. Holding someone from behind while fully leaning into them is said to be psychologically comforting too…”
A casual arm-around-the-shoulder? That shouldn’t be too hard once they got a bit closer living together. Rion raised his arm and mimed slinging it around someone’s shoulder in the air.
I could probably pull that off today if I wanted to.
Maybe it was because they hadn’t fought once during the move-in, but a baseless confidence started swelling in Rion’s chest. He shoved the book back in the drawer and stood up.
Wearing a look of fierce determination, Rion crept out of the room to find Yu-won, who had gone off to tidy the storage closet.
