# Chapter 22
Hajin pressed against his throbbing forehead and took a deep breath. Just be patient one more time. It’s not like he was actually going to fight with that young man anyway.
But Han Jiwoo, oblivious to Hajin’s efforts, scrunched his face and raised his voice even more.
“Hey. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? Are you dense or what? You just need to say you understand—is that so hard?”
Maybe Han Seungho had been more polite when he didn’t know Hajin was a Guide.
Finally losing his last thread of patience with Han Jiwoo, Hajin responded coldly, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do as you say.”
Hajin decided he wouldn’t think of Han Seungho as annoying anymore. Compared to someone who blatantly lacked basic manners, Seungho’s occasional unconscious informal speech was almost endearing.
Han Jiwoo, faced with an unexpected response, closed his mouth and glared at Hajin. Seeing that expression, Hajin suddenly became curious.
Why did he hate him so much?
“What are you so afraid of?” Hajin asked bluntly.
Han Jiwoo’s brow contorted unpleasantly. “…Huh? You think I’m afraid?”
“If not, there’s no need to be so defensive. Just because I’m an S-class Guide doesn’t mean you’ll be kicked out.”
Hajin was right. Han Jiwoo wouldn’t be expelled just because Hajin had appeared. He would simply return to his position as an A-class Guide.
But for Han Jiwoo, it wasn’t as simple as that. He had put in grueling effort to be able to Guide S-class Espers.
“An A-class who could have been S-class.” That was the evaluation he received when first tested.
At first, he thought it meant he was comparable to S-class, but that wasn’t it. As time passed, he understood the true meaning behind those words.
An A-class who “could have been” S-class. It meant that, regardless of potential, he was still just an A-class.
Yet Han Jiwoo hadn’t given up. Even when he got nosebleeds during Guiding, he persevered until he could manage even a minimal influence on S-class Espers. But with Hajin’s existence, all those efforts had turned to nothing.
‘If it weren’t for this bastard, I could have aimed for the position of S-class exclusive Guide…’
Because of this, sometimes A-class Espers couldn’t receive proper Guiding.
It created situations where the secondary issues became bigger than the primary ones, but from the Association’s perspective, even if Han Jiwoo’s Guiding was weak, it could still lower an S-class Esper’s runaway values, so they supported him despite the A-class Espers’ complaints.
And now, someone had appeared who instantly turned all his efforts to dust.
‘After everything I went through to get here…’
Han Jiwoo felt wronged. Despite his endless efforts, he could barely manage to Guide enough to lower runaway values. Yet the Guide standing before him had even put an S-class Esper to sleep.
“I understand how you feel, but is there really a need to go this far? I’m only going to work moderately anyway.”
‘You understand how I feel…?’
To Han Jiwoo, those words were nothing short of deception. But he couldn’t say anything. How could he admit that Hajin’s very existence was a threat to him?
Instead of answering, he deflected.
“S-so, you’re planning to take all the S-class Espers and expand your influence?”
“When did I ever say that?”
“That’s what you meant!”
Hajin looked up at the sky. Suddenly, he felt a sense of futility.
He needed to head to the classroom soon—why was he even trying to persuade this person?
Feeling it was all pointless, Hajin decided to end the conversation. No matter what he said, Han Jiwoo would interpret it as he pleased, so there was no need to continue.
“Think whatever you want. I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”
As Hajin turned to leave, Han Jiwoo grabbed him.
“I wasn’t done talking! Where do you think you’re going?”
He gripped so tightly that the new clothes Cha Jinwoo had given Hajin became badly wrinkled.
Frowning—a rare sight—Hajin raised his free hand and removed Han Jiwoo’s grip.
The movement seemed almost courteous in its slowness, but Han Jiwoo tensed at the strength behind it. After brushing off the wrinkles to make his clothes somewhat presentable again, Hajin walked away without another word.
Left alone, Han Jiwoo trembled, biting his lip in humiliation and defeat.
* * *
“Guide Lee Hajin!”
As Hajin hurried toward the classroom, he encountered Lee Suyeon at the door. She seemed to have come looking for him when he didn’t arrive for class on time.
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit late.”
“Oh my, I was worried something had happened.”
Seeing Lee Suyeon genuinely clutching her chest in relief, Hajin felt somewhat apologetic.
“I’m sorry. I ran into Guide Han Jiwoo and had a brief conversation.”
“Guide Han Jiwoo? …Are you okay?”
Lee Suyeon examined Hajin with her eyes, apparently concerned he might have been harmed, but Hajin found her gaze burdensome and embarrassing.
“Why wouldn’t I be? We’re both Guides.”
“Well… let’s go inside.”
Apparently deciding this wasn’t a conversation for the hallway, Lee Suyeon opened the door and entered the classroom. After carefully closing the door, she continued what she had been saying.
“Honestly, as the Guide training supervisor, saying this is like spitting in my own face, but most Guides here don’t have good personalities.”
Hajin agreed completely. He almost nodded vigorously but managed to restrain himself and waited for her to continue.
“As I mentioned in the previous class, when you gather people ranked by ability, they don’t exactly grow up to be nice. Add a high-matching Esper to that, and they feel invincible.”
“Doesn’t the Association pay attention to character education?”
It was a sensitive topic for someone who had just recently joined the Association, but Lee Suyeon didn’t seem to mind. She only offered a bitter smile.
“I’ve brought it up many times. But everything runs smoothly without it, so why bother? No matter how nasty Guides get, they don’t have the same power as Espers, and they’re content in their own little kingdoms, so there’s no need to look elsewhere.”
Hajin clicked his tongue softly. Catching the sound, Lee Suyeon sighed quietly.
“Anyway, among all the Guides, Han Jiwoo is particularly greedy. Usually, Guides are satisfied with one high-matching Esper, but Han Jiwoo is determined enough to try Guiding S-class Espers despite being A-class himself.”
This time, Hajin couldn’t help but nod. That man certainly seemed excessively greedy.
“It’s an open secret that the Association was considering investing more in Guide Han Jiwoo to make him an S-class exclusive Guide.”
“And then I showed up.”
Lee Suyeon nodded heavily.
“That’s right. That’s probably why Guide Han Jiwoo hates you even more. He wouldn’t dare resort to violence directly, but it’s better to be careful. I think you should keep your distance from Guide Han Jiwoo.”
So that’s why he hated Hajin so intensely—there was such a backstory. Not that Hajin felt particularly sorry about it. He nodded.
“Well then, shall we start the lesson? You learned about Guiding methods in the last class.”
Guiding methods were mainly divided into two types: Radiation Guiding and Contact Guiding. Both carried their literal meanings.
Radiation Guiding was a method of spreading Guiding without physical contact.
Contact Guiding, on the other hand, had more varied approaches. It ranged from lightly holding hands to, for maximum efficiency, not even refusing intimacy—a detail that had shocked Hajin considerably.
“In Guide Lee Hajin’s case, since you can put an Esper to sleep just by touching them, intimate Guiding won’t be necessary if you don’t want it. However…”
“However? Is there a problem?”
Curious about her trailing words, Hajin tilted his head.
“No, it’s not exactly a problem. Or is it? Hmm, you might need to Guide through mucosal contact with Espers.”
Might need to? Hajin’s confusion deepened at the implication that this could become an obligation regardless of personal preference.
“Please explain more precisely.”
Lee Suyeon continued her explanation.
“When Espers suffer external injuries, they can be treated by medical Espers, but internal injuries are different.”
“Internal injuries?”
“Yes. In cases where they suffer internal injuries from another Esper’s power or from failing to control their own power, only Guiding through mucosal contact can heal the Esper.”
Lee Suyeon smiled awkwardly at Hajin, who was still raising his eyebrows in confusion.
“It’s hard to understand, isn’t it? To be honest, this area is still not fully researched. Despite years of study, the exact reason hasn’t been discovered.”
Since it wasn’t her fault, Hajin shook his head.
“So you’re saying I should be prepared to at least kiss someone if needed.”
“Yes. But don’t worry too much—Alpha Team, with Guide Lee Hajin, is unlikely to suffer internal injuries anyway.”
Lee Suyeon was trying her best not to alarm Hajin. Guides who entered as children and grew up in the system didn’t mind having to kiss or sometimes even have sexual relations to perform Guiding as adults.
Moreover, they didn’t have issues with same-gender interactions. But Hajin was a man who had lived a normal life until he was thirty-two.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
