126
Even A+ grade guides were treated like royalty. Just adding a ‘+’ meant scout offers pouring in from everywhere, and they could go to any country they wanted.
Throughout history, only one S-grade guide had emerged in Korea. Decades ago, an ordinary elementary school teacher suddenly manifested as an S-grade guide, turning the whole country upside down.
At that time, guides weren’t treated well in Korea, so she left for abroad without hesitation. It was a wise choice.
Even now, guides A+ grade and above frequently changed guilds, securing higher contract fees each year. Countries with abundant capital competed fiercely to recruit newly manifested talents every year. They coveted not just S-grade, but even A-grade guides with exceptional physical abilities.
But SS-grade? There were only two SS-grade guides in the whole world. One of them was nearing retirement age, so there was essentially only one.
“Geonho hyung.”
Seojun, returning to Building C, called out to Geonho walking ahead. They were on their way back after sharing their surprised reactions to the news of Siwoo’s grade assessment.
They wanted to stay with Siwoo a bit longer, but our responsible SS-grade Guide told them to go. He showed overflowing enthusiasm, saying he would go straight to training now that his grade was out.
Not only was he seriously pretty, but his grade was unrealistically high, and he was passionate and diligent as a guide. Since leaving the dormitory, Geonho had been chuckling and shaking his head like someone who’d lost his mind.
No matter how he thought about it, Han Siwoo was like a protagonist from a movie or comic. He was the very embodiment of a hero character who appears to save pathetic guys. Fucking beautiful and sexy.
“Geonho hyung. Let’s talk for a moment.”
Geonho, lost in his thoughts, belatedly turned his head. He hadn’t heard Seojun calling because he was thinking about Siwoo.
“Aren’t you worried?”
“About what?”
Seojun held back a sigh as he faced Geonho, who was relaxed and free of tension. Even Jihan hyung, who was usually laid-back about everything, couldn’t hide his anxiety, so why wasn’t Geonho worried at all?
“About the Guide’s grade. With that level, it’s obvious that even foreign countries will go crazy trying to recruit him.”
He could barely bring himself to say the words ‘SS-grade’. He lowered his voice subtly, worried someone might overhear.
“Who cares if they go crazy? He’s our guide.”
“That’s true for now. But that could change at any time, right?”
Geonho tilted his head. His expression suggested he thought Seojun was talking nonsense. Seojun’s head tilted to the side in response.
“Han Siwoo is our guide. Now and in the future.”
“Geonho hyung, have you already forgotten?”
Seojun brought up an unpleasant topic. He tried to instill a sense of caution in Geonho by reminding him of how their initial relationship with Siwoo had been.
“We brought him here by force, didn’t we? And the Guide… likes money.”
As Seojun trailed off, Geonho blinked slowly. His red eyes rolled up slightly before returning to their original position.
“We have a lot of money too.”
“The problem is that there are places with even more.”
“We just need to give him as much as he wants.”
“What if it’s beyond what we can offer?”
“Hey.”
Geonho flicked Seojun’s forehead hard and spoke in a firm tone.
“Han Siwoo isn’t the kind of guide who’d be swayed by mere money.”
Seojun, caught off guard, slightly lost his balance from the forehead flick. It felt like he’d been hit with a hammer rather than a finger.
“If money was his goal, would he be working this hard? He’d just be killing time doing some basic radial guiding.”
Seojun looked at Geonho, who was grinning while rubbing his forehead. He looked happier than he’d ever seen him before. Or should he say, more at peace?
“He’s going to protect us.”
“…”
“So we just need to protect him with our lives.”
Geonho slapped Seojun’s shoulder and entered the building first. He seemed overflowing with confidence in his ability to protect Siwoo. He didn’t seem worried at all about being abandoned.
When did he start trusting him so much?
“…Says the one who trusted him the least.”
Seojun pressed his forehead as he watched Geonho’s back as he strode ahead. The spot where he’d been flicked still throbbed. There was also an annoying energy lingering.
* * *
Siwoo came for guiding training, brushing off the espers who were begging him to rest for the day. He was about to go alone, but allowed only Jihan to accompany him after he coaxed him with teleportation. However, he ended up being tricked again by that cunning bastard.
“I’m really going to hit you properly one of these days.”
Siwoo, who had already thoroughly hit Jihan’s back, grumbled. He couldn’t help but be angry. He’d asked to be taken directly to the front of the training building, but Jihan had brought him to a place that was still a long walk away. As always, Jihan was all talk.
“We’ll get there in 30 minutes. If we walk fast, it’s possible in 15 minutes.”
“You said you’d take me right in front of the building!”
“Walking is good for you. Look at the sky. The weather is perfect today.”
Jihan walked close to Siwoo’s side, bowing slightly. He knew Siwoo would be angry, but he couldn’t resist his desire to deceive him. He wanted to spend more time alone with him.
“Get lost. I’ll go by myself.”
Siwoo’s pride was hurt for falling for Jihan’s tricks again. With a thoroughly sulky face, he walked as fast as he could, exhaling through his nose. Now he looked more like an angry baby rhino than a cat.
“What’s the rush? Let’s walk slowly.”
Jihan followed, subtly surrounding Siwoo with his psychic power, worried he might fall. He knew Siwoo had an impatient personality, but he didn’t expect him to go straight to training like this.
Our Guide is probably the only person who goes for training on the day their grade is announced. And it’s not even a common grade, but SS-grade. His diligence made Jihan feel uneasy.
“Is your goal perhaps to become the world’s number one guide? Is that why you’re working so hard?”
“Hey, Yoo Jihan.”
Siwoo, who had been walking like a rhino looking only ahead, turned towards Jihan. Jihan, who had been walking while looking only at the back of Siwoo’s round head, almost bumped his chin into the white face. That’s how focused he had been on Siwoo’s back.
“Don’t you feel sorry for your juniors, being an older brother?”
Siwoo glared at Jihan with a deep sigh. He had already explained his reasons for wanting to do on-site guiding until his mouth was sore. Yet, he was irritated by Jihan’s nonsense about aiming to be world number one.
“I have to go out for them to be able to go out too. How many times do I have to say it?”
“You only said it once.”
“What do you mean once!”
Siwoo, who had raised his fist in anger, hesitated. Come to think of it, he might have only told Jihan once. He was a bit confused because he had repeated it while trying to persuade Kang Geonho and the youngest.
“You only told me once.”
Jihan grabbed Siwoo’s cute fist, pressing his palm against it. Then he unfolded the fist and properly interlaced their fingers.
“Are you confusing what you said to other guys with what you said to me?”
He pouted, saying he felt hurt, and swung their intertwined hands. Unlike his light gesture, his expression looked genuinely hurt. It was probably just an act again.
“That could happen. Why are you nitpicking?”
Siwoo, who had to deal with multiple espers alone, took a strong stance. He felt that if he apologized and paid attention to every little thing like this, there would be no end to it. Above all, he didn’t want to get caught up in Jihan’s pace.
“I’m not nitpicking, I’m saying I feel hurt. Pity us all equally.”
“You’re not pitiful. And stop acting like a child! You’re older!”
It wasn’t like he was just a year or two older. It was ridiculous that this guy, who was seven years older than the youngest, was grumbling. It was hard to believe he was the same age as the mature leader. Where had all those years gone?
“I’m quite struggling too. I’ve got a canker sore from fatigue.”
Jihan stuck out his tongue, telling Siwoo to look. Siwoo leaned in close to look, narrowing his eyes. Far from a canker sore, there wasn’t even any white coating. It just looked clean and healthy pink.
“Touch it. It’s hard and painful.”
“You perverted bastard!”
Just as Siwoo, realizing Jihan’s prank, was about to unleash a string of curse words, Jihan hugged him tightly and teleported them to the front of the training building. As much as he regretted it, he decided to let him go at this point. He couldn’t let their precious Guide walk any further. He was also worried about angering him more.
“Is this good enough now?”
Siwoo, looking at the building they had arrived at in an instant, just hit Jihan’s Adam’s apple hard. He should have done this from the start. Grumbling and glaring at him, he tried to quickly enter when there were no people around. Fortunately, there was no one coming or going near the entrance. Everyone seemed to be in the middle of training.
“Don’t overdo it. If anyone bothers you, tell me right away.”
Jihan opened the door for him and said goodbye reluctantly. He found it hard to let Siwoo go alone.
“You’re the one who shouldn’t overdo it.”
Siwoo grabbed the door himself and pushed Jihan out. He thought Siwoo would just go in like that. But he stood there holding the door for a moment.
“Hey, you know…”
“Want to go back to the dorm?”
Jihan, mistaking Siwoo’s hesitation, reached out his hand. Siwoo slapped that hand away and opened his mouth hesitantly.
“Is… Kang Taebeom doing well?”
Although Jihan clearly heard, he didn’t answer right away. He just tilted his head slightly.
“Didn’t you two meet recently?”
It hadn’t even been a week since they last met. Siwoo knew this, but he was still curious. He wanted to check on Kang Taebeom’s condition every day if he could. Even if his wavelength readings were fine, he could still be physically ill. Knowing his condition made Siwoo even more worried.
“Just answer me. He’s okay, right?”
Jihan looked silently at Siwoo asking again, then smiled gently.
“Our leader, well, he’s always perfect.”
Only after hearing the answer did Siwoo enter the building. Jihan didn’t leave even after the snow-white back of Siwoo’s head disappeared in an instant. The question Siwoo had left behind out of the blue strangely bothered him.
Why did he ask if the leader was okay?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
