3) How They Act in a Depraved Guideverse Novel
His entire body went limp.
Eun-jo, slumped in a folding chair, dragged a hand over his face. His eyelids hung half-shut, and every trace of color had drained from his face. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he collapsed at any second.
Eun-jo let his whole body sag.
“At this rate, I’m gonna die. Seriously die…….”
A voice rough with exhaustion spilled out. Forcing his heavy eyelids open, Eun-jo glared at the Gate floating in the air.
“And they still call themselves human…….?”
The events of the previous night flashed rapidly through his mind above the Gate.
It had started with Lee Sang-heon.
Last night had been Lee Sang-heon’s turn, and the problem was that moaning had leaked through the crack in the door. Jung Tae-seok had rushed over first, followed by Park Se-yul, then Jin Mu-seong and Heo Nan-gyeom joined in, and after that it had become complete chaos.
Eventually, Eun-jo had even forgotten his shame and burst into tears. He begged them to save him, cried that he couldn’t do it anymore, passed out, woke back up, and kept getting fucked over and over again in a cycle. He could still vividly remember the window outside slowly growing brighter through his shaking vision.
As a result, Eun-jo had become a boneless invertebrate draped over a chair.
“Guide-nim, are you alright?”
When he turned his head, he saw a researcher carrying a cup of coffee. The researcher flinched upon seeing the dark circles beneath Eun-jo’s eyes.
The nation’s first S-Rank Guide.
He was famous for both his rank and the fact that five Espers were tied to him, but what made Yeo Eun-jo even more popular was his face.
A radiant appearance and exceptional eloquence. People went wild over how photogenic he looked from every angle. Some even joked that he must’ve been a celebrity in his past life because every time he gave an interview, he spoke so softly and beautifully.
“Even my bias protects me!”
Where else could you find a bias like this?!
The researcher, a first-generation member of Yeo Eun-jo’s fan café, screamed internally. The reason they’d volunteered for a Gate dispatch that everyone else hated was solely to witness this glorious face in person. Composing themself, the researcher held out the coffee.
“Um… your condition doesn’t seem very good. Wouldn’t it be better to wait at the Center?”
“It’s alright.”
Dipping his head slightly, Eun-jo accepted the coffee.
“Still, it sounds like this Gate’s going to take quite a while…….”
“It’ll be over soon. Probably.”
After taking a sip of coffee, Eun-jo muttered with a face that finally looked somewhat alive.
“They kept seriously warning me not to go anywhere, and if they come out late after all that, they’re not even human anymore.”
“Pardon?”
“No, wait. They never were in the first place.”
That was exactly how it had been this morning too.
When he’d regained consciousness, everything had already been cleaned up as if nothing had happened. His body had been washed spotless, and Park Se-yul, Heo Nan-gyeom, and Lee Sang-heon had already left for their assignments.
“You’re way too fragile like this.”
After dressing his limp body, Jin Mu-seong had simply slung him over his shoulder. Just like that, he’d been transported all the way to the Gate entrance.
Jung Tae-seok had pulled a folding chair out from somewhere, and Jin Mu-seong had draped a blanket over it.
Eun-jo blankly watched them work together perfectly despite how much they usually growled at each other.
“Don’t go anywhere, hyung.”
After carefully sitting Eun-jo down, Jung Tae-seok fiddled with his hands regretfully as he muttered,
“We’ll be out soon, so stay here.”
“I don’t even have the energy to go anywhere…….”
“Really? Is that why you had enough energy to run all the way to the airport before?
“……”
Eun-jo immediately shut his mouth.
Whenever they brought up the time he’d packed his bags and tried to run away, even someone as silver-tongued as Eun-jo had nothing to say. Instead of answering, he brushed his thumb lightly over the hand holding his.
“I told you, I wasn’t actually trying to leave.”
“Then what? You weren’t trying to run away either?”
The corner of Tae-seok’s mouth twisted upward.
Sharp bastard.
Turning his head away slightly, Eun-jo stroked his hand again. It meant let this slide too.
Tae-seok’s gaze lingered briefly on the puffed-out cheek jutting in protest. He wanted to shove it into his mouth and suck on it immediately, but there were too many reporters and Center staff watching.
If a photo of him sucking Eun-jo’s cheek ended up on the nine o’clock news, Yeo Eun-jo would definitely throw a pillow at his face later.
“So annoying, Yeo Eun-jo.”
Pretending not to notice, Tae-seok squeezed Eun-jo’s hand tightly before finally leaving. Remembering the gaze that had remained fixed on his cheek until Tae-seok disappeared into the Gate, Eun-jo smiled faintly.
At that moment, light burst from the Gate.
It was the signal that the core had been destroyed safely.
Earlier than expected, researchers hurried frantically back and forth in front of the Gate.
“Bring the measuring device first!”
“Has anyone contacted the Center yet?”
Eun-jo grew anxious too and pushed himself to his feet.
At that exact moment, all the strength abruptly drained from his legs, and his balance tilted.
Huh?
It happened in an instant.
As he hurriedly reached for the table, he accidentally knocked over the coffee cup. Coffee spilled everywhere from the fallen cup, and Eun-jo’s hand slipped hard across it.
“Guide-nim!”
An urgent shout rang out, and the world flipped upside down in slow motion.
In the distance, Jung Tae-seok’s face came into view as he sprinted over from the Gate entrance.
He looked just as frantic as he had at the airport back then.
That’s why I told you bastards to stop overdoing it……
Thunk.
Pain exploded through his head as if it were splitting open.
The last thing he saw was darkness.
***
The entire Center was in an uproar.
Even though Jung Tae-seok had used his ability immediately after the accident, Eun-jo still hadn’t regained consciousness.
They’d run every test imaginable, but all they found was signs of a mild concussion.
Which meant there was no actual cause.
The attending physician stopped in front of the sleeping Eun-jo and cleared his throat awkwardly.
Immediately, vicious stares latched onto him.
“Th-there don’t appear to be any other issues in the examination results. The damage from the impact has completely recovered as well.”
“Then why the hell isn’t he waking up?”
Jung Tae-seok, who had been holding Eun-jo’s hand the entire time, abruptly shot to his feet. Wearing a dangerous expression, he loomed over the doctor.
“If he’s fine, he should wake up. Do you know how many hours it’s been?”
“Sit down.”
Jin Mu-seong spoke lowly from the guardian’s seat.
“Yelling won’t change anything.”
Whirling around, Jung Tae-seok glared at Jin Mu-seong instead of the doctor this time.
From the moment they’d arrived at the Center, Tae-seok had been raging nonstop, unlike Jin Mu-seong, who had sat silently the entire time. He simply stared at Eun-jo without moving, as if nailed in place.
Fuck, what’s staring supposed to do?
Frustration exploding inside him, Tae-seok snapped irritably.
“They dragged him around for two fucking hours of tests and still found nothing!”
“Jung Tae-seok.”
A grinding sound escaped from behind tightly clenched teeth.
Sharp eyes turned toward Tae-seok.
“You trying to wake him up with all that noise?”
The warning gaze returned to Eun-jo again.
“Usually when someone faints, it takes at least two or three hours before they wake up. Stop making a scene.”
The doctor glanced between the two men as the atmosphere turned icy.
Then his gaze dropped below Jin Mu-seong’s pants.
A sneaker was on his right foot, while a dress shoe was on his left.
Good lord.
He looked calm, but he clearly wasn’t sane either.
Before anyone noticed him staring, the doctor hurriedly looked away and flipped through the test results.
“One possible guess……”
The moment he spoke, both men’s gazes immediately locked onto him.
“Guide-nim’s basic stamina is extremely depleted. Has he perhaps overexerted himself recently?”
“We practically kept him wrapped in cotton. What overexertion?”
“Has he been unable to sleep?”
“…….”
Tae-seok, who had answered curtly until now, suddenly pressed his lips shut.
“Or perhaps engaged in activities exhausting enough to cause severe fatigue.”
“……”
“He’s Team A’s Guide, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then he has four assigned Espers. Is that right?”
“……”
This time, Jin Mu-seong’s lips closed heavily.
Reading the silence, the doctor lowered his gaze back to the report with an understanding expression.
At that moment, the eyelids that had remained shut the whole time slowly opened.
As soon as those lovely eyes appeared, Jung Tae-seok immediately leaned forward.
“Yeo Eun-jo. Eun-jo!”
Blink. Blink.
His eyes opened and closed slowly.
If only he’d say something.
As the silence dragged on, Tae-seok became increasingly frantic. From his hands to his arms and legs, he touched Eun-jo everywhere while continuously asking questions.
“Does anything hurt? Is your head okay?”
“……”
“Where you hit yourself—does anything feel sore?”
Still, no answer came from Eun-jo.
He merely looked around busily as if trying to figure out where he was.
Practically collapsing beside the bed, Tae-seok clutched Eun-jo’s hand and explained,
“This is the Center treatment room. We brought you here from the Gate entrance.”
At that moment, Eun-jo’s eyes widened slightly.
Mistaking it for reproach, Tae-seok rambled on quickly.
“I healed you with my ability, but you still wouldn’t wake up……. We didn’t report it to Team Leader. Hyung.”
“Ah……..”
“I’ll write the report separately, so don’t worry about that. Fuck, if you’re hurting, how many times do I have to tell you to let me go in instead? Huh?”
Eun-jo looked like he was about to say something but pressed his lips shut instead.
Then he glanced around the hospital room once, looked at the doctor standing there awkwardly, then alternated his gaze between the two Espers.
His expression remained strangely ambiguous.
The first person to realize something was wrong was Jin Mu-seong.
Standing tall beside the bed, he tapped the floor with the tip of his shoe.
Tap. Tap.
Faster than usual.
His persistent gaze swept over Eun-jo’s stiff body and the hand awkwardly trapped in Jung Tae-seok’s grip.
At that moment, the visibly unsettled Eun-jo looked toward Jin Mu-seong.
“……!”
Startled, Eun-jo immediately jerked his head away.
The movement was quick and desperate, like a rabbit spotting a predator.
Having watched the entire exchange, Jin Mu-seong let out a low groan.
“This is……”
The tapping of his shoe stopped. Then he shoved Jung Tae-seok aside with his foot.
“The fuck are you—!”
“Yeo Eun-jo.”
Dropping to one knee, Jin Mu-seong met Eun-jo’s eyes.
“Who am I?”
“……”
Silence filled the treatment room.
Only then did Jung Tae-seok realize something was wrong and fall quiet too.
“Do you know who this is?”
After hesitating for a long while, Eun-jo slowly moved his hand.
Only after gently pulling his hand free from the large hand gripping it did he finally answer.
“Um… I…… I remember filming something.”
“……”
“Are you maybe a staff member…….?”
At last, the answer fell.
Jin Mu-seong’s brows narrowed sharply.
At the sensation of his heart dropping, Jung Tae-seok grabbed Eun-jo’s hand again.
With visibly tense eyes, Eun-jo stared down at the hand holding his.
“I’d appreciate it if you let go of my hand……. hyung.”
“Hyung?”
Suspicion deepened further in Eun-jo’s eyes.
Apparently, a stalker had infiltrated the staff.
Quickly pulling both hands away, he hid them beneath the blanket before looking up at the stunned doctor.
“Doctor, please call my manager.”
The eighteen-year-old Yeo Eun-jo was extremely sharp and fierce.
***
Nothing made sense.
His last memory was being at a filming set.
After endless overnight shoots, he’d been so exhausted he felt ready to collapse at any second. With his hair and makeup perfectly done, Eun-jo checked that filming would resume in two hours and found a quiet corner.
Lying down on a folding chair, he held up a workbook.
I’ve got a mock exam tomorrow…….
Before he could even finish reading question one, his entire body had melted like slime.
That was his final memory.
And now, after completing three hours of examinations and interviews, Eun-jo was being transferred home.
This seriously isn’t some variety show?
Throughout the tests, he’d kept waiting for a hidden MC to suddenly appear, but that never happened. Only more researchers in white coats kept popping out from nowhere.
Even after getting into the car, Eun-jo searched around for hidden cameras before sneaking a glance at Jung Tae-seok in the driver’s seat.
Espers, Guides…… they just keep saying weird shit.
The attending physician who had questioned him earlier had explained awkwardly that Yeo Eun-jo himself was a Guide, and the two men in the treatment room were his Espers.
After rambling for quite a while about a world where Guides and Espers existed, the doctor heard Eun-jo mention he was still a student. He’d briefly stepped out of the consultation room afterward and never returned.
Apparently, he’d gone to discuss Eun-jo’s living arrangements with the other two.
As a result, Eun-jo was currently heading home with one of his so-called “Espers.”
He’d suit being an actor.
Beneath soft light-brown hair was a gentle-looking face.
He was handsome enough that he wouldn’t look out of place on a filming set at all.
At least if he stopped frowning so much.
“What?”
“No, it’s just…….”
The moment their eyes met, Eun-jo quickly turned his head toward the opposite window.
Outside, scenery similar to the world he used to know passed by.
Except for the Center advertisements plastered everywhere.
After carefully choosing his words, Eun-jo finally spoke.
