# Chapter 54
Jaeha didn’t want to touch his brother who kept saying sleazy things. He even slowly backed away and pressed himself against the elevator wall to keep his distance.
Something about Jaeyoon’s slight smile despite Jaeha avoiding him made Jaeha feel manipulated. He wondered if Jaeyoon had intended this situation, where Jaeha would avoid him on his own after Jaeyoon had been avoiding guiding.
‘Is my simple-minded brother being cunning?’
“How old were you when you regressed?”
“…I don’t think that’s a topic we should discuss in a public place, Hyung.”
The elevator doors opened just then, so Jaeha closed his mouth. The conversation paused briefly, then as they walked down the hallway, Jaeyoon confirmed no one was around and spoke first.
“I’ll tell you later in the room.”
“The guiding tests won’t finish until evening. Are you planning to come back in the evening?”
“No, I’ll stay with you the whole time.”
Jaeha was puzzled by Jaeyoon’s casual answer. Just a few days ago, Jaeyoon had been so busy he could only stop by to see Jaeha briefly. Come to think of it, the secretary-like person who had accompanied Jaeyoon was nowhere to be seen, and Cheonoh, who always waited outside, was also absent.
“You’re super busy, though.”
“I was busy. Now Kwon Haeil will be busier.”
“Don’t tell me you’re dumping everything on Haeil Hyung? He’s already busy – he could die from overwork.”
“Hyung.”
Jaeyoon’s expression, which had been relaxed until now, turned serious at the sight of Jaeha worrying about someone else. His voice deepened too, making Jaeha a bit tense despite their casual conversation.
“I heard you almost got hurt yesterday because of that D-class Esper.”
When Jaeha stared at him wondering how he knew, Jaeyoon met his eyes directly. The situation felt too serious to jokingly ask if Jaeyoon had been investigating him – his brother’s stern expression added gravity, giving Jaeha a chilling feeling. Sure enough, Jaeyoon’s next words were concerning.
“Those so-called guards couldn’t even properly prevent trouble before it happened.”
“That’s not true. The problem was that someone different from who was scheduled showed up, and everyone did their best.”
“If their best means letting you get hurt, they’re not needed.”
Jaeyoon grabbed Jaeha’s hand and lifted it, revealing the bruises. Seeing Jaeyoon’s frown, Jaeha became even more unsettled.
“They said it won’t happen again, so it’s fine.”
“These tests are meaningless to begin with. Rather than spending time guiding other guys, you should conserve your energy.”
Jaeha flared up at Jaeyoon’s claim that guiding tests were meaningless. He had thought the same initially, but after actually doing the guiding and reading the Guide’s rules, he realized how important this work was.
“Hey, Espers keep getting weaker when they use their powers, right? Just holding hands can help them – isn’t it selfish to think otherwise?”
“I came because I knew you’d say that.”
“What?”
“Do it if you want to. But from now on, I’ll protect you.”
Having arrived at the guiding room, Jaeyoon opened the door with a smile. When Jaeha didn’t enter and just stared at him, Jaeyoon reflected with regret.
“I should have done this from the beginning. Even if it’s slower, I should have prioritized protecting you.”
“You’re going to wait here just because I got some bruises on my hands? That’s completely inefficient.”
“You’re doing inefficient things too, Hyung. Wasting energy on Espers with minimal effect.”
“That’s because the intimacy level is low. You told me that yourself.”
As Jaeha responded without backing down, Jaeyoon moved closer. He whispered in Jaeha’s ear so the researcher watching from inside the open door couldn’t hear.
“That was a lie. What matters isn’t intimacy but rank and compatibility.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll explain that too when we’re in the room. If you’re curious, we can go back upstairs right now.”
Even after coming all this way, Jaeyoon was subtly trying to persuade Jaeha. He gently pulled Jaeha’s non-bruised hand with his gloved one. Though he wasn’t forcing him, his disapproval was clearly evident.
Just then, Lee Yuri called out carefully from inside.
“Ahem, you’re a bit late today.”
“I’m sorry. I overslept and didn’t hear my alarm.”
“There’s no need for you to apologize, Guide. We can record it as a guiding after-effect, so please don’t push yourself and just keep track of time.”
“I will.”
Feeling sorry for being late, Jaeha quickly moved inside the guiding room. As Jaeha’s hand naturally slipped away, Jaeyoon waved and smiled.
“Nothing will happen today. Relax, Hyung.”
“Of course. You should relax and get some rest too.”
Not long after the guiding room door closed, guards and Espers arrived in response to a call. They had been called at different times to avoid revealing the Guide’s existence even to the guards.
“Oh, Esper Seo Jaeyoon?”
“Hello, Esper Seo Jaeyoon!”
The guards who were walking ahead to guide the Espers quickly approached and greeted Jaeyoon when they saw him. Though they were unfamiliar faces, Jaeyoon’s expression was extremely cold as he looked at them.
Despite hearing about the importance of the tests, these guards didn’t value the Guide’s existence because as E-class Espers, they wouldn’t need guiding. They were only respectful to the Espers, treating them like seniors. Yesterday’s unfortunate incident happened because the guards had no intention of restraining the Esper. It was due to the non-cooperation of other guards that Cheonoh, a regular person, had to subdue the Esper in the guiding room.
That was only possible because the Esper was somewhat controlled – otherwise, Jaeha’s hand might have been crushed. Just imagining this made Jaeyoon’s normally quiet mana stir.
“Ugh…!”
“D-did we make some mistake…?”
Though unable to use their abilities due to the mana suppressors, both Espers and guards felt uncomfortable with the clear difference in power shown by the moving mana, causing them to adopt a submissive attitude.
When Jaeyoon just leaned against the wall and stared without answering, they each moved to their designated positions. The guard stood in front of the door, and all Espers except the first test subject entered the adjacent room to wait.
The big, gentle-looking Esper kept his eyes on the ground, intimidated by Jaeyoon’s intense stare. After several seconds of silence, while the Esper was struggling to breathe, the guiding room door opened, and he looked up with relief.
“We’ll begin the test. Esper Ko Minjae?”
“Yes, yes. Thank you.”
Esper Ko Minjae bowed deeply, expressing gratitude despite nothing having happened yet. The masked researcher thoroughly checked the Esper’s personal information and photo, then entered the guiding room through a different door. Yesterday, Cheonoh would have followed, but today Jaeyoon went in instead.
Ko Minjae, who was about to unbutton his shirt to attach patches, jumped in surprise and closed his clothes.
“W-wasn’t a guard supposed to come in with me?”
“Someone who can subdue the Esper if they break the rules is here to observe.”
When the researcher explained on behalf of Jaeyoon, who was silently glaring, Ko Minjae reluctantly sat down. Thinking there wouldn’t be any problems if he followed the rules, he tried to relax. His method was to attempt light conversation.
“Researcher, may I thank the Guide for giving me this opportunity?”
“Rule 1: Do not speak to the Guide.”
Jaeyoon’s chilling voice pierced Ko Minjae’s ears. Standing in front, lightly flexing his arms, Jaeyoon looked ready to pounce at any moment to subdue him.
“I-I haven’t actually spoken to them yet…”
“Rule 2: Do not take interest in the Guide.”
“That’s rule number 5…”
“Rule 3: Be quiet from now on. Follow the researcher’s instructions.”
After reciting the rules arbitrarily, Jaeyoon softened his tone slightly when the Esper firmly closed his mouth.
“You will cooperate. Won’t you?”
With dry eyes but a smiling mouth, Jaeyoon’s attitude suggested he wouldn’t tolerate any mischief. Ko Minjae nodded in response.
The subsequent guiding sessions were all similar. When Jaeyoon threatened with his eyes, the Espers quietly received guiding. Some blushed or couldn’t hide their excitement during guiding, but they straightened up and behaved when they met Jaeyoon’s eyes.
Unlike yesterday, there was no struggle to hold hands even a few seconds longer – they left the guiding room promptly when the session ended.
Thanks to this, Jaeha finished the tests quickly and was able to return home with Jaeyoon, who had been waiting at the door.
Though the unusual speed suggested Jaeyoon had done something, Jaeha didn’t bother asking his brother about it.
During the guiding tests, Jaeha listened to music while thinking about what had happened today. After oversleeping, he had hurriedly come down with Jaeyoon, failed at trying to provide guiding for his brother, and asked about regression. But all he had heard was about guiding efficiency and Jaeyoon’s determination to protect him from other Espers.
It had been a while since he had a normal conversation with Jaeyoon, yet all they discussed was extraordinary topics. Jaeha found this somewhat unsettling. So instead of asking about guiding, he continued with everyday conversation as usual.
“Ah, I’m hungry. Have you eaten?”
“I’m a bit peckish. You must be hungry after rushing out. Want to go to a restaurant?”
“What restaurant? I could just make some ramen… oh, I can’t do that here.”
While the dormitory had facilities for sleeping and resting, there were no kitchen facilities. There was a separate dining hall, and room service and laundry service were available, so there wasn’t much inconvenience. When Jaeha had casually asked the Joo siblings, they had said they liked it better than home.
But Jaeha found this place somewhat uncomfortable. Just as ordered food gets tiresome after a while, he missed home-cooked meals. He thought about preparing ingredients with a familiar knife, stir-frying well-seasoned meat in a comfortable pan to make spicy pork, and eating it with freshly steamed rice and easy microwave egg custard.
“Wow, I can’t stand it.”
He wanted to go back. Home.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
