“Ye-rin noona, what’s your Matching Rate with Esper Jung Jae-heon?”
“Huh?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Yoon Ye-rin. She awkwardly averted her gaze, rolling her eyes elsewhere.
“It’s 68%…”
“That’s not bad.”
“…But he’s seven years older.”
“Ah…”
“Ye-rin’s cutoff is six years max.”
“Oooh…”
“Hey, hey. Be real—do you think Esper Jung Jae-heon would even see me that way? Sure, it’s 68%, but I’ve never even Guided him.”
“True enough…”
“You agreed way too fast. That kinda pisses me off. And for the record, I’m not into older guys either!”
“Bwahaha!”
“Yeah, I get that…”
Just then—knock knock—a knock at the door. It opened, and as soon as the four of them saw who it was, they froze.
Jung Jae-heon stood in the doorway, his smile anything but amused.
“Sorry for being an old man.”
Lee Tae-rim finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Hahaha!
Jung Jae-heon shot him a glare.
“It hurts, you know. Hearing that old man stuff straight to my face.”
He strode in and placed several paper bags on the table.
“What’s all this?”
“Presents. From the old man.”
“……”
So petty. Holding a grudge already.
Jung Jae-heon pulled a cake out from one of the bags and placed it in front of Tae-rim. It was a fig cake. Not dried figs—fresh ones. But it wasn’t even fig season yet?
“You said you were craving this, didn’t you? One of the nearby Espers overheard you.”
“Oh… but why a cake?”
Tae-rim suddenly felt awkward. The whole situation made him uneasy. What is happening right now? Wait, someone overheard that? And he remembered it?
Tae-rim looked up at Jung Jae-heon with a surprised expression. So the rumors were true—that he couldn’t date anyone because he always kept his distance. Yet here he was, being this considerate toward someone he wasn’t even dating…
“Your birthday was a little while ago, right? I figured if I gave it to you on your birthday, Juho would get super jealous, so I waited until after. It’s just a snack, so share it with your friends…”
“Ah… thank you.”
“I was gonna get something else originally, but figured I should go with what you actually wanted. And this—this one’s from Hae-beom.”
“Esper Kwon Hae-beom?”
Now that was a shock. Kwon Hae-beom?
Inside the paper bag were several boxes of what were clearly expensive chocolates. There were also some fat macarons, which Jung Jae-heon said he picked up along with the cake.
“He wanted to thank you for always Guiding him, and hopes you’ll keep taking care of him.”
Jung Jae-heon said it casually, but that made it all the more surprising. Kwon Hae-beom, of all people?
Tae-rim accepted the gifts with a dazed expression.
“I’ll have to thank Esper Kwon Hae-beom properly.”
“Haha. Yeah.”
“Would you like to have some cake with us, too, Esper Jung Jae-heon…?”
Before he could even finish the sentence, the door to the Guiding Room slammed open.
It was Seon Juho.
Tae-rim chuckled as he saw Juho stomp inside, face written in big bold letters: I’M SUPER JEALOUS RIGHT NOW.
“You!”
“Jung Jae-heon sunbae.”
“I knew you were sneaking off somewhere weird!”
“Juho.”
“Hyung…”
When Tae-rim called his name with a firm tone, Juho’s face immediately crumpled.
Tae-rim gave him a gentle scolding. “Now, now.”
“Oh boy, scary scary.”
“Jung Jae-heon! …sunbae. What’s with the cake?!”
The word sunbae came out in the tiniest, most reluctant mumble imaginable. Barely audible.
Tae-rim sighed deeply.
“He brought snacks for us to share. This one’s from Esper Kwon Hae-beom.”
“What? That guy, too?!”
“Juho…”
Another deep sigh from Tae-rim, and Juho’s aggression finally began to simmer down.
Tae-rim decided this had gone far enough.
“Well, since it’s already like this, let’s all eat together. Please, take a seat, Esper Jung Jae-heon.”
“Huh? Me, too?”
“Yes. Juho, you too.”
“Hyuuung~!”
Ssss.
In the end, both Jung Jae-heon and Seon Juho sat side by side on the couch. Tae-rim brought out disposable plates and forks from the shelf. The room served as a sort of shared lounge, and Yoon Ye-rin had stocked up the place.
Tae-rim cut the cake into six slices and handed them out to everyone, then took his own seat.
“Thank you for the food.”
“Thanks for the treat, Esper Jung Jae-heon~”
“Thanks for the cake.”
“Much appreciated.”
“Ah, yeah. Hope you all enjoy it.”
Everyone chimed in with thank-yous—but Juho just sat there with his arms crossed and a sulky pout on his face.
Tae-rim figured this was a good opportunity to teach him some basic social skills.
“Juho, say thank you.”
“……”
“Juho.”
All four of them, already nibbling their cake, turned to watch the scene unfold between Tae-rim and Juho. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation, like they were watching a puppy being trained.
“Why are you only acting like this over Esper Jung Jae-heon’s gift when you didn’t say anything about the birthday presents from everyone else?”
“But…”
“Do you not trust me that much?”
“N-No! Of course not!”
“Then there’s no problem, right?”
Seon Juho’s lips jutted out a full ten centimeters. He nodded, clearly doing so against his will, looking like a kicked puppy.
“…Okay.”
“Try the cake too. It’s good.”
“…Okay.”
He took a bite and chewed like he’d been force-fed a rock. His face was priceless.
“Juho… when you eat something your hyung gave you with that expression, it really breaks his heart.”
“Yeah, right!”
Sss.
“It’s… it’s good.”
“Really?”
Jung Jae-heon’s eyes lit up as he asked. Juho grit his teeth and gave a reluctant nod—his expression practically screamed, Just wait, I’ll get you back for this. Tae-rim sighed. How am I supposed to calm him down now?
“Pwahaha! Man, I wanna watch this forever, but I’m too soft-hearted. I’ll stop. Don’t worry—I’m currently accepting applications for a hot new lover! I’m definitely going to find someone amazing to date!”
“Pfft. Like that’ll—No, wait. Yeah. Totally. You’re gonna find someone. Definitely. Someone with a Matching Rate through the roof!”
Juho flinched under Tae-rim’s sharp glare, but then his eyes blazed with renewed determination. He began shoveling cake into his mouth like a man on a mission.
“Get a dedicated partner already and stop coming to my hyung for Guiding!”
“Juho… if you say it like that, this hyung gets really sad…”
“Make sure you find a lover! Make sure! If you don’t, I’ll—!”
“Seon Juho!”
“What! I didn’t say anything mean!”
Tae-rim pressed his hand to his forehead. Is this dog impossible to socialize? Thankfully, Jung Jae-heon didn’t seem upset and was handling it well, but still… Tae-rim was worried. He let out a long sigh. I can’t with this kid.
Pffft.
“Ahaha!”
“Bwahahahah!”
Suddenly, the three who had been quietly observing burst into laughter. The other three turned to them in surprise, eyes wide.
“Wh-What’s so funny all of a sudden?”
“……?”
“Hmm? Did we say something hilarious?”
Kim Hyo-il was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face. Yoon Ye-rin laughed outright, while Lee Jae-hwa at least tried to hold it in—but gave in eventually.
“It’s just… Tae-rim’s face looks exactly like a worn-out dog owner dealing with a bunch of rowdy puppies.”
Yoon Ye-rin finally said it, and Jung Jae-heon gave her a look that said, So I’m a puppy too now? That only made Ye-rin laugh harder.
“Well, I’m glad at least it was entertaining. Since this old man has finished his cake, I’ll get going…”
Jung Jae-heon, now demoted to a puppy, stood and excused himself, saying he had work to do. The smile on his face didn’t quite reach his eyes, which only made it funnier.
Then his watch buzzed—he really did seem busy—and after a hasty goodbye, he left the Guiding Room.
Tae-rim bit down on his lip. Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh. But the image of Jung Jae-heon walking away made him think of a moody man in autumn, wrapped in a trench coat, standing in the cold wind. He had to take deep breaths to keep from cracking up.
“Esper Jung Jae-heon seems like the type to stay sulky for a while once he’s upset.”
“Must’ve really been hurt by that ‘old man’ comment.”
“Should we start calling him hyung instead?”
The three of them joked, but were weirdly serious about it.
“Tae-rim, can you message Esper Jung Jae-heon and tell him we’ll pray every day that he finds a lover? He seriously looked like he was sulking.”
Tae-rim nodded and sent the message right away. A reply came back quickly: “I’m not sulking.” Which clearly meant he was sulking.
Tae-rim bit his lip again to keep from laughing.
“Looks like ‘old man’ was a landmine.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Once he gets a lover, everything will be fine. Let’s all pray hard. Who knows? Maybe someone like Guide Lee Hae-il will show up.”
For context, there was a widely believed rumor that Lee Hae-il had only appeared because Guides were so desperate to never see Min Se-ah again that they basically summoned an angel with their collective will.
“I’ll pray too!”
“Me too!”
Even Seon Juho jumped in, clasping his hands together and launching straight into prayer. He announced he was calling upon every god in existence and began praying with intense sincerity.
The three others burst out laughing again.
“Wow… I thought this hotel didn’t offer fig cakes. Must’ve been a special order.”
Ye-rin, still catching her breath, said this after checking the label on the cake box. If it was about desserts, she knew her stuff—so it had to be true.
Tae-rim stared down at his now-empty plate with a surprised expression.
“Money really is amazing.”
The random comment sent another wave of laughter through the room.
“Right? Money is wonderful.”
“That cake was seriously delicious.”
“Hyung, I can buy you stuff like that too!”
“I could’ve bought it myself!”
Juho’s lips puffed out again. Tae-rim chuckled at the sight.
Laughter filled the Guiding Room that had become their shared hangout. It looked like it was going to be a good day.
[End]
WHATT thats the ending? Damn….
How this is a end?