“Guide Choi Jiwoon has a tendency to do stuff like that. Smiling sweetly while making barbed comments—completely innocently, of course.”
At Yoon Ye-rin’s words, Tae-rim suddenly recalled that moment. Jiwoon had smiled so harmlessly as he claimed he didn’t remember anything—like there was nothing he could do about it. His expression was pure, but his tone had been so oddly grating that it had left a bad taste.
“Honestly, it’s weird that he keeps trying to talk to you even though he knows you don’t like it. But everyone knows you hate training and going on external expeditions, Tae-rim. You make it so obvious—there’s no way anyone wouldn’t notice. But then he brings it up out of nowhere, says how jealous he is, and smiles while doing it. Watching that made me angry.”
At that point, it was hard to believe there was no malice behind it. Tae-rim felt a strange mix of emotions.
“One time, I saw him go out of his way to say how jealous he was over that exact thing. It was so blatant, like he’d planned it. You got really mad—I thought it was a bit much, but at the same time, I kind of felt like Jiwoon deserved it. I mean, sure, from his perspective, going on an expedition with Esper Kwon Hae-beom might seem cool. But if someone tells you they hate it, and you keep poking them about it, of course they’re going to snap.”
Ye-rin then mimicked Tae-rim’s response from back then, jabbing Lee Jae-hwa’s shoulder with her finger as she quoted,
“If you’re that jealous, go train. Don’t come at me with that frail excuse of a body.”
She admitted she didn’t remember the exact words, but it was something like that.
“I didn’t curse at him?”
“I would’ve. But you somehow held back, Tae-rim. Was it because Jiwoon’s older?”
Ye-rin smiled sweetly, saying if it had been her, she’d have started with the nastiest curse she could think of. Tae-rim found it strange. In the novel, Jiwoon had simply said he was jealous of this and that, and then Tae-rim suddenly snapped. And the poke? It wasn’t the shoulder—it was the forehead.
“You’re sure I didn’t poke him in the forehead?”
“Oh yeah, that rumor got around for some reason. I saw it with my own eyes—it was definitely the shoulder. But people started saying you poked him while you were yelling, and eventually it turned into forehead jabs. Even if I told them it wasn’t true, the rumor had already spread too far by then.”
One of the supposed “crossing the line” moments in Tae-rim’s past was that forehead jab, combined with some cruel remarks. The Guides had come down hard on him for verbal abuse, and Kwon Hae-beom had filed a formal complaint asking the higher-ups to discipline him.
But Kwon Hae-beom never directly confronted Tae-rim. Espers were always at a disadvantage in conflicts like this, so he held back for Jiwoon’s sake, filing complaints instead—consistently. It was clear he was documenting Tae-rim’s behavior, building a case.
He was probably waiting for the moment when the higher-ups couldn’t ignore it anymore. That was likely his plan.
“Tae-rim’s not some vicious monster. The rumors twisted everything. From what we’ve seen, he just mouths off sometimes. That’s it. He’s never even cursed anyone out. Not that I’m saying what he did was okay—I’m not defending him.”
“I understand.”
“Honestly, at this point, it might be best to just apologize in front of everyone. Everyone already knows you lost your memory. If you apologize now, what can they say? That alone should be enough. It’s not like you did something unforgivable that requires you to get on your knees.”
She paused, then added, “Oh, and just in case—make copies of every complaint Esper Kwon Hae-beom filed. We’ll find people who actually witnessed the incidents and help you get the record corrected. I’m sure Guide Jiwoon just cried and said he was fine. Kwon Hae-beom probably wrote those complaints based on rumors alone.”
“Don’t let them drag you down. I can’t stand to watch that.” Ye-rin said it firmly, her expression resolute. Tae-rim thanked her.
S-rank and A-rank Guides have their Guiding Rooms close together, so it made sense she’d seen a lot. That was a relief.
Tae-rim already knew most of what had happened, but he’d asked them anyway—so there’d be proof that he’d heard it from others. Now he didn’t have to keep pretending he didn’t know.
And since there seemed to be differences between what he remembered from the novel and what had actually happened, he needed to read through Kwon Hae-beom’s complaint reports thoroughly. If he submitted a formal rebuttal with evidence, Kwon wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.
“Wow. It’s like a field of flowers bloomed in the Guiding Room.”
Jung Jae-heon made the comment as he walked in. The Guides’ expressions instantly soured. But Jung, completely oblivious, kept smiling as he walked over and sat down at the table.
“After spending all day surrounded by grim Espers, coming into a flower field like this is healing. Are you guys just hanging out?”
Tae-rim silently grabbed a coffee from the fridge and handed it to him. It was a not-so-subtle way of telling him to shut up and drink—but it went right over his head. The Guides gave him curt greetings, their expressions stiff.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
“Are you friends with Tae-rim?”
“Nope. But we decided to become friends starting today.”
“Really? That’s great. Please stop by more often. The barracks just got a lot brighter.”
Lee Jae-hwa remained composed, but Ye-rin, who wasn’t great at hiding her feelings, eventually frowned and said,
“Esper Jung Jae-heon, you sound like such an old man. That’s probably why you’re not popular.”
“Huh…?”
“‘Flowers’ is actually one of the words Guides hate hearing the most. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but I’m telling you this because I feel bad. Instead of whining about being unpopular, maybe start by dropping that cheesy old-man tone of yours.”
“Ye-rin…”
Lee Jae-hwa rubbed his forehead, while Jung Jae-heon stared back at her, completely stunned.
“Wait… Isn’t calling someone pretty supposed to be a compliment?”
“That kind of thing really depends on how you say it. Esper Jung Jae-heon, you might look like a cold and mysterious type, but the way you talk? It’s all sleazy charm, and honestly, it’s a major turn-off.”
“S-sleazy…?!”
Tae-rim reached out toward the stunned Jung Jae-heon. Reflexively, Jung took his hand, still frozen in shock. Without a word, Tae-rim quietly began Guiding him.
Yoon Ye-rin wasn’t done. She advised Jung firmly to drop the cringey old-man tone and start sounding more natural. Jung looked heartbroken.
“If I manage that… do you think I’ll finally have my springtime?”
“It’d be better than waiting around for the rare person who actually likes sleazeballs.”
“S-sleazeballs?! What about Jeon Jun-pyo? He’s just as greasy!”
“Esper Jeon Jun-pyo is gentle. That’s completely different.”
“…I don’t understand the difference, Master!”
“Then you’ll just have to keep waiting for that one-in-a-million preference to find you, my poor disciple.”
“Nooo! Anything but that!”
The two of them were practically acting out a skit. Tae-rim chuckled softly.
“Tae-rim! Be honest with me—do I really come off like an old man?”
“…Well, when you called this place a ‘field of flowers,’ yeah. Kinda.”
“Even with your memory gone, you’re still brutally honest…!”
“Ha ha…”
After his Guiding, Jung Jae-heon left looking utterly dejected. The others hung around a bit longer, chatting casually. Before leaving, they exchanged numbers and agreed to drop formalities next time.
It was a relief. Most A-rank Guides, it turned out, leaned more neutral. Apparently, many of them weren’t fans of Choi Jiwoon either—especially because he had a habit of crying every time someone said anything to him. And Kwon Hae-beom’s reputation had quietly started slipping too, since all he ever did was blindly defend Jiwoon without question.
“What are you thinking about, hyung? I told you—you’re only allowed to think about me.”
Back at the dorm, Seon Juho greeted him by clinging to his side again. Ye-rin had told him to forget that dried-up fossil Kwon Hae-beom and focus on someone with actual energy and life. Looking back, Tae-rim couldn’t remember why he’d ever liked Kwon to begin with. That was probably for the best.
According to her, anyone who refused to see the truth and only listened to his Guide’s whining wasn’t worth keeping around. A guy like that, who tried to bury someone based on hearsay? Not even worth giving away for free.
Lee Jae-hwa had also been furious, saying it wasn’t right for Kwon to file complaint after complaint without actually checking the facts. It was deeply unfair and flat-out wrong.
Honestly, that had been part of the fun of reading the novel—the way Kwon, normally cold and aloof, would completely lose it whenever something happened to his Guide. It was entertaining from a reader’s perspective. But being on the receiving end of that behavior? Not so fun.
And the fact that he filed official complaints based on nothing but rumors? That was just disappointing. What kind of sloppy logic was that?
Then—smack!—something soft brushed against his lips and pulled away. Tae-rim’s eyes flew wide in shock. Another soft smack, warm against his lips, and gone again.
“What are you even thinking about, hyung?”
Seon Juho was pouting up at him. Still stunned, Tae-rim stared, only to see Juho leaning in again. This time, Tae-rim quickly slapped a hand over his own mouth. Juho just shifted targets and kissed the back of Tae-rim’s hand instead.
“If you keep spacing out like this, I’m gonna turn bad.”
“Y-you…!”
What the hell did this cheeky brat just do?! Tae-rim was frozen in shock, but Seon Juho didn’t care—he leaned close to Tae-rim’s hand and whispered again.
“I’m gonna turn bad.”
Then he stuck out his tongue and licked Tae-rim’s hand before biting down gently.
“W-what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Tae-rim yanked his hand back like it was on fire. But Juho’s mischievous lips kept moving forward. Tae-rim had to push his face away in a panic.
“Who the hell taught you to do crap like this?!”
His hand still burned like it had been scorched. Juho looked up at him with a smug little pout and let out a scoff.
“You did.”
“What?!”
“Back when we first met, you stuck your tongue right in my—mmph!”
“Aaaahhh!!”
Tae-rim slapped a hand over Juho’s mouth in horror. He remembered?! Tae-rim had assumed the kid had forgotten everything from the rampage incident!
But then he had to pull his hand away again—because now Juho had started kissing his palm.
