There are several A-rank Guides with over a 75% Matching Rate with Jung Jae-heon. Yet the one who usually handles his Guiding is Lee Tae-rim. Even though their rate is only 73%, Tae-rim’s Guiding energy is of far higher quality. The difference in rank translates into a difference in energy itself. It’s the same with Espers—one S-rank outclasses two A-ranks combined.
That’s why the higher-ups keep singing the praises of S-ranks. S-rank this, S-rank that.
Anyway, Choi Jiwoon had become something of a Cinderella, and in a world where fairytales seem real, B-ranks everywhere dream of becoming the next Cinderella.
But reality isn’t so kind. Even A-ranks often aren’t chosen—so what chance does a B-rank have? Even when all the S-rank Espers are out hunting, they only ever receive Guiding from S-rank Guides. It’s almost unheard of for them to rely on A-ranks—unless every S-rank Guide has collapsed from energy exhaustion. Otherwise, receiving Guiding from a lower rank is rare.
Lately, Jung Jae-heon had no choice but to accept Guiding from an A-rank because of Seon Juho, but if Tae-rim is available, he’ll always choose him. Even with a 10% efficiency drop due to Seon Juho’s Incomplete Imprint, Tae-rim is still the better option.
Of course, no Esper would ever say this out loud. They become painfully vulnerable in front of their Guides.
That’s where all the misunderstandings start. The ridiculous idea that Lee Tae-rim is hoarding all the S-rank Espers out of greed.
In truth, they go to him simply because his energy is the clearest among the S-ranks, and he provides large quantities of smooth, refreshing Guiding. That’s all. And yet…
Jung Jae-heon thought even he was being a little shameless. The Matching Rate between Lee Tae-rim and Seon Juho had come out to a staggering 90%. Yeah—cases like that are why Espers keep their mouths shut.
It was hard enough having someone with a better rate than him, but now there was someone even better than that. He’d love nothing more than for Tae-rim to choose him—but judging from the way Tae-rim treated him, that wasn’t happening. Sadly.
Worse still, before he lost his memory, Tae-rim used to have feelings for Kwon Hae-beom. Which meant Jung Jae-heon had no choice but to leave the door open with A-rank Guides. Sure, he may be a leftover to the S-ranks, but to the A-ranks, he wasn’t.
The Guides who badmouth Tae-rim say he got lucky being chosen—but no, not even close. From Jae-heon’s perspective, Seon Juho was the one truly blessed.
Seon Juho Awakened under incredibly dangerous circumstances—he could’ve died. But by some miracle, Lee Tae-rim happened to be there at that exact moment. That’s how he survived. And if that wasn’t enough, they even ended up forming an Incomplete Imprint, which pretty much gave him exclusive access to Tae-rim. Honestly, it was enviable.
The higher-ups weren’t thrilled that an S-rank Guide was tethered to just one Esper, but Seon Juho was too valuable to ignore. So they waited, hoping the Imprint would wear off.
The other S-rank Espers Guiding with Tae-rim were hoping for the same. Before losing his memories, Tae-rim had only ever had eyes for Kwon Hae-beom, so they’d all stepped back. But now, with his memories gone, the door had reopened.
At the moment, Tae-rim just saw Seon Juho as a kid. So maybe—just maybe—there was a chance for Jung Jae-heon too. He knew the odds were low, but people cling to hope regardless.
Before being transferred to District 1, Jae-heon had only ever received Guiding from A-rank Guides. Now that he’d experienced what S-rank Guiding felt like, he had no desire to go back. The difference was night and day.
That’s why, even knowing how pathetic it looked, he still clung to Tae-rim—who was ten years younger. He didn’t make it obvious, but he let bits of his feelings slip out here and there. Just a little at a time.
On the surface, everything looked peaceful. But behind the scenes, the S-rank Espers were locked in a fierce, silent battle—each one fighting for the favor of an S-rank Guide.
At twenty-one, Choi Dong-ha was still too young to understand just how lucky he was to have a 78% Matching Rate with Tae-rim. That’s why he was acting so foolish—treating an S-rank Guide awkwardly over a B-rank he’d gotten close to four months earlier. Utterly idiotic.
If Tae-rim ever formed a permanent Imprint and was no longer available to the rest of them, it’d be too late to regret it. The bus would’ve long since left the station.
And Kwon Hae-beom, who was currently refusing Guiding from Tae-rim because he didn’t like him, would come to realize the truth too. Once he neared a full rampage, and the only available Guide was a single B-rank, he’d be forced to rely on insertion Guiding until that Guide’s energy was completely drained. And even then, it still wouldn’t be enough. After that… darkness.
Unless he formed an Imprint, there was no way Choi Jiwoon could properly Guide Kwon Hae-beom in his current state. It just wasn’t possible. So eventually, Hae-beom would have no choice but to go to Tae-rim. Even if it was the Guide he loathed—life comes first.
It was almost fun to imagine the look on Hae-beom’s face when that moment came. So naïve, so shortsighted. That’s how they all looked through Jung Jae-heon’s eyes.
He’d been in the same position when he was younger. At twenty-six—not exactly seasoned, but not inexperienced either—he’d been stationed in District 4. And there was one time, just once, when Gates started opening one after another. It was chaos. Emergency support had to be called in from other districts.
That day started like any other. He’d been out hunting, business as usual. Then, suddenly, S-rank Gates began opening in succession. Until reinforcements arrived, he had to fight tooth and nail just to survive. And before he knew it, he’d crossed the line—past 80%.
Already entering pre-rampage, he was rushed to the infirmary. But the situation was what it was—the available Guides were all nearly drained. So he had no choice but to undergo insertion Guiding with three A-rank Guides. It was that or die.
Honestly, before that, he’d had serious reservations about having that kind of connection with multiple people, even if it was just Guiding. But once death was staring him in the face? That hesitation vanished into thin air.
The terror he felt was beyond words. His entire body felt like it was shattering, and the amount of Guiding he received was too little to make any difference. It was like giving a glass of water to someone dying of thirst—when what he needed was a full jug. And all he could do was sip, one glass at a time, trying to fill that jug drop by drop.
The Guides tried everything—they pushed themselves to the limit to keep him alive. But it just wasn’t enough. Every drop he received felt both desperately precious and deeply frustrating. He wanted to live.
Back then, he didn’t have an S-rank Guide with a compatible rate, so he had no idea what S-rank Guiding even felt like. But when you’re on the brink of death, your body knows. Deep down, he instinctively understood—only an S-rank could save him.
That belief was solidified after he was transferred to District 1 and met Lee Tae-rim. If Tae-rim had been there back then, just a kiss might’ve been enough to suppress the rampage. He wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
An S-rank Esper needs an S-rank Guide. That’s the truth—no exceptions. Jung Jae-heon knew that for certain.
Love with a B-rank? That’s just fantasy. One day, Kwon Hae-beom would wake up to reality too. No matter how much you love that B-rank, they can’t save your life. When death is at your door, everyone’s equal. Jung Jae-heon clicked his tongue.
***
“Hyung!”
The door flew open as Seon Juho burst in with a loud tada!. Lee Tae-rim, who’d been chatting with Lee Jae-hwa and Yoon Ye-rin, quickly got up to catch Seon Juho as he suddenly threw himself into his arms.
“Sit properly.”
Even with others around, Seon Juho shamelessly rubbed his face against Tae-rim’s neck. When Tae-rim tried to stop him, he backed off with a sulky tch….
“Hello.”
“Oh, hello.”
“Nice to meet you.”
What was surprising was that Seon Juho was the one to greet them first. The same guy who always used to hide behind Tae-rim now stepping forward. Tae-rim tilted his head slightly, a strange feeling blooming in his chest—like he’d swallowed something both hot and cold at once.
“Are you really close with my hyung? I overheard some pretty interesting stories on my way in.”
“We haven’t known each other for long. I thought Tae-rim might get bored being alone, so I came by to hang out. He turned out to be a really good guy.”
“I-I mean… ‘good guy’ is a bit much…”
Flustered, Tae-rim quickly grabbed Seon Juho’s hand. When he checked the watch, it showed a danger level of 40%. There was still room for more hunting, but this clingy puppy had come running the moment he hit the recommended threshold for Guiding.
