Was it because he’d twisted the story? Because Seon Juho, who should’ve died, had lived? But even so, what did that have to do with the gate opening? A flood of thoughts surged through Lee Tae-rim’s mind—tropes, hidden protagonist theories, conspiracies, narrative devices meant to serve the original plot. His head was spinning with every possible explanation.
Waiting became agony. The fear that Seon Juho might come through that door injured gnawed at him. Even when Lee Yeong-jun patted him on the back and told him not to worry too much, it didn’t help. It might’ve been selfish, but honestly, as long as Seon Juho came back unhurt, nothing else mattered.
Just then, someone opened the door. Tae-rim quickly lifted his head to see who it was. It was Esper Jin Yun-tae. He knew it was wrong to think this way, but a quiet breath of relief slipped out of him.
Jin Yun-tae had been Guided by Bae Jieun. While he hadn’t sustained any major injuries, his body was littered with small wounds. As soon as the Guiding ended, he let out a long sigh of relief.
“Esper Jin Yun-tae, how’s the situation on-site?”
Tae-rim, still awkward around others, couldn’t bring himself to ask. Lee Yeong-jun caught on and asked for him. Tae-rim gave him a small nod of gratitude.
“Two more S-rank Espers arrived from another zone just now. Things are improving. A bunch of A-rank and lower Espers came in too. Apparently, Central applied some serious pressure.”
Everyone reacted the same way—of course they did. Tae-rim hesitated for a moment, torn about whether to ask, but in the end, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. His worry had reached its limit.
“I’m sorry, but… what about Esper Seon Juho…?”
“Seon Juho? He’s totally fine. He was practically flying around, the most excited one there.”
“Ah… I see. Thank you.”
He was relieved that Seon Juho was okay—but the image of him “flying around all excited” made Tae-rim frown. That idiot. Could he be any more reckless? Tae-rim decided he’d give Seon Juho an earful when he got back.
As soon as the Guiding ended, Jin Yun-tae stood up and dashed off again. Not long after, Choi Jiwoon entered, looking sheepish and holding a gun. Lee Yeong-jun warned him that if he forgot to bring it again, he’d report him to the higher-ups. Choi Jiwoon sniffled and nodded, eyes red.
Honestly, it was impressive. Had he been crying the entire time he was back at the Dorm? Even now, he kept dabbing at his eyes with his sleeve. The fabric looked completely soaked.
But then it hit him—why the hell was Choi Jiwoon wearing long sleeves in this heat? Everyone else was sweating in short sleeves. Does the protagonist not feel heat or something? he thought—until he saw the sweat soaking the back of Jiwoon’s neck.
He knew because Bae Jieun, clicking her tongue, wiped Jiwoon’s sweat off for him and asked why the hell he was wearing long sleeves in this weather. Jiwoon just gave a clumsy little laugh.
Tae-rim let out a silent scoff and couldn’t help but think cynically—Did Kwon Hae-beom spend the night biting his arms or what? But then the realization hit him: it was entirely possible. The Good Guide lived up to its name—an overly sweet story, full to the brim with sex scenes.
Yeah, I really didn’t need to know that… It had been entertaining when he was reading the novel, but now it just felt like unwanted knowledge about someone else’s sex life. Come to think of it, he’d already seen Kwon Hae-beom and Choi Jiwoon biting, licking, and rolling around in bed—sure, it was just text, but still.
Ugh. Instant post-nut clarity. These were things he absolutely didn’t want burned into his brain.
The next person to walk in was Choi Dong-ha. His leg was badly injured. Lee Yeong-jun immediately rushed over to support him.
“I’ll take care of Esper Choi Dong-ha’s Guiding. You’ve already done three in a row, right? Esper Choi Dong-ha, is that okay with you?”
“Ah, yes.”
Tae-rim started to get up but sat back down. Because of his leg injury, Lee Yeong-jun began with a full-body hug. In cases like this, maximizing contact area was the fastest way to finish the Guiding. While Yeong-jun was at it, another Esper—one Tae-rim had never seen before—entered.
“Would you mind Guiding me first?”
He must’ve come from another zone. His left arm was shredded from shoulder to wrist. Tae-rim and Bae Jieun quickly checked their Matching Rates using their watches. Tae-rim’s was significantly higher.
He pulled the Esper into a hug and began the Guiding.
“Ahh, now that’s better. I’m Esper Ahn Cheol-woo from Zone 5. I’m S-rank. There’s only one S-rank Guide back in my zone, but our Matching Rate is low, so this is the most luxury I’ve ever experienced. Ha ha.”
Despite his arm looking like a rag, he still managed a laugh. Tae-rim, who was currently functioning with a 10% reduction due to his unstable Imprint, poured in even more effort. Fortunately, since Ahn Cheol-woo had never been Guided by an S-rank before, he probably wouldn’t notice anything off.
“Thank you.”
“Please be careful out there.”
“Ha ha, will do!”
With a cheerful smile, Ahn Cheol-woo headed back to the field. It seemed Choi Dong-ha had also returned by then, and Lee Yeong-jun finally looked like he could breathe again.
“Whew… At least it doesn’t seem like things are completely out of control. That’s a relief.”
“Yeah, really.”
“Seriously.”
The three S-rank Guides immediately reached for their drinks. Guiding an Esper with that kind of injury wasn’t something they faced every day—it was only natural that everyone had been tense.
“Man… it’s been a while since we had a field like this.”
“O-Oppa… it’s my first time. My hands are shaking so bad.”
“It was Tae-rim’s first time too, and he did amazingly.”
Lee Yeong-jun offered the praise gently, but Tae-rim couldn’t even remember how he’d managed to get through it. Everything had been a blur. By the end of it, his uniform shirt was completely soaked in blood from how hard he’d pushed himself during the Guiding.
“There’s a spare over there. Go change.”
Bae Jieun spoke coolly. Tae-rim gave her a small bow of thanks and pulled a fresh shirt from the supply box. Looking at the bloodied one, he was glad he changed—if Seon Juho had seen him like that, he’d have freaked out.
Outside was still chaotic, but the S-rank Guiding Room had gone quiet. And somehow, the silence was worse. At least the mess outside gave him something to do—here, all he could do was sit, fully conscious, silently hoping no one else came in hurt. The waiting gnawed at him.
The next to arrive was an S-rank Esper from Zone 2, who was Guided by Bae Jieun. From what Tae-rim overheard, Zone 3 had also gone into emergency response—no surprise, considering how close it was to Zone 1.
That area was always busy. If the monsters spilling out of Zone 1 crossed over, it’d be a complete disaster. They were holding the line with everything they had just to prevent that.
Tae-rim’s leg started bouncing again. It felt like Seon Juho should’ve come in for Guiding by now—but he hadn’t. Was he holding out for too long? That was exactly the kind of thing he’d do, and it made Tae-rim worry.
“Hyuuung~”
Right on cue, the one he’d been waiting for finally appeared. Seon Juho ran in, completely unharmed, and threw his arms around Tae-rim without hesitation. Tae-rim let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Thank god. Seriously—thank god.
“Not even a scratch on me! I did good, right?”
“Yeah. You did great. Really great.”
Still holding him close, Tae-rim began the Guiding. Seon Juho, as always, didn’t care who was watching—he nuzzled his face into Tae-rim’s shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. But just as he was wagging his metaphorical tail, he suddenly froze. His voice dropped, colder and sharper than before.
“Hyung… you smell like blood.”
“Oh—just from Guiding injured Espers earlier.”
“You hugged them?!”
“They were hurt.”
“Tch…”
Seon Juho let out a sulky noise, clearly displeased.
“Maybe I should’ve come in hurt, too…”
“Hey! Don’t even joke about that! Say that again and you’re really gonna get it.”
“Okay, okay… don’t be mad, hyung. I’m sorry.”
When Tae-rim smacked him hard on the back, Seon Juho only hugged him tighter, whispering one apology after another. Tae-rim suddenly felt like he might cry. This dumb puppy… he has no idea what he’s doing to me.
Maybe it was because of their Matching Rate, but Guiding Seon Juho always ended faster than with anyone else. And Tae-rim didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want to send this boy back out there—not into that danger.
But Seon Juho turned around with a bright smile and gave a confident salute. “I’ll be back!” Then he left, just like that.
Something about it left a bitter aftertaste.
If the Incomplete Imprint ever broke… if a Guide with a higher Matching Rate showed up… Seon Juho would probably walk away just as easily, still smiling like nothing had changed. Bye, hyung!
Maybe it was because Tae-rim had only ever seen that cheerful side of him, but he couldn’t picture Seon Juho acting any other way. The thought left him feeling strangely hollow.
“What’s wrong?”
It must’ve shown on his face—Lee Yeong-jun looked at him, worried.
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking… one day, when Juho grows up and moves on, he’ll probably leave just like that—with the same bright smile.”
Maybe it was the overly sentimental tone in his voice, but Bae Jieun outright scoffed.
“Him? Yeah, right. You think S-rank Espers with a 90% Matching Rate just fall from the sky? That kid’ll be glued to you until he dies.”
“I mean… she’s got a point,” Lee Yeong-jun added with a chuckle. “Same-rank match at 90%? That’s practically unheard of.”
Tae-rim suddenly felt a little foolish. Maybe he’d gotten too serious. And now, he just felt embarrassed.
