“Hyung, is there anything I can help with?”
Seon Juho asked carefully, his voice hesitant. Lee Tae-rim blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question.
“Help with what?”
“Just… you know…”
He trailed off, clearly unsure how to say what he wanted to. From the way he fumbled his words, Tae-rim figured Juho must’ve caught wind of something. Instead of pressing, Tae-rim just reached out and gently ruffled his hair.
“You’re already helping me a lot, Juho.”
“Huh?”
“You always cheer me up with that cute act of yours.”
At that, Juho’s face lit up like sunshine.
“Well, I am pretty amazing at being cute. I mean, come on—I am adorable!”
“You sure are.”
That proud little “ahem” was ridiculously charming. Honestly, the way Juho always looked this cute was becoming a bit of a problem, but there was nothing Tae-rim could do about it. Cute was cute, after all.
And truthfully, Seon Juho had been helping him more than anyone realized. Tae-rim had always been alone, but ever since this bright, bubbly presence had popped into his life, the loneliness he used to carry around had quietly faded. Just seeing Juho was enough to warm his heart.
“Hyuuuung~”
Was this what they meant by puppy therapy? Juho snuggled up to him, whining playfully, and Tae-rim couldn’t help but smile. Despite his large frame, Juho curled up in his arms like a giant puppy—and it was just too damn cute.
It would’ve been nice if everything had ended with Juho’s affection. But a few days later, things took a turn.
The trouble started with a sudden summons from the Center Director. Tae-rim had a bad feeling from the get-go, and the moment he arrived outside the Director’s office, shouting erupted from inside.
Honestly, he really didn’t want to go in. But since he’d been called, he had no choice but to knock.
“Who is it?!”
“Guide Lee Tae-rim.”
“Get in here! Now!”
The moment he stepped inside, he was met with the sight of Choi Jiwoon, pale and in tears. One look at his face was enough to see that his mind had completely checked out. But judging by the Director’s mood, Jiwoon wasn’t going anywhere just because Tae-rim had arrived. Tae-rim quietly moved to stand beside him.
The Director was behind his desk, shouting furiously.
“Guide Lee Tae-rim, what did I tell you last time? I said to guide Esper Kwon Hae-beom quietly. Quietly! Do you not know what that word means?!”
“I’m sorry.”
Tae-rim bowed his head. So it was about that incident. There was no point trying to explain—no matter what he said, the Director was going to blow up anyway.
“Even if Guide Choi Jiwoon was out of his mind, you should’ve kept your head and managed the situation! Do you even understand the mess you’ve caused?!”
The Director’s rant, when boiled down, was this: a promising achievement he was hoping to claim as his own had slipped out of his hands and landed with Central instead. Most likely, he was talking about the device Seon Juho had brought in.
Apparently, the Director had intended to quietly investigate the device at District 1 and claim it as his own discovery. But the situation had already been sketchy, and thanks to Tae-rim and Jiwoon, Central had caught wind of it. Now the whole thing had blown up in his face, and he was furious.
With the Director General nearing retirement, there were plenty of Directors eyeing that position. The chance to score a major achievement had come at the perfect time—only to go to waste. No wonder the Director was fuming.
And now, his fury was back on Jiwoon.
“A Guide’s job is to guide! So what’s the big deal about doing that once? And you caused that kind of scene in the hallway over that?! Are you insane?! You think this is some kind of playground?! You think you get to decide what work you feel like doing?!”
The Director was absolutely livid. His face was flushed crimson, and while he hadn’t actually cursed, the viciousness in his tone said it all.
“If you think you’re so damn important, why don’t YOU be the Director?! Go ahead! Take the damn job! Why the hell are you pretending to be a Guide?! If you’re so great, then do it all yourself!”
The more he talked, the angrier he got. Screaming in a rage, he grabbed a stack of papers from his desk and hurled them at Jiwoon. The documents scattered in midair before they could even touch him, but Jiwoon trembled as if he’d been hit full force.
Not that the Director cared. He was too far gone to see anything clearly—face flushed, veins bulging in his neck, screaming like a madman.
Jiwoon was probably shattering inside, his mind breaking apart piece by piece. It was painful to watch, but if Tae-rim tried to step in now, it would only make things worse. He just stared blankly at the papers scattered across the floor.
Truthfully, even if the mood allowed it, Tae-rim still wouldn’t have stepped in.
This mess? Jiwoon caused it. Tae-rim was the one dragged into it. He hadn’t even wanted to be involved—but he got slapped for it. And now, he was standing here getting chewed out again by the Director.
He felt zero obligation to help Jiwoon. Not even a shred.
“You’re his assigned Guide, and when Kwon Hae-beom ended up with a hole in his side, you couldn’t do a damn thing and still got off with just a warning. And now you think you’re some kind of hotshot?! A B-rank, acting like you deserve S-rank treatment—I should’ve known from the start! You think I’m just gonna sit back and let that slide?! Huh?! Know your damn place!”
The one who was really falling apart was Choi Jiwoon. Tae-rim, on the other hand, just got dragged back in whenever the Center Director needed someone else to lash out at. And judging by how fired up he still was, the Director wasn’t calming down anytime soon.
As the tirade dragged on, a troubling thought crept into Tae-rim’s mind—What if Kwon Hae-beom shows up right now? Sure, that would wrap this up faster, but the fallout afterward would be a nightmare. The last thing Tae-rim wanted was to deal with the Director’s wrath in full force. He silently prayed Kwon Hae-beom wouldn’t appear.
You’re supposed to be the protagonist, but could you not act like one for once? he grumbled to himself. But, as always, his gut feeling was spot-on.
A knock came at the door. The Director didn’t even get a chance to respond before the door swung open.
“Who is it now?!”
The Director’s shout echoed through the hallway.
“Esper Kwon Hae-beom.”
“I didn’t say you could come in! Get out!”
The Director, still shouting at full volume, didn’t even pause to catch his breath. But Kwon Hae-beom walked in anyway and moved to stand beside Jiwoon. With his head still bowed, Tae-rim couldn’t see exactly what was happening, but he could hear the Director seething. The sound alone was enough for Tae-rim to think, Well, we’re screwed.
“Who said you could walk in here?! You think I’m a joke?!”
“This situation is my fault. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“What?!”
“Please let Guides Choi Jiwoon and Lee Tae-rim leave.”
“You little shits—!”
The Director grabbed his laptop, looking ready to throw it, but stopped midway. His hands trembled violently as he froze in place. Kwon Hae-beom must’ve used his ability.
“Both of you, leave.”
“Sniff… H-hyung…”
“Go. Now.”
“Hic… ngh…”
No matter what Kwon Hae-beom said, even flinching would put them on the Director’s bad side. So Tae-rim didn’t move a muscle. Jiwoon, meanwhile, was still sniffling, eyes locked on Kwon Hae-beom.
Letting out a long sigh, Kwon Hae-beom levitated both of them off the ground and floated them straight out of the office. The door slammed shut behind them with a heavy thud. Tae-rim stared at it and sighed—silently, as always.
“Hyung…”
Now that the Director was out of sight, Jiwoon slumped to the floor, completely drained. Should I say something? Comfort him? Tae-rim wondered. Do I even owe him that?
As he debated, a quiet voice caught his attention.
He turned around to see Seon Juho gently tugging at his jacket hem.
Tae-rim looked at Juho, then flicked his eyes toward Jiwoon, still sitting on the floor and crying. His hesitation didn’t last long. He took Juho’s hand and strode off without a word, slipping right into the conveniently open elevator.
“I figured I shouldn’t go in… so I just waited out here.”
“You did good.”
Tae-rim gave him a rare bit of praise.
“Right? I really wanted to rush in and get you, but… I just had a feeling it’d make things worse if I did.”
“You were right. Seriously, that was exactly the right call. Haah… Honestly, the thing I was dreading most was Kwon Hae-beom showing up—and, well, that definitely happened.”
“…Do you think it’ll be okay?”
“I can only hope.”
To be honest, Tae-rim couldn’t care less how things turned out between those two. All that mattered was whether or not the fallout would hit him. And now that Kwon Hae-beom had stepped in, he sincerely hoped the guy would take full responsibility and mop everything up. Tae-rim had zero interest in being collateral damage for their drama.
In the end, both Kwon Hae-beom and Choi Jiwoon were disciplined. They were pulled from their regular duties and assigned to fieldwork for a month.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The Director, clearly unsatisfied, added another condition: for one month, Kwon Hae-beom was forbidden from receiving Guiding from Choi Jiwoon, and Jiwoon was prohibited from guiding him.
On top of that, Jiwoon was ordered to “live according to his rank.”
Up until now, Jiwoon had been receiving privileges close to that of an S-rank, solely because he was Kwon Hae-beom’s dedicated Guide. Though he technically had a dorm assigned in the Guide housing building, he’d been living with Kwon Hae-beom instead. He’d also been using a private S-rank Guiding Room.
Granted, the living arrangement was mostly because Kwon Hae-beom refused to let him go, but still—now Jiwoon had to move back to his original dorm. The Guiding Room, too, was reassigned. And every single perk he’d been enjoying as if he were S-rank was revoked, just like that.
Seeves him right. 😑