Every time someone brought up Choi Jiwoon, every time he came up in conversation, Lee Tae-rim felt a twinge of guilt. It was like he’d already accepted Jiwoon’s death as a given, and that made him feel like a terrible person. And honestly, he probably wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“Ugh! Let’s stop with the depressing thoughts! It’ll all work out somehow!”
“Yeah. Whether it turns into a disaster or a miracle, something’s bound to happen.”
“Exactly. That’s just how life is. And on that note, we should seriously celebrate Esper Kwon Hae-beom getting a new Guide. Thanks to that, that rude little punk won’t be showing up around here anymore.”
“Oh, true. She’s gonna be stuck grinding it out in District 3 now, huh?”
“Oof… that’s kinda rough.”
“Karma. Total karma.”
The A-rank Guides had been begging the heavens to never see that brat again. Maybe those prayers actually reached someone.
“Oh right! Tae-rim, I heard your Guiding dropped by 10%?”
“Huh? What are you talking about now?”
Seriously, what doesn’t Kim Hyo-il know? Tae-rim was genuinely impressed that Hyo-il had caught wind of that too. The only thing they’d mentioned about Seon Juho’s Incomplete Imprint was just the name itself.
“They say that can happen with an Incomplete Imprint. The Esper who receives the imprint might start releasing interfering Wavelengths to keep the Guide all to themselves and block Guiding with others.”
“Wait, really?”
“For real?”
All three turned to look at him. Tae-rim let out a quiet sigh.
“Yeah… It varies by Esper, but Juho’s strong enough that he managed to suppress me by 10%.”
“So you saved Esper Kwon Hae-beom even with your power reduced?!”
“Uh… yeah.”
“No way.”
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
“Be honest—was your Matching Rate with him secretly like 90% or something? How’d you stop a guy who’d been impaled in the side with only 60%?”
“Honestly, I was surprised myself.”
“You’re secretly some kind of hidden monster, aren’t you?”
“Come on, if you’re S-rank, you’re S-rank. That’s all there is to it.”
“But people are saying Esper Seon Juho might be S+ rank. What if you are too…?”
“Jeez, now you’re just being dramatic. Besides, I wasn’t Guiding alone back then.”
“Dude. Everyone who was there said it felt like you were the only one Guiding.”
“That’s not true. Guide Choi Jiwoon was there too. He was doing mucosal Guiding.”
The way they looked at him said not buying it. Tae-rim gave an awkward laugh. Honestly, it was still a mystery to him too, so he didn’t know how else to explain it.
“Did you get your Matching Rate rechecked after the 10% drop?”
“Yeah. It didn’t affect the Matching Rate itself—came out the same.”
“So how’s it feel Guiding with the drop?”
All eyes turned toward Lee Jae-hwa. They looked genuinely curious. Tae-rim figured he’d feel the same if he weren’t the one living it.
“It’s like trying to guide with a cloth stretched across the middle of a stream.”
“UGH!”
“Ugh, just hearing that makes my skin crawl.”
“God, that sounds awful.”
Finally—someone who understood the frustration. Tae-rim smiled brightly.
“I’ve been bottling it up on my own, but sharing it like this is weirdly therapeutic.”
It had been such a lonely struggle—no one had really gotten it until now. The others rubbed at their arms as if his words gave them goosebumps.
“There’s always a catch when someone shares that easily.”
“Ugh, look at that evil grin. I was curious, but now you look way too happy about it.”
“Hahahaha.”
“So you’re still Guiding in that state?”
“Yeah.”
“Must be great for building patience.”
“…Yeah.”
“Hang in there.”
The sympathy was nice, but it didn’t change the fact that the 10% drop was still there, as annoying as ever.
If only Lee Hae-il would hurry up and take Kwon Hae-beom away—but that wasn’t looking likely anytime soon.
Sometimes, Tae-rim found himself thinking, Maybe it’d be better if I just fully Imprinted with Seon Juho and got it over with. But those thoughts vanished just as fast. Imprinting? No way. He wasn’t emotionally ready for that kind of commitment!
Still, he had this nagging feeling—like it was bound to happen eventually. It wasn’t something he could avoid. And Seon Juho hadn’t awakened as an Alpha for nothing.
“Anyway, Tae-rim, you’ve got a lot more free time now, huh? Esper Kwon Hae-beom and Esper Jung Jae-heon only drop by once every few days. And Seon Juho’s basically attached to your hip, so he doesn’t count.”
“Yeah. I honestly feel like a proper salary thief now.”
Especially now that even Choi Dong-ha, who used to show up daily, had been banned from entering. With Kwon Hae-beom’s issue resolved too, Tae-rim was even more free. And Lee Hae-il hadn’t even returned to the Center yet.
“I’m jealous. Living the dream.”
“Let’s be real though—everyone working in District 1 is kind of a paycheck moocher. Just look at us. We’re sitting here chatting like we’ve got nothing better to do.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Back at the Center, everyone comes in for Guiding at scheduled times, so it’s super convenient.”
“Please don’t make us relocate.”
“Amen.”
“Same here.”
The three of them clasped their hands in mock-prayer, faces serious. Tae-rim chuckled.
“Easy for you to laugh, being an S-rank. Even if you wanted a transfer, they wouldn’t give you one. Not us, though. Especially A-ranks—if an S-rank Esper says they’re short a Guide, they’ll reshuffle the Matching Rates across districts and reassign us in a heartbeat… sob sob.”
“Totally. S-rank Espers basically get whatever they want.”
Tae-rim swallowed nervously. Jung Jae-heon had mentioned he was feeling lonely and thinking of dating, so he’d been looking into A-rank Guides from other districts. But if he said that now, it’d make Jae-heon sound like a total asshole.
When he’d heard it from Jae-heon’s side, he’d understood. But now, hearing it from the Guides’ side… yeah, he couldn’t deny it. Jae-heon came off looking really bad.
Then again, whoever got picked would be moving to District 1—the most coveted posting. Maybe that Guide would actually be thrilled.
But what if things didn’t work out between them? What happens to that Guide then? As the others vented about the A-rank struggle, Tae-rim found himself spiraling again.
Yeah… maybe Jae-heon really is trash—no, no. Stop thinking about it.
“Still, getting transferred isn’t all bad. When you stay in one place too long, you end up seeing the same faces day in, day out. Break up with someone, and you’re still forced to run into them constantly. It’s the worst. No wonder people are so cautious about relationships. Before you know it, time’s passed, everything feels too familiar, and all those romantic feelings just vanish. It’s a vicious cycle.”
“And this whole field is so small. Even a tiny bit of flirting becomes gossip. That’s why so many Awakened are hopeless at dating. Can’t really blame them.”
That was exactly why Tae-rim had sympathized with Jung Jae-heon. When he’d said he just wanted to try a blind date for once, looking all gloomy, Tae-rim had felt genuinely bad for him.
“For the record, I’ve never had a relationship.”
“Well, I have~”
“Same here.”
Kim Hyo-il, the forever-single one, shot the other two a dirty look.
“Tae-rim, you’ve never even tried dating, have you?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Honestly, that’s better than ending up with some creep and having a traumatic first experience. What’s wrong with Esper Seon Juho, anyway? He’s perfect. Just raise him right and snatch him up.”
Pretty sure I’m the one who’s gonna get snatched… Tae-rim let out a sigh, watching Yoon Ye-rin grin at him with that wicked look in her eyes. Moments like this, it was definitely better not to know anything.
***
Seon Juho’s field deployment had finally been confirmed. He’d kept delaying it, reluctant to let Lee Tae-rim return to the field—but in the end, it was inevitable. He’d wanted to put it off a little longer… but that was no longer an option.
It was great that Kwon Hae-beom had found a new Guide, but with that came a problem: the one reason Seon Juho had to keep Tae-rim tied to the Center had disappeared. Tae-rim had been the only one capable of Guiding Kwon Hae-beom, and since Kwon Hae-beom was now traveling between cities for investigations, making the trip back just for Guiding had become too demanding. It had been the perfect excuse—but now it was gone.
Still, getting one more person off Tae-rim’s back was worth celebrating. No sooner had they managed to shake off Choi Dong-ha, Kwon Hae-beom found a new Guide, too. At this point, it felt like the heavens were rooting for Seon Juho. Now, only Jung Jae-heon remained.
But even Jae-heon didn’t seem far behind. Lately, he’d been blurting out how lonely he was—like the words slipped out before he could stop them. He’d usually swallow that sort of thing down, but clearly, it had been weighing on him. And then suddenly, someone like that did fall from the sky—for Kwon Hae-beom, at least.
Apparently, Jae-heon had finally hit his breaking point. He’d gone to the Center and asked them to rerun his Matching Rates with Guides from other districts. The way he kept muttering about needing “at least 80%” made it clear—he was serious this time.
From what Tae-rim had heard, 80% was the baseline for forming a stable Exclusive Bond. Of course, none of this had anything to do with Seon Juho, whose beginning and end was always—only—Lee Tae-rim.
Either way, Jae-heon would be out of the picture soon. And inside, Seon Juho was quietly rejoicing.
