It was impossible not to be worried, knowing how Jung Jae-heon usually was. No matter how exhausted he got, he never zoned out like this. What on earth could’ve happened?
Lee Tae-rim quietly studied Jung Jae-heon, who was sitting beside him, still holding his hand while staring blankly at a corner of the table.
At a glance, it might’ve looked like he was lost in thought, but Tae-rim, who had seen him up close more than enough times, could tell—this was just spacing out with an empty mind.
“Jung Jae-heon Esper-nim.”
“Huh, yeah?”
See? As soon as his name was called, he snapped out of it like he’d been jolted awake, even stumbling over his words. Tae-rim furrowed his brows, genuinely concerned.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. What would be wrong? Nothing’s wrong.”
“Please look me in the eyes when you say that.”
“……”
Jung Jae-heon pressed his lips together. No doubt about it—something was definitely going on. But nothing that serious had happened at the Center recently, at least nothing that should’ve had Jae-heon this shaken. Even Kwon Hae-beom had apparently been behaving himself lately.
“I’m worried about you.”
“No, really. It’s nothing. Just… something personal. Really personal…”
“Is it a family matter?”
“No…”
That trailing voice—definitely not a family issue. Something else entirely. This was getting even more concerning. Guides were obligated to report it if an Esper they had Guided was showing unusual behavior. It wasn’t something he could just let slide—especially not when this had been going on for more than a day or two.
“Then I can include this in the report, right?”
“Ah, no!”
Jung Jae-heon shook his head vigorously, even waving his hands. Tae-rim thought hard. What kinds of things usually got to Jung Jae-heon? Then suddenly, the thought of a Guide popped into his head.
“Oh, right. How’s the search for a Guide going?”
“Huh? Uh… that is…”
Jae-heon’s pupils wavered. Tae-rim immediately realized he’d struck gold.
“Did you find one?”
“……”
Silence meant yes. That could only mean he’d found a Guide with a high Matching Rate. So… did something go wrong?
“Don’t tell me they refused to come to District 1?”
“No…”
“Then why…?”
He should’ve been thrilled if the highly compatible Guide was actually willing to relocate to District 1. But Jae-heon’s reaction wasn’t anything close to what joy looked like.
“Do you not like them?”
“……”
God, he really couldn’t lie to save his life. Watching Jae-heon’s completely transparent reactions, Tae-rim almost felt like laughing. They said Espers often became looser-lipped around Guides because of the effects of Guiding. A kind of relaxation effect, apparently.
“Have you met them?”
“…No.”
“What about a photo?”
“…Haven’t seen it…”
Not “didn’t see it”—“haven’t seen it.” That was a very deliberate choice of words.
“Anything else?”
“…Haven’t checked.”
“So all you know is the Matching Rate?”
“……”
This wasn’t like Jung Jae-heon at all. The same man who used to go on and on about how badly he wanted to date—now he hadn’t even looked at the face of a Guide he’d finally found? That was bizarre. It meant something was really bothering him, something he couldn’t accept… something weighing on him deeply.
Tae-rim suddenly remembered how sensitive Jung Jae-heon was about being called “ajusshi”.
“Is there a big age gap?”
“……”
“You’re ten years older than me, and—wait, is it more than ten years?”
“……”
Now that he thought about it, Jae-heon had once said he placed age restrictions when looking at Matching Rates. But now a Guide with a large age gap was matched with him and coming to District 1?
“Did someone from above force it…?”
As an S-rank Esper, that was entirely possible. If the Matching Rate was high enough, the higher-ups wouldn’t hesitate to push a kid onto him. All they cared about was securing an S-rank.
“Haa… If that’s the case, I’d rather just reject it outright…”
“Can’t you just come clean and tell me what’s going on?”
By now, even Tae-rim was getting frustrated. This just wasn’t like Jung Jae-heon at all. Jae-heon looked at Tae-rim and let out a long, heavy sigh.
“They’re the one who insisted on coming.”
“Then what’s the problem with an age gap? If they’re okay with it, then it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“I’m not okay with it…”
“What’s the Matching Rate?”
“…Eighty-eight percent.”
“Wow… Congratulations, Jung Jae-heon Esper-nim!”
“I’m telling you, this isn’t something to celebrate.”
“What’s wrong with a little age difference? Are they an A-rank?”
“……”
“…B-rank?”
“……S-rank.”
This time, it was Lee Tae-rim who was shocked. An S-rank with an 88% Matching Rate—anyone would say that wasn’t just enough for a dedicated pairing; it was practically a foregone conclusion that they’d end up dating. Even Tae-rim, who’d initially seen Seon Juho as nothing but a kid, had eventually ended up like this. Their physical age gap was only two years, but mentally, Tae-rim was twenty-eight. That made an eight-year difference between them.
“An S-rank with 88%? That’s definitely something worth celebrating, Esper Jung Jae-heon! Since you were already planning to date anyway, you might as well just take lifelong responsibility for them.”
“Haa, Tae-rim. Don’t make it sound so easy. When I was ten, they hadn’t even been born yet. When I was twenty, they were still in elementary school.”
“How old are they now?”
“…Twenty-two.”
“C’mon. That’s only a year younger than me.”
“It’s not just ‘C’mon.’ I’m seriously conflicted here.”
“I was twenty-two just last year. That’s plenty old enough to make your own choices.”
“Well, yeah, but…”
Tae-rim was technically twenty-eight, but that was a secret. Either way, twenty-two… Who knew? It probably depended on the person’s character, but still—the fact remained that this person was coming here of their own volition. That meant they genuinely wanted to be around Jung Jae-heon.
“Oh! Then Guide Bae Jieun can finally transfer out, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Where’s the new Guide coming from?”
“District 4.”
“Wait, they’re really just letting someone transfer out of District 4 like that?”
“No way. But the Guide was so firm about it, and District 4 isn’t exactly hurting for S-rank Guides right now.”
“Well, that’s great news, then.”
“…I don’t know. I’m not sure this is great news.”
“Esper Jung Jae-heon, you do realize other Espers would throw rocks at you if they heard you say that, right?”
“……”
So that’s what it was. That’s why he couldn’t tell anyone and ended up stewing in silence, zoning out like he was. Tae-rim finally understood.
“Why would someone like that even be interested in an old guy like me…?”
“If it’s really that hard for you to wrap your head around, why not just assume they wanted to come to District 1 in the first place? The high Matching Rate with you is just a happy coincidence.”
“Oh! That… actually makes sense!”
“……”
Tch. Tae-rim instantly regretted offering that excuse. If Jung Jae-heon used it as a shield to keep avoiding his feelings again, that wouldn’t help anyone.
“Thanks, Tae-rim. I feel a lot better now.”
“Still, that Matching Rate’s not going anywhere, Esper Jung Jae-heon.”
“……”
“You’ve seen Juho, right? He basically melts like jelly. That’s just a 2% difference from yours. I mean, I don’t know what it feels like to be Guided, but you better brace yourself.”
“You can be so heartless sometimes…”
Jung Jae-heon pouted and grumbled, but he looked much better than before. As expected, talking it out with someone had lightened the emotional load.
But the next day, Tae-rim heard something shocking from Kim Hyo-il.
“The new Guide who’s replacing Bae Jieun has a wild backstory.”
“What is it, what is it? What’s with the suspense this early in the morning?”
“I seriously wanna know what your deal is, Hyo-il. Where do you even hear this stuff…? I didn’t even know we were getting a new Guide. Am I the only one?”
“Don’t worry. Me too.”
“……”
“Tae-rim, did you know?”
“Um… well…”
“You heard it from Esper Jung Jae-heon, didn’t you?”
“It has something to do with him?”
“Yep.”
Kim Hyo-il’s information network was honestly uncanny. A backstory for the new Guide? Even Jung Jae-heon didn’t know anything like that—he was clearly avoiding the report on purpose.
“They almost got hit by a truck when they were little, but Esper Jung Jae-heon happened to be nearby and bam! He saved them.”
“Oh my god. It’s Life-Saving Angel: Season 2.”
Judging by the sideways glance Yoon Ye-rin shot Tae-rim, he figured she must consider herself Season 1. Tae-rim chuckled to himself.
“But all they remembered was Jung Jae-heon’s name. Barely got it out of him before he tried to walk off. Said it was love at first sight.”
“Oh my god! Oh my god!”
Yoon Ye-rin was practically squealing with joy. Honestly, Tae-rim found the story pretty dramatic himself—it definitely piqued his interest.
“They thought it was just an unattainable first love, since he was an Esper. But then they Awakened at twenty-two. And not just that—they Awakened as an S-rank! So the moment they Awakened, they dropped Jung Jae-heon’s name and demanded to get their Matching Rate tested.”
“Twenty-two? Isn’t that an 11-year age gap with Jung Jae-heon Esper-nim?”
“What about the Matching Rate? Was it high?”
“A whopping 88%!”
“OH MY GOD! It’s fate! F-A-T-E! Come on, age is just a number. They’re both S-ranks and 88% compatible? That’s the endgame right there. What else do you need?”
…Should Tae-rim tell Jung Jae-heon all this?
He was probably still in denial, using the excuse Tae-rim had given him about the Guide just wanting to come to District 1.
“Does Esper Jung Jae-heon know about all this?”
Everyone turned to look at Tae-rim. He gave them a sheepish smile and shook his head.
“Not a clue.”
