Baek Seo-ha wondered why Han Ju-oh kept clinging to him. He had already shown all his cards to Han Ju-oh, so it wasn’t likely that the man was still attracted to his guiding ability. After all, he was a low-matching-rate Guide, and Han Ju-oh was a top-tier Esper.
But still…
If you peeled back just one layer, you could see something else. Like—what if he didn’t come here because of guiding?
If that were true, then there was only one explanation.
“Is it because you’re interested in me?”
Han Ju-oh, who had been staring straight ahead, slowly turned his head and met his gaze. As the color drained from his eyes, Baek Seo-ha’s expression didn’t budge an inch.
“You said you wanted me.”
Han Ju-oh, as a person, had taken a liking to him.
Seo-ha held eye contact with Han Ju-oh and smirked.
“When we first met, you couldn’t take your eyes off my face. You fell for me, didn’t you?”
“Me? Fall for someone?”
Han Ju-oh frowned like he couldn’t make sense of it.
“You even reached out your hand toward me.”
“That was…”
Han Ju-oh opened his mouth, then closed it again. The first time he’d been guided, Baek Seo-ha had coldly pulled his hand away, which he found both irritating and oddly compelling. He had wanted so badly for Seo-ha to guide him again. But that didn’t mean he was falling for him, so he tried to clarify the situation—only for Seo-ha to beat him to it.
“You keep showing up, and your requests for guiding are way too awkward to pass off as just an excuse. That just makes it more suspicious.”
At Seo-ha’s brazen response, Han Ju-oh clamped his mouth shut and stared straight ahead.
“People keep wondering why someone like you hangs around someone like me, and you still chased me all the way out to the sticks. That says it all. So…”
There were still ten minutes left in the examination. As Seo-ha checked the time, his smile faded.
“If you’re not into me, then tell me the real reason.”
His voice, which had been steadily pushing the mood forward, suddenly turned cold. Everything he’d just said had been a deliberate act.
Seo-ha already knew Han Ju-oh wasn’t here because of a crush. He’d said all that just to draw out his true motive.
Once the fake smile disappeared, not a shred of life remained in his expression. Like a doll devoid of emotions from the start, Seo-ha stared at Han Ju-oh with detached eyes.
Ever since this man showed up, the peace he had finally found had been shattered. Thanks to Han Ju-oh, it felt like he was stuck on a boat bobbing in a stormy sea—his mood constantly rising and falling—and he hated it.
Seeing Han Ju-oh say nothing, Seo-ha let out a short laugh.
“Guess you’ve got nothing to say.”
He read the message saying he could remove his hand and, feeling the tension in his shoulders from the stress, rolled them out as he spoke.
“Today’s the last time. Don’t come looking for me again. If you do, I’ll report you to the Guide Human Rights Commission.”
With that final warning—his way of using the system to block Han Ju-oh’s advances—Seo-ha pulled his hand off the interface dome. Since he hadn’t moved at all during the test, his wrist was stiff, so he rubbed it absently.
Han Ju-oh turned his head and looked for Kim Mi-yeon.
Their eyes met—she had been watching the entire time—and she gave a subtle wave with the file in her hand, signaling she’d gotten what she needed. Han Ju-oh gave her a barely perceptible nod in response.
“You want attention?”
As Seo-ha stepped away from the machine, he stumbled. Nearly falling, he barely caught himself and glared at Han Ju-oh.
“You asking if I want attention? I said that because you keep clinging to me. I want you to back off.”
“Which basically means, you’d like it if I liked you. That’s how it sounds.”
“That’s not what I meant, so stop twisting it.”
“I’m just saying what you seem to want to hear.”
“You’re insane. Completely nuts.”
Seo-ha let out a breathy laugh and stared at Han Ju-oh. Where the hell did this Esper drop from, and why was he here turning his life into a soap opera?
“So I have a proposal for you.”
Han Ju-oh looked at Seo-ha’s flushed face—still warm from the machine’s heat—and whispered.
“Let’s date.”
A confession, right after a compatibility test?
Feeling Han Ju-oh’s eyes tracing over his face, Seo-ha muttered,
“Are you seriously asking me out?”
“Be my pair Guide.”
His question was steamrolled by Han Ju-oh’s smile and ignored completely. Ridiculous as it was, Han Ju-oh really was interested in Baek Seo-ha—the Guide.
If it were just his looks, maybe that would’ve made sense. But to be interested in him as a Guide…?
Seo-ha took a moment to steady his breathing and finally responded to Han Ju-oh’s confession.
“Go fuck yourself.”
***
After walking out of the building, Seo-ha exhaled the breath he’d been holding back.
“The whole world really is out to betray me.”
The number 3 appeared on the screen. The moment Han Ju-oh proposed becoming pair Guides, Baek Seo-ha’s gaze shot straight to that number.
He could feel it—his energy didn’t flow well when channeled into the dome. There were far too many reasons not to get his hopes up. The numbers on his watch, the countless failed attempts at guiding… And above all, the fact that he felt nothing when they touched. The result was never going to be any different.
And yet, even though he already knew this, seeing the number for himself left a fresh scratch across his heart.
Of course. He’d let himself get swayed by the pair proposal—just maybe?—and now this.
Seo-ha raked his fingers through his hair, rough and frustrated, then dropped heavily to the floor.
“Guess I really don’t cut it.”
It seemed he couldn’t be of help to even a single person.
***
Kim Mi-yeon approached Han Ju-oh with a grim expression.
“You’re seriously bringing him in as your pair Guide?”
She’d told him to do as he pleased when he took the test, but that didn’t mean she was endorsing a pair bond. She’d only learned that he’d submitted his resignation to the Center, and she was suggesting a move to the White Guild—not a pair bond. And to form one with a 3% match rate? That was completely unheard of.
A low-matching-rate Guide couldn’t provide stable guiding. So why would Han Ju-oh willingly pair up and endure the discomfort and risk? It just made him look reckless.
“I have to.”
“What do you mean, have to? Do you even know what being in a pair means? Or are you brushing it off because you’ve never done it before and don’t realize how serious it is?”
“I’m doing it.”
At Han Ju-oh’s stubbornness, Kim Mi-yeon slapped her chest in frustration.
“You idiot. A pair bond means you become each other’s top priority. It’s a relationship even more important than comrades who go to war with their backs to each other.”
“More important than a comrade who’d save your life?”
“Obviously. An Esper might be able to sever the hand of a monster trying to split their skull open—but that’s it. A pair is something else.”
Her voice dropped, solemn and heavy, and Han Ju-oh’s demeanor also sobered.
“A Guide is someone who soothes an Esper living with death constantly at their side. They have to be someone you can lean on emotionally. Do you really think Baek Seo-ha can be that person?”
“So that’s why pair bonds aren’t something to take lightly?”
When Han Ju-oh responded with a question instead of answering, Kim Mi-yeon realized he wasn’t really listening.
“Exactly. Why do you think I’m trying to stop you? Never take a pair bond lightly. You know how often imprinting happens in pair relationships.”
“Then that just makes it an even better reason to keep Baek Seo-ha with me.”
“What?”
The conviction in Han Ju-oh’s calm tone made it clear that none of her warnings had gotten through to him.
“I get how you feel. But do you really think you can keep him just because you want to? This could be bad for both of you.”
Kim Mi-yeon tried once more to dissuade him.
“You don’t have to push yourself to the limit. We all agreed that if you couldn’t find a Guide from the start, we’d work around that…”
“But I found one.”
“…”
As Kim Mi-yeon faltered, Han Ju-oh repeated himself.
“He’s the only one who can guide me when I’m on the verge of losing control. Telling me to give up on that doesn’t make sense.”
Sure, the abysmal match rate was concerning. But more than that, what mattered was that Baek Seo-ha was the only person who could stop his rampage.
“Just like you said—he’s the only one I can rely on emotionally.”
“And that’s why you want to be his pair?”
“I want to.”
Han Ju-oh nodded, then looked out the window. Baek Seo-ha hadn’t gotten far. Hands on his hips, shoulders rising and falling sharply, he was visibly fuming.
Was the idea of being asked to be a pair Guide that outrageous?
Han Ju-oh glanced at Kim Mi-yeon. Even now, there was another volatile human right in front of him. If that was anything to go by, maybe this proposal was a little insane.
“But oh well.”
Han Ju-oh leaned on his hand and watched Baek Seo-ha from above. Seo-ha was pacing in circles, sighing in utter exasperation.
“Now that I’ve found him, I have no intention of letting him go.”
He already knew Seo-ha had deliberately refused to guide him. That alone was enough to make up his mind.
“Why not just go to Guide Jin Ga-min right now and form a pair with him? That guy sticks to you like glue and guides you constantly. If he keeps it up, you might not even get close to going out of control. Right?”
Kim Mi-yeon’s face brightened, thinking maybe she’d finally come up with a decent suggestion—but the look in Han Ju-oh’s eyes made that hope vanish instantly.
“You’re not even pretending to listen anymore, are you.”
Seeing the soft smile tug at Han Ju-oh’s lips, Kim Mi-yeon sighed in defeat. She knew there was no getting through to him now.
“He’s gonna drive me insane…”
She should’ve stopped Han Ju-oh from getting interested in Baek Seo-ha in the first place.
