Jang Jin-young of the White Guild was the Pair Guide to Esper Baek Jong-hoon.
As a B-rank Guide, he was treated quite well within the guild. The same was true for Baek Jong-hoon, who was also B-rank. Although there were higher ranks—S and A—those were so few in number that even B-ranks were afforded good treatment. Both of them were highly satisfied with the guild.
Guild Leader Kim Mi-yeon was aware of this and often assigned the two to work with Han Ju-oh. While Esper Han Ju-oh had excellent abilities, he had a notoriously unruly personality, which made many people reluctant to team up with him. Still, since he couldn’t be left to operate alone, they tried to match him with a team whenever possible—hence the frequent pairing.
At first, they went along simply because Kim Mi-yeon asked them to. But eventually, they began to seek out Han Ju-oh on their own.
Of course, sticking close to him meant they might be assigned to higher-grade gates and face greater danger, but there was a reason they kept following him around.
How to put it… maybe it was the thrill of watching him?
“Hey, you know that massive thing you’ve got.”
“You know, the thing we’ve been doing all the time lately. Showing it off, swinging it around, bam bam… You really don’t know what I’m talking about?”
The two perked up their ears at Baek Seo-ha’s words, the A-rank Guide who had just been paired up. They already knew Baek Seo-ha had a notoriously low compatibility rate—barely 3%—and they had met him a few times before.
But what he just said to Han Ju-oh was just too…
“That’s totally it, right?”
“Yup.”
No doubt about it—those were dirty words! They exchanged glances, growing more certain.
In truth, sexual guiding between Pairs wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Not only was it effective, but it also felt good while doing it.
So, hearing Baek Seo-ha and Han Ju-oh exchange those kinds of remarks—it had to mean that kind of guiding.
‘Now that I think about it, they do look good together.’
No one could really understand why Han Ju-oh had chosen to form a Pair with Baek Seo-ha. Some people had openly talked trash about Baek Seo-ha and ended up getting wrecked for it, but honestly, it wasn’t hard to see where they were coming from. Even they couldn’t make sense of it.
Even now, they were still confused. But at the very least, the two of them standing side by side made for a picture-perfect view.
A good-looking guy next to another good-looking guy—whatever else you could say about the combo, it was a feast for the eyes.
And there was something else too. Watching them felt like witnessing a couple in the first stages of dating. That sweet, fresh energy made them think, ‘Yeah… we were like that once too.’
That’s how it had seemed, at least…
“I’m just gonna do what I’m here to do.”
“Then stay where I can see you.”
“That’s what I’m saying—I will stay where you can see me.”
…They’re fighting.
“Do you have some kind of superstition or something?”
“I’m not the type to rely on superstitions because I lack confidence.”
…Still fighting.
“There’s a sentry posted, so why the hell are you making a fuss about not sleeping?!”
“Because I don’t trust him.”
“It’s all about mutual support! What are you gonna do if you don’t believe in your teammates?”
“Which is why I’m not sleeping.”
“What are you, a superhuman or something?”
…They kept fighting all the way until bedtime.
No one could figure out why those two had ever signed a Pair contract—they just didn’t mesh. Plenty of people had seen them coming and going from the training room together, but judging by the lack of gossip, maybe they didn’t fight like this in there?
“Those two…”
Baek Jong-hoon opened his mouth, and Jang Jin-young looked up from applying sunscreen, waiting for him to go on.
“Are fighting again.”
“Hmm?”
Jang Jin-young glanced over at Guide Baek Seo-ha and Esper Han Ju-oh and muttered.
“Yeah, they are.”
Tirelessly, the two were at it again.
“Why did they even become partners?”
“Maybe one of them has something on the other?”
Baek Jong-hoon muttered suspiciously, but Jang Jin-young shook his head.
“You think Han Ju-oh is the type to be dragged around by blackmail?”
“Good point…”
Not being close didn’t mean they didn’t know the guy. Having followed Han Ju-oh around so much, they probably knew him better than anyone.
Like how he preferred to personally handle monsters rather than coordinating with other Espers. Or how, even when his overload risk soared high enough to turn his face red, he wouldn’t just grab any random Guide for assistance.
So, when a person like that brought in Baek Seo-ha as his partner, they assumed it must mean the two had some kind of special compatibility.
But now…
“At this point, shouldn’t they just break up?”
Jang Jin-young muttered, watching the two bicker endlessly. Baek Jong-hoon nodded in agreement.
***
Wow…
“At this point, we were definitely enemies in our past lives.”
There was just no other explanation unless they were fated to cross paths on a single-log bridge in this life. That’s how bad things were—stress was steadily building in Seo-ha’s body from the constant squabbles with Han Ju-oh.
“He says he’s looking out for me, so why does he keep refusing my help?”
Even when he used to trail after Espers just asking them to run a matching test, he’d never been turned down this often. Most of them would eventually give in after a few tries—eat a meal, take a nap… but Han Ju-oh?
“Forget it, I’m not even gonna talk about it.”
Seo-ha held back his irritation, imagining himself wrapping up his sleeping bag—with Han Ju-oh inside it.
“I mean, it’s not like we were ever in sync to begin with. This is just the norm.”
Whenever Seo-ha wanted to do something, Han Ju-oh would instinctively refuse. If Seo-ha moved forward, that guy would go backward. It was just how it was.
Thinking about it that way dulled the sting of all the arguments that had piled up between them.
“So seriously, why did those two even become partners?”
His hand rolling up the sleeping bag paused. It was the first time he’d heard someone mention him directly since the day he got the contract offer.
“Shh, quiet. Or your Esper’s gonna get dragged into this again.”
“This is a dungeon, you know. Even Han Ju-oh can’t just go wild in here.”
That brusque voice—Seo-ha had heard it somewhere before. Since he knew most of the Guides who’d entered with the team this time, he tried to remember. A man with that kind of husky voice…
‘Ah! A-rank Yoo Seong-hyun.’
A college classmate. Back then, he was the kind of guy everyone expected would be scouted first—he was good at everything.
‘But I got scouted first, and things went downhill between us.’
They hadn’t been especially close to begin with, but that moment had solidified the awkwardness between them.
“It’s not like I’m making stuff up. You saw them, right? They don’t match on a single level. What kind of partners are they supposed to be?”
Seo-ha could tell him to stop gossiping behind people’s backs—but he couldn’t say the guy was lying. Yoo Seong-hyun was right. Seo-ha and Han Ju-oh didn’t match on a single point.
And realizing that only after signing the contract? That stung even more.
“What if something happens during a monster attack and they’re out of sync?”
‘I know I’m the worst kind of partner, okay?’
He knew he was a pathetic Guide—the kind who got hung up on whether his Esper ate or slept.
“Maybe it’s a good thing I heard it firsthand. I’m so used to the talk behind my back that it doesn’t hit anymore.”
But Han Ju-oh… that guy wasn’t like that.
Seo-ha finished rolling his sleeping bag with a neutral expression and stretched his limbs. It felt like he was just camping in the mountains, but this was still a dungeon. A place where monsters could appear at any moment—so staying in peak condition was non-negotiable.
BEEEEEP—
The sound of a trap being triggered made Seo-ha immediately turn toward the noise. Black clouds rolled in from above, and the ground started to rumble. The enemy wasn’t visible yet, but flying avian-type monsters were approaching from the sky, and something was charging across the ground en masse.
A swarming-type monster. They usually came in groups, which made battles tedious—but not especially dangerous for Espers. The real problem came if even one slipped past and got to a Guide.
Even low-level monsters were a threat to regular humans wearing standard battle gear made of cloth.
Recognizing this, Seo-ha quickly looked around and positioned himself near a large tree, practically leaning into it. The thick canopy would shield him from flying monsters overhead, and if any charged him, he could use the tree as a makeshift shield.
Attacks from three directions would be handled by the Esper assigned to protect him. Still, just in case, Seo-ha readied the electric stun baton he carried for self-defense.
Han Ju-oh, who had been nowhere to be seen, suddenly dropped from the sky and locked eyes with him. As Han Ju-oh surveyed the area, his gaze sharpened with interest.
“Nice spot you’ve got.”
Other Guides had taken positions too, but none as smartly as Seo-ha. Some had even climbed up onto rocks, only to be scolded by Espers and told to come down to avoid slipping.
Seo-ha shrugged his shoulders at Han Ju-oh, gesturing toward the spot he’d claimed. ‘Yeah, I know.’
“Don’t worry about me. Just go fight. …And don’t overdo it. You know I don’t have much to give with my guiding, right?”
Han Ju-oh gave a faint nod—barely visible, but enough.
“Be careful out there.”
“…Have my food ready.”
“What?”
“Pretty sure that bento you’ve got was homemade.”
How he knew that despite not eating any was a mystery—but he was right. There were premade dungeon meals sold outside, but after eating them so often, Seo-ha had started making his own versions. Tweaked to suit his tastes.
But when Han Ju-oh had refused it, Seo-ha ended up eating alone.
“Eat it or don’t.”
Seo-ha’s tone was snappy—probably because he’d been rejected earlier. But still, he hadn’t said he wouldn’t give it to him.
“Alright. I’ll be back.”
Staring at the swarm of monsters now taking clear shape, Han Ju-oh muttered softly and vanished.
A clean exit. No pushback. No argument.
