More energy flowed into Han Ju-oh’s mouth.
So then, just as Han Ju-oh had said… had Seo-ha really Guided him by 30%?
That flicker of hope quickly died. The flow of energy had stopped. The Guiding had disappeared before he realized it, and now their lips were merely touching—but Seo-ha just stood there, dazed, unable to even think of pulling away. He knew Han Ju-oh was breathing in his air, and that the man’s breath was entering his own mouth, but he couldn’t move. It was true—he really couldn’t react in any way. If he had to consciously remember how to breathe right now, he probably would’ve forgotten even that.
In the end, it was Han Ju-oh who moved first. He pulled back and met Seo-ha’s gaze.
“How was it?”
“The energy increased. It definitely increased, but…”
Seo-ha mumbled as he hurriedly pulled up his sleeve. From the watch he never took off, a number he’d never seen before popped up.
5%.
It wasn’t an explosive increase. More like three drops turning into five?
“That’s not 30%.”
He couldn’t just be happy. Han Ju-oh’s earlier comment was still stuck in his head. If what he said was true, the energy should’ve surged by over six times this amount…
“You’re so greedy.”
“How is this greed?”
“Isn’t the important part that it increased at all?”
“…Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
He’d been stupidly fixated on how little it had increased.
“Did I really improve?”
For Seo-ha, who had only ever transferred a fixed amount of energy, even this level of change was electrifying—so intense, it sent shivers down his spine. The watch confirmed it hadn’t just been his imagination. Just a moment ago he’d been drowning in despair, and now he was so stunned that his mouth hung open.
“This… This is real?”
He couldn’t believe it. He shook his wrist in every direction and tapped the watch’s screen, but nothing changed. It was real. Something had truly changed.
While Seo-ha couldn’t tear his eyes away from the watch, Han Ju-oh made a call to someone and told them to come over.
“I wasn’t lying. You really Guided me in that dungeon.”
“Then why did you say I was as sharp as ever?”
“You saw for yourself just now. We kissed the same way, but the results were different.”
“…That’s true.”
Seo-ha kept reacting like a fool, but right now, he didn’t have the mind to care about such things.
“The rest will be explained by someone else.”
Not long after, there was a knock, and two people entered. It was Guild Leader Kim Mi-yeon and a doctor.
“You’re awake.”
Kim Mi-yeon greeted him simply and studied his face.
“Your complexion doesn’t look bad, but what do you think, Professor?”
Before Seo-ha could say anything, the doctor stepped forward.
“There were no issues with the treatment. Do you feel any discomfort?”
“I’m a little dizzy, but it’s bearable.”
When Seo-ha shook his head, the doctor continued examining him and asking a few more questions before saying he just needed rest and leaving the room.
Once the three of them were alone, Kim Mi-yeon pulled over a chair and sat down, observing Seo-ha closely.
“Curious about everything, aren’t you?”
She wore a mischievous glint in her eye, as if she already knew what had thrown Seo-ha so out of sorts. Her expression practically buzzed with excitement, as though she were figuring out where to start the story.
“Keep the quips to a minimum. Just stick to the facts.”
If Han Ju-oh hadn’t anticipated it and stopped her, Kim Mi-yeon likely would’ve thrown out all kinds of teasing remarks just to see Seo-ha’s reaction.
“I was surprised by the results too.”
So surprised, in fact, that it made her want to joke around a bit—something she didn’t usually do.
“I’ll explain everything step by step.”
When Kim Mi-yeon’s tone shifted to something more serious, Seo-ha focused on her.
“Your Guiding inside the dungeon prevented Han Ju-oh from going berserk. If he had lost control back then, everyone inside would’ve been in serious danger.”
This wasn’t just anyone—they were talking about Han Ju-oh. An S-Class Esper’s rampage was powerful enough to obliterate an entire city. People often joked that with just three S-Class Espers, you could wipe out a small nation.
“As soon as you exited the Gate, we ran multiple tests. Your Guiding exceeded all previously recorded compatibility ratios, so we looked into how that could’ve happened…”
Kim Mi-yeon paused briefly, and Seo-ha let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, so focused on her words he’d forgotten to breathe.
“But we haven’t pinpointed the exact cause yet.”
“You haven’t?”
Seo-ha repeated the disappointing response.
“No. Even Director Kim Beom-hak personally got involved and helped analyze the data, but nothing stood out conclusively. It’s true you were caught up in an explosion, but you’ve been in danger before, haven’t you?”
It was true—if they were talking about other dungeons before pairing with Han Ju-oh, Seo-ha had faced danger more than once.
“Still, it’s not like you and Han Ju-oh are emotionally in sync or anything… The professor said he needs more time to research, so we’ll have to wait. But one thing’s clear: this incident became a turning point, and your compatibility rate with him rose—just a little.”
Kim Mi-yeon glanced at Han Ju-oh, as if asking whether he’d checked the compatibility numbers. When Han Ju-oh nodded, she turned her gaze back to Seo-ha.
“In short, the floodgates have opened.”
She might have added something like “congratulations” right after, but Seo-ha was so spaced out he barely noticed it.
***
“Do you happen to have any idea what might have caused this, Guide Baek? Try thinking deeply about it.”
That was what Kim Mi-yeon had said before leaving. She’d pulled Han Ju-oh out with her, telling Seo-ha to reach out anytime if something came to mind.
Left alone, Seo-ha began piecing together what had happened.
“So my Guiding in the dungeon really calmed Han Ju-oh down.”
And to think the energy that had always seemed locked away inside him—never responding—had flowed into Han Ju-oh’s body.
“It would’ve been nice if it worked like that all the time.”
Seo-ha tapped lightly at his chest. It didn’t bring any actual response, but it was as if he were asking his own body, Don’t you get how much I’ve been suffering?
“And now that energy won’t flow the same way again.”
Just the fact that the compatibility rate had shifted was meaningful. But it still wasn’t enough.
“What exactly changed? All I did was smash lips… Han Ju-oh did the same. Wait—I’ve kissed that guy twice now.”
First he leaned in, then Han Ju-oh…
They hadn’t asked for permission either time, so technically they were even. But if simply holding hands could raise compatibility, there was really no need to use their lips.
“Was it… romantic intent? No, come on. As if Han Ju-oh’s trying to get something out of me.”
He was an annoying bastard, sure, but he wasn’t some scumbag.
Seo-ha had once had those kinds of thoughts, but he was far more generous now. He wasn’t the same person who’d been crushed by that unshakable “3% compatibility” figure.
“Yeah, it used to be rough.”
He’d felt so wronged—why did this only happen to him? And the first time he heard people mocking him, he’d been too ashamed to even step outside for days. Sure, he’d developed immunity to all that now, enough to laugh it off. But that didn’t mean the past had disappeared.
“Maybe I can become a normal Guide after all.”
He wasn’t aiming to be some extraordinary Guide. He didn’t dream of being someone other people admired. He just wanted to be average—nothing more, nothing less.
For someone like Seo-ha, for whom even that had felt out of reach, that was the dream.
When he’d been convinced his compatibility would never go beyond 3%, he’d decided to give it all up. But now… maybe that dream could actually come true.
***
Yeah, right. Fat chance.
“No.”
Seo-ha flatly refused, even crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Sure, the sudden change of attitude was ridiculous—but he couldn’t help it. And honestly, anyone else in his shoes would’ve reacted the same.
“You’re saying we need more physical contact to raise the numbers?”
If simply holding hands was enough to Guide someone, then why the hell did lips—or anything else—need to be involved?!
He protested, calling it absurd, but Han Ju-oh’s expression stayed completely serious. He looked perfectly calm as he casually suggested taking things up a notch.
If he at least tried to look like he was persuading him, he’d be a little less aggravating.
“Kissing was better than holding hands.”
“It was barely better.”
A kiss had resulted in 5%, and holding hands had gotten them to 4%. The numbers had increased either way—but the imbalance was what made this so ridiculous.
“You’ve got no sense of professional ethics.”
Seo-ha snorted at Han Ju-oh’s jab.
“Says the one breaking all the rules.”
Seo-ha was clearly under a Special Pair Contract. Unless it was an emergency, Han Ju-oh was supposed to be Guided by someone else. Ignoring the contract—how ethical was that, really?
“We’re not even in a relationship, so why should we be doing things like this?”
“Which is exactly why we should treat it as our professional duty, don’t you think?”
“No. I don’t.”
“We already kissed, didn’t we?”
“That was…”
Seo-ha trailed off, at a loss for words, while Han Ju-oh patiently waited for him to continue.
Sure, for the sake of Guiding, sometimes people did all sorts of things with someone they barely knew.
Honestly, Guiding through physical contact was practically an invitation to get all handsy without judgment, but still—come on. Without any feelings behind it, just using his body like that…
“Yeah, no. I can’t do it.”
If he were the type who could, he’d have already tried every trick in the book with other Espers during matching tests.
When Seo-ha made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, Han Ju-oh didn’t push the matter and left the hospital room.
Sure, he might show up again tomorrow and say the exact same thing during another visit—but for now, the important part was that he’d left.
“Whew…”
Seo-ha let out a breath and wiped his forehead. ‘Barely fought him off.’
But then the door burst open.
Startled, Seo-ha jerked his head up, half-worried Han Ju-oh had returned.
Instead, it was someone else.
“What? What’s with that look? Am I not allowed in here or something?”
Seo-ha stared, and Moon Roi didn’t step inside, instead glancing around awkwardly from the doorway.
It was clear he was wondering if he was even supposed to be here, fussing as he double-checked his surroundings.
