“I don’t know where you heard that… but I can’t exactly say it’s wrong.”
Thanks to Han Ju-oh setting things straight, the number of people talking about him like they did at the Center had sharply decreased. Even if they thought they could whisper behind his back without getting caught, Han Ju-oh had absurdly sharp ears.
Seo-ha threw Cho Ha-cheol’s sarcasm right back at him. He had no idea why Cho Ha-cheol had to come all the way to the guild to pick a fight or why he was so hell-bent on making his life miserable, but it seriously pissed him off.
His head was already a mess, and now this? Cho Ha-cheol really had the worst timing.
“The only true thing that’s ever come out of your lying mouth was your resignation letter. Said you’d quit guiding. But nope. You waltz right in here, living it up, and dumped all the shit on me.”
“Ha-cheol.”
Feeling a sudden wave of fatigue, Seo-ha pressed his fingers against his eyelids.
“Pretty sure what’s coming out of your mouth right now is shit. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be saying crap like that.”
“Ugh, Baek Seo-ha, because of you…!”
Seo-ha’s calm retort made Cho Ha-cheol’s face flush red. He must’ve expected to exchange a few heated lines and set the whole thing ablaze, but clearly, Cho Ha-cheol’s temper had gotten even shorter since last they met.
Seeing how fast he reacted, Seo-ha began to wonder if something had happened—then a possibility dawned on him.
“Don’t tell me… after I quit…”
“Yeah! Just like you said, I ended up being the most useless Guide!”
Cho Ha-cheol burst out, voice shaking with resentment.
“Do you have any idea how hard things have been for me because of you? You ruined everything!”
“Oh, I see.”
Seo-ha spread his hands dramatically, feigning surprise with a completely soulless reaction. That half-assed act seemed to provoke Cho Ha-cheol even more, turning his face crimson.
He clenched his fists tight, seemingly forgetting he was a full ten centimeters shorter than Seo-ha.
“Come back.”
“What?”
Seo-ha touched his ear, pretending he hadn’t heard.
“I said come back!”
“Ha-cheol, have you lost your damn mind?”
Why the hell would he go back to a place he fought so hard to leave? The only reason he joined this guild was because of Han Ju-oh. Otherwise, Seo-ha had fully intended to quit guiding for good.
“I can only go back to normal if you’re there. As long as you’re around, I feel safe.”
“So I should sacrifice myself for your sake? Ha.”
All he could do was laugh in disbelief—but when he saw how serious Cho Ha-cheol’s face was, the laughter died in his throat, replaced by a surge of bitter emotion.
“Hey. Cho Ha-cheol.”
The playful tone vanished from Seo-ha’s voice. Using his full name made Cho Ha-cheol flinch. But when he realized he was being talked down to, his eyes sharpened in defiance.
“So, you’ve been suffering? It was that hard?”
“W-Well… it’s your fault…”
“Yeah? So I’m supposed to be your personal lightning rod, is that it?”
Cho Ha-cheol knew he was being mocked and his face twisted.
“Then why should I come back? I don’t like you, and you don’t like me.”
“B-But you always managed to handle everything, didn’t you? No matter what anyone said, you just laughed it off…”
As Cho Ha-cheol tried to explain why he wanted to bring Seo-ha back, a new voice cut in.
“That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.”
Seo-ha and Cho Ha-cheol both turned toward the voice. They had already guessed who it was by the familiar tone, and once it was confirmed to be Han Ju-oh, their reactions split.
“Ugh, I didn’t want him to see me like this. What if he falls for me again?”
Seo-ha muttered with a sigh. Considering how Han Ju-oh had talked earlier, it felt like even watching Seo-ha breathe was enough to make him fall in love all over again. Meanwhile, Cho Ha-cheol gasped like he’d just seen the Grim Reaper walk in.
Han Ju-oh had thrashed an Esper right in front of him just for insulting Seo-ha. It didn’t take a genius to realize why he’d appeared at that exact moment.
“Just because Seo-ha’s matching rate is low doesn’t mean he’s someone you can treat like trash. No one has the right to look down on him.”
Han Ju-oh walked slowly toward Cho Ha-cheol, spelling it out point by point.
“I didn’t mean… And I’m not the only one who said things…”
Cornered by Han Ju-oh’s pressure, Cho Ha-cheol instinctively stepped back while still trying to plead his case.
“The Center was where Baek Seo-ha belonged, and if he didn’t intend to quit guiding, then… then it’s okay for him to go back, right? That’s why I came—to bring him back.”
Even as his words stumbled, Cho Ha-cheol insisted on his view to the end.
“So you can bring him back and mock him again?”
“That’s…”
No matter how irrational Cho Ha-cheol was being, it wasn’t something he could refute. He’d always kept Baek Seo-ha’s low matching rate in his back pocket as an easy target—something to mock whenever it suited him, just so he could stay safe. He’d always planned to chew him up when it was convenient.
“I like him.”
“Huh? What? Excuse me?!”
Cho Ha-cheol stumbled over his words in confusion at Han Ju-oh’s abrupt confession, while Seo-ha dropped his head low.
“So I’m not going to let him get hurt anymore. What he’s been through already is more than enough.”
“W-Well, maybe he’s forgotten everything that happened…”
Cho Ha-cheol tried to offer a weak excuse, but all he got was Han Ju-oh’s icy stare.
“Then maybe you should just forget everything you heard.”
What a laughable situation, especially considering Cho Ha-cheol was the one who couldn’t hold back and try to drag Seo-ha back in the first place.
“I’ll be the one to comfort Seo-ha. I’ll give him time and heal him slowly.”
Cho Ha-cheol stood frozen, his mouth hanging open, speechless. So Seo-ha stepped in.
“How could you say something like that right in front of me?”
He had no idea when Han Ju-oh had decided he’d be the one to heal Seo-ha’s wounds. Caught off guard, Seo-ha felt a strange mix of embarrassment and reluctant pleasure.
He’d never heard anything like this before…
‘Ugh, there I go again, digging up the past.’
He should’ve just let himself be honestly moved, but instead, his mind was racing in circles again. Placing a hand to his chest to calm his pounding heart, Seo-ha gently patted the back of Han Ju-oh’s hand.
“I’ll take it from here.”
He was genuinely grateful that Han Ju-oh had stood up for him. He’d probably replay those words in his head before bed and fall asleep with a smile.
But when it came to putting a proper end to things with Cho Ha-cheol, Seo-ha wanted to do it himself. He gave Han Ju-oh a warm look, then turned back around.
***
When Han Ju-oh had shown up, Cho Ha-cheol had immediately shriveled like a scolded dog. But now, under Seo-ha’s gaze, he forced his shoulders back and lifted his chin. No matter what front Seo-ha put on, he was still just a guy with a lower matching rate—nothing special.
Unless he fully quit guiding, Seo-ha would have no choice but to return to the Center, where Director Kim Beom-hak was. Honestly, with how many people were still keeping him close, Cho Ha-cheol figured Seo-ha owed it to them—to return, out of gratitude for everything they’d done for him.
“Must’ve been rough, huh.”
Cho Ha-cheol was bracing for whatever snide remark Seo-ha might throw, but that wasn’t what he expected. It left him speechless.
“Even when I left the Center, I kept thinking about you. Without me around, poor Ha-cheol would have it rough.”
“That’s why… maybe even now—”
“There are other Guides with similar matching rates to you… too bad they’re all lower-grade.”
Seo-ha deliberately cut him off. Cho Ha-cheol was a C-rank.
“Honestly, I don’t get it. I mean, a Guide is a Guide. Why split us into A-rank, B-rank, like it’s some kind of leaderboard? All it does is line people up by worth.”
Cho Ha-cheol was thrown off. Seo-ha kept saying things that made too much sense.
“That ranking crap really got to me, too…”
Seo-ha let out a deep sigh. His tone wasn’t hostile, and it started to chip away at Cho Ha-cheol’s defenses. He was beginning to let his guard down.
“Everyone here treats me really well. I can’t help but compare it to the Center. I guess I’m only human. Even the dorms here are over twice the size of what they gave me back there… Honestly, everything’s just better than it was at the Center. That’s the problem.”
“So what are you saying? That you’re not going back?”
“Huh? Did it sound that way? Then… yeah, that’s right.”
Seo-ha gave a lopsided grin. That’s when Cho Ha-cheol realized he’d been played and began to fume—but before he could say anything, Seo-ha placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close. Both were Guides, and though Cho Ha-cheol was shorter, they were both adult men.
In theory, he should’ve been able to shrug off Seo-ha’s hand easily. But in practice, it didn’t work that way. Despite Seo-ha’s low matching rate, he’d always shielded Cho Ha-cheol, making his work life easier. As a result, Cho Ha-cheol had never developed the reflexes or strength to resist someone like Seo-ha, who had continued doing regular dungeon runs.
“If you think about it, all of this stuff becomes meaningless real fast.”
“Y-Yeah. You owe the Director, after all.”
It had been Cho Ha-cheol who’d accused Seo-ha of having some kind of shady relationship with the Director. Seo-ha remembered that gossip from the day he’d handed in his resignation. His smile turned bitter, then softened into an almost kind tone.
“Right. It’d be best if I went back to the Director—y’know, the one I’m supposedly ‘involved’ with.”
Cho Ha-cheol’s face brightened as he nodded eagerly. He actually looked thrilled, thinking Seo-ha had just admitted to being in a secret relationship with the Director. Watching all that glee flicker across his face, Seo-ha’s eyes sparkled with sheer disdain.
“But that’s not so easy. You see, there’s someone here I match really well with—Ju-oh.”
“…”
Seo-ha could tell Cho Ha-cheol had frozen just by the way his shoulder stiffened beneath his hand. He smiled.
“Thought you might’ve missed it, so I’ll say it again—I’m improving. My matching rate is going up. So I can’t leave. Ha-cheol. Which means you’re gonna have to deal with it.”
Or you can quit too.
