“Hello, I’m Ji Gwanyeong. I also… look forward to working with you.”

Esper: Ji Gwanyeong
Guide: Choi Taehun
Special Note: Name shared, Matching rate 151.2%

* * *

TV, newspapers, the internet…
Any media that could spread news was constantly talking about Ji Gwanyeong’s Esper manifestation. His manifestation had been officially announced as a recent sudden event, and because of this, reporters were always camped out in front of his house, desperately trying to get a word from him.

The manifestation of a top star as an Esper.
This alone was enough to captivate people’s attention, but what really sparked the public’s curiosity was something else. It was who the lucky guide was who had secured the top star, someone everyone wished they could have but couldn’t.

[Ji Gwanyeong’s guide is an official guide from the center, and the two achieved the highest matching rate in the center’s history. They are also bound by their names.]

The official information about the guide was barely two lines long. However, this scant information didn’t calm people’s curiosity. In fact, it fueled their imagination even more. “I heard she’s really pretty,” “Wait, isn’t it a guy?” “Actually, some say he’s from a wealthy family.”

Rumors about Guide Choi Taehun grew day by day, amplifying all kinds of speculation.

Meanwhile, Choi Taehun, keeping a distance from all the commotion, submitted his resignation from his company, packed his belongings, and moved into the guide’s residence. He was now halfway into a state of detachment.

He had expected the announcement of Ji Gwanyeong being an Esper to cause quite a stir, but he never anticipated it would explode like this. Choi Taehun was once again reminded of his partner’s tremendous popularity.

Absolutely, absolutely must keep this a secret.

Having lived his life as a civilian, Taehun gritted his teeth. The fact that he was in a same-sex Esper-guide pair, and the partner was Ji Gwanyeong… He really couldn’t even imagine what would happen if that got out.

Taehun placed a diffuser his younger sister had given him in the center of the table. “Oppa, this is good for mental stability,” she had said when handing it to him. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything about his sister’s worried face, like “I’m not going to die, don’t worry.”

Since moving into the residence, Taehun’s daily life had become simpler. In the mornings, he received mental health counseling to treat the aftermath of the terror attack, and in the afternoons, he attended training about Esper matters.

He finally received a hint that the man he was paired with as a guide, Ji Gwanyeong, was an Esper with specialized physical abilities and a focus on combat skills. Normally, guides would receive reports about their paired Esper, but Ji Gwanyeong, being an Esper who didn’t allow machine scans, had not provided such a report. However, Taehun didn’t mind it much.

“We’ll figure it out as we spend more time together,” he thought.

Having accepted his new reality, the guide was getting used to his changed life, letting go of small concerns.

…Unlike Esper Ji Gwanyeong!

Ji Gwanyeong’s first contact with his guide was limited to him being helped out of bed when he had just woken up, feeling groggy, and a brief handshake. Despite being a trivial touch, the sensation of his mood stabilizing instantly while talking with the center staff was an experience that rewrote his life, which until now had been lived without any expectations of a guide.

Even though he deliberately kept his senses closed off, the world didn’t seem distorted for the first time since becoming an Esper.

He was thirsty.

It would have been enough to immediately hug the man, who awkwardly smiled in front of him, and roll around with him. However, Ji Gwanyeong suppressed the intense desire. He could hear the fast-beating heartbeat of Taehun due to the tension. He thought time would be on his side soon.

However, Ji Gwanyeong was much more beloved by the public than he had imagined. He was always followed by groups of reporters, fans, and people like a cloud. Even though he tried to visit his guide during breaks while cycling between home and filming locations, there was never a gap to do so.

Then, one early morning, Ji Gwanyeong called the center. The matter was simple. He angrily demanded that the reporters outside his house be driven away, threatening to hang one on the mansion’s wall if not.

The center had indeed been worried about the instability of an Esper who couldn’t even have the minimum interaction with his guide. But they hadn’t anticipated that it would manifest in such an extreme way in the early hours.

Eventually, the center hurriedly dispatched psychic Espers to Ji Gwanyeong’s mansion. He lazily rubbed his tired eyes as he glanced at the researchers trying to welcome the reporters, then smoothly left his mansion and drove along the road he had memorized earlier.

The destination was the guide’s residence where Choi Taehun stayed.

The guide’s residence was essentially a substation of the center, designed solely for guides. To ensure maximum privacy, each floor housed only one guide in a personal apartment format, and the information about which floor each guide stayed on was encrypted, known only to the center staff. The Esper’s access was also limited to their paired guide’s space.

The residence not only provided the best security but also excellent mental care for guides, making it the most common choice for guides unless there were special circumstances.

When the manager at the entrance saw the unexpected early morning visitor, they tensed up. However, upon seeing the man lower his car window and smile lightly, they stared in disbelief.

…It’s really Ji Gwanyeong.

The manager greeted him back lightly and displayed a small screen.
[Please place your left palm on the screen.]

“Sure.”

Ji Gwanyeong obediently followed the manager’s instructions. The scanner quickly passed over his iris and palm print, and the once-locked metal gate opened. After entering, he parked his car in a parking lot that was only revealed after a considerable distance, then once again placed his fingerprint at the entrance. The security was intense.

He began to think that the process of visiting his guide was becoming bothersome and tedious. However, this thought would soon change. The meticulous protection provided to his guide, which could almost be considered neglectful compared to Espers, was actually something strongly requested by the Espers.

Espers are highly sensitive to their guide’s safety. Ji Gwanyeong just hadn’t realized that yet.

The elevator Ji Gwanyeong entered began to move without even showing the floor number. It was unclear whether it was going up or down, and the display simply read “In Motion.”

After a while, the elevator finally stopped. The destination was the only space Ji Gwanyeong could access in the building. Perhaps because it hadn’t been fully organized yet, there were boxes scattered around the living room, but it didn’t seem messy. As the eldest sibling of five younger siblings, Taehun treated cleaning as part of daily life. Additionally, there was a faint scent in the air that didn’t seem like it would come from a man’s house.

The Esper gently nudged the diffuser on the table with his fingertips and quietly walked toward the room where he could hear the guide’s breathing.

It was late in the morning, so naturally, Choi Taehun was asleep. Ji Gwanyeong sat on the bed and looked down at the guide’s face, who was unaware and deeply asleep. The rhythmic sound of his breathing filled his ears.

It was a strange thing. Just hearing the man’s heartbeat was enough to calm the nerves that had been on edge. Ji Gwanyeong’s hand slowly reached toward Taehun’s face. The first thing he noticed was a scar on his forehead. It had already scabbed over and was healing.

Ji Gwanyeong gently rubbed it, then traced the soft eyelids, the prominent nose that shaped under his touch, and the slightly parted lips. Time passed much faster than Ji Gwanyeong had anticipated. Just observing Choi Taehun made hours pass quickly.

The Esper, as if it were his own home, moved around the guide’s space, then found some coffee. It was a quite good quality bean. He was very satisfied with his pair’s taste.

Meanwhile, Choi Taehun woke up to the phone alarm he had set, just like when he was at work.

“…Ugh, noisy.”

The loud sound he had set to help him wake up quickly soon filled the room. Over the past few days, he had been meaning to turn off the alarm, but instead, he covered himself with the blanket, trying to resist. If it had been possible to turn it off right away, he would never have set such a loud alarm in the first place.

Then, it happened.

The annoying alarm sound suddenly stopped. Taehun, unconsciously relieved by the quiet, tried to go back to sleep. But then, a question lingered in his mind.

‘Why did it stop?’

Moreover, the faint coffee scent that reached his nose made him realize something else…

Taehun quickly sat up.

“…”

“Good morning.”

Seeing the man, who these days was often being referred to as his Esper, sitting with a coffee cup in his hand, Taehun wondered if he was still half-asleep.

But Ji Gwanyeong, with a very relaxed expression, reminded him that this situation was real.

“Would you like a cup of coffee too, Taehun? I just made it.”

“Uh, uh, when… did you… come?”

“It’s early morning.”

Ji Gwanyeong answered kindly, and his hair sparkled as if golden flakes were sprinkled on the black ink because of the light pouring in from the window. The guide squinted slightly and added to his question.

“…What… is it… for?”

“I came because I’m reaching my limit.”

Taehun, who usually didn’t curse much, unconsciously swallowed his frustration at this moment. The actual guide life was quite good. It was enjoyable to the point where he dreamed of working at the center in the future, and he also thought it was great that his younger siblings could live more comfortably in the remaining room when he moved out.

But at the same time, there was always a strange sense of pressure, as though something was weighing him down. The reason was obvious—because of the immense responsibility he had as a guide. Taehun, who had briefly avoided the situation, couldn’t hide his trembling voice when the person involved in the actions appeared, and he stumbled over his words.

“Ah. The center, today, well, there’s mental care, and training—so…”

“You don’t have to go for center training today.”

“Pardon?”

Even the disjointed words, if seen by women, would have them fluttering in their hearts, yet the Esper calmly listened with a smile that seemed to charm them. Rather than easing his guide’s worry, he gently confessed in a kind voice.

“The center knows I’m here.”

…Shouldn’t the two of you have filmed an advertisement together today?

Taehun, with a forced smile at Ji Gwanyeong’s face, thought about throwing a pillow at him but ended up gripping the quilt tightly. He felt a heat rise from his neck and wanted to hide back under the blanket, but unlike him, the man in front of him was leisurely smiling, so he couldn’t do that. The meaning of the fact that this man had come to a place that had never been visited by his pair was too obvious.

The Esper, seeing his guide, smiled knowingly.

He simply found it amusing that Taehun’s body temperature had risen.

* * *

The guide’s apartment has two bathrooms.

Taehun felt immensely depressed by this kindness. He had been in the shower for over an hour. At this point, it was obvious to anyone with common sense that he was avoiding something. He knew well that it wasn’t proper behavior.

But despite that reasoning, his heart couldn’t bring himself to open the bathroom door. So, the guide, after scrubbing his body thoroughly, submerged himself in hot water again. He had been in the water for so long that his fingertips wrinkled.

Today, Ji Gwanyeong, that Esper, was incredibly considerate toward him all day.

After his mental care session in the morning, Taehun had purposely circled around for a while and returned later, only to find lunch prepared and waiting for him. He felt somewhat embarrassed by his own actions.

Taehun recalled what he knew about his Esper.

Ji Gwanyeong. Thirty-four years old. A physical Esper. Movies he had appeared in included ○○○, □□□□, and dramas…