“Personality……”

The guide, who had barely opened his eyes, stubbornly expressed his opinion with a weak voice.

“Extremely, totally, bad… You scared me.”

“Is that the first thing you say after waking up?”

For the first time, Ji Gwanyeong’s voice carried a tone of disbelief. Taehun merely blinked his eyes in response.

* * *

The ‘production’ of a guide that can achieve the highest matching rate with any Esper. This has become the primary goal for all companies, and even more so for nations, that possess Espers with powers.

There was a time when all research and support were solely focused on enhancing the abilities of Espers. However, that was decades ago when the research on the Esper-Guide pairing was not yet systematic. It was only natural that the focus of research shifted from Espers to Guides.

Espers were ‘weak’ in the face of the overwhelming influx of intangible information, and they were unable to handle their powers without almost breaking down mentally or even causing their bodies to collapse under the strain. It was a tragedy that beings who were stronger than anything else could become so fragile.

Of course, the greatest danger came when Espers became weak.

The danger of a once mighty being turning into a malfunctioning killing machine, unable to distinguish between friend and foe, was beyond measure. It was only after this that the spotlight shifted to the ordinary people who had overlooked the importance of these beings.

The power of the Guide had long been ignored. Even Espers, who relied on Guides, had neglected it. Espers had overestimated their own strength and denied the need for a guiding presence.

Naturally, the outcome was disastrous.

The only future for Espers at that time was a terrible death, either in the corner of a psychiatric hospital or at the site of a counter-terrorism operation. The average lifespan of Espers barely reached their early 40s.

Only then did the Espers begin to turn their attention to the fragile Guides who allowed them to breathe. They had to admit they could not stand alone. As soon as they let go of the stubbornness that had bound them together under the illusion of power, things began to improve rapidly. Around that time, the outline of the Esper-Guide Human Rights Organization began to take shape.

After recognizing the need for Guides, Espers began researching the Esper-Guide pairings themselves using their abilities. It was during this time that the once-ineffective Center experienced extreme development. Guides, too, willingly collaborated, lending their invisible power.

However, as with all light, there was a shadow. The meeting of Espers and Guides did not solely bring peace. Another form of research began in the shadows.

It was the cultivation of a guide that would perfectly match an Esper with power. Once it became certain that Guides were the only beings capable of leading Espers, Guides became even more important than the Espers themselves. If it was possible to create a ‘thing’ that could guide Espers to unleash their maximum abilities, immense power would naturally follow.

That research involved countless trials and errors. In places where no sunlight ever reached, many became test subjects and then vanished.

And from the end of that darkness was born the ‘Guide Lee Hansol.’

Hansol was treated as neither entirely human nor not human at all. Born in the corner of a lab, from the moment Hansol opened his eyes, crawled, and began walking, he was regarded simply as a Guide. A perfect ‘Guide’ capable of matching with any Esper.

That was Lee Hansol.

“Jina. I saw a really interesting article.”

Oh Jinwoo was silent. He simply glanced at his Guide with a neutral expression. Hansol, seeming familiar with this, smiled faintly and lay down, leaning on Jinwoo’s leg. It seemed like a gesture of affection, but the expression on the Esper’s face was cold.

“Look at this. It says they have the highest matching rate in history and even share the same name.”

“……”

“How high do you think the matching rate will be?”

In the room, which was obsessively neat as if it belonged to a robot, the most out-of-place thing was Hansol, the owner of the room. Hansol, wearing a loose t-shirt and pants, was a sharp contrast to the Esper, who was dressed in a perfectly pressed suit without a single wrinkle.

Hansol casually flipped through the pad with his fingertips and smiled faintly. He looked at the well-groomed man appearing on the screen.

“Do you think he’s stronger than you?”

“I don’t care.”

“Right. But you know, Jinwoo.”

Oh Jinwoo met the gaze of his Guide, who was lying on his knees and looking up at him. Espers feel the strongest sense of satisfaction when they are with their Guide. That was true for Jinwoo as well. But for him, every sensation he felt was horrifying. The perfection that came from everything fitting together twisted left him with even more disgust.

“You hate me, don’t you?”

Hansol had accurately read the thoughts of his Esper.

Jinwoo’s hand brushed against Hansol’s hair. Caught between his instinct to deny his Guide’s rejection and the deep disgust he felt, Jinwoo bit his lips tightly.

“I promise. If this person is stronger than you, I’ll become this person’s Guide.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“I mean it.”

“Say it properly!”

At Jinwoo’s desperate shout, Hansol frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes.

Ah. My strong, cool, lovable Esper.

Hansol had always been able to tolerate his Esper’s light complaints. Since the beginning of his memories, Hansol had learned to accept this. It was the only reason for his existence.

“You’re thinking of killing the Guide again and taking them, aren’t you?”

“Of course.”

Hansol smiled.

“I need to become the Guide of the strongest Esper.”

“If we don’t get close, I might really die.”

Choi Taehun understood his situation clearly, along with a half-pack of cigarettes. After getting a paired Esper, the number of cigarettes he smoked increased dramatically compared to the one or two he used to have per day. Waking up in the examination room, Taehun had spent nearly a week like royalty. It wasn’t until a few days later that he could properly move his body, but the constant attention from others before he could even ask for it was unfamiliar, especially for the eldest son with five younger siblings.

“Taehun, if you’re not feeling well, we can just postpone it until next time.”

“It’s fine. Actually, I’ve been lying down too much, and now my back hurts.”

The sly words from the guide made Imihyeon let out a small laugh, almost as if sighing.

The pair in question was heading to the training area for the first time since their matching. This training usually needed to be conducted once or twice a week, but because of the uniqueness of the pair, it had been delayed for quite a while. The fact that there was no established method for training an unmeasurable Esper also contributed.

Choi Taehun gazed at the Esper walking half a step ahead of him. Since the day he lost consciousness from the shock, Ji Gwanyeong’s attitude had subtly changed. Instead of playful physical contact, only cautious fingertips brushed against him with faint smiles, and sometimes Taehun even worried, “Is it okay to reduce contact this much?”

“Well, it might not be to your liking.”

As he thought about something else while walking, they had arrived in front of a huge door. Imihyeon smiled slightly and quickly pressed the button next to the large door several times. The guide, distracted by worries about his Esper, suddenly felt like he was being pulled back into reality and swallowed dryly.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that all the center’s technology is concentrated here.”

“Wow…”

“It’s a place where even if an Esper goes wild inside, it’ll still be fine.”

The reason Ji Gwanyeong and Choi Taehun suddenly came to this training facility was simple. It was because of the drastically low matching score. Normally, Esper-guide pairs see their scores rise after undergoing training together. The people at the center were counting on that.

As soon as Taehun stepped into the training facility, he felt the previously noisy interior quickly settle into silence, and his neck stiffened. Despite preparing himself mentally several times, the reality was different from his expectations.

For the first time, he was standing side by side with Ji Gwanyeong in front of others.

The fact that only pairs with permission to enter the center’s training facilities were present did little to ease his nerves. After all, they were complete strangers. Taehun could feel the cold sweat running down his spine, and his eyes were darting around anxiously. It was more overwhelming than he had imagined to feel the gazes of everyone in this training ground, which was as large as a football field, if not larger.

“Choi Taehun.”

“Y-Yes?!”

“Don’t worry about it.”

…Actually, it might be better if you didn’t worry about it.

Taehun desperately repeated the words he couldn’t say out loud in his mind. The soft voice of the Esper, who was more accustomed to the gaze of others than anything else, confirmed that Taehun was the guide who had only been rumored about until now.

“Taehun, this way.”

It was Oh Yeon.

Taehun’s face immediately brightened as if he had met a savior. Thanks to that, Ji Gwanyeong noticed the change in his pair and raised an eyebrow slightly. He knew that Taehun, who had been disturbed by the words that were meant to comfort him, was now reacting with more discomfort than he had expected.

But Ji Gwanyeong didn’t show any signs of irritation beyond that. Since he had already been through plenty of hardship after his identity as an Esper became known, this kind of treatment, as an object of observation, wasn’t unpleasant, just awkward. However, Taehun, who had lived an ordinary life until now, knew how different it felt.

“Oh, is this the guide shrouded in mystery?”

“…Park Seungwon.”

“Ah, why are you so uptight, Yeon? Right?”

A shallow sigh escaped from Oh Yeon’s lips. Park Seungwon was Oh Yeon’s guide and lover.

Taehun gave a small nod to Park Seungwon, whom he had seen from a distance a few times. Seungwon was completely the opposite of Oh Yeon, who had a thorough and conservative feel to him. No, “young man” seemed like a more fitting term for Park Seungwon than “man.”

Taehun remembered how, when Oh Yeon had mentioned that his guide was a soldier, he had imagined someone who looked just like him, but he was quite surprised when he saw Seungwon. The young man with light-colored hair, smiling with his eyes slightly squinted, seemed more fitting for a university campus or a café than the military.

But unlike Taehun, Ji Gwanyeong quickly sensed that the guide standing next to Oh Yeon was no ordinary person, and he started to gauge the situation.

The guide, who appeared to be casually standing and smiling, was actually flawless in his posture. His physical abilities clearly surpassed the average, and objectively speaking, he was likely a top-tier guide. From his well-developed muscles and sharply fitted clothing, the high probability was… a soldier.

Before anyone could speak, Ji Gwanyeong had already guessed Park Seungwon’s identity and clicked his tongue softly. After the researchers at the center, the most annoying people were those affiliated with the military.

“Haha, your expression is really scary. I’m a fan, Ji Gwanyeong.”

“Thank you.”