By Zephyria 
If a Guide who wasn’t even his partner was trying to soothe his rampage with Guiding for rescue purposes, he should have detached himself at the right time!
Even after regaining his sanity, attempting contact disguised as Guiding without the Guide’s permission was molestation.
Wiping my lips, swollen from several kisses, I lamented inwardly.
‘I didn’t raise my partner Esper to be such a shameless bastard.’
If Hyeon Jae-ha wasn’t being chased by the government, I would have reported him to the Management Bureau immediately.
I huffed and stood up, glaring at the center of Hyeon Jae-ha’s legs.
‘I’m so annoyed I could die. Now that he’s back to normal, should I kick his balls? Really?’
If I didn’t, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, kicking the blanket in frustration.
Just as I seriously considered acting on it and raised my leg, Hyeon Jae-ha suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
W-what? Why is he laughing?
His brightly smiling face, like before, was nice to see. My chest felt strangely fluttery.
‘Don’t tell me my tastes have become weird while I haven’t seen him…’
The train of thought that was about to flow in a strange direction stopped abruptly the moment Hyeon Jae-ha stopped laughing and opened his mouth.
“…You, are you Ga-hyeon?”
“Cough!”
I was so surprised that I almost bit my tongue.
‘How did he figure it out?’
Hyeon Jae-ha, who had been suspicious of me from the moment we met, wondering if I was a government stooge, baring his teeth at me.
Was now asking me if I was An Ga-hyeon.
Could this be a dream? Am I still sleeping in the Simulator dungeon of Examination Room 5? Am I having this dream because I desperately wanted Hyeon Jae-ha to recognize me…?
I’ve hardly ever had good luck in my life, there’s no way this kind of fortune could come to me.
Potato whispered to me, who had frozen in shock.
[No, it’s not a dream! Wake up, it’s real! You have to take a taxi back to the accommodation later!]
‘O-okay.’
Thanks to Potato, I regained my grip on my sanity, which I almost lost.
Even when a Dungeon Break occurred at 4 a.m. when I was working in the front lines, and I had to throw on my combat uniform and go out to fight, I was fine, but now I felt like I was going crazy.
Hyeon Jae-ha, standing in front of me as I said nothing, continued to speak softly.
“I felt your Guiding energy.”
“How could you feel the Guiding energy right before a rampage—”
“I felt it. It was close to a rampage, but I wasn’t really about to lose my mind.”
“…What?”
Hyeon Jae-ha shrugged.
“What I just did was acting, pretending to be on the verge of a rampage. It’s true that the corruption had accumulated to a dangerous level, though.”
So that means….
“You’re saying you never lost your mind during all that close-contact Guiding?”
“Yeah.”
‘Yeah?’
His easy admission made my temperature rise.
“Heo. You sly bastard?”
He was disguising an emergency to make my heart drop.
Harsh words immediately came out. I couldn’t let this slide, even if it was Hyeon Jae-ha.
Just as a curse was about to come out, he raised both arms in a surrender pose.
“…What.”
Hyeon Jae-ha apologized to me, who was clenching my fists as if I was about to swing at any moment.
“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. But this was the only way to completely confirm that you are my partner Guide, Ga-hyeon.”
As I hesitated at his words, Hyeon Jae-ha finished what he had to say.
“I was watching you, and when you entered the Simulator gate, I felt a faint but familiar Guiding energy and wavelength.”
“W-what?”
I panicked at the following words.
‘No way. I’ve been suppressing my power all the time, how could it have leaked out? Enough for even Hyeon Jae-ha, who was standing far away, to notice?’
Did I not give enough power to my brain?
Potato soothed me, who was flustered.
[No. It leaked out when you fell asleep for a moment around the time the examination was virtually over.]
‘What? But how do you know that?’
[…That’s because I’m part of your ability. Don’t worry. The people at the Management Bureau outside didn’t notice. The examination ended safely, and your real rank won’t be revealed.]
That’s a relief. But there was something that bothered me.
‘Wait a minute. Hyeon Jae-ha said he wasn’t on the verge of a rampage. But you warned me that he was in danger.’
[……You wanted to meet him.]
‘What?’
[You wanted Hyeon Jae-ha to recognize you, not as “Yeon Yu-jin,” but as “An Ga-hyeon.”]
‘…….’
[Even if an ego is created and separated, I am an ability belonging to you. Since I am connected to you, it is easy to recognize the desires in your heart.]
‘You….’
[I just wanted to make it come true. I believed that if it was Hyeon Jae-ha, he would notice.]
Everything he said was right, so I had no retort to give back.
Potato just wanted to fulfill my wish.
While I was standing there blankly, Hyeon Jae-ha continued to speak.
“The energy that Ability Users have is all different. There are no overlapping energies or wavelengths. Each has its own unique characteristics. But… you were emitting the energy and wavelength of Ga-hyeon, my partner Guide who had already died.”
He suspected me of being An Ga-hyeon with just that fleeting moment. Hyeon Jae-ha was indeed amazing.
“…I thought I shouldn’t miss this opportunity with you being so close. If you were really Ga-hyeon, I wanted to confirm it as soon as possible. I know it’s rude, but I had to experience your Guiding directly, even if I had to force it.”
“You had to experience my Guiding to know if I was An Ga-hyeon?”
“Yeah. It might sound crazy…. But it was worth pretending to be on a rampage. The gamble paid off enough.”
Hyeon Jae-ha strode over and stood in front of me.
“Your Guiding energy is the same as the Ga-hyeon I knew.”
“…….”
“You’re… Ga-hyeon, aren’t you? Right?”
Unlike before, when he was kissing me fiercely, Hyeon Jae-ha couldn’t even hold my hand and just looked at me.
Like someone worried that if he touched me, I would run away, or if he breathed on me, I would fly away.
Showing a submissive gaze, like a dog waiting for its owner’s command.
It was a moment I had longed for, but without realizing it, a sharp tone popped out.
“…Maybe you sensed it wrong.”
The sight of him threatening me at our first meeting came to mind, and I ended up acting out of spite and childishness.
I thought I had brushed it off casually. I was wrong.
Otherwise, how could I be urging Hyeon Jae-ha to give me confirmation?
Hyeon Jae-ha answered my anxiety with unwavering belief.
“No way. It’s an energy I let go of a long time ago, but there’s no way I could be mistaken. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have pretended to be on a rampage and received Guiding from you.”
“How can you be so sure? You… might be mistaken.”
“There’s no way I could be mistaken. I’ve been recalling it ever since I lost Ga-hyeon. His energy. Every single day. Trying not to forget.”
“…….”
“You don’t look anything like Ga-hyeon… but your actions, habits, and way of speaking are all similar. Like the same soul in a different shell. The sense of incongruity I felt from you can all be perfectly explained if I just add the piece that you are actually the real Ga-hyeon.”
Taking the life allowance of An Ga-hyeon, who had no connections, or being able to skillfully command Espers even though he had never been deployed in battle, and so on.
“The decisive thing is that the energy and wavelength of the Guiding energy are perfectly matched. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t suspected you. Because it’s absurd. Even if Ga-hyeon had ‘Self-healing’ as a special ability…. I never thought it was possible for a dead person to come back to life.”
I didn’t know either.
The words scattered between my unmoving lips dissipated into the air.
I wanted Hyeon Jae-ha to recognize me.
But I gave up because I thought there was no possibility.
Even if he didn’t recognize me, I wanted to regain Hyeon Jae-ha’s trust and become a colleague who worked with him.
Because our goals would probably be the same.
But… I never dreamed that Jae-ha would notice my identity first.
Hyeon Jae-ha captured me in his clear blue eyes.
As if he wouldn’t miss a single moment.
My heart fluttered at the sight of his pitiful appearance. My throat stung as if I had poured salt water into it.
“All that’s left is your acknowledgment.”
“…….”
“I think you are An Ga-hyeon, the partner Guide who threw himself to save me and lost his life 20 years ago. I don’t believe in things like reincarnation… but I wonder if it’s a miracle that I’ve reappeared in front of you.”
“…….”
“Can’t you… recognize me? I’m Hyeon Jae-ha, who was originally your partner Esper….”
“I know, you idiot.”
I couldn’t stay still any longer and hugged Hyeon Jae-ha tightly.
Yeon Yu-jin was smaller in stature and height than the me in my previous life, so it was me who was being hugged.
Hyeon Jae-ha, who was hugged by me, stopped breathing.
I inhaled his familiar scent and whispered.
“One thing is wrong…. It’s not reincarnation. I woke up after dying and found myself as Yeon Yu-jin. The moment I met you in the underground vault was not long after I woke up.”
“…Really, is it really Ga-hyeon?”
“You asked first. You said there’s no way you could be mistaken, right? What are you doing now….”
“Really…. Ga-hyeon….”
The hands that hugged me back were hot.
Hyeon Jae-ha buried his face in my shoulder and then cried like a child.
Sobbing quietly so as not to be caught by the Management Bureau. It was a sorrowful cry.
“I missed you, I missed you so much….”
“Me too. I missed you.”
Patting Hyeon Jae-ha’s back as he sobbed, I shared a true reunion with my partner as “An Ga-hyeon,” not “Yeon Yu-jin.”
Hyeon Jae-ha, who had confirmed my identity, suggested that we move our location first.
“It’s too dangerous near the Ability Measurement Center. Let’s leave here before we arouse the suspicion of the Management Bureau’s employees.”
“Because of you?”
Hyeon Jae-ha nodded gloomily at my remark.
“…That’s right.”
I had been certified as a C-rank Guide by the Management Bureau employees, so there was no longer any concern about being monitored.
On the other hand, Jae-ha was still a wanted person, so after confirming my identity, which was the purpose of our meeting, he shouldn’t stay here any longer.
Jae-ha, who was watching my reaction, said.
“If it’s okay with you… I want you to come with me to where our members are staying. Will you come with me?”
“…Me?”
“Yeah. Now that I’ve confirmed that you’re Ga-hyeon. Everyone will understand if I explain.”
Would it be that easy?
‘Even I don’t believe this phenomenon.’
I could only speculate that my trait, “Resurrection,” might have had some effect.
I was about to refuse, thinking that it might only cause trouble if I went, but Jae-ha’s eyes sparkled as he suggested to me.
“No. How about we stop pretending to be Yeon Yu-jin and join us altogether?”