By Zephyria 
25%. It was a figure that made him hesitate in his steps. Even for twin Guides, 30% was the maximum, probably. The result of having resigned himself to sleep because the other person whined the moment he hinted at pulling away was quite surprising. Jae-il placed a hand on his forehead. Come to think of it, his headache had lessened. His light brown eyes slowly shifted toward his forehead. He had thought it was an absurd suggestion, but the effect was decent. It was a moment where Daniel Gray, whom he had thought was a quack, suddenly seemed different.
‘His name is Ji Seung-hyun. He’s from the 13th District, so he’s practically illiterate when it comes to guiding. Since his rank is high, he’ll probably learn quickly, but we’ll have to see. I’ll make sure he’s usable as soon as possible.’
As Jae-il chewed over Daniel’s words, his eyes momentarily sank into stillness.
“Ji Seung-hyun.”
He had rolled the name on his tongue thinking he should remember it, but for some reason, the tips of his ears grew hot. As his body temperature rose, he recalled the warmth of the skin rubbing against the nape of his neck. And the movement of stroking the back of his head. It was a strange and awkward sensation. Jae-il wrinkled the bridge of his nose and rubbed his jaw. This is why one must be careful with contact. Lost in deep thought, he remained in that position for a while.
The sunset cast long shadows.
* * *
The alarm rang exactly at 8 AM. The sound was coming from the phone he had received yesterday. The area occupied by his body, curled up like a shrimp, was less than half the bed. As his fumbling hand touched the phone, the blaring sound stopped instantly.
Struggling to push himself up, Seung-hyun soon dropped his head low. He was still considerably fatigued. It would be troublesome if he caught a cold at this rate. His hand, rubbing his eyelids thoughtlessly, paused. His eyelashes were wet again.
Yesterday, the staff member had said they would come to pick him up at 9 and suggested that wearing a neat shirt would be good. A shirt. The clothes Seung-hyun owned were a few pairs of jeans and t-shirts. One outer coat. That was it. However, seeing the shirts and pants displayed in the closet he opened unconsciously, he realized his worry had been useless. In a small box at the bottom of the closet, flat shoes in his size had also been prepared.
When it became 9 o’clock, a polite knock sounded outside the door.
“Good morning.”
The staff member was a person who kept time very well. As soon as he saw Seung-hyun, he greeted him with a kind smile. At the question of whether he slept well, Seung-hyun also smiled and replied that he did, thanks to them. After eating breakfast at the first-floor cafeteria, they hurried toward the appointed location. Walking half a step ahead of Seung-hyun, the man handed him an employee ID.
“You can use this for entry to the Center and the dormitory. You can think of it as a basic form of identification.”
“Yes.”
The color of the lanyard was different from the staff member’s. Checking it with a sidelong glance, Seung-hyun tactfully put it around his neck.
“Today, you’ll be introduced to the Guides of the Haon Center. You’ll also meet the team leader.”
“Yes.”
“Seung-hyun, you’ll go for mentor training rather than regular education and information.”
Seung-hyun nodded. I wonder who it will be. That person named Daniel from yesterday seemed like someone whose inside and outside were different. If possible, he hoped for someone with a gentle disposition. This was because he strongly hoped that no commotion would occur or that no feelings would be hurt.
Having a habit of walking while looking at the ground, Seung-hyun blankly focused on the staff member’s shoes. Ankles wearing gray socks appeared and disappeared momentarily.
“I heard you met Esper Ha Jae-il yesterday.”
“Eh? Yes.”
The shock surfaced before the memory of yesterday, and Seung-hyun slightly furrowed his brow. That man’s first impression was the absolute worst. Or am I the worst? Seung-hyun’s head dropped deeply toward the floor. Since he had gagged in front of a person he was meeting for the first time, he probably hadn’t left a good impression. Moreover, perhaps because he had been frightened by the energy, the man’s face was blurry, other than the impression that he was handsome.
I must apologize when I meet him later. I should take a good look at his face again. Since he’s someone I’ll see often. It was a moment where he was bracing himself with such thoughts.
“He happens to be right there. Shall we say hello before we go?”
“What?”
When he lifted his head, two large men were having a conversation at the end of the hallway. Seung-hyun’s brow furrowed noticeably. Feeling the presence, the men’s gazes turned this way. The staff member added an explanation.
“Perhaps because Oni appear frequently even in Haon, the Espers have become quite busy.”
“Yeees.”
‘I am Ha Jae-il.’
The firm, low voice and the hand that seemed a knuckle larger than his own came to mind. Even amidst the confusion, Seung-hyun remembered those things clearly, and a pointless sense of embarrassment welled up.
“Hello. Good morning.”
The staff member’s cheerful voice echoed through the hallway. The distance was closing, but Seung-hyun couldn’t bring himself to lift his head. Even at a glance, monsters were shimmering around the men’s bodies. He didn’t have the confidence to witness those hideous things directly. Unable to overcome the pressure, Seung-hyun’s steps slowed.
“Is it him?”
The man standing beside Jae-il was a B-Class Psychic Esper. His name was Kwon Giju, and he had attended the same high school as Jae-il. His detailed rank was Full House, the highest among B-Class, and his strength lay in his versatile abilities.
“Yeah.”
As soon as Jae-il’s answer dropped, the man, who had been moving his feet, glanced at Jae-il.
“I wonder what my matching rate would be~”
Tossing out the playful words, he closed the distance immediately with his long legs. After exchanging a light bow with the staff member, he abruptly held out his hand to Seung-hyun.
“Hello. I’m Kwon Giju. I heard you arrived this time.”
It was a greeting method that applied the rules of ability users. Seung-hyun, who had been looking down, flinched his shoulders upon noticing the hand.
“Yes, yes. Yes. That is correct.”
Rubbing his hand against his thigh, Seung-hyun took a deep breath. His chest swelled.
‘I should take it. I have to.’
If he just held it for a moment and let go, nothing bad would happen. It would be better not to look at the face. Yesterday’s gagging was enough. Seung-hyun bit his lower lip. He tried to summon courage, biting so hard he turned pale, but his frozen body would not listen.
“….”
Why was this so hard? As Seung-hyun stared intently at Giju’s palm, his face began to distort.
“Let’s go.”
Then, a low, firm voice cut through between them. It was a voice he already knew.
“Huh?”
Giju, grabbed by the nape of his neck by Jae-il, looked puzzled.
“Yeah. I said let’s go.”
“Just for a second, my hand—”
Jae-il used force to pull down the hand that Giju had extended again in regret.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
Jae-il’s gaze landed heavily on the crown of Seung-hyun’s deeply bowed head before dropping away.
“He’s scared.”
* * *
Kwon Giju remained regretful until the end. Even as he was half-dragged away by Jae-il’s hand, he gave a cheerful farewell, saying, “See you later!” As the men moved further away, the sensations pricking his skin gradually weakened.
However, Seung-hyun had a somewhat dissatisfied expression. Glaring at the floor, he repeatedly gnawed on his lower lip.
“….”
Of course, it was true that he was scared. But he hadn’t wanted this kind of situation. It was just because it was unfamiliar and sudden, but the man’s consideration had poked a certain part of his inner self. The man seemed to regard him as a passive and weak person. It felt bad that his first impression had been etched more negatively than he thought. It’s not like that. I don’t want to be like that. I’m not that kind of person.
Seung-hyun turned his body in the direction the men had left. His quickening steps soon closed the distance between them.
“Excuse me.”
The men’s gazes focused on Seung-hyun. Their expressions were different, but the meaning of surprise was conveyed simultaneously. Before making eye contact with the men, Seung-hyun first grasped their energy. It was an instinctive action that required no particular training. He was simply slower and knew slightly less than others. Seung-hyun’s motivated eyes scanned them in a circle. A silence followed for a moment, and that time was extended by Jae-il’s consideration in restraining the impatient Giju.
Kwon Giju’s energy wasn’t as threatening as it looked. It just wavered in a constant wave. Jae-il’s energy was the same as before, but fortunately, it wasn’t as fierce as yesterday, making it bearable. Seung-hyun blinked once and made eye contact with the two men in turn.
“I am Ji Seung-hyun. I look forward to working with you.”
Is he somehow full of determination? At Seung-hyun’s challenging greeting, the corners of Giju’s mouth curved up broadly. It was a bright smile that made his eyes disappear. Giju gave Jae-il’s back a light push toward Seung-hyun and said,
“I’m the one who asks you to take good care of this guy.”
“….”
For a moment, Seung-hyun wondered what he meant, then went, “Ah,” and met Jae-il’s eyes. Due to the height difference and the distance of a single step, Seung-hyun’s head tilted back slightly.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. I was just very surprised….”
Jae-il didn’t have much of an expression. He simply watched every single movement of Seung-hyun, who was apologizing while touching the flare of his nostrils.
“…Other than that.”
“…?”
“Is there nothing else?”
The mouth that opened late was saying something incomprehensible. Nothing else? Seung-hyun’s eyes widened. As doubt and bewilderment filled his large pupils, they trembled.
“Did I perhaps… make a mistake?”
“….”
Even Seung-hyun’s voice trembled.