43 – TDG 43

I ​quickly ​left ​the ​cafeteria and pressed ​myself ​against ​the ​wall ​near the entrance. While ​keeping ​an eye on ​the situation inside, ​I ​saw ​Song ​Hyun-ho ​finish ​his meal and ​stand ​up ​first, carrying his ​tray. After returning his ​tray to ​the collection ​area and ​heading toward ​the ​exit, ​he was startled ​to find ​me clinging to the ​door.

“What are you doing ​here…?”

His eyes widened as ​I rushed ​forward ​and clamped my hand over his ​mouth. I swiftly dragged ​him ​outside ​and ​carefully ​peered back inside.

“But ​what exactly ​are ​you doing?”

Shh. Be ​quiet. ​There are finally only two ​of them ​left. ​They might start ​a ​conversation! ​I ​frowned ​and quickly ​placed ​a finger ​over my lips, and he promptly shut ​his mouth and ​nodded.

“Are you watching ​those two?”

Good grief. He’s ​just staying ​here and refusing ​to ​leave. I have ​no choice. I ​have to ​get ​rid of ​him.

“…Esper ​Song Hyun-ho, ​have ​you ever ​been ​in ​a relationship?”

“Yes.”

Song Hyun-ho’s ​nonchalant ​answer took ​me ​by ​surprise.

But ​thinking about it again, there was no reason to be surprised. Given his age and the fact that he was a super-popular S-rank Esper with Guides lining up for him, it would be more nonsensical if he hadn’t dated. He certainly wasn’t ugly—he was quite handsome—but how should I put it… his image was so innocent that I had unconsciously misunderstood. I couldn’t say anything in response to the look in his eyes that seemed to ask why I was asking such a thing.

「Hyung, where are you?」

Right then, Ji-hyuk started looking for me through the watch.

It hasn’t even been a minute since you disappeared, you brat…

Instead of looking for your dark-and-brooding Hyung, why don’t you pay some attention to the beautiful lady sitting right in front of you?

I delayed my response and first assessed the situation. Ji-hyuk, who had been staring intently at his watch as if waiting for my answer, put down his utensils and stood up after a moment.

Wait, wait. No. Where are you going, leaving Ah-yoon alone? If you do that, you’re just following the same path as last time!

Wait for meeee!

Trying to bring two people together who had absolutely no connection in the first place was harder than I thought. I absolutely had to get Jung Ah-yoon out of there and leave the two of them alone, but even that wasn’t easy.

One Guide was enough for Han Ji-hyuk, and any sensible Guide wouldn’t covet an Esper who already had a pair. Seonbae Soo-jeong would have spotted it in a heartbeat. Furthermore, since Ji-hyuk and I were already perceived by everyone around us as being in a deep relationship—to the point where it felt like we’d already stamped the papers and prepared a double coffin to go to the grave together—arranging a private spot for the two of them was several times more difficult. If I wasn’t careful, Jung Ah-yoon could be subject to unpleasant misunderstandings.

Damn it, if I knew it would be like this, I should [stolen content]have acted more stolen contentmoderately. I was overdoing it from the moment I received the card. I feel like I’m trying to stop a flood with a shovel after failing to stop a leak with a plug.

But this was my first time, so it was too hard to gauge where that “moderate” line was… The strategy of nurturing the male lead and then handing him over to the female lead sounded easy in words, but in practice, there were too many obstacles.

After much deliberation, I decided to increase the amount of information Han Ji-hyuk had about Jung Ah-yoon.

Whenever Ji-hyuk mentioned something, I would habitually say, “Oh, Ah-yoon likes that too…” Or I thought it would be good to moderately process Jung Ah-yoon’s sacrificial and cool moments from the original novel and tell them like heroic tales.

“…So, Ah-yoon-ssi is a rare find these days; unlike her appearance, which looks so kind and fragile, she has a steadfast side to her. Plus, she’s incredibly beautiful. It’s quiet now since she just joined the company, but once word gets out, I bet she’ll be flooded with calls.”

“…Yeah.”

“And there’s more….”

Ji-hyuk suddenly slammed shut the magazine he had been half-heartedly flipping through. Startled, I paused, and he let out a loud yawn before lying down on the sofa with his head on my lap. Then, he closed his eyes and spoke in a very grumpy voice.

“I’m sleepy. I’m gonna sleep.”

“…….”

Of course, I didn’t only appeal to one side. I also subtly mentioned Ji-hyuk’s insurmountable strength and his unwavering devotion toward his Guide to Jung Ah-yoon. Fortunately, Jung Ah-yoon didn’t ignore me and listened with interest, which made me quite excited, but…

“Seonbae, you’ve paired up with a truly wonderful Esper. Congratulations.”

It all ended up being praise for me.

Damn it, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go… I’ve suddenly become that annoying side character who brags about things the other person doesn’t have!

I’m going crazy. I can’t do this alone. What do I know about relationships… It feels like the more I do, the more counterproductive it becomes. I need help. As my worries deepened, a certain person flashed through my mind.

That’s right. If it’s that person…?

“Did you look for me?”

Song Hyun-ho.

Yes, you are my savior. You said you have dating experience, right? Then surely you know more about the psychology of men and women than I do?

I arranged a secret meeting with Song Hyun-ho at a cafe during a rare moment of free time. Fortunately, he didn’t refuse my request and came out immediately.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Are you buying?”

“I invited you, so of course.”

Song Hyun-ho was all smiles, unaware of my ulterior motives. As soon as the drinks arrived, I cut to the chase.

“There are two people I want to set up, but I don’t know what to do.”

“…People you want to set up? Who?”

After hearing the names of the two people from me, Song Hyun-ho’s face quickly became one of confusion.

“I don’t see the reason. Weren’t Ji-hyuk and Joo-won-ssi on good terms? Why go out of your way to….”

It would certainly look strange to an outsider. He probably wouldn’t understand why I was so desperate to pair them up and might even find it frustrating. To be honest, I didn’t really know either. This damn world just threw me in here without telling me what I was supposed to do.

In that situation, I had no choice but to make a decision. I could either stand by and watch Seoul become a sea of fire in five years, or I could do whatever it took to stop it. Because I chose Ji-hyuk, I had drifted away from the original plot, but the story hadn’t ended. Even if it was a world inside a novel, this was clearly a living world, and time continued to move toward the future.

So, I made a resolution. Since I didn’t know when or where the two diverged worlds would collide, I decided that even if I couldn’t fix what was already broken, I would follow the original settings as much as possible for the remaining parts.

Protecting Han Ji-hyuk to grow his power and positioning people who could be of help around him as much as possible. Only when I emphasized that mission could I hold onto my wavering self, which occasionally fell into a bottomless pit of anxiety.

The ‘love’ between the two of them would function very importantly in overcoming the trials to come. While a large part of it was that I wanted to see the lovey-dovey side of the two I liked, Jung Ah-yoon was also an essential existence as Han Ji-hyuk’s ‘lover.’ Moreover, since she was a charming and beautiful woman by any standard, it was true that I was anxious other guys might set their sights on her.

“…Well… there’s a deep [stolen content]reason for this. It might sound [stolen content]crazy… but those two are destined for each other.”

My mouth went dry. Would he believe me if I insisted that I’ve always been interested in fortune-telling or Saju?

Song Hyun-ho hesitated for a moment, but fortunately, he didn’t laugh and took me seriously.

“Destiny… are you talking about something like bonding?”

Bonding?

“…What is that?”

“I’ve only heard of the concept. It’s like a brainwave union between an Esper and a Guide. The synchronization rate between them becomes extremely high, producing incredible guiding efficiency, but once it’s formed, that Esper can never receive guiding from any other Guide for the rest of their life.”

“What? Isn’t that basically suicide?”

Song Hyun-ho let out a short laugh. Why, why is he laughing…? Did I say something wrong?

“Guide Seo Joo-won, your extremely realistic personality, contrary to your looks, is quite charming.”

That’s not a compliment.

What’s wrong with my looks… Hmph. What’s wrong with being realistic…

When I glared at him, Song Hyun-ho quickly stopped laughing and waved his hand awkwardly.

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not belittling you. To put it extremely, as Guide Seo Joo-won said, it could be called a kind of suicide. However, from the perspective of communing with only one partner for a lifetime, it can also be seen as a very romantic act. It’s a difficult thing in today’s world.”

I remembered hearing from Team leader Park Chi-soo before that there was a concept called ‘bonding’ between Espers and Guides. It had fizzled out because Seonbae Soo-jeong had snapped, asking where such a thing existed, but…

“How do you do bonding? Do they exchange vows or something?”

“As far as I know, the Esper is the one who unilaterally initiates it.”

Even the Esper is the one who does it?

“No way, then nobody would do it. Who would voluntarily put a shackle around their own neck?”

“True. Probably. I think it would be difficult unless there was some very desperate and deep… feeling.”

This was a world where Espers replaced Guides like disposable parts whenever they felt like it. To be with only one partner for a lifetime. Regardless of other things, in a world where Guide beauty pageants were openly held, it sounded impossible.

Wait. No…

What if that’s the case for Han Ji-hyuk and Jung Ah-yoon?

No matter how I thought about it, it seemed plausible. Think about it. Why would such a useless setting exist like an urban legend if it weren’t for something? Isn’t it because it applies to the main couple?

“By the way, Guide Seo Joo-won. Do those two want each other as well?”

My heart skipped a beat at the question that hit the nail on the head.

“…Not yet.”

Right. He wouldn’t understand. I know. But I can’t exactly tell him that I’m like this because I read the future developments from the outside.

After thinking for a moment, Song Hyun-ho shrugged and spoke.

“I don’t understand why, but alright. I’ll help you.”

“Really?!”

As I jumped for joy, Song Hyun-ho gave me a thin smile. I had been worrying about how to keep him quiet if he refused, so this was great.

“First, it would be best if we go out on the next call together.”

After saying that, he lifted his glass and neatly finished the rest of his drink.