Chapter 19 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

Other ​Guides ​who ​had ​guided ​him for quite a ​while ​always tended to ​poke around his ​wavelength, ​hesitating ​and ​approaching ​cautiously ​the first time ​they ​tried ​to take the ​lead of the wavelength. ​But Yoon ​Ki-hyun was ​different.

Every single ​time, he ​took ​control ​of the wavelength ​without a ​moment’s hesitation. No one ​could mimic that bold ​speed and precision.

Several Guides ​came to ​mind ​who had tried to clumsily imitate ​him, but every one ​of ​them ​had ​failed ​to handle Jeong ​Si-jun’s wavelength ​and ​ended up reversing ​the ​flow.

He had only recently realized ​that this ​was ​a guiding method ​that ​could ​not ​be ​easily performed ​without ​the confidence ​to respond immediately to any change in ​an Esper’s wavelength.

‘I ​get what Team ​Leader Jeong is saying, ​but that ​was only possible ​for ​Team Leader Yoon. ​If an Esper’s ​wavelength spikes ​unpredictably, ​we take ​a ​hit too. ​Most ​Guides can’t ​handle ​that. ​So I’d appreciate ​it ​if you ​didn’t ​say ​anything ​to my team members.’

‘What exactly am I saying? I don’t even talk properly with the Guides.’

‘Do you only understand things when they’re said in words? There are non-verbal gestures. Like when you glare with your eyes like this.’

‘My eyes were born looking like this, what do you want me to do about it?’

‘Sigh, let’s just stop. Since Team Leader Jeong and I have known each other for a long time, I can just let it slide, but it’s easy for the other kids to misunderstand.’

After Yoon Ki-hyun resigned, Jeong Si-jun became somewhat close with Seo Jin-tae, the leader of Guide Team 3.

The turning point was when Jeong Si-jun ran into the resigned Yoon Ki-hyun in a city they had visited to conquer a gate; stolen contenthe had clung to Seo Jin-tae [Read on Read BL Novels]and asked various things about the Guide, which brought them closer.

However, that was only the story up until today.

Feeling an ecstasy from the rapidly improving wavelength, Jeong Si-jun slowly opened his eyes. It was to see the face of Yoon Ki-hyun—now his personal Guide—who had begun to focus entirely on the guiding.

A faint scent of chamomile emanated from the beauty, who wore a soft knit sweater and looked down. Come to think of it, he seemed to drink coffee often at the Center. Perhaps he drank tea because the medication he had to take didn’t mix well with caffeine.

While fully savoring Yoon Ki-hyun’s face, Jeong Si-jun chewed over the address written in the contract in his mind.

The address and building clearly looked like a goshiwon or goshitel; he had no idea what kind of life the man was leading.

The salary at the Center shouldn’t have been negligible, so why live in a place like that? Perhaps he had fallen victim to a rental scam or voice phishing, as the team members had mentioned.

“The wavelength is too severe.”

“Does it feel that way to you, Mr. Yoon Ki-hyun? If so, then I guess it is.”

There weren’t many instances where Yoon Ki-hyun spoke while guiding. For him to speak like this meant that, as he said, the wavelength was quite serious.

Was my wavelength that much of a wreck? Since it had been this way for a long time, he couldn’t tell for sure.

Guide-level team leaders, exhausted by excessive guiding schedules, would not speak during guiding, and even if they did, Jeong Si-jun wouldn’t answer.

Because they knew that if a Guide accidentally touched the wavelength while [stolen content]style="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">unauthorized copyJeong unauthorized copySi-jun was speaking, it wouldn’t end with just vomiting blood.

He now knew how precious it was to have someone he could entrust his wavelength to with peace of mind. He had realized it poignantly from the day Yoon Ki-hyun resigned.

“The Center Guides must really be struggling.”

“I guess so. Team Leader Seo eventually took a few days of sick leave.”

“Ah.”

Yoon Ki-hyun clicked his tongue softly. The last time he had performed guiding was on his final day at the Center.

He had been inwardly nervous since it had been quite a while, but it was more manageable than he expected. It was a relief that although Jeong Si-jun’s wavelength was more severe than anticipated, it wasn’t at an uncontrollable level.

As he purified the wavelength, he occasionally checked Jeong Si-jun’s breathing, which was stable.

For some unknown reason, he felt a gaze staring intently at his face, but since Jeong Si-jun tended to look at people even during guiding, he was able to brush it off as nothing.

While Yoon Ki-hyun focused on Jeong Si-jun’s guiding again, Jeong Si-jun’s gaze became more persistent.

‘…He’s my Guide.’

Jeong Si-jun chewed over the three characters of Yoon Ki-hyun’s name neatly written on the contract. He had tasted the price of the neglect born from familiarity enough—to the point of satiety—after Yoon Ki-hyun’s resignation.

He looked at Yoon Ki-hyun’s red lips, pressed firmly together as he guided the stolen contentwavelength. Suddenly, he felt it was unfair and regrettable unauthorized copythat he was the only one who remembered the moment those lips had touched his that night.

Just as Jeong Si-jun’s breathing stabilized and the pain searing through his entire body began to fade, the speed at which Yoon Ki-hyun led the wavelength faltered.

“…Ah.”

Yoon Ki-hyun let out a small groan and showed a flustered expression, which was unlike him. Normally he was hard to read, but during guiding, Yoon Ki-hyun was always impeccably poised.

Come to think of it, it had been strange back when he first heard the news of Yoon Ki-hyun’s resignation from a team member and asked if it were true.

Jeong Si-jun flipped over the hand he was holding and checked the back of Yoon Ki-hyun’s hand. Veins were protruding prominently over the white skin. Such symptoms often appeared when Guides struggled with guiding.

“If it’s too hard, you can stop.”

Jeong Si-jun’s gaze turned serious. Regardless of how ecstatic and skillful Yoon Ki-hyun’s guiding was, he had no intention of overworking him as he had before. Nor did he have any intention of allowing other Espers to be guided by him.

From the start, he had structured the contract clauses in a form of hiring Yoon Ki-hyun as his own personal Guide, literally.

“…No, it’s bearable.”

Despite Jeong Si-jun’s urging to stop, Yoon Ki-hyun stubbornly continued the guiding.

The speed had only slowed momentarily; Yoon Ki-hyun’s wavelength purification was excellent, and he responded flexibly and quickly to Jeong Si-jun’s wavelength, which occasionally showed irregularities. However, the complexion that had grown paler than before and the reddened lips weighed on his mind.

“To be honest, I don’t know shit about Guides. So if you say [Read [visit our site]on Read BL Novelsclass="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]it’s okay, that it’s bearable, I just believe you.”

An Esper cannot live without a Guide. However, what was actually required of an Esper was not an in-depth theory or knowledge about Guides.

It was more important to know how to deal with Kaiju that spawned in unpredictable gates or how to survive by avoiding vital points.

Since only those who returned alive from the gate could receive guiding, it was an inevitable result, but Jeong Si-jun felt a bit frustrated at times.

That said, if asked if he now intended to learn about Guides in detail, it was ambiguous to answer yes immediately.

“I’m really okay.”

“Really?”

“…Yes.”

Yoon Ki-hyun’s answer was a beat slow. He clearly didn’t look okay, but since he didn’t know much about Guides, he had no choice but to take it as truth if Yoon Ki-hyun said he was fine.

Jeong Si-jun could not bring himself to tell him to stop the ongoing guiding again. This was because his greed to have the wavelength tormenting his body purified even a little more was currently greater than his concern for Yoon Ki-hyun’s health.

There weren’t many customers entering the cafe as darkness fell. Just as the citron tea he had pre-ordered for Jeong Si-jun grew cold, Yoon Ki-hyun first slowed the speed of the flowing wavelength and ended the guiding.

“I think this should be enough.”

It was his first time performing guiding for a single person. However, compared to Jeong Si-jun’s wavelength at the start, it was in a surprisingly [stolen content]unauthorized copystolen content -->stable state, so it was a level of guiding that Yoon Ki-hyun himself could find acceptable.

While he wasn’t a perfectionist, he wasn’t the type to lack pride in his work. Yoon Ki-hyun wanted to do his best with the tasks given to him.

“Ah, I feel like I can breathe again.”

Jeong Si-jun rotated his neck this way and that, smiling brightly with a refreshed expression.

“A thought occurred to me while receiving guiding.”

“Yes.”

“You know you’re absolutely not allowed to guide other Espers, right?”

Jeong Si-jun said something childish. Since it was a clause specified in the contract, he had intended to follow it anyway, but the nuance of the question was slightly different. How should he describe it?

Just as Yoon Ki-hyun’s eyes narrowed slightly because no suitable analogy came to mind, it seemed to look like a request for further explanation to Jeong Si-jun, and his rambling additions grew longer.

“Since you’re my Guide now, Mr. Yoon Ki-hyun, even if other bastards hit on you or cry and beg for help, pretend you don’t know them.”

Hearing those words, a few scenes came to mind in Yoon Ki-hyun’s head.

‘Ah, it’s kind of similar to that.’

The current statement by Jeong Si-jun was similar in nature to the possessiveness of a child who makes [visit unauthorized copyEND: unauthorized copy -->our site]one best friend and wants to do everything together, from commuting to school to eating lunch.

In other words, it was not a nuance one would typically use with a Guide bound by a legal obligation after completing a personal Guide employment contract.

“I intend to follow the contract clauses well, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Ah, I’m just saying. If other bastards try to cling to you, do to them exactly what you did to me.”

“Like what I did to Team Leader Jeong Si-jun?”

Yoon Ki-hyun asked back, blinking. There were more than a few things he had done to him since meeting Jeong Si-jun again recently.

Since he was drained after the long-awaited guiding and couldn’t quite grasp the meaning, Jeong Si-jun cleared his throat and said:

“Anyway, you’re working hard. Team Leader Jeong Si-jun, fighting through the bullshit.”

That sarcastic remark was something Yoon Ki-hyun had clumsily said to Jeong Si-jun recently. Jeong Si-jun was reciting it exactly, without missing a single syllable.

This childish brat. To think he had been keeping that in his heart all this time.

Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Yoon Ki-hyun ended up closing his eyes tight.