By Zephyria 
Perhaps his eyesight was quite poor, as Jo Eun-gyu’s pupils, reflected in his glasses, were the size of rice grains. Kim Joo-chan, as if dealing with a timid wild animal, removed Jo Eun-gyu’s glasses with extreme care. Jo Eun-gyu, unable to hide his shyness, lowered his head.
“Look up. I want to see.”
Kim Joo-chan whispered sweetly. Jo Eun-gyu, trembling slightly, hesitated but slowly raised his face at the repeated urging.
“Ah.”
Kim Joo-chan groaned softly. By this point, Hae-jun was also curious and looked at Jo Eun-gyu.
Jo Eun-gyu was… the same.
Surprisingly unchanged.
It wasn’t that his eyesight was bad. His eyes were just incredibly small.
There was no “handsome when he takes off his glasses” cliché. Jo Eun-gyu, without his glasses, blinked his rice-grain-sized eyes and trembled slightly.
“Beautiful.”
Kim Joo-chan stroked Jo Eun-gyu’s bare face without a change in expression.
“Guide Eun-gyu. You were hiding such a face under those glasses.”
No. Jo Eun-gyu hadn’t hidden anything from the start.
“I can’t have that. From now on, don’t take off your glasses carelessly anywhere. Only take them off in front of me.”
He put Jo Eun-gyu’s glasses back on. No matter how you looked at it, the glasses were placed on a face that was the same whether they were on or off.
“Esper Kim Joo-chan.”
“You can call me Joo-chan, hyung.”
“Yes… Joo-chan, hyung.”
Ugh, shit. What kind of wealth and glory am I trying to enjoy by witnessing this firsthand?
Hae-jun shuddered and stepped back. Heo Seon-woo, not yet fully brainwashed, scratched his body and shuddered as well. Kim Joo-chan whispered something in Jo Eun-gyu’s ear and then led the way.
“What did Esper Kim Joo-chan just say?”
Heo Seon-woo asked, and Jo Eun-gyu replied shyly.
“He said to meet separately at night. He said we should go see the stars together.”
“Are you really going to be okay?”
Hae-jun asked. He remembered how scared Jo Eun-gyu was of being seduced by a man when they first met.
“Yes, he seems like a good hyung.”
Jo Eun-gyu seemed to be in a good mood. Was it the influence of media education? Jo Eun-gyu seemed to have shaken off his fear of homosexuality.
Well, whatever. As long as you’re okay with it. Hae-jun shrugged.
Since he was registered as a Guide anyway, it was inevitable that he would get involved with Espers. Dating one person with a confirmed identity wasn’t necessarily a bad thing compared to meeting an unspecified number of people.
The next day was the same schedule. They watched movies that beautifully portrayed homosexuality all day long.
On the third day, Hae-jun was issued a personal cell phone.
Thanks to Esper Kim Joo-chan, who, upon hearing that Hae-jun didn’t have a phone, made sure he could receive welfare benefits, Hae-jun was able to receive an old but internet-enabled smartphone.
As soon as he received the phone, Hae-jun immediately started searching. The search terms were: Han River accident. Han River Ability User. Han River strange phenomenon.
“……”
But surprisingly, there were no articles. There was only one article claiming that passengers on a Han River cruise ship had witnessed a man floating on the water, but it was dismissed as nonsense because there were no attached photos or videos.
‘Claimed to have witnessed?’
Hae-jun searched even harder for articles. But nowhere could he find any photos or videos proving the strange incident that had occurred on the cruise ship.
Surely many people must have filmed the scene, but it was strange. Hae-jun turned off his phone, filled with doubt.
On the fourth day, Hae-jun, along with the other Guides, had a bunch of strange electrodes attached to them and underwent various experiments. It was all for naught.
“Hyung, today we’re doing resonance rate checks with the Espers.”
And on the fifth day, the day finally came. It was inevitable since he had become a Guide.
Hae-jun steeled himself and stood up. He prayed that a female Esper with a high resonance rate with him would appear and headed to the science building.
Hae-jun had never done a resonance rate test before. The simple test he had done at the Guide registration center was only to confirm whether or not he had Guide waves.
The Guides took turns testing in groups of ten. When they arrived at the testing room, there were ten testing machines with the other side covered by curtains. The other Guides were already seated, so Hae-jun and the two boys sat in the last seats.
“The reason they cover the faces during the test is because the Esper might become obsessed with the Guide. They proceed non-face-to-face until the Guide gives permission, in case the Esper becomes obsessed with the Guide for resonance rate reasons even if they don’t like the Guide.”
Jo Eun-gyu whispered.
“How do you know that?”
“Joo-chan, hyung, told me.”
Jo Eun-gyu replied shyly. Oh, really. Hae-jun straightened his posture.
“Guides, please put your hands into the testing machines.”
Hae-jun put his hand into the hole that said “Insert.”
The test proceeded smoothly. At first, he was nervous, thinking that some ruffians might take this opportunity to do something strange, but contrary to his worries, the Espers were gentlemen. They quietly held his hand and moved on when the time was up.
Hae-jun’s mood slowly relaxed. Later on, he didn’t even care who was sitting in the front seat.
Then the twentieth, twenty-first, and twenty-second Espers sat in front of Hae-jun.
This Esper was a bit different. He grabbed Hae-jun’s hand tightly without warning and even tried to interlock their fingers.
When he tried to forcibly pull his hand away, the researcher warned him. Hae-jun had no choice but to endure the time.
“Did you sleep with other men?”
The Esper sitting in front of him spoke to Hae-jun. This was also a first. Hae-jun tilted his head. The voice sounded just like Lee A-gon. But that couldn’t be.
Then the curtain opened. The researcher, who was carrying records back and forth, widened his eyes.
Hae-jun’s eyes also widened. It wasn’t a mistake. The Esper in front of him was Lee A-gon.
“Why aren’t you answering? I asked if you slept with other men?”
“…Lee A-gon?”
Why are you here?
Hae-jun trailed off in an unsure voice. He still couldn’t believe this situation.
“What do you mean, why? Of course, I followed hyung.”
Lee A-gon chuckled and walked towards Hae-jun. He grabbed Hae-jun’s chin and lifted it up.
“Now answer me.”
His smiling face came closer. He spoke as if spitting out the words with a kind face.
“Tell me which bastards you’ve been sleeping with, Park Hae-jun.”
∞ ∞ ∞
The Espers’ affection for the Guides was beyond imagination.
When they were eating in the cafeteria, the Espers densely surrounded them. When Hae-jun picked up kimchi, they shouted, “He picked up kimchi!” and when he picked up sausage, they shouted, “He picked up sausage!” relaying to everyone what Hae-jun was eating.
Jo Eun-gyu, stiffened by the gazes surrounding him, stumbled while carrying his tray, and dozens of hands simultaneously reached out to support Jo Eun-gyu.
Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you alright? Are you okay? Are you alright? Dozens of voices simultaneously wished for Jo Eun-gyu’s well-being and shouted words of concern.
When Heo Seon-woo finished his meal and tried to get water, cups filled with cold water, hot water, and lukewarm water piled up on the table.
It felt like every move was being watched. They were just looking, but from the receiving end, it was hard to swallow even a sip of water easily.
“Hello? Good morning. Would you like to go on a date with me?”
When they came out of the dormitory in the morning, the Espers who had been lined up rushed over and spoke to them. They were anxious to receive even a single glance from the Guide, and if they happened to make eye contact, they puffed up their chests like roosters, trying to show off their masculinity.
“You’re even cuter today than yesterday.”
“Is there anything you want? I’ll buy it for you.”
“You look even younger in the morning.”
“Hello? Will you look at me?”
The men waiting to be chosen relentlessly approached. The young Espers acted cute, and the older Espers emphasized how much money they had.
Even though he had prepared himself, it was a tiring situation. Especially because he knew what they wanted.
Only a day after entering, Hae-jun understood why the other Guides were so cold. The Guides here didn’t give their hearts to others to the point of being cold, and that was the same even among the Guides themselves.
When Hae-jun spoke to the senior Guides he encountered in the hallway, they only answered with “yes” or “no” before leaving. They seemed as if they didn’t want to get involved with anyone.
Now Hae-jun understood that feeling. Anyone would want to be alone if they were subjected to so much attention.
‘I want to be alone.’
He felt like he had become a femme fatale of the century. Men clung to him as soon as he made eye contact, and he could knock down ten men with a single gesture.
At first, it was a bit funny and amazing, but as that happened day after day, it became mentally exhausting. Hae-jun really wanted to be alone.
Next to the stairs leading to the second floor of the welfare center was a small alpha room. It wasn’t a properly made alpha room, but rather a narrow space that seemed to have been poorly designed in terms of architectural design.
Hae-jun, who accidentally discovered this space on the third day, decided to slip in and hide from the Espers who were looking for him. There was also an old sofa in here, left by who knows who. Hae-jun plopped down on the sofa. Only then did the tension leave his shoulders.
‘What is Lee A-gon doing?’
The question that naturally came to mind when he was alone popped up. Was Lee A-gon okay? What was he doing now? He’d be fine without me, right? Now that the hypnosis was lifted, he could meet another Guide.
‘So, did he meet another Guide?’