By Zephyria 
If I wasn’t mistaken, Jae-ha wore a very seductive smile as he said that.
Was my eyesight getting blurry?
No. I’m fine. I can see well with both eyes.
‘Did he… suffer too much for 20 years?’
Or did he instinctively learn the skill to crave food (?) because he was severely starved for Guiding?
All sorts of thoughts ran through my head.
“…What?”
When I showed a dumbfounded reaction, Jae-ha returned to the neat expression I knew so well.
“Just kidding.”
“…You startled me.”
“I was jealous because you seemed to be paying too much attention to your temporary Espers up there.”
“What attention…. It’s just a business partnership as ‘Yeon Yu-jin’. If I had that much attention, I would have given it to you more.”
“Really?”
I just said what was obvious. Jae-ha was very satisfied. He seemed to have been feeling down earlier, but for some reason, the vibrations in his body flowed stably again.
‘Was he very lonely?’
It felt like watching a puppy wagging its tail, happy to meet its owner.
“There, drop me off there.”
It would be strange if I suddenly appeared in front of the dorm, so I got off a little further away.
I waved to Jae-ha, who was hiding back into a secluded place before the stealth effect wore off.
“See you next time.”
“…Yeah.”
Jae-ha looked back at me several times. Like a traveler checking if the oasis in the desert is not a mirage.
I also watched Jae-ha until he completely disappeared, reminding myself that this was not a dream.
Potato, who had been quietly burrowing into my pocket the whole time I was meeting Jae-ha, finally poked his head out.
[ There’s no difference between you two and Gyeonu and Jiknyeo. ]
“What are you talking about.”
[ Never mind. You clueless human. ]
“Why are you cursing at me out of nowhere….”
[ Just hurry up and go into the dorm. Everyone said they’re waiting. I want to go in and rest quickly too. ]
“Is this an Ability or a master?”
[ Hurry! ]
“Yes, yes.”
I went into the dorm with the nagging Potato.
“I’m back.”
Then four pairs of eyes focused on me at once.
Black. Light green. Yellow. Light gray.
Eyes of various colors were glaring at me as if they would pierce through my skin.
“Oh, um.”
I didn’t know what to do with such an overly enthusiastic welcome.
Shin Tae-beom muttered with a fierce look.
“You’re late.”
Even excluding the travel time, it hasn’t been a few hours, you bastard.
But Cha Si-yoon and Seo Yun-chae showed similar reactions.
“You’re late.”
“You’re late, you know.”
Their expressions were similar to when I first woke up as Yeon Yu-jin.
I was so upset that I snapped.
“The sun hasn’t even set yet, okay?”
‘I held back the many stories I wanted to share with Jae-ha and came back early on purpose.’
Just like Jae-ha said, I felt like a cheating husband.
Confused, I blurted out more bluntly than usual.
“What are you staring at? If you have something to say, say it. Don’t just glare at me and make me feel bad.”
Then Ra Ho-yeon, who was sitting backward on the kitchen table chair, said to me in a low voice.
“What was the matter?”
“Ah, that. I ran after someone thinking I saw a friend from the past. But when I caught him, it turned out to be someone who just looked alike. It wasn’t my friend.”
“…That was dangerous.”
“What?”
“It hasn’t even been an hour since the criminal who entered the Ability Measurement Center under the Management Bureau disappeared. What if that criminal hadn’t fled far away but was lurking nearby to harm you?”
Ra Ho-yeon’s words were all correct. If another Guide or Esper had experienced this, I would have immediately ordered them to return home.
But having met Jae-ha, I knew that the criminal had already fled far away, startled by Jae-ha’s aura, so I didn’t care.
My lips were itching to tell the truth, but I held back, making excuses for the Management Bureau.
“If he was hiding nearby, the Management Bureau employees would have found him. That criminal must have quietly infiltrated like a drizzle, making the employees there look like a joke, but Ability Users affiliated with the government definitely have skills that are not lacking.”
“But that criminal already deceived the Management Bureau employees once. Is there a guarantee that they won’t be deceived twice? You’re not an Esper, you’re a Guide. What if something happened to you while you were alone…. We….”
As if his emotions were running high, Ra Ho-yeon even got up from his seat.
“We, what?”
When I asked, Ra Ho-yeon’s eyes, which had been blazing fiercely, fizzled out.
“…Never mind.”
Ra Ho-yeon sat back down on the table chair. This time, facing forward.
That is, with his back to where I was standing.
‘What is he trying to do.’
It was absurd how he was acting like a sulking person.
“Why are you stopping in the middle of your sentence?”
“Because I don’t want to talk.”
“Isn’t it because you were worried about me after all? Then just say that.”
“Even if I worry, you won’t listen to us anyway. Look at today, you acted as you pleased. You don’t even have any interest in us.”
“…What?”
While I was dumbfounded, Seo Yun-chae, who was sitting on the sofa, chimed in.
The guy with the narrow eyes glared at me.
“Isn’t it also a lie that you chased after him thinking he was a friend?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“Was that not just a simple friend, but someone you like?”
“What?”
“No matter how happy you are, who runs with such a desperate expression, turning pale? Just by looking at your expression, I could tell it wasn’t just a simple friend.”
“…Huh.”
Look at these guys?
I could have overlooked the fact that they were worried. I was flustered because I didn’t know why they were acting like this, but I could have gotten over it somehow.
But it was hard to tolerate them whining like children craving attention when they were grown adults.
The other two seemed to have the same thoughts as Ra Ho-yeon and Seo Yun-chae. Remaining silent meant they tacitly agreed.
In other words, there was no one on my side here right now.
“Hey.”
I strode over and turned the chair Ra Ho-yeon was sitting on towards me.
Ra Ho-yeon seemed surprised by the smoothly turning chair without resistance, but that was not my concern.
“Am I your guardian?”
“…What?”
“Why do you want attention from me when you know I’m not?”
To me, this Secrety group was just a team operating on a contractual relationship.
This was information that could be found in the memos and diaries left in the real Yeon Yu-jin’s cell phone before his death.
Even before Yeon Yu-jin became a troublemaker, I could see records of him feeling lonely because he couldn’t fit into this group.
But after the real Yeon Yu-jin died and disappeared, they were trying to warn me for not being alert and asking for attention.
Anger surged, and I shouted at Ra Ho-yeon.
“If you were so worried about me, you should have paid attention to me from the beginning. You’re only changing your attitude now that I’m useful. Isn’t that right?”
Perhaps because I hit the nail on the head, Ra Ho-yeon’s expression hardened like stone. The other members were not much different.
“…Watch your mouth. We were all just saying that because we were worried about you-.”
When Seo Yun-chae approached me, I coldly pushed away his hand.
They were the ones who started the fight first, but Seo Yun-chae looked incredibly hurt.
What do they want me to do? Do they think I’m not hurt?
“If you’re saying it out of concern, then say it nicely. And you guys started it first. Ruining my mood.”
“…Hey.”
“And dating? It’s so absurd. It’s ridiculous that you’re suspecting I have a hidden lover at this timing. If I had such a lover, they would have come to find me when I was injured and woke up, or I would have gone to them. You say you’re worried, but in the end, you’re just telling me to stay quiet and not ruin Secrety’s rising trend, right?”
My insides were boiling.
‘I was an idiot for thinking I could get along with these guys for a while.’
I had seen Espers of a similar type in my past life.
Guys who ignored Guides for ridiculous reasons such as having a lower rank or being less efficient, and treated them like their possessions.
Then, when they seemed to be slipping out of their grasp, they would get angry or gaslight them, trying to keep them by their side no matter what.
To me, the Secrety members seemed no different from those guys.
They wouldn’t treat you properly if you weren’t worth using, but if you became even a little useful, they would become obsessed with you.
The air, which had become as quiet as a mouse, felt heavy.
Shin Tae-beom hurriedly tried to say something to me.
“That wasn’t our intention….”
“Shut up. You’re being noisy.”
Was it too much to lower Jae-ha’s Corruption Level? My head was spinning.
Even though I told them to shut up, I could see the other members saying something, but I couldn’t hear them well.
It seemed that my mind and body had become fatigued from pouring a large amount of Guiding energy into Jae-ha and being stressed out.
As if my guess was correct, Potato shouted from above my head.
[ You need to rest right now! You might collapse! ]
‘I know that too, okay?’
I barely managed to keep my balance and walked into my room in the dorm.
Fortunately, Yeon Yu-jin used a single room, so I could finally be alone.
The members’ voices now only felt like noise. The pronunciation was all slurred and mumbled, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
I frowned deeply and said to the Secrety members.
“I’m going to sleep, so do whatever you want. If anyone wakes me up by making noise, I’ll kill them, so do as you please.”
Bang.
As soon as I closed the door and went inside, I collapsed onto the bed.
‘Ah, damn it. I’m hungry.’
I should have filled my stomach with food after having my Guiding energy sucked out like this….
‘I’m so sleepy.’
Oh. It feels like my head is a little hot.
‘Ah… I don’t care. Whatever will be, will be.’
In the damp fatigue, I blinked and fell asleep.