Chapter 16: The Field

<[A-Class Gate appearance in Sector 32, A-Class Gate appearance.]>

It was the first gate to appear since my promotion to B-Class.
A gate appearance was not a good thing, but I had been waiting for this day.

When I was a C-Class, field guiding was impossible, so I always had to wait for Taewoon in the guiding room without any certainty.
But now, I didn’t have to do that anymore.

I put on the 01S team’s exclusive special combat suit and headed to the front gate of the Center with Minseong-sunbae.

“Aren’t you nervous?”

“I’m okay for now.”

I was nervous, but I was confident because I had consistently done gate simulation training with the team members.

When I entered the shelter, many Guides were already waiting inside.

They were A-Class Guides I had seen before.
They seemed to have heard about my situation, as they readily approached me and said hello.

I had heard that in the shelter, high-grade Guides openly established a pecking order over low-grade Guides, but contrary to the rumors, everyone was kind and seemed to want to talk to me.
Feeling grateful for their consideration, I moved to the team’s exclusive room with Minseong-sunbae.

Guides belonging to a team had a separate exclusive room inside the shelter.

Before long, the guiding shelter moved near the gate.
The shelter was surrounded by a protective barrier, shielding it from the monsters and the Espers’ abilities.

I watched the gate situation in real time through the monitor installed in the exclusive room.
Although he was a fire-attribute Esper, he could also use natural-type abilities freely.
Seeing him strike down sharp lightning, I checked my Guiding Watch.
His guiding level was gradually dropping.

Every time he used his abilities, his level decreased, so I was always anxious and worried.
If his level dropped below 25%, a sleep chip installed in the Guiding Watch would enter his body to prevent a rampage, forcing him into a sleep state.
But if that happened, he could be attacked by a monster during a confrontation.
And if a sudden rampage started before it hit 25%, the sleep chip wouldn’t work.

I knew he had never gone on a rampage, but I always kept an eye on his guiding level because I didn’t know when he might.

Fortunately, before his guiding level dropped below 40%, his ability turned the boss monster to ash, and the monster was annihilated.

When the gate closed, the Espers cleaned up the surrounding situation and returned to the shelter.
But he disappeared.
Originally, Espers were supposed to return to the shelter after a battle, but seeing that only he didn’t, it was clear he was avoiding me, knowing I was in the shelter.

I sat alone and watched Minseong-sunbae guide the team’s Espers.
When guiding, the Esper and Guide held each other as if they were lovers, and when the guiding level dropped a lot, they kissed without hesitation.

Just watching this made me feel embarrassed, but everyone else seemed used to it.

I could see with my own eyes that the Guides and Espers in the shelter felt affection and concern for each other.

Espers who could teleport would, after filling their guiding levels to a certain extent, teleport with their Guide, still in contact, to an exclusive guiding room or their shared home.

They said the more you guide, the more affection grows, and seeing this now, I knew it was true.
But it seemed to be an exception for him.

I felt like I was the only one left in the shelter.
I couldn’t help but feel dejected, being so isolated and unable to mix with anyone.

As soon as the guiding shelter arrived at the Center, I went straight out.
The manager was waiting for me at the front gate.
He already knew that Taewoon had gone home.

“Hyun Taewoon is at home. Let’s go home.”

I nodded weakly at the manager’s words.

After telling my team members I was leaving, I arrived home to find Taewoon’s wavelength raging fiercely.

I cautiously opened his bedroom door and looked inside.
He was sprawled on the bed.
Bulging veins from the side effects of using his abilities were visible, and there were purplish bruises where blood vessels had burst.

He must have taken guiding medication, as medicine bottles were scattered on the bedside table and the floor.

I didn’t understand why he was relying on drugs when I was here.
If this was the case, why did he bring me back to his house?
On the other hand, the thought, ‘Does he hate me that much?’ made me even more depressed.

I had been told that among B-Class Guides, I had a high wavelength control ability.
It meant that my guiding control ability was at an A-Class level.
I wanted him to trust me and leave his guiding to me.

He was more sensitive than ever after returning from the gate, so normally I would have retreated to my room to save myself, but today was different.
It was my first gate guiding since becoming B-Class, so I wanted to be helpful today.

As I approached him, I felt sharp, needle-like wavelengths.
I had experienced similar wavelengths during machine guiding training, so I covered his fingertips with my hand without hesitation.

His pain seeped into me.
Normally, the wavelength should have calmed down a little, but it was still just raging.
It seemed today would take longer than usual.

“…What are you, you.”

He, who I thought was asleep from the drugs, opened his eyes with difficulty and glared at me.

“I’m guiding.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Your guiding level is in the danger zone right now.”

“I said I don’t need it!”

He was the one who needed guiding the most right now, yet he was being stubborn.
At the sight of him putting up a foolish pride, I grabbed his wrist firmly.
He tried to shake my hand off, but he couldn’t, perhaps because he was weakened by the drugs.

Even if it was my own greed, I wanted to guide him as I pleased right now.

“I’ll stop as soon as you’re out of the crisis zone. Please, just stay still.”

Like the other Guides, I wanted to give help and stability to my Esper, Taewoon.

Fortunately, he stayed still, perhaps because he was drugged or because he understood my words.
I released his wrist and intertwined my fingers with his.
Even at this action, he lay sprawled on the bed with an exhausted face.

It was usually like this after he returned from a gate, so even if I told him to control his abilities a little, he always overused them.

I checked his guiding level while looking at my Guiding Watch.
The level was gradually rising.

It was certain that my guiding had become much more proficient since I became a B-Class, unlike when I was a C-Class.
In fact, it had to be.
I had been training all day with my whole body wrapped in a guiding machine.

I sat on the edge of the bed and scanned his body.
I soon noticed that his groin was bulging.
I whipped my head away at the sight.
I didn’t know why I was so embarrassed.

I already knew that Espers became aroused as their blood boiled when they were close to a rampage, but seeing it in person made my heart stir.
And I also felt blood rush to my face and a strange sensation in my lower abdomen.

If an Esper and a Guide were imprinted, they could guide through intercourse, but since we weren’t imprinted, I could only do contact guiding even if I wanted to relieve him.

There was a time when I thought I could imprint with him.
But now I realized that would never happen.

I bit my lip hard and focused only on guiding again.
But I kept glancing at his center.

Perhaps he felt my gaze, or perhaps he was uncomfortable, but he turned his body to the side.
I was disgusted with myself for feeling disappointed at that.
It seemed I was sexually frustrated.

Come to think of it, I realized it had been a long time since I had taken care of myself.
I was always exhausted from training, so I would pass out as soon as I got home.
I had almost no days off and had to focus only on promotion training, so I had lived forgetting my desires.

I wasn’t the type to masturbate often, but it seemed I would have to today.

And so, I guided him silently for nearly two hours.
And when he entered the stable zone, I let go of his hand.

“I’m sorry for being stubborn. Sleep well.”

He didn’t say anything, but fortunately, he was back to his usual self.
Relieved at that, I also said no more and returned to my room.

I thought that if I became good at guiding, he would rely on me a little.
He must have noticed that my guiding had changed.
But his attitude was still as cold as ever.
As if he wouldn’t accept my help no matter how skilled I became.

A wave of sadness washed over me again.
I didn’t want to cry, but the image of the loved Guides at the shelter just now contrasted so much with my current situation that tears welled up in my eyes.

I closed my eyes to stop from crying, but tears came out even with my eyes closed.

No matter how much I tried to forget, the image of the gentle Taewoon remained in me, refusing to fade.