Chapter 19: The Substitute Is Three Times Chattier

So he can’t stalk me himself, so he hired a professional stalker…

As expected, not a normal guy.

The short evaluation of Cha Haejin immediately gave way to another question.

“But wait, Jae-hyung… you’re A-class. Can Haejin-hyung really just pull you out of combat whenever he wants?”

At that, Jae-hyung’s face crumpled like he was about to cry, and he began listing Haejin’s sins in rapid fire.

“Normally? No way! Even an S-class can’t just order combat personnel around like pets. It’s not allowed. Definitely not. But it happened. That’s why I’m losing my mind. Impossible things become possible the moment they touch Haejin-hyung’s hands.”

Lee Chae tilted his head in confusion.

“I was so pissed I investigated. Scout and illusion espers are valued more for experience than raw rank because we handle strategy. But…”

Tears actually welled up in Jae-hyung’s eyes.

“…Hyung deliberately split the S-class illusion esper and the S-class scout esper into different squads during roster setting. So someone like me—an A-class who can do both but has less skill and experience than them—became completely unnecessary. He even said I might fall for my own side’s illusions. Ha… he’s a total psycho, right? Hurting a delicate esper’s feelings just to protect his lover…”

One word in there was off, but since the rest was pure Haejin-roasting, Lee Chae was happy to keep listening.

Unfortunately, class started. As expected from Awakened Management University, the professor didn’t even blink at an outsider like Yoon Jae-hyung sitting in.

Still, no Haejin meant Lee Chae could finally focus on a lecture for the first time in forever.

“No way… could it be… oh…”

When Jae-hyung invited him to eat together at the cafeteria and started piling hamburger steak, tonkatsu, and bulgogi onto his tray, Lee Chae’s internal monologue was still: No way…

When Jae-hyung wiped his next class seat with wet wipes: Is he seriously using a living avatar?

When Lee Chae finished his cleanup crew shift and found Jae-hyung waiting outside: Ah… two lunatics are tormenting me now.

The joy of Haejin being gone lasted exactly one day before Lee Chae decided he’d rather have the original.

Haejin’s hired stalker did the exact same things—only with three times the talking.

At first the delicate, caring attitude was nice. After a full day of nonstop chattering, Lee Chae felt blood trickling from his ears.

The next day, heading to school already dreading survival, Jae-hyung was of course there again.

After morning classes, lunch—predictably, meat mountain on Lee Chae’s tray—and nonstop babble.

“But you know, that time you guided him…”

“Hm? Guiding?”

Jae-hyung suddenly slapped both hands over his mouth like he’d spilled a secret.

“N-Never mind.”

The obvious dodge only made Lee Chae more desperate to know.

“Why stop halfway? You’re making me curious.”

Jae-hyung blinked, hesitated, then finally spoke in a tiny voice.

“I might get murdered by Haejin-hyung if I say this…”

“Just tell me. I’ll keep it secret.”

“You know… when that unidentified intangible appeared? In front of the library, hyung saved a kid then almost rampaged.”

“Yeah.”

“You guided him, right? I… wasn’t told, I saw it myself. I’m a scout, I was worried hyung was in danger so I was watching and…”

His cheeks suddenly flushed bright red.

Lee Chae felt inexplicable anxiety.

“Phew… do you always guide that… hot? I get contact guiding sometimes—not an exclusive, just some guide hyungs who like me—but… anyway… I’ve had contact guiding before, seen it tons of times, but never one so intense my own body heated up. You weren’t even fully undressed and it was short…”

Lee Chae dropped his chopsticks and stared.

Eyes met—Jae-hyung’s went comically wide.

“W-Why are you glaring like that…”

“Yoon Jae-hyung-ssi, what exactly are you curious about?”

Ice-cold voice.

Jae-hyung made a tearful face—an A-class scared of a D-class glare. Hilarious.

“I said I wouldn’t tell but you made me! Your fault!”

Lee Chae shut his mouth, dumbfounded.

If Haejin was elementary-school level, Jae-hyung was preschool—maybe infant.

If everyone in Legion was like this, Haejin being the leader made perfect sense.

“And! Just because I said your contact guiding was… sexy—no, hot—I’m absolutely not saying I want it, so no misunderstanding!”

“Then why bring it up? You didn’t have to say anything, but you did because you were curious.”

Bullseye—Jae-hyung inhaled sharply.

This type was new; Lee Chae finally understood why guides babied him.

Compared to the usual rough, screaming espers, Jae-hyung looked like an angel. A little cute, even.

“I just… wondered if there was a special technique. If there is, I wanted to learn so I could teach the guide hyungs. I can’t get it out of my head. I want to try it too but I don’t know how.”

“Just ask Haejin-hyung. I wasn’t the only one there.”

“Come on, you think I didn’t? I followed him around begging. Guess what he said?”

“What?”

Jae-hyung cleared his throat, rolled his eyes upward, and perfectly imitated Haejin’s dramatic tone:

“‘Hmm, a fateful encounter, maybe? A poetic meeting? Like the memory of a sharp first kiss. Hot and wet, body burning, thirst that never ends no matter how much you drink, chills when apart, madness when out of sight…’”

Lee Chae’s face crumpled so hard goosebumps threatened to turn him into a chicken.

Jae-hyung laughed.

“See? Even you can’t listen to it. The first few times I thought if I endured the fantasy he’d eventually say something useful. All the other espers cursed and left, but I stayed till the end.”

“And?”

“That was the end.”

Lee Chae stopped responding after understanding the intent.

He finished lunch, one more class, cleanup crew shift, then exam study… just listing today’s tasks made his brain hurt.

Jae-hyung, as always, never shut up.

“Oh right! Hyung told me to give you this…”

He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a very familiar book.

“…My Guiding Studies textbook.”

“Yeah, he said make sure you get it back in time for the exam. I forgot yesterday because things were crazy. Sorry.”

Lee Chae snatched it and hugged it to his chest like someone might steal it again.

Tears pricked his eyes remembering the suffering to get this one book.

It was originally his, yet he felt grateful to have it returned before the test.

After a whole day of Jae-hyung torture, he even thought—if someone had to stalk him this way, he’d rather it be the original than the substitute.

Not because I miss Cha Haejin! I just hate Jae-hyung’s nonstop talking.

He shook his head violently and stood.

Lunch break is barely over…

A day that was always long felt infinitely longer today.

“Jin-woo, think our Lee Chae is doing okay?”

“Shut up and watch the front. Monster-types are swarming—now’s the time for that?”

Haejin flicked a finger toward the hundred-meter horde.

Half exploded into smoke.

Tougher fight than usual, but not enough to shut him up.