Chapter 2: The Unflappable Guide’s Unexpected Demand

“Take them off?” The man’s intent was glaringly obvious.

Yet Jungwon remained unfazed by the sudden, insolent demand. Such incidents occurred frequently enough that the man’s vulgar tone and mocking demeanor barely registered with them.

Instead of showing any surprise, Jungwon merely glanced up, their gaze sweeping over the man with dry indifference before they spoke.

“Would you mind rolling up your sleeves?”

Their voice was perfectly calm, as if they hadn’t heard the man’s previous remark at all. Some people, embarrassed by such a response, would usually drop the subject.

Unfortunately, the man before Jungwon was clearly not one of them.

“What, are you going to draw blood or something?”

Jungwon turned to look at the sneering man once more. Their eyes met, and the man, evidently believing his words had finally hit their mark, spoke with a confident flourish.

“Between us, you know… Look, I swear my veins were twisting into knots just waiting for that idiot to finally show up.”

He even added a dismissive snort at the end, which Jungwon found utterly preposterous. ‘Between us, you know’? What exactly did he think they knew?

The man, however, remained persistent, his theatrics escalating.

“Are you going to take responsibility if I go berserk? Come on, stop wasting time and just start.”

The probability of him going berserk here was virtually zero. Even if he did, Jungwon was confident they could calm him down instantly.

As Jungwon quietly observed him, the man ostentatiously began unbuttoning his shirt. Jungwon watched him as if he were some strange anomaly, then calmly spoke.

“You only need to unbutton your cuffs.”

At their words, the man’s snort grew louder, clearly offended. He straightened his face and pressed them.

“Hey, how long do you plan to drag this out?”

“Indeed.”

It seemed futile to listen any longer; he wouldn’t change his attitude, nor would he respond to polite redirection. Jungwon met his gaze steadily and asked.

“Are you saying you want s*x?”

The man’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t seemed to expect such a blunt question from Jungwon.

Interpreting it as a positive sign, he soon began to ramble triumphantly.

“I just want proper guiding, you know.”

Indeed, many Espers complained that without sexual contact, they didn’t feel properly guided. In a truly urgent situation, Jungwon’s reaction would have been different.

For Espers with severe ability depletion or higher ranks, more direct physical contact was often necessary for guiding. If it were part of their duty, Jungwon was not one to refuse based on personal discomfort.

However, they had no desire to waste energy in a situation where it wasn’t necessary.

“Just do it properly, and take them off.”

Jungwon regarded the scowling, bullying Esper with an impassive gaze.

While Jungwon was not one to look down on or discriminate against others based on rank, the Esper’s rude behavior was utterly illogical given the vast difference in their grades.

There were two main reasons for such conduct: first, Espers generally tended to disregard Guides; and second, Jungwon was often underestimated precisely because they remained with a state agency despite being treated like a ‘national dog.’

“Let’s do this, then.”

Regardless, Jungwon had no intention of getting angry over such matters. They calmly proposed.

“First, please offer your wrist. If there’s no improvement after I count to ten, I’ll gladly take them off.”

The man let out another annoyed snort at Jungwon’s utterly businesslike offer to “take them off.” ‘He’s going to wear out his nose doing that,’ Jungwon thought dispassionately.

The man shrugged.

“I’ll do the counting.”

“As you wish.”

Counting quickly wouldn’t change anything. At Jungwon’s reply, the man finally, grudgingly, rolled up his sleeve.

The instant Jungwon placed their hand on his wrist, he began to speak.

“One. Two.”

While his counting speed was quite fast, it wasn’t so rapid as to be breathless, so Jungwon found it acceptable. They injected their power with an unchanging expression.

“…Six. Seven. Eight…”

The man’s face gradually took on a subtle, nuanced expression. His voice, too, became increasingly hesitant as he counted.

“…Ten.”

After counting all the numbers, the man looked down at his wrist with a sour expression. The moment he reached ten, Jungwon sharply withdrew their hand from his wrist.

The energy expended was greater than what they had used on the young Esper just moments ago, but it wasn’t enough to disturb their composure.

Jungwon glanced at the man’s half-unbuttoned shirt and spoke.

“Shall I take them off for you?”

“……”

“If it wasn’t effective, please tell me quickly. Others are waiting.”

Jungwon had no doubt it had been effective. Still, they uttered the words just in case the man tried to argue.

Fortunately, the man didn’t press the issue further. He didn’t even offer a retort; he simply said nothing at all.

‘Had his mind cleared after the guiding, making him suddenly feel embarrassed?’ Jungwon wondered. ‘If he was going to act like this, he shouldn’t have bothered with such pointless antics in the first place, but at least it was over now.’

“If you’re done, could you please leave?”

Even to their pointed remark, there was no reply. The man, still wearing a displeased expression, merely slammed the car door shut and departed.

****

The subsequent guiding sessions proceeded smoothly, without incident. The other Espers remained unusually docile, whether from exhaustion or perhaps intimidated by the previous Esper’s outburst.

Within minutes, Jungwon had finished guiding all the Espers and immediately prepared to leave. Today, for a change, their mission had concluded before evening, allowing them to plan on returning home to rest.

Just then, their phone rang. Checking the caller ID, Jungwon saw it was a call from headquarters.

A bad premonition tightening in their chest, Jungwon narrowed their eyes as they looked down at their phone.

– Jungwon, I’m sorry, but could you return right away?

Their premonition, it seemed, had not been unwarranted. At the request that came the moment they answered, Jungwon sighed softly and replied.

“I recall today’s work being finished here.”

– It was, but the Director called for you regarding an urgent matter. My apologies.

The bitter feeling was fleeting. After all, their leisure plans rarely came to fruition anyway.

Suddenly, Espresso’s words flashed through their mind. What was it he said? Something about how if they were a high-ranking Guide, they’d be living a life of respect, earning a high salary at a private company…

Jungwon let out a small, cynical laugh. They couldn’t believe they were still getting lost in such thoughts.

They must have been too tired and sensitive. To shake off the thoughts, they immediately opened their mouth and responded.

“Understood. I’ll head back right away.”

****

“Ah, Jungwon. You’re here? Come in, have a seat.”

The Director greeted Jungwon with a beaming smile the moment they entered. Knowing that sitting down would only prolong the conversation indefinitely, Jungwon remained standing, unmoving.

It was their unspoken way of saying, ‘I’ll stand, so just tell me.’ The Director clicked his tongue softly, then spoke as if joking.

“Well, I can’t have you breaking your legs, Jungwon, so shall we get straight to the point?”

“You can take your time.”

Though he spoke like a benevolent man, Jungwon knew he would be displeased if they didn’t respond in kind. Still, they thought it would be better than sitting and listening, so they waited for the Director to continue.

To their surprise, however, the Director spoke with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

“We have a long-term mission, and it requires an A-rank Guide or higher.”

Jungwon had expected him to drag out the explanation, but the immediate dive into the main point suggested it was indeed an urgent matter. Jungwon responded with equal seriousness.

“How many people are needed?”

“For you, Jungwon, one person should be enough.”

Jungwon nodded without refuting it. This wasn’t overconfidence in their abilities; it was simply the reality in most cases. Asking about the number of personnel was merely a customary question.

For an S-rank Guide, guiding multiple Espers at once was hardly a challenge. Even with a lower synchronization rate with an Esper, they could usually manage quite well.

Jungwon was undeniably among the top S-rank Guides, thanks to their stable guiding ability and high synchronization rate with anyone they encountered. Their synchronization rate with every Esper they had ever guided had been over 80%.

While having another Guide accompany them would certainly lighten the workload, Jungwon knew full well that a state agency, perennially short-staffed, would never offer such a luxury.

“What are the mission details? When does it start?”

A gut feeling told them this wasn’t a conversation to have while standing. Jungwon finally sat in the chair the Director had offered, asking professionally.

Since they would have to do whatever was asked anyway, feigning hesitation would only be to Jungwon’s detriment.

“Well, you see…”

The Director hesitated, an unusual display for him. ‘What could he possibly be so reluctant about?’ Jungwon wondered.

“The truth is, there’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“The location is abroad.”

Jungwon’s brows furrowed. They had known something was amiss the moment a brazen man like the Director hesitated, but this was a bigger issue than they had anticipated.

Jungwon didn’t wait long. They immediately opened their mouth and replied.

“You know very well, don’t you? I don’t go abroad.”

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