Chapter 121 (Side Story 2-Hyun Taewoon): Hyun Taewoon’s Perspective

I thought it was just another ordinary day. A repetitive routine of training at the Center and receiving machine guiding.

While in a personal gate simulation, I received an alert about the appearance of an unexpected A-Class gate. Fortunately, I was already in my combat suit, so I could move immediately.

It was a high-level A-Class gate, so when it opened, I saw monsters I had never seen before.

Since it was an unexpected gate, there must have been many people around, as I could hear sharp screams even from a distance. In such situations, it was better to deal with the boss monster quickly to minimize damage. As always, I attacked the boss monster as soon as it poked its head out of the gate.

But then, I felt a refreshing energy from the ground. It felt like clean, clear water untouched by human hands. It was a refreshing sensation I had never experienced before, and my eyes widened in spite of myself.

‘What on earth is this…?’

I unconsciously turned my gaze to the source of the energy. I could faintly see a person with a blue energy, unlike my red one.

By the time I realized it, I was already approaching him. He was a man with neatly styled hair, and he was being chased and falling over by monsters. I immediately teleported to him and held him in my arms.

The moment I held him, I felt my wavelength, which had been filled with toxins, being rapidly purified. Only then did I realize that the man was a guide. To think there was a guide like this… He was definitely S-Class. Just the thought of him being S-Class made my chest swell.

I had never seen this kind of energy at the Association, so was he a government guide? He was a truly amazing guide.

The guide was trembling with fear from his near-death experience. The trembling showed no signs of stopping, so I gently stroked his back.

Then, his head turned slightly, and our eyes met. As soon as he saw me, his eyes widened, and he couldn’t hide his surprise. I found his expression cute and couldn’t help but smile.

I had never thought I would feel that a man, not a woman, was cute. I already liked this man.

I had been receiving machine guiding all this time because there was no guide who matched me. But to meet a guide with such good compatibility… I absolutely couldn’t let him go.

I put him down in a nearby shelter building, told him firmly not to go, and moved to the gate. I wanted to kill the boss monster that had become a nuisance and learn about the man.

Which organization was he from, what were his name and age, did he have an exclusive Esper. My curiosity about the man continued even while I was killing the boss monster.

As soon as I saw the boss monster engulfed in flames and turning to ash, I hurried back to him. Fortunately, he hadn’t moved and was waiting for me. I immediately approached him and asked.

“Which organization are you from?”

“What? …I’m not a guide.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised at his words that he wasn’t a guide. Judging by the current situation, he might have just awakened. In that moment, I could only think of one thing: fate. And I was seized by a sense of possessiveness. I wanted to make the man in front of me my one and only guide.

In the end, I brought him home. As soon as we arrived, I asked him various questions I was curious about.

His name was Lee Shinui. A name that suited his clear face. After coming home, I tried contact guiding with him. I felt the guiding and purification that connected immediately, as if he hadn’t just awakened as a guide, and I was convinced that he was S-Class.

I had received guiding from numerous guides, but I had always been troubled by the reverse guiding phenomenon. But after feeling his wavelength, the relief of no longer having to suffer from death made him feel like a savior.

But… contrary to my expectations, he was not S-Class, but C-Class. I had been hoping he was S-Class, but the words C-Class made my whole body feel like it was freezing.

My only younger sister had also died from reverse guiding, and my parents had also died from a rampage because they couldn’t receive guiding in time due to their guide’s reverse guiding. I myself had experienced the situation of reverse guiding several times when I was close to a rampage. These were all cases where death was met because the guide’s rank was low and their control was immature. I didn’t want to experience that ever again.

As much as I had been sure, the rank result came as a huge shock. Although our matching rate was high, just the fact that he was C-Class turned my gentle feelings for him into antipathy.

My immature self at the time despised him and gave him a wound that could never be erased. I thought I had no more business with the C-Class Shinui, but the guiding I had tasted once was unforgettable, and I continued to crave his guiding.

I ended up bringing back the Shinui I had kicked out as soon as I found out he was C-Class. Because our matching rate was high, I needed him, even if he was C-Class.

In the end, I made an exclusive contract with him and we started living together. He trained day and night to raise his rank. At first, I scoffed at him. It wasn’t easy to raise one’s rank.

The Shinui I encountered at home was always worn out with fatigue. But when I spoke to him, all signs of hardship disappeared, and he would greet me with a smile.

Unlike me, who had changed my attitude just because he was C-Class, he was always consistent. Was I also infected by his heart?

At some point, he started to catch my eye. A C-Class who I thought would be of no help to my life. But he stubbornly upgraded to B-rank despite my ridicule, and his guiding control was at an A-rank level. The longer I spent with him, the more harsh words I said, the more guilt I began to feel.

I didn’t show it, but when I received guiding, I even worried that he might die from reverse guiding.

The three years with him was a time when I could realize many things. I didn’t know what my feelings for him were, but when I saw his face popping up in my mind at all hours and myself trying to be with him under the pretext of guiding, I couldn’t help but realize that I liked him.

But by the time I realized I liked him… I had already given him a wound that could never be erased. The harsh words I had spewed from the day the rank test results came out came back to me.

When I remembered his hurt face, which was engraved in my memory, I was so crushed by guilt that I couldn’t even breathe. How did he, the one who had been hurt, endure the pain all this time?

I was at a loss and afraid of how to heal his wounds, but just as he had made an effort for me for three years, I also decided to make an effort. However, since I was originally a blunt person, there were many difficulties.

Just then, Dr. Yoon informed me in advance that he had been promoted to A-rank. Since the promotion day was also his birthday, I planned to properly convey my feelings this time. For the first time in my life, I prepared a bouquet of flowers and also the Esper and guide couple bracelet that he had been eyeing.

He might not forgive me, but I believed that he would recognize my sincerity and accept it. Just as his sincerity had reached me. I wanted to take this opportunity to open our hearts to each other and soothe the wounds I had given him.

Unfortunately, there was an event in the evening, so I was late getting home. I arrived just in time before his birthday was over, but he was already asleep, under the influence of the sleeping chip. I felt a sense of disappointment first. I removed the sleeping chip and looked at his face, which had been through a lot in the past three years.

I wanted to see him smile brightly again. I took the bracelet out of my pocket and tried it on his arm. The same bracelet was on my wrist. I was sure he would like it too.

Hoping that I could confess my true feelings to him tomorrow, I lay down next to him.

But I was so nervous that I ended up running outside until morning. It was about time for him to wake up, so I went back home, but it wasn’t the face of the Shinui I knew. He should have been happy to see the bracelet I had left for him.

His eyes were empty, reflecting nothing, and in a trembling voice, he told me he was quitting as my exclusive guide.

“I’m not going to be your exclusive guide anymore.”

At his words that he was quitting, my face quickly hardened, and my wavelength also became sharp. He was the one who, just yesterday, had asked me to wait for his promotion. I couldn’t understand why he was suddenly saying he wouldn’t be my exclusive guide. I couldn’t just nod and agree.

Convinced that something had happened, I asked for the reason, but with the words that he was tired, tears fell from his eyes. From his ceaseless tears and his cold expression, I realized that his heart for me had closed.