Chapter 22: The New Rival

After finishing the promotion screening test, I headed to the cafeteria for lunch.
I felt unusually weak today.
It was because I thought that if I couldn’t get promoted this time either, Taewoon would abandon me and go to the S-Class Guide.

But if I was promoted to A-Class this time, he would think I had the potential to become an S-Class, so he would feel that he needed me, with my higher matching rate, more than the S-Class Guide.

And I held onto the expectation that he would treat me a little more kindly, even if it wasn’t as much as before.
To be honest, there were times when I was confused about whether all his past kind gestures were just my own delusion.
So I wanted to feel his kindness again.

I was walking down the hallway, hoping that this screening result would be A-Class.
I saw a man in a black uniform walking from a distance.
He was tall, though not as tall as Taewoon.

I soon realized that he was the newly awakened S-Class Guide.
His face was the same as the one in the news article.

The S-Class Guide had a handsome and neat face.
Although he had never directly harmed or hurt me, the mere fact that he had done a matching test with Taewoon and was an S-Class Guide stirred up feelings of dislike.

I was about to ignore him and pass by, but unexpectedly, the S-Class Guide greeted me first.

“Hello.”

I hadn’t expected him to greet me, so I greeted him back in an awkward posture.

“…Hello.”

“You’re Guide Lee Shinui, right?”

I hadn’t thought he would know my name, but it seemed he already knew about me.
I guessed it was probably because I was Taewoon’s exclusive Guide.

I didn’t want to know anything related to him and the S-Class Guide, so I didn’t even know his name.

“Yes. And you are…”

“I’m Joo Wonjae. I recently awakened as a Guide.”

“I see…”

“I’m still not used to this place, so there’s a lot I don’t know. I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes.”

I wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible.
I was about to walk past him, but Joo Wonjae kept talking to me.

“Where are you going?”

“To the cafeteria.”

“I just had lunch. Let’s eat together next time.”

“Okay. Then I’ll be on my way.”

He seemed to want to talk to me more, but I ignored him and walked away quickly.

I never wanted to run into him again.
But contrary to my wish, I kept running into him often.

He would suddenly appear in the training room and ask to work out together, and our meal times somehow became the same, so we ended up having lunch together as well.

It was awkward.
I wanted to show my dislike, but that would make me seem too petty, so I suppressed my emotions.
Still, it was a relief that he couldn’t follow me when I was doing the secret project.

After the secret project ended, Jinho-hyung gave me a ride home again today.
I waited for the elevator in the apartment’s first-floor lobby.
The elevator was on the third basement level, but it came up quickly.

The moment the door opened, my feet stopped.
Joo Wonjae was inside.
I didn’t know why he was here, but I felt a strange sense of foreboding.

“Shinui-hyung, do you live here too?”

After running into each other several times, Joo Wonjae, who was four years younger than me, started calling me ‘hyung’ and following me around.
But I used formal speech to let him know that I was drawing a line.

“Yes. Do you live here too, Joo Wonjae-ssi?”

I entered the elevator and pressed the button.
The button for the floor right below was lit up.

“I just moved in.”

“…I see.”

“Since our homes are close, shall we carpool to the Center?”

“It’s okay. The manager gives me a ride every time.”

“Then if you change your mind later, please let me know.”

He said with a disappointed face.
I tried not to look at his face and checked the floor number.
The elevator felt like it was going up slowly today.

“But you probably don’t live here alone… By any chance, with Hyun Taewoon?”

Seeing him speak so familiarly of Hyun Taewoon, even though he was four years younger than us, I could tell that the two of them had become close enough to speak informally.

“Yes. I live with just him.”

I said it as if there was no room for him between us.
At that, his expression turned cold.
I felt a murderous intent from him, but it quickly disappeared.

“I see. You have Sunday off, right, hyung? Come visit my house.”

“I’m not sure. I’m busy on weekends too.”

“Then I’ll adjust to your schedule. Please let me know when you have time.”

“Okay.”

I just said okay curtly.
I would probably never go to his house in my lifetime.

The moment he was about to speak again, the elevator announced the floor, and the door opened.
It was the floor where he lived.

“Hyung, then I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”

“Okay.”

As soon as the elevator door closed, the breath I had been holding in came out.
Living in the same apartment had made the situation even more annoying.

If I was promoted to A-Class this time, my signing bonus would increase, and there would be more benefits.
Then I decided I should ask Taewoon to move somewhere else.
I didn’t like that Joo Wonjae lived close to him.

After finding out that I lived in the same apartment as him, I avoided him even more thoroughly, but as if we had some kind of fate, we kept running into each other.

Our trainer and training times became completely the same, and when I was resting in the break room, I would find him next to me before I knew it.
He didn’t seem to have any friends, as I had never seen him talk to anyone other than me.

In the end, I showed my dislike for him, but whether he didn’t know or was pretending not to know, he stubbornly stayed by my side.
Having a 180cm tall guy next to me all day was uncomfortable.

At first, I thought he was trying to keep me in check, but seeing him hand me energy drinks or snacks with an innocent smile every time he saw me, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

But I felt something chilly from him.
So I didn’t let my guard down and kept my distance.

Tomorrow was the day the promotion test results came out.
I could never sleep the night before a promotion test.

I wanted to sleep with Taewoon today, so I waited for him, but he, oblivious to my feelings, didn’t come home until past midnight.

When it was 2 AM, I finally called him, but all I got was a message saying his phone was off.
Worried that something bad might have happened, I checked my Guiding Watch, and thankfully, his heart rate and guiding level were in the calm zone.

Since I had to leave early tomorrow morning, I ended up going to my room and trying to sleep.

As I was sleeping, I heard a series of bumping sounds, and then the sound stopped in front of my door.
I was in a light sleep, so even a small sound woke me up.

Before long, the door opened, and I felt Taewoon’s wavelength.
I closed my eyes again and pretended to be asleep.

His footsteps grew closer, and then he plopped down on the bed.
Only then did the smell of alcohol waft over.
His drinking frequency had increased lately, so I had nagged him a few times to stop, but it seemed he couldn’t quit because of the side effects.

He was silent for a while, but then he opened his mouth.

“Lee Shinui, are you sleeping?”

I debated whether to answer his question, but I wanted to talk to him, so I finally opened my mouth.

“…I’m not sleeping.”

At my words, I felt him lie down next to me.
He quietly hugged me.

I didn’t dislike it, so I just stayed still.

The only times he would be so unreservedly physical with me was when he was quite drunk, so I found myself complaining.

“Your phone was off. I was worried, so please keep it charged.”

“You were worried?”

“Of course I was worried when you didn’t come home until dawn.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll come home every day.”

“Then at least come home before midnight.”

“Okay. I have to listen to you, Shinui. I only have you.”

His words that he only had me sounded deceitful.
The Center was always noisy with stories about him and Joo Wonjae.
And the scandals about the two of them were endless.
I knew they were all just exaggerated rumors, but every time I heard them, I felt like I was endlessly falling.

“Why only me? There’s the new S-Class Guide too.”

“I don’t need him. I only need you.”

I don’t believe what he says when he’s drunk, but I think there’s some truth to it.
And for now, I decided to believe that his words were sincere.

“Me too. I only need you, Taewoon.”

It was my sincere feeling.
Though it probably wouldn’t reach the drunk Taewoon.

He kissed my head deeply.
Even though his words were always mean, I knew he took care of me.
I could tell from the fact that he had quit smoking at some point and the softened look in his eyes.
Sometimes, though rarely, he would buy something for me too.

At first, he was reluctant to even let our hands touch, but now he would sometimes hold out his hand first when I suggested guiding.
It wasn’t even awkward to be in bed with him like this anymore.
Perhaps it was because I knew that he also had at least a little bit of feelings for me.
I hoped he would like me more.

“It’s my grade announcement day tomorrow.”

“I-is that so?”

He was definitely drunk, as his words slurred.
Even though he might not remember my words now, I continued.

“Yeah. If I get promoted this time… will you treat me kindly like you used to?”

My throat choked up, and I spoke in fragments.
I waited for his answer, but he didn’t reply anymore, as if he had fallen asleep.
But I felt like I had gotten an answer from the way he hugged me tightly.

I placed my hand on his, which was wrapped around my waist, and closed my eyes.

And the next day, I was promoted to A-Class, just as I had wished.