Chapter 30: Luck That Feels Like Bad Luck

‘This headache is because of you, you know.’

An gentle breeze seemed to blow, lightly enveloping his entire body, giving a feeling of buoyancy.

Caught up in that sensation, Jin-yeop pressed his lips shut without voicing the rebuttal he had been about to make.

The hand holding his was large and firm.

Although Jin-yeop’s hands weren’t small either, as he was also a man, they were no match for Eun-ru’s.

Thick knuckles pushed between his fingers and interlocked, creating a strange sense of stability.

Involuntarily, Jin-yeop let out a long breath and closed his eyes.

The battle in the F-class dungeon hadn’t been taxing at all.

Even though he’d used his abilities, not to the extent of needing guiding.

Even after the dungeon re-awakened to A-class, there hadn’t been much of a fight, so he had no physical trauma, and his internal energy wasn’t disturbed in the slightest.

So Jin-yeop had thought his waves were stable enough.

But from the moment Eun-ru’s hand touched his, he realized that was a mistake.

His internal energy was sharper and more sensitive than he’d thought.

He started to say, “Guide Lee Eun-ru,” but his voice cracked pitifully, so he hurriedly cleared his throat.

“I’ll bring you some water after the guiding.”

“No, more importantly…”

“…”

“No matter how high the match rate, guiding isn’t an easy task.

Especially for the Guide.”

Jin-yeop tried hard to explain at Eun-ru’s level.

No, to be more honest, he wanted to convince him within the bounds of common sense, by any means.

Since he wasn’t unaware of Eun-ru’s feelings, he desperately needed a rational reason to persuade him.

“Of course, an Esper absolutely needs guiding.

A dedicated Guide is an essential presence for an Esper who raids dungeons with me.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Guides tend to become expendable.”

“…”

“There are quite a few Espers who see Guides as a kind of battery.

Because what’s immediately needed for dungeon raids isn’t the Guide, but the Esper…

Of course, the two are in a symbiotic relationship, so you can’t rank their importance.”

“…”

“Anyway.

So a Guide needs to know how to wield their guiding as a weapon.

Raiding dungeons is incredibly important, and thinking bigger, it’s an honorable job contributing to protecting the world.

But more important than that is yourself.”

“…”

“There is no one in this world who will provide guiding to a Guide whose body has broken down because of an Esper.”

Maybe this world functioned because altruism existed.

But in Jin-yeop’s opinion, that feeling should never take precedence over the desire to protect oneself.

In that sense, Lee Eun-ru’s current words and actions couldn’t be explained simply as altruism.

This kind of pure heart was easy to take advantage of.

“I don’t think Senior would use me like that.”

“That’s only natural.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“…”

“Someone who won’t do that is right here.

Why would I need to take risks and look for a partner Esper elsewhere?”

Jin-yeop squeezed his eyes shut.

This was driving him crazy.

He had no comeback.

So he sighed and looked at Eun-ru.

“If I said I can’t do it because of my situation, would you accept that?”

“Because what I want right now is just a Guide.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying it won’t end there.”

“That would be even better.”

“Guide Lee Eun-ru.”

“Yes, Senior.”

Eun-ru just smiled brightly and tightened his grip on their joined hands.

Jin-yeop said nothing.

“This is something I know from experience.”

It was Eun-ru who spoke first.

“Luck and bad luck really come out of nowhere.

Not for any reason or trigger.”

“…”

“They come even if you don’t want them.

So brooding and trying to find a reason doesn’t seem very helpful.”

“I’m saying I can’t tell if you are luck or bad luck for me.”

“Luck.”

“…”

“98% luck.”

“…”

“And sometimes luck feels like bad luck at first.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m an empiricist.”

“…”

“Senior is the same.”

Jin-yeop suddenly shifted his gaze, looking down at his hand held by Eun-ru.

Unlike Eun-ru’s hand, firmly intertwined between his fingers and pressing the back of his hand with his fingertips, his own fingertips were awkwardly half-lifted.

“No, I’m…”

“…”

“I’m a terribly rational person.”

“…”

“So let’s write a contract.”

At the word ‘contract,’ Eun-ru slightly narrowed his brow.

Instead of looking at Eun-ru’s face, Jin-yeop looked down at their still-entwined hands and very cautiously applied pressure.

He bent his stiffly extended fingers and lightly gripped back.

Eun-ru’s eyes widened.

“Then I’ll do it.

As your partner.”

On the day of his discharge, Jin-yeop went to the agency for a consultation with a lawyer.

During his three-day hospitalization, Eun-ru had stayed by Jin-yeop’s side.

No matter how many times Jin-yeop told him to go home, Eun-ru had insisted on guarding the hospital room.

Fortunately, since it was a VIP room, the guardian bed wasn’t uncomfortable, but still, he was only getting catnaps.

‘Still, it couldn’t have been easy.’

Even though it wasn’t a serious illness requiring a caretaker, and there wasn’t much for a guardian to do, that was still true.

A hospital was a place where, even if nothing was wrong with you, staying there brought on a strange fatigue that pressed down on your whole body.

When Jin-yeop said he needed to go to the agency instead of straight home after discharge, Eun-ru wanted to come along, but when Jin-yeop said it was a consultation with a lawyer, he backed down quietly.

Jin-yeop tilted his head slightly and blinked with a somewhat dazed expression.

He wondered why it felt oddly awkward to be without Eun-ru after just a few days together.

“Esper Cha Jin-yeop-nim?”

“Yes, yes.”

Snapped back to attention by the call of his name, Jin-yeop stood up.

The lawyer entering the office was with Director Im.

“Sorry for the late introduction.

I’m lawyer Im Chang-gyun.”

“Nice to meet you.

I’m Cha Jin-yeop.”

As Jin-yeop offered a handshake, Chang-gyun lightly grasped his hand and smiled.

“Sit, sit.”

Director Im waved his hand lightly as he sat on the sofa, and the two sat facing each other.

“Did I not tell you?

Chang-gyun is my cousin brother.

Talk comfortably about anything.

No worries about it leaking out.”

“Cousin brother?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

We don’t look alike, do we?

Chang-gyun added with a kind smile.

Jin-yeop nodded and gave a small smile.

“Yes, definitely.”

“What’s that smile supposed to mean?

It’s just because I’m old now, I was quite handsome in my youth.”

Director Im added, annoyed by the glances exchanged between Chang-gyun and Jin-yeop, but neither paid him any attention.

“Ah, fine…

Anyway.

Anything from the Hao side?”

“Nothing received through the legal team.”

“Jin-yeop, you?”

“Nothing specific either.”

“Kang Jung-hoon came to see you, didn’t he?”

At Director Im’s words, Jin-yeop nodded.

Sure enough, with reporters stationed around, Jung-hoon’s visit to the hospital had become a hot topic again.

“Seriously…

That bastard’s a joke too.

How could he come to a place like that?”

“Because you didn’t stop him at the entrance.”

“Jin-yeop, watch your words.

You two haven’t filed a single document with the court.

How could the agency block your legal husband?”

“Ha.”

“There’s another uproar because of that article.

With you labeled the guilty party, he comes for a hospital visit, so all kinds of nonsense is coming out.”

Nonsense like the divorce was just a temporary show, or that they’d reconcile soon anyway.

And since the other party was involved in a dungeon accident, they praised Kang Jung-hoon for coming to provide guiding, saying his character was truly exceptional.

In fact, the story that should be making headlines is the case of the dungeon re-awakening, but ironically, the couple’s antics are getting more attention.

Probably because it’s Jin-yeop who was involved.

If there’s any relief, it’s that there’s not a single line of speculation or articles about Eun-ru, who accompanied him for training.

“Attorney Im, are you aware of the Tifone matter?”

At Jin-yeop’s question, Chang-gyun nodded.

“Yes, I heard from the Director.”

“As you might have expected, that’s the reason Kang Jung-hoon came to see me.

Because things get too complicated if the artifact issue comes to light.”

“Shameless bastard.

What did he say?

Did he ask for an uncontested divorce?”

“No.

Nothing like that.

He’s not the type to sheepishly bring up a pointless argument.”

“Then?”

“Just…”

“…”

“It seems he wants to handle it quietly, but has no clear method.

So he tried showing his face first.”

“Seeing a bastard like that just pisses you off, doesn’t it?”

Director Im snorted, but Jin-yeop couldn’t easily laugh along.

Because the Jin-yeop of the past would have had all his built-up emotions crumble instantly at that face.

“Exactly.

But I’ve spoiled him rotten.”

“…”

“While they’re shaping public opinion, we’ll coordinate with Tifone and adjust the timing of the article release first.”

“In the meantime?

We just let him do that?

Not releasing a single article?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Well, because it’s amusing.”

At Jin-yeop’s words, Director Im twisted his face as if to ask what he was talking about.

But Jin-yeop spoke nonchalantly.

“What kind of face would someone make if they thought they were setting someone else’s house on fire, only to find out it was actually their own?”