Chapter 37: The Guide’s Dilemma

As Gwon Jiwook casually recounted the terrifying tale, Woo Chanhee nodded in agreement, confirming every word.

Jung Hanseol involuntarily shivered, imagining Ryu Yishin using his powers to lift a desk into the air before smashing it to the floor. Before he knew it, all color had drained from Hanseol’s face.

“Apparently, the sub-team leader made a mistake recently, and it was just overlooked,” Gwon Jiwook explained. “He’d even been contemplating whether or not to apply for a regional transfer…”

At Gwon Jiwook’s words, Woo Chanhee nodded again, this time with a serious expression.

Jung Hanseol naturally recalled Kang Seungmin, who, not long ago, had bowed so deeply before Ryu Yishin it seemed his waist might break, begging forgiveness for his oversight.

It seemed the situation Hanseol had witnessed that day was likely connected to what Gwon Jiwook was now saying. And come to think of it, the sub-team leader had seemed a little flustered when the team leader simply told him to leave.

“Oh! Could it be that your guiding works on the team leader, Hanseol?”

“Is that so? But since Hanseol is also an A-class, wouldn’t it be similar to ours?”

As Jung Hanseol was still pondering the situation, Woo Chanhee chewed and swallowed the food he had stuffed into his mouth, then turned the conversation, his eyes sparkling.

When a topic not unrelated to himself emerged, Hanseol’s eyes instinctively widened. Part of it was that he couldn’t readily grasp what the two of them were implying.

“What about my guiding…?”

‘Am I guiding incorrectly?’

Having transferred to Team 1, Jung Hanseol had experienced various ‘friction points’ with Ryu Yishin due to his guiding—from Ryu Yishin’s experiments to being taken to the hospital for severe side effects. This conversation naturally sparked immediate concern.

Reading the anxiety in his eyes, Woo Chanhee hastily waved his hand as if to say, ‘It’s not like that,’ then quickly launched into an explanation, almost as if making excuses.

“Ah, it’s not that your guiding is the problem, Hanseol,” he quickly clarified. “It’s just that our guiding doesn’t really work on the team leader. It’s not entirely ineffective, but it’s not particularly effective either… something like that?”

“Both of you?”

“Yes,” Gwon Jiwook confirmed. “Since the team leader is S-class, our compatibility is naturally poor, so the efficiency has to be low. It’s not like there are any S-class guides in Korea either.”

“We’re actually the ones with the highest wave synchronization with the team leader, but even then, it’s only around twenty percent.”

Gwon Jiwook, in the midst of picking onions out of his bulgogi, nodded deeply in agreement with Woo Chanhee’s words, then added his own comment at an opportune moment.

“I once asked the sub-team leader about it because I was curious,” he continued. “He said that even if we guided the team leader, it wouldn’t even make a dent for him.”

“Wow, it’s that bad? I’m allowed to feel a little hurt, right?” Woo Chanhee exclaimed, hearing this for the first time.

Woo Chanhee, apparently hearing this for the first time, reacted unusually, grumbling as he haphazardly stuffed the remaining tonkatsu into his mouth.

“Gwon Jiwook laughed in disbelief, calling him someone who got fixated on strange things, then gestured with his chin for Hanseol to eat quickly before picking up another piece of bulgogi for himself.”

Jung Hanseol numbly chewed the mouthful of omurice, once again bringing to mind the very first question that had arisen since he joined Team 1.

‘Why had Ryu Yishin specifically brought Jung Hanseol, a guide with side effects, to his team?’

Having received training at the Guide Cultivation Center, Hanseol knew well that guiding efficiency was optimal when an Esper and Guide were of the same rank.

When ranks differed, efficiency depended entirely on the wave synchronization rate. He had always assumed that since there were no S-class guides in the country, Ryu Yishin would have two A-class guides with high wave synchronization on his team. Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

‘Only twenty percent wave synchronization?’

‘And that was for the highest match among them?’

Considering that even Jin Taeyoung, who boasted the most incompatible waves with Hanseol back in Team 7, had a synchronization rate of sixty percent, this twenty percent could only be described as abysmal.

“But ever since you arrived, Hanseol, the desk has been fine, and he seems to get angry less often,” Woo Chanhee observed. “So, we’re wondering if your guiding might actually be effective.”

“……”

“I only found this out recently, but apparently, no guide has ever been able to properly guide the team leader,” he continued. “I’m not sure if it’s because he’s S-class and difficult to connect with, or what…”

While the symptoms varied from individual to individual, an Esper who didn’t receive proper guiding would become extremely sensitive.

They often experienced physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle pain, or seizures, and it was common for them to display irritable behavior. If their condition worsened, they would lose all self-control.

In the worst cases, they could exhibit self-destructive tendencies, commonly known as a ‘rampage,’ ultimately leading to death.

Jung Hanseol mulled over Gwon Jiwook’s words, recalling Ryu Yishin’s ash-gray hair and pupils—features said to be aftereffects of his rampage, which had now become his defining symbols.

‘Could the origin of that foul temper, which no one could control, be due to unsatisfactory guiding?’

‘If so, was that recently subdued temper truly a change brought about by my guiding?’

‘Was my guiding truly effective, and was that why he brought me here?’

“If things suddenly go awry again, everything will be turned upside down,” Gwon Jiwook warned. “The more this happens, the more careful we need to be.”

“That’s true…”

With resigned, dispirited voices, the two resumed their lunch.

Only then did Jung Hanseol push aside his scattered questions and once again scoop a generous portion of omurice into his mouth.

As he slowly moved his jaw to chew, a sudden, chilling question made him shiver momentarily.

‘Leaving aside the intact desk, if *this* was him being less angry, just how terribly did he lose his temper before I arrived?’

Too afraid to even imagine it, Jung Hanseol shook his head to clear the thought, then began to focus on the act of eating, just like the two across from him.

His tongue, which had seemed to lose its function, thankfully regained its sense of taste, and the subtle flavor of the omurice became distinctly apparent. Even so, he couldn’t stop his mind from continuously returning to the correlation between Ryu Yishin and his own guiding.

****

After his conversation with his teammates about guiding, Jung Hanseol found himself deep in thought.

The questions he had temporarily set aside while trying to adapt to Ryu Yishin now resurfaced with renewed prominence.

Thinking back, Ryu Yishin had brought him to Team 1 immediately after he had provided guiding.

During the large-scale battle last February, Hanseol had guided Ryu Yishin and the other Team 1 members. He had only learned of his transfer to Team 1 after regaining consciousness. While he knew what had transpired in between, thanks to Jo Jinwoo, he still had no idea ‘why’ Ryu Yishin had brought him there.

Jung Hanseol trudged along the quiet path to work, recalling the conversation he’d had with Woo Chanhee and Gwon Jiwook.

If his guiding truly was effective on Ryu Yishin, it would, to some extent, explain why he had been forcibly brought to the team, despite not being a candidate for restructuring. If Ryu Yishin had never once received satisfactory guiding, he would undoubtedly be desperate for a guide with compatible waves.

‘So, am I that guide with compatible waves? Why me, of all people?’

He hadn’t yet undergone a wave synchronization test with Ryu Yishin, so he couldn’t be certain, but Ryu Yishin’s persistence in keeping him close offered a strong hint.

At the very least, he surmised he must have a higher wave synchronization rate with Ryu Yishin than either Woo Chanhee or Gwon Jiwook.

Yet, he could proudly claim to have lived virtuously for twenty years, never once doing anything shameful. So why had such a trial befallen him?

How much more uprightly should he have lived? Perhaps this life was simply beyond hope.

Jung Hanseol sighed deeply, adjusting the paper bag clutched in his hand.

Lost in melancholy thoughts, Jung Hanseol swung his paper bag back and forth as he walked, eventually stepping into the convenience store that appeared before him.

He had already planned to stop by the convenience store on his way to work to buy some snacks, so there was no hesitation in his steps. Feeling guilty about always being treated by Woo Chanhee, he intended to buy a generous amount of his favorite jellies and candies to share this time.

Of course, this would only be possible if Ryu Yishin happened to be away from his desk.

“Twelve thousand won, please.”

As Jung Hanseol placed the armful of snacks on the counter and rummaged through his wallet, he noticed a promotional item on the display next to him.

They were round chocolates filled with hazelnut spread, the kind Hanseol himself occasionally bought when an intense craving for something sweet struck. Looking at them, he was inexplicably reminded of Ryu Yishin, sipping a chocolate frappuccino piled high with whipped cream.

‘He said he liked sweets, so wouldn’t he like these too?’

As if momentarily possessed, Hanseol picked up a box and placed it on the counter as well.

“Please ring this up with the others.”

As luck would have it, there was a promotion: buy two boxes and get one free. Jung Hanseol thus unexpectedly ended up with three boxes of chocolates.

After completing his purchase, he haphazardly stuffed them into his bag and exited the convenience store. Only then did a wave of regret wash over him, making him wonder if he had acted foolishly.

He had, of course, bought them with the intention of giving them to Ryu Yishin, but his uncertainty about Ryu Yishin’s exact preferences filled him with unease.

‘What if he dislikes them, asking why I’d give him something like this?’

‘He said he liked sweets, but he might not like *these* particular ones.’

‘What if he suddenly loses his temper and furiously tells me to eat this garbage myself…?’

“……”

‘I’ll just share them with the others, then.’ Jung Hanseol quickly changed his mind, calming his anxious heart with a deep breath. He hastened his steps, vowing to appear nonchalant before Ryu Yishin, regardless of his reaction.

When he arrived at the office, the first person to greet Jung Hanseol was Choi Jiho, whose face seemed to glow more brightly by the day.

Choi Jiho gave Hanseol a slight nod of silent greeting, then pointed a finger towards Ryu Yishin’s office. This was a signal indicating that Ryu Yishin had already arrived for work. Hanseol nodded his thanks to Choi Jiho, then knocked and entered.

“Hello, Team Leader…”

Upon opening the door, he saw Ryu Yishin sitting back on the sofa. Hanseol was slightly puzzled, as Ryu Yishin was usually seated at his desk, but he offered his greeting nonetheless. Ryu Yishin merely gave a casual nod, then naturally crossed his legs, assuming an arrogant posture. Hanseol quietly took a seat on the single-person sofa, which had implicitly become his designated spot, and covertly observed Ryu Yishin. He had a reason to speak to him as soon as he arrived today.