Chapter 7: The Roommate’s Fury

Chapter 7

My roommate, Han Seon-ho, had shared a room with me since high school. An A-class Guide, he possessed a gentle demeanor, kind, downturned eyes, and impeccably defined features. Towering in height and build, easily rivaling an Esper, he was, by all objective measures, an exceptional individual. Not only did his academic prowess keep him consistently among the top students, but his affable nature also ensured he remained class representative throughout our entire high school career.

Perhaps it was due to having three younger sisters, but his knack for looking after others made him remarkably dependable in all sorts of situations. Now that I thought about it, he was also the one who had helped me when I collapsed at the graduation ceremony, back in my previous life.

“Sogum! What on earth happened to your face?”

Han Seon-ho, it seemed, had only just registered the state of my face. The sheer horror on his face was, in a way, novel.

Was my face truly that disfigured? My lip was merely split, and I had only sustained a few bruises, or so I thought. Yet, having injured such a prominent area, it seemed I was inadvertently causing widespread concern.

“You’re back? You actually stayed the full duration this time.”

“My second sister wanted me to help her pick out a laptop, so… Hold on, that’s entirely beside the point. Is this really the time for such a casual greeting?”

I had intended to subtly gloss over the matter, but Han Seon-ho’s insistent questioning made me flinch, almost imperceptibly.

My encounters with Yoon Geon-woo had been nothing more than guiding acts, born purely out of necessity. Though I had inadvertently provoked his anger, I could, in good conscience, assert that I had merely fulfilled my duty as a Guide.

Nevertheless, for reasons I couldn’t quite articulate, I found myself instinctively evading my roommate’s piercing gaze. With no desire to recount the day’s events at length, I feigned complete ignorance and opened my mouth.

“It’s nothing, really. I just took a bit of a tumble.”

“If you merely fell, your nose should be broken, not your lip split open.”

Han Seon-ho’s gaze fixed on my swollen, blood-crusted lip, and he spoke with an undeniable note of worry. Predictably, my half-hearted excuse proved entirely ineffective against him.

“And you’re not in pain?”

“I said I’m fine.”

“Fine, you say? Because you don’t look fine in the slightest.”

It had been over seven years since I first made Han Seon-ho’s acquaintance upon entering SAA. Perhaps it was due to the sheer length of time we had spent together since childhood, but Han Seon-ho frequently extended the same kind of fussing and care to me that he would to his own younger siblings.

“And what, pray tell, is this?”

In that fleeting moment, the situation spiraled. Against all my expectations, even the mark on my neck had been discovered. A pang of guilt struck me as I subtly glanced up, only to find his usually amiable, smiling face twisted into an unrecognizable grimace.

“…Ah, this is—”

“Stop spouting nonsense. Let me see.”

“Hey, what are you looking at… *Ugh*.”

I attempted a joke, hoping to diffuse the rigid atmosphere, but it fell completely flat. Before I could even form another thought, Han Seon-ho took hold of my chin, turning my face this way and that for a thorough inspection.

His inspection was so thorough, his concern so palpable, one might have thought Han Seon-ho was my own parent. “Open your mouth,” he commanded. “Did you visit the infirmary? What kind of medication did they prescribe?” Only after enduring a hundred such nagging questions was I finally released from his relentless grip.

“Who did this? Tell me honestly.”

“What?”

“Your neck and your lip. There must be someone responsible for putting you in this state.”

Han Seon-ho’s demeanor suggested he was on the verge of storming out the door at any second.

Indeed, it was only natural for our class president, a man who couldn’t stomach injustice, to be incensed. Han Seon-ho, deeply attached to his classmates, frequently took it upon himself to champion Guides who faced unfair treatment, as if their plight were his own.

While incidents of discord were rare under SAA’s stringent management, there were still occasional instances where thoughtless Espers overstepped their bounds. A significant portion of these transgressions stemmed from the pervasive shortage of Guides.

Given that the number of Espers typically doubled that of Guides, it was not at all uncommon for lower-ranked Espers, those C-grade or below, to find themselves unable to form a pair with a Guide.

A handful of Espers, unable to secure a pair, would resort to coercing guiding from available Guides. Han Seon-ho was precisely the kind of person who, upon witnessing such an act, would mercilessly punish the aggressor.

Yet, Yoon Geon-woo and I found ourselves in a situation entirely antithetical to that. What on earth was I to say in such a predicament?

When I remained stubbornly silent, my gaze fixed elsewhere, Han Seon-ho forcefully turned my head, compelling me to meet his eyes.

“Sogum.”

Despite his gentle demeanor, the gaze that met mine was surprisingly fierce.

‘Han Seon-ho is truly furious.’

It’s a common truth that the calmest individuals are the most terrifying when enraged. Though I would never admit to being intimidated by his gaze, I found myself swallowing a dry gulp, almost without realizing it.

“Tell me. What shameless bastard dared to lay a hand on you?”

“It’s not like that…”

“Forcibly guiding someone is illegal, Sogum. You know that.”

I’m sorry to say, but that shameless bastard is actually me.

Did I merely lay a hand on him? No, I went further. I even imposed an arbitrary, coercive guiding session.

Witnessing Han Seon-ho’s righteous fury, I felt a strange sense of catharsis, as if the lingering resentment I held towards Yoon Geon-woo was inexplicably dissipating. Damn it all.

“Hah… It’s because I was the one who made a mistake first.”

Left with no other recourse, I found myself recounting the events that had transpired over the vacation. There was little point in remaining silent; living in the same room as Han Seon-ho, it was clear he would hound me with the same questions all day long.

“A mistake?”

“I initiated the guiding first. On someone who was unwilling. By force…”

Han Seon-ho’s face contorted into an expression of utter bewilderment, as if he couldn’t comprehend what I was saying.

I felt a pang of apology. Regardless of his ‘my child would never do such a thing’ expression, the deed was already done.

“I formed a temporary pair. However… my paired Esper’s contamination level was dangerously high, leaving me no alternative.”

“What? A temporary pair?”

I carefully broke the news about the pairing. Han Seon-ho’s face crumpled into an expression of utter disbelief, as if he’d been struck by lightning.

His surprise was entirely warranted. After all, I had only just returned from a brief, ten-day winter break, only for my roommate, whom I considered family, to suddenly acquire a temporary pair.

As I hesitated, Han Seon-ho once again barraged me with a torrent of questions.

“The semester hasn’t even begun yet. The selection period officially starts tomorrow, so who on earth did you manage to pair with?”

As Han Seon-ho correctly pointed out, the designated period for graduating Guides and Espers to establish temporary pairings was during the new academic semester. With vacation ending today and classes resuming tomorrow, his confusion was entirely justified.

“I was stuck here throughout the entire vacation, and the Vice Principal called me in personally.”

“That snake-like bastard again?”

“Yes. They informed me that an Esper with a 94% matching rate and I had been confirmed as a temporary pair.”

In principle, a high matching rate didn’t automatically guarantee an immediate temporary pairing. The decision to form a pair was always predicated on mutual agreement.

Naturally, if a matching rate surpassed 90%, the pairing would typically proceed without complication. Should one party be unavailable, priority was customarily granted to the individual with the higher matching rate.

This was evident even before my regression; after the dissolution of my pair with Yoon Geon-woo, a formal notice had been issued, instructing me to decide on a pairing with Jin Ian, who possessed the next highest matching rate.

“What in the dog-eat-dog… Ah, forgive me. What on earth are you saying, Sogum?”

As expected, Han Seon-ho uncharacteristically swore.

Indeed, the Vice Principal’s notification struck others as deeply illogical. Typically, if a matching failed, one would seek out the next potential pair, or simply leave the position vacant and opt for multi-guiding.

Yet, Yoon Geon-woo and I had received an immediate confirmation notice, bypassing any such preliminary processes.

‘They must have given Yoon Geon-woo special treatment.’

It was obvious, without needing to see it, that both SAA and Central Command would have been desperate to find a Guide for such a precious S-class Esper. I looked up at Han Seon-ho, whose face was still etched with confusion.

“Yoon Geon-woo.”

As I uttered Yoon Geon-woo’s name, I felt Han Seon-ho’s grip tighten on my shoulder. Even his gaze, meeting mine, visibly wavered. His eyes seemed to hurl every insult imaginable.

The reason, as you might already know, was simple.

He must have been reacting like this because I had paired with a high-grade Esper, known for their volatile personality, whom all Guides notoriously avoided. But what could be done? It was already decided.

I emphasized Yoon Geon-woo’s name once more.

“My paired Esper is Yoon Geon-woo.”

After that, I had to spend a considerable amount of time convincing Han Seon-ho.

****

“Sogum. Are you truly going to be alright?”

It was precisely 7:30 AM, after waking, and this was already the fourth time he had asked the question. Of course, I had heard it enough last night to make my ears bleed. I hadn’t expected him to bother me like this even after we descended to the student cafeteria, famously known as an SAA landmark.

“Han Seon-ho… just finish your meal.”

“I’ve already had two bowls.”

“Then have another. Or even eat mine.”

“No, I can’t. I’ll get fat.”

He had already eaten his fill, so what nonsense was he spouting now? Far from gaining weight, everything he ate seemed to go straight to his height and muscles. What an enviable guy.

Having lost my appetite, I gulped down the cool water Han Seon-ho had already brought for me.

“Why aren’t you eating more?”

“I’m done.”

As soon as I finished my water, Han Seon-ho immediately pulled out a tissue for me. If I didn’t take it, he seemed ready to wipe the water from my lips himself.

It felt a bit excessive, but as the one being cared for, it was rather comfortable and pleasant.

‘Have I… become too spoiled?’

Before, when Han Seon-ho and I first became roommates, I had been invited to his family home.

At the time, it felt a little burdensome, but once I realized that his actions towards his younger sisters were identical to how he treated me, I simply let him do as he pleased.

And that’s how it had come to this.

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t coerced, nor was I threatened. I genuinely want to form a temporary pair with Yoon Geon-woo, so please, lighten up.”

In truth, I had been both coerced and threatened. And I had no particular desire to pair with Yoon Geon-woo. But to guide the Esper most likely to go berserk, wasn’t this the only way?

‘And I can’t help but worry about him…’

Recalling how he had suffered alone in his room that day, it was true that I felt an unwarranted sense of pity for him.

Come to think of it, quite some time had passed since that day. Was Yoon Geon-woo alright? I hoped his contamination level hadn’t risen to a dangerous point again.

As I pondered the state of my temporary pair’s health, I felt an intense gaze from not too far away.

‘What is it? Someone seems to be staring at me quite persistently…’

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