Chapter 7: Under The Obligation System

<It’s finished.

You may get up now.>

The hazy awareness that had been floating on the verge of sleep dropped abruptly.

Growing drowsy from Tae-woo’s warm body heat, So-won jolted upright the moment the voice came through the speakers.

Startled, the emergency cot let out a pitiful creeeak, creeeak.

So-won felt flustered.

Just moments ago, he’d been trembling, unable even to hold Tae-woo’s hand—yet after Tae-woo fainted, he’d sprawled on top of him, listening to his heartbeat, sniffing his scent like some kind of pervert.

The fact that he’d found peace in Tae-woo’s arms felt foreign to him.

It was as if he’d been possessed.

“Guide Lee So-won, my apologies for the late introduction.

I’m the attending physician for Esper Kang Tae-woo.”

The doctor entered the guiding room and extended his hand in greeting.

Still dazed, So-won took it.

Their clasped hands shook briskly a couple of times.

No wonder he looked familiar.

During the eight years he’d served as Tae-woo’s guide, So-won thought he’d seen this man’s face a few times.

“What was the matching rate?”

So-won finally asked the question he’d been holding back.

It must’ve gone back down to 65%.

If he dared to be a little greedy—just a little—having it go up wouldn’t be bad, if it helped Tae-woo.

Still, he’d never heard of a matching rate changing once it was set.

The doctor broke into a broad smile.

“100%.

For certain.”

“…What?”

So-won’s eyes widened as if he’d misheard.

In response, the doctor handed him a freshly printed, still-warm sheet of paper.

Guiding Examination Result Report.

Esper: Kang Tae-woo.

Guide: Lee So-won.

Matching Rate: 100.000%.

So-won stared at the numbers in disbelief.

Thinking he might be mistaken, he slowly scanned the document from top to bottom.

He’d hoped it might go up—but not this much.

So-won panicked.

Now that he thought about it, guiding Tae-woo had felt different than usual.

He’d sensed the wavelength more vividly, and the amount flowing in had seemed greater.

Looking back, Tae-woo fainting might have been related to the heightened matching rate.

But no matter how much he thought about it, So-won couldn’t understand why the rate had risen.

“A higher matching rate isn’t a bad thing.

It’s great for Esper Kang Tae-woo—and it’s good for you too, Guide Lee So-won.”

Probably…

The doctor swallowed the rest of his words and smiled.

He wasn’t lying—it was good for So-won.

With a matching rate this high to an S-rank Esper, even an A-rank Guide would be treated like an S-rank.

Not to mention the worldwide attention.

But that was only true if So-won could endure the monster known as Kang Tae-woo.

“So… it’s a good thing?”

So-won murmured uncertainly.

The doctor nodded vigorously.

Even after receiving that reassurance, So-won still looked dazed.

Tae-woo, still unconscious, was transferred to his private room, while So-won headed to the Guide Registration Department.

He took a number and waited, staring down at the documents in his hand.

Once he submitted this report and signed the consent form, he’d spend the rest of his life as Tae-woo’s guide.

He’d regretted it so deeply, tormented himself with guilt over Tae-woo’s death—yet now that the moment had arrived, he wanted to run.

If he ran now, maybe he could delay becoming Tae-woo’s guide, even just a little.

The voice calling his number snapped him out of it.

So-won didn’t move.

His heart began to pound like a child about to knowingly do something wrong.

The clerk called his number again.

Only then did So-won stand, calmly, as though he’d simply missed it the first time.

Because Tae-woo’s voice—be happy—rang in his ears like an auditory hallucination.

At the desk, So-won handed over the documents the doctor had prepared for him.

The clerk accepted them with a smile, then briefly faltered upon seeing Kang Tae-woo’s name and the 100% matching rate.

He quickly regained his composure and slid a consent form for personal information across the counter.

So-won silently filled in each blank.

In the past, when he’d come here and been notified of his Esper, he’d lashed out, unable to accept reality.

Only after being forced to sign the paperwork and meeting Tae-woo did he realize the man was even more terrifying than he’d imagined.

Remembering that made him feel both embarrassed—and strangely pitiful.

Lost in thought, So-won handed back the completed form.

The clerk checked it and began reading aloud.

“Guide Lee So-won, A-rank, has a 100% matching rate with Esper Kang Tae-woo, S-rank…
As Esper Kang Tae-woo currently has no assigned guide, under the Guide Obligation System, you are required to provide guiding until a guide with a higher matching rate appears—”

The clerk spoke by the manual, glancing at So-won from time to time.

“Under the Guide Obligation System, guides matched with Espers of A-rank or higher must cohabitate with the Esper while providing guiding.

Housing may be decided by mutual agreement, or you may use the state-provided Safe Residence.

For all other details, please refer to the Guide Obligation Handbook and comply accordingly.”

Cohabitation…

It was a house he’d lived in for eight years, yet filled with nothing but bad memories.

Even now, returning there felt unpleasant.

But it couldn’t be helped—it was an obligation.

And frequent guiding would be easier if he could meet Tae-woo easily.

Besides, Tae-woo rarely came home anyway.

There was also the option of a Safe Residence, but that place was packed with CCTV cameras, which So-won hated.

In the past, he would’ve chosen it—but back then, he’d foolishly delayed deciding, thinking that choosing nothing might mean he wouldn’t have to cohabitate at all.

And so it had defaulted to Tae-woo’s house.

Cohabitation had to begin as soon as possible, within a month at most.

But So-won planned to move much sooner.

He didn’t want to return to that house—yet paradoxically, he did.

If he went back there, it might feel like Tae-woo’s death had never happened.

The clerk handed him the final document.

A consent form acknowledging him as Kang Tae-woo’s exclusive guide.

Without hesitation, So-won signed his name.

He was now officially Tae-woo’s guide.

It felt bitter—yet oddly relieving.

His heart felt light.

Meeting Tae-woo from eight years ago, seeing him alive and breathing, feeling his warmth—made the past feel like a dream.

Yet the operating room still resurfaced vividly whenever he closed his eyes.

If only that were the dream, and this reality.

So-won sat on one of the empty chairs in the Esper Association lobby and rested for a moment.

Now that everything was done, the tension drained from him all at once, leaving his body limp.

He regretted becoming Tae-woo’s guide again.

And yet… he didn’t.

It was an ambiguous feeling.

He thought of Tae-woo, somewhere in the same building.

This time, he would be happy.

With a guide.

With guiding.

Becoming human.

***

“Son, did the test results come out already?”

So-won flinched.

The moment he stepped inside, his mother greeted him in an unusual tone.

Rushing out that morning, he’d told her he’d go quickly since the results were already out—and that had backfired.

Even his father, who should’ve been at work, was sitting on the living room sofa, smiling.

Faced with his parents’ bright expressions, So-won hesitated over whether he should tell them who his Esper was.

They knew well how terrifying Kang Tae-woo was.

One of only three S-ranks in the country—a monster plagued by horrific side effects.

If they heard he’d been matched to him, they’d surely cry.

But lying or dodging the truth didn’t suit So-won.

He was terrible at lying anyway—it’d be obvious right away.

Carefully, he opened his mouth.

“I matched with Kang Tae-woo.”

Clatter!

His mother dropped the cup she’d been holding, preparing a cold drink for her A-rank Guide son who’d been out in the heat.

Startled by the sharp sound, So-won rushed to look at her.

Thankfully, the cup hadn’t shattered, and she didn’t seem hurt—just stunned.

“What?

Why would an S-rank Esper match with an A-rank Guide?

Has the Esper Association lost its mind?!”

“It’s not like that.

The matching rate came out really high.

It’s certain.”

So-won stopped himself from saying how high.

If he told them the number, they’d just insist the machine was broken.

“There must’ve been an error!

Go back and demand a re-test!”

As expected, his parents were vehemently opposed.

They looked nothing like the day they’d smiled and thrown him a party for awakening as an A-rank Guide.

Watching them, tearful and furious, was painful for So-won too.

“I already submitted the consent form to become Kang Tae-woo’s exclusive guide…
And I’m not going to revoke it.”

So-won said quietly, gauging their reactions.