"Haaah...!"
Feeling as if his chest was being crushed,
he shot up in bed. It felt like something
had been pressing down on him, but when
he looked around, there was nothing there.
Yet the suffocating sensation refused to go
away. He pounded his chest with his fist.
"What the hell is this.."
That's when he noticed something hanging
heavily from his arm. Following the
attached line up with his gaze, he eventually
found the IV drip at its end.
His mind was sluggish, still fogged from
sleep. Only after a long moment did he
finally remember: he had entered Cha Jae-
woo's house, and the instant the man
touched him, he had passed out cold.
"Shit..."
He was seriously losing it. He had just said
he felt a little weak! He had insisted there
were no major health issues! Yet the
second Cha Jae-woo laid a hand on him, he
had collapsed like a puppet with its strings
cut-what kind of bullshit was that?!
Honestly, he had never fully trusted the
Guide Association President's words. He
had seen too many posts online about
Guides whose bodies had been ruined. But
now, waking up like this after fainting, all his
pent-up resentment toward Jang Gijun
exploded.
Yeah. He had known, deep down. Still, if he
had realized his body was in such a fragile
state that a mere touch could make him
pass out, he never would have signed that
damn contract.
At this rate, it wasn't Cha Jae-woo who was
going to die-it was him. And what was the
point of the money if he ended up dead
before he could spend a single cent of it?!
He shook his head vigorously, trying to pull
himself together.
This isn't the time for this kind of thinking.'
The thought that dominated his mind was
simple: he needed to cancel the contract
immediately.
Screw the money. Screw everything.
Cha Jae-woo's circumstances... well, sure,
he felt a little guilty. But honestly, it wasn't
something he could fix anyway. He didn't
have the luxury to pity someone else when
his own life was on the line. First and
foremost, he had to get out of here-before
the only body he had was completely
wrecked.
Maybe because he was so panicked, his
body moved clumsily. He first tried to
remove the lV that was in the way. However,
when it came time to actually pull out the
needle, he hesitated.
In dramas and movies, people always
yanked it out and made a dramatic escape,
but it looked like it would hurt like hell. He
couldn't summon the courage.
Instead, he started carefully peeling off the
adhesive tape. His touch was so cautious it
almost made a mockery of his own frantic
desire to get out of here immediately.
"You should probably leave that alone."
"AAAH!"
At the sudden voice, he jumped out of his
skin. The scream that tore out of his throat
was practically a lion's roar, and he
instinctively curled into himself.
He had thought he was alone. The room
had been so quiet, and his mind was still
foggy. Pressing his hand against the bed to
steady himself, he turned his head toward
the source of the sound.
And there he was. Standing not too far
away, exuding such a strong presence that
it was laughable he had ever thought the
room was empty-Cha Jae-woo.
"S-since when..?"
"Since when was I here?"
"Yyeah.."
"From the beginning."
From the beginning.. when exactly was
that?"
Since he hadn't heard the door open, it
must have been before he even woke up.
But that wasn't the important part right
now. He quickly changed the question.
"How long... how long was I like this?"
Only after the words left his mouth did he
realize how awkward his phrasing was, but
there was no time to correct it.
Because Cha Jae-woo was already striding
toward the bed where he sat awkwardly
perched.
Having collapsed the last time they made
even the slightest physical contact, his
body reflexively tensed up.
Fortunately, Cha Jae-woo didn't come close
enough to touch him. He stopped at a
distance where the lamp on the bedside
table illuminated his face clearly-but
nothing closer than that.
"Three hours."
"Three hours?!"
"Yeah."
"Wow, three hours.."
The actual contact had lasted less than a
few seconds, yet he had been knocked out
cold for three whole hours because of it. It
was ridiculous. There was no doubt about it
now-he had to cancel the contract.
The thought, which had momentarily slipped
from his mind when he locked eyes with
Cha Jae-woo, returned with full force, this
time with a sense of absolute conviction.
"Um, so, about that.. I'm really, really sorry,
but..."
Saying it directly to the person involved
made him feel all the more guilty. He wasn't
an Esper himself, so he didn't know the
specifics, but he had heard that not being
properly guided was excruciating for them.
That it was like living with an incurable
disease, every day pure agony, and that
when they used their powers, it became
almost unbearable. And yet, here he was,
about to tell Cha Jae-woo that he couldn't
be his Guide. A wave of guilt came crashing
down, heavy and overwhelming.
But surely, even if it wasn't him, another
Guide would eventually show up. Maybe not
someone who could match their
synchronization rate as well as he did, but
as long as it was over 50%, it would be
considered decent. There was still a large
portion of the population that hadn't been
tested for their Guide potential yet. He had
just rushed through it, eager to get it over
with. Who knew-someone with a higher
rank and a better matching rate than him
might appear any day now.
Thinking that way made him feel lighter.
Honestly, even if it was just a flimsy excuse,
he didn't care anymore.
"After collapsing like that... it really hit me
hard, you know.."
"What hit you?"
"Uh, welL.. like, you realize a person can
die...just like that. You know?"
Cha Jae-woo gave a slight nod.
Thankfully, he seemed to understand his
position. From what he had heard in the
media, Cha Jae-woo's temper was
supposed to be worse than trash, but
maybe those were just exaggerated
rumors. Although, to be fair, considering the
first impression he had made just a few
hours ago, it wasn't exactly stellar either..
"So, uh, I'm really sorry, but I think I need to
cancel being your Guide..."
Every alarm inside him was blaring at full
blast. He had to run-now, before it was too
late. After all, even Cha Jae-woo had seen
firsthand how he had collapsed instantly, so
surely he and the Guide Association would
understand.
At least, that's what he thought.
"You signed a contract, didn't you? You
think you can break it that easily?"
Unfortunately, it was a naive thought. Only
then did he remember the contract he had
signed with his own hand.
Become Cha Jae-woo's exclusive Guide and
live in his house. That was the only
condition. In return, he would receive a
signing bonus of 100 million won anda
monthly stipend of 2 million won-
essentially, a salary.
The rank difference between them was
massive, and being his exclusive Guide had
seemed absurd at first, but the amount of
money was enough to make him
reconsider.
On top of that, he had been struggling,
barely scraping by while juggling two part-
time jobs and dealing with a mountain of
student loan debt.It would've been strange
if he hadn't been tempted. The final push
had been a pang of sympathy for Cha Jae-
woo's situation-but the truth was, money
had played a major role in his decision.
I totally let the money blind me.
But now he had come to his senses.
Scraping by was better than dying. He was
someone who wanted to live long, even if it
meant living humbly.
"I did sign it, but..."
"You didn't see the penalty clause?"
He was about to innocently ask, Can't l just
cancel it?, but clamped his mouth shut mid-
sentence.
Penalty clause? Was there such a thing?'
Franticaly, he tried to recall the details of
the contract.
I don't think there was one... or was there?'
Truthfully, he couldn't remember. Jang Gijun
had kept pushing him to just sign it quickly,
and in the rush, he had only skimmed it.
Still, he had at least tried to read through it,
albeit hurriedly, but for some reason, he
couldn't recall anything about a penalty fee.
Maybe there really wasn't one? It was about
money, after all. Even if he had been
distracted, he wouldn't have let something
like that slide so easily. He had always been
sensitive about financial matters, living the
way he did.
"Want to take a look?"
Just as he was beginning to convince
himself there was no such clause, Cha Jae-
Woo's voice cut in. A sheet of paper
fluttered in his hand, catching his eye.
He nodded quickly. Since Cha Jae-woo had
the contract on hand, there was no need to
rely on fuzzy memories. It would be better
to confirm it with his own eyes.
Cha Jae-woo tossed the contract toward
him, almost casually. Thanks to that, there
was no need for them to get any closer. It
wasn't exactly a friendly gesture, but it was
still much better than making physical
contact. Maybe Cha Jae-wOo was more
considerate than he looked.
Either way, he immediately began scanning
the contract.
The contents were familiar: He was
supposed to provide Guiding services to
Cha Jae-woo, and in return, the other party
would pay him a set amount. His eyes
moved qickly down the page.
"No way."
But then he spotted it. A clause he had
absolutely no memory of.
The penalty clause.
There it was, plain as day-a condition
stating that if he broke the contract due toa
change of heart, he would have to pay back
double the signing bonus.
It was an absolutely brutal term that he
could have sworn hadn't been there when
he first signed.
".This can't be happening."
Lim Haeyul struggled to keep his mind
steady. But, of course, it didn't go the way
he wanted. Double? Double meant two
hundred million won. Was he insane?
Where the hell was he supposed to get two
hundred million won?!
If l had that kind of money, I wouldn't be
living like this!'
Panicking, he read through the contract
again and again. But no matter how many
times he checked, nothing changed. It was
exactly what he had just read.
Had he been so blinded by money that he
hadn't even noticed the penalty clause? No
-that couldn't be. He was certain he hadn't
seen anything about a penalty.
His mind was starting to drift into a haze.
"...Huh?"
It happened then. Blinking rapidly to clear
his dazed eyes, which he hadn't even
properly opened while reading earlier, his
sluggish mind finally began to catch up. He
looked at the contract again.
At a glance, it didn't seem any different
from the one Jang Gijun had brought.
Strictly speaking, it looked identical. But
this wasn't the same contract he had
signed. He wasn't just relying on the vague
memory that there hadn't been a penalty
clause.
There was a far clearer, undeniable
difference that he suddenly recognizeda
critical detail that distinguished the
contract he had originally signed from the
one Cha Jae-woo had just handed him.
"This... This has a seal impression. l clearly
remember signing with a pen back then!"
That's right. He had signed the contract
with a pen. Jang Gijun had been rushing
him so much that he hadn't even had time
to look for a seal. He was certain of it.
Which meant-this wasn't the contract he
had signed. It had definitely been tampered
with.
"You're sure?"
"Im sure!"
"Really?"
".Yyeah. Really."
But the confidence in his voice quickly
wilted. Under Cha Jae-woo's relentless,
pressing gaze, Lim Haeyul found his
resolve buckling.
"..l am sure, though."
He hadn't used a seal. There hadn't even
been an inkpad in the house. Jang Gijun
hadn't brought one either.
There was no chance his memory was
Wrong.
He shook his head vigorously.
'Don't get distracted. Stay sharp, Lim Haeyul.'
He knew for certain. There had been no
inkpad, no seal. His memory wasn't
mistaken.
"Is that so? That's strange. Jang Gijun said
it was your signature."
Cha Jae-woo's expression grew lazy, like he
couldn't be bothered to continue the
Conversation.
Lim Haeyul bit down hard on his lip, then
hurriedly looked around for his phone. He
needed to call Jang Gijun immediately.
But where had he gone? After dropping him
off at Cha Jae-woo's house, had he just
abandoned a collapsed person and left? If
so, that man was shameless on a level
beyond imagination.
A stream of curses brewed inside him,
unable to find their way out of his mouth.
He scanned the room frantically. Finally, he
spotted his phone resting neatly on the
bedside table.
He scanned the room frantically. Finally, he
spotted his phone resting neatly on the
bedside table.
The fact that it had been right under his
nose and he hadn't noticed it proved how
rattled he was.
"Uh."
He reached for the phone without
hesitation.
But he never managed to grab it. His thumb,
stretched out toward the device, caught his
eye.
It was red. Strangely, among all five fingers,
only his thumb was vividly stained. It looked
almost like something had smeared on it.
As realization struck, his heart began
pounding violently in his chest.
Without thinking, he pressed his thumb
against the pristine white bedsheet and
rubbed it hard.
And then he froze, speechless. Trailing from
his thumb was a bright red stain-
something unmistakably familiar.
Slowly, his gaze shifted toward Cha Jae-
WOO.
"Why?"
The man, who had seemed so listless
moments ago, was now smiling faintly.
In stark contrast, a cold chill spread through
Lim Haeyuľ's chest.
This... This red stuff on my thumb.. It's like..
ink...'
The words he wanted to say caught in his
throat.
He finally understood what it meant to be
utterly speechless.