It was thanks to waking up at the crack of
dawn-something I normally would've never
managed-that I found myself outside Cha
Jae-woo's house a little before 9 a.m. There
had been no word from Cha Jae-wOo about
whether we were supposed to start so
early, and I hadn't bothered to ask anything
before crashing into bed last night.
The only reason l even woke up at all was
because of the persistent nagging of the
housekeeper, who said she had breakfast
ready.
I groggily pleaded to skip the meal, but it
was useless. In the end, I forced myself to
shovel food into my mouth with my eyes
barely open, and before I could even set my
chopsticks down, I had to get ready to
leave. It was like being steamrolled.
"Good morning.."
"Yes, good morning."
As soon as I finished getting ready under
relentless pressure, the housekeeper
informed me that a car was waiting outside
and told me to follow the driver from here
on out, before disappearing without another
Word.
I timidly approached the driver. Where
exactly were we heading? | was curious, but
somehow it felt to0 awkward to ask.
It felt like everyone here was somehow
difficult to talk to. Cha Jae-woo went
without saying, the housekeeper was too
frenzied, and the driver, now waiting for me,
had such a fierce appearance that striking
up a conversation felt terrifying.
Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.'
A wave of gloom settled over me.
"Please get in. We're heading to the Guide
Center."
At least I didn't stay gloomy for long.
The destination I had been dying to know was
revealed immediately. On top of that, when
the driver smiled slightly, he looked so
unexpectedly kind that I felt guilty for being
Scared of him earlier.
With an awkward smile of my own, I quickly
hopped into the car. Was I being too simple-
minded? Then again, I've always been a
little simple.
'Still, the Guide Center, huh.'
So that actually existed.
There Wwas a clause in the contract about
learning how to regulate Guiding, but I|
hadn't expected that training to happen at a
place called the Guide Center. I had worried
about how I was supposed to learn it on my
own.
I had even nervously tried searching online,
but naturally, I didn't find anything usefu.
Instead, ljust ended up stumbling across
news articles about how Cha Jae-wOo had
gotten a Guide-and a D-Rank one at that. I
had never once imagined that I would
become a news story.
"We're heading out now."
".Ah, okay."
With the driver's brief notice, the car glided
forward so smoothly that if he hadn't
spoken up, I might not have even realized
we had started moving. The ride was that
comfortable.
Just how rich is Cha Jae-woo, anyway?"
The house, the car-everything about him
screamed money. Even the payment he
promised me had been wired into my
account in one lump sum. How did he
transfer 500 million won all at once? What's
the transfer limit for a single transaction?
Or do rich people just not have transfer
limits at all?
My thoughts drifted aimlessly. Really, they
were utterly pointless musings. I was
probably the only person in the world
worrying about bank transfer limits in a
situation like this.
The distance between the back seat and
the front seat was so vast that I found
myself swinging my feet to try and banish
the silly thoughts from my head. But that
only made new worries bubble up. Sure, I
had decided on my own to become Cha
Jae-woo's Guide, but now that the contract
had switched to him, it felt like | had been
forced into it.
It didn't seem like President Jang of the
Guide Association had enough power to
stop Cha Jae-woo. So was I destined to just
go along with whatever Cha Jae-woo
wanted? Would my life... be in danger?
"Haah.."
I couldn't be sure. No, still. t's probably
unlikely that Cha Jae-woo would harm me.
We had a high matching rate. They said
there had never been a Guide with a
matching rate as high as mine before. If
that was the case, it would be a waste for
Cha Jae-woo to lose me.
Maybe that's why he was investing in
training me-to make sure I wouldn't end up
collapsing from exhaustion. Yeah, that had
to be it. Learning to regulate my Guiding
was ultimately a good thing for me, not just
for him.
Thinking that way didn't completely wipe
away my anxiety, but it did help ease a lot
of it. Only then did I start paying attention to
the driver who was busy behind the wheel.
His expression remained stern, but
somehow, he seemed to be in a good
mood. Maybe that's why-I felt like I could
get away with saying something. After
hesitating for a moment, I cautiously
opened my mouth.
"Um, is Cha Jae-woo still at home?"
There really wasn't any other topic the
driver and I could talk about, so mentioning
Cha Jae-woo was an inevitable choice.
"Yes"
Fortunately, it seemed l'd chosen the right
topic because the driver's face brightened
slightly. He must like Cha Jae-woo. That
was the feeling I got, and it surprised me.
Honestly, I had thought there wouldn't be a
single person who liked Cha Jae-woo.
Everyone around him only ever badmouthed
him. The internet was full of stories
detailing just hoW rotten his personality
was. The Cha Jae-woo l'd seen in the media
wasn't much different from those accounts
either. Sure, whenI met him yesterday, he
wasn't quite as bad as I'd feared-but he
wasn't exactly pleasant either.
"He slept well yesterday, so he's feeling
good. He went out for a workout."
The answer felt a little short, so the driver
continued.
Wait, Cha Jae-wOo exercises? Does he even
need to? Do Espers have to work out too,
just to maintain their physique? And when
he says 'exercise, does he mean what I
think he means? Surely that thing I saw
yesterday wouldn't count as exercise..
right?
The memory of all that exposed skin
sprang unbidden into my mind, and I
quickly shook my head to get rid of it. No
way-that couldn't have been considered
exercise. Still, the scene had been so
striking that it refused to fade from my
memory.
Clearing my throat unnecessarily, I blurted
Out,
"He must have trouble sleeping, huh."
It was just a random comment to chase
away the wandering thoughts. I hadn't
expected that my words would instantly
darken the driver's expression. A heavy
silence fell inside the car, and I was left
awkwardly watching for cues.
"..Yes, pretty much."
It took quite a while before the driver finally
answered, his voice low and somber.
"Even after manifesting as an Esper, he's
barely ever received proper Guiding. From
what I know, recently, he hasn't been able to
sleep at all."
"Ah.."
"But thanks to you showing up, he was able
to sleep soundly last night."
The driver's voice rose sharply with
excitement. Through the rearview mirror, I
could see his eyes crinkle at the corners-
he looked genuinely thrilled.
Meanwhile, I was left dumbfounded. Sure, I
had been drained pretty fast. But since it
happened over a short period, I thought it
hadn't had much of an effect. And yet, to
think that it helped alleviate even a little of
Cha Jae-woo's insomnia-it was fascinating
but also a little unsettling.
'Just how much stamina did he drain from
me yesterday?'
Since it wasn't something I could measure
in numbers, it left me frustrated not
knowing. Still, my body didn't feel any
worse for wear, right? Not that clenching
and unclenching my fist would prove
anything, but I did it anyway.
"He hasn't properly slept in over a year
now..."
"What? A year?"
I gawked at the driver's murmured words,
my eyes widening in disbelief.
The driver, however, responded
nonchalantly.
"Yes. Back then, at least he managed to
doze off now and then, but for the past
three or four months, he hasn't slept at all."
A whole year... Was he really okay? Here I
was, supposed to be worrying about my
own safety, and yet Cha Jae-woo's face
floated into my mind. He didn't look that
bad yesterday-his skin had even looked
somewhat smooth. No, wait, people had
been saying he was on the verge of
rampaging. There was no way he was fine.
....
Scrunching my forehead, I ran a hand down
my face. I remembered something
someone once told me:
"You really are unbelievably stupid sometimes."
Back then, I got all defensive, but when they
explained they meant I was so kind it was
almost stupid, I had laughed it off and felt
happy.
"I thought being called kind was a
compliment."
The point hadn't been about kindness at all
-it was about being stupid. Here I was,
having been practically tricked into this
contract, and yet feeling sorry for the other
party. If anyone deserved to be called
stupid, it was me. And just moments ago,
l'd been worrying about my own life.
Unable to hold it in, I smacked myself on
the head. The driver, startled by my sudden
action, glanced back at me with wide eyes,
but I just laughed it of.
"When I should barely have enough room to
worry about myself, I'm out here pitying
Someone else."
It was ridiculous enough to laugh at myself
for hours.
***
"Whoa..."
The Guide Center was way bigger than I'd
expected. Since I'd never even heard of it
before, I figured it would be tucked away in
some back alley-but to my surprise, it was
smack-dab in the middle of Seoul. I guess I
just hadn't noticed because I never paid
attention.
I was immediately led inside to a training
room. The training room was just big
enough for maybe three or four people.
Since it's rare for multiple Guides to appear
at once, I supposed a small space like this
was enough for their sessions.
According to the person who guided him to
the training room, Lim Haeyul was
scheduled to receive one-on-one instruction
from an S-Rank Guide. Since it was urgent
to improve his Guiding abilities, they had
assigned someone of such a high rank to
train him. If a Guide couldn't properly
regulate their powers, they could have their
stamina drained by an Esper. It seemed
they were trying to make sure he could
control his abilities as quickly as possible.
But why was he only finding this out now?
Maybe President Jang hadn't even
considered arranging any training. Maybe
he had simply intended for Haeyul to rot
away in Cha Jae-woo's house. In the end,
that one hundred million won really had
been no different from a life insurance
payout.
Haeyul shook his head, pushing away the
image of President Jang, who had sweet-
talked him so deftly. What was the point of
getting angry now? At least, in the end, he
was getting trained-that was something to
be grateful for. Besides, at this point,
Haeyul was starting to think the original
contract with President Jang might have
been preferable to the one with Cha Jae-
WOO.
"Um... excuse me?"
Even knowing it was pointless, Haeyul kept
circling back to thoughts about the
contract. It wasn't until he heard a
stranger's voice close by that he snapped
out of it.
"Ah, yes!"
Startled, he jumped to his feet. He had been
so deep in thought that he hadn't even
realized someone had entered and taken a
seat across from him.
"l'm sorry. I didnt hear you come in.."
His face flushed with embarrassment.
The other man waved a hand as if to say it
was no big deal. Judging from how
naturally he had entered the training room,
this must be the S-Rank Guide assigned to
him.
He was male, a little smaller in build than
Haeyul, with large, bright, light-brown eyes.
The easy, warm smile on his face only
made him look even more radiant. In short,
he was very handsome-a thought that felt
a little impolite but was hard to ignore.
Haeyul hesitated, lips parting slightly,
unsure of how to address him. He had a
rough guess who it was, but without
confirmation, it felt awkward to speak first.
"Hello. My name is Kim Sol. I'll be in charge
of your training from today, Guide Lim
Haeyul."
Thankfully, the silence didn't drag on. The
man-Kim Sol-smiled brightly and broke
the ice himself. He extended a hand toward
Haeyul, clearly inviting a handshake.
But Haeyul couldn't bring himself to take it
right away. After all, it had only been
yesterday that he collapsed the moment
Cha Jae-woo touched him. The thought of
touching another person still filled him with
unease.
"I'm a Guide, so it's fine."
It was as if Kim Sol had read his mind.
Rather than feeling embarrassed that his
hesitation had been noticed, Haeyul was
mostly relieved to hear he wouldn't have his
stamina drained. Only then did he reach out
and grasp Kim Sol's han.
Just as promised, there was no strange
sensation at alI.
"Looking forward to working with you."
Kim Soľ's eyes curved into a soft, genuine
smile. That gentle expression made
Haeyul's own lips lift naturally, and a sense
of calm settled over him. Compared to Cha
Jae-woo's house, this place already felt
infinitely more comfortable-and for
Haevul, there was no helping that.