← The Resurrected Guide Wants to Live Quietly
But Yi-yeon knew that and still couldn’t bring himself to ask the man to leave right away. Because, honestly, the male companion concerned him far more than the female client who’d sought him out.
He hadn’t met many espers since becoming a guide, but he could be certain: the man’s wavelength was a mess. When had he last received guiding? Yi-yeon worried he might go berserk at any moment.
He couldn’t understand why the woman was the client. She was an esper too — she had to know. Why leave her companion in that state?
Noticing Yi-yeon’s concern for her companion, the woman spoke.
"Ah, does he have to leave? He won’t do anything, he’ll just sit still. Can’t we make an exception?"
"…"
"There are circumstances… I’d rather not leave him alone."
He couldn’t tell what the man was thinking — why he wouldn’t get guiding, and why he’d insist on coming along if he wouldn’t — but he looked quite desperate.
"Understood. Please wait."
Espers who’d come to avoid guiding for various reasons sometimes felt at ease just watching someone else receive it, easing their aversion. It wouldn’t be a fundamental fix, but if it helped, that was good.
Bending the rules for his first client on his first day felt a bit off, but an exception of this degree fell within a guide’s discretion, so it was probably fine.
"Beginning guiding."
Yi-yeon started the timer and took the woman’s hand.
As he opened the eyes he’d closed with a small breath, a strange light rose in Yi-yeon’s eyes.
His ordinary black eyes sparkled with a reddish glow like jewels, and the air around him warmed.
As Yi-yeon focused on their joined hands and the guiding, Oh Yeon-seo’s expression changed by degrees. Light interest at first, growing serious, and by the end of the guiding, open astonishment.
"Guiding complete."
"Wow… I heard today’s your first day, but you’re really good!"
As Yi-yeon let go of her hand and checked the elapsed time, the woman’s eyes went wide, her whole face lit up, and she spoke in an excited voice, almost shouting.
She’d been quite friendly from the start, but now it was a bit much.
"You seem pretty high-ranked, Guide — any interest in joining a guild instead of working at a center like this? Ah, we’re absolutely not the pushy type, but now that I’ve tried it once, I want you for myself…!"
"Hey. Oh Yeon-seo."
"No, I mean it, I’m serious. Don’t just nag me — try it yourself. You’ll change your mind."
"Stop talking crazy and get up right now." Yi-yeon, who’d shown no particular reaction to Oh Yeon-seo’s sudden scout offer, flinched at the man’s voice.
It was a familiar voice.
Yi-yeon wasn’t the type to take deep interest in others, so he rarely remembered anyone —but this time was different. He could recall at once whose voice it was.
He couldn’t have failed to recognize the voice of the one person who’d once been — or perhaps still was — the only special existence in his life.
It was Han Yu-geon.
He was sure it was him, and yet couldn’t believe it. Why was he here? From what Min-young had told him before his placement, Seonyeon’s territory and this center were on opposite ends — they were never supposed to meet.
Of course, the principle was that espers worked wherever there were "incidents." They didn’t just sit in their own territory ignoring other districts’ business.
But this was territory long overseen by the guild called Seonyeon’s rival — "Blaze."
Seonyeon wasn’t the type to pick fights for no reason — if anything they’d get picked on —so he’d judged they wouldn’t deliberately come to this district just to get dragged into a pointless pride war.
So why had he shown up at a guiding center, in the company of Seonyeon’s vice guild master — and with his wavelength in shambles, at that?
"Guide, thank you for your hard work. Hope to see you again sometime. If you’re interested, any time…"
"Ah, I said I got it! Let go of me!"
"If I let go, you’ll keep at it?"
"Nooo. Don’t you trust me at all?"
"Not a bit."
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
While Yi-yeon stood frozen, thrown by the unexpected meeting, Han Yu-geon finally clamped his hand right over Oh Yeon-seo’s mouth — she still hadn’t given up — and tried to half-drag her out of the guiding room.
But he didn’t get his way.
Because as he reached for the door, Yi-yeon caught his sleeve.
"What is it?"
Han Yu-geon’s black brows rose. His expression turned openly threatening, but Yi-yeon neither loosened his grip on the sleeve nor looked away. He met his gaze straight on, as if answering it.
And answered in a voice that didn’t waver at all.
"You’d do well to receive guiding."
"…"
"Your wavelength is extremely unstable. It doesn’t have to be me — but get guiding soon."
Yu-geon would handle himself well.
He’d been like that since he was very young. Unlike Yi-yeon, who’d gone blind with revenge after losing his family, becoming unable to manage daily life and giving up school early, Yu-geon had stayed a model student despite a similar tragedy. Even when full-blown puberty kept him from coming to see Yi-yeon’s face, his grades were always at the very top.
Back then he’d already been like a nephew or little brother to be proud of — and the grown man he’d seen on TV shone even brighter than in those days.
Loved by everyone, acknowledged by everyone, living up to expectations so fully it seemed only natural.
He even seemed quite close with Oh Yeon-seo, who’d come with him today, bickering nonstop. If that roughness was built on trust, he must be running the guild well.
If he was doing so well — and he was a smart kid — there was probably a reason his wavelength was in disarray.
…That was his conclusion, and still Yi-yeon went ahead and meddled with Han Yu-geon anyway.
Because they’d run into each other, of all things. Because he’d sensed the disarray in his wavelength, which no TV or phone screen could convey. He couldn’t just let him go. It might not mean much anymore, but he had once been the boy’s guardian.
Only after finishing did Yi-yeon lower the gaze he’d held level with Han Yu-geon’s.
"That’s all I wanted to say. Sorry for grabbing you so suddenly. Goodbye."
It might have been a bit sudden for a first meeting, but it wasn’t something a guide couldn’t say. Oh Yeon-seo, caught by Yu-geon, was even shooting him a "see, the guide says so too" look.
He probably hadn’t seemed too strange. Reassured, he started to see them off — and then an unexpected sight met his eyes.
"Aren’t you leaving?"
He’d expected Han Yu-geon to leave at once, scoffing. But for some reason Yu-geon stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Yi-yeon.
His eyes were wide, as if he’d seen something unbelievable.
"You… No. That’s impossible. That’s absurd."
His face gone pale, he even released the Oh Yeon-seo he’d been restraining and turned away almost as if fleeing.
Oh Yeon-seo, finding his behavior strange too, followed after him, bewildered.
"What, what? What’s wrong?"
"…Shut up and come on."
"Ah, don’t push. I’ll walk out on my own—"
Beeeep!
A sudden ear-splitting siren filled the guiding room.
A rapid announcement followed.
[Emergency. Emergency.]
[A gate has opened. Danger level A++. Please move to the underground shelter immediately, minding your safety.]
[There may be espers at the scene in need of guiding. If you are willing to go to the scene…]
Yi-yeon sat down at once and checked the notice that had come down through the company messenger: the gate’s location wasn’t far. It was also bigger than any gate that had opened recently.
The two espers, who’d apparently been contacted too, checked the watches issued to espers and looked troubled. The sudden gate incident was a problem in itself, but it was probably also because this wasn’t their usual territory.
"Wow… talk about a market day on the day you go. Sheesh."
"…"
"Those bastards are going to make noise about territory violation again. What a headache. What do we do?"
"What do you mean, what. Like we have a choice."
"Of course. A life is a life, no matter what. Let’s go."
Either way, the moment an emergency broke out, the location data of every esper in the vicinity was collected. They’d already have it figured out through one channel or another.
Oh Yeon-seo shrugged with a grin and shoved Han Yu-geon toward the door instead.
Left alone after the two espers departed, Seon Yi-yeon let out a slow, long breath.
He had two options: volunteer to go to the scene, or take shelter in the safe underground bunker and wait there until the espers came for him after the incident was over. The answer was already decided. He had resolved to live this life quietly, so it was best not to do anything that would draw attention.
Even setting aside personal goals, Seon Yi-yeon’s current body was incomparably frailer than when he had been an esper. He still wasn’t used to guiding, so going to the scene could end up being a burden on the people around him.
Even though every circumstance told him what the right answer was, Seon Yi-yeon couldn’t bring himself to press the button confirming he’d go to the shelter.
Han Yu-geon was on his mind. The boy who had been giving off a wavelength as precarious as a time bomb about to go off at the slightest touch.
Of course he knew there would be guides waiting at the scene, so it wasn’t as though he was necessarily needed.
Still… Han Yu-geon was Seon Yi-yeon’s one and only family. They shared no blood, and he was even hated, but it would be no exaggeration to call him the only person in this world he could give his affection to.
An A++ reading meant it would be a dangerous scene. He would have worried for his safety even if he looked stable — and now he was unstable too, which made him anxious. His heart kept pounding and his mouth kept going dry.
"Guide!"
Just as he was dithering between the two options until his vision started to spin, a clear voice snapped him out of it.
Oh Yeon-seo was poking her head through the door of the guiding room — he didn’t know when she’d arrived. Her breathing was slightly ragged, her face a little impatient.
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