Chapter 16 : Swapped Lives: Between Obsession and Compromise

“Lucky b*stard.”

Jihan muttered unconsciously.

Wealth, abilities, a harmonious family, a perfect body.

On top of that, he was handsome too.

Not just handsome, but the kind of looks that could let him live off his face alone without ever knowing hunger.

In many ways, he was a guy who truly made one feel the unfairness of the gods.

“Come to think of it, maybe I hit the jackpot.”

Pulling the t-shirt Sekyeom gave him over his head, Jihan let out a silly laugh.

Then, suddenly, a sharp pain struck his chest, making him gasp.

After consciously breathing for a while, Jihan could only move again once the symptoms slightly eased.

And he immediately corrected his thought.

“Jackpot, my *ss.”

“It’s just a bust, a complete bust!”

Frustrated, Jihan threw several punches into the air before sighing and finishing getting dressed.

The next day had come, but the two were still swapped.

When he came out after changing, Sekyeom was waiting outside the room.

The funny thing was, both looked exactly as they did when they left the wedding venue.

Moreover, their clothes bore the full brunt of the battle with the monster.

Jihan looked at the torn shoulder seam and the hole burned by digestive fluids, shaking his head slightly.

Looking at it this way, he should be grateful just to be alive.

According to Shin Jinho, the pink slime monster that seemed easygoing was actually Code Blue, not Code Green.

The only silver lining, perhaps, was that they didn’t have to hail a taxi looking like this.

Getting into the chauffeured car sent by Taepyeong Guild, Jihan sat in the back seat, separated from the driver’s section, his eyes darting around like a country bumpkin.

“Did you contact the guild?”

“Yeah, I texted the team leader before coming out.”

While answering Sekyeom’s question, Jihan kept surveying the inside of the car.

The partition between the driver and back seats created a private space.

Finding it quite novel, Jihan slyly glanced at Sekyeom.

Sekyeom looked perfectly natural, as if it were his own car.

“Have you always ridden in cars like this?”

Jihan asked Sekyeom, who looked as comfortable as if sitting on his own living room sofa.

Sekyeom chuckled as if finding Jihan cute and shook his head slightly.

“I don’t usually let others drive my car.”

“This car and the driver were sent by my uncle.”

“He probably did it out of consideration so we could talk comfortably.”

“Ah, I see.”

“That’s thoughtful.”

Indeed, they couldn’t possibly discuss ‘how’s your body,’ ‘how’s my body’ with someone else present.

Feeling grateful to the Taepyeong Guild Leader for such consideration, Jihan finally leaned back against the seat.

Perhaps because the driver was professional, the ride was smooth.

Wondering when he’d ever experience such luxury again, Jihan relaxed his mind.

This must be why Taepyeong was called the number one guild, the best guild.

Of course, receiving good treatment also meant having to face the most dangerous monsters.

Fortunately, Korea was relatively quick to respond to the sudden Gate openings occurring worldwide.

The government established the Disaster Management Defense Headquarters to gather Espers and Guides.

The problem was the astronomical cost involved in accommodating them.

The government eventually handed the task over to the private sector, leading to the birth of the current ‘Guilds’.

However, these guilds, created with massive private investment, varied greatly in quality depending on which Espers and Guides they

recruited.

Naturally, a ranking system followed, and the guild positioned at the very top in Korea was Taepyeong Guild.

To think he was going to such a place.

Feeling slightly excited, Jihan glanced at Sekyeom sitting beside him.

Come to think of it, Sekyeom was also one of the most outstanding individuals in Korea.

Yet, Jihan had never seen him act arrogantly or rudely towards others.

Putting aside his past grievances, realizing he had been acquainted with quite a remarkable person, Jihan suddenly recalled a point from

yesterday’s conversation that bothered him and turned to Sekyeom.

“By the way.”

Sekyeom, who had been leaning his head back against the seat with his eyes closed, turned to Jihan.

Suddenly feeling burdened by his soft and gentle gaze, Jihan couldn’t bring himself to look at Sekyeom and continued speaking.

“Yesterday, you said that at first, you didn’t contact me because you were afraid I’d misunderstand you needed guiding, but later, you couldn’t

because I was seeing an Esper.”

“…What about it?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say now that you actually are seeing an Esper?”

The gentle eyes turned sharp and glared upwards.

Sekyeom leaned towards Jihan questioningly.

It was such an intense reaction that Jihan, startled by the sudden closeness, slightly recoiled.

“That’s not it, okay?”

“Then why bring it up again?”

“Because I’m curious about something else.”
“And even if I were, is it something to react so strongly about?”

At Jihan’s point, Sekyeom seemed to realize his reaction had been excessive and straightened up.

Then, feigning calmness again, he spoke nonchalantly.

“You clearly said yesterday you didn’t have one.”

“I don’t!”

“I really don’t!”

“It’s sad enough that I don’t, are you going to keep doing this?”

“You have a lot to be sad about…”

So, what’s the other thing you’re curious about?”

Finally convinced by the vehement denial, Sekyeom changed the subject by asking something else.

Jihan, glaring at Sekyeom with narrowed eyes, asked what he was curious about.

“It’s nothing major, but whether I have an Esper or not, what does that have to do with contacting me?”

“If I had a paired Esper, would you really have not contacted me?”

“…Yeah.”

“Why?”

“What Esper would just stand by and watch another Esper contact their Guide?”

“Especially an Esper who contacts them periodically, claiming to be a friend.”

“I didn’t contact you because I was worried it might cause you trouble.”

“Though that was all a misunderstanding too.”

Sekyeom, deliberately adding that it was a misunderstanding, looked at Jihan as if seeking confirmation again.

His intense gaze was resolute, as if it absolutely had to be a misunderstanding.

However, Jihan didn’t notice that nuance.

He just found his words still strange.

“Hey, don’t tell me… you hold some kind of old-fashioned belief like ‘there are no friends between Guides and Espers,’ do you?”

He had asked half-jokingly, ‘Surely not,’ but there was no reply.

A prompt denial should have followed naturally, but the conversation wasn’t going as expected, making Jihan’s expression slightly

uncomfortable too.

“If that’s an old-fashioned thought, then I guess I’m an old-fashioned person.”

“What, you really think like that?! In this day and age?”

Jihan’s voice rose in disbelief.

Sekyeom glanced at Jihan and let out a hollow laugh.

It was a laugh tinged with a sense of futility.

“Sometimes when I talk to Guides, it feels like they live in a different world.”

“What’s that supposed to mean now?”

“What about us?”

“It means not many understand that from an Esper’s perspective, a Guide is practically a lifeline.”

“They don’t realize it’s like the last remaining oxygen tank when you’re stranded in space.”

Jihan blinked slowly at the words he couldn’t easily grasp.

His furrowed brow, as if trying hard to understand, represented his feelings.

“Well, roughly it means they’re that desperate an existence, right?”

“But you know, among the Espers I know, many aren’t obsessed with their Guides?”

“And I have many Esper friends too.”

At that moment, Sekyeom let out a short laugh.

It wasn’t a laugh born from genuine amusement about the conversation.

As proof, deep furrows formed between his brows.

As if the previous exchange greatly bothered him.

“They’d say that to a Guide, of course.”

“Or maybe there really are such peculiar Espers out there.”

“But I’m not one of them.”

“What aren’t you?”

“It means if there’s an Esper hanging around my Guide, I’ll use whatever means necessary to get rid of them.”

Jihan tried to understand Sekyeom’s feelings.

But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Sekyeom’s words were excessive.

Although Espers tended to be more blindly devoted in Esper-Guide relationships, even considering that, Sekyeom was a bit extreme.

‘His obsession will be no joke when he gets a Guide.’

Jihan clicked his tongue inwardly but found a flaw in that statement.

“But you’ve never had a Guide before.”

This was it.

Sekyeom had never had a paired Guide since manifesting as an Esper.

That meant his words were merely thoughts.

A wish, perhaps, about how he would act if he got one in the future?

“…If I get one.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll be like that if I get one.”

“Hey, the Guide will hate that.”

“I’m telling you this for your own good, so take it to heart.”

This was something that would make even a Guide with a high matching rate flee a thousand miles away.

Feeling sorry for whoever that might be, Jihan offered sincere advice from the bottom of his heart.

The problem was that the person in question had little desire to heed it.

Sekyeom deliberately ignored Jihan’s words and this time posed a question himself.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How would you feel if your Esper was as obsessive as me?”