Chapter 3 : Be my guide (1)

“Sigh…”

A long sigh escaped Jisung’s lips. He sat in a Starbucks, sipping a lukewarm Americano. He scrolled through news articles on his phone, then frowned and turned off the screen.

“Sigh…”

Another sigh. He’d lost count of how many he’d exhaled today. At least ten, maybe more. He swallowed the rising frustration and stirred his tasteless coffee with a straw, eventually just fishing out the ice cubes to crunch on.

Crunch

The ice shattered between his teeth. He leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to stare at the ceiling. The wooden beams reminded him of his own beloved cafe.

“Ha…”

A hollow laugh escaped him. On this golden holiday, he should have been in his own cafe, bustling with customers. Instead, he was stuck in a Starbucks, drinking mediocre coffee. The reason for this unfortunate turn of events could be traced back to about a week ago.

He had been preparing for the day as usual when he got caught in a terrorist attack. He had survived the initial blast, thankfully being a safe distance away from the epicenter. However, a secondary attack, a bus plummeting from the sky, had crushed his precious cafe.

The sight of his ruined cafe had been devastating. His meticulously curated collection of teacups lay shattered on the floor. The framed pictures on the wall were split in two. His prized coffee beans were mixed with dust and debris.

The cafe was a major blow, but there was another, even bigger problem.

[Wait for me. I’ll come get you.]

“Agh!”

Jisung raked his hands through his hair, ignoring the curious stares from other customers. He was too agitated to care.

“Why am I a Guide? I’m not a Guide…”

He thought of Hyunwoo, his savior, the Esper, the source of his current stress. Hyunwoo, who insisted he was a Guide and seemed determined to drag him into some kind of hell.

He hadn’t forgotten Hyunwoo’s attempt to whisk him away after the cafe collapsed, taking advantage of Jisung’s shock and disorientation. If it hadn’t been for the timely interruption of the walkie-talkie, Jisung might have blindly followed him.

The irritated voice crackling from the walkie-talkie had ordered Hyunwoo and his companions back to base. This had allowed Jisung to escape their grasp… but Hyunwoo’s parting words lingered, a dark premonition.

“Come get me? What kind of terrifying nonsense…”

Thankfully, a week had passed, and Hyunwoo hadn’t appeared.

“I guess he was wrong about me being a Guide.”

Jisung breathed a sigh of relief. Of course it was a mistake. Him, a Guide? It was the most absurd thing he had ever heard in his 25 years of life.

He had consistently tested negative in the Esper and Guide tests conducted regularly at school. It was impossible for him to suddenly become a Guide at 25. Esper and Guide abilities usually manifested during adolescence, at the latest. He’d never heard of anyone developing abilities as an adult.

A sense of calm washed over him. The loss of his cafe was heartbreaking, but thankfully, it was insured. Once the aftermath of the terrorist attack was dealt with, he could rebuild.

Leaving most of his lukewarm coffee untouched, Jisung stood up.

“Come to think of it, I’m out of ramen.”

He stopped at a convenience store on his way home, picking up ramen and some snacks. As he approached his apartment complex, swinging the plastic bag, he noticed a crowd gathered near the entrance.

‘What’s going on? Is there a celebrity here?’

Drama filming often took place in the area, so he didn’t think much of it. He peered through the crowd, trying to see what was happening.

Several expensive-looking black sedans were parked in a row. It looked like a drama about some royal heir or something.

‘Is it someone famous?’

He watched with anticipation. Then, the car doors opened, and Jisung dropped his convenience store bag.

“Huh?”

The faces were far too familiar. The faces that had haunted his dreams, the faces he had been dreading seeing.

Jisung’s eyes widened.

‘Did they actually come for me? No, wait, they might not be here for me. Maybe they have a friend living here…’

He clung to the last shred of hope. Then, his eyes met Hyunwoo’s. The previously indifferent eyes lit up, like a predator spotting its prey.

“Oh, crap!”

Why was his gut feeling never wrong?

“Jisung!”

Hyunwoo grinned and waved, drawing everyone’s attention to Jisung. He bit his lip, inwardly groaning.

‘Why me?!’

***

Seeing Hyunwoo waving and calling his name, Jisung’s instincts screamed danger. He turned and ran, but there was no escaping an Esper. He was caught easily, and Hyunwoo clung to him like a koala. Jisung sighed.

‘He’s so tall and heavy!’

Just like their first encounter, Hyunwoo refused to let go, no matter how hard Jisung struggled. Defeated, Jisung punched in the code to his apartment door. It beeped and clicked open.

“Oh, and this… I couldn’t come empty-handed. Do you like cake?”

“Thanks…”

‘Should I be the one thanking him?’

Jisung eyed the cake box suspiciously.

“We haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet. Sorry. My name is Kim Sunwoo. The one clinging to you is Park Hyunwoo, and this is…”

The other man, who had been quietly observing the apartment, jumped at being addressed. He glanced at Jisung, then quickly looked away when their eyes met. He seemed incredibly shy.

“Ha Yuaan. Yuaan is the same age as you, Jisung. Hyunwoo and I are younger, so feel free to speak comfortably.”

Jisung wondered how they knew his age and address. But he didn’t want to hear the terrifying answer – that they used their authority to access his personal information – so he kept quiet.

“So, what’s the reason for this visit?”

“I want you to be my Guide.”

Jisung felt dizzy. Before he could recover, Sunwoo continued.

“Hyunwoo is one of the only two S-Rank Espers in Korea.”

“An… S-Rank Esper?!”

Even Jisung, with his limited knowledge of Espers, knew how significant an S-Rank was. One S-Rank Esper possessed the power to single-handedly decimate an entire army. There were fewer than thirty of them in the entire world. A nation’s military strength was heavily influenced by the number of S-Rank Espers it possessed.

‘And that S-Rank Esper is currently clinging to my neck…’

Jisung reached up to touch Hyunwoo’s arm around his neck. A large hand gently grasped his fingers. He turned to see Hyunwoo smiling at him, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He looked completely different from the blood-soaked figure Jisung had first encountered.

“Hyunwoo has never had a compatible Guide, so he’s never received proper guiding. He’s always been in a dangerous state.”

Jisung recalled Hyunwoo’s numerous injuries, despite being an S-Rank Esper. He certainly hadn’t been in peak condition during their first meeting.

“But things changed after he met you.”

“Huh?”

“His wounds healed instantly after you touched him.”

“Th-that might not have been because of me. There could be another reason… It could be a coincidence…!”

“It’s not a coincidence.”

“Huh?”

Hyunwoo stepped closer and unwound the bandage around his head, revealing a smooth, unblemished forehead.

‘Why was he wearing a bandage…?’

Jisung stared at the bandage in Hyunwoo’s hand. It was stained with blood.

“Huh? Huh?”

He looked back and forth between Hyunwoo’s forehead and the bloody bandage, his expression demanding an explanation.

“This is from a mission yesterday. Another Guide spent hours with me, and the wound barely healed. But just a brief touch from you, and it completely disappeared.”

“No, no, no!”

Jisung tried to deny it, but Hyunwoo’s tone was firm.

“It’s not a coincidence. An Esper mistaking their Guide? Unless they’re an idiot… No, even an idiot wouldn’t make that mistake.”

Hyunwoo tightened his grip on the bandage.

“When you’re near, the air around me changes. The pain, the pressure… everything disappears. It’s peaceful. There’s no mistaking it. This only happens with you.”

“You’re my Guide.”