Chapter 6 : The Touch of Redemption

Staring at Kang Tae Woo’s hand, Lee So Won recalled the horrific eight years spent together.

‘[What if guiding breaks my hand? Crushes it? What if his cursed veins infect me?]’

Past fears before touching Tae Woo flashed by, followed by the cold, blood-soaked hand from the surgical room.

‘[Tae Woo, I’m sorry… Don’t die.]’

The sensation lingered vividly.

“No need to force yourself.”

Tae Woo’s calm voice pulled So Won from panic.
So Won noticed their own pitiful trembling, hands pale.
No mirror was needed to know their face’s state.

Looking at Tae Woo, So Won caught his gaze.
He quickly turned away, avoiding eye contact.
His sharp waves seemed to pierce So Won’s heart, stinging painfully.

The resolve made after waking in the ER felt hollow.
Vowing to take responsibility for Tae Woo’s death, yet here So Won was, fearing a mere touch, seeing him as a monster again.
If Tae Woo, whose life faded in the surgical room, saw So Won’s ugly heart—more grotesque than his dark red veins—what would he think?

Ashamed, So Won moved, gently placing a hand on Tae Woo’s.
A warmth met So Won, alongside a sharp jolt like static.
Tae Woo’s wild waves surged through, numbing So Won’s body instantly.
The guiding was painful, as always.
Yet, the warmth and intense waves felt precious.

It’s nothing, not even hard. Why did I make guiding so difficult until he died?
Recalling Tae Woo’s lonely end, So Won’s heart grew heavy.

Curious about Tae Woo’s expression, So Won wondered.
Surprised by his first guiding?
Joyful, perhaps?
But Tae Woo, expressionless even in death, was hard to imagine either way.
So Won’s gaze shifted from their joined hands.

Defying all expectations, Tae Woo was collapsing, eyes closed.

“Tae—Tae Woo!”

Startled, So Won leapt up, catching Tae Woo’s falling frame.
The contact buzzed intensely, but his heavy body leaned, pulling So Won down.
No time to mind the pain.
Shocked researchers rushed in, helping So Won move Tae Woo to an emergency cot.
The doctor checked his condition.

So Won paled, seeing Tae Woo’s closed eyes.
The cot-bound Tae Woo merged with the blood-drenched surgical room memory.
Breath caught, as if choked.
Senses dulled, stomach churned, vision swayed like waking from a dream.
Ears rang with tinnitus.

“Guide Lee So Won?”

The doctor, about to say Tae Woo had only fainted, paused, seeing So Won’s state.
So Won stared at Tae Woo like a lost soul.
Called, So Won’s blank eyes regained life, turning to the doctor.
Their face, paler than upon arrival, showed strain.

“Esper Kang Tae Woo likely fainted from his first guiding. It’s like falling asleep; he’ll wake soon.”

Assuming So Won was scared by Tae Woo’s collapse, the doctor spoke soothingly.

Regaining composure, So Won studied Tae Woo.
His face had more color than on his dying day.
So Won reached out.
Having guided once, touching again was easier.
So Won’s pale fingers gently clasped Tae Woo’s hand.
Warmth, not cold or hard, greeted So Won.

Even after confirmation, despite the doctor’s assurance, So Won worried Tae Woo might die.
Was Tae Woo this ill back then?
He’d never fainted from guiding, no matter how bad his state.
So Won’s concern deepened.
Hoping to help, So Won held his hand, his legs spilling off the small cot.

“The guiding test can continue. You briefly embraced earlier, but we need longer contact. Please climb onto the cot and hold the esper.”

The test persisted despite Tae Woo’s collapse.
Embrace Tae Woo?
So Won’s eyes wavered, expecting only hand-holding.
Guiding would require this eventually, but not so suddenly, unprepared.

‘[Resuming now.]’

A voice echoed through the speaker.
So Won’s eyes met the researchers’ beyond the glass.
They quickly looked away, but So Won saw their faces asking, ‘Will they really do it?’

Thankfully, Tae Woo remained unconscious.
If his dark eyes stared during an embrace, So Won might have given up.
Imagining it, So Won resolved to finish before Tae Woo woke.

The cot, filled by Tae Woo’s large frame, had little room.
Hesitating, So Won lay nearly atop him.
Creak.
The cot groaned under their weight.
So Won settled into the narrow space beside Tae Woo, placing a hand on his chest, resting their face nearby.
Feeling his firm yet soft chest, So Won stiffened.

Tae Woo didn’t stir, unbothered by So Won’s weight.
His steady breaths moved his chest, shifting So Won up and down.
Tae Woo’s waves pulsed through So Won’s body.

A familiar scent wafted from Tae Woo.
So Won hadn’t noticed before regression, but now recognized it—his scent, faint in his empty house.
So Won realized that place was truly Tae Woo’s home.
Quietly surprised, that hellish place felt briefly nostalgic.

Strangely, instead of growing tenser, So Won relaxed.
The warmth at their fingertips and Tae Woo’s steady heartbeat soothed.

Who’d have thought So Won, once terrified by Tae Woo’s mere sight, would find peace in him?
Closing their eyes, So Won listened to the rhythmic heartbeat, craving its sound.

Suddenly, So Won realized they were leaning too heavily.
Tae Woo might wake, feeling the weight.
Yet So Won didn’t want to pull away.
Just a little longer.
To feel he was alive.

Watching soaring numbers and graphs, the doctor nearly cried.
For seventeen years, he’d endured Tae Woo’s worsening condition and fiercer glares.
This moment felt like those hardships vanishing.
All thanks to a guide who appeared days ago.

When a researcher brought the 100% match report, he hadn’t believed it.
100% with Kang Tae Woo?
As a researcher, he scolded his junior for trusting odd results, but his own tests confirmed it.

More shocking, it was a specific match request.
Seeing the young man’s photo, he was baffled.
Requesting Tae Woo right after awakening?
That kind face surely hid madness.

Yet each test thrilled him.
100%, undeniable.
A global discovery.
When the U.S. reported a 93% pair, Korean researchers envied them.
Now, 100%?
This pair was bound by something greater than fate.

Studying this could make him world-renowned.
He imagined his name echoing globally, his value soaring.

His only worry?
This guide, bold enough to request Tae Woo, fleeing from his terrifying appearance.
Likely, but wrong.
The guide wasn’t mad—just an angel.

Proof?
So Won held Tae Woo, unconscious in his ghastly state, on the cot, bodies overlapping.
The doctor, feeling tears, wiped his eyes.
The monitor’s graphs hit record highs, a line poised to pierce the screen, moving researchers to feel part of a historic moment.
Look—researchers once trembling at Tae Woo now gazed with reverence.

Guide Lee So Won became the Esper Association’s beacon of light.