GP | Chapter 3.1

Three days had passed since Song Taejoon had been guided.

After that day, he vanished from the mansion again. Seoh didn’t know whether he had left right after their last conversation or the following day, but by the time Yoon Seoh came out of his room late in the afternoon, the house was already empty.

Only then did Seoh finally wash properly and treat his injuries with the emergency medicine he had brought. It looked like it would take time to heal. The wound on his shoulder, where he had been bitten first, was especially bad.

His shoulder was covered in teeth marks and bruising. The bleeding had stopped, but the skin had turned dark and swollen with bruises. It still hurt if anything brushed against it, no matter how lightly. If a healing-type Esper saw it, it would be the kind of injury that could heal in a day, but hoping for that here was absurd. He could only wait for time to pass.

When he treated his wounds and went to the backyard, the traces from that day were still there, untouched. Song Taejoon probably hadn’t even realized where he had done the guiding.

After checking his clothes, Seoh found that they had all been ripped apart from how violent things had gotten. The shredded garments were useless, so he ended up throwing them in the trash.

He had brought three sets of guide-only clothes, but now he only had two left. He would have to wear them carefully and ration them. If things kept happening like this every time, maybe it would be better to strip first whenever he guided.

During the two quiet days that followed, Seoh mostly sat in a chair in the backyard. He looked around, wondering if there might be another house he could stay in in the garden, but of course there was no such thing.

Song Taejoon hated that idea too, and Seoh himself felt uncomfortable in the mansion where Espers had once been kept like prisoners, so except when he was sleeping, he preferred staying outside.

The fourth day was no different from the rest.

Seoh went to the backyard as soon as he got up in the morning. The weather was getting colder by the day, so he had only draped one shirt over himself as he sat in the chair. He stared blankly at the clouds drifting by, wasting time for no reason at all.

Then he heard a rustling sound from somewhere.

Seoh turned toward it. There stood a man he had never seen before. He stared at Seoh with a detached expression, then asked in an irritated voice, “Are you Guide Yoon Seoh?”

Seoh stood up and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Did Song Taejoon tell you anything?”

“…No, nothing. Is something wrong?”

The man muttered, “Figures,” then scratched his head in annoyance.

“There’s a big incident this time, and we absolutely need Guides. The others can manage with the Guides the center sends, but Song Taejoon, that guy… that bastard has a dedicated Guide , right? In case anything happens, Guide Yoon Seoh needs to be on standby.”

That sort of thing happened sometimes. Dangerous jobs where the Esper had to use a lot of power. When that happened, a Guide had to stand by, and it seemed this was one of those times.

Just like the man said, the other Espers didn’t matter, but Song Taejoon had his dedicated Guide , so naturally Seoh was the one who had to go. Dedicated Guides were not supposed to be given to or taken from anyone except their partner.

“Anyway, could you get ready quickly?”

“Please wait a moment.”

Seoh told the hurried man to wait, then went back into his room. He folded the shirt he had been wearing neatly and laid it on the floor before heading to the bathroom. It had been less than thirty minutes since he last washed up, so he only needed to tidy himself and go.

There was still ointment on his hands, but he didn’t think he could go out like this, so he washed thoroughly.

He didn’t even have a towel, so he shook off the water as best he could and looked in the mirror.

“…”

On the side of his neck reflected in the mirror, faint bruising was visible. Fortunately, the serious wound on his shoulder wasn’t visible from the outside, and since he was wearing long sleeves, that wasn’t a problem either. The only visible injury was on his palm, but by now the skin had grown back enough that if he tugged at the sleeve, it could cover even the back of his hand.

For some reason, it felt like it had been a long time since he had looked in a mirror. Seoh stared at himself for a moment.

A dull-looking man with an ordinary face and no trace of vitality stared back. He had always been thin, but now he was even thinner, as if even the fullness in his cheeks would disappear at any moment. His face had once been the only part of him that was even slightly plump, but now even that was gone.

His hair had grown long too, falling down to his cheekbones, and his lips were dry. Even to his own eyes, he looked pathetic. After licking his lips a few times, they finally regained a little color.

He couldn’t keep the man outside waiting any longer, so Seoh hurried out. The man who saw him again swept him up and down with a strange look. Then he asked, “Are those clothes really okay?”

“Is there a problem? They’re guide-only clothes.”

“No… It’s just that it’s gotten a lot colder lately, so I wasn’t sure you’d be okay.”

Seoh looked at him for a moment, then tugged down his sleeve and nodded. The thin long-sleeved shirt suitable for late summer through early autumn could definitely be cold in weather like this. But he didn’t have the luxury of worrying about whether he’d be okay or not. In the first place, he hadn’t even brought many clothes, so all he could hope for was that there wouldn’t be any more trips like this in winter.

“Well, then. Give me your hand. We have to teleport.”

The man held out his hand casually. Seoh, however, couldn’t help but be startled. He had thought he was a civilian, but he had turned out to be an Esper. How urgent must this be for a special ability user to come all the way here to escort him?

Seeing Seoh’s reaction, the man shrugged as if he understood.

“As you know, it takes a while to get here by car. It’s not like it’s insanely urgent or anything… well, actually, it is a little urgent. But since the Guides are standing by, and you can use your abilities freely today, that’s why I came. Now we just go straight there.”

“…Yes.”

If his team was already there, then it really was urgent. Seoh nodded and reached out his hand. But just as the man was about to take it, Seoh jerked back with a start.

Only then did he realize, too late, that he had almost touched an Esper without thinking.

The habit of keeping himself open, always waiting for energy to be drawn out, was still there. Even now, unconsciously, he had left the channel for energy transfer open.

If he had touched the man, he would have guided him.

The energy that had been emptied out was already somewhat replenished while Song Taejoon had been away from the house. If it had been before, Seoh would have guided even the Esper standing before him, but not now.

Without Seoh even noticing, the force of the words “dedicated Guide ” had taken hold more strongly than expected. Strong enough that he no longer wanted to guide anyone except Song Taejoon. On top of that, he had also been reflecting on himself. Using Espers for his own selfishness was, of course, not something he should do.

“Guide Yoon Seoh?”

“Ah, sorry. I… may I just hold on?”

Seoh quickly gathered his guiding energy and asked the man for permission. He didn’t need skin contact, only a hold on some part of the man’s body, so it was better to minimize touch as much as possible.

The man looked at him as if he were strange, but soon nodded begrudgingly. Only then did Seoh say thank you and carefully grasp the man’s arm. Thankfully, the man was wearing a long jumper.

“You may feel a little nauseous.”

After giving the short warning, the man immediately used his ability. The world warped, then turned stark white.

When the two of them arrived somewhere through teleportation, Seoh blinked through a churning stomach. Slowly, his blurry vision came into focus.

“Oh, isn’t that Lee Jaeun! You’re here fast?”

A group of people recognized the man and greeted him. Seoh let go of the man’s arm and took a step back as they approached.

“Of course I got here fast.”

“You were grumbling about having to wait until after washing up, though. Guess you were still prepared in advance?”

As they spoke to Lee Jaeun, the people also raked their eyes over Seoh. They were curious about the famous A-rank guide Yoon Seoh.

Yoon Seoh, the man rumored to secretly guide Espers even as a male prostitute. The fact that he had become Song Taejoon’s dedicated Guide was one of the hottest topics around lately.

But the Yoon Seoh they had heard about as a male prostitute gave off an atmosphere very different from the rumors. That made the others glance at him again and again in confusion.

According to Espers who had received guidance from him, he was said to be ordinary yet strangely sensual. But no matter how they looked at him, there was no such air about him. And wasn’t he supposed to rush at Espers the moment he saw them? The person named Yoon Seoh, who was always supposedly desperate because he couldn’t guide, was just so calm. So the rumors were only rumors after all?

“But why are you all loitering around here for no reason?”

When Lee Jaeun shot them a look and told them to knock it off, the gathered people laughed awkwardly.

“No, it’s just…”

“We’ll be assembled soon, so get ready in advance.”

“Oh, right.”

“Guide Yoon Seoh.”

After dispersing the crowd, Lee Jaeun called to Yoon Seoh, who had been standing quietly. When their eyes met, he pointed to one side and said, “You see the place with all the trailers over there?”

“…Yes.”

“That’s where the Guides are gathered. You can go there and wait. Shall I take you?”

“It’s fine. Thank you for bringing me…”

Seoh bowed politely and turned to head toward the trailers. He could hear conversation behind him, but not clearly enough to make out the details.

Looking around, he saw Espers and support staff moving around busily. The ones in blue jumpers were Espers, and the ones in black work uniforms were support staff. Seeing so many people gathered here, there really must be something serious going on.