Chapter 10
She tried to yank her hand back at once, but Baek Dohyeok was faster. His movement was so swift it was almost on the level of a golden eagle diving down to seize its prey. And calling it “prey” wasn’t just a metaphor—it truly felt that way.
Jiseo thought she should subdue Baek Dohyeok immediately, civilian or not.
…That was only a thought, though.
“Ah….”
By the time she came to her senses, the situation had completely reversed.
What she saw before her was Baek Dohyeok’s hand interlaced with hers—no, more than that. She was holding his hand tightly with both of her own.
Im Jiseo’s gaze naturally drifted to the hands clasped together.
His neatly trimmed, rounded nails gleamed, and his fingers were thick at the joints yet long and slender—unmistakably masculine hands. All the while she observed them, Baek Dohyeok’s hands felt so warm they almost seemed hot.
And the way Jiseo felt, holding his hand…
It was blissful.
No—“blissful” wasn’t even enough to describe it.
Jiseo recalled what her fellow Espers had said about moments when their compatibility rate was high, or when they received guiding from a high-ranking Guide.
“In that moment, you feel like you could die for the other person.”
Jiseo had always thought those words were exaggerated.
But they weren’t exaggerated at all—not even a little.
It was a comfort she had never felt since awakening, no, not once in her entire life. A sense of elation, like she could do anything. It felt as though everything inside her body was being reborn, becoming stronger and stronger. She felt as if she could sell her soul just to prolong this moment a little longer.
Even more frightening was the uncontrollable surge of protectiveness and affection she felt toward the other person—toward Baek Dohyeok.
So this is guiding…
Absentmindedly, Jiseo brought her cheek to the back of his hand. She even thought she might want to put his fingers in her mouth.
Thankfully—truly thankfully—before her unconscious impulses could turn into action, a cautious voice snapped her back to reality.
“Ms. Jiseo, are you all right?”
It was Baek Dohyeok.
Despite the fact that he had been the one to seize her hand like an ambush, he was now looking at her with eyes full of concern.
It looked as though Baek Dohyeok had been dragged along by Jiseo’s strength—his upper body was nearly sprawled across the table. It was a rather ridiculous sight, but Jiseo couldn’t laugh.
“…Huh? Ah—what is this?!”
She flung away the hand she had been clinging to just moments ago, as if it were some creepy thing—a spider, a snake, something disgusting handed to her as a prank—and hurriedly apologized.
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, no. I was the one who spoke harshly because I was upset. I waited too long—no, anyway… this isn’t your fault, Ms. Im Jiseo. It’s mine. More importantly, are you really okay? No matter how much I called you, you didn’t respond. I was worried you’d fainted with your eyes open.”
If Jiseo had just been an Esper and Baek Dohyeok just a Guide, this kind of awkwardness wouldn’t have happened.
But Jiseo was a dull Esper for whom guiding didn’t work well, and Baek Dohyeok was a Guide experiencing guiding for the first time.
That was probably why she’d lost herself so completely. Pure, unfiltered guiding had crashed into her like a tidal wave—without any regulation—despite her being uninjured and nowhere near a runaway state.
“How long was I like that?”
“About ten minutes.”
Jiseo felt her face heat up.
After insisting she didn’t need guiding, she’d spaced out in a public place for ten whole minutes and even dragged him in by force. She figured the man must be laughing at her inside—and honestly, she deserved it. With that thought, she quickly schooled her expression back into calm.
But Baek Dohyeok wasn’t laughing.
Instead, his sculpted face was filled with worry as he examined her complexion.
“Are you really okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
In truth, she wasn’t just “fine.” Her condition was perfect.
It was the kind of physical state where she could attend an 8 a.m. class three days a week even after losing a brutal course registration war and still feel great. The same vitality she’d had as a kid—waking up at dawn on weekends to watch cartoons without feeling tired or sore.
That was exactly how she felt now.
It was honestly astounding.
“That’s a relief. I was scared—you looked like you’d gone somewhere far away.”
Jiseo tilted her head at that.
The Im Jiseo standing in front of him was a C-rank Esper, yes—but still an Esper. If she’d truly lost control, she could’ve easily blown away someone right in front of her. Fear wouldn’t have been strange in that situation.
Still, hearing the words “I was scared” come from Baek Dohyeok felt oddly mismatched.
He’s more timid than he looks.
Well, he was human too—nothing to be done. Thinking that, Jiseo voiced her brief impression.
“You’re impressive.”
“I’m sorry.”
Baek Dohyeok lowered his eyes.
At first, she wondered if he was scared—but no. His face looked more like someone bracing himself to be slapped, filled with solemn resolve.
Now Jiseo was the one confused. Had her tone sounded sarcastic without her meaning to? She found herself becoming cautious instead.
“I meant your guiding, Mr. Baek Dohyeok. …As expected of an S-rank Guide, it really is different.”
She’d meant it as harmless flattery to soothe a nervous man, but—
Baek Dohyeok’s eyes widened in panic.
What an unreadable man, Jiseo thought again. He’d been so confident when he grabbed her hand and told her to try it, yet now that he’d seen the results, he was completely flustered. For an S-rank Guide, he was surprisingly clumsy.
Still, as a senior ability user, Jiseo felt she should offer him some encouragement.
If you think about it, S-rank Guides are just as rare as S-rank Espers.
It would be a terrible waste for him to lose confidence over something like this.
A Guide’s condition—mood, feelings toward their partner, and other subtle psychological factors—had a huge influence on guiding. While Espers often felt overwhelming happiness from physical-contact guiding, Guides usually just thought, I’m touching another person… this time, it’s deeper and more intense. Their sense of satisfaction mostly came from the Esper’s reaction.
She couldn’t let a precious S-rank Guide lose confidence because his partner’s response was lacking.
So she decided to be more direct.
For the record, this wasn’t her own line.
“I was wondering why I had two hands—but I guess it’s so I can hold both your left and right hands, Mr. Baek Dohyeok.”
“…Ms. Im Jiseo.”
Wasn’t this how it went?
She’d only awkwardly copied one of the lines Kim Junho—an Esper on her team—recited daily to Park Jeongyun.
“I finally understand why I have hands. It must be to hold Guide Park Jeongyun’s hands while receiving guiding.”
Espers would do anything to win their Guide’s favor. They spouted cheesy lines morning and night, to the point where you wondered if they’d studied them somewhere.
Kim Junho from Blue Team 2 was especially bad.
He liked Guide Jeongyun—soft, pale, like a snow rabbit. No, “liked” wasn’t enough. From Jiseo’s perspective, he was completely unhinged.
She still remembered what Junho had whispered while poking her side the moment Park Jeongyun was assigned to Blue Team 2.
“Be ready to perform CPR.”
“Why?”
“I think my heart just stopped.”
“…Requesting reinforcement for Blue Team 2.”
Lost in such pointless thoughts, Jiseo snapped back to reality.
Baek Dohyeok’s face was filled with a bright smile.
He often gave her smiling eyes whenever he got the chance, but once again she thought what a striking man he was. How could someone smile so boyishly? It was hard to believe he was the same rude man from earlier.
With a smile free of calculation or suspicion, he spoke happily.
“Then… does that mean you’ll form a pair with me now?”
Ah. Again.
“What? I told you I wouldn’t. Did you forget already?”
“……”
The cheesy line she’d borrowed from Kim Junho had only been courtesy—something to keep a precious S-rank Guide from losing heart.
But Baek Dohyeok, who’d clearly gotten his hopes up from that lip service, looked utterly crushed.
Even if she’d slapped him across both cheeks and finished with a knee strike, he probably wouldn’t have looked that devastated.
Seeing his most dumbfounded expression yet, Jiseo felt a twinge of guilt.
Just a twinge—she had no intention of granting his request.
Judging by how desperately he’s clinging to me, he must really hate guide work.
Putting as much sincerity into her voice as she could, Jiseo tried to placate him.
“Your ability is wasted on a C-rank Esper like me. I mean that.”
At her words, Baek Dohyeok sighed deeply, rubbing his face with dry hands. His troubled voice slipped through his long, straight fingers.
“Ms. Jiseo…”
“Compared to Espers, it’s not that dangerous, and the待遇 isn’t bad either. No—honestly, it might even be better. You never have to enter gates. You just wait at the entrance and provide guiding when everything’s been cleared.”
“Im—”
“There are plenty of Guides like you who have other jobs, and if you don’t like skinship, there’s even something called radiation guiding, you know?”
Once she started, Jiseo launched into a full explanation of how guide work wasn’t actually so bad.
“Plus, if you pair up with proud S-rank Espers of Korea like Kwon Yul, Kim Jinwon, or Chae Yuri, you could honestly say you’re contributing to humanity. You’d be a national hero.”
She didn’t forget to cap it off by appealing to glorious, shining honor.
“If you want, I can even write up a report in 10-point Shinmyeongjo font and send it to you.”
She rattled off the benefits of being a Guide like a 15-year veteran recruiter explaining to a hot-blooded young man that becoming a career soldier was the true path of manhood and honor.
Baek Dohyeok stared at her with a thoroughly exhausted expression.
“…Do you really hate the idea of me being your Guide that much?”
