Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Seonbae-nim, can you take care of these reports for me? I have to guide an esper who came in last minute,” a C-rank guide, Kim Siwoo, said sheepishly with a pile of papers and folders in hand. Despite his attempts to act like everything was perfectly fine, the droplets of sweat running down the side of his face and the way he fidgeted broke the facade.

“Of course, just leave it to me!” Han Yoojin smiled, taking the stack graciously and plopping it down onto his already crowded desk.

“Thank you! I’ll treat seonbae to lunch one day!” Siwoo sighed before immediately dashing off to wherever, probably one of the guiding rooms.

Yoojin was not a stranger to having work be handed off to him. Most of the unwanted duties—drafting reports, cleaning the guiding rooms, responding to appointments, etc.—were pushed onto him. Why? Because in the entire Korean Awakened Association (KAA), Han Yoojin was the only F-rank guide.

Actually, the Association of Guides didn’t want to hire him. But, it was stated in the handbook that all awakened who are qualified to become a guide, no matter the rank, could become one for the association. When they first tried to reject him, Yoojin pulled out the handbook, read the second clause of Article II, and threw the book in the interviewer’s face. He threatened to sue the association to the heavens and back if they denied the application, he would sue them so hard that it would knock the wind out of them. So, unfortunately for the association but fortunately for Yoojin, he was hired!

However, Yoojin barely did any actual work. At least as an F-rank esper you would have around 1.5x the strength of the average adult, but a F-rank guide? That meant Yoojin was practically a regular person but with a few extra steps. The average guide didn’t get any special superpower that allowed them to beat up bad guys with super strength or made them capable of tanking a nuke, that was reserved for espers.

Instead, guides were granted the ability to stabilize espers and become supports. The stronger the esper, the more unpredictable their mana flow tended to be and the easier it was for them to go on a rampage, which is where the people like Yoojin come in. Typically, a good guide is able to guide any esper below their own rank and also one above their rank, if need be. Yoojin, though, couldn’t even guide an F-rank esper without taking at least 4 hours and lots of breaks, which probably made him a terrible guide. Besides his own brother (whom he had 90% compatibility with), he struggled guiding anyone else. This put him in an awkward position, and he became somewhat like the personality hire who did whatever miscellaneous task was handed to them.

Yoojin cracked open the stack of files and papers and began to look through them. The first paper he read was actually a complaint from another guide who couldn’t get a C-rank esper to come in for their appointment no matter how hard they tried. It had already been over five months since his last appointment, which was dangerous because espers were recommended to come in every two to three months for guiding.

No problemo! For Yoojin, handling things like this was a piece of cake! When he was younger, he would always be the one to convince his cute younger brother to do things he was either afraid of or disliked doing. Unfortunately, all kids—cute or not—grow up and enter their rebellious phase. For Yoojin’s little brother though, that rebellious phase lasted around, like, two years (it was actually a few months) past the teenage-hood and resulted in the two barely talking. It was only recently that the two of them reconnected, made up, and become close once more.

Yoojin picked up his phone and dialed the number of the guide-dodging esper. The phone rang a few times before someone finally picked up.

“Who’s this?” Said an already annoyed man. Unfazed, Yoojin cleared his throat before talking.

“Hello! Am I speaking with Park Yujun-nim?” Yoojin asked with his best customer service voice.

“What do you want?” While Yoojin couldn’t see him through the phone, he could hear the eye roll.

“My name is Han Yoojin, I am with the guiding office in Seoul. Your last appointment was over five months ago, is it possible for you to come in soon for a guiding session?” Yoojin tapped on his pen as he spoke.

“No,” Park Yujun replied and was probably about to hang up, but before he could Yoojin spoke.

“Sir, we highly recommend that you come in,” Yoojin said quickly.

“I literally don’t care, fuck off,” Park Yujun said with much agitation, and was about to (try) hang up once more before Yoojin, once again, spoke up.

“If you don’t come in, I’ll have to report to the Association of Espers to revoke your license,” Yoojin told him nonchalantly.

“The fuck? You fuckers can’t force me to come in! My record is clean, I have never gone on a rampage!” Park Yujun shouted through the line.

“Sir, under clause five of Article IV in the Association of Espers handbook it states that all espers must go under guiding at least once every six months. We are now past month five, and it will be difficult for you to book an appointment if you don’t today. So, will you come in or shall I call the association in advance?” Yoojin explained and a few seconds of silence passed.

“Fine, I’ll come in,” Park Yujun agreed begrudgingly.

“Great! I will send you a a date and time. Hope to see you soon!” Yoojin cheerfully typed up an email and clicked ‘send.’

“Article IV clause five..? I don’t remember there being a clause like that…” Park Yujun mumbled on the other line, but hung up. First task, five stars out of five! Satisfied, Yoojin gave himself a pat on the back and opened a can of soda as a reward. As he took a sip, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that his neighbor, Yoo Myeongwoo, was staring at him with eyes of admiration.

“...Yes?” Yoojin put his can down and looked at the other man. Myeongwoo flinched, surprised that Yoojin had noticed his blatant staring.

“Oh, sorry! Um, I wasn’t staring to be weird or anything! It’s just...um, how did you do that?” Myeongwoo asked sheepishly, a bit embarrassed. Myeongwoo was a D-rank guide (he barely made it to D-rank), and while the two had talked on a few occasions they weren’t close. They were both incredibly busy: Yoojin was busy picking up the slack and work for other guides while Myeongwoo was busy drafting blueprints for weapons and often had to leave the office to make whatever fancy weapons espers wanted. Myeongwoo had it better than Yoojin, he got paid more too because of his coveted SS-rank skill that allowed him to make the best weapons in the business.

“Um, do what?” Yoojin asked curiously.

“How could you talk to him like that? He sounds intimidating. And...did you really memorize the handbook for espers? I don’t even know all the rules in the handbook for guides!” Myeongwoo’s eyes dazzled. He had always admired Yoojin—despite the man having little guiding talent. Yoojin was outspoken and friendly, the higher ups may not have cared for him but his peers liked him. Myeongwoo, on the other hand, was valued highly by their bosses, but had little friends due to his introverted personality.

“Oh, that? I used to work in customer service, so I’m used to dealing with difficult people. I even worked as a telemarketer before I landed this job,” Yoojin explained. “As for the espers’ handbook, I just made up an article.”

“You...made up an article?” Myeongwoo blinked in confusion.

“Yep! It’s not like these espers actually read the handbook. The handbook is over two-hundred pages long, so it was unlikely for him to have memorized all of it,” Yoojin began filling out and organizing some of the papers on his desk.

“I guess you’re right. Who would actually read through all of that?” Myeongwoo laughed lightly.

“Hm? Oh, I did. I have both the handbook for guides and espers memorized. Actually, I have the code of conducts and laws memorized too,” Yoojin didn’t look up from his decreasing pile. He worked efficiently, writing and stamping and stapling papers and files over and over again. On the other side of his desk a small hill of completed work was beginning to grow.

“Huh? But I thought you said no one read those?” Myeongwoo was shocked, he himself didn’t even have the handbook for guides memorize. Hell, he was sure that none of their other officemates had it memorized either!

“I said that no espers actually read their handbook. I never said that I didn’t read it,” Yoojin took another sip of soda before adding another file onto his hill. “It’s good to know these things, that way, you’ll never get scammed!”

“You’re right, I should memorize the handbook of guides too!” Myeongwoo agreed. Seeing Yoojin working so hard, he was also starting to get fired up. Myeongwoo pulled out the handbook for guides and began to read in earnest before remembering that he had other deadlines to attend to first.

After a few hours, Yoojin was finally able to turn his hill of completed work into a mountain of completed work! He was quite proud of his mountain, which stood just a little over a foot and a half. He had made many calls, sent numerous of emails, and pressed the ‘print’ button dozens of times. The work mountain wasn’t the only geographical feature on his desk, there was also a little island of soda cans and energy drinks as well as a mesa of empty snack bags.

Yoojin was about to get up to put the files away but stopped when his phone lit up. On top of his wallpaper of a young Yoohyun was a text.

[ Yoohyun: When will you finish work? I can pick you up! :) ]

Smiling, Yoojin picked up his phone to send a reply. No matter how much work he had to do or how down he felt, his baby brother—his pride and joy—always brought a smile to his face.

[ Yoojin: I should be done soon ]

Along with his message he sent a cartoon of a chicken holding a heart sticker. Unlike many siblings out there, the Han siblings got along swimmingly to an unnatural degree (just ignore their one explosive falling out).

In response, Yoohyun sent a sticker of a baby chick with the words “I love you.” Cheesy, but Yoojin would’ve been upset if the response had been anything else. When Yoohyun was in middle school he went through a phase where he was embarrassed by Yoojin’s love and affection. Once he even rejected a hug from Yoojin in front of his classmates, and Yoojin was so hurt he mulled over it for weeks. Yoohyun felt a sharp pain in his heart from seeing a dejected Yoojin, so the phase was short lived.

According Yoojin’s watch it was already 7:52 PM, which meant it was almost time to go home! Not wanting to dilly-dally any longer, Yoojin grabbed as many files as he could in one go and prepared to store them away.

“Do you need help, Yoojin?” Myeongwoo asked.

“Oh! Yes please,” Yoojin readily agreed and gestured to the remaining pile. “Could you carry that to the file room with me?”

The two of them walked side by side down the hallway of the fifth floor. It was the floor for the offices and desks of the association guides. There were also offices in the sixth floor, but that was for the more important guides who were ranked B and above. There were also some talented C-ranked guides who made it up through hard work or nepotism. Myeongwoo himself had been given the opportunity to move up to the sixth floor due to his weapon-making talents, but he rejected it because he wasn’t always at the office anyway.

When they finally reached the file room, Myeongwoo and Yoojin manually placed the files in the right boxes and shelf. It was tedious, but it had to be done. It was cold in the dimly lit room, and there were no sounds besides the shuffling of papers and footsteps. A bit uncomfortable by the silence, Myeongwoo decided to get to know Yoojin better.

“So, um, what made you decide to become an association guide? Why didn’t you go private instead?” Myeongwoo asked awkwardly.

“Hm? Oh, no one would hire me as a private guide. Guilds didn’t want anything to do with me, and nobody would pay me if I freelanced,” Yoojin opened a box and shoved a few packets in. “Being an association guide isn’t so bad, the pay is steady and the benefits are pretty good.”

“But, isn’t your brother an S-rank esper? How come you two don’t work together?” Myeongwoo questioned. This had been on his (and others’) mind for some time. While the obvious reason was that Yoojin was an F-rank guide, some low rank guides and espers were able to land a cushy position in a guild due to nepotism, so how come Yoojin didn’t?

“Ha! Yoohyun didn’t even want me to be awakened, and he would never even consider letting me join Haeyeon,” Yoojin smiled as he closed the box and opened another one. “He tried many ways to keep me away from the awakened world, but to no avail. Hell, he’s even against me taking this job.”

“Eh? What’s the problem?” Myeongwoo was surprised. A job like theirs was considered a government job, similar to a civil servant. Many families would be thrilled that their relatives found such a comfortable position. It wasn’t like Yoojin would ever be in danger, the association wouldn’t dare send a F-rank out on the battlefield—that would be a suicide mission!

Yoojin breathed a heavy sigh, “Yoohyun can be a bit protective. He thinks that even if I’m not out supporting in dungeons, the espers that come are dangerous enough. In fact, he thinks that espers can be even more dangerous than dungeons, especially since they arrive before going rogue.”

“It’s not like we’ll ever meet them though, we don’t get sent for guiding,” Myeongwoo commented. He was quite happy to talk to Yoojin like this, maybe they would be able to get lunch together or hang out after work—just like real friends.

“Exactly! I assure him all the time that I’m not even allowed five feet within an esper, but every morning he drops hints of dissatisfaction,” Yoojin frowned. “Not even hints, he’s blaring a siren of displeasure.”

Eventually, the two finished putting away the files and began to return to their desks.

“Finally! We’re done!” Yoojin pat Myeongwoo’s back playfully. “Thanks for the help, I’ll treat you to dinner some time!”

“Really?” Myeongwoo’s eyes lit up and he seemed to carry a spring in his steps.

“Of course! But I’ll have to convince my brother to let me go. For some reason, he has been even more antsy than usual,” Yoojin sighed. Ever since last week, Yoohyun had been bugging him about where he was going and also preventing him from going anywhere but work and home. He didn’t understand why, and when he pressed the matter Yoohyun would dodge his questions like the plague. While he was upset by this, Yoojin knew that his stubborn brother would never give in. So, he gave up and complied to keep the peace.

After returning to his desk, Yoojin quickly packed up and said goodbye to Myeongwoo before heading out. They had taken a while, so Yoohyun should’ve arrived by now.

Yoonjin walked to the elevator and entered. He wasn’t the only one inside, there were three other guides as well. Yoojin had seen them before, but he wasn’t too familiar with them. They all seemed to be B-ranked guides, so the likelihood of Yoojin talking to them in the past was low. Seeing that someone else had entered, the three talked in low voices.

“Appointment…long ago...terrifying...too strong.” Those were the words Yoojin could make out from their conversation that they obviously didn’t want him to hear. It sounded like a case of an esper who refused to be guided—not the craziest thing in the world. Most espers enjoyed being guided and even formed deep bonds with their guides, but there were others, like Park Yujun, who hated it. The ones who disliked guiding usually thought that it was too invasive, or they just don’t like their guide. Guide-esper compatibility was important for the experience of the esper, the efficiency of the guide, and the safety of all parties involved.

However, this didn’t seem like the typical case of an esper who dodged appointments. It seemed to be someone important, someone whose guiding was necessary for some reason. Yoojin came to this conclusion because of the words “terrifying” and “too strong” as well as the way the three guides seemed to be incredibly stressed and nervous.

To be frank, Yoojin didn’t really care about the business of other guides. After all, even if an esper refused to show up it didn’t have anything to do with him. Yoojin takes care of people like Park Yujun, who is only a C-rank esper. Sure, even C-ranks were difficult to deal with, but they were more manageable than like, an A-rank esper. Technically, Yoojin wasn’t even supposed to talk to the espers, but for convenience reasons his boss let him slide. As long as work was getting done, it was all good!

After a few more seconds the elevator door opened to the lobby. Yoojin was the first to walk out, checking the time while doing so. It was 8:37 now, and he had received a text from Yoohyun informing him that he was outside. Finally free from work, Yoojin picked up the pace to reach his adorable (and definitely not crazy) brother faster.

As he got further and further from the three guides, he heard a few words that caught his attention.

“S-rank...handsome...foreign charm...”

Was the guide-dodging esper this time...a foreign S-ranker?

Chapter Text

“How was work today?” Yoohyun asked as soon as Yoojin got in the car.

“There was a bit more work than usual, but nothing your big brother can’t handle!” Yoojin pulled on the seat belt and buckled in with a “click.” When Yoojin got comfortable, he couldn’t help but take a glance at his baby brother.

Yoohyun was all grown up now. He was much taller and his voice deeper, Yoohyun’s cheeks no longer bore the plumpness of youth either. His clothes was more mature too, replicating the style of a well dressed business man in his mid-twenties. Despite being only twenty in actuality, Yoohyun didn’t feel like a college student. He didn’t stress about group projects or go out every night to drink with friends, unlike others his age. Instead, Yoohyun fought for his life in dungeons against monsters and fought for his reputation against paparazzi, who were eager to get a glimpse into the life of the nation’s youngest S-ranker.

For Yoojin it was difficult to picture him as the same Yoohyun as back then—his little brother who relied on and followed him like a lost chick. Their parents died when the Han siblings were young, and Yoojin had to drop out of high school to support the two of them. He matured fast and raised Yoohyun by himself, working multiple jobs and doing whatever he could to make ends meet. It was arduous and toilsome, but Yoojin pushed himself to ensure that his brother would only know comfort. He would never let Yoohyun know that they were struggling (though his brother already knew), always buying him the nicest shoes and the tastiest fried chicken in Seoul despite protest.

In the past, before the dungeons and ranks, Yoojin been saving up money for Yoohyun’s college. He wanted Yoohyun to live well, to not experience the burdens and hardships that he had to. Maybe his brother would become a doctor, he had always gotten good grades and been caring towards Yoojin. Or, Yoohyun could’ve started his own business and become an entrepreneur, traveling the world to meet all kinds of important people who did who-knows-what. No matter how successful or ordinary Yoohyun became, it wouldn’t have mattered to Yoojin—he would’ve been happy as long as Yoohyun lived a better life than the one he came from.

Yoojin tried his best to protect Yoohyun from their harsh reality, but when his brother became a S-rank their roles reversed: it was now Yoohyun who was trying to protect him from the new world, one of ferocious beasts and supernatural powers. While Yoojin appreciated Yoohyun’s (dramatic) displays of brotherly affection, he also felt irritated at his own lack of abilities. How can a younger brother protect his hyung? It should’ve been Yoojin, he should be the one shielding Yoohyun away from it all. But, his little brother—while still cute—no longer needed him. Yoohyun had spread his wings but didn’t fly, instead choosing to stay in the nest and peck at his mother bird.

“Did anything happen?” Yoohyun asked as he drove. “Like, did you encounter anyone unpleasant?”

“Some of the espers I called were rude, but it wasn’t too bad,” Yoojin replied as he scrolled through his emails. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason. What do you want to eat for dinner? You must’ve had a long day, I’ll cook,” Yoohyun said and drove onto the highway. Yoojin noticed how he changed the conversation, not wanting to linger on the previous topic any longer. It was a bit strange since Yoohyun was usually incredibly invested in his job, but he decided to brush it off.

“Anything is fine, I’ll always eat what you make,” Yoojin told him with a smile.

“Alright. I’ll make jjajangmyeon since we have some pork left in the fridge. Do you want an egg with yours?” Yoohyun asked, clearly happy.

“Yes, chef!” Yoojin responded. Thinking about dinner made him realize how hungry he was, and he started to think about more food. Yoojin opened his phone and started to look up restaurants, him and Yoohyun hadn’t gone out to eat in a while due to his brother’s paranoia. Maybe he’ll be able to convince Yoohyun to go out tomorrow. Or the day after...or next week. Either way, it didn’t matter to Yoojin as long as they got to go out—he was tired of just going home and work.

Myeongdong station had a crapload of steakhouses and restaurants, maybe they could go there. Yoojin hadn’t had barbecue in a while and was salivating at the idea of grilling meat.

The next day Yoojin woke up bright and early to go to work. Yoohyun had prepared two sunny side up eggs, two pieces of toast, and a few strips of crispy bacon for him. A cup of hot coffee with milk was prepared for him as well, the coffee even came with a cute foam design of hearts and clouds. If Yoojin were to ignore the fact that he was essentially a prisoner in their home, he would’ve felt like he was on vacation with all the meals ready at his convenience.

“Yoojin, do you have to go to work?” Yoohyun picked at his own plate, breaking the egg and causing the yolk to spill all over the plate.

“Of course I do, it’s my job,” Yoojin replied and ate a piece of toast with egg on top. They had this conversation almost every day, so he was used to it by now.

“But what if you get hurt?”

“I won’t, I don’t get sent to dungeons.”

“What if the other guides bully you?”

“Then I’ll file a complaint.”

“What if your boss assigns you a ton of work?”

“Obviously I’ll complete it.”

“What if the building gets attacked, who will protect you?”

“There are some guides who capable of combat, and there are espers who work as security.”

“What if a creepy esper hits on you?”

“...I don’t think that’ll happen.”

“Okay, but what if a super strong esper, let’s say for example an S-rank esper comes in. They haven’t been guided in a long time, and you happen to bump into them. If they demand that you guide them and won’t let go, what are you going to do then?” Yoohyun proposed another one of his weird scenarios with one hundred percent seriousness.

Yoojin was shook.

“That...what? It’s not going to happen. What kind of S-rank would want me to guide them?” Yoojin rubbed his temples and sighed. He loved his brother, he really did, but sometimes Yoohyun could be a little difficult to deal with. Just a little.

“I would! I want you to guide me,” Yoohyun sulked, he seemed to be super serious about this little scenario of his.

“While I’m touched that you like my guiding, you’re my brother. Any other esper wouldn’t even glance at me, so there’s really nothing to worry about,” Yoojin reassured him.

“But you never know, there’s a ton of crazy espers out there!” Yoohyun expressed his immense frustration to no avail. Yoojin was about to say his rebuttal, but then he sensed the fluctuation of mana.

“Come here,” Yoojin sighed and beckoned Yoohyun to come closer. Yoohyun complied and was pulled into a hug by Yoojin.

“…” Yoohyun said nothing and hugged Yoojin back.

“I know you’re worried about me, but you don’t have to get so worked up. I’ll be safe, I’ll even text you every few hours if that’s what you want. The association takes very good care of their guides, so they would never let anything happen to the building or me. Besides, even if something did happen, I have faith that you’ll always be there to protect me,” Yoojin tried his best to soothe Yoohyun’s nerves. His mana was slowly becoming more stable, assisted by the guiding of Yoojin. In the entire world, the only person he was able to guide was Yoohyun. Also in the entire world—maybe even the universe—Yoojin was the only person capable of guiding Yoohyun.

“Why can’t you just stay home? Why do you need this job anyway,” Yoohyun moped and held onto Yoojin tighter. “I can support the both of us.”

“I don’t doubt that you can support us, but I like working. It gives me something to do so I don’t have to be stuck at home all day,” Yoojin felt Yoohyun’s mana state return to normal and released him. “Don’t be upset, okay? I’ll only be gone a few hours.”

“...Alright.” Yoohyun got up and pulled himself together. “I’ll take you to work now, let’s go.”

Yoojin quickly cleared his plate and put the dishes in the sink. Then, he grabbed his work bag and jacket before rushing out the door with Yoohyun. In the 68^th round of Yoohyun vs. Yoojin, it was a Yoojin victory!

The traffic was a bit bad, but it was the morning so it was to be expected. It was silent in the car, and Yoojin could feel the disappointment radiating from the driver. While Yoohyun may have given in this time, his mind could never be changed. As the days go on, it’ll probably grow increasingly difficult to persuade him.

“Um, how about we go out for dinner tonight?” Yoojin said, attempting to lighten up the mood. “We haven’t eaten out in a while, so it might be nice for a change.”

“It’s dangerous outside,” Yoohyun commented. While he didn’t outright shut down the idea, Yoojin could tell that it was a no. Not willing to give up, Yoojin decided to push a bit more.

“If you’re there it won’t be dangerous,” Yoojin disagreed. “There’s nothing you can’t protect me from.”

“...I’m busy tonight,” Yoohyun replied with determination, he wouldn’t let his brother’s flattery get to him. Yoojin wasn’t sure if it was just an excuse and decided to try again.

“Come on, how dangerous can it possibly be? I’ll go to Myeongdong station, there’s a lot of steakhouses in the area. There hasn’t been any sightings of dungeons there for a while, so it should be safe,” Yoojin insisted. “And, I’ve been so terribly down just staying at home all day.”

“Even if there are no dungeons, the threat of people is also very real. Since we are close again my enemies might come after you,” Yoohyun was firm in his decision. Yoojin couldn’t just let this issue die; he was desperate for some human connection!

“If it’s that dangerous, you can even assign a bodyguard to me! It’ll just be for one night,” Yoojin promised, but it would obviously be for more than one night. If Yoohyun gave in, even if just once, the likelihood of Yoojin dancing with freedom on the regular would skyrocket.

“...Fine. But just this once! I’ll assign one of my people at Haeyeon to watch you, but don’t stay out too late. I’ll have them drag you home if I need to,” Yoohyun reluctantly agreed—he had a feeling that he might regret this (he will), but he also couldn’t bear the thought of a depressed Yoojin either.

“Thank you!” Yoojin gave ruffled his brother’s hair. “In return, I promise to never get myself in any trouble, nor will I involve myself in anything dangerous! You can trust that I’ll stay at home—safe and sound.”

Eventually they arrived at a grand building that stood tall and proud. The Association of Guides’ building had at least fifteen floors and an underground lab that went who knows how deep. Regardless of how high the edifice climbed, low ranking guides like Yoojin would never be allowed to step foot in the lab, or on most of the higher floors for that matter.

“Stay safe at work,” Yoohyun bid his brother goodbye.

“You know I will!” Yoojin replied and gave him a hug before entering the lobby.

Yoojin managed to squeezed in an elevator right before the doors closed and pressed the button to the fifth floor. It was crowded, but he really didn’t want to take the stairs—his old-man-knees wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Ugh, so many espers have been dodging appointments lately,” a guide behind him complained.

“I know right! It’s all those damn high rankers’ fault. They won’t come in for guiding and now the lower ranks won’t come in either,” another guide agreed.

“I blame the guides on the fifth floor. It’s their job to remind the espers of their appointments and get them to come in. They’re clearly not doing it right, if they were we wouldn’t even be having this problem,” a third guide chimed in.

Yoojin felt a bit awkward once he realized that most of the guides in the elevator were from the sixth floor, the floor of high ranking guides. The two floors always had some tension: the fifth floor thought the sixth floor was snobby, while the sixth floor felt like the fifth floor was incompetent. The seventh floor was just like the sixth floor, but had an even stronger sense of pride.

“Literally! My boss is complaining because his bonus relies on the amount of espers that come in each quarter. Like, it’s not our fault that they won’t come in! The fifth floor has the responsibility of getting espers to come in, go downstairs and yell at them,” the first guide said with irritation.

“Why don’t the high rankers just get private guides? Or hire a personal guide?” A fourth guide joined in on the conversation.

“Because they’re cheap. Private guides are only good if the guild is big, and personal guides are expensive. Only A-ranks and S-ranks have personal guides, B-rankers are too frugal to splurge on something like that,” the second guide explained. It seemed like the second guide had a personal vendetta against espers, which was not an uncommon sentiment among guides. Many have had negative experiences with espers, especially romantically.

“I wish I was a personal guide,” the third guide sighed. “My buddy is one, he makes three times my salary with paid vacations. He always posts about going to Venice or Paris, and every time we meet up he flaunts his expensive watch collection—it’s really not fair.”

Yoojin agreed with that statement. He also felt bitter about the gigantic class difference between association guides and private/personal guides. Haeyeon had private guides, but Yoohyun didn’t have a personal one. Though, you could kind of consider Yoojin as his personal guide.

“My friend used to be a personal guide for an A-ranker at MKC! She dated him, but he cheated on her with the guild’s private guide. She quit, obviously, and they broke up. Now she works at Breaker as a private guide,” the fourth guide exclaimed. Stories like this one were all too common, which was why Yoohyun strongly discouraged Yoojin from getting too close to espers. It’s not like Yoojin would date anyone anyway, and especially not an esper from work. So, Yoohyun had nothing to worry about!

When the door opened to the fifth floor Yoojin walked out, leaving behind the elevator of gossip. He walked to his desk and sat down, greeting Myeongwoo who had arrived earlier. Before Yoojin could get situated though, his boss rushed over and set a stack of papers on his desk.

“Yoojin, call these espers and tell them to come in as soon as possible. Do whatever you have to, the higher ups are breathing down my neck!” His boss pleaded.

“Yup, just leave it to me! I’m gonna make these guys wish they had come in earlier,” Yoojin agreed and immediately took one of the files from the pile.

“Good!” His boss replied. As the short bald man rushed off, he picked up a call and immediately began pleading for forgiveness from his own boss. Sometimes Yoojin felt bad for the guy.

“They’re really not letting you rest, are they?” Myeongwoo said to Yoojin apologetically.

“I guess, but it could be worse,” Yoojin sighed as he read the paper he picked up.

The first guy was a recently awakened D-rank esper. He had been told to come in for his first session a month ago but still hadn’t. The D-rank never picked up calls but responded to emails, albeit rudely. Yoojin decided that a scary email was better than a call, so he cracked his knuckles and got to work writing the most diabolic email he could conjure.

[RE: DODGING APPOINTMENTS = LICENSE REVOKED

Hello Mr. Lee,

We hope this email finds you unwell, because you should be quaking in your boots right now. You have refused to come in for your first guiding session three times despite rescheduling, many calls, and numerous emails.

If you were not aware, which we suspect you weren’t, missing required guiding sessions (which includes your first session) can result in your license being revoked according to Article IV, Clause V. You have not been an esper for very long, so we assume that you would like to continue working this job. If you hate your job, please ignore this email and pretend like it was never sent in the first place. If you want to keep working as an esper, please confirm an appointment date in the link attached to this email.

Additionally, going unguided for long periods of time can result in the following: blindness, deafness, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, erectile disfunction, bowel discomfort, diabetes, heart attack, cancer, loss of limbs, lock in syndrome, celibacy, and death.

Come in soon!

Sincerely, the Association of Guides (Seoul)]

Satisfied with his work, Yoojin clicked “send.” Article IV Clause V was a great thing, but he hoped that no one would try to fact-check his statements. Could espers even read? Who knows.

Yoojin worked through the pile like his life depended on it (maybe not his life, but his job did). He made so many calls and argued with so many espers over the phone (and email) that he was about to pass out. Myeongwoo felt bad for him and brought Yoojin’s lunch to his desk along with some drinks.

“Shouldn’t you take a break?” Myeongwoo asked as he ate a ham and cheese sandwich from the cafe on the second floor. Yoojin shook his head and took a bite of his own sandwich.

“Can’t, I want to finish this as soon as possible. My brother is finally letting me go out for once, so I can’t end work late!” Yoojin inhaled the sandwich two bites and chugged his tea. Thankfully, the tea was cold so his throat wasn’t burned.

“Alright...but don’t push yourself too hard. Good luck!” Myeongwoo gave his words of encouragement to the soldier that was Yoojin. Guides may go out in dungeons, sometimes fight in battles, and pacify even the strongest of humans, but the most terrifying battlefield was over the phone. It was a dreadful war that most didn’t even bother to fight, unless they were Yoojin, of course.

Yoojin was a little over halfway done with the pile, and his vision was starting to become poor from staring at papers all day. He looked at the next victim and called the number, not even bothering to check who it was anymore. The line rang for a few seconds before someone picked up.

“Hello?” A smooth, low voice spoke into the phone. It was a man who sounded relatively calm compared to the other espers Yoojin had encountered today. Yoojin was so surprised by the mellow tone that his vision was almost completely restored.

“Uh, hello, sir…” Yoojin squinted his eyes and looked closely at the name on file. “Am I speaking with...Sung...Hyunjae-nim?”

“Yes. Who’s this?” Hyunjae asked, keeping the same tone as before. For some reason, the name sounded a familiar. Whatever, it probably wasn’t important.

“Yes, um…” Yoojin mumbled as he tried to gather his thoughts, still tired from arguing with a B-rank earlier. “I am with the Association of Guides in Seoul. It says that your last appointment was about, uh, two years ago? Damn, that’s a long time ago. Oh shit, you can still hear me.”

“...Yes, I can still hear you,” Hyunjae said. Yoojin was about to end the call over the screw up but decided to push through.

“My apologies. Would it be possible for you to come in some time soon for a guiding session?” Yoojin coughed, hoping that Hyunjae would ignore the mistake.

“Hm, what if I don’t want to?” Hyunjae questioned, clearly testing the waters.

“Hm, what if I said you have to?” Yoojin replied, already annoyed. While the man on the phone sounded polite, Yoojin had been very agitated since earlier and didn’t feel like bantering with another esper.

“According to what?” Hyunjae scoffed.

“...Article IV, Clause V?” Yoojin rubbed his temples in exhaustion. How many times was he going to have to use this today?

“I’m afraid that clause does not exist. Please try again,” Hyunjae mocked sincerity.

“How would you know? Did you even read the handbook?” Yoojin rolled his eyes.

“Of course I did, I have the entire handbook memorized. Do you not?” Hyunjae retorted casually. “Also, please do not roll your eyes at me.”

“Okay, first of all, I do have the handbook memorized. So, don’t get all high and mighty with me, young man! Second: how would you know if I was rolling my eyes? Which, by the way, I was not,” Yoojin rolled his eyes so far that his eyeballs were about to escape from its sockets.

“Young...man? Also, I can feel you doing it through the call,” Hyunjae talked slowly as if he were trying to waste Yoojin’s time. “You know, its rude to roll your eyes at someone, especially if they can’t see it. Its unprofessional.”

“Well, why don’t you make an appointment and come down so you can see my eyes work in action!” Yoojin exclaimed, scribbling around on a piece of paper to prevent himself from throwing the phone.

“Hm...okay, I’ll come. What days are available?” Hyunjae agreed. Yoojin was surprised that he agreed so readily, but he was still feeling indignant.

“I dunno, why don’t you go on the website and find out? What’re you asking me for, I’m not your personal assistant,” Yoojin’s manners still hadn’t recovered yet, unfortunately.

“Alright, may I have the name of the website?” Hyunjae asked politely.

“No. Look it up yourself, it should be the first link,” Yoojin opened a can of soda and took a sip.

“You’re not providing very good customer service. Is there a review section so I can rate you two stars?” Hyunjae kept the polite tone from before, but added a tinge of faux upset.

“Nope. Have a nice day, sir!” Yoojin was about to hang up but Hyunjae got one last word in before he could.

“May I at least have your name?” Hyunjae inquired, his tone curious and, maybe Yoojin was going crazy, even a bit playful.

“My name is...” Yoojin didn’t want to give this rando his name, just in case he actually complained to his boss. He looked around for a fake name, he couldn’t use Myeongwoo’s because that might get him in trouble.

“Hello?” Hyunjae checked to see if Yoojin, who still hadn’t said anything, was still there.

“Are you dumb,” Yoojin mumbled quickly with annoyance, holding the phone a bit further so that Hyunjae wouldn’t hear as he racked his brain for a fake name. Was this guy incapable of getting the hint and buzzing off?

“...Item? What an interesting name,” Hyunjae said with a little skepticism. He must’ve misheard him, but Yoojin didn’t really care.

“Mhm, come in soon!” Yoojin quickly hung up. He drank another gulp of soda and slapped his face a few times to wake himself up.

“Did you just hang up on him like that?” Myeongwoo asked, not sure if he heard or saw the interaction correctly.

“...Yes,” Yoojin replied sheepishly. “Sorry if I was loud, this guy was getting on my nerves.”

“Ah, no worries. Espers can be difficult to deal with, so I understand,” Myeongwoo replied understandingly. “However, is it really okay to talk to him like that? What if he gets you fired?”

Yoojin shook his head and said, “don’t worry, the association won’t fire me just because I told a measly esper off. I have a pretty good track record, y’know. Most of the espers that I contact come in, which helps us meet our quota.”

“I guess so, but you really are brave, Yoojin. I could never talk to the Seseong guildmaster like that, way to go!” Myeongwoo, once again, gazed upon Yoojin with admiration. Yoojin—who had been in the process of finishing his can—spat out the soda that he had just drunk, watering the reports on his desk like a sprinkler.

“What did you just say?” Yoojin exclaimed with panic. He searched for the file on his desk, the one that had just been in front of him a few moments ago. The poor piece of paper was covered with small and large droplets of dark liquid, and when Yoojin looked closely at the information written his soul left his body.

[ Name: Sung Hyunjae

Rank: S

Guild: Seseong

Occupation(s): Guildmaster of Seseong, esper (combat)

Priority: S+ (extremely urgent)

Last appointment was XX/XX/20XX. No known personal guides, no known visits to Seseong’s private guides. Has not provided evidence of being guided since last appointment date. Proceed with caution. ]

“Yoojin! Are you alright!” Myeongwoo wailed, quickly grabbing Yoojin’s soul and shoving it back into its body.

“I’m a dead man...I’m fucked,” Yoojin mumbled, pushing Myeongwoo’s hands away. “Leave me. I may go out today, but you must live on for the both of us. Is that the grim reaper?”

Myeongwoo looked in the direction that Yoojin pointed and saw nothing. Worried that his coworker was about to lose his mind, Myeongwoo quickly left to get a cup of water and came back.

“There’s no grim reaper, you aren’t dead! Well, at least not yet,” Myeongwoo fed the cup of water to Yoojin slowly so that he wouldn’t choke. “Here, drink some water and clear your head!”

“Thanks, but water is for the living,” Yoojin said dramatically but drank the cool water anyway.

“The guildmaster...he wouldn’t hold this against you, right?” Myeongwoo asked, fanning Yoojin with a piece of paper to cool him down.

“We can only hope that his temper is good. But knowing how espers are, he’ll definitely hold it against me!” Yoojin rubbed his face over and over again as he contemplated. Was he really going to die at twenty-five? He hadn’t even gotten married yet—surely this can’t be the end!

“L-look on the bright side! You never gave him your name, right? And you called through the association phone, so he doesn’t have your information!” Myeongwoo tried his best to reassure Yoojin. “Also, you weren’t even that rude to him. Well, at least compared to usual.”

Yoojin shot up from his seat like he had just been revived. He looked at Myeongwoo and nodded his head in agreement.

“You’re right, he doesn’t even know who I am! Besides, he’s an S-rank guildmaster, so he’s gotta be busy. There’s no way that he’d come looking for me over a phone call—he can’t have that much free time,” Yoojin sighed in relief. “Moreover, isn’t he like, fifty? He wouldn’t be so immature as to harass me just cause I was a teensy bit impolite.”

“…I thought the guildmaster was in his late thirties?” Myeongwoo commented.

“Thirty, fifty—close enough. The most important thing is that there is absolutely nothing to worry about!” Yoojin determined with utmost satisfaction. Now that the main issue was over, he could start thinking about better things. Like, for example, Myeongdong station’s steakhouses!

Chapter Text

The dense crowd forced pedestrians to moved in sync like waves being pushed by the wind. Despite it being dark out, the street was brightly lit from the glows of small food stalls and restaurants. Drunkards stumbled around the bustling street with their arms wrapped tightly around each others shoulders, laughing and drinking wildly under the yellowed radiance of worn light bulbs. The sweetly charred aroma of grilled meat permeated the air, attracting attention to the many steakhouses that lined the area. Besides steakhouses, there was also sushi, noodles, quick snacks, and places to shop as well.

Yoojin inhaled the smell of his surroundings before exhaling with satisfaction. After the traumatizing incident from earlier, he really needed this well-deserved break. Being surrounding by a bunch of sweaty people wasn’t ideal, but Yoojin was incredibly comfortable with it. It had been too long since he’d had some real interactions with people: pushing customers, shoving drunk idiots, haggling with old ladies, and drinking himself dead with random men—a true paradise!

“Please stay close to me, do not wander off,” Kim Sunghan, an A-rank esper of Haeyeon, instructed monotonously.

“...Of course,” Yoojin replied begrudgingly. Yes, it was a paradise, but paradise also had its limitations. For one, like Sunghan said, he wasn’t allowed to go off on his own. Wherever he went, Sunghan went. Wherever he didn’t go, Sunghan didn’t go either. They were to be attached at the hip like a pair of conjoined twins today.

Second, Yoojin was not allowed to eat food or take drinks from anyone without Sunghan checking for poison first. This rule was especially annoying because Yoojin wasn’t able to visit a lot of the food stalls, which made him wonder: why did I even come here again?

Third of all, Yoojin had to stay by Myeongdong Station and couldn’t visit anywhere else. This also wasn’t ideal, but it was a compromise he had with Yoohyun. So, he had to make do with whatever was around—beggars can’t be choosers after all.

Yoojin munched on corn dog that he’d barely managed to persuade Sunghan into letting him buy. As he chewed and pondered which steakhouse he wanted to go to, he suddenly heard loud yelling coming from one of the restaurants.

“Get back here!” A middle aged man shouted as a young girl burst through the doors of Barbecue Rib House. She ran like the wind, speed so fast that when she bumped into Yoojin he fell onto his face and dropped his half-eaten corndog. He was more than a little peeved, but he was also a bit worried about her. When she had knocked him over Yoojin was able to noticed her old and tattered shoes whilst on the smelly floor, which to him was a huge red flag for neglect or abuse. Plus, she was sprinting off to god-knows-where in the middle of a crowded street next to a busy road.

It really wasn’t any of his business, but he had a strange feeling in his gut that he should go after her—probably due to his soft spot for kids in bad situations, who always dug up bad memories of Yoojin and his brother’s old life.

Despite Sunghan’s warnings, Yoojin ran after her. She was quick, much too quick for someone with old man’s knees. However, when Yoojin saw that she was about to run onto moving traffic his legs moved like a rising track star's, his feet practically growing wings and taking flight.

“Watch out!” Yoojin grabbed her jacket hood and pulled her back, just in time for a speeding car to pass by. The two of them fell backwards and Yoojin found himself on the ground once again (was this a Rosé song or something?).

“Huh? I’m uninjured, but I thought I fell?” The girl on top of him exclaimed in confusion.

“...That’s because you landed on me. Can you get off, please?” Yoojin replied unenthusiastically.

“Oh, sorry!” The teenager got off of him, patting dust and dirt off of her clothes. “Are you alright?”

“I guess so,” Yoojin said, but he felt like something that shouldn’t have cracked in his back, had cracked. “Are you okay, kid?”

“Yep! Thanks for taking the fall for me, ahjussi!” The girl thanked him casually.

“...Ahjussi?” Yoojin felt a sharp stab in his chest. First his back, now his heart? What’s next, a raging migraine? He didn’t feel like he was that old, he was only twenty-five—far from being an ahjussi!

“Whatever. Anyway, why were you running? You almost got ran over by a crazy driver!” Yoojin rebuked her reckless actions like an overprotective mother. He would’ve commented on the the “ahjussi” thing, but that didn’t seem very important at the moment.

“...It’s none of your business,” the girl fidgeted with her fingers and looked away, avoiding his gaze like she wished for him to leave her alone. Her feet shifted closer together in discomfort and unintentionally drew Yoojin’s attention to her shoes again.

Now that Yoojin was able to see the shabby footwear up close, his feelings became even more complicated. Sure, good shoes could cost a pretty penny, but there were also cheap ones available at thrift stores or chain department stores. Cheap shoes weren’t as good as expensive ones, but low quality shoes were still better than whatever she was wearing.

The pair she had on were extremely dirty and torn running shoes. The laces were frayed and the original color indistinguishable. It was a bit difficult to tell, but Yoojin suspected that the soles were peeling and falling apart. He wasn’t sure if the grey-brown color of her shoes were supposed to be that way or if it was the result of extreme weather damage and usage. Whether or not there was a pattern or brand, he couldn’t tell. Needless to say, Yoojin was in a difficult position.

Yoojin sighed and rubbed his temples, he could feel a headache coming in any minute now. What was he supposed to do? He could just buy her a new pair of shoes and call it a day, but the girl had been running from something. If she had been running from an abusive adult, they may become even more upset at her if he bought her something. Yoojin was also unsure if the girl would accept anything from him in the first place. However, there was one thing he was sure of: he couldn’t just do nothing. Maybe he was overthinking things, but Yoojin would rather be wrong than sorry.

“Ahem, um,” Yoojin racked his brain for something to say, but as he was thinking he suddenly heard a loud growl coming from the girl’s stomach.

“…” she said nothing but her ears turned red in embarrassment. This, however, gave Yoojin a great idea.

“Well, since you seem hungry and I was just on my way to dinner, how ‘bout I treat you to some barbecue? It’s my first time here, so I don’t know where to go. Got any recommendations?” Yoojin asked awkwardly and hoped that she would accept.

“Fine, but just know that I don’t have any money to pay you back!” The girl responded with little shame as she turned and started walking away. “Just follow me.”

Thankfully, her hunger seemed to overpower her sense of stranger danger. Wait, not thankfully, that’s actually not good! It’s super bad! When they sit down later, Yoojin would have to educate her on that too.

The girl, who Yoojin found out was named Bak Yerim, took him to a nearby barbecue and began ranting. Yoojin was glad, her being a blabbermouth saved him an enormous amount of time. Apparently, her parents had passed when she was young, and she was taken in by her greedy uncle. Her uncle took all of the money left for her by her parents and opened a shitty steakhouse. He neglected her constantly and they always argued, which led to her running away again.

“Gosh, I hate my stupid uncle! Listen to me, don’t ever go to that disgusting restaurant. They violate all kinds of health codes!” Yerim said as she cut a few pieces of pork belly onto the grill. “The meat there is also too tough for an old man like you.”

“Hey, I’m not that old. I’m only twenty-five,” Yoojin corrected as he ate a few pieces of beef that Yerim had grilled. She was surprisingly good at grilling, the pieces she cooked were extremely tender and melted in his mouth. To hell with her uncle, she should open up her own restaurant in the future!

“Twenty-five? You’re definitely an old man! That’s like, um, ten years older than me!” Yerim retorted and took a few pieces of meat off of the grill and put it inside her bowl. She dipped the pieces in some sesame oil and tea salt before eating it with rice.

“That’s nonsense! And what’s a fifteen year old girl doing running around at night? Shouldn’t you be studying for exams or doing homework?” Yoojin scolded before ordering another cup of orange juice for her and a bottle of soonhari yogurt soju for himself.

“Hmph! I can do whatever I want,” Yerim insisted. “Besides, shouldn’t you be in the military or something? What are you doing out here, hanging around and drinking by yourself.?”

“For your information, I have already completed my military service,” Yoojin shoved some pork belly in his mouth. “Also, I’m not alone! I just ditched this guy that was following me around.”

“Ew, was he like a stalker or something? I can’t imagine anyone wanting to stalk an ahjussi,” Yerim snickered to herself as she sipped on her refill of orange juice.

“No, he wasn’t a stalker,” Yoojin rolled his eyes. Has the younger generation always been so difficult to deal with? When Yoohyun was her age, he was very well behaved and respectful!

“If he wasn’t a stalker, then why was he following you?” Yerim asked curiously.

“He’s my bodyguard or whatever,” Yoojin replied nonchalantly, hoping that she wouldn’t ask about it too much. Whenever he said stuff like this, people were always under the impression that he was a very important guy. In reality, he was just a victim to the antics of a overprotective younger brother.

“Bodyguard? Ahjussi, are you a CEO or something? You surely don’t look like the type to be an important guy,” Yerim pondered on the topic a little. Yoojin was a bit hurt by the last comment, but he ignored it for the sake of inner peace.

“Nah, it’s nothing like that. My brother’s just a bit much,” Yoojin explained as he poured himself a shot of soju.

“Ooh, what does your brother do? If he can afford a bodyguard, he must be loaded!” Yerim exclaimed, eyes shining in anticipation.

“Ah, he’s an esper, so he makes a decent amount,” Yoojin replied and took a shot. Yogurt soju was sweet and tasted just like Yakult.

“An esper? I wanna be an esper! Hey, does that mean you’re an esper too?” Yerim asked eagerly. A lot of kids her age dreamed of being an esper—unlocking cool superpowers and fighting monsters seemed much more interesting than a dreary office job after all. Even most adults pondered the idea of being an esper, but for almost everyone it was just a pipe dream. For those who did become an awakened, the possibility of being a strong, aspirational esper as seen in movies and in interviews was still out of reach.

“Me? I’m not an esper. I’m a guide,” Yoojin informed her.

“Oh, that’s no fun,” Yerim sulked and nibbled on a piece of pork belly.

“Hey, being a guide is pretty good! It’s safer, more practical, and the pay is decent,” Yoojin defended himself. In his opinion, being a guide was much better than being an esper. Safety was usually guaranteed, and half the time they don’t even do anything (besides office stuff if they work for the government, of course). Most guides could laze around and do whatever until an esper needed guiding. The main downside for most guides, was that when they had to work, they really had to work. Their easy work life could easily turn into long, grueling hours and exhaustion.

“I guess,” Yerim grumbled a bit. “I’d rather be an esper though.”

“Why? It’s so dangerous, and espers are terribly rude,” Yoojin popped a few cubes of pickled radish in his mouth.

“Because I’d be able to defend myself, and no one would dare to mess with me!” Yerim exclaimed as she fist fought the air playfully.

“That’s certainly true,” Yoojin laughed and ate some rice. “But, I think all espers need someone who’s able to chill them out. If espers could run rampant and lose control, then terrible things would happen—that’s where us guides come in.”

“Oh, that reminds me! What rank are you?” Yerim asked the dreaded question. Was Yoojin ashamed of his rank? Yes, yes he was. While it would be nice to say no and that he loved himself no matter what, that was just not true. He considered himself an honest person, and so he stopped trying to force himself to be happy about it a long time ago.

“I’m F-rank,” Yoojin told her as confidently as possible.

Even if he was ashamed of his rank, he didn’t want other people to be ashamed of their rank. If Yerim happened to be awakened later and happened to have a low rank, then she would feel all sorts of complicated emotions of shame and despair. He knew better than anyone what it felt like to be weak, incompetent, or useless, but those feelings were inevitable when your rank was low. However, if people were able to respond more positively towards low rankers, than maybe these feelings would be more avoidable. Or, at least, these feelings would pack less of a punch.

“Only F? Can you even get hired as an F-rank?” Yerim questioned with genuine concern.

“Yup. I work for the Association of Guides. Most F-rank guides give up and return to civilian life though, others may try seek out small, predatory guilds to work for. But, since I’m F-rank, I mostly do office work instead of guiding,” Yoojin explained.

“Then, you at least have some cool skills, right?” Yerim inquired with disappointment.

“Sorry to disappoint you even more, kid, but I all I have is a lame custodian title,” Yoojin confessed with a tinge of sadness himself.

While his brother had gotten S-rank titles and skills, he himself had gotten the short end of the stick. Custodian was a pretty useless title, and it did little to help him. All of his old pals, who had been under his custody in the past, had died in dungeons after Yoojin reunited with Yoohyun. The only one left under his custody was his brother, and his title didn’t allow him to do much besides boost his brother’s growth by 10% for a short period of time—something Yoohyun didn’t even need.

“I guess cool superpowers are only in movies,” Yerim sighed in regret.

Before Yoojin could respond in agreement, an angry middle aged man burst through the doors whilst yelling and screaming.

“Yerim! You brat, how dare you run away!” The angry man shouted at Yerim before Yoojin put himself in between them.

“Excuse me, sir, what are you doing yelling at a little girl for? You can’t talk to other people like this,” Yoojin shouted back.

“I’m her uncle, who are you?” Yerim’s uncle scoffed in annoyance. “Are you a creep who’s seeing my niece or something? This is a family matter!”

“Oh, so you’re her bastard uncle? Your niece ran away, and the first thing you do is come and yell at her? What kind of family member are you!” Yoojin countered. “You took all the money that rightfully belonged to your niece, yet you won’t even buy her a new pair of shoes? You’re a sorry excuse for an uncle!”

“You punk, who are you to get involved in my business?” Yerim’s uncle lightly nudged Yoojin’s shoulder with his index finger. Yoojin, however, responded by collapsing on the floor and rolling around in “pain.”

“Ow, ow, ow! You despicable man, I was just trying to defend the poor girl. How could you punch me like that?” Yoojin cried crocodile tears and sniffled as pitifully as possible. Other customers began whispering about how Yerim’s uncle was an awful man, which infuriated him even more.

“I didn’t even touch you!” Her uncle insisted.

“It hurts! I’m dying! Why did you beat me up? I’m just a defenseless, innocent, harmless customer,” Yoojin sulked and wiped away droplets of nonexistent tears.

“You, you!” Yerim’s uncle stuttered, fists curled in frustration at the insufferable man in front of him. Her uncle, overwhelmed with anger, actually began to swing a punch at Yoojin. Before his fists even grazed Yoojin, he legs were kicked and he was knocked off balance, tumbling onto the table. Yoojin got off the floor and fixed his clothes

“Oops, my hand slipped,” Yoojin said as opened a can of soda and poured it over Yerim’s uncle.

“You bastard!” Her uncle shouted, but Yoojin held him down onto the table.

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself. How can you call yourself her uncle when you treat her like crap,” Yoojin shook his head in disgust.

“Woah! Ahjussi, you’re actually strong despite looking like a twig!” Yerim clapped in admiration.

“Ah, that’s just because of my gear—” Yoojin began but was cut off by a massive, sudden earthquake. The doors to the restaurant bursted open once more and Sunghan flew in.

“Mr. Han! You must be escorted to safety, a dungeon break has occurred in the area,” Sunghan declared urgently. Immediately, Yoojin let go of Yerim’s uncle and looked at Yerim.

“Hurry, we need to get out of here before we run into something!” Yoojin told her and they ran out of the restaurant.

As the three of them ran, Yoojin looked back and saw a black tentacled monster crash into the restaurant they had just been in out of nowhere. It was huge, and its multiple yellowed eyes spun around widely looking for more targets.

“What the hell is that thing?” Yerim shouted and picked up the pace.

“It came from the dungeon break! Fuck, I picked this place because I thought it’d be safe, why did a dungeon break have to happen now?” Yoojin ran as fast as he could, he knew better than to recklessly jump into battle—that was the job of espers!

“You guys go ahead, I’ll stop it for as long as possible,” Sunghan stopped running and turned back to face the monster. There were hundreds of people running for their lives, so he couldn’t just leave them all to die.

Yoojin nodded before running with Yerim and the rest of the crowd. In front of them were only people, and as tired as they may have been the sounds of crunching and crashing encouraged them to keep pushing. If they stopped, they’d be killed. If they ran, they may still be killed, but at least death could be delayed for a little longer. The crowd had to run pass the rubble and blood spatter on the ground, and the once barbecue-scented pavement now exuded a pungent odor of dust and death. It didn’t matter what they heard, saw, or smelled—they could not stop running.

Due to the debris and her old footwear, Yerim tripped and fell behind her uncle, losing a shoe in the process. He spared her a single wary glance before continuing to run. Hearing the the tentacles move faster, Yerim almost accepted her fate before someone stepped in and used a sewage hole cover to swiftly block an attack.

“Yerim! Are you alright?” Yoojin winced as the tentacles temporarily retreated. Thank god Yoohyun had supplied him with a bunch of enhancement equipment. Maybe his overprotectiveness was a blessing in disguise after all, because without it Yoojin definitely wouldn’t have been able to block that strike.

“Ahjussi!” Yerim said with shock. She thought he had run away already, but he had come back to save her. They hardly even knew each other, yet he had risked his own safety for a random teenager.

“Get up, we need to get to a shelter!” Yoojin shouted over the loud roars coming from the monster. While the tentacles had temporarily retreated due to confusion, it was definitely going to come back. He quickly dropped the sewage cover and grabbed Yerim’s wrist, pulling her up and into a run.

Yoojin’s arms were sore from absorbing the impact, and Yerim’s knees hurt from the fall. Both of them were being pushed to their limits, but they couldn’t stop moving.

Yoojin put on a brave front despite his own pain. He may have been awakened, but he wasn’t doing much better than the average person. If it weren’t for the expensive, mana-infused gear Yoohyun had bought him, he would’ve been screwed when the tentacles attacked. Even so, he was tired of darting around and dodging chunks of concrete. He was exhausted from kicking away tentacles that tried to snatch his ankles, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere until everything blew over.

However, he knew he couldn’t. Yoojin was the adult, and he was also a federal guide. It was his responsibility to protect those around him—whether or not he was capable of doing so didn’t matter. He wasn’t the only one injured, everyone was hurt in some sort of way. Others were immobile since their legs were broken or their limbs had been torn off. Yoojin was technically lucky in this regard—he was still able to move.

Most importantly, Yerim was only fifteen. She probably just started high school, and her biggest problems should’ve been where to hang out with friends or when her next exam is. Yet, she had to worry about her stupid, good-for-nothing uncle, and now she has to run for her life because of a god damned dungeon break. When you get right down to it, Yerim still had a whole life ahead of her. If Yoojin let her die now, he would never be able to forgive himself!

The two of them sprinted as far away from the monster as possible. Luckily, they eventually found the entrance to a train station. No one else was around, and it was still fairly intact. Yoojin dragged Yerim to the entrance and let go of her wrist.

“Okay, you should be safe now. Stay here until the coast is clear and definitely don’t go anywhere!” Yoojin told her and turned around to return to Sunghan, but Yerim grabbed ahold of him.

“Wait! What about you? Are you seriously gonna go back there?” Yerim asked sincerely.

“Yes, I have to. It’s my job to protect civilians,” Yoojin replied and shook her hand off gently.

“You’re an F-rank guide, what are you gonna do?” Yerim still insisted that he stay.

“I’ll be fine, I have some fantastic equipment on my side! Don’t worry too much about me,” Yoojin tried his best to reassure her with a smile.

“Then at least let me come with you. We’re basically on the same level,” Yerim grumbled, still unconvinced.

“No, absolutely not!” Yoojin rejected her suggestion resolutely. “You’re still a kid. Leave this type of thing to the adults and wait here. When the thing dies, I’ll come back and check on you.”

With that, Yoojin ran off in the direction they came, not even waiting for Yerim’s response in fear that she’d try protesting again. As he got closer to the chaos, his heart raced at 107 bpm. He could practically hear his heart trying to burst through and escape from his chest. It had been too long since he’d last been on the battlefield, maybe he should’ve insisted on going to dungeons. That way, he’d at least be more prepared for something like this! It also didn’t help that Yoohyun never let him go anywhere, so he couldn’t even sneak out on raids.

“Sunghan!” Yoojin called out and climbed up a mountain of rubble to reach the esper. Sunghan seemed to be in deep contemplation, and the droplets of sweat down the side of his face was an indicator of how nervous he was.

“Mr. Han, what are you doing here?” Sunghan exclaimed in surprise. “You should be taking shelter somewhere safe.”

“Don’t worry. Yoohyun gave me some good gear, so I can tank some damage if need be,” Yoojin reassured the esper, but he quickly realized that his words were not reassuring to anyone—neither Yerim nor Sunghan seemed convinced.

“...Alright, but stay close to me,” Sunghan begrudgingly agreed to let him stay. It wasn’t like he could send him back now anyway.

While Yoojin had insisted on staying, he wasn’t too sure of what to do. He knew that Sunghan had no offensive abilities against this slimy, wriggling monster since Sunghan’s skills were defensive. Yoojin himself had no offensive skills either, and the skills that came with being a custodian was incredibly lacking. However, Yoojin thought, there must be something that they could do.

Think, think, think. Yoojin racked his brain for answers. Suddenly, an idea came to him. While they couldn’t directly kill the monster, they could at least contain it, right?

“Sunghan, I have an idea. Please trust me,” Yoojin said firmly as he checked his inventory. When him and Yoohyun had first reunited, Yoojin took the opportunity to use some of his little brother’s money to buy some weapons. He didn’t buy swords or knives, rather, he had bought some poison pods. There wasn’t a particular reason, but Yoojin suspected that they might come in handy one day.

The general plan was to use Sunghan’s skill and disturb the ground around the monster in order to make a large “cage” to prevent it from escaping. Then, when the cage was formed, Yoojin would quickly go to the opening at the top and throw the poison pods into its mouth. Even if he couldn’t throw it in his mouth, he could at least get some poison into the natural orifices of the monster. That way, the monster could at least be subdued temporarily even if they couldn’t kill it.

It seemed pretty basic, but it was their best shot so Sunghan agreed. When the monster had come back for another round, Sunghan hit the ground and used his skill, causing the gravel and roads to surge up high and create a dome around the ball of tentacles. Not wasting even a second, Yoojin climbed up the make-shift cage with poison pods in hand.

Yet, when Yoojin arrived at the top, the monster was nowhere to be seen.

“Shit, where did it go?” Yoojin cursed, eyes frantically searching for traces of the black tentacles. Unbeknownst to him, a small tentacle had approached him from being and began to wrap itself around his ankle. When he had noticed, it was already too late and he was dragged down from the dome and towards the main body.

“Fuck!” Yoojin grabbed at the ground and scrambled to get up to no avail. Was this really how he was going to die, by a nasty pile of sticky tentacles? Yoohyun would throttle his dead body if he died today, and the more Yoojin thought about his brother the more desperately he tried to escape. Dirt and blood piled under Yoojin’s nails as he strengthened his attempts to crawl away. He didn’t want Yoohyun to drag pieces of his dead body from under rubble, not today—not ever!

All of a sudden, Yoojin was released from the squishy grasps of the monster.

“Ahjussi, run!” Yerim called out. She had hit the monster’s tentacle until it let Yoojin go using an umbrella. As soon as he hit the floor, the two of them ran as fast as they could away from it.

“Why did you come back? I told you to hide!” Yoojin exclaimed while panting.

“I could say the same thing about you! You’re an F-rank, yet you threw yourself into battle and almost got yourself killed,” Yerim retorted, a bit peeved that Yoojin was scolding her. Usually, when people are saved they would show a bit more thanks to their savior.

“What I did doesn’t matter, I can do whatever I want since I’m an adult,” Yoojin barked back as he picked up the pace. “Gosh, when will this stupid thing slow down? It’s huge but it moves so fast.”

“Who cares, keep running!” Yerim replied in alarm, still grasping onto the umbrella that she occasionally used to swat away tentacles.

No matter how fast their legs ran, the monster still seemed to be getting closer and closer. Just a minute ago the tentacles were a little over six feet away, but now the appendages were just barely grazing their ankles.

Yoojin’s anxiety was now through the roof. He really should’ve tried harder to go to the gym instead of letting his brother force him into the sedentary office life. A few laps around the park would’ve also sufficed, maybe then he’d be able to outrun a monster from a dungeon break. Yeah, when (if) he makes it out, he’s definitely getting a gym membership no matter what.

Yerim herself was on the brink of hysteria. She had watched movies about monsters and dungeon breaks before, but never in her fifteen years of life had she ever thought that she would experience it first hand. One of her ankles was exposed because of her lost shoe, and the feeling of the viscid, pliable limb touching her skin would forever be burned into her memory.

The tentacle that had barely brushed her suddenly surged forward and wrapped itself around her ankle, getting ready to pull her back.

Yerim thought of only one thing before she stabbed the appendage with her umbrella: “I must live.”

The sudden drop in temperature was the only warning before shards of ice exploded into existence. Immediately, the tentacle and its main body froze and all movement stopped. The uneven ground they had been running on was also a victim to the cold, and the ice covered the pavement completely, turning the street into an ice rink.

[ Congratulations, Bak Yerim, on your S-rank awakening! The world welcomes a new esper! ]

“Look, ahjussi, I’m an S-rank esper!” Yerim exclaimed with excitement. “Check this out, I got Frosty Sigh and—”

“Shh! Don’t go around telling the whole world your skills!” Yoojin immediately shushed her with urgency.

To be honest, he was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Yerim to be awakened like this and especially not as an S-rank. When Yoojin looked around and saw the damage she caused, he couldn’t help but stare in awe. He had seen his brother fight on a few rare occasions, but he would still always be impressed by the magnitude of the wreckage done by S-ranks.

“Yerim, there you are! I was so worried about you,” Yerim’s uncle came running over out of nowhere and pulled her into a hug. Yoojin couldn’t help but be stupefied at her uncle’s durability. How the hell did he survive with no major injuries? Most importantly, which god was on his side and how can Yoojin get in contact with them?

Yerim didn’t say anything when her uncle pulled away and barely even looked at him.

“Thank god you’re okay. And, you’re an S-rank now! That’s amazing, you could make so much mon—um, I mean, you can save so many people now,” her uncle flashed a disingenuous smile.

“Really? I almost got killed and all you can think about is money?” Yerim backed away from him with grimace. “Yeah, you know what? I will make money. In fact, I’ll make a shit ton of money and make sure that you never get to see any of it!”

“Wh-what are you talking about, Yerim? Of course I care about you,” her uncle insisted with gritted teeth and stepped closer to her. Before he could grab her, Yoojin slapped his hand away and put himself in between them.

“Alright, I think I’ve heard enough here,” Yoojin said resolute tone, glaring at the other man. “You think you can just crawl back to your niece after treating her like that? Don’t think I didn’t see how you left her to die when she tripped back there. You’re slimier than that monster, the worst of the worst!”

“You can’t talk to me like that! This is between me and my niece, you prick,” her uncle scowled disdainfully.

“You’re a no-good, dirty, greedy bastard who can barely be called a person. If you were even a fraction of a human, then there’s no way you would’ve just let her run around with shitty shoes! She almost died at least five times today, and all you can think about is how to make money off of her. I should call Child Protective Services on you!” Yoojin argued angrily.

Yerim watched as Yoojin and her uncle went back and forth, the conversation quickly getting heated. The scene in front of her was a bit ridiculous, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. For years, the bad blood between her and her uncle had formed a frigid ice cage around her heart. The only hope she had nursed was the possibility of escaping one day through college, but that wouldn’t be for years. However, when she saw Yoojin—a complete stranger whom she had just met—protecting her so vehemently, the ice melted. For the first time in a long time, she felt a bit warm inside.

“You crazy punk, she’s none of your concern. Fuck off!” Her uncle shouted furiously, and his arms began to move to an offensive position. Before he could swing at Yoojin, Yerim used her skill and shot a beam of ice between them. It was her turn to protect him now.

“Uncle, this is the last and only time that I’ll say this. I’m gonna become an esper and make a buttload of money, and you won’t see a cent of it. I’m gonna join a guild, and you’ll never see me again. Goodbye,” Yerim told him firmly whilst crushing her umbrella into a ball. Her actions intimidated her uncle, and thankfully he ran off somewhere while cursing under his breath.

“Finally, that bastard left,” Yoojin rubbed his head. He really did feel a migraine coming now. When he glanced to the side, he noticed Yerim’s missing shoe and picked it up.

“Are you okay, ahjussi?” Yerim asked. She felt kind of bad that he had to stand up for her so many times, how could she possibly repay him?

“I’m fine. Here, let me put on your shoe for you,” Yoojin beckoned her to sit down on a large chunk of rubble. “Tsk, these shoes don’t even fit you. Later I’ll buy you a new pair before I leave.”

“Okay,” Yerim agreed and sat down. She let Yoojin put on the shoe on her foot and laughed a little, but the reminder that he was going to leave her alone soon also made her a bit sad.

“What’s so funny?” Yoojin frowned as he tried tying the laces together.

“Doesn’t this remind you of those TV shows? Y’know, like in the rom-coms? Oh! A fly,” Yerim swatted a fly next to Yoojin’s head and almost killed him, freaking him out a little.

“This is definitely a slasher movie!” Yoojin shrieked and put his hands over his leaping heart.

“Oops, sorry!” Yerim apologized sheepishly.

“Damn S-ranks…” Yoojin muttered under his breath.

“By the way...what’s going to happen to me? I know I cut my uncle off, but can I even do that?” Yerim asked with uncertainty. She knew little of family laws, much less laws regarding espers.

“Well, technically awakeners are able to be emancipated from their guardians at fourteen years old, so as long as you do the proper documentation it should be fine. You’re an S-rank, so the process should be even easier. Oh, and, many guilds will approach you with shady deals, so make sure to get a good lawyer. If you can, try and avoid the guilds that have too much stockholder interference. Since you are S-rank, you can be more choosy with what you join. However, because of your age you’re more susceptible to—” Yoojin babbled and babbled, going on and on with his lecture.

The nagging may have been annoying, but right now, it sounded like a charming melody to Yerim’s ears.

“Now you really do sound like an ahjussi,” Yerim giggled immaturely.

“Tsk! Hey, I’m giving you a very important life lesson here,” Yoojin scolded.

“Whatever. Anyway, what guild do you think I should join then? I can’t memorize your entire speech,” Yerim ignored the scolding. Yoojin thought for a moment. This was a good opportunity. No, in fact, it was a great opportunity to help boost Yoohyun’s guild!

“Well, you’re in luck!” Yoojin cleared his throat and handed her a Haeyeon business card. “My little brother is the guildmaster of Haeyeon, and he’ll give you a sweet position if you join—I’ll make sure of it. The benefits are good, and if anyone bullies you I’ll personally see to them!”

Yerim took the business card and her eyes glittered. She replied, “woah, so you really are an important guy.”

“Of course I am! Also, regular government workers are important too,” Yoojin rolled his eyes. “If you join, I can guarantee you that you’ll be treated well. However, when it comes to your sponsorships and activities outside the guild, I can’t say the same. Only you, your legal guardian, or your lawyer can help you with that.”

“Then, just become my guardian,” Yerim replied casually as if it was the obvious solution.

“Are you sure? You hardly know me,” Yoojin answered. While he appreciated her faith in him, blind trust was dangerous for anyone.

“So? You’re nothing like my uncle, that’s for sure,” Yerim twirled the strands of her hair bashfully.

“Alright, I’ll draw up some paperwork and become your guardian,” Yoojin chuckled, it really was a funny situation to be in. “I may not be able to give you the love of your real parents, but I’ll do my best to protect you. You’re still young, so don’t worry too much about the logistics of being an S-rank. Hang in there, and for what it’s worth...I love you, Yerim?”

“Haha, ew!” Yerim cringed. “Don’t be gross.”

[ Bak Yerim (S-rank) has responded to your keyword and is now under your custody! ]

Yoojin had used his keywords, “hang in there” in order to take Yerim under his custody. But, after that announcement, another unexpected one came up as well.

[ Congratulations, Han Yoojin, you have reached the requirements for title upgrade! Do you accept? Y/N ]

Yoojin was confused, was it because he now had two S-ranks under his belt? An upgrade never hurt anyone, so he immediately accepted.

[ The title “Custodian” has been upgraded to “Perfect Custodian” (L, skill title)! ]

[ Skill upgrade! “My Brat is the Best” ]

[ Skill upgrade! “Final Thanks” ]

[ Skill unlocked! “Our Kid is This Amazing” ]

[ Skill unlocked! “Promising Sprout” ]

[ Keyword change! “Hang in there” to “I love you” ]

...What the fuck?

Chapter Text

Before Yoojin could fully process the system notifications, the smell of burning flesh caught his attention. Yoojin whipped his head around and saw the frozen tentacle monster being burnt to crisps by black flames. The once magnificent ice structure seemed to have vanished as quickly as it came. The gooey, black puddle that sat in its place was the only evidence of its existence.

“Hey, my ice!” Yerim frowned in displeasure.

“Shit,” Yoojin murmured. In this world, Yoojin only knew of one person capable of wielding the brilliant, stygian blaze.

A dashing young man rushed to Yoojin and immediately grabbed ahold of him. He spun Yoojin around to check for injuries anxiously, and only when he was satisfied did he calm down.

“It’s nice to see you too, Yoohyun,” Yoojin smiled as naturally as possible. He hoped that his smile was able to mask his nerves, and that Yoohyun would just let this one go.

“It’s nice to see you? Is that all you have to say?” Yoohyun replied with a look in his eyes that burned through Yoojin’s intensions.

“What do you mean?” Asked Yoojin innocently while avoiding eye contact.

“Don’t joke around and act like you don’t understand,” Yoohyun said immediately. The grip his hands had on Yoojin’s shoulders were tight, and only grew more tense by the second. His fingers dug into Yoojin’s shoulder by accident, causing Yoojin to wince in pain. The wincing didn’t go unnoticed by Yoohyun, who immediately loosened his grip and checked his brother’s shoulder for bruising.

Indeed, Yoohyun’s S-rank strength had left behind two blue-purple handprints, one on each shoulder. Yoohyun’s burning anger had sizzled out in a flash like cold water had been poured over him, and he began to fuss over the injury he accidentally gave to Yoojin.

“Calm down, Yoohyun, it’s not that bad!” Yoojin tried assuring him by spinning his arms around and rolling his shoulders. “Look, I can barely feel the pain.”

“If you feel it, that means there’s pain! This is all my fault, I’m sorry, Yoojin,” Yoohyun fretted as he applied healing potions to the marks.

“No, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Yoojin ruffled his younger brother’s hair affectionately. Thankfully, it seems like he has forgotten about the mess that just happened, Yoojin thought.

“You’re right, this isn’t my fault,” Yoohyun sighed in exasperation.

“Yes, so don’t beat yourself over it,” Yoojin noticed an unusual fluctuation in Yoohyun’s mana. It was a strange since Yoojin had already nipped the fluctuations in the bud during breakfast. Having another one so early was concerning, but Yoojin would have to think about that after calming his brother down. Just as Yoojin’s hand was making its way to his brother’s face, Yoohyun’s head snapped up and he grabbed his wrist.

“This is your fault,” Yoohyun stated and firmly prevented his brother’s touch. “If you had just listened then we wouldn’t be standing in a pile of rubble right now!”

“Huh?” Yoojin was flabbergasted. He was shocked that Yoohyun had blamed him for this mess, but he was more shock that Yoohyun had stopped his hand from touching his face.

Yoohyun was a bit like a grumpy cat: nobody could interact with him except for his favorite human. Yoohyun had always very receptive to Yoojin’s touch, and Yoojin couldn’t recall a time where his brother had purposefully put distance between them like this (at least, not while the two were on positive terms). Besides the physical touch thing, it was also incredibly bizarre for Yoohyun to start blaming him—none of this made any sense.

“If we had it my way, you’d be tucked safely away at home. There would be nothing that could possibly hurt you, and you wouldn’t be able to get yourself into danger recklessly,” Yoohyun began scolding Yoojin, and an odd feeling simmered in the older one.

“Yoohyun—” Yoojin tried to interject Yoohyun’s scolding, but to no avail.

“Why did you want to come to a place like this anyway? If it’s because of the meat, I can grill for us at home. If it’s because of the shops, you can just shop online—that’s basically the same thing! You don’t need to go out all the time and dive head first into stupid situations. Rely on me instead, I can provide everything for you—you won’t even need to lift a finger,” Yoohyun rambled quickly, which made it difficult for Yoojin to stop him.

“I shouldn’t have let you leave. I should’ve forced you to stay home, and then none of this would’ve happened. Why are you so against being home, is it because you don’t trust me? Or, do you no longer care about me?” Yoohyun continued on, making less and less sense as he spoke. The already unstable aura of mana around him started spasming and spiking erratically. This didn’t go unnoticed by Yoojin, who had greater sensitivity to stuff like this as a guide, or by Sunghan and Yerim who were high rankers. Both Sunghan and Yoojin knew that this was a bad sign, so Sunghan immediately began dragging away Yerim since she was still unfamiliar with being an esper.

“No, it’s not like that at all! Of course I care about you. We’re brothers, you’re the most important person in the world to me,” Yoojin stated resolutely. He hoped that by reassuring Yoohyun that he loved him it would calm him down, but if it didn’t then he would have to work significantly harder.

“If I’m so important to you, then why don’t you ever listen to me? I’m your brother, so why do you ignore my advice like we’re strangers?” Yoohyun questioned in irritation as beads of sweat dripped down his face. Okay, so that won’t work this time I guess, Yoojin thought to himself with exasperation.

There are many early symptoms of an esper going rogue. Besides mana fluctuations, espers can behave very emotional and act in ways that they normally wouldn’t, or parts of their existing character and emotion may be exaggerated. They also feel an urge to behave extremely and violently, and even the world’s most pacifistic esper would be unable to resist. Espers also tend to feel extreme temperatures along with body aches and migraines.

When espers enter this early stage, guides would try many methods to prevent them from fully going rogue. Of course, the end goal would be to guide the esper, but convincing an esper to let themselves be guided was complex. Almost no esper would be sitting calmly with their arm stretched out, so guides have developed some ways to coax them.

The first step is to make the esper feel safe and comfortable. This could be done through compliments, reassurance, gifts, etc. If the esper responded positively, then great! The hardest part was over and the guide could easily (and unsuspiciously) touch them. Accomplishing this usually worked in the very early stages or with weaker espers. Since it didn’t work with Yoohyun, it meant that Yoojin had to move onto the second method: simply agreeing.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you and stayed home. I promise that I won’t put myself in danger anymore. I won’t ignore your advice, I won’t go out to shop or eat, and I won’t put myself in ridiculous situations. Let’s hug and make up, yeah?” Yoojin promised and attempted to pull Yoohyun into a hug, but Yoohyun promptly rejected the hug and held Yoojin in place.

“You always make promises like that and break them! How am I supposed to trust you when you tell lies so easily?” Yoohyun affirmed angrily.

Since that method had also failed, Yoojin had to find another viable method. There were hundreds of things that Yoojin could do, but not all of them were fit for their current situation. To be honest, if Yoohyun was a weak esper and Yoojin stronger, then Yoojin could’ve just forcibly grabbed onto Yoohyun. But, that would be virtually impossible with their current gap in physique rank. This also made restraining Yoohyun implausible, and narrowed done Yoojin’s options severely.

Really the only no-no in these types of situations would be to argue or upset the esper, but their behaviors were always unpredictable. It was also recommended to not tell the esper that they were about to go rogue, because strangely enough espers had a habit of denying it (it would also make the esper more angry since it’s like calling them crazy). While everyone else knew that they were about to go rogue, the esper themselves were hardly aware.

“Yooohyun, I’m gonna run away!” Yoojin blurted and bolted in the opposite direction. He ran as far as he could, which happened to be barley an inch before Yoohyun grabbed his wrist and stopped him from moving. Seizing this opportunity, Yoojin immediately began guiding Yoohyun before the other one could even realize what was going on.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Yoohyun exclaimed with outrage. His grip on his brother was unyielding and tight. Yoojin felt an exceptional degree of pain that caused him to bite down on his own tongue until he tasted blood. Instead of screaming, he put his free hand over Yoohyun’s to help with guiding. A raging migraine made the experience even worse, but thankfully Yoojin had especially high tolerance to situations involving his brother.

“You’re not the boss of me! Don’t forget that I’m your hyung, I have more experience than you and I can do whatever I want as an adult,” Yoojin taunted and faked attempts to pull away, which caused Yoohyun’s grip to become even stronger.

Yoojin tuned out whatever Yoohyun was saying, only focused on the guiding. He instantly noticed that Yoohyun’s mana was much more unstable than he had initially anticipated. While he was mostly concentrated on stabilizing Yoohyun right now, he also couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off. But that would be a problem for him to look into later.

As the minutes passed, Yoohyun’s mana slowly stopped fluctuating and his mind began to clear. At the same time, Yoojin started telling his brother reassuring words of encouragement and love. Eventually, after what felt like hours but was only thirty minutes, Yoohyun returned to normal.

When Yoohyun realized what he had done, he apologized profusely to Yoojin and refused to touch him in fear that he would hurt his brother again.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it! Tis was merely a scratch, nothing that I can’t handle,” Yoojin flicked his wrist around to show everyone that he was alright, but Yoohyun didn’t miss the minute changes to his expression.

“You’re lying again,” Yoohyun was still upset, but his expression was much softer than the ones before. “We need to get you to the hospital right away.”

“Okay, okay, we can—” Yoojin stopped in the middle of his sentence because he had just remembered something. Yerim was still there! Yoojin looked around frantically and only calmed down when he saw her and Sunghan running back to them.

“Ahjussi, you’re safe!” Yerim ran over and stopped just before ramming into Yoojin.

“Yoojin, who’s this ruffian? She almost ran into you!” Yoohyun pulled Yoojin towards himself and glared at Yerim.

“Hey, who’re you calling ‘ruffian’? Weren’t you the one who bruised ahjussi?” Yerim defended herself and grabbed Yoojin’s other arm.

“Guys, let’s calm down, okay?” Yoojin cried in desperation. Two S-ranks tugging at him, even if they thought it was gentle, hurt like a motherfucker.

Still, Yerim and Yoohyun were oblivious to his complaints and argued. Yerim pulled left and Yoohyun pulled right, going back and forth like a seesaw. Just when Yoojin thought that he had been free of one headache, another one was starting to creep up on him—literally and metaphorically.

“You two, stop it!” Yoojin shrieked as his shoulder was dislocated on both sides. “Eek!”

“Shit! Sorry, Yoojin! Are you okay?” Yoohyun asked with concern before turning to Yerim. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t tugged on him, then he wouldn’t be hurt!”

“My fault? It’s your fault! If you hadn’t pulled him then he’d be okay,” Yerim retorted and crossed her arms indignantly.

“All of you! Shut! Up!” Yoojin bellowed over the two and got their attention.

The two S-ranks stared at him and waited on instinct.

“You two, over there, sit!” Yoojin commanded and pointed to the ground in front of him. He spoke in a tone so terrifying it shrunk the minds of everyone to that of a naughty two-year-old being scolded by their mom. Without hesitation, the two espers sat down with shame.

“I was wrong,” Yoohyun sulked as he fidgeted with his fingers. The cheeky esper put on a pitiful act, eyes watering and face sullen like a kicked puppy. Yerim, who saw through the guildmaster’s deception, was annoyed and put on her own act.

“I’m also sorry, ahjussi,” Yerim moped as she pulled her own kicked puppy face out of her ass.

Yoojin saw the tear-jerking duo and felt a pang of regret in his heart. Was he wrong for scolding them after all? Should he just forgive and forget? No! Absolutely not, the pain in his arms screamed at his conscious, snapping him out of the delusion he almost gave into.

“If you two are sorry, then shake hands and make up,” Yoojin said as calmly as possible. “Because starting today, you two will be siblings.”

Yerim and Yoohyun, who were begrudgingly shaking hands as told, suddenly stopped.

“What? What are you talking about, Yoojin?” Yoohyun exclaimed and let go of Yerim’s hand. “Did this girl force you to be her guardian or something?”

“This is your guildmaster brother? He has no manners!” Yerim looked at Yoohyun judgmentally.

“She didn’t force me to do anything, Yoohyun. Besides, she needs a home, and you could use another S-rank. Let’s just all start over and be one big, happy family. Sounds good?” Yoojin smiled like a proud parent.

“No, it’s not good! This brute is a danger to you,” Yoohyun disagreed vehemently. “I’ve seen many cases where strong teens bully their guardians, and I’m not gonna allow you to be another victim!”

“Hey, you’re also a danger to ahjussi,” Yerim rolled her eyes.

“Now, now, let’s not argue anymore. We can solve any problems that we have in a civilized fashion later. Besides, aren’t I the victim here? For now, let’s get me to a hospital or something, ‘kay?” Yoojin told them bashfully. He curled in his body a little to make himself seem smaller, and he also spoke in a quiet tone with a sniffle. They weren’t the only one who could play sad—Yoojin was the OG!

“Please take this car to the nearest hospital, I will stay back and sort out the mess,” Sunghan said while stepping out of the black car he arrived in.

The S-ranks rushed over and supported Yoojin into the car, tucking him into the back. Yerim wanted to sit in the front, but Yoojin scolded her and told her to sit in the back with him.

“You’re too young to sit in the front, wait till you’re at least sixteen!” Yoojin gave her an earful as she climbed next to him.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!” Yerim brushed him off as she buckled in. She made herself comfortable before falling asleep, it had been a long day for all of them.

Yoohyun was in the drivers seat and sped to the nearest hospital. Normally he was great at following traffic laws, but today he was in a bit of a rush and weaved through the lines of cars. Even if he received fines later, it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to pay them.

While his brother was acting like he was on death’s bed, Yoojin was pretty nonchalant about the whole ordeal. He finally had time to think about the notification from earlier—the one about the title upgrade. Title upgrades weren’t the most uncommon thing in the world, but the jump from a common title to an L rank title was certainly unordinary. Wait...if his title got an upgrade, did that mean that his other stats got an upgrade too?

Yoojin excitedly checked his stats, but the excitement quickly turned into disappointment when he found that they had remained exactly the same. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers...whatever.

He decided to just suck it up and check out his new skills. Hopefully, fingers crossed, the new title would come with some stacked upgrades.

“Holy shit!” Yoojin exclaimed and sat up.

“Ah! I didn’t do it!” Yerim’s eyes flew open and she looked around with confusion, still sleepy.

“Is something wrong?” Yoohyun asked in concern. He had to keep his eyes on the road, but it was difficult to do so when his brother was screaming in the backseat.

“Haha, nothing. Sorry about that, I just, uh, read something shocking,” Yoojin laughed awkwardly. Yoohyun was a bit suspicious, but he let it go.

As Yoojin eyes frantically scanned the descriptions, he realized that he had been blessed by the system. My Brat is the Best had been promoted to L-rank, and it boosted the growth rate of the target by 100% for three days. Within this skill there was an additional one that allowed Yoojin to focus on the growth of one skill. Final Thanks was also promoted to L-rank, and the duration of the original ability was extended to seven days.

Besides upgrades, he also gained two new skills: Our Kid is This Amazing and Promising Sprout. Our Kid is This Amazing was a SS-rank skill. If the keyword was used on one or more targets in front of five or more people, the targets’ abilities would be boosted by the percent of the number of people who heard and understood the keyword. Promising Sprout was S-rank, but it wasn’t any less impressive than the other skills. It allowed him to check an unawakened person’s predicted rank, and he could trigger awakenings as well. The only downside was the cooldown, which was thirty days.

It took every centimeter of Yoojin’s willpower to prevent himself from giggling like a maniac. He hadn’t smiled so wide since Yoohyun was born. While his stats had remained laughable, his skills would make even top espers foam at the mouth! Just imagining the amount of money and promotions that he could get from this earned a few chuckles.

As jolly as he was feeling, he abruptly remembered that he had received one more notification: the keyword change. When Yoojin checked, his euphoric bliss fleeted away and heavy sorrow took its place snuggly. If he had to pick between “hang in there” or “I love you,” Yoojin would’ve picked the former in a heartbeat. What sane person would willingly go around kissing up to people and confessing to strangers? Who the hell thought it was a good idea to change his keyword? Hell, Yoojin didn’t even know that it could be changed—this was bonkers, absolutely outrageous!

Yerim was already fast asleep and didn’t notice his weird behavior, Yoojin’s previous shouting didn’t seem to bother her too much. Yoohyun, however, did notice, but he chose to chalk it up to the injuries driving his brother crazy.

As the group pulled up to the awakened hospital, Yoojin continued to mope as Yoohyun remained oblivious to his brother’s level up. Would Yoojin tell him? Definitely not. If Yoohyun knew, he would never let him leave the house—ever!

“Yoojin, are you alright? I heard you were injured, so I made some soup for you,” Myeongwoo handed Yoojin a canister of dak gomtang.

“Thanks! You’re the best, Myeongwoo,” Yoojin opened the canister happily. He was hit with the delicious smell of chicken and hints of ginger.

It had been two days since the incident at Myeongdong station happened. Yoojin was almost fully recovered with only fatigue weighing him down. It took almost two hours of begging from Yoojin to be allowed to go to work. He even came to work late, earning himself an earful from his boss and team leader.

“Seonbae-nim, I’m so glad you’re back!” Siwoo, the C-rank guide, cried tearfully. “Team Leader-nim has been giving all of us a hard time.”

“Hm? What for?” Yoojin slurped his soup with a look of confusion. Siwoo, along with some of his other coworkers, crowded around his desk. They had all been worried sick about Yoojin, but they also had their own battles that left the entire floor looking gaunt and soulless.

“Recently, the number of rogue espers has spiked. It’s been hard to get espers to come in because everyone’s experiencing mana fluctuations and their mental states are so unstable. So, our workload has been hell,” one of the guides explained with a sigh.

“Yeah, and the upper floors’ leaders are blaming our TL, so now hes blaming us! He’s been watching us work like a hawk and yelling at us whenever we do anything,” another one complained.

“Ugh, I swear I’m gonna kill him one day. I had to use a tranquilizer on an esper yesterday, and he got mad at me for ‘wasting association resources’. What the fuck was I supposed to do? The esper was twice my size and he was choking me!” A D-rank guide, Kwon Inhye, showed the purple marks on her neck as proof.

“Ouch, that looks bad. You should lodge a complaint to the higher ups. They give compensation for stuff like,” Yoojin grimaced and handed her an ointment for bruising. “Here, take this.”

“They’ll just give me a useless gift card and call it a day,” Inhye took the ointment and applied it on her neck.

“No, I don’t mean the Association of Guides, I’m talking about the KAA. If you contact Director Song and write a dramatic email he’ll send you a nice check and have a little chat with the esper who did this. Sure, the check might not pay your rent, but it’s much better than a gift card, right? Oh, if you get lucky, he might even have a firm conversation with Team Leader,” Yoojin blew on his soup before taking another sip.

“Seriously? Isn’t Director Song, like, super uptight though?” Inhye finished applying the ointment and returned the container to Yoojin.

“Yes, but from what I’ve heard he’s a pretty nice guy as long as you follow the regulations. He’s especially sympathetic towards guides,” Yoojin put the ointment away. He picked up his chopsticks and used them to eat a piece of chicken. The chicken was tender and moist, and the flavors were just right.

“Have you contacted him before?” Myeongwoo asked curiously.

“I’ve never personally contacted him, but I’ve helped some friends email him when HR wasn’t taking them seriously,” Yoojin sucked the chicken meat off the bone and moved onto another piece of chicken.

“Do you think I should include pictures of my bruising? I’m emailing him right now,” Inhye typed on her phone with glimmering eyes. The prospect of monetary compensation—and the possibility that Team Leader would be scolded—was too much to pass up.

“Definitely,” Yoojin replied and drank a few mouth fulls of soup from the container. “Myeongwoo, what do you put in this that makes it ta—”

“Han Yoojin! Where are you?” Their team leader suddenly bolted into the office and looked around frantically.

“Here! Ahem, I’m here,” Yoojin coughed as he put the container down. The sudden yelling had caused him to choke on a small piece of chicken.

“Two...days...ago,” the team leader panted, trying to catch his breath because the running had pushed him to his limits. “You were...in charge of…contacting most of the espers...right?”

“Yes? Is there a problem?” Yoojin questioned.

“Yes! There is a huge problem!” The team leader screeched. “Someone upset an esper, and now he’s downstairs demanding to meet the mysterious guide!”

“Wait, what does that have to do with me?” Yoojin asked. However, as soon as he asked that question, he remembered something. When he was contacting some of the espers, his attitude was not always the nicest. Did someone complain about him? He hoped not, he really won’t be able to handle another mess right now. Or another complaint on his record.

“Of course it has something to do with you! There were seven people communicating with espers that day, and you’re the only one bold enough to act like a thug over the phone,” the team leader rubbed his head stressfully. “Fuck! What’re we gonna do?”

“Okay, maybe it is my fault. So, what do I have to do to fix it? Do I just write an apology or something?” Yoojin grumbled. It wasn’t his first time in this rodeo. A lot of guides get complaints, but it usually wasn’t serious. Yoojin and the other guides have probably written at least twenty apology letters while working here.

“That’s not enough. You don’t understand, Yoojin, our whole floor is screwed unless you can make it up to him!” The team leader tapped on the floor nervously.

“Who did I even offend?” Yoojin questioned, but he in the back of his conscious he felt like he knew the answer. Most espers wouldn’t come in and kick up a fuss like this. Even if they did, it wasn’t anything that their team leader or the front desk couldn’t handle. That meant that the mystery Karen was someone important, maybe even a VIP. This would narrow down the selection to just A-ranks and S-ranks, but Yoojin had a bad feeling that it was the latter. Hopefully, his hunch would be wrong.

“Actually, I’m not too sure either. I was called by someone in the lobby who told me to get the guide who offended an esper downstairs,” the team leader gestured to the elevator. “ Just go down and see for yourself.”

“Alright…” Yoojin got up and flattened his shirt and pants. If he was stepping towards death, he would at least look decent while doing so.

The stainless steel doors opened when Yoojin pressed the button to go down. He stepped in calmly and pressed the “L” button for the lobby. He had preformed this action hundreds of times by now, but today it seemed like it would be his last.

For a ride of doom, it was actually relatively peaceful. No one else was in the elevator, which was a bit unusual, but Yoojin preferred it that way. His only company was the looping jazzy elevator music as he descended at an annoyingly slow speed. As he watched the number at the top of the floors decreased, he became more uncomfortable and began to fidget with his name tag. What would he say? What would he do? Maybe he should just run away and quit his job before he’s caught. Maybe Yoohyun was right, he wasn’t built for this type of work.

Alas, the ride from the fifth floor to the lobby wasn’t long, and Yoojin’s woeful ponders came to an end. He stepped out when the doors opened, taking a deep breath to mentally prepare himself for the worse. At best, he would be humiliated in front of a lot of people. At worst, he would die, and poor Yoohyun would have to attend his funeral. This was, of course, assuming that his intuition was correct.

To his surprise, there were many people in the lobby. Most were whispering to each other and frantically making calls or typing on their phones. Others were fidgeting anxiously and on edge. All, however, seemed terrified. When Yoojin followed their gaze, his eyes landed on a handsome man by the lobby counter—who happened to be looking at him too.

The handsome man was tall, maybe a head or so taller than Yoojin. His hair was beautiful and blond, resembling a bloomed field of buttercups. Not a single strand was out of place, and all the hair followed the meticulously neat way that it was styled. Yoojin was sure that in the sun his golden threads would reflect the light brilliantly.

His eyes resembled his hair and seemed to twinkle like stairs against his milky skin. There was mischievous intent in his eyes as he continued to lock gazes with Yoojin, which didn’t seem to match the rest of his aesthetic. For some reason, the way that he looked at him made Yoojin’s mouth dry.

The clothes he wore were obviously expensive. Over his beige three-piece-suit he wore a dark red coat. His shoes were brown and his tie was blue. Despite attempts, Yoojin wasn’t even able to guess the brand of his socks, much less the rest of his outfit. He had a youthful face, but thanks to his formal wear he looked like he was in his thirties or forties.

His posture was relaxed but intimidating, and the rest of his body exuded an aura of cockiness. People were scared to approach him and even went the long way to avoid breathing the same air as him.

Yes, this was definitely the man that he had offended, Yoojin was sure of it. This had to be Sung Hyunjae. The guildmaster of Seseong, one of the only S-ranks, the strongest esper, or whatever else you want to call him was standing in the lobby.

Yoojin decided to break away from their little staring contest and pretend like he saw nothing. His legs moved as quickly and quietly as possible. The elevator was far from the exit, and he would have to pass by the blond and the crowd to leave. Whatever, as long as nobody noticed him then he could escape without problems. After he leaves he would go home and turn in his resignation letter.

“You, may I ask you a question?” A familiar deep voiced called out. Yoojin hadn’t even made it ten steps, yet the tall man had called him out and was walking towards him.

“Um...sure,” Yoojin replied awkwardly. He debated between just saying “no” or “yes,” but he didn’t feel like digging himself into a deeper hole.

“Can you show me to the bathroom? I’m in a rush,” Hyunjae smiled kindly. Something about the word “kindness” fit on him like an oxymoron.

“Yes, of course,” Yoojin turned and walked fast, not even checking to see if the blond was following him. There was a bathroom on the lobby floor, thankfully, so he headed there.

Much to Yoojin’s dismay, when the two arrived at the men’s bathroom, they found that it was closed.

“…” Yoojin said nothing.

“Oh my, it’s closed,” Hyunjae commented.

“It appears so,” Yoojin replied monotonously.

“I’m so sorry to trouble you, but can you show me to a different one?” He asked politely.

“...Of course, sir,” Yoojin faked a smile and began walking them to the elevator.

The walk to the elevator was quiet and short because the two walked so fast, mostly because Yoojin was moving so quickly. At the elevator, a few people had already gotten on and were holding the door for them. When they saw Hyunjae, they left the elevator and made up an excuse to take the next one. Yep, any previous doubts Yoojin had about his identity had dissipated. He was one hundred percent sure that this was the esper that he had an attitude with.

Inside the elevator the annoying jazz music played again. Yoojin was tense and stared straight at the doors, not daring to sneak glances at the man next to him. Hyunjae was the complete opposite, his body language casual and relaxed. Unlike Yoojin, who avoided eye contact, Hyunjae stared at him like a hungry man and Yoojin a buffet. It was difficult to describe his gaze, but Yoojin’s skin prickled from it.

“Have we met before?” Hyunjae spoke suddenly, words clear and concise.

“Nope,” Yoojin immediately replied, hoping to end the conversation. To him, the elevator couldn’t be moving any slower.

“Are you sure? Your voice sounds familiar,” Hyunjae pressed, but Yoojin was used to dealing with pushy people.

“I’m positive,” Yoojin insisted and looked up at the number. They were almost to the second floor.

“Hm, alright,” Hyunjae seemed to drop the issue, much to Yoojin’s relief.

That relief would be short lived though. All of a sudden, he heard the sound of a crackle and the elevator stopped moving. The lights flashed for a second before going out, leaving the pair in complete darkness with the barely noticeable smell of something burning.

“Oh dear, this isn’t good. What shall we do now, Han Yoojin-gun?” Hyunjae asked innocently. He acted a little too laid-back about the malfunction, causing Yoojin to be a bit suspicious.

“How...how do you know my name?” Yoojin responded with a question. He didn’t remember introducing himself, and he surely didn’t give him his name over the phone.

“I saw your name tag,” Hyunjae looked around the elevator nonchalantly.

“Ah, is that so?” Yoojin pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. He walked towards the buttons and clicked the emergency button, then immediately went to the opposite corner of Hyunjae. There wasn’t much distance between them, but it was better than nothing.

“Why are you so wary of me? I’m not some depraved animal, waiting to pounce on you,” Hyunjae took a step closer to Yoojin, possibly to mess with him.

“You’re imagining things,” Yoojin’s flashlight illuminated their faces in the dark. He couldn’t see the rest of Hyunjae properly, but his hair really did sparkle in the light.

“For a government guide, you are quite hostile. Shall I file a complaint under Article IV, Clause V?” Hyunjae taunted with a pompous smile.

Yoojin gulped. Yeah, he was undoubtedly a petty, immature, snarky bastard! Did he come solely for the purpose of asking to use the bathroom—all to terrorize Yoojin?

“Was there such a clause? I don’t remember there being so, maybe Sung Hyunjae-nim’s memory is becoming poor from old age,” Yoojin mumbled the last part.

“Unfortunately, my memory is perfectly fine. In fact, it is so good that I remember having a phone call a few days ago, two days to be exact. I met a very interesting person during that call,” Hyunjae moved even closer and only stopped when they barely two inches apart. Yoojin’s back was pressed firmly into the wall, and he prayed that the engineers or mechanics or whatever would hurry up and fix this stupid elevator—they were about to lose an outstanding employee here!

“What does that have to do with me? I’m just a lowly F-rank guide, an unimportant government worker,” Yoojin looked away and purposefully shined the phone light into his eyes, hoping that Hyunjae would be uncomfortable and back away.

Hyunjae didn’t even flinch, and calmly put his hand over the flashlight. Yoojin heard the same crackle again and his phone unexpectedly died. To be more specific, it seemed to have fried and no matter how many times he clicked the buttons it wouldn’t turn back on. They were, again, drenched in complete darkness.

“Han Yoojin-gun, do you perhaps have bad luck? First the elevator malfunctioned, and now your phone is dead. How unfortunate,” Hyunjae tutted in disapproval.

Yoojin was completely floored. He just fried his phone and was probably the reason why the elevator broke. Worst of all, this bastard was pretending to be wholly ignorant! So, he was stuck with a fraud in a dark, enclosed space while boiling alive because it was also stupidly hot. He couldn’t tell if he was sweating from the heat, anger, or stress.

“Are you sure that it’s not yourself who has the bad luck, Sung Hyunjae-nim? It was only after I met you that these bad things have started happening,” Yoojin wiped droplets of sweat from his forehead. He was sure that Hyunjae was also dying in his suit, but the esper didn’t give any indication of being restless.

“My luck is great. As you can see, I make a comfortable living and my rank is not too shabby. Although, I guess my luck can be questionable sometimes, since I have found myself trapped in a box with a lying bully,” Hyunjae sighed in faux disappointment.

“Even if I were not here, you would still be trapped with a lying bully,” Yoojin rolled his eyes.

“Ah, rolling your eyes is unprofessional as stated under Article IV, Clause V. I shall talk to your supervisor later,” Hyunjae huffed.

“Okay, can’t you just let me off the hook? It was one call, and technically it wouldn’t have happened as long as you came in,” Yoojin defended himself.

“Does my recalcitrance justify your inappropriate behavior? Did they not teach you in training that dishonesty is a bad for the association?” Hyunjae cocked his head with an arrogant smile.

“The ends justify the means,” Yoojin brushed off his words.

“And, what exactly is the ‘end’ here?” Hyunjae questioned with curiosity.

“...You came?” Yoojin said after a few seconds of thinking. Hyunjae leaned in until Yoojin could feel his breathing next to his ear. Hyunjae was close, very close and trapped him with his larger frame. Yoojin could feel the heat radiating from the other’s body, and he could smell him too. Contrary to his expectation, Hyunjae actually smelled quite good; he carried the pleasant scent of citrus and clean laundry.

“Oh? Did you do all this for my attention then?” Hyunjae chuckled impishly. The darkness blinded Yoojin and made his other senses more sensitive. He could feel that Hyunjae’s breath was hot and near, and he could hear the soft rustling of his clothes with each movement he made. The words he spoke felt more intimate than it should’ve and tingled Yoojin’s ears.

“Ha, who said anything about attention?” Yoojin pushed him gently to put some needed distance between them. “Besides, isn’t Sung Hyunjae-nim the one who came here to look for me?”

“What makes you think I’m here for you? Han Yoojin-gun, your hubris may be your downfall one day,” Hyunjae let Yoojin’s hands move him back, but only a little. If he hadn’t willingly backed off, Yoojin wouldn’t have been able to budge him in the slightest.

“Oh please, I’ve seen your files. You haven’t stepped foot into this building since two years ago. Then, you suddenly show up after a phone call that we had and trapped me in this elevator and break my phone. You expect me to think that you’re here for some other reason?” Yoojin frowned and fixed his posture. Now that he had a bit more space he was able to stand properly.

“Who knows, maybe I’m here for a guiding session. After all, I am an upstanding citizen and esper,” Hyunjae responded appeasingly, but his response didn’t appease Yoojin whatsoever.

“Really? With which guide? I can take you to their office as soon as we get off,” Yoojin used his arm and wiped off more droplets of sweat. It was so unbelievably hot—when would they fix this goddamned elevator?

Yoojin couldn’t see in the unlit box, but he could feel the smile creeping onto Hyunjae’s face before he said, “which guide? With you, of course. Didn’t Han Yoojin-gun call me here to guide me? I’ll be quite saddened if you ditch me with another guide.”

“Wha—what? Why the hell would I guide you?” Yoojin exclaimed, and at the same time the lights went back on and the elevator jolted—they had started moving again. Over the speaker the two heard a crackle before a male voice spoke.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, the elevator had an unpredictable malfunction. It should be all fixed up now. Again, apologies for the inconvenience!” The voice said. It wasn’t long before the doors opened to the second floor, and Yoojin immediately stepped out without waiting for Hyunjae’s response.

Hyunjae followed behind Yoojin, earning Yoojin strange glances from the other workers on the floor. A lot of them were on break or having lunch, but many lost their appetites when they saw Hyunjae, who pretended to not notice their stares.

“Han Yoojin-gun, you’re walking quite fast. Do you happen to be embarrassed by me? Or are you having second thoughts about discarding me?” Hyunjae asked insincerely. He trailed behind Yoojin languidly like he was taking a walk through the park.

“The former, Sung Hyunjae-nim is very embarrassing to be around,” Yoojin replied without hesitation and stopped walking. “Here’s the bathroom. Have a nice day.”

Yoojin turned the other way to begin walking back, but Hyunjae blocked his path with his body.

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Please lead me to a guiding room,” Hyunjae looked down at Yoojin with an innocent smile.

“Why? Have you been waiting so long that you’ve peed your pants?” Yoojin scoffed. “Want me to get you a change of clothes?”

“Do my trousers seem soiled?” Hyunjae was unfazed, hands in pockets and body language casual. Yoojin instinctively stole a glance at his lower region. It was a quick glance, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Hyunjae.

“Han Yoojin-gun, we just met. You haven’t even gifted me flowers, yet your eyes keep wandering to dangerous places,” Hyunjae said coquettishly while looking away like a demure woman.

“Don’t act so coy when there’s nothing to look at,” Yoojin was peeved, but he was also glad that no one else was around to listen to this nonsensical conversation. “Also, why would I buy you flowers? I didn’t even know that Sung Hyunjae-nim was coming.”

“I see. Next time, I shall inform Han Yoojin-gun beforehand,” Hyunjae nodded understandingly.

“What, why? I don’t need to know about your whereabouts,” Yoojin frowned.

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. We will become very well acquainted, because you will be my guide,” Hyunjae explained, but it was more like he was telling Yoojin that he had no choice in this matter.

“Sung Hyunjae-nim, with all due respect, I won’t be guiding you. I don’t think you would want my guiding anyway, I’m F-rank. I’m weak and my guiding is inefficient. An esper such as yourself should hara...excuse me, should look into guides around your rank. I can even get you in contact with some wonderful guides that you’d definitely be satisfied by,” Yoojin tried to reason with Hyunjae, but the esper didn’t budge.

“Thank you for your consideration, but I’m sure that Han Yoojin-gun will satisfy me just fine. Shall we test our compatibility? Or, perhaps you’re the spontaneous type,” Hyunjae’s stance stood firm, and Yoojin knew that it’d be impossible to persuade him. It was almost like dealing with Yoohyun, but somehow significantly worse because Yoojin didn’t feel like losing his job. Still, he was unwilling to give in so easily.

“You’re too kind, there’s no way that a guide such as myself would be able to help you. The only esper I’ve been able to guide properly is my brother, so I’m not capable enough to guide you,” Yoojin tried to fake an apologetic smile, but it turned out to be a half-assed bitter one instead.

“Your brother is Han Yoohyun, another S-rank. Does this not make you more than qualified to guide me as well?” Hyunjae argued. Lord, what sins did Yoojin commit in his past life to have to put up with this guy’s shit? If this goes on any longer he really will explode from irritation.

“Dude, can’t you take a hint? I don’t want to guide you! You can’t make me do it, and my guiding wouldn’t benefit you anyway, so why don’t you go bother someone else? There’s probably a bazillion guides out there that would foam at the mouth to help you!” Yoojin reasoned exasperatingly. “But no matter what, I. Am. Not. Guiding. You!”

“Not for anything?” Hyunjae raised an eyebrow with skepticism.

“Nope!” Yoojin insisted vehemently.

“Not even if I complain to your boss?”

“Everyone complains about me, you wouldn’t be the first or the last.”

“What if I get you fired?”

“They can’t fire me—I’d sue.”

“Hm, not even for a car?”

“I don’t have my license.”

“What if I can get you the car and your license?”

“Why would I need one? My brother drives me everywhere.”

“What if I bought you a watch?”

“That’s bribery. I’m an honest, humble government employee, I would never take bribes.”

“How about an apartment? If you like the sea, I can buy one by the coast.”

“I live with my brother rent free.”

“Han Yoojin-gun is very difficult to satisfy; I feel sorry for your future wife.”

“Thank you, I’m a complicated person.”

“Do you like cash? I can give you that—lots of it.”

“That’s still bribery! Is that all you espers know how to do? Bribe, bribe, bribe? Is that middle name shared by all of you?”

“Yes, indeed. Are you rejecting my proposal?”

“...How much money are we talking?” Yoojin said after a pause.

Obviously, he was a law-abiding, righteous, hard working guide. He would never ever, not in a million years, accept such a deal. But, money always made him a little curious. Material objects he could always ask Yoohyun to get. Sure, he could ask his brother for money if he was ever desperate, but then he would have to disclose what the money is for and how he’s using it. There was a lot of things he couldn’t do as long as Yoohyun was the one supplying it, but if it was someone else—especially someone powerful enough to hide the traces—he could do all kinds of activities without question.

“Han Yoojin-gun, do you like gambling?” Hyunjae asked whilst fiddling with his gloves.

“I guess. But if you’re suggesting that I gamble with you, my answer is no,” Yoojin replied with suspicion. When he was younger, he used to go to casinos and gamble with friends. He couldn’t do that anymore, though, because Yoohyun would never let him do “insidious” things. Recently, Yoohyun has been so uptight that he wouldn’t even let Yoojin drink—which Yoojin thought was absolutely bonkers.

“If our compatibility is below fifty percent, I’ll pay you fifty billion won. If it’s above fifty percent, then you have to pay me fifty billion won. Deal?” Hyunjae reached out his right arm for a handshake. Yoojin was a bit shocked—and appalled—that he would make such a stupid deal. Doesn’t he know that forty percent compatibility is already considered high? Hell, thirty percent was average. This deal was suspiciously tilted in Yoojin’s favor, and his intuition told him that it was a bad idea—that it was definitely some shady black market scam. There’s no way that a prominent business man like the Sung Hyunjae would propose something like this without a catch.

“Fine,” Yoojin shook the hand begrudgingly, then immediately pulled back and sprayed sanitizer on his hands. Yes, his gut told him it was a bad idea, but the rest of his body told him that fifty billion, was fifty billion!

“Good. Let’s get tested now, shall we?” Hyunjae ignored the fact that Yoojin clean his hands.

“Wait, aren’t you gonna make me sign a contract?” Yoojin held onto the back of his coat to stop him from walking.

“Would you like us to?” Hyunjae glanced at the hand on his coat, and gracefully removed it with a flick of his gloved wrist.

“Yes, of course. How do I know you’re not scamming me to waste my time?” Yoojin frowned. He wasn’t stupid enough to follow someone just because they promised a bajillion smackeroonies.

Hyunjae pulled out a contract out of nowhere, probably from his inventory, and signed it. Then, he gave it to Yoojin. Yoojin took his time looking over the contract, making sure that there was nothing sketchy or loop hole for Hyunjae to wiggle out of his promise.

[ S-rank Contract

1. Testing and Compatibility

1.1 Testing date. Party A and Party B will undergo a test to measure their guide-esper compatibility on XX/XX/XXXX under the following circumstances:

a) Testing will occur at latest 2 hours after this contract is signed.

(b) Compatibility results must be released to both parties at latest two hours after testing.

(c) Compatibility test must be performed by an expert or individual(s) who have extensive experience in the subject.

(d) Both parties must see the test.

1.2 Appeal. In the event of an appeal of the results from either party, the appeal should be directed to an outside party who is qualified to verify the results of the test. Should the test be proven false, inaccurate to exaggerated extent, or is in any way an extreme distortion from the actual percentage of compatibility of Party A and Party B, the test shall be redone. If the test is redone it will follow the guidelines stated in Clause 1, with the exception of Clause 1a.

2. Circumstance 1

2.1 Compatibility 50% and below. In circumstance 1, Party A and Party B’s compatibility is fifty percent (50%) or below. In the event that circumstance 1 occurs, Party A shall pay Party B a sum of fifty billion won.

3. Circumstance 2

3.1 Compatibility 51% and above. In circumstance 2, Party A and Party B’s compatibility is fifty one percent (51%) or above. In the event that circumstance 2 occurs, Party B shall pay Party A a sum of fifty billion won.

4. Payment Details

4.1 Time. The agreed sum of fifty billion won may be paid in a single payment or throughout the course of five years (or more as agreed upon by the receiving party). If the sum is to be paid over multiple installments, the conditions below must be followed:

(a) The sum may be paid over the course of five years (or more as agreed upon by the receiving party) with a fifty percent interest rate.

(b) Payments must be made by the first of every month according to the Georgian calendar year.

(c) First day of payment should be the next first day of the month from XX/XX/XXXX, which is YY/YY/YYYY.

4.2 Ways of payment. Payment may be completed by way of cash, wire, check, or bank transfer. All payments must be directly from the paying party (direct bank account, check, cash).

(a) Payment may be completed by way of cash, wire, check, or bank transfer.

(c) All payments must be directly from Party B (bank account, check, cash).

4.3 Special circumstances. The receiving party may choose to receive alternative methods of payment or to lower the quantity of money that is owed under the following circumstances:

(a) The paying party is completely unable to pay the fifty billion won, even over the course of five years. The paying party’s assets must also be way below the fifty billion won.

(b) The paying party has an object, skill, talent, title, knowledge, and/or information that the receiving party wants.

5. Repercussions

5.1 Source of payment. The agreed sum of fifty billion won, plus interest if paid over the course of five years, shall not be paid for by another person(s), entity or entities, organization(s), guild(s), or anyone/anything that is not Party A or Party B. In the event that this clause is breached, the following consequences may occur as decided by the receiving party:

(a) Payment of one hundred million won in addition to the original fifty billion won.

(b) Unpaid manual labor for a period of twenty years for the receiving party.

(c) All personal and professional assets seized by the receiving party.

(d) Unlimited number of favors (can be anything) as requested by receiving party.

5.2 Late payment. In the even that payment is delayed, the paying party shall pay twice the sum required for the month of the delayed payment. The interest rate of the following payments shall increase from fifty percent by ten percent for each delay.

5.3 Complete breach of contract. In the event that one party or both parties breach any of the terms in this contract (refusal to follow the repercussions, refusal to pay, etc.), the breacher may face the following consequence(s):

(a) Dismemberment

(b) Immediate death.

Party A: S-rank esper, Sung Hyunjae/guildmaster of Seseong (sign here)

Party B: F-rank guide, Han Yoojin (sign here) ]

Yoojin swallowed uncomfortably when he read the repercussions. He didn’t think that he would lose, of course, but he consequences were a bit damning. Unpaid manual labor? Fifty percent interest rate? Was Hyunjae a fucking mafia don or a loan shark?

The most concerning part to Yoojin was Clause 4.2 and 5.1 If, by some strange misfortune, Yoojin loses the bet, these two clauses would prevent him from sneaking money from his brother. Yoohyun often gave him money, but it wasn’t nearly enough to cover the fat bill that he would get. Also, ever since the incident from two days ago his brother has been more stingy.

Did Yoojin have the capacity to pay the fine if Hyunjae won? Truthfully, no. Even if he was able to (somehow) get the money on his own—without his brother’s knowledge as well—he wouldn’t be able to do it in five years, plus interest. If he were to pay fifty million won per year, which was more than most people’s salary, he would have to pay like three hundred something billion won! He wasn’t sure if the math was right, it probably wasn’t, but it was close enough to how much he would have to fork up.

The contract heavily favored Hyunjae, especially with the fifty billion won thing. To an established and business-savvy esper like him, fifty billion won was likely still a lot, but it wouldn’t cripple him. Most likely, at least. Yoojin really wasn’t too worried about his wallet. Hyunjae probably does all sorts of strange and possibly illegal businesses, but that wasn’t any of his business, nor did he care.

Despite his better judgment, Yoojin signed the contract and called a lab technician to run a guide-esper compatibility test. The test wasn’t a long one, so they would definitely be able to get it down in under two hours. Plus, telling the technicians who the test was for certainly pushed them up the line.

Some may have called it overconfidence, but in all honesty Yoojin wasn’t too worried. The likelihood of Hyunjae winning was low—incredibly low. There was absolutely nothing to worry about!

“...How is this possible,” Yoojin stared at the results. His eyes clearly saw the number before him, but his brain refused to make sense of the words. This was ridiculous, absolutely fucking ridiculous.

“Interesting,” Hyunjae looked at the results intently with an amused smile. He had expected this result, but he hadn’t anticipated that it would turn out so well.

[ G-E Compatibility Test #012845: Han Yoojin (F-G), Sung Hyunjae (S-E)

Compatibility Percent: 91%

Esper Stability Lvl: 49%

Guide Health Lvl: 87%

Urgency: 51% ]

Yoojin thought about the two thousand won in his wallet and shed a silent tear. Out of every esper in the nation, no, in the world, why did it have to be this guy?

Chapter Text

“I appeal! This has to be a mistake,” Yoojin looked at the female technician with desperation. “Please redo the test. Ninety-one percent is crazy, it’s definitely a glitch!”

“A-alright, Han Yoojin-ssi. I’ll redo the test as quickly as possible, please wait here while I bring the proper equipment,” the technician gave a small bow and left the room. Even she could feel the immense distress coming from Yoojin, so she made her exit swift. When she closed the door, her nerves made her hands slip and the door slammed. The slamming shook the room, and Hyunjae’s tea rattled on its plate.

“You did something, didn’t you? That’s why you made this deal, and that’s why you prepared this contract ahead of time!” Yoojin jabbed a finger into Hyunjae’s chest.

“Do I seem like the type to do something like that?” Hyunjae calmly wrapped his hand over Yoojin’s finger.

“Yes, of course you do!” Yoojin exclaimed and attempted to pull back his finger, but it was stuck in Hyunjae’s S-rank grip.

“Are you sure you’re not acting this way because you lost? Han Yoojin-gun, didn’t anyone teach you not to be a sore loser?” Hyunjae taunted with a polite expression.

“You still didn’t answer my question: is this why you prepared the contract ahead of time? No, better question, how did you know that this was going to happen?” Yoojin interrogated the other man, who was unfazed, angrily.

“I will admit, the contract was prepared ahead of time. I bought and made it yesterday. As for your second question, I wasn’t aware that things would unfold like this. How could I have known? I’m not a psychic or an oracle,” Hyunjae took a sip of his tea with little relish—it was mediocre tea, and it wasn’t fit for the consumption of a person as bougie as him.

“You had to have known, there’s no way that you didn’t know—that’s why you approached me! Did you plan to extort me or something? Even if our compatibility is high, what if you hate my guiding? Hell, do you even want to be guided, Appointment-Dodger-nim?” Yoojin sneered.

Yoojin was pissed, extremely pissed. He knew he should’ve listened to his gut, this deal was too good to be true, yet he let himself be played so easily. His past self was probably rolling in its grave! Did living well these past few months make him too comfortable? Maybe the comfort made him long for disaster subconsciously, and so he was manipulated by the devil—a handsome devil like in the legends—into trading his soul.

Despite being a guide and working for the government, he didn’t make copious amounts of money. When he was younger, teachers would tell students how great and honorable it was to work for the government, and now the same sentiment was being shared about guides and espers.

Yes, it did come with some sweet benefits, but the base pay as an awakened was actually not as high as one would imagine. This was because espers and guides get a base pay, then they get commission on top of that. While this mostly applied to those working in guilds and as freelancers, a similar system was in place for those working for the associations.

For guides, they would be given a base salary based on their ranks. For F-ranks like Yoojin their base pay was approximately 2.1 million won per month. Per year that would be around 25.2 million won, which wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but since they lived in Seoul it wasn’t the most desirable. Minimum wage is about 2 million won per month, so Yoojin wasn’t that much better off than the average worker. In this cruel world, even government employees can struggle.

However, working for the government did provide benefits like good insurance, free meals, security, etc. Yoojin was lucky since he didn’t have to pay for housing, groceries, and he usually didn’t have to pay for transportation either—all of which were covered by Yoohyun. Technically, the association also covered transportation costs for its workers, but it didn’t apply to him.

Besides their base salary, they would also be paid extra based on the number of espers they guided, the ranks of the espers they guided, whether or not they went into dungeons, how many times they got an esper come in, etc. Some guides would be sent to help guilds in dungeons, but that usually indicated that the guild was under suspicion for criminal activities or something of the sorts.

Yoojin thought about his salary sincerely, and the 50 billion won was starting to set in hard. If he dedicated his entire salary to paying off the 50 billion, it would take him approximately 1,984 years to pay off the debt. However, if he did a crazy amount of calls and emails, then he would hopefully be able to make 30 million per year. Even then, it would take him about 1,667 years to pay off the debt. But, these numbers only included the base 50 billion won without interest. Yeah, he was unfathomably screwed if the test proves true.

“I’d be a fool to enter a bet I stood no chance at winning. Perhaps if Han Yoojin-gun knew me better, he wouldn’t have signed that contract. No, even if you didn’t know me, you should’ve known better. Haven’t your past experiences taught you something? Do you keep touching the hot stove even when your hand has already been burned?” Hyunjae added some sugar into his tea.

“You keep dodging my question, what are you hiding?” Yoojin hands were balled up, and he had to try his hardest to prevent himself from punching the man next to him. His fingers dug so hard into his palms that they bled, but his pain wasn’t nearly as intense as his anger.

“Well, no, I don’t want to be guided. Guides are useful, of course, but repulsive. Ever since my awakening I have experienced the hands of the best guides in the world, but I have never liked one bit of it,” Hyunjae replied, purposefully answering the wrong question.

“Is that why you miss appointments like your life depends on it? You are aware that your own life, and millions of others, depend on you’re guiding sessions, right? You espers are so selfish, you only ever think of your own comfort,” Yoojin spat with distain. He knew that Hyunjae was avoiding answering the more important questions he had, but this answer made him annoyed in other ways. Yoojin hated espers like him—the ones who liked making the lives of others difficult for their own sake.

“Frankly, yes. You saw my urgency level, didn’t you? For an esper who hasn’t been guided in a few months, 51% would be dangerously high. But, for someone who hasn’t been guided in two years, isn’t it ridiculously low?” Hyunjae pointed out something Yoojin had missed. He was right, it’s been two years, so how is his urgency only at fifty-one percent?

“Well, aren’t you gonna tell me, Sung Hyunjae-nim?” Yoojin’s breathing was unsteady from how upset he was, but he was curious.

“Han Yoojin-gun is smart, I’m sure he can think of the answer on his own,” Hyunjae took a sip of is tea with sugar, but made a disappointed expression. The sugar didn’t seem to help.

Yoojin was about to strangle this guy, what the hell was he being so cryptic for? This wasn’t a class, and they weren’t taking an exam, so sharing answers wasn’t against some stupid rule!

Unfortunately, he couldn’t force words out of Hyunjae’s mouth, nor could he read the blond’s mind. So, Yoojin had no choice but to think about it. As far as he knew, there were no items or drops from dungeons that were able to have the same effects on espers as guides did—which is what made guides so valuable. Which mean Hyunjae couldn’t just spend a shit load of money on items to guide himself. No surgeries available to prevent an esper from going rogue either, so there was only one answer: Sung Hyunjae was having private guiding sessions

“You...were you being guided in private without telling anyone?” Yoojin asked quietly.

“Bingo. Looks like Han Yoojin-gun isn’t as hopeless as I thought,” Hyunjae smiled, and his eyes curved up like crescents. It was a beautiful smile, but there was no one to appreciate it as Yoojin was too pissed to admire his face.

“You bastard, you could’ve told someone! Do you know how many people were stressed out over you? Lots of people got in trouble because you were lazy,” Yoojin exclaimed. He was so mad that his head caught another terrible headache. Screw this guy for being so troublesome, and screw his good looks too! No amount of handsome would chill Yoojin’s blazing rage now.

“Ah, don’t rage yourself to death. Han Yoojin-gun is still young, yet your hairs are turning grey so fast. If you die in here, that’ll cause me many problems,” Hyunjae added more sugar to his tea.

“You!” Yoojin really couldn’t wrap his head around this guy. “Why didn’t you say anything? Even if you care little for others, it would’ve saved you a lot of trouble too.”

“Hm, I have my own reasons for that. If I tell you, I might have to kill you,” Hyunjae said it with a relaxed smile, but Yoojin felt chills anyway. He couldn’t tell if the esper was joking or not.

Before Yoojin could say something in response, he heard a knock at the door before the doorknob turned. The technician came back with the results and sat before them once more.

“Han Yoojin-ssi, Sung Hyunjae-nim, I have redone the tests. These are your results,” she placed the results in front of them with shaky hands.

[ G-E Compatibility Test #012846: Han Yoojin (F-G), Sung Hyunjae (S-E)

Compatibility Percent: 91%

Esper Stability Lvl: 49%

Guide Health Lvl: 87%

Urgency: 51% ]

“...Thank you. Could you, maybe, leave us alone for a minute?” Yoojin gave her a weak smile. The technician seemed to be relieved by this and nodded before quickly making her way out.

“Han Yoojin-gun, shall we book a guiding room?” Hyunjae looked at him expectantly.

“Will this lower my debt?” Yoojin glared. Technically, guiding Hyunjae wasn’t in the contract, so Yoojin wasn’t about to do it for free.

“Ah, my apologies. I am a generous man, so I shall lower your debt by, let’s say, five million won. How does that sound?” Hyunjae seemed proud of his actions.

“...Sure,” afraid that he would take back his offer, Yoojin accepted easily. “I will book a room right away.”

The guiding rooms for S-ranks were on the fourteenth floor, and they were about as luxurious as you could imagine. A clean white couches sat at the center of the room, accompanied by soft iceberg blue pillows. The coffee table was carved from expensive dark wood, and on it sat many snack options and fresh fruit. At the back of the room were the drinks: water, juice, wine, soju, sodas, etc. From their floor, the window showcased the view of the breathtaking city. Pedestrians below were as small as ants, and the cars looked like toys.

Yoojin had never been up here before, and he couldn’t help but frown. These rooms were much better than the ones for the lower ranks—not fair! Hyunjae looked around the room with a bored expression on his face, not exactly pleased with the place either.

“The carpet is unappealing. They should change it,” Hyuhnjae commented and sat down on the couch. Personally, Yoojin thought the dark red carpet was fine. One could hardly tell if there were stains or strands of hair on the floor.

“Tsk, espers,” Yoojin mumbled. He plopped down next to Hyujae, but he kept a few inches of space in between them. It had been a while since he’d guided an esper who wasn’t Yoohyun, so he was quite nervous. His palms were sweaty and his fingers fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He wasn’t sure if he should initiate or if Hyunjae would do so instead.

Hyunjae stared as him in anticipation. I guess I’m supposed to take charge, Yoojin thought. He held out his left hand and said, “please give me your hand. If you’re uncomfortable with this, we can try a different body part.”

“Getting right to the point, are we?” Hyunjae raised an eyebrow.

“My apologies, I forgot that Sung Hyunjae-nim is a high maintenance s-rank. Would you like some water or snacks first?” Yoojin smiled painfully.

“I shall trouble you for some iced water. I’m a bit nervous since I’m with such an inexperienced guide, I hope you don’t mind,” Hyunjae replied.

“If you had a problem with my experience, then perhaps you should test your compatibility with someone else and work with them instead,” Yoojin’s frown curved down even more. Despite his irritation, he got up and went to the cupboard to fetch a glass cup.

“It’s quite alright. I may be an esper, but I’m also a businessman and guildmaster. I am all for giving young, unrecognized talent opportunities,” Hyunjae eyes followed Yoojin’s every move. Yoojin noticed, but he didn’t say anything. However, being watched so intensely made his movements less fluid. He even fumbled as he scooped ice into the cup, dropping a few cubes.

“Fuck,” Yoojin muttered and put the cup down. Then, he bent down and picked up the pieces that fell on the floor. He threw the pieces in the sink and prayed that Hyunjae didn’t notice—mostly because he was embarrassed.

“Oh dear, did I make you nervous? My apologies, I didn’t realize that my presence would have such an effect on Han Yoojin-gun,” Hyunjae ragged, chuckling.

“Shut up, you should be glad I’m getting you water. I only asked to be nice,” Yoojin rolled his eyes. He filled the cup of ice with water from the filter, debating if he should just give the esper tap.

“You’re being rude again. Is a sip of water too much for you to spare? I wasn’t aware that resources were so tight around here,” Hyunjae shook his head in pity.

Yoojin sat back down and shoved the cup in his hands. “Here, take your damn water.”

“Many thanks,” Hyunjae took the cup and put it on the table, not bothering to even drink a sip. “Now, shall we get started?”

“Why’d you even make me get it? Y’know what? I don’t care. Give me your hand—without the gloves,” Yoojin said. Hyunjae removed his glove slowly, taking his sweet time to tug it off of each finger. It was so annoying that Yoojin had to restrain himself from removing it for him.

“Done,” Hyunjae showed off his de-gloved hand. His fingers were long and his nails trimmed short, he had incredibly nice hands for someone with a rough occupation. “What should I do now?”

“Give me your hand,” Yoojin replied. Thankfully, Hyunjae complied with that step without much problems. The blond put his hand securely into Yoojin’s hand, interlocking their fingers. It was a bit more secure than necessary, but Yoojin didn’t say anything. He was worried that Hyunjae would suddenly change his mind and this all would’ve been for naught.

“And then?” Hyunjae rubbed his thumb over Yoojin’s playfully. “Han Yoojin-gun’s hands are sweaty, it’s a bit disturbing.”

“Deal with it. Now, you just be patient as I guide you,” Yoojin flicked Hyunjae’s obnoxious thumb with his free fingers. Hyunjae had done this before, multiple times probably, so Yoojin was irritated that he was acting like it was his first. First the ice water, then the fingers, and now he was acting like a child with their training wheels off, begging for help and attention.

“Okay,” Hyunjae watched Yoojin curiously, he seemed to be very interested in the guide’s methods. Most guides preferred to hold hands with the esper since it was the least intimate. Others liked hugging, touching the esper’s neck, or touching the esper’s forehead. It all depended on the guide’s preference and the esper’s tolerance.

Yoojin took a deep breath before starting the guiding. Only a second after he had begun a sharp pain was felt. Yoojin felt like his stomach had been punched and twisted at the same time. His head pounded, and for a split second he lost his vision and hearing. He immediately tried to pull his hand back from Hyunjae, but the esper’s grip was too strong and he wouldn’t let go.

“B-bastard!” Yoojin gasped painfully, his free hand clutching his shirt. Sweat dripped down his face and went into the corners of his eyes, causing him to blink profusely. The sweat stung his eyes and made him feel gross. Everything was sticky, muggy, and Yoojin’s whole body ached. It was as if thousands of little needles poked at him, and his stomach still felt like it was being tugged and blended up.

“What’s wrong, Yoojin-gun? Did something happen?” Hyunjae replied with an innocent face as if he weren’t the one to reject Yoojin’s guiding. The only indications of his guilt were the grip of his hand and the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You know what you did! Let go of me,” Yoojin twisted his hand multiple times until he finally got it back. He. Was. Livid!

First, Hyunjae broke the elevator and his phone. Then, he got himself into a stupid amount of debt with this guy. After that, he was forced to bring him ice water like a freaking maid. And now this guy had the audacity to reject his guiding, knowing full well the consequences it would have on him. No, absolutely not!

“I don’t know about other people, I’m not taking this shit from you!” Yoojion stood up and headed towards the door. Who cares about the freaking debt, he would come up with money somehow. Should he even make an effort to pay it? It was basically impossible, like it was designed to cripple him. No regular person would be able to come up with fifty billion won, and not even some of the wealthier people would be able to pay the price of the interest.

“Where are you going?” Hyunjae held onto the corner of Yoojin’s shirt. Yoojin swatted his hand away and continued to walk.

“I’m leaving, go find someone else to guide you,” Yoojin made it to the door and put his fingers touched the handle. Before he could exit, Hyunjae said something that made him stop in his tracks.

“Five hundred million won. I’ll lower your debt by five hundred million, how does that sound?” Hyunjae finally picked up his cup and took a sip of the water. The large blocks of ice had shrunk by now and were only as big as a nickle.

Yoojin gripped the handle. His dignity told him to leave, to not take the offer. He knew that if this went on he would have to endure more humiliation and encounters with Hyunjae. If he were a good, honorable man he would opened the door and walked out.

The guide turned around and walked back to the couch. He was not a good, honorable man. He was a regular man with regular concerns. He put on a jacket when it was cold and ate when it was lunchtime. Being an awakened with a superhero-like brother didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the struggles or experience the same emotions as normal office worker. Sometimes, he even felt like his circumstances could be a teensy bit worse than the guy next door’s.

Yoojin lead a difficult life: he had been beaten near death, been cussed out numerous times, and he’d been involved in several dehumanizing jobs. He was only twenty-five, yet he had achieved little compared to those his age. College was a pipe dream, and Buenos Aires was closer to Korea than his chance at recognition. Taking this deal would be far from the stupidest or most shameful thing he had done.

“You better not do that again, or else I’m reporting you to Director Song for abuse,” Yoojin grabbed Hyunjae’s hand reluctantly.

“I will not do that again, you have my word,” Hyunjae seemed bitter at the mention of Song Taewon, which Yoojin happily took mental note of.

“Your word doesn’t have much weight,” Yoojin began guiding. This time, Hyunjae really didn’t reject him.

“If I do it again, I will turn myself into Director Song. Happy?” Hyunjae replied, but his sarcastic expression wasn’t very assuring.

Yoojin ignored him and continued to work. Hyunjae’s stability was at forty-nine percent, which was below the ideal eighty percent that espers wanted to be at. Seventy percent was an indicator that an esper should come in soon for guiding, and anything below that was more urgent. Forty-nine percent was definitely concerning, so it was obvious that even though Hyunjae did have private guiding session, it had been a while since his last session.

Due to the incident from a moment ago, Yoojin stubbornly stayed silent. Hyunjae didn’t attempt to make conversation either, which was unusual, but Yoojin preferred it that way. It was easier to concentrate when there was no one yapping next to his ear.

Yoojin hated admitting this, but they really were compatible. When guides and espers were less compatible, the guiding process would be more difficult. It would be like attempting to write with your non-dominant hand or walking backwards up a flight of stairs. These actions were obviously doable, but would take much more effort and concentration. However, a guide and esper can be so incompatible that guiding would be like a regular joe trying to play the violin with their feet.

For Yoojin, guiding his brother was as easy as picking up and drinking a glass of cool water. Since his and Hyunjae’s compatibility was ninety-one percent, the guiding was like sipping on a cup of water with a straw. While small, one percent still made a difference.

The guiding was so easy that they were already halfway done. By this point, Yoojin was feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the silence. He wanted to say something, so he looked up at Hyunjae. Though, when he looked at the esper’s face he couldn’t speak.

Hyunjae was weirdly absorbed into the guiding. His eyes never strayed from their interlocked hands, rarely even blinking—which freaked Yoojin out more than just a little.

When Yoojin was in middle school, he and his friends watched a horror movie together at one of their homes. As an older brother who had to face countless horrors (like entering school first, killing spiders, etc.), he wasn’t very affected by the exaggerated acting and silly costumes. They turned off the lights and closed the curtains to set the mood. The six of them were the only ones in the house, which drove the spook factor way up.

They technically weren’t supposed to watch the movie since it was rated R, but nobody wanted to be a scaredy-cat. As teenage boys they wanted to show off their bravery in front of one another. They puffed their chests and called each other pussies for flinching whenever a jump scare happened.

Yoojin was the least fazed, which impressed everybody, and they tried all night to wrangle a whimper out of him. Looking back, he could remember almost nothing about the movie because he wasn’t scared at all. Heck, he couldn’t even remember the name of the film or who the main characters were.

He probably would’ve forgotten about the movie completely. However, his mind immediately dug up memories of a specific scene when he saw the expression Hyunjae made.

The premise of the movie was that a bunch of teenagers were sent to a camp for rebellious juveniles. They were supposed to rehabilitate and become better people so they could “contribute to society” in the future, but that obviously didn’t happen. The irresponsible counselors didn’t care enough to prevent the kids from sneaking in contraband. Due to this, there was a whole lot of alcohol, drugs, and inappropriate behavior in this movie. For this reason, Yoojin was glad that Yoohyun hadn’t come with them at the time.

Anyway, campers started to disappear and die gruesome deaths. No one knew who the killer was or their motive. So, everyone started blaming each other and partners start cheating. For some reason, even as people were dying, many of the characters insisted on doing the devil’s tango (and get killed soon after). Yoojin thought the movie was a weird porno and almost slept.

Eventually, they find out that the killer is one of the camp counselors. Why were they killing kids? Yoojin had no clue, he wasn’t paying attention. As stupid as it was, there was one part of the movie that he had paid attention to.

There was only a quarter of the movie left and the killer was hunting down the last few kids. He had a bloodied gun that matched his blood-soaked clothes. The ridiculous amount of blood on him wasn’t the scary part, and nor was the fact that he was hunting humans like prey—it was the expression he made while doing it.

He smiled like a soldier finally coming home to his wife and kids, but his eyes had the manic glint of a dangerous criminal who’d just escaped from prison. The combination of these two, as well as other things, gave him the expression of a crazed man who had found his liberation after a lifetime of torment. It was disturbing, and it sent chills down Yoojin’s spine when he first saw it. And here he was now, over ten years later, seeing the same face on Hyunjae’s face. Back then, it had just been an interpretation of a phenomenal actor. But, what about now? The one sitting in front of him was no character—he was a living, breathing person.

It was safe to say that Yoojin was glad when the guiding was over. Hyunjae didn’t seem to realize this, so Yoojin tried to pull his hand back. However, the other one refused to release him.

“Sung Hyunjae-nim, we’re done,” Yoojin informed him. Still, Hyunjae didn’t let go—not even flinching.

“Hello? Guildmaster-nim? Helloooo? Yoojin called, waving his free hand in front of Hyunjae’s face. Only then did Hyunjae snap out of the trance he was put under.

“My apologies, I was distracted,” Hyunjae reluctantly let go of Yoojin’s hand. Yoojin inspected the esper’s face and body to check for abnormalities. His complexion was normal, his temperature didn’t seem out of the ordinary, and his reflexes were still there. Since he was physically fine, now it was time to check for mental abnormalities.

“Before you leave, I need to ask you a few questions, just to make sure you’re right in the head,” Yoojin cleared his throat. “How do you feel right now? Do you feel better than before? Worse?”

“I had a small headache earlier, but thanks to Han Yoojin-gun’s excellent guiding I’m all better,” Hyunjae smiled like a normal person this time.

“Headache? Do you normally have these headaches, or do they show up when you stability is low?” Yoojin questioned. That reminded him, he needs to double check Hyunjae’s stability later.

“The headaches have been popping up more frequently, and my stability had been decreasing rapidly lately,” Hyunjae thought sincerely.

“Alright, I guess we’ll move on for now. Are you experiencing any strange emotions right now? For example, do you feel a strong urge to do something?” Yoojin made a mental note of Hyunjae’s reply. His coworkers had told him that more espers have been going rogue as of recent, so this might be important for later.

“Strange emotion? Hm, now that I think about it, yes. I do feel a strange emotion right now,” Hyunjae’s eyes traced Yoojin’s frame lazily.

“What kind of emotion? Anger? Sadness?” Yoojin had a concern expression that left him clueless to Hyunjae’s weird actions.

“I feel an intense desire,” Hyunjae responded and fiddled with the guide’s fingers—the same ones used to guide him—playfully.

“Desire? For what?” Yoojin was worried that Hyunjae felt a strong desire to kill him. He did not want to die today—he still had a whole life to live! Well, not really Since he was in massive debt now, did he even have any more years ahead?

Hyunjae bore an innocent expression and beckoned Yoojin to come closer. When he did, the esper whispered in his ear. “I feel a strong desire to take you. Will Han Yoojin-gun accompany me home?”

Yoojin immediately pushed him away, face flushed and heart pounding. What the hell was this guy on, talking about some crazy shit? “Talk normally!”

“My, what are you so embarrassed for? Have I said something wrong?” Hyunjae snickered at Yoojin’s reaction.

“Of course you did! You just asked me to go home with you,” Yoojin was upset. He had been genuinely concerned about Hyunjae’s wellbeing, despite the fact that the esper had caused him so much trouble. Instead of returning Yoojin’s empathy with sincerity, he chose to joke around.

“What’s wrong with coming to my house? I live in a safe neighborhood, and I have a housekeeper and top notch security. Besides, it’s not like I asked you to have sex with me,” Hyunjae snorted.

“It’s basically the same thing! The connotations are sexual,” Yoojin defended himself.

“Oh dear, have I given you the wrong impression? I hope that Han Yoojin-gun won’t take this to heart, but, unfortunately, I am not interested in men,” Hyunjae apologized with a fake awkward expression.

“Who’s interested in men!?” Yoojin was so enraged that he was about to choke on his own blood. He could feel his hypertension getting worse by the minute because of this guy.

“Isn’t that why you thought I asked you to fuck?” Hyunjae asked with what appeared to be genuine confusion.

“Don’t say ‘fuck’ or ‘have sex’, it’s so vulgar,” Yoojin frowned. He had grown up raising Yoohyun, so out of habit he had a strong aversion to “distasteful” language at times.

“What would you prefer me to say instead? Screw? Make love? Sleep?” Hyunjae chuckled, obviously not taking him seriously.

“You can say, like, ‘hanky-panky’ or ‘the birds and the bees’! Just don’t use such strong language—it’s gross,” Yoojin sighed in exasperation.

“Alright, I shall respect Han Yoojin-gun’s wishes. I will rephrase my question: isn’t that why you thought I asked you to make some bees?” Hyunjae replied wholeheartedly.

“No! That’s not! Ugh, whatever,” Yoojin rubbed his temples in disappointment. “Why am I even having this conversation with you?”

“So...you’re not interested in men?” Hyunjae said slowly. The esper was incredibly gifted in the art of being annoying, and Yoojin would surely have to take lessons or else he might lag behind.

“No! I’m not interested in men!” Yoojin decided to not entertain Hyunjae’s little act any longer and focus on his original purpose. “Do you feel any aches or numbness in your body?”

Hyunjae poked his own arms and legs. “No, I do not.”

“Good. Now, have you lost any of your senses?” Yoojin had a feeling that the answer would be no. They were having a conversation, so Hyunjae could hear. Hyunjae poked himself a few seconds ago, so he can obviously feel. If he had lost his vision he probably would’ve said something by now. The only senses left were smell and taste.

“As far as I’m aware, no,” Hyunaje shook his head. Just in case, Yoojin took a piece of chocolate from the coffee table and opened it.

“Eat this and tell me if you can taste it,” Yoojin held out the piece of chocolate in front of Hyunjae’s face. The esper didn’t take the chocolate out of Yoojin’s hand, and instead bowed his head down and slowly took a bite. His teeth grazed Yoojin’s fingers gently and he took his time to chew. Half the chocolate was left in Yoojin’s hand, melting from the warmth of his body at a leisurely pace.

“I still have my taste, and I can smell the chocolate,” Hyunjae finished chewing the piece in his mouth.

“...You left half of it, what a waste,” Yoojin frowned. The sticky, warm feeling on his fingers made him want to wash his hands on the spot. However, he didn’t want to waste perfectly good food, but he also didn’t want to eat Hyunjae’s leftovers. Why couldn’t the esper just take it from his hand?

“You’re right, my apologies. I’ll eat the other half,” Hyunjae grabbed Yoojin’s wrist and brought it closer to his face. He took Yoojin’s index and thumb fingers, the ones holding the chocolate, into his mouth. By maneuvering his tongue with suspicious precision, he was able to wiggle the chocolate away from the warm digits. The taste was creamy and tasted richer than the average chocolate from the grocery stores, whoever was stocking the rooms clearly went to great lengths to make this room as comfortable as possible.

Yoojin stared in shock, he couldn’t even bring himself to say anything. All he could feel was hot: the humidity from Hyunjae’s mouth as he suckled; the warmth rising in his own face and chest; and the heat of the hazy trance the esper put him under. It felt weird, like a cat licking his fingers for attention. Yoojin didn’t like the weird emotions that bubbled inside of him, and he really didn’t enjoy the way Hyunjae maintained eye contact like they were locked in a staring contest—one that Yoojin was bound to lose.

“S-stop it,” Yoojin mumbled but didn’t make an attempt to move. Hyunjae responded with a hum and kept licking. Only when all of the chocolate had been sucked away did Hyunjae pull back, leaving behind two spit-covered fingers.

“The chocolate is a bit too sweet for me, but that might’ve been the fault of Han Yoojin-gun,” Hyunjae licked his lips.

“You, you…” Yoojin breathed heavily and stared at the esper intensely. “Wipe my fingers damnit.”

Hyunjae bowed his head in acknowledgement and took a handkerchief out of his pocket. He took Yoojin’s hand and wiped it sincerely before shoving the handkerchief in his hand. “For my discourtesy, you can keep this.”

Yoojin brought the handkerchief close and inspected it. It was white with intricate designs in yellow, and at the bottom right corner the word ‘Sung’ was sewn in. Based on the silky texture and the brilliant threads, it was expensive. “Thanks...I guess. I like pink better though.”

“Understood,” Hyunjae nodded earnestly like he was going to keep tabs on Yoojin’s interests. Yoojin stuck the handkerchief in his pocket and made a mental note to wash his hands later.

“Stay here, I’m gonna run a speed test on your stability. After that, you can go,” Yoojin sighed and got up. He felt like he had been sighing a lot as of recent, wasting his valuable breath every time he talked to Hyunjae.

Yoojin made his merry way over to a safe hidden inside a cabinet. He put in the password (12345) and took out the testing equipment. All he had to do was this final task, then he would be free to go.

“Put your hand in the center and channel your mana,” Yoojin instructed. Hyunjae complied, putting his right hand on the device screen and stirred his mana. After a minute, a number popped up on the screen. “98%, we’re in a very safe range. Please leave now.”

“You’re not going to escort me out? I’m hurt,” Hyunjae twisted his mouth in a moue. Yoojin groaned as he put the test back in annoyance.

“Do you lack legs? Or are you a puny S-ranker who’s afraid to walk by himself?” Yoojin mocked but walked with him to the door.

“The latter, I’m quaking from fear. I need the protection of my superior F-rank guide,” Hyunjae didn’t hesitate with his reply.

“If Sung Hyunjae-nim gets jumped, I’m using you as a shield,” Yoojin brought him to the elevator and pressed the button to go down. He also pulled out his phone to text the floor manager that they had finished their session, but then he remembered that it was broken.

“I’m afraid that my fragile body will do Han Yoojin-gun no good. Won’t you take a few hits for me instead?” Hyunjae followed behind him as they entered the elevator.

“Nope. If you’re fragile, then I’m basically a bee in a tornado,” Yoojin clicked the button for the lobby and watched as the steel doors closed in front of them. They were alone again, and hopefully this time the elevator won’t shut down.

“I guess we’re just two weak awakeners then, hm? If something were to happen again, we would be in terrible trouble,” Hyunjae looked around casually.

“Don’t even think about it,” Yoojin glared. “If the lights go out again, I’ll kill you.”

“My guide is so violent, I might just file a complaint,” Hyunjae fiddled with his gloves. “Do you seriously have so little faith in me?”

“Yes,” Yoojin stepped out first when the doors opened. To Hyunjae’s surprise, Yoojin really did walk him all the way to the exit. Other people around them gave them strange looks and parted away to give them space. “We’re here, now go away.”

“I guess this is goodbye then. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon though,” Hyunjae said regretfully. He waved to Yoojin when he left the building like they were lovers separated by force. Yoojin saw his wave, but didn’t return the gesture. Instead, he turned and went back to his office.

“You’re alive!” Myeongwoo gasped as soon as Yoojin arrived. The rest of the guides stood up and clapped in celebration of his survival, they really did thought that this morning would’ve been their last time seeing him.

“Yes, yes, I know. I am also surprised,” Yoojin plopped down onto his seat. While the couches in the guiding rooms were luxurious and made from the highest quality materials, he still felt that his dingy office chair was the most comfortable.

Yoojin turned on his computer and started typing up a report on his guiding session. After doing this he would finally be able to take it slow for the rest of the day.

[ GUIDING SESSION, XX/XX/20XX: #062100 — 0807

Esper: Sung Hyunjae

Rank: S (combat)

Guild: Seseong (guildmaster)

Original Stability: 49%

After Stability: 98%

-

Guide: Han Yoojin

Rank: F

Compatibility: 91%

Total Time: 20 minutes

-

First guiding session between Guide Han Yoojin and Esper Sung Hyunjae. Esper demanded a glass of water from Guide and drank the water. Guide initially started the guiding the esper rejected it. Esper accepted the guiding the second time. Session began at time 1723 and ended at 1743.

Guide asked the esper the following questions:

• How do you feel right now?

• Do you normally have these headaches, or do they show up when you stability is low? (Upon learning that the Esper had experienced headaches before)

• Are you experiencing any strange emotions right now? For example, do you feel a strong urge to do something?

• What kind of emotion? Anger? Sadness? (Upon the Esper responding affirmatively to the previous question)

• Do you feel any aches or numbness in your body?

• Have you lost any of your senses?

Esper showed no signs of abnormality before, after, or during guiding.

Esper behaved inappropriately with Guide by performing the subsequent actions:

• Using his skill to cause the elevator to malfunction (resulting in delay)

• Using his skill to break Guide’s phone (resulting in a broken phone)

• Rejecting guiding for fun

• Telling the Guide

  • “I feel a strong desire to take you. Will Han Yoojin-gun accompany me home?”

  • “What’s wrong with coming to my house? I live in a safe neighborhood, and I have a housekeeper and chef. Besides, it’s not like I asked you to have sex with me.”

  • “Isn’t that why you thought I asked you to fuck?”

• Refusing to let go of Guide’s hand

• Sucking on Guide’s index finger and thumb

Guide requests that the esper be barred from receiving guidance from him in the future. ]

Yoojin debated whether or not he should include the information about Hyunjae’s weird behavior. In the end, he chose to do so because he felt like he might be able to get him in trouble—hopefully, at least. However, the likelihood of anyone taking his request seriously would be low. Having a high compatibility guaranteed that Hyunjae would be assigned to him in the future, unless the esper himself requests otherwise.

“Hey, hey, Han Yoojin-ssi!” Inhye rolled to Yoojin in her chair. “Who was it? Who was the esper?”

Yoojin turned to her and scrunched his nose in displeasure. “An awful man.”

“Aw, c’mon. Tell us, we’re all curious,” Inhye begged. Other people quickly rolled over too, eager to add gossip to their mundane workday.

Yoojin looked at his coworkers’ expectant eyes. It wasn’t like they weren’t going to find out anyway, so he decided to just tell them. “Okay fine, but you guys can’t freak out. Promise?”

“We promise!” They all said in unison.

Yoojin took a deep breath and looked at them seriously. “It was Sung Hyunjae.”

“No fucking way!”

“Was he handsome?”

“How are you not dead?”

“Were his hands soft?”

“Was he scary?”

Dozens of questions bursted from the guides at once. They came one ofter another so fast that Yoojin couldn’t keep up and caused his head to spin. “Guys, slow down! One at a time!”

“I was here first! Was he handsome? On magazines and TV he looks so good, does he look the same in person?” Inhye asked. Before she was awakened, she was a big fan of movies and dramas about espers and guides. After becoming a guide the romanticized facade had mostly dissipated, but S-ranks were still out of reach. So, many guides who normally disliked espers still allowed themselves to be entranced with the beautiful S-ranked illusions.

“No, he is very ugly. The interviews and photoshoots edited the hell out of him,” Yoojin lied, not wanting to give Hyunjae a single win, even when he wasn’t around. “Yoohyun is much better looking than that fool.”

“Damn, looks like I really can’t believe things on the internet,” Inhye sighed with much disappointment. “I need whatever editing engine he uses, it makes him look like a celebrity.”

“Seonbae-nim, how did you survive? I can’t even go near most B-ranks,” Myeongwoo shivered.

Guides had natural fear resistance towards espers lower than their own rank. But, when it came to higher ranks it was complicated. Compatibility played a strong role in fear, so did the difference in strength and the esper’s intention. A B-rank esper with murderous intent would certainly intimidate a B-rank guide, but otherwise the guide would feel little fear. A C-rank guide may not feel as intimidated by an A-rank esper if their compatibility was high, unless the esper was purposefully scaring them.

“Uh, to be honest, I don’t know. Perhaps Sung Hyunjae-nim was in a good mood today,” Yoojin replied awkwardly. He didn’t want to talk about what really happened (he was ashamed).

“I bet it’s because Yoojin is Yoojin! Only he would be able to put an esper in their place,” Myeongwoo proposed an idea wacky to Yoojin, who was going to protest but saw the others agreeing. So, he gave up. “I’m impressed Yoojin, you can even go toe to toe with an S-rank!”

“Haha...ha,” Yoojin laughed forcefully. “Let’s not go that far, I’m not amazing or anything.”

As they talked, the group of guides began to feel like normal civilians. Some were older and in their forties, but most, like Yoojin, were young and not as experienced in the workforce. All of them had dreams before the dungeons appeared; some of them wanted to become doctors, others firefighters, a few engineers, and a couple of them wanted to become singers. Those dreams, along with their youth, had been cut short as soon as they awakened their abilities. Only by gossiping like teenager were they able to feel the experiences of other adolescents.

Unfortunately, their chatter abruptly ended when their team leader stormed in like a mad man. When they heard his footsteps, everyone quickly went back to their desks and pretended like nothing happened. He first approached Yoojin, who was pretending to do work at his computer. “Han Yoojin!”

“Yes, Team Leader-nim?” Yoojin stood and greeted the sweaty man.

“Is it true that the esper was Guildmaster Sung?” He gulped with a serious expression.

“Yes,” Yoojin replied truthfully. The team leader held his forehead in his hand and used him other arm to hold onto the desk, feeling faint.

“...How was it?” He asked nervously.

“It was successful,” Yoojin fidgeted a little, hoping that his boss would just go away.

“How’s that possible? You’re F-rank,” the team leader frowned, skeptical of Yoojin’s reply.

“Our compatibility is 91%,” Yoojin informed him flatly. Upon hearing this, Myeongwoo spat out the coffee that he was drinking, Inhye choked on her energy drink, Siwoo dropped the granola bar he was snacking on, and some people fell out of their chairs.

“I…” the team leader fainted and collapsed onto the floor.

“Team Leader-nim? Team Leader, are you alright!” Yoojin got down next to him and started to shake the man, attempting to wake him. If his boss died right now, would his paycheck be delayed? Because if so, he would do everything possible to save this insufferable guy!

“Ahh! What do we do? Are we getting fired?” Myeongwoo shrieked in horror, convinced that the team leader was a dead man and they were next. A lot of guides freaked out and ran around asking what they should do.

“Did he have to choose today to die? I was hoping to go home early since my boyfriend is in town,” Inhye rolled her eyes and continued with her work. Besides the guides who were running around, other guides seemed uninterested, like Inhye. Ever since the spike in espers causing trouble, they were swamped with tasks. Their boss fainting was the least of their problems.

“Nobody is getting fired! At least, I don’t think so. Anyway, let’s all just calm down and call the ambulance,” Yoojin sighed and went to the telephone on his desk. He dialed 119 and told the operator what happened. The whole time he had one thought: I need to quit this job.

“It’ll take a few minutes for the ambulance to arrive. In the meantime, I’ll send an email to the higher ups about this,” Yoojin told the others, who had returned mostly to normal by now.

Sure, 91% was shocking, but did his boss have to faint? Now Yoojin would have to write up an incident report, email a bunch of old dudes, and probably sustain a whole bunch of scoldings. And, most annoyingly, he definitely won’t be getting off of work on time.

“How come you missed my calls? You didn’t reply to my texts either, did something happen?” Yoohyun asked as soon as Yoojin go into his car. His brother had waited an extra thirty minutes because Yoojin couldn’t contact him, which he felt bad about.

“I’m sorry, Yoohyun. I broke my phone at work, so I couldn’t contact you,” Yoojin replied sheepishly.

“You broke it? How?” Yoohyun frowned as they drove onto the main road.

“Um, I dropped it in the toilet…” Yoojin lied. He knew better than to tell Yoohyun what really happened, otherwise the esper would storm into the Seseong head office and stir up trouble again.

“...Toilet?”

“Yep! I was clumsy, haha.”

“Alright, I’ll buy you a new one. Next time, don’t bring your phone into the bathroom with you. What if you get distracted and fall in instead of your phone?”

“That won’t happen. Don’t worry, I have learned my lesson.”

It hurt his pride to describe himself as a clumsy fool, but it was for the greater good. Still, Yoojin’s heart shed a few tears. If Yoohyun was anyone else, he would’ve have lost all respect for Yoojin by this point. Guess you could say that this was one of the perks of being family!

“By the way,” Yoohyun began slowly. “I heard that Guildmaster Sung came in today. Did you bump into him?”

Yoojin gulped anxiously, news sure traveled fast around here. He looked at his brother with an innocent expression. “Is that so? I heard that an important person came in, but I wasn’t aware that it would be the nation’s top esper.”

“So, you didn’t see him at all?” Yoohyun pried, checking to see if the guide was lying.

“Nope! I’m a lowly employee, how would I be able to cross paths with an S-rank?” Yoojin bushed off Yoohyun’s intense gaze. If he knew what really happened, then Yoojin would never see the light of day. Sure, he had many problems with his job, but he still liked it. He worked so hard to weasel his way into the position, so he wasn’t about to leave any time soon—not willingly, at least.

“Yoojin, I know you hate when I bring this up, but would you please reconsider this job? I was okay with it at first, but I don’t like that S-ranks are coming in. You might be an F-rank guide, but it’s still possible for you guys to meet,” Yoohyun tapped on the steering wheel to restrain himself.

Yoojin wasn’t sure what he should say. Any reasons that come out of his mouth would be a lie. He had already met Hyunjae, so saying that he could just avoid him was a lie. Telling Yoohyun that he would stay out of trouble would be the biggest lie of all since he got himself into massive debt. In the end, he decided that it was unavoidable. “You don’t have to worry so much, Yoohyun. I haven’t gotten into much trouble at work, so what’s there to be concerned about? The hardest thing for me has been responding to some emails, and if I ever have a hard time I can just drink my problems away.”

“No drinking, it’s bad for your health,” Yoohyun said immediately.

“Aw c’mon! Not even soju?” Yoojin begged sincerely.

“No,” Yoohyun was strangely firm on this topic.

“What Korean doesn’t drink soju? Yoohyun, you’re being ridiculous again,” Yoojin had been craving alcohol since Myeongdong station, but Yoohyun had vehemently prevented him from drinking since then. Alcohol didn’t even have anything to do with the dungeon break or Yoojin’s injuries, which made him even more upset at this unfair rule.

“Like I said, it’s bad for you. You can become addicted, get all sorts of health problems, and your mental state becomes sludge.”

“But I used to drink all the time. You didn’t have a problem with it a few weeks ago.”

“That’s because I was less informed then. You’re my only family, so I have to look after your health.”

Yoojin didn’t reply to the last part. Whenever Yoohyun mentioned the word “family,” words had a hard time forming in Yoojin’s usually chipper mouth. So, he said nothing. Or, rather, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

***

The next morning Yoojin had the day off, so he woke up bright and early to take Yerim to the Association of Guides. It was important for her to register with the association and learn about guiding. That way, she wouldn’t become one of those lazy, corrupt espers who disrespect guides!

When they arrived, a group of the top executives, directors, and guides came out to greet them. Yoojin felt a bit out of place, but all of this was for Yerim, so he sucked it up. This would be his first act as her new guardian, therefore he would give it his all to help her.

“Welcome! Bak Yerim-yang, I’m so glad that you reached out to us first. You’re much more mature than most espers,” one of the top ranking officials in the Association of Guides smiled brightly. Like many other guides, he had a strong dislike for espers and often butted heads with the Association of Espers. “My name is Lee Changho and I’m an A-rank guide. I’ve been graced with the opportunity to introduce you to our humble association today. Of course, others will follow and be at your service.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m that mature, haha,” Yerim laughed sheepishly. This type of attention was probably overwhelming for her, someone who’d been living a normal life up until recently. She pointed to Yoojin with her thumb. “I came because Ahjussi insisted.”

“Ah, is that so?” Changho turned to Yoojin and gave him a pained smile. “Nice seeing you here, Han Yoojin. Thank you for bringing Bak Yerim-yang today.”

“No problem, I’ll be in your care,” Yoojin returned the smile. In the world of awkward corporate shenanigens, smiling was the easiest reply. He had never met Changho before this, but the guy didn’t seem to be too fond of him already. Oh well, that’s probably just the consequence of being accused of nepotism and all sorts of things. After all, being the brother of an S-rank didn’t come only with perks.

Changho took them on a grand tour of the building, showing off every shiny facility in the association. He took them to the second floor with the cafeteria, cafes, small shops, etc. On the floor there was also a pool table, which Changho forced them to play a few rounds of to brag about their quality work environment. Yoojin silently thought that the money spent on the pool table could’ve been spent on, I dunno, their bonuses?

Next, Chango breezed through the third and forth floors, which were just the offices for the non-awakened. Those offices were still nice, just not as comfortable as the ones for guides. There was a small break section with snacks, sandwiches, coffee, energy drinks, water, etc. In the back there were even sleeping pods, but they were tiny and uncomfortable, so not many people used them.

On the fifth floor, Yoojin’s floor, it was pretty similar to the lower two floors. The main difference was that there were more drink and snack options, motivational posters were plastered everywhere, and the sleeping pods were better.

“Ahjussi, is this where you work?” Yerim asked, all excited like a little kid.

“Yep. It’s not super amazing or cool, but we do important work,” Yoojin ruffled her hair. Yoojin had always considered himself as a “boy dad” because of Yoojin, but being a “girl dad” didn’t seem so bad either. The other guides seemed to be curious about Yerim, so Yoojin decided to introduce them. “Guys, this is Bak Yerim, the nation’s newest, and youngest, S-rank esper.”

“Nice to meet you, Bak Yerim-nim,” they introduced themselves one after another. While most of them weren’t very fond of espers, no one could hate a kid. They surrounded her, offering her food and drinks and coddling her. The girls were especially fond of her since the nation was lacking in female S-ranks.

“Alright, alright, back up guys. Give her some space, we still have other places to visit,” Yoojin shooed the guides back to their seats. “Sorry about them, they’re just excited.”

“It’s fine,” Yerim snacked on the chips given by Yoojin’s coworkers. “It feels like Take Your Daughter to Work Day.”

“Haha, I guess. If anyone is mean to you just tell me, I’ll report them for harassment,” Yoojin took a chocolate bar from her pile of food and opened it. He ate while they continued up the floors, thinking that the chocolate tasted pretty good. However, the sweet smell reminded Yoojin of the incident from yesterday. Suddenly, the bar tasted like citrus and clean laundry—Hyunjae’s scent. As much as he wanted to chuck the bar into the trash, he wasn’t a waster. So, he forced himself to quickly swallow the rest.

The rest of the tour was relatively boring. Changho was enthusiastic and he gave them a snazzy show while explaining the mundane functions of each floor. Yerim was about to fall asleep, but Yoojin would pinch her any time she yawned. In the Han household, all the kids were raised to be polite angels.

Eventually, the bland field trip finally ended when they all returned to the lobby. That didn’t stop Chanho’s longwinded speeches, much to Yerim’s displeasure.

“That concludes our tour of the association! Our association is only a few years young, established when guides first started to appear in South Korea. The building is still experiencing renovations, so I must ask for Bak Yerim-yang’s forgiveness for the state of a few floors. Oh, and, I hope I didn’t bore you too much,” Chango rambled with little clue of the groups disinterest.

“Of course not...haha,” Yerim had been zoning out, but she snapped back into reality when Changho mentioned her name.

“Ah! I just remembered something very important. Would you be willing to find a guide from our association? Of course, Haeyeon has their own guides, but it’s always good to have a backup option. Additionally, you might be able to find a guide you like here,” Chango asked eagerly. He was all about promoting the Association of Guides, that’s how he gets his raises.

Yerim looked at Yoojin, unsure if it would be a good idea. Yoojin gave her an encouraging thumbs up, so she turned to Changho and replied, “what do I need to do?”

“Perfect! Just follow me to a testing room,” Chango clapped his hands together in satisfaction and began walking them to the testing location.

“Don’t worry too much. The test is easy, all you need to do is infuse your mana into a device, then they’ll test it with other guides. It doesn’t hurt, and it will only take a few seconds,” Yoojin assured her when he noticed that she was a little nervous.

“Who will they test me with?” Yerim asked him.

“Hm, you’re an S-rank, so they’ll try to pair you up with someone around your rank. There aren’t many S-rank guides, and all of the existing ones belong to guilds. So, they’re going to find you an A-rank or a B-rank,” Yoojin explained. Unfortunately, the Association of Guides housed no S-rank guides. All S-ranks were rare, and satisfying their pay was even rarer. A government body like this one would be unable to reasonably afford an S-rank, unless they were willing to take a lower salary.

“Who guides Boss-Man?” Yerim was referring to Yoohyun.

“I do, he hates other guides,” Yoojin took a juice box out of her arms. It was apple juice, but he preferred the tangy flavor orange.

“Then, will you guide me too?” Yerim’s eyes shined brightly, dazzling like billions of stars in the dark.

“Maybe, who knows,” Yoojin didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise. Changho probably won’t even test him with her.

Twenty-one percent. Thirty-three percent. Nineteen percent. Twenty-six percent. Thirty percent. Thirty-two percent. Twenty-nine percent. Guide after guide, they were hit with low or barely average compatibilities. Each time they tested Changho’s face became more and more sullen, utterly defeated by the woes of statistics.

“Why can’t I test with Ahjussi?” Yerim complained as she spun in her chair. She span impressively fast, and even more impressive was how sturdy the chair was.

“Yerim, it’s your fifth time asking this. There’s no point in testing with me,” Yoojin sighed and also spun in his chair slowly.

“Ahjussi, is Boss-Man possessive or something? Is that why you won’t be my guide?” Yerim spun even faster.

“That’s not why. Logically speaking, it’s better for you to find someone around your rank. Compatibility may be important, but the closer the rank the better. It’s safer that way,” Yoojin sighed. The safety part primarily concerned the guides though.

Changho came back into the room, as stressed as ever with new test results in hand. “Sorry for the wait. We have ten percent, seven percent, twenty-seven percent, and twenty-four percent. Looks this like round is also unfortunate.”

“Sooo, does this mean that I can test with Ahjussi now?” Yerim stopped spinning and looked at Changho expectantly.

“...Since it is Bak Yerim-yang’s wish, I will do it. However, please keep your expectations low,” Changho smiled with exhaustion prominent on his face. Before he left, he gave Yoojin a side eye that Yoojin chose to ignore.

“Is thirty percent low?” Yeirm stopped spinning, hair messy and wild from rotating too fast.

“Around thirty-one percent to forty-five percent is the most common, but, technically, it’s a pretty low number. Ideally, a guide and esper should have at least fifty percent compatibility, that’s rarer though. Don’t feel too bad if we aren’t compatible, my compatibility is low with basically everyone,” Yoojin used his fingers to brush out the rats nest on her head. “Next time, don’t spin so fast. Your hair looks crazy.”

“Hmph,” Yerim huffed indignantly. “What was your compatibility with Boss-Man?”

“Ninety percent, but that’s a one off thing! I’ve never even broke twenty-five percent with anyone else,” Yoojin immediately added the last part as to not get her hopes up. He also didn’t tell her about his compatibility with Hyunjae and prayed that no one would mention it. Actually, no one had even asked him about it today, which was extremely weird. Normally, this kind of news would’ve spread quickly and everyone would be bugging him. So, how come not a peep was heard?

“Ninety percent?! Wait, is that high? That sounds high,” Yerim’s eyes widened in shock.

“Yes, it’s high. Even eighty percent is extremely rare, so ninety percent is almost impossible,” Yoojin didn’t like talking about his and Yoohyun’s compatibility, unlike many guides. A high percent constituted a bragging right for guides and espers alike. People could get opportunities and bonuses from a high compatibility, but Yoojin realized early on that it also came with many troubles.

Yoojin was F-rank and Yoohyun was S-rank, which made Yoojin a perfect kidnapping target for people who want to harm his brother. If an esper goes too long without their guide, especially one that they severely rely on, it can cause a sudden spike in stress. And, consequently, the stress from a missing guide can cause an esper to go rogue.

Yeah, espers were a little fragile, but that was how the system made things fair. Espers were beings with inhumane physical capabilities and terrifying powers—barely even human. The strongest guide in the world would not be able to hold a candle to a top ten esper in terms of raw power. So, it was only natural that being an esper came with a law of drawbacks. They sacrificed their humanity to protect humans, turning themselves into weapons of war.

On the other hand, guides embraced their humanity to protect the weapons that the world feared so much. Like having a face that only a mother could love, espers had a temperament that only a guide could coddle (though, this mostly applied to Yoojin and Yoohyun).

Anyway, Yoojin didn’t want to be kidnapped and held ransom. Besides that, his compatibility would draw too many eyes to them. He may have been an attention whore—and he had the mentality that all press was good press—but Yoojin liked what little peace and quiet he still had.

“Han! Yoo! Jin!” Changho burst through the doors.

“Yes, Lee Changho-nim?” Yoojin shot up from his seat, alert.

“I need to see you,” Chango replied then turned to Yerim with a tormented smile (he seemed to be doing a lot of those today). “Bak Yerim-yang, I’ll just be borrowing him for a bit, okay?”

Chango dragged Yoojin out of the room and closed the door. He looked around to make sure that they were alone before preparing to talk in a low voice. “What is this?”

Yoojin was handed the tablet that held the result of the compatibility test. He quickly read the text and his eyes widened. No fucking way. Eighty-six percent. “How’s this possible?”

“I don’t know, you tell me, Han Yoojin. How is it possible that your compatibility is so high? First, Guildmaster Han, but that’s understandable because you’re brothers. Then, we have Guildmaster Sung, a man whom you’ve never had contact with before. However, I can excuse as a coincidence of some sort. But, now? This is the third S-rank that you’ve been compatible with, suspiciously compatible,” Changho told him in an accusatory tone, insinuating that Yoojin was causing trouble. “I need you to answer me honestly: did you rig these tests?”

“No, of course not! I would never do such a thing,” Yoojin defended himself against these accusations. It was frustrating to be accused of rigging tests, but it was also understandable. It was a bit suspicious for an F-rank guide like himself to be so compatible with S-ranks, but ranks didn’t play a huge role in compatibility. In fact, no one really knew how compatibilities or ranks were decided. No one noticed any patterns or rules when it came to compatibilities, so most assumed the system assigned it at random.

“Are you sure you didn’t? Because if I find out otherwise, you’re dead. It’s a crime to tamper with these things, you know that, right? I don’t care if you have your brother backing you or Haeyeon, I won’t tolerate this type of behavior from anyone—let alone you,” Changho jabbed Yoojin in the chest with a cruel finger. “You better pray to whatever god you believe in, because from now on, I’ll be—”

Bang! The door they stood outside of split open suddenly, spooking the two. “I’ve heard enough of your bullcrap!” Yerim declared and turned to face a stunned Changho. “Don’t talk to Ahjussi that way! Are you not an adult? How come you’re going around accusing people left and right like this?”

“Bak Yerim-yang, it’s not what looks like! I know it sounds like I’m giving Han Yoojin here a hard time, but this is important. If he tampered with the test, it will put you at great risks,” Changho reasoned.

“Ahjussi would never do that! He’s a good, honest man. He might look a little sketchy, but he would never put me or others in direct harm,” Yerim put herself in front of Yoojin, who was touched that her faith in him was so unwavering, even though they hardly knew each other. One good deed really does go a long way.

“Bak Yerim-yang is indeed gracious and mature for her age, but you still have a lot of things left to learn. I’m raising these issues out of a place of love and concern for you and all of the espers. I heard that Han Yoojin helped you when you awakened, so I understand that you hold many feelings for him, but it’s no reason to trust him blindly. Did he tell you about the shady work that he did before working here? Probably not, right? He has more to hide than you think,” Changho threw a disgusted glance in Yoojin’s direction.

Yoojin was annoyed that his dirty past was dug up and used like this. Sure, he entered a lot of weird contracts and partnered with suspicious companies before this job, but that was a long time ago, back when he first awakened as a guide. Currently, if you ignored the incident from yesterday, Yoojin was squeaky clean from all of those black market deals! So, Changho (and other higher ups) need to stop dragging his name through the mud at every chance coming their way!

“So? I don’t care about that, I don’t care about the stuff that Ahjussi did before I met him! It’s not like he was a crazy axe murderer or a dangerous criminal. It’s people like you that don’t trust, the kind so focused on themselves that they throw others under the bus. I’ve already put my faith in him, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life,” Yerim said without hesitation. Then, she turned around to face Yoojin. “Our compatibility is eighty-six percent, that’s high, right? If so, just become my guide. I don’t need another one, Guildmaster can learn to share!”

“I…” Yoojin was speechless but incredibly proud that she stood up for him. Though, it did make him a little nervous that she was still so trusting after hearing about Yoojin’s potentially dubious past. So, while he still thought that she should find a guide more suitable for her rank, he could never turn her down. “I guess I can be your guide, but it’s temporary! I’ll fill in the role until you find someone better.”

“There, my guide issue has been solved. Can we go home now?” Yerim asked Changho, who would’ve loved to protest, but her aura was too menacing, so he gave in and let them leave. Whether or not Changho was still suspicious of Yoojin, the man himself didn’t know or care. Let them look, they wouldn’t be able to find anything anyway. Even if they turned the association upside down, they still wouldn’t be able to put together a case against him.

As the two waited in the lobby, Yoojin texted Yoohyun on his new phone that they were done. It was good to have a functioning phone again, it was the latest model too. Unfortunately, having the newest version was only gilded on the outside. Yoohyun had the phone programmed to severely limit Yoojin’s access to just about everything, which made using it frustrating.

To start, his contacts were limited. Only Yoohyun, Yerim, Sunghan, Seok Simyoung (a member of Haeyeon), the emergency lines, and some of Yoojin’s coworkers were saved and reachable. He wasn’t able to add any new contacts on his own, which made him feel like a grandma with late stage dementia.

Apps and games were also limited to whatever Yoohyun approved of. He couldn’t play overly violent games, couldn’t make his own non-work-related social media accounts, and just about everything was age restricted for a reason that only god knew. The most ridiculous part? Yoohyun installed surveillance on his phone, which meant that everything Yoojin did—accessing apps, texting, calling—could be seen and monitored by his brother. Yoohyun had completely child proofed his phone!

Yoojin had to find out on his own too, since Yoohyun said nothing when he gave it to him. So, even though Yoojin was really appreciative of his little brother, he couldn’t help but feel...ticked off by his actions lately. If he had known about the protections on his phone beforehand, he would’ve told Yoohyun that he would buy it himself. Yoojin was a full grown man, having the child settings on was ridiculous.

“I texted Yoohyun, he should be coming soon,” said Yoojin. He tried to find loopholes in the security of his phone, but it seemed impossible. It was to the point where he couldn’t even search up certain topics.

“Mhm,” Yerim acknowledged. In contrast to Yoojin’s terrible struggles, Yerim played first person shooter games without a care in the world. “Yoojin…”

“Yes?” Yoojin replied, but his attention was still mostly on attempting to break the safety rules.

“Would guiding me burden you?” Yerim asked slowly. She too was focused on her phone, but the question was clearly important to her.

Yoojin looked up from his rebellion and ruffled her hair, causing it to revert back to its messy form. “Of course not, even if I work with two hundred espers, you still wouldn’t be a burden to me.”

“That’s a lot of espers,” Yerim commented childishly.

“It’s a hyperbole,” Yoojin rolled his eyes at her immature attitude. He wasn’t mad at her though, he wasn’t even annoyed. Weirdly enough, he was glad that she was still able to ask silly questions that reflected her age. It had been too long since he’d experience normal behavior from espers around him.

[ Shit!— ]

Yoojin glanced up immediately at the random notification, one that made absolutely no sense at all. Before he could even think about it, more notifications popped up.

[ Congratulations, Guide Han Yoojin! You have met the following requirement(s): reach compatibility 80%+ three times with S-ranks! ]

[ “Five Star Guide” (L title) unlocked! ]

Oh...so they were doing this again? Who the hell was buffing a random F-ranker, and why was it making Yoojin incredibly nervous? Yoojin clicked on his new title, and he almost fainted in shock. Under the title were three diabolic skills that shook him to his core.

[ Please Hold My Hand! (S-rank, skill)

Need a hand in guiding? No problem!

When compatibility reaches 76%+ with an esper, the rank of the guide temporarily becomes S-rank during guiding. The user’s other skills also receive a temporary 5% boost in effectiveness for each percent of compatibility above 76% for 10 minutes.

User’s guiding becomes more effective by 5% for each percent above 76%. ]

Holy. Fucking. Shit. That meant when guiding Yoohyun, his skills and guiding would receive a whopping 70% boost! For someone like Hyunjae, he would receive a 75% boost. He thought about his other skills, which were all ranked extremely high already. Now he definitely had to check out his other skills.

[ Please Give Me a Hug! (SS-rank, skill)

Oh dear, do your espers need a bit of support? You can do it!

When compatibility reaches 80%+, the user’s guiding is able to increase the damage and mana reserves of the esper by 60% for twenty minutes. If the person is under custody, the effect lasts for thirty minutes.

When compatibility reaches 90%+, the user’s guiding is able to increase the damage and mana reserves of the esper by 65%. User’s guiding is also able to reduce the damage taken by the esper by 50% and nullify the esper’s fatigue. Effect lasts for ten minutes. If the person is under custody, the effect lasts for fifteen minutes. ]

Yoojin didn’t consider himself to be very religious, but that didn’t stop him from praising the heavens to the moon and back. He had to hold himself back from jumping and screaming lest he look crazy. Seriously, what did he do to deserve such good things? For years he had considered himself to be unlucky, to be the hated child. He thought himself unfavored by the system, who chose his brother as the successful S-rank while leaving him as a puny F-rank. Was the system trying to repent for years of struggle he had to endure?

[ Please Patch Me Up! (L-rank, skill)

Oh no! Are your espers hurt? Don’t worry, you’ve got this!

Please Patch Me Up repairs damaged mana systems in the body of an awakened, or previously awakened, individual. This skill is able to completely reverse the damage done to any internal mana damage and return the ability to use skills/titles to an ex-awakened.

Conditions:

• Person is under custody

• Person is conscious

• Person is alive

• Person accepts this skill

This skill can only be used once a month.

Warning! If this skill is used on a perfectly healthy individual it will cause complete corruption of the mana system in the person’s body! Damage caused by this skill is irreversible. ]

Instead of being overjoyed at a legendary skill, alarm bells went off in Yoojin’s head. Simply because, what the fuck does this even mean? What the hell is a damaged mana system? Hell, what even is a mana system! Previously awakened? Ex-awakened? Internal mana damage? These words sounded like it was ripped straight out of a crappy, abridged wuxia/xianxia novel!

Yoojin recalled the initial notification he received. The system had done something unheard of: it cursed as if it had made a mistake. Was the system run by someone? If so, did that mean this title was given to him by accident? This was all too suspicious, especially because these skills were directly influenced by Perfect Custodian, another thing that was unheard of.

[ GooD job, gUide! CoNGrats! ThE system rejOices iN support of Han Yoojin’s second legendary title. Keep up the good work! ]

Yoojin stared at the new message, quickly noticing the weird capitalization in the text. It spelt out the word “dungeon.” Did the system want him to enter a dungeon?

Chapter Text

The cusp of dusk loomed over impatient pedestrians, who were hastily making their way home or to the train station. Some workers had clocked out while others clocked in, but in an imposing structure, no one left or entered. When lights were being switched off and on in some buildings, the lights didn’t flicker once in the castle of glass and steel. And, inside of the pristine edifice, the humble government employees were in shambles.

“Hey, you! Get those reports to my office. ASAP!”

“What was that? Yes, of course I’ll be at the meeting.”

“How many copies of this do we need? Forty copies? Why the hell do we need forty!”

“The printer upstairs is out of ink, where’s that stupid intern?”

“Sir, please come in for guiding. We are urging all espers to come in as often as possible.”

“Shit! Some cock-eyed fool broke elevator three!”

“I need those damn reports immediately, where did those imbeciles run off to?”

Yoojin typed furiously at his desk. He was surrounded by loud, incoherent yelling and stacks of paperwork. Just a few days ago, he had received a new title, but he couldn’t even put it to the test. He became swamped with tasks all of a sudden, so that new ability of his was the last thing on his mind Hell, he wasn’t even sure why it was so busy. Nobody seemed to know why the higher ups were breathing down their necks.

It was so chaotic that no one on his floor spoke to each other unless it was work-related. The small talk they exchanged not even a week prior had vanished, leaving nothing but brains rotted by stress. None of them were able to take a lunch break either, instead supplementing a proper meal with energy shots and granola bars. Worst of all, if someone wanted to use the bathroom they would have to wait in terribly long lines. It really was a worse day than normal to be at work.

Their team leader, who had disappeared for most of the day, finally came back and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone, we have a meeting in five! Head over to the tenth floor to the main conference room, and be quick! No one is allowed to miss this!”

“Yes, Team Leader-nim,” everyone said in unison. Yoojin got out of his seat and took his phone, notebook, and computer. He (and others) had a feeling that today’s meeting would be extra long. Normally, they would be given more information than just where to go, which implied that today’s conference would be special—much to every overworked guide’s displeasure.

The tense group maneuvered into the hallways and elevators. It took several elevator rides to transport everyone—from every floor— onto the tenth floor. Five minutes had definitely passed by the time Yoojin made it to the conference room, but it didn’t seem like anyone was concerned. Everyone was bound to be late.

Since Yoojin was low ranked, he sat towards the end with Myeongwoo. Due to the large number of people in attendance, a projector and microphone had been set up. No one seemed to know why they had all been called, so complaints bubbled in the sea of people/ Many muttered about how they’d been dragged away from important business for no reason.

When the last few stragglers finally settled, Changho got onto the stage and tested the mic. At first, an ear piercing screech blared from the speakers. Changho muttered an apology before beginning his speech.

“I’m aware that you’re all incredibly busy people, so I’d like to begin by thanking you all for coming on such a short notice and for your hard work. Since it is late, and I’m sure everyone would like to go home, I will get straight to the point.

“It is with great regret that I host this meeting today. An assistant of mine will be distributing a file. I want all of you to look over it carefully.”

Changho’s slide depicted a table that showed the number of espers, rank, stability, last guiding session, and a section reading either “no loss,” “partial loss,” “temporary loss,” or “complete loss.”

“We’ve recently received reports of espers experiencing partial loss, complete loss, or temporary loss of the ability to use their skills. More specifically, these espers experienced difficulties, or incapability, of using mana. In the case of complete loss, the espers became a normal person without even a trace of mana detectable.

“We do not know if these cases are permanent, nor do we know the cause. However, we have noticed a pattern: all of these esper’s stability were at zero to ten percent. We also do not know how to reverse this, but we can only take on preventative measures by forcing all espers into guiding.”

Mutterings of fear stirred in the audience. Loss of abilities? Espers reverting back to normal people? Yoojin’s mouth went dry, and chills prickled his spine. He had a terrible feeling about this.

“In case you were wondering, yes, this is why everyone’s workload has been increasing recently. These cases first began about two months ago, and we have been working towards a solution. Unfortunately, there has been no progress, but do not panic.

“In a few days time, an article will be proposed and passed regarding espers and enforced mandatory guiding. I know we’ve been pushing all of you to encourage espers to come to appointments, but due to the changes in circumstance we will have to use force. The Association of Espers has already been informed of this, and we have agreed that an esper should come in at least once a month for guiding. Espers can also show proof that they have been guided once a month via a private/personal guide.

“If espers do not comply, we’ll either forcibly guide them or revoke their esper license. For the latter, they will be detained and we will still guide them by force and monitor them regularly.

“Guides will also temporarily focus on only guiding, other miscellaneous tasks will be designated for the non-awakened. Guides D-rank or lower may partner up or form groups to guide an esper. It is expected of all guides to contribute to this cause. All of this is for the safety of the citizens of this country, and I hope you will be understanding of the new changes.

“I will now be taking questions.”

Immediately, dozens of hands shot up. Everyone was worried—if espers could lose their abilities, then wouldn’t guides be vulnerable too? That was the questions lingering in everyone’s minds except Yoojin’s, who was too focus on connecting what he’d just heard to his new skill. Please Patch Me Up mentioned something about a previously awakened individual, which blared alarms in Yoojin’s mind due to this unprecedented announcement. At the same time, he recalled that the description also mentioned details about a damaged mana system—the only clue that Yoojin had about this fiasco.

“Sir, I have a question,” a B-rank male stood up. “What will you do about the public’s reaction? Guides and espers haven’t even been around for a decade, so if our abilities disappear it’ll surely cause mass panic.”

“Thank you for your question. We will not be informing the public as of this moment. This information is classified and will be shared only with government guides and espers. Select individuals from the top guilds, like Seseong, Haeyeon, Breaker, MKC, etc. will be notified as well. Non-awakened employees won’t be informed about this to avoid unnecessary panic. I trust that everyone here will keep this situation under wraps,” Changho explained. “Any other questions?”

Before anyone else could, Yoojin stood up. There was something on his mind that he needed to answer as soon as possible. “What are the symptoms of ability loss? What will we do with those who become regular civilians?”

“...Thank you for the questions, Han Yoojin. To start, the symptoms for this unusual phenomenon are fevers, extreme mood swings, frequent fluctuations of stability, headaches, and, most prominently, irrationality.

“As for your second question, those who lose their abilities may retain their status as an esper unless we are absolutely positive that they are unable to recover their skills. If we determine that they have completely turned into a normal human, they will be given a pension according to their contribution as an esper. However, they will be relieved from their duties,” Changho’s response didn’t bring any comfort to the crowd. Instead, it happed to agitate everyone even more—Yoojin included.

“How will you determine that an esper has experienced complete, irreversible loss of their abilities?” Yoojin wasn’t done asking questions.

“Currently, we have determined that ability loss for two weeks or more is permanent, but this method of determination is still uncertain. As we do more research and more cases appear, I’m sure that our requirements will adapt,” Changho answered honestly, but the other guides didn’t want his honesty, the truth was unsettling.

“Who have been the primary targets for ability loss?” Yoojin continued.

“According to our data, it has mostly been C-rank espers and above. We have not found a case in D-ranks or below, and we are still determining the reason for this,” Changho’s response caused even more guides to freak out. C-ranks and up were, to be honest, much more important than those of lower ranks. So, the loss of such pivotal espers shook what little moral was left in the room.

“Thank you, that’s all from me,” Yoojin finally sat down and sank into deep thought. He thought about his skill, which, if his hunch was right, granted him the ability to reverse this. However, it could only be used once a month, and having a brand new skill at this point in time would make him incredibly suspicious. For now, he would definitely have to find a way to enter a dungeon, but that would be incredibly difficult because of Yoohyun.

“How many espers have affected?” A C-rank asked.

“As of this moment, thirteen. Nine were C-rank, two were B-rank, and one A-rank. Six C-ranks experienced temporary loss. Three C-ranks and one B-rank have experienced partial loss. Finally, one B-rank and one A-rank have experienced what we are assuming is permanent loss. All of these espers are currently under the supervision of researchers. The higher the rank, the more severe the loss is what we’ve noticed,” Changho informed the disgruntled crowd.

“What should we do if the press finds out about this?” A shaky voice spoke from a seat in the middle.

“All employees shouldn’t respond to any questions, if there happens to be any. Pretend like you don’t know what they’re talking about, dodge questions, avoid running into journalists. Though, for now at least, live and work normally. If we change our behaviors, people with catch on.

“Also, please expect to have your hours and workload increase. I know it isn’t ideal, but we must do our best to nip these cases in the bud. Yes, Han Yoojin?” Changho braced himself for another round of questions.

“Will we be compensated for the extended hours?” When Yoojin heard that they’d be working longer, he almost had an aneurysm. Working grueling hours for the same pay would be ridiculous, especially because he was in a little something called “debt” at the moment—copious amounts of it.

“...Everyone will be compensated with a humble bonus as well as regular pizza parties. Further compensation will be discussed with the other higher ups,” Changho explained calmly. Though, he himself didn’t seem too convinced that a pizza party and tiny bonuses would appease anyone’s disgruntlement. It wasn’t great, but Yoojin would take what he could get.

The meeting seemed to have lasted days, but in reality it had only been three hours. Everyone was in a daze as they entered the elevators, and Yoojin didn’t even realize that he was already back at his desk. An ominous fog submerged the upper floors while the non-awakened remained in ignorant bliss—a bliss that the guides wanted to immerse themselves in badly.

However, no one was as shaken as Yoojin. It wasn’t only because of the ability disappearances, it was also because of how sentient the system had been behaving. Based on the notifications he’d received, he had surmised that the system was likely being controlled by something, or, at the very least, was a conscious being. Knowing that was already uncomfortable, but it’s the fact that the system had predicted this. If everything was orchestrated by the system, why would they send him hidden messages?

All Yoojin could do was type away on his keyboard and work like normal to calm himself. Everything was too difficult to comprehend, and it gave him another one of those severe headache.

“Yoojin, you should tell your brother to pick you up later. I think we’ll be staying here for a while,” Myeongwoo suggested. He, like the others, looked exhausted. His eyebrows were tense and the bags under his eyes had been turning deeper in color over the past few days. The mouse under his right hand never stopped clicking, sending a rhythmic lull into the perturbed line of cubicles.

“You’re right, I should,” Yoojin sighed and took out his baby-proofed device. He searched for Yoohyun’s contact, which wasn’t difficult because it was one of the only numbers he had.

[ Yoojin: I’ll be working late today...and every day from here on out ]

Yoojin’s heart pounded when the message was sent. Would Yoohyun even accept this? What if he stormed in and picked him up anyway? It’d be pretty embarrassing to be wrestled out of his desk by his little brother.

Ding. The reply came quick, and Yoojin braced himself for an argument.

[ Yoohyun: Why? ]

Yoojin breathed a sigh of relief. Yoohyun hadn’t immediately thrown a fit. At least, not yet.

[ Yoojin: You know, the usual stuff. Haha. I can’t say why yet, but I think you’ll find out soon

Yoohyun: It’s because of the esper thing, isn’t it?

Yoojin: ...yes

Yoojin: I can’t leave the rest of my co-workers to pick up the slack. I gotta stay

Yoohyun: When should I pick you up?

Yoojin: I’m not sure. I can find my own way home, no need to worry about me!

Yoohyun: No.

Yoojin: I can get a ride from someone

Yoohyun: No. I’ll just pick you up at the same time. ]

Great, this conversation was going absolutely nowhere!

Yoojin wasn’t sure what he should do. As much as he would’ve loved to go home, it seemed inappropriate to do so when everyone else was unable to leave. He himself wanted to stay to find out more information. Plus, a small part of him would never admit it out loud, but he wanted some time away from Yoohyun—who’d been overprotective to the point of suffocation.

As Yoojin pondered his (lack of) options, the telephone on his desk rang. The phone screen indicated that it was an outside caller, more specifically, it was an esper. So, he picked up.

“Hello! This is the guiding office in Seoul. How may I help you today!” Yoojin tried his best to sound sweet and polite, but he struggled with so much weighing on his mind.

“Who am I speaking with?” A low voice spoke into the phone. The man’s tone was polite, but there was a twinge of familiar confidence that gave Yoojin the heebie jeebies.

“My name is Han Yoojin. Are you looking for a specific person? If so, please let me know and I’ll transfer you right away,” Yoojin replied with suspicion.

“Han Yoojin-gun, what a coincidence that we meet again,” Hyunjae cooed. “Are we perhaps destined for each other?”

“No. Have a nice day!” Yoojin slammed the telephone down and stopped the call with his loan shark. He was sure that it wasn’t time to pay yet, so why the hell was Hyunjae calling him?

A few seconds later, the phone rang again. Yoojin picked up after taking a few seconds to recompose.

“Why did you hang up? I didn’t even say anything yet,” Hyunjae sounded a tad disappointed, but Yoojin knew that he was bluffing.

“Sorry, the line cut. Hello? Are you saying something? Sorry, I can’t hear you, the line’s going out again!” Yoojin hung up once more.

Alas, it wasn’t long before the phone rang once more. Yoojin really didn’t want to pick up the phone, but he was afraid that the loud ringing would affect the people around him. So, he regretfully picked up.

“Did the phone go out again?” Hyunjae asked as soon as they connected.

“...Yes,” Yoojin responded with defeat. He couldn’t understand how he kept receiving Hyunjae’s calls—there were dozens of people in this building!

“Can I speak, or will the line magically cut?” Hyunjae said sarcastically.

“You may speak, Sung Hyunjae-nim,” Yoojin spoke bitterly.

“Wonderful. Come to XXXX XX—it’s urgent.”

“Are you crazy? I can’t just leave my work.”

“Han Yoojin-gun, my life is on the line. Work with me just this once,” Hyunjae’s voice was relatively calm despite being in such grave “danger.”

“Why not ask one of your guild members or a buddy of yours? Hell, you can even reach out to my boss’ boss if you want help so bad, the association would foam at its mouth to help you,” Yoojin snorted in disbelief.

“I can’t explain it right now, but would I really call a no-name F-rank to help me for no reason? Look, just come, okay? I’m in real danger here and—” the line became distorted and suddenly cut. This time, the ended call wasn’t Yoojin’s fault.

Goosebumps lined Yoojin’s arm like a sheet of braille. He sat at his desk motionlessly without making a sound, not even daring to breathe too loudly—a stark contrast to the constant flow of conversation and movement in the background.

The silence from his phone was deafening, and a sense of dread overtook Yoojin’s senses. His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to leap out any second now. Every breath take was unsteady, and the sweat covered telephone in his hand was becoming too slippery to hold. He slowly put the phone down and waited for it to ring again.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Nothing.

Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds. Twenty seconds. Still, nothing.

“He’ll call any second. Maybe he’s just taking a while,” Yoojin assured himself with a mumble and continued to wait in anticipation.

A minute had past, yet no sound came from the still phone.

“What am I so worried about anyway? He’s the Sung Hyunjae He’s the number one hunter, guildmaster of Seseong, talented, S-rank Sung Hyunjae! There’s absolutely nothing to worry about,” Yoojin muttered repeatedly while scribbling down a short message explaining his absence on a piece of paper. He handed it to a confused Myeongwoo before heading to the elevator, not even bothering to take anything besides his wallet and ID.

“An F-rank like me has no reason to be concerned with him, that’s ridiculous. Besides, what can a guy like me do for him?” Yoojin entered the elevator and pressed the lobby button. Him and a few others were in the elevator, all of whom were accompanied by agitating jazz music that grated on everyone’s ears.

“I’m just leaving to go on a little walk, that’s all. I’m just going out to clear my head, then I’ll head back immediately,” Yoojin’s feet moved quickly out of the elevator, then the association building, and it took him to the subway. His insolent legs walked him through the security and into a compartment.

Before Yoojin sat down, he felt his pockets and realized that he’d forgotten his phone. When he felt his empty pocket, he had a whiff of clarity.

The train doors before him hadn’t closed yet. It would be easy to go back and pretend like nothing happened. Ignoring Hyunjae would be easy, much easier than facing the S-rank and encountering hundreds of unknowns.

For all Yoojin knew, Hyunjae could’ve been pulling a prank on him. This could all be some big dumb social experiement, and Yoojin would’ve wasted a few very important hours. A horrifying discovery had just been announced, so should he really be wasting his time on a potentially life-threatening problem? One that he, most likely, wouldn’t be able to solve?

On the other hand, what if Hyunjae really was in trouble? Maybe there was a real reason why he contacted Yoojin, one so unexpected that he wouldn’t be able to think of it. If the nation’s top hunter was in trouble, then wouldn’t the whole world be in trouble. The worst possible scenario that Yoojin could think of was actually pretty simple: Hyunjae had lost his skills. Even if it had been for a few seconds, that would still be a cause for concern. The thought of this made Yoojin nervous again, but it was a scenario that he thought of on his own.

The doors closed and the crowded cart sped off. Yoojin hadn’t made up his mind, but it seemed like the train had picked a path for him. Who was Yoojin to deny fate? After all, the best journeys always begin in a train.

The address Hyunjae gave was about an hour away. When Yoojin left the train station, it was already 8:03 PM. Since he’d forgotten his phone, he could only tell time based on the clock he had seen in the station. Other than that, he had to rely on his shitty internal clock. Hopefully he’d make it back before Yoohyun arrived. Yoojin really didn’t want to return to an incinerated building.

Each step he took was fast and full of unease, breezing past building after building. The pace he set managed to bring him closer and closer to the mysterious location of Hyunjae.

As he approached the address, his feet slowed and he stood in front of a dinky building—if you could even call it that. It was moldy and would definitely fall at the smallest gust of wind. From the outside looking in, no lights were on. Unless you considered the flipped cockroach wiggling next to his foot as a sign of life, it was clear that no one had been inside the building for a while.

“This can’t be it,” Yoojin shifted around uncomfortably. On the ground below him were bits of crumbled concrete that crackled under his weight. He stared at the struggling roach that flailed its legs rapidly, and the looked back up at the barely legible address. Yep, XXXX XX, he was unfortunately at the right place.

After some time, Yoojin took a small step forward with courageous effort. At the same time, a window pane from the second floor fell to the ground and shattered in front of the entrance. Fuck. No. “I’m getting out of here, screw this!”

Before he could do a 180 and leave, he sensed a slight change in the air—a mana fluctuation. More specifically, he sensed abnormalities associated with a dungeon and a dangerous entity. So, despite his desire to abandon his little roach friend and make a run for it, Yoojin decided that he had to fulfill his guide-ly duties and continued moving forward.

Crunch, crunch, crunch. Every time Yoojin moved a sound was made. The damp air and darkness shrouded his senses, making him feel bare and vulnerable to whatever was haunting the building. All he could think about was finding Hyunjae and leave, but there wasn’t much he could do since he couldn’t contact the esper.

Yoojin could sense that the farther in he went, the closer he was getting to the dungeon. But, every inch he moved in that direction put pounds on his shoulders, telling him to run away or else he’d be killed by the mysterious presence that loomed near. He was sure this presence was Hyunjae, only the aura of an S-rank can be felt from so far.

Before Yoojin joined the Association of Guides, he had bounced around between small guilds. At first, he’d thought the C-rank espers who had accepted him were kindhearted. But, he quickly learned how wrong he was when they would force him into dungeons and work like a slave. They forced him to mine mana stones until his hands bled uncontrollably. His fingernails would fall off from how much gunk he had to scrub off of loot from dungeons. Even when he was sick, when his body was beaten and broken, they would still drag him out of bed and use him as bait for monsters.

Those were some of the darkest times in his life. Not a day went by where he didn’t live in fear, but, for some reason, the fear he felt now was incomparable to the times when he’d been beat down so low. Yoojin was a guide, so he felt less afraid of espers than the average person. His high compatibility with Hyunjae also helped reduce his fear. Unfortunately, an S-rank was still an S-rank, and being in the same building as one sent shivers down his spine. It also didn’t help that he was in a very shady, disgusting, and probably haunted building. Even the sound of dripping water made his arm hairs stand.

“Hello?” Yoojin called out, sensing a terrifying presence near. Hyunjae was an S-rank, so he should be able to hear and notice Yoojin from this distance. Yet, there was no reply.

“Guildmaster Sung? Sung Hyunjae-nim? Are you there?” Yoojin spoke louder this time and walked a few feet closer. The only response he received was the echoing sounds of his own voice and the movement of skittering rats. A drop of water fell on his neck and he jumped in terror, heart almost leaping out of his chest with the sudden coldness. “Fuck, where the hell is he?”

Crackle.

Yoojin froze. A sound came from around the corner, just a few steps ahead. The sound was either another rat or Hyunjae, and while a rat would be the lesser of two evils, he hoped it was Hyunjae. So, he put on his big boy pants and tossed out his nerves, walking quickly to get this over with.

When he turned the corner, he saw the back of the S-rank standing in front of dungeon. Hyunjae stood perfectly poise, shoes polished and hair combed. His skin reflected a bit of the blue light emitting from the gate, making him look just a little sickly. The deep red coat he wore, Sillekia’s Wings, had not even one speck of dust. Overall, Hyunjae looked as graceful, and comely, as ever.

Yoojin was pissed.

“Ah, there you are. You kept me waiting for so long, your flowers would’ve wilted if you took any longer,” Hyunjae turned around with a smile. The esper carried a large bouquet of purple and pink hyacinths, which he held out to give to Yoojin.

Yoojin shoved the bouquet of flowers back into Hyunjae’s hands. “I’m not taking this shit, why did you call me over? You look fine!”

“Maybe I missed you?” Hyunjae responded in a questioning tone as if he didn’t know why either.

“...I don’t even know you, how can you miss a stranger?” Yoojin had to hold himself back from strangling Hyunjae. “I came all this way because I thought you were in trouble. I left my work without even telling my boss! I took a whole train and walked to get here! I had to make friends cockroaches and rats to get to you! So, please tell me why you’re not dead or dying right now?”

“Why is Han Yoojin-gun so choleric? Did you forget your decorum on the train ride here? You never even gave me a chance to explain myself,” Hyunjae took Yoojin’s hands and wrapped it around the bouquet. “I really did have a good reason for calling you, please believe me.”

“No! I’m leaving,” Yoojin threw the bouquet to the side, and the hyacinths scattered across the dirty floor.

“If hyacinths upset you so much, I’ll get you roses next time. Are you really going back when you’ve just arrived?” Hyunjae’s words pissed Yoojin off even more.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know why I’m upset,” Yoojin turned around and started leaving. But, before he could even take three steps, Hyunjae grabbed firmly onto his right shoulder.

“It’ll be a shame if Yoohyun knew about our meeting. I imagine that your beloved little brother would lock you up and never let you leave the house. Tsk, tsk, how terribly lonely would that be?” Hyunjae spoke with faux sympathy, but there was not a hint of anything else but mischief in his eyes.

Yoojin shrugged off his hand and turned to face him. “What do you want?”

“Enter this dungeon with me. I’ll even be nice and lower your debt a little,” Hyunjae proposed.

“You want me to enter a dungeon? Sung Hyunjae-nim, has your age gotten the best of you? I won’t be able to offer much help,” Yoojin frowned. Hyunjae was, like, forty or fifty? He wasn’t sure, but all he knew was that old age was truly a force to be reckoned with.

“Han Yoojin-gun worries too much, I just need a guide by my side. You just happen to be the most convenient,” Hyunjae responded rather kindly to Yoojin’s words. Seems like squeaks from a kitten can’t shake a lion after all.

“I guided you not too long ago, why would you need me here again? It’s not like one dungeon can do significant damage to you or anything. And, even if it did, I’m only an F-rank,” Yoojin said, wanting to talk his way out of this if possible.

“Maybe so, but our compatibility is high enough to make up for it. The system has brought us together, so why try avoiding it? Let’s hurry and enter, I’m not sure about Han Yoojin-gun, but I’m a rather busy man myself,” Hyunjae walked languidly over to the dungeon entrance.

“This may surprise you, but I happen to have a full time job. Y’know, the one you dragged me away from? Even if Yoohyun doesn’t force me to quit, they’ll fire me since I left without notice during a busy time,” Yoojin rolled his eyes and stood next to him.

“No need to fret, they won’t fire you,” Hyunjae assured him.

“How would you know? You’re not a clairvoyant,” Yoojin replied with doubt.

“Because I’ve already informed a higher up of your absence. I called them right after I called you, Han Yoojin-gun takes priority of course. Don’t worry, they won’t tell anyone about this. Shall we enter?” Hyunjae didn’t wait for a response and pushed Yoojin in without warning.

“You—!”

Yoojin fell face first into the ground. Underneath his fingertips were a soft pile of snow, and the drastic change in temperature caused him to get up instantly. All he had on was a pair of long dress pants and a white button-up, certainly not fit for this type of chill.

“Looks like winter came early,” Hyunjae commented, not even bothering to help the guide up.

Before them lay rows of pine trees that appeared to go on for miles. The leaves had been dyed white with snow camouflaging the lush green. No sun was seen in the dungeon sky, but it was still crystal blue. If it weren’t for the gargantuan creatures surrounding them, Yoojin would’ve taken in the scenery a little longer and spent some more time raging at Hyunjae.

“Hey, Mr. S-rank, what’s this dungeon’s grade supposed to be?” Yoojin asked as he observed the beasts in front of him. There were dozens of bear-like monsters. Each were three times the size of normal bears and had pure white fur that blended into the background. Their faces were menacing, contorted into malicious grins that went beyond just a desire to eat. Yoojin’s senses told him that this was no simple dungeon.

“That’s a wonderful question. You see, I have no idea,” Hyunjae replied casually, seemingly unbothered by the sight of the beasts.

“Excuse me? You dragged me here without knowing the grade?” Yoojin was baffled. What the hell was up with this guy? Why did he take Yoojin without taking any precautions!

“If it makes you’d like, I can make an estimation for you. But, I think a guide of your caliber should be able to make an educated guess, no?” Hyunjae glanced at Yoojin and waited for a response.

Yoojin knew that he wasn’t going to provide a proper answer. This was probably a test to gauge how useful he was, which pissed Yoojin off even more.

Based on the size, mana, and aura coming from the bears, Yoojin guessed that they were at least B-rank. While he could stand pretty well against an esper, monsters were different. He felt a suffocating sense of fear around the beasts, but with Hyunjae next to him it was like nothing.

“If I guess right, will you get rid of them? Or do you plan to loiter around uselessly?” Yoojin questioned. His eyes never strayed from the bears in front of him, unlike Hyunjae who liked to look around as if he were site seeing.

“Sure,” Hyunjae replied while brushing a few snowflakes off of his coat.

“I’m guessing there’s mostly B-ranks here, with a couple of A-ranks sprinkled in the back,” Yoojin answered honestly.

“Wow, how’d you know?” Hyunjae acted shocked, eyebrows raised a little in surprise. “I never expected you to be so accurate.”

“…” Yoojin thought for a second. “Be honest, you don’t even know, right?”

“I’m hurt, do you think I’m that useless?” Hyunjae frowned. “But, yes, I didn’t know. Things like ranks don’t matter to me. It’s not like the addition of a few A-ranks will change the outcome.”

Yoojin let out a small laugh. There was the cockiness expected from an S-rank. “Well, if that’s the case, will Guildmaster Sung please do something about those bears? A puny F-ranker like myself is pretty scared.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want. Would you lend me some help? I’m feeling a little sick from the cold,” Hyunjae covered his mouth with a hand and (fake) coughed a few times.

“Fine, but give me your other hand. I’m not touching your S-rank germs,” Yoojin grimaced in disgust.

“Shame, my germs are F-rank friendly. Perhaps they’ll help build Han Yoojin-gun’s immune system,” Hyunjae took off his glove and held out his other hand. When Yooijin took it, he was surprised to find that his palm was warm. In a place as cold as Siberia, Yoojin instinctively drew closer to the heat like moths to a flame.

Hyunjae held Yoojin close, securing him in the esper’s arms. Like his hands, his body radiated a comforting warmth—a stark reminder of the difference between S-rank and F-rank. “Hold on tight, it’d be a shame if you lost your grip and died.”

“I’ll be in your care,” Yoojin replied firmly. His voice may have been stable, but Hyunjae’s last few words made him a bit on guard. Depending on the S-rank’s mood, Yoojin might die right then and there.

“No, I’ll be in yours,” Hyunjae corrected.

Golden chains rained on the bears, and the entire first row was wiped out before Yoojin could even blink. The once pristine white was now drenched in a deep purple-black color, the color these bears’ blood, and formed a line that dared the others to cross. Seeing their friends go down so easily, the B-rank bears didn’t risk moving forward.

“Well, that was easy,” Yoojin muttered. He watched the beasts slowly retreat into the safety of the forest, but realized he’d spoken too soon when new bears came to replace them. There were less this time, but their size even greater and their rank higher.

“Han Yoojin-gun’s predictions are really accurate. Since I’m facing A-ranks, may I ask you to guide me?” Hyunjae spoke softly into Yoojin’s ear, almost like a child begging for a piece of candy.

“You’re only nice when you want something, huh?” Yoojin sounded irritated, but he did so anyway. When he focused, he noticed something strange.

If his memory served him right, Yoojin had brought Hyunjae’s stability up to 98% last time. So, how come the esper felt strangely unstable again? If he hadn’t been so caught up in his emotions, he would’ve sensed this oddity sooner. Just from experience, Yoojin estimated that Hyunjae’s stability right now was around 50%, which was unusual and dangerously low. It hadn’t even been a week since their session, and unless Hyunjae had been spamming his skills like crazy, it would be nearly impossible for his stability to fall that quickly.

Unless, it was related to the ability losses.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Yoojin said carefully.

“Am I allowed to say no?” Hyunjae took a few steps back as chains slammed into new line of bears. The impact was great enough for the snow on the ground to shoot up and spread out like a blizzard.

“No. Why’s your stability so low?” Yoojin asked while pouring much of his mana into guiding. Specks of snow kept hitting his face, getting in the way of his concentration and causing him to sneeze. Yoojin’s clothes were so unfit for this type of weather, it didn’t even matter that there was a human heater against him.

“I do not know,” Hyunjae slipped his coat over Yoojin, covering his head and most of his body with the red cloak. This shielded Yoojin’s vision from the bloody fight, but his ears still prickled at the sounds of chains clanking and bears roaring.

Unlike the B-ranks, the A-ranks didn’t back down despite its fallen companions. Instead, the death of the bears in front of them riled them up even more, stirring a sense of unity that bred an even more aggressive fighting style. This was a quality that clearly defined B-rank from A-rank. The higher the rank within a species, the wider the gap in intelligence and emotion.

Yoojin didn’t have time to mull on the chaos around him. He had one job right now: guide Hyunjae. The more he used his chains, the quicker his stability was falling. S-ranks were naturally more susceptible to being unstable, but, once again, the pace at which Hyunjae was becoming unstable was concerning. Just using his chains for a few minutes had decreased his stability around 10% (also an estimate). So, Yoojin worked as fast as possible before the esper could show extreme paranoia or aversion to his touch.

“Sung Hyunjae-nim...how come your stability keeps dropping so fast?” Yoojin spoke nervously. The air around them was cold, but under the feeling of Hyunjae’s stability continuously going down sent Yoojin into a mental spiral. Compatibility was amazing, a wonderful thing that helps the guiding process overall. Sadly, compatibility couldn’t save Yoojin when it came to this situation. It was like charging a phone that’s rapidly losing battery, so Yoojin became panicked.

“Is that why I feel so agitated? I must say, I do not know,” Hyunjae’s chains wrapped around several of the bears and sent a wave of lightning through the crowd. “Isn’t Han Yoojin-gun supposed to be an expert in this sort of thing? Please don’t make me regret bringing you.”

“You dragged me here! I told you to take someone more fit,” Yoojin racked his brain for a solution. At best, he could reverse as much of the drop as possible, or at least slow the drop until the fight ended. But, if this kept happening, Hyunjae’s performance might start being affected.

“Well, think of something before I lose my mind. If you take too long, I may suddenly go numb and drop the baggage in my arms,” Hyunjae said, referring to Yoojin as said “baggage.”

There were many moments in his life where he’d cursed himself for being low ranked, and this was definitely one of them. Yoojin kept thinking and thinking, scanning his memories for any sign of hope. There had to be something that he could do!

“Wait, I got it,” Yoojin remembered that not too long ago, he’d gained a new title. With that title was a little skill, Please Hold My Hand, that would allow his rank to become temporarily S-rank. Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?

Immediately, Yoojin activated his skill.

[ Please Hold My Hand!

Guide Han Yoojin’s rank has increased from F-rank to S-rank! Guiding efficiency with esper Sung Hyunjae has increase by 75%. Effect lasts for 10 minutes. ]

The difference in rank was felt instantly. The previous difficulties he’d had disappeared within the blink of an eye. Guiding became easier than breathing, and Yoojin felt Hyunjae’s stability rapidly climb. The low time limit felt negligible in the face of guiding that bulldozed its way through Yoojin’s limits.

Hyunjae seemed to notice the sudden change too, instinctively pressing the guide closer to his body in chase of security. The esper’s breaths became deep and quicker, but it went unnoticed by the guide next to him.

Clank!

The last of the bears soon fell, the deaths coinciding with Hyunjae’s stability reaching around 95%. Besides the rustling of trees there was only silence. Still, despite the danger being vanquished, Hyunjae didn’t let go of the guide.

“Um, hello? Is the coast clear?” Yoojin called out. His vision was limited to Hyunjae’s coat and chest, so he could only guess that the bears were killed based on the silence. He attempted to pull himself away from the esper, but he couldn’t’ escape the grasp of the nation’s number one. For some reason, this scenario felt strangely familiar.

“Sung Hyunjae-nim? Guildmaster Sung? Hellooo? Earth to Sung Hyunjae!” Yoojin cried loudly. While he liked hugs and warmth, being in such a position with Sung Hyunjae was a tad too jarring. Plus, it was getting a little too warm, and he was starting to feel suffocated. So, this time, he wiggled his shoulders and head. Even if he couldn’t force Hyunjae to let go, it would at least annoy him enough to push Yoojin away.

“Where are you trying to go? I’m not done with you,” Hyunjae used his free hand to lift a portion of his coat off of Yoojin. Their eyes met, and the look in the esper’s eyes drove a stronger sense of fear in Yoojin than the bears. It wasn’t a look of “I’m going to kill you right now,” rather, it was more like “I’m about to kill you for being suspicious if you don’t start speaking.”

Yoojin gulped. “What do you mean?”

Hyunjae didn’t respond, but Yoojin knew that his silence wasn’t lenience. It meant “you know what I mean.”

“If it’s about my guiding, I can explain,” Yoojin chose to tell the truth. Even if he didn’t want to, he would’ve. Why? Because the pressure that Hyunjae was putting on him was astronomical, and his whole body was breaking out in cold sweat. The fact that he was trapped in the arms of one of the most powerful men, completely at his disposal, was terrifying. The guiding was over and his skill was off, so he felt every ton of weight from that gaze.

“I’m listening,” Hyunjae waited for him to continue. He seemed satisfied knowing that Yoojin was in a precarious situation.

“I have a skill that allows my rank to temporarily match the rank of the esper I’m guiding. It only lasts for 10 minutes and can’t be used too often. Also, it only works when I’m guiding someone, and the person I’m guiding must be significantly stronger than me,” Yoojin explained. Was he lying...yes, he was. But, technically, there was some truth to his words. The skill did cause a temporary rank increase, it did only work under guiding, there was a time limit on something, and he couldn’t use it too often (mostly due to the mana consumption).

Hyunjae’s lack of reply indicated that he was still suspicious.

“If you don’t believe me, then there’s nothing I can do,” Yoojin maintained his eye contact with Hyunjae despite his desire to look away and cave. The guide had used his remaining courage and turned it into words, but his body wouldn’t budge. There was absolutely nothing to be done except praying that Hyunjae would let him off the hook.

Hyunjae released Yoojin’s hand first, then pulled his arm back. When Yoojin looked at him this time, Hyunjae bore another one of his signature smiles. “I hope Han Yoojin-gun will forgive me for my behavior. It’s not every day that I run into someone with such fluid rank.”

“Uh huh, and how does the magnanimous Guildmaster Sung plan on earning my forgiveness?” Yoojin rolled his eyes. The pressure was gone by now, and it didn’t take long for him to recover his usual composure.

“I’ll give you some information, does that sound fair?” Hyunjae proposed, his eyes innocent like a doe’s. Yoojin thought about it. A lie in exchange for information from the Sung Hyunjae? Boy oh boy, this was a little tempting!

“Fine. What is it?” Yoojin relented. Hyunjae beckoned him to come closer and leaned down.

“Han Yoojin-gun is smart, so I’m sure that you’re aware of the commodity that you’ll become if others find out about your compatibility with S-ranks. Well, unfortunately, the other S-ranks have already caught wind of you. During this time of ability loss, wouldn’t you be extra special?” Hyunjae whispered playfully.

“That fast? I thought it’d take at least a few more weeks until someone found out,” Yoojin frowned. The higher ups really were undependable. Even though Yoohyun’s rage was terrifying, it seemed like losing S-ranks was even scarier.

“That’s not all. Those oafs may want to keep the ability loss a secret, but every government has the same thought,” Hyunjae slipped an item into Yoojin’s hands. When Yoojin inspected it, it happened to be a translating necklace.

“Are you trying to say that the ability loss is happening outside of Korea?” Yoojin’s breath hitched. He was alarmed, but not surprised. It would be strange if these cases were localized to Korea.

“Mhm. And, a few days from now, some interesting fellows will arrive. You might want to keep this on you,” Hyunjae pulled back and looked around as if he said nothing of importance. “By the way, how come this dungeon hasn’t ended?”

Yoojin disliked the way he changed the subject, but what he said also caught his attention. When Yoojin scanned their vicinity, there was nothing around. No animals, no monsters, nothing besides the pine trees. “Did you kill the boss yet?”

“While you were busy clinging onto me, a new bear came out of nowhere. The new bear was tougher and had black fur, so I assumed that it was the leader of the pack. Strange, I guess I was wrong,” Hyunjae mused with interest.

Yoojin ignored the first part of his speech. “Well, then let’s start looking for the boss so we can get out of here. It’s too cold for my bones.”

“Is it cold? I haven’t noticed,” Hyunjae shrugged and picked a random direction to walk in. “If your bones are frozen, then would you like me to carry you?”

“I can walk fine,” Yoojin shook his head. Hyunjae may have offered to carry him, but Yoojin knew better. By “carry” he probably meant “drag around like a dog” or “thrown on his shoulder like a potato sack.”

“Suit yourself,” Hyunjae slowed his pace down to match Yoojin’s. As he looked around the dungeon, the esper couldn’t help but sigh. “This dungeon is less interesting than I’d hoped. Shame.”

“Why? You looking for something?” Yoojin asked off-handedly. He actually didn’t care, but it felt awkward just walking in silence.

“It may surprise you, but even someone like me doesn’t have it all,” Hyunjae spoke with pity for his own circumstance. “I’m looking for an item that appeared once, but it was a long time ago and I haven’t seen it since.”

“How special must it be for you of all people to search for it?” Yoojin thought that there weren’t many things like that in the world. Dungeons may offer otherworldly treasures, but a man like Sung Hyunjae had plenty of those.

“Very special. If I had it right now, Han Yoojin-gun wouldn’t be walking next to me,” Hyunjae glanced down at the guide.

“I wouldn’t be next to you if I hadn’t picked up the phone,” Yoojin rolled his eyes, which made it the second time he’d done that today.

Hyunjae chuckled. “I guess that’s true as well.”

[ There you are! We got him! ]

Yoojin’s eyes shot up in concern and took a step back in shock. His vision of the snowy white and blue skies were obscured by a blue barrier that surrounded him. He couldn’t see Hyunjae or the dungeon anymore. Instead, in front of him was...a volleyball?

Chapter Text

“Welcome, Honey!” The volleyball spoke cheerfully. Its pixelated mouth changed with each word as if mimicing human speech.

The volleyball wasn’t the only one present. “You think he can see us?” A water droplet asked.

Accompanying the volleyball and water droplet was a deer, wolf, and tree. The 2-D creatures floated around him, cute and un-alarming.

“Hey, can you see us?” The tree asked, waving around in front of Yoojin’s face.

“I can. Uh, I’m guessing you guys are the system?” Yoojin replied uncomfortably.

“That’s right! It’s so nice to finally meet you in person, Honey! We’re glad you finally made it,” the deer chirped.

“You must have so many questions for us, Honey!” Water Droplet chimed in.

“Wait, time out! I’m not ‘Honey’, my name is—” a pixelated hand quickly covered his mouth.

“Shh! That’s a no no! If we exceed a certain threshold of allowable information exchange, we’ll lose contact. Names are important information that mustn't be shared, and we have to hide you from them,” Water Droplet explained.

“Who’s them?” Yoojn pulled the hand off of his mouth, surprised that he could even touch it.

“They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named!” The group exclaimed in harmony.

“Is that so?” Yoojin didn’t know what to make of this situation. Why had he been pulled here? Why did the system try to contact him? And, how come the system was just a group of randos?

“By the way, sorry for dragging you here without explanation. There were a lot of technical issues that we had to deal with to make this meeting happen. Plus, we had to wait for you to enter a dungeon, and with your brother’s abnormal antics the chances of you doing so were slim,” Volleyball said sheepishly.

“Right. So, why am I here?” Yoojin questioned. He wasn’t worried about leaving Hyunjae alone or anything. If anything, Yoojin was more worried about himself at the moment. Something in his gut was told him that the system was about to ask an annoying request from him.

“Straight to the point, I like it! That’s right, it’s no time to dilly-dally, we have some business to get to,” a flame of responsibility ignited within Volleyball.

“...Yay,” Yoojin cheered sarcastically, but Volleyball didn’t seem to notice.

“Ahem! As you already know, your custodian title has been upgraded, and you’ve gained a new title. Congratulations, but ‘tis no time to celebrate!” Volleyball puffed itself up with eyes of determination. “Honey, we have a favor to ask of you. Would you care to hear us out?”

Yoojin looked at the funky emojis, who were eagerly awaiting his response. To be honest, he didn’t want to help them. He’d seen this film before, multiple times in fiction and in reality. A poor little guy gets roped into helping otherworldly beings and has to go on some stupid long journey to save the world. Mr. Poor Little Guy has to upend his entire life and go through Herculean tribulations just to get absolutely nothing in return, and while the world is at peace he’s stuck with PTSD for the rest of his life without a single “thanks” from anyone.

“Yeah, thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Can you guys let me go now? I have someone waiting for me,” Yoojin tugged restlessly on his shirt. He hoped the system controllers were merciful creatures. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be far fetched to say that he was screwed.

Volleyball gasped, surprised that he would reject them so quickly. Something like this has probably never happened to them. “Noooooo! Please reconsider, Honey! We have a very important mission for you, just hear us out! I’m sure you won’t regret it. It’s not bad, I promise!”

“Will I have to fight against an all-powerful being? Will my life be in danger?” Yoojin asked with doubt.

“Well...yes, but it’s all going to be very rewarding in the end!”

“Because I’d be saving the world?”

“Yes! Saving the world! It’s an honorable thing to do. Don’t you want to be a hero? I heard that your people love stories with dashing heroes and kick-butt action.”

“I really appreciate the offer, like it’s great and all that you came to me for this, but I’m okay with being a normal guy. I already have it rough at work, so I’m not interested in making things harder for me.”

“B-but! Saving the world is super important, many lives are at stake! If you help us save the world, then you’ll certainly become ultra famous. People everywhere would revere you! We’ll also do everything in our power to ensure your safety, so give us a chance. Pretty please?”

“Look, I’m very honored and all, but I really can’t say yes. I mean, just look at me. I’m an F-rank guide at the bottom of the corporate ladder, there’s nothing I can do that another can’t. If you want, I’ll even refer you to some buddies I know! So, please, System-nim, let me live peacefully.”

“Ah, just call me Volleyball. Anyway, pretty pleeeeaaase! There’s really no one else, we need your help. Just yours, no one else can be chosen for this role! Please, please, please!” Volleyball was on the verge of tears. Little white dots struggle to break free from the ball’s dotted eyes. It almost made Yoojin feel bad. Almost.

“You guys are the system, so you’re basically in control of everything. I’m sure you can figure something out…” Yoojin avoided making eye contact with Volleyball, who was swerving around to make sure Yoojin had to face them head on.

“Actually, that’s not true,” Water Droplet interrupted the spectacle. “We may be the ‘system’ to you guys, but we aren’t able to do many things, nor are we the only ones with access to your world.”

“But you guys are the system, don’t you control the dungeons and abilities and stuff? And, what do you mean by ‘your world’?” Yoojin questioned. There was definitely something fishy going on, something that Yoojin guessed he wouldn’t like the sound of.

“...We can’t tell you anymore unless you agree,” Water Droplet replied hesitantly.

“Come on, don’t I at least get to know what I’m signing up for?” Yoojin frowned. He didn’t want to accept, but he was curious. The more he thought about it, the stranger things were. With everything that had been happening lately, including the system’s suspicious actions, there had to be something major stirring.

“Like Water Droplet-nim said, we can’t say anything without knowing that you’re on our side!” Volleyball added, recovering some of it’s old flare.

“So there’s sides?” Yoojin noted. Yeah, he had a really bad feeling about this.

“Eek! You weren’t supposed to know that! I’ll shut up now...but know that if you reject us, your world really will end. Even if we do our best to prevent it, it’ll all be in vain. Soon, everything you’ve known will be useless. You, your friends, your coworkers, and your brother will die,” Volleyball said its piece and really stopped talking, but their rambling gave him all the information he needed.

There was a problem, a major problem that not even the system itself could fix. If there are sides, and the system is on the side of saving the world, then there had to be a side causing the destruction of the world. This whole debacle had trouble written all over it. And, since Yoojin wanted to lead a peaceful life, he wasn’t super enthusiastic at the prospect of playing superhero.

But at the mention of Yoohyun, he could only hesitate on rejection. His little brother had studied hard in school, then grew up and worked hard to build his guild. He never thought about anything but his family, even as a kid. Every day was work, work, work, and worry, worry, worry because of Yoojin. He was an S-rank esper, yet not even he could survive whatever was soon to come? Yoohyun cared for a fully grown Yoojin like he was a delicate flower—it just didn’t seem fair for him to die so young.

“...If you guys, at any point put my brother in danger, I’m pulling out and joining whatever the other side is,” Yoojin warned sternly.

“Ah! Don’t do that! Don’t worry, we’ll do everything in our power to protect you and your brother, and since your brother is a natural born S-rank, you shouldn’t have to worry about him too much. However, there is a high possibility that you’ll be in danger, Honey, even with our protection,” Volleyball perked up immediately, but seemed to be alarmed at the mention of Yoojin defecting.

“Alright then. So, can you guys tell me what’s going on then?” Yoojin braced himself for incredibly bad news.

“Of course, Honey! Just remember to keep all this a secret, ‘kay? Don’t be alarmed by what I’m about to tell you, but catastrophic destruction will start occur in, like, six months. And, since we can’t directly get involved, you’ll have to prevent it for us. Don’t worry, we’ll be offering assistance here and there,” Volleyball informed him like they were making casual conversation and not talking about the potential death of literally everyone.

“What? What am I supposed to do! I’m just an F-ranker, and I don’t even know what we’re up against! Why will catastrophic destruction occur? Is it because of a dungeon?” Yoojin was floored that Volleyball told him to not be alarmed. How could he not be alarmed when he literally had a six month deadline!

“No need to freak out yet! Yes, it’s scary, but I’m sure you’ll be able to stop it. Catastrophic destruction won’t occur because of a dungeon. Well, okay, we aren’t totally sure that it won’t happen due to a dungeon, but that’s not the point! We suspect that it’ll be started by an S-rank esper in your world. We think that They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has done something fishy to the espers in preparation of something big,” Volleyball explained.

“...They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named? Is that like Voldemort or something?” Yoojin almost chuckled, but remembered that they were in the middle of a serious conversation so he didn’t.

“Worse! They are much worse then Voldemort! Voldemort is fictional, and he’s just some dude or whatever. We must fend off an opposition group who’re determined to see the end of your world, Honey,” Volleyball spoke indignantly. “Do not make of them lightly, they’re crazy dangerous!”

“That’s right, they are dangerous. But, you shouldn’t have to worry about them too much. Since you’re F-rank, as long as you lay low they won’t notice you. Well, as least for a while,” Water Droplet assured Yoojin.

Yoojin wasn’t too psyched or reassured, but he still sucked it up. “Alright then. So, what do I need to do?”

“Great question! Before that, we should also mention—” Rumble. The ground quaked and the walls of the barrier shook, interrupting Volleyball in the middle of their sentence.

“What the heck,” Yoojiun rebalanced himself, almost falling from the sudden disturbance.

“Shoot! We don’t have much time left, so I’ll make this quick! Not too long ago we made a little mistake, and it caused a buffing of some dungeons in your world. So, some of the dungeons that you’ll see will be abnormally strong. As a result, They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named have been accelerating the destabilization of espers to disrupt raids!” Volleyball spoke at a rapid fire pace before stopping for a second to inhale. For some reason, they were exceptionally good at rapping.

“We suspect that they’re forming contracts with espers in your world. Based on what we’ve found, we think they’ve planted a ‘seed of destruction’ among one of the contractees or potential contractees. Your job is to find this person and stop them from reaching the point of destruction, as well as collect as many S-ranks as ahhh we’re disconnecting—”

Yoojin was thrusted back into the snowy dungeon, bottom landing squarely on the cold floor. Before him appeared an encrypted message.

[ Congratulations, guide Han Yoojin and esper Sung Hyunjae! You’ve cleared the dungeon!]

[ W3’!! 533 ¥0u s00n. W8 4 u5! ]

The text almost gave Yoojin a stroke. After rereading the message fifty times, he figured managed to decipher that it said, “We’ll see you soon. Wait for us!”. Looks like he would have to come back to the dungeons somehow.

Well, since he was still in a dungeon, he firgured he should find Hyunjae. Hopefully the esper hadn’t noticed anything wrong, but Yoojin doubted it. Hyunjae wasn’t a guildmaster for no reason. He was probably as perceptive as any other S-ranker, maybe even more. Not as much as his amazing brother though, of course.

Before Yoojin could even get up, golden chains wrapped around his waist tightly. They twinkled under the sunlight, shimmering like scales under water. The glimmering chains seemed like it was glamorously announcing “I’m the most beautiful thing in the world!”. And, said beautiful thing quickly dragged him to a beautiful man, whose personality was not quite as attractive.

“You owe me an explanation again, but first, you should thank me,” Hyunjae said flatly. Yoojin was confused, but then his eyes landed on the spot he’d just been. There was a toy-sized arrow stabbed into the ground. When Yoojin looked around, he realized that they were surrounded by...a bunch of nutcrackers?

“Nut...crackers?” Yoojin spoke hesitantly, rubbing his eyes to check if he was seeing correctly.

“Yes. These abnormally strong toys appeared a little after your disappearance. For some reason, they don’t move unless you get too close too them,” Hyunjae tugged on the chains, causing them to wrap around him tighter. “I wasn’t aware that my guide was so lacking in manners. Is there really no thanks for saving your life? Or does your life hold no value?”

“Gah! Stop, stop, stop—it hurts!” Yoojin cried, worried that the squeezing would cause him to burst open like a pinata. “Thank you for saving me! Thank you a thousand times to the moon and back, there’s truly no one as kind as you! Would you please release this poor F-ranker now?”

“You’re welcome,” Hyunjae released him in a flash.

Yoojin stood up and patted the snow off of himself. Well, at least finding the man himself didn’t take too long. “How long have you been waiting here?”

“I think maybe twenty minutes? Thirty? I’m not too sure myself. You got the message about clearing the dungeon, right? It popped up as soon as you appeared, but these guys are still here,” Hyunjae brushed a few sprinkles of snow off from Yoojin’s head. It was close for what their relationship was, but it was done so nonchalantly it made Yoojin feel like he was the weird one for questioning.

Yoojin’s eyes scanned the crowd of nutcrackers. He had no idea why they were there, he thought they were in a bear-related dungeon. Based on his instincts alone, he could tell that they were no match for the little toys. Every single nutcracker was at least S-rank. What the hell, system? Are we on the same team or what! Yoojin thought.

[ Wλ00p5, 50®®¥! W3’11 ®313@5e ¥0u π0w. ]

The message disappeared as quickly as it came. A box appeared and the nutcrackers flew inside, leaving behind hundreds of small imprints in the snow. Then, a swirling dungeon gate appeared in the distance—the exit.

“That sure was weird, wasn’t it? I’m sure you’re tired, Guildmaster Sung. Why don’t we call it a day and head out?” Yoojin began speed walking towards the gate. He didn’t care for Hyunjae’s reply, all he wanted to do was go home to his brother and process the information he’d just received.

Using the last of his brain power, Yoojin connected the dots and made a chilling yet plausible assumption: the destabilization the system had mentioned was the cases of ability loss.

If his first step was to “collect” as many S-ranks as possible, whatever that meant, it would already be a difficult task. He’s had pretty good luck so far since his brother was an S-rank, Yerim was an S-rank, and he’s also met the evil Guildmaster Sung. But, he wasn’t totally sure what they meant by “collect.”

Besides “collecting” S-ranks, he also had to prevent a special person from reaching the point of destruction, which—by the way—he had absolutely no clue as to what it meant. What the hell is the “seed of destruction” or “point of destruction” or whatever! Maybe the system ran out of time because they kept giving things absurdly long names!

He hated how cryptic they were, and they were obviously holding back information from him. It was annoying, but there was nothing he could do besides attempt to follow their dumb quests. Whatever, he was willing to become Sherlock or Superman if it meant securing a future for his brother.

“Han Yoojin-gun is so peculiar, whenever we’re together something interesting happens. I feel a headache coming on just thinking about what our future holds,” Hyunjae also walked quickly. However, his gait was far more elegant than Yoojin’s robotic steps.

“I agree, I also experience headaches thinking about ‘our future’,” Yoojin shivered at the thought of seeing Hyunjae again.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Hyunjae smiled for the billionth time. “To commemorate our time together, I’ll deduct 500 won from your debt. If you continue to work hard, you’ll—regrettably—be free from me in no time.”

Yoojin was incredibly offended. “You’re so stingy. I came all this way for 500 won? That’s not even enough to cover my subway fare home.”

“You took the subway?” Hyunjae’s eyebrows raised in shock. Or judgement, Yoojin couldn’t tell.

“Of course I did! I don’t have a car,” Yoojin gave him the most dramatic eye roll he’d ever rolled yet.

“Why don’t you just buy a car? It’s much more convenient,” Hyunjae suggested like it was the most obvious choice in the world. “Even if your salary can’t afford one, you can just ask that brother of yours for a car. Tell him to get you a foreign car, one that goes fast enough to satiate your impatience.”

“I don’t have my license,” Yoojin admitted begrudgingly. Was it embarrassing? A little, but he’s admitted worse.

This time, Yoojin had no doubt that Hyunjae’s expression was one of extreme judgement. “Oh.”

“I don’t need a license, Yoohyun drives me around,” Yoojin wasn’t ashamed of this part. His little brother was the best little brother in the world, what’s there to feel shame for?

“Oh.”

“...Can you stop saying ‘oh’? Is that all you bourgeois know how to say?”

“Alright, what do you suggest I say instead?”

“I dunno. Since this is a conversation I’d suggest a full sentence, but if your words are too precious to spend on a poverty-ridden guide like myself, I understand.”

“I will take Han Yoojin-gun’s suggestions to heart. At your big age, why do you have your little brother act as chauffeur? I’m assuming that you don’t pay him, so isn’t that basically slavery?”

“Unlike some people, Yoohyun was raised right with manners and humility. So, he has no qualms about taking care of others, especially his family. Of course, when I talk about ‘some people’ I’m not referring to you, Sung Hyunjae-nim.”

“I didn’t assume so, but okay. Though, I’m not so sure that others would agree on the ‘manners and humility’ that your brother allegedly bears.”

“Why wouldn’t they agree? I brought him up myself, I know his temperament better than anyone,” Yoojin took the first step out of the dungeon and into...hell?

The dungeon had been located in an abandoned building, but what greeted Yoojin was not the mold ridden corridors or the sound of squealing rats. Instead, the warmth of a raging inferno that spared nothing—not even the cockroaches—welcomed the pair. And, sitting just a few feet away, was Yoohyun. Not just any Yoohyun, an extremely pissed off Yoohyun.

“Oops, looks like we’ve been caught. It was nice knowing you, Han Yoojin-gun,” Hyunjae said as soon as came out. His childish tone suggested that he wasn’t taking any of this seriously. Rather, he probably viewed this as a child throwing a tantrum.

When Yoohyun saw the presence of another S-rank, he immediately rushed over and came in between Hyunjae and his brother. He kept Yoojin behind him as he pointed an accusatory finger towards the other guildmaster. “You! What are you doing with Yoojin?”

“Both of the Han brothers have such terrible manners. I brought him back in one piece, did I not?” Hyunjae pushed the finger away. “I was even nice enough to reduce his debt a little.”

Yoohyun became alarmed and shifted his attention to Yoojin, who felt utterly betrayed. “Debt? You’re in debt to this guy! Yoojin, how did this happen? How much debt do you owe? I’ll pay it off for you, so stop hanging out with this scumbag!”

Yoojin was going to strangle the older esper, but managing his brother came first. “Ah, it’s not that much. Don’t worry about it, I’ve got this. As long as I work a little longer, I can pay it all off.” To be honest, he should’ve known better than to feel betrayed. Hyunjae wasn’t very trustworthy to begin with, and the terms of their contract never stated that he had to keep their arrangement under wraps.

“Han Yoojin-gun’s finances must be in better condition than I thought. 50 billion won must be just a few paychecks away,” Hyunjae clapped in awe.

“Guildmaster Sung!” Yoojin smiled, but his eye twitched as he tried to restrain himself from exploding. “How about we stop airing my business to the whole world?”

“Oh, my apologies. He’s actually 49.5 billion won in debt, not 50 billion. Han Yoojin-gun has worked hard to lower his debt over these past few days,” Hyunjae corrected himself sincerely. What the heck was this guy on? They hadn’t even contacted each other in a while, but he was out here spewing crap to rile up Yoohyun!

“Yoojin!” Yoohyun held onto his brother with concern. “Did this guy trick you into doing some weird stuff? Does he have blackmail on you? Oh my god, did you take out loans because I never let you out? If you need money, you can always come to me!”

“No! No one is blackmailing me or making me do strange things! And, I definitely did not take out any loans,” Yoojin assured him.

“That’s right. Your brother is much more sophisticated than that,” Hyunjae inserted himself into their conversation. “He lost a bet with me.”

“What?!” Yoohyun’s inferno spiked in size and heat. Thankfully, the flames didn’t burn the poor guide and felt like a tickle instead. “You’ve been betting? Yoojin, you never told me you had a gambling addiction!”

Yoojin was about to lose his mind. “I! Don’t! Have! A! Gambling! Addiction! That guy’s just making stuff up—don’t believe him!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll resolve this issue and find you a reputable therapist to help you,” Yoohyun started walking him and Yoojin away from Hyunjae. However, he did send a final warning to the other esper. “Stay away from Yoojin, or you’ll regret it.”

“Hey, uh, where are we going?” Yoojin let himself be dragged away. He turn his head once to Hyunjae to mouth the words, “watch your back.” One day, he would have his revenge! Hopefully the system would grant him a wish when he completed their mission. If they do, he would use that wish to wish a 500 billion won debt upon Hyunjae!

“Home, of course. Where else would we go?” Yoohyun walked with great urgency, and Yoojin could still feel that there was still tension in air that made it difficult to breathe. Or smoke, it might’ve been the smoke choking him, but at this point he couldn’t differentiate between the two.

Yoojin glanced at the active fire all around them. While it didn’t spread, it was sure to cause problems if they left without doing anything. “Uh, are we just going to leave the fire? Isn’t that arson…”

“Don’t worry, Director Seok will take care of it,” Yoohyun took them to a nearby car and opened the passenger side. He carefully placed Yoojin in the seat and even fastened his seatbelt for him before shutting the door. Then, he walked quickly over to the driver’s seat like he was worried that Yoojin would disappear under his watch.

It wasn’t surprising that the drive was relatively silent. Yoojin didn’t know how to explain himself, and Yoohyun was too busy trying to calm himself down. The only noise in the car were the hums of the engine and soft sounds of traffic. Normally, Yoojin would’ve fallen asleep by now, but he couldn’t. He felt like he should say something first, but he couldn’t string together suitable words.

Should he just apologize? He did leave without telling Yoohyun, so his brother must have been worried. But besides apologizing, what else should he say? It wasn’t like he could reassure Yoohyun that he would never do something like this again—that would be a lie. Since he had a contract with Hyunjae, he would have to see him again in the near future. Moreover, he couldn’t avoid dungeons or putting himself in danger because of his arrangement with the system.

Summoning his remaining courage and energy, Yoojin spoke first. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you where I was going beforehand. And, I also should’ve told you about my whole debt thing. It was my fault, I didn’t want to burden you with my problems since you have a lot on your plate as a guildmaster.”

After Yoojin said his piece, silence filled the space between them again. For some reason, it felt incredibly stuffy in the fancy car. The seats were heated and the air condition was set at a comfortable temperature, yet Yoojin was unable to relax. He would’ve preferred it if Yoohyun had yelled or set fire to everything over the silence.

“When you didn’t pick up my call, I thought you were just busy. So, I waited a bit before calling again. I called forty-seven times, but you still didn’t pick up,” Yoohyun spoke slowly and much softer than Yoojin expected. “When I asked your coworkers where you’d gone, they said they had no idea. I thought you were ignoring me on purpose, but I found your phone on your desk. I couldn’t imagine anything being so important that you’d leave your phone behind.”

“...I’m sorry,” Yoojin whispered with guilt—the apparent origin of the stuffy feeling.

Yoohyun tapped rhythmically on the wheel. “When I found out that you were in a dungeon, I almost lost my mind. I thought you’d been threatened or kidnapped. Why else would you go to a dungeon? I assumed you’d been dragged in because someone had a grudge against me. It just didn’t make sense for you to go on your own.”

Yoojin stayed silent.

“When I saw the gate open, I was scared. I was scared that I’d see you beaten down or crying. I know you don’t cry often, but at the time it felt like anything was possible. But, when you came out, you looked fine. You were chatting with someone so casually that I could hardly believe you’d just come from a dungeon.

“I was confused. Weren’t you supposed to be scared? Injured? I was glad you were fine, but I couldn’t understand why you were fine.

“I was willing to throw away all of my confusion and anger as long as you were okay. I could forget everything else as long as you could come home safely. But then I saw him. You were with Sung Hyunjae. Despite always reassuring me that you would never put yourself in danger, that you’d never get involved with anyone dangerous, you were talking with the guildmaster of Seseong. Talking like you were sharing secrets that I was clueless to.

“Then, I find out that you’re in debt, and you’ve been in regular contact with him. I don’t even know why you’re in debt, and I still can’t wrap my head around why you were in a dungeon with him. Sung Hyunjae is not the type to enter a dungeon with government guide, much less an F-rank guide. Even if you were doing him a favor to shave off a bit of debt, I just don’t understand what he would want from you.

“It’s also not like you to willingly go with a guy like that. Almost anyone can tell he’s cunning and shady, the type of person you always warn me about. You didn’t seem terrified of him either unlike everyone else who meets him. So, this was another thing I couldn’t understand.

“Even if you don’t give me an explanation on anything else, there’s one thing I’d like to know. What is your relationship with Sung Hyunjae?” Yoohyun asked as he pulled up to their parking spot.

Yoojin’s conscious took a severe beating, and his brother’s last words gave his brain a beating too. It was difficult to describe what he had with Hyunjae without causing even more alarm for Yoohyun. They weren’t friends or business partners, nor did they have any special feelings—besides maybe hate on Yoojin’s part—for each other. In all honesty, the best way to describe them would literally just be “loan shark and debtor,” but if Yoojin said that he might as well jump into his grave and cover himself with dirt.

Yoohyun didn’t unlock the car doors. He seemed to be waiting for Yoojin to answer his question, to provide even the smallest explanation for what happened.

“We...well—it’s complicated,” Yoojin chewed the words like he was eating sand. He hated talking about Hyunjae since all the esper did was remind him of his embarrassment (entering a shitty contract and losing a bet).

“It’s complicated, huh?” Yoohyun repeated monotonously. Yoojin could tell that his brother was dissatisfied with his answer but chose to not express it for some reason. It wasn’t like Yoohyun, who always took things to the extreme (especially recently), to hold back his emotions like that.

The doors unlocked and Yoojin was released. Worried about provoking the esper, Yoojin unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door slowly. When he stepped out, he waited for Yoohyun to leave the car before walking with him inside. This was his way of telling his brother, “I’m on your side! I’ll be with you forever and ever!”. He wasn’t sure if it was working, but it was better than twiddling his fingers and acting all fine and dandy.

Their home was in one of Haeyeon’s buildings, located on of the top floors. Normally, Yoojin enjoyed living so high up. The view was spectacular and living there came with bragging rights. It was also one of the safest places to live since the security was insane. The only thing Yoojin never considered was how awkward the long elevator ride would be after today’s incident.

Unlike the elevators at his work, the elevators in this building had no music at all. The overbearing silence made Yoojin miss the annoying jazz. At least then his guilt-ridden thoughts would be drowned out by outside noise.

“Hyung, you don’t have to be so tense,” Yoohyun said as they left the elevator. “I may be upset, but at the of the day, we’re still brothers. Besides, I’m not a little kid whose feelings you have to protect anymore.”

Yoojin watched him opened the door to their home. “You’re right. No matter what happens, we’re brothers first and foremost.”

Even though they were both adults, it was difficult for Yoojin to face his brother’s sudden maturity. Yoohyun has had a few hiccups in the past, but today he seemed to have changed. He spoke his feelings clearly and didn’t even do anything unreasonable. Yoojin was so touched he could die right there and still be happy.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Yoohyun finally gave him a relieved smile. He came closer to Yoojin and helped him take off his jacket. “Yoojin, why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll get started on dinner. Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Ah, are you sure?” Yoojin took off his shoes and placed them in the cubby by the door. “We can just order in.”

Yoohyun shook his head. “No, I’ll cook. How does japchae sound?” Right, his brother never ate food made by others anymore.

“Am I allowed to have a beer with that?” Yoojin placed his ID and wallet on the kitchen counter.

“...Sure, I’ll fix you a cold beer,” Yoohyun kept his smile.

Yoojin was surprised, he hadn’t expected to actually drink today. Still, a win was a win. “Okay, thanks. A shower does sound great, I’m tired.”

The guide walked idly to the bathroom in his bedroom. He wasn’t lying, he really was tired from dealing with work and putting up with Hyunjae. So, he quickly took off his clothes and hoped into the shower. He was also quite hungry, the thought of food itself made his stomach growl. To reach his dinner, Yoojin cleaned himself as fast as possible.

While washing his face, he had a thought. A feeling in his stomach was telling him that something was off. Was it just the hunger getting to him? Perhaps, but there was this sense of dread that he couldn’t shake off. Whatever, it was probably nothing. He was home now—safe and sound in the protection of Yoohyun. It’s not like a crazy person was going to pop out of nowhere. But, just to be safe, he squinted instead of fully closing his eyes.

After a short while, Yoojin finished his shower and dried himself before getting changed. He could smell his brother’s delicious cooking from inside his room, which made him only more eager to eat.

“Do you need help with anything?” Yoojin asked when he came out.

“No, I’m already done. Let’s eat,” Yoohyun gestured for Yoojin to sit and placed a bowl of fresh japchae in front of him. He packed the noodles with pork and vegetables like how Yoojin liked it. Next to the bowl was indeed a glass of cold beer.

“Thanks, it looks great,” Yoojin waited for Yoohyun to sit down before eating.

The pork was tender and eggs perfectly seasoned. Inside of Yoojin’s mouth was a party, entertained by bouncy glass noodles and crunchy carrots. When his throat felt a little dry or the noodles tasted a little too oily, he washed it all down with cool beer. As soon as the beer grazed his tongue, he began chugging. Yoojin felt like Icarus with beer as his sun—its amber radiance so beautiful and sweet that all else could be disregarded.

After the last drop was consumed, Yoojin put down his glass and sighed in satisfaction. “That hits the spot!”

Yoohyun took the empty glass and put it in the sink. Then, he grabbed a fresh glass out of the fridge and a new bottle of beer. He poured the bottle carefully before setting it in front of a stunned Yoojin. He could have more alcohol? Who was this?!

“...Thanks,” Yoojin took the glass and glanced at it suspiciously. “Is there a reason why you’re being so friendly about me drinking again? I thought I wasn’t allowed to do it anymore.”

Yoohyun pondered a response as he took a sip of his water. “It won’t hurt if you have a drink tonight. It might even help you sleep better.”

“Sleep better? I don’t think I’ve been having any trouble sleeping lately,” Yoojin gave up suspecting his glass and took a sip. It felt wrong to suspect the drink his brother had poured, And, while it didn’t hit as hard as the first cup it was still good. However, he was feeling a little dizzy already, so he figured this would be his last one. Compared to his peers, he’d always been a lightweight, but it was a tad strange for him to feel drunk so fast.

Yoohyun took away Yoojin’s empty bowl and spoke calmly. “You’ve been through a lot today. Go ahead and sleep, I’ll do the dishes.”

“Why don’t I do them instead? You did the cooking,” Yoojin frowned. He liked having someone take care of him, but he didn’t want his brother to do all of the work. He reached out to take the bowl back, but Yoohyun pulled back.

“It’s fine. I’ll do it,” Yoohyun insisted and put the bowl in the sink. “Just focus on finishing your drink.”

Seeing that Yoohyun wouldn’t give in, Yoojin did as he was told. He nursed his beer and drank slowly, letting the flavors sink into his taste buds. Earlier, he’d drunk too fast and hadn’t gotten the chance to savor the taste. Accompanying his solo drinking were soft sounds of scrubbing and splashing. Besides the light in the kitchen, the rest of the penthouse was dark.

It was an oddly tranquil experience.

“Done!” Yoojin said cheerfully after downing the glass. He felt a somewhat out of it but in a good way. There was no reason to be stressed, no reason to overthink. He was so relaxed right now, all he wanted to do was take a long nap. “You should drink with me next time, it’s lonely drinking by myself.”

“Mm,” Yoohyun acknowledged. He took the glass from Yoojin and dried his hands. “Let’s get you to bed. It’s bad for your health if you sleep late.”

Yoohyun walked over and helped him up. Yoojin wasn’t so drunk that he couldn’t walk, but Yoohyun was still worried. He had such a good brother, always so worried for him! His little brother was the best, no other little brothers could compare. Yoohyun sure was nice for helping him, if only everyone could know how nice he was.

“Yoohyun, I love you. You’re the best!” Yoojin ambled down the hallway. “Are you taking care of yourself? I love you man.”

“I am,” Yoohyun opened the door to Yoojin’s room and gently guided him to the bed. “Sit tight for a second. I need to take off your house shoes.”

“Wow, you’re amazing. I have such a great brother!” Yoojin smiled widely. Yes, Yoohyun was always taking care of him and being so good to him. He always took great care of him. Did he mentioned how Yoohyun always took great care of him? “I need to tell everyone that I have a great brother. Do you know where my phone is?”

Yoohyun took his slippers and placed them by the bedside. He laid Yoojin down and began tucking him in. “It’s being charged. I’ll return it in the morning. Go to sleep now.”

“Huh? But I’m not tired. I could run three whole miles!” Yoojin frowned in protest, but his eyes were beginning to feel really heavy.

“You can barely open your eyes. We can talk more in the morning, okay?” Yoohyun finished tucking him in and turned off the lamp. “Goodnight, Yoojin. Sleep well.”

“…” Yoojin fell asleep before his mouth could form a reply.

That night Yoojin slept like a baby.

Scorching rays pierced Yoojin’s vision, finally stirring him from his deep slumber. He wanted to ignore it since he was still tired. But, the sunlight bothered him so much that he had to open his eyes. “Ack! It’s too bright!”

Yoojin pulled himself out of bed and slipped into his shoes. He rubbed his eyes and yawned while trudging to the window. It was awfully bright for early morning, so he closed the curtains and began heading back to bed. As he climbed into bed, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made his soul evaporate.

“12:56?! Holy crap, I’m late for work!” Yoojin ran to his bathroom and threw himself into the shower. He washed himself so fast that when he stepped out there were still soapsuds clinging to his body.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Yoojin muttered as he brushed his teeth with lightning speed. Usually his alarm woke him up, and on days that it didn’t Yoohyun would wake him up. The alcohol must’ve made him sleep through his alarm, and he couldn’t blame Yoohyun for not waking him, the kid was busy enough managing a guild. All Yoojin could do now was come up with a good excuse to be late for work.

After an intense brushing session, Yoojin headed out to change his clothes. He randomly grabbed a pair of black dress pants and put them on. A pair of socks laid in the corner, so he put those on too. Normally, he wore his socks last, but that didn’t matter today. As long as he had something on he would be satisfied.

Yoojin combed through his closet to find a white button-up. Oddly enough, he couldn’t find a proper work shirt. He searched high and low, over and under boxes and drawers but couldn’t find any shirt to wear. This got him pulling his hair in confusion in stress. When he first got this job he’d bought ten copies of the same shirt, how is it possible that none of them were ready to wear! Just yesterday he’d counted five shirts in his closet!

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay,” Yoojin breathed in and out steadily. “I’ll just find another shirt to wear. I’m a grown man with an office job, I have to have something.”

A white casual tee could work, but since his boss was more antsy recently he would, without a doubt, be written up. His old grey hoodie was definitely not an option. And, as tempting as it was to go in wearing a pink cat shirt, it didn’t seem appropriate. There was also no way that he was going to wear pajamas or workout clothes to work.

Still, anything was better than being shirtless, so he opted for the casual tee. If Yoojin wore his suit jacket and tie over it then it hopefully won’t be too noticeable. Unfortunately, the clothing gods did not appear to be on his side as he couldn’t for the life of him find his suit jacket either!

“Whatever, I’ll just wear a blazer then,” Yoojin said. Weirdly enough, Yoojin couldn’t find his blazer either.

It was one thing for his shirts to disappear, but for his suit jackets and blazer to disappear as well? Something was up. He didn’t like thinking about it, but the only person capable of making this happen would be none other than his dear brother: Yoohyun.

Thankfully, Yoohyun hadn’t hidden his phone, which was on his nightstand. Yoojin unlocked his phone and immediately noticed that something was amiss. His coworkers had been saved in his contacts, yet they were missing. Not only that, his boss, Director Seok, and Yerim’s number were missing too. There were only two contacts left: Yoohyun and Sunghan. What the hell?!

There was no room for questioning. This whole thing had to be orchestrated by Yoohyun! Him waking up late, the missing clothes, the phone, they were all connected. Hell, the drinking thing was probably planned too! This was absolutely nuts!

Yoojin angrily called Yoohyun and put him on speaker, ready to give his beloved little brother a peace of his mind. It didn’t take long for Yoohyun to pick up the phone.

“Yoojin? Is something wrong? You never call me at this hour,” Yoohyun spoke with such guileless that Yoojin almost doubted his own emotions.

“Is something wrong? Where did you put my clothes, I have to go to work!” Yoojin tried his best to not raise his voice, but he couldn’t hide the fact that he was upset. He’d thought that Yoohyun was getting better, was getting less paranoid and protective over him. So, why the heck was he doing this all of a sudden?

“You won’t be needing them anymore,” Yoohyun replied calmly, almost like he was coaxing a child. “I have talked to your boss and told them that you won’t be going in for the time being. So, just stay home and relax.”

Yoojin was so bewildered that he nearly forgot how to speak. “What do you mean you’ve talked to my boss? Why did you do that?”

“I’ve tried my best to be understanding, but I just can’t do it anymore. You tell me that work won’t put you in danger, yet you’re always surrounding yourself with dangerous people. If you didn’t have this job, then you wouldn’t have met Sung Hyunjae, and you wouldn’t be so stressed everyday,” Yoohyun explained. “So, no more work.”

“‘No more work’? That’s it?” Yoojin wasn’t sure if they were speaking the same language because he had wholly zero idea what Yoohyun was talking about. “You can’t just make me quit!”

“I didn’t make you quit. This ‘no work’ thing will be temporary. It’ll last until things calm down and the world becomes safe enough for you to go back,” Yoohyun’s corrected. His tone suggested that he thought he was being very reasonable, which irritated Yoojin even more.

“Safe? What do you mean ‘safe’? Yoohyun, I know you’re worried about me, but this isn’t the way to go about it,” Yoojin insisted. “If it’s about Sung Hyunjae, I’ll just never contact him again!”

“It’s not just about him, it’s about everything. Everything is dangerous right now. I just can’t take that risk with you,” Yoohyun stubbornly stuck to his position.

Yoojin rubbed his temples anxiously. “What do you mean by ‘everything’ though?”

“The unstable espers, the dungeon changes, and just everything,” Yoohyun sounded genuinely upset as he spoke. It was as if the mere thought of these things disturbed him.

“Wait, dungeon changes? What’re you talking about?” Yoojin became even more alarmed. The only abnormality he’d heard about were the esper. Last he checked, there was nothing about dungeons!

“…” Yoohyun stayed silent. “Yoojin, did you know I upgraded our TV? You can watch your dramas in even higher quality now.”

“Don’t change the subject! What’s going on?” Yoojin pressed urgently. Anything to do with dungeons must have something to do with the system and They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Since he didn’t receive much information from Volleyball, he had to dig in other ways.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you. Just stay home and do nothing, okay?” Yoohyun refused to let even a bit of information leave his mouth. Looks like prying open Yoohyun would be significantly harder than prying the system.

“…” Yoojin tried to find a proper response. It’s not like he could tell Yoohyun that it did have something to do with him since he was working with the system. To be honest, even if he told him, his brother might not believe him and admit him into a mental hospital instead.

“Yoojin, please understand. I know that none of this ideal, and even I don’t want any of this either, but it’s for your own good. I won’t be able to come home often since I’ll be busy, but you can tell Sunghan what you want to eat and he’ll get it for you. If you have any needs at all, he’ll be right outside the door,” Yoohyun tried to sound comforting. It didn’t work.

“So you’re putting me under house arrest?” Yoojin stated flatly.

“When you put it like that, it sounds bad. Think of this as a stay-cation,” Yoohyun suggested.

“It would be a stay-cation if I was staying in a five star hotel, not if I’m locked up in my own house!” Yoojin huffed and puffed like he had forgotten how to breathe.

Yoohyun had always had difficulties understanding other people’s emotions and would do things without considering other’s feelings. Once in primary school, he had torn off a branch from their neighbor’s tree as a gift to Yoojin. Yoojin profusely apologized to their neighbor, who thankfully wasn’t too upset at a child’s antics. While he was used to seeing others experience this type of treatment, Yoojin hadn’t prepared himself to be one the receiving end.

“I’m sorry, Yoojin. I have to go now. I’ll call you again tonight. Take care of yourself and eat well,” Yoohyun finished talking and ended the call.

“Eat well? If I eat now I’ll get indigestion since I’m so pissed!” Yoojin threw his phone onto his bed aggressively. He angrily took off his pants and replaced them with something more casual. If he was going to stay home, he’d at least be comfortable.

“Yoohyun, you better not come home tonight. Because you’re a goner if I see you!” Yoojin pulled his socks off with so much force that he slipped and fell on the floor. This only set him off even more, causing him to pound on his mattress and scream into his pillow to vent his frustration.

“I’m so pissed! I’m so freaking pissed! I’ve never been more pissed in my life!” Yoojin clutched the poor pillow like it owed him money. His surge of emotions prevented him from finding synonyms for pissed. “You better not let me catch you! F-rankers have feelings too!”

The more he ranted the better he felt. His throat hurt from the screaming, but he didn’t care anymore. Even if he had his voice, who would he use it with? He couldn’t go outside! There was no one to talk to, no one to annoy him, and no one to hang out with. The only sounds in the penthouse were the ones coming from him. The walls may echo his words, but it was still just his voice.

Only when he was out of breath did he stop and release the pillow. Yoojin stared at the ceiling above as he waited for the tightness in his chest to relax. The tightness could’ve been from stress, frustration, shock, or even humiliation. All he knew was that he couldn’t make sense of Yoohyun’s actions. Never in his twenty-five years of living had Yoojin been treated this way by him before.

The ceiling was so empty and white, which only amplified the loneliness that was to come. The longer he stared the more complicated he felt. He had a six month deadline, six months that were sure to fly by. Not only that, but this meant he had less than six months to put himself in a position where S-ranks would need him. When he first heard about it, it sounded extremely difficult. And, now that he was prisoner, it was practically impossible.

“Yoohyun, your timing is truly awful,” Yoojin sighed in exhaustion. If he hadn’t known what he knew, then he would be significantly calmer right now. Sure, he’d still be mad that he was trapped and couldn’t work, but at least there would be no pressure of saving the world. Ugh, the words “saving the world” sounded so corny he almost gagged.

Yoojin pushed himself up and started walking towards the kitchen. He was tired, overwhelmed, and annoyed, but he was also hungry. Hopefully he can find something to eat and calm down before he does something irrational.

In the kitchen, a note greeted him on the counter.

I figured that you would wake up late, so I made sandwiches and left them in the fridge for you. There’s also freshly squeezed orange juice. Don’t forget to eat! — Yoohyun

The yellow post-it note crinkled a little under Yoojin’s grip. This morning (noon?) felt like a stab in the gut, but reading this message was like being patched up by the stabber. It was caring in an oddly disturbing way. Was he being protected or isolated? Tended to or neglected? How was it possible for Yoohyun to make Yoojin feel so helpless and helped at the same time?

He put the note down and went to the fridge. When he opened it, there were two triangle sandwiches inside. Next to them was indeed a jar of orange juice.

Yoojin took the sandwiches and juice out of the fridge and put them on the counter. He took a cup and filled it with juice. The sound of moving liquid and the smell of oranges filled his nostrils, making him realize just how hungry and thirsty he’d been.

The sandwich consisted of white bread, lettuce, tomatoes, prosciutto, mozzarella cheese, and pickled red onion. When he bit into it, he could taste a bit of mayo and pepper. Just from the first bite he could tell that Yoohyun had put in an immense amount of effort.

Yoohyun had baked a batch of bread the other day, which he used for this. The vegetables were sourced from an expensive but reliable farmer that was a partner of Haeyeon. Yoojin didn’t like sour tomatoes, so Yoohyun made sure to use plump and sweet ones instead. And, of course, he pickled the onions himself.

His brother wasn’t usually high maintenance when it came to food, but recently—like with his other actions—he’d become a bit more picky and impractical. As a result, he had sourced the mozzarella directly from a renowned cheese maker in Italy. The mozzarella wasn’t the only ingredient that had made a long journey, the prosciutto was from Italy too.

The sandwich was full of love and careful attention. Yoojin couldn’t help but admire the taste. Due to Yoohyun, he’s had all of these ingredients and even this sandwich before, just with lower quality ingredients. However, money truly did make a difference because he’s never tasted a sandwich as good as this one. It was also nothing like the sandwiches that he used to make for Yoohyun.

Back when his brother was still in school, Yoojin would make him lunchboxes whenever he had the time. Usually it would be whatever they had in the fridge, but when he had money left over he liked making sandwiches as a treat.

Bread was pricey, but he wanted Yoohyun to have it since his brother seemed to like bread. Having the same lunch everyday would also get boring after all.

He would run to the store the night before and buy the half size bread since the full size was too expensive. The type of bread didn’t really matter, he would take whatever was available. A sandwich was still a sandwich no matter the bread.

The type of sandwich really depended on the season and what he could afford. If there was a discount on lettuce, then he would buy lettuce. If he had coupons for canned tuna, then he would buy tuna. So, Yoohyun received mediocre sandwich combos like tuna and cheddar or bologna and lettuce. The sandwiches weren’t the best, but his brother seemed to like them as his lunchbox always returned empty.

When he compared Yoohyun’s sandwich with his own, it made him realize how far they’d come. Yoojin was sitting in a penthouse kitchen. He was eating a sandwich made from imported ingredients and drinking juice from freshly squeezed oranges. It was almost unbelievable, and it only made him want to preserve this life more. Yoohyun had worked too hard for this sandwich.

So, Yoojin made up his mind. He was going to escape this penthouse and prevent the end of the world no matter what—even if it costed him his life.