Today, he had just arrived at the Guide
Center for the first time in three days.
When someone offered to escort him to
the training room, he politely declined this
time. He had a good sense of direction
and had already memorized the way, so
there was no need for guidance.
He walked slowly, taking his time to look
around the Guide Center. When he reached
what looked like a lounge--one he had
seen before--he noticed people gathered
here and there in small groups.
'Are they Guides to0?'
Or were they, like the person who had
offered him directions, employees doing
other work? Curious, he tilted his head
slightly and found his gaze lingering
without realizing it.
Maybe his stare had been too intense.
Before long, he locked eyes with one of
the people in the group.
... "
Feeling awkward, he smiled clumsily and
offered a small bow. But there was no
response. Instead, the other person's face
twisted sharply, as if disgusted by
something unpleasant.
Their obvious show of dislike right to his
face made the situation unbearably
awkward. Even worse, when the man
whispered something to the people
around him, they all started to look at
Haeyul, making him even more
uncomfortable.
...What the hell? The atmosphere's weird'
It was the first time he had encountered
people who showed such open hostility
upon first meeting.
But why? Why were they acting like that?
Was he imagining it? No-it definitely
wasn't his imagination. The raw hostility
from these strangers made cold sweat
bead on his back.
He hesitantly took a step back. He wasn't
bold enough to confront them, asking why
they were looking at him that way, or
whether they knew him. He just intended
to quietly leave the area.
"Must be nice, huh? Scored the jackpot all
of a sudden."
"And then itll bloW up again like before.
Guides end up getting blamed for crap like
that"
But the voices-loud enough for him to
hear-stopped him in his tracks before he
could move away. They clearly wanted him
to hear them. It was obvious they were
talking about him, but he couldn't
understand what they meant. None of
them avoided his gaze either; they stared
at him openly.
Thanks to them, now everyone in the
lounge was looking at him too. And
shockingly, the majority wore hostile
expressions.
"Maybe it's already started. Cha Jae-
WOo's. "
The man who had first made eye contact
with Haeyul sneered, maintaining direct
eye contact. Haeyul stayed still, trying to
listen carefully to what the man was about
to say. He was desperate to understand
why they were acting this way.
"Haeyul!"
However, the man's words were cut off by
a sudden voice coming from somewhere
else. It was a familiar voice, and when
Haeyul turned his head, he saw Kim Sol,
smiling brightly just like the last time they
met.
Haeyul quickly smiled and nodded.
"Hyung"
"What are you doing here? I was waiting
for you and had to come fnd you."
"Huh? It's not time yet"
"Hurry up. You slacking off? We've got a
mountain of stuff to cover"
"Ah, Hyung, I wasn't slacking off.."
Kim Sol grabbed Haeyul's wrist and
started moving quickly. Although he was a
bit shorter than Haeyul, his strides were
so fast that Haeyul was nearly out of
breath trying to keep up.
Thankfully, the training room wasn't too
far away. After practically sprinting there,
Kim Sol quickly grabbed a seat.
Though he was smiling as usual,
something about him felt off, stiff. Even
someone as dense as Haeyul could tell-
Kim Sol had interrupted on purpose,
preventing him from hearing the rest of
that conversation.
"Hyung"
"So, did we already check your mana
levels last time? Were you able to do it
successfully?"
"You couldn't do it? Hm, that's the basics
though.."
Kim Sol's voice was cheerful, but his gaze
subtly drifted away. It seemed he was the
type who couldn't lie or deflect very well.
Haeyul was similar, but Kim Sol was even
Worse.
Haeyul sat down across from him and
chuckled quietly.
"Hyung. It's obvious, you know."
"Huh? ...What do you mean?"
"It's obvious you're trying to change the
subject. You're worried I'll ask about those
people, aren't you?"
It almost sounded like he could hear Kim
Sol's big round eyes rolling in panic. Kim
Sol blinked rapidly and licked his dry lips.
It was painfully clear he didn't know how
to r respond or where to start.
"If it's too much trouble, I won't ask. I'l
just think of them as weird people and
leave it at that, okay?"
"Haha..."
"And I did check my mana level. It's
seriously low. Like, barely a speck..."
"Yeah. You're right. It's tiny. You checked
properly."
Kim Sol, who had been laughing
awkwardly, immediately agreed with him.
It stung his pride a little, but since it was
true, Haeyul couldn't exactly argue.
Realizing he might've been a little too
blunt, Kim Sol laughed again. It seemed
laughter was his go-to defense mechanism
in uncomfortable situations.
"Still, confirming it is half the battle. Once
you know how much you have, it becomes
easier to control."
"So I tried practicing mana control."
"How? You can't do that alone."
"Ah, right. So, I practiced with Cha Jae-
WOo-SSi..."
"What? Cha Jae-woo!"
"Yes. Since we live together. But as soon as
we made contact, my mana just
vanished.."
"Haeyul!"
The smile vanished from Kim Sol's face.
Did he say something wrong? As Haeyul
replayed their conversation in his mind,
Kim Sol suddenly smacked him hard on
the shoulder. Despite his delicate-looking
hand, the force was enough to make
Haeyul's shoulder feel like it sank.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"Are you crazy? Why would you practice
with Cha Jae-woo?! Of course your mana
disappears the second you touch him!
That guy's basically a black hole right
now!"
"Huh? What? A black hole?"
"Yeah. He's at the stage where he'll suck
up anything and everything without
thinking"
"Uh...2"
"Until you can guide properly, don't make
contact with Cha Jae-woo. If he loses
control, it's game over. You could end up
never opening your eyes again."
Haeyul had no idea what he was talking
about.
He understood that making contact with
Cha Jae-woo instantly drained his mana.
The black hole metaphor made sense to0.
They had said he was on the verge of
going berserk, so it figured he would
greedily absorb any guiding he could get.
Haeyul had already experienced his
strength being drained completely in a
matter of seconds.
But the idea that Cha Jae-woo might lose
his sanity-that part, he didn't understand.
'Lose control? Why?
He seemed completely normal. Aside from
looking a little annoyed from the lack of
guiding, he had seemed the same as
usual.
"Uh, but.. after the first day of training,
Cha Jae-WO0-ssi hasn't asked for guiding
again."
As he retraced Kim Sol's words, Haeyul
realized something. Even though their
contract specifically stated he was
supposed to provide a set amount of
guiding every day, Cha Jae-woo hadn't
shown up once since that first day.
Thinking about it, he realized he hadn't
given it any thought--he had been too
focused on checking his mana levels all
this time.
"That bastard must know how dangerous
he is too."
"Huh?"
"Haah... Anyway, first thing's first-you
need to learn how to block guiding."
"Not control it?"
"Block it. Make sure guiding doesn't
happen. Focus. I'm not letting you go
home until you master it today."
Kim Sol's eyes blazed like fire. Haeyul had
no idea how things escalated so suddenly,
but judging by Kim Sol's intensity, he
figured he should just nod for now.
***
"..I'm dying"
He was completely drained.G
When Kim Sol had first warned him, he
hadn't taken it seriously. He had only been
a Guide for a few days, and Cha Jae-wo0,
who everyone claimed was on the verge of
losing it, had seemed perfectly normal to
him. He had assumed things would be
fine, that Kim Sol was exaggerating.
But he had been completely wrong.
Kim Sol was the kind of person who took
his words seriously. He didn't let up until
Haeyul could block guiding perfectly.
Apparently, mental strength was tied to
physical stamina, because all Haeyul had
done was sit still and concentrate-yet his
entire body was trembling from
exhaustion.
What the hell happened to my stamina?"
Up until just a little while ago, the strange
things Kim Sol had said and the people he
had seen in the lounge had been swirling
around in his head, but now he was too
tired to even think. All he could focus on
was getting to his bedroom and collapsing
into bed. The house, already absurdly
large, made the bedroom feel even farther
away today.
"Ah."
He had barely made it halfway when a
sharp, prickling sensation spread across
his entire body. It was a feeling he had
experienced only a few times, but it was
already familiar-Cha Jae-woo was nearby.
He could feel the irregular ripples of Cha
Jae-woo's aura.
Haevul lifted his head and looked around.
As expected, Cha Jae-woo wasn't far. He
was sitting on a sofa, his head leaning
against the backrest, eyes closed.
The moment he spotted him, Haeyul
found himself walking not toward his
room, but toward Cha Jae-woo instead.
There was no purpose, no conscious
thought behind it-his body simply moved
on its own.
Sensing Haeyul's presence, Cha Jae-woo
opened his eyes. At the same time,
Haeyul's index finger brushed against his
cheek-a brief, light touch. Cha Jae-woo's
face instantly twisted in displeasure at the the contact
"You didn't feel anything, right?"
Maybe it was because he had been pushed
to his limits by Kim Sol all day, but even
seeing Cha Jae-woo's grimace didn't snap
Haeyul out of his daze. Instead, he only
felt proud of himself for managing to
touch Cha Jae-woo without collapsing.
A silly, vacant smile spread across his face.
Cha Jae-woo looked him up and down,
unable to hide his bafflement.
"I learned how to block guiding today..."
"So even if I touch you like this-"
He poked Cha Jae-woo's cheek again with
his fingertip. His stamina didn't drain. His
mana didn't get sucked away. All that hard
training with Kim Sol had paid off.
"It's fine now."
"Hah."
Cha Jae-woo let out a short, incredulous
laugh. Haeyul chuckled along with him
and slowly turned back toward his room.
All he wanted now was to crawl into bed.
"Good night..."
Oh, right. He was supposed to train again
tomorrow too.
Just thinking about it already exhausted
him. His shoulders felt impossibly heavy. It
It really felt like he had ended up with an
overly passionate teacher.