TDG Ch 4

Listen carefully, Seo Juwon.

You only get one chance.

You absolutely must not make a mistake.

The wave looked chaotic, like it had no order to it at all, but there came a fleeting moment when everything paused. I held my breath and waited for that opening. Trusting nothing but instinct, I threw myself into it. And finally, I succeeded in grabbing Han Jihyuk with all my limbs intact.

A thrill of catharsis surged through my entire body. I clung to him with everything I had, making sure he couldn’t shake me off easily. Just that was enough to make him falter for a moment. Seizing that brief window, I grabbed his face and kissed him.

Normally, guiding only requires skin contact, but once a rampage begins, that becomes useless. How could anyone hold on and search for their waveform when they were thrashing around like this?

Mucous membrane contact, on the other hand, served as a critical mechanism that forcibly and automatically conveys the Guide’s guiding to the Esper.

As he faltered, I pulled at the back of his head and desperately sucked on his lips. It wasn’t something that required any particular skill, so the method didn’t matter.

Calm down. Please, just calm down…!

“…!”

How much time had passed?

Han Jihyuk, who had been sprawled out, suddenly raised both arms. He grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and flung me to the floor as if to toss me away.

Ugh.

The impact knocked the wind out of me. I crashed down with no defense, and a sharp pain shot through my ribs like they were being crushed. I bit my tongue to suppress a groan and quickly looked up, only to find a pair of blazing eyes bearing down on me like a roaring flame. Han Jihyuk blocked my escape, bracketing me with his arms, and approached with slow, deliberate movements, like a predator savoring its prey. Just being under that piercing gaze sent my body into a state of high tension, my airways tightening under the pressure.

He let out a low sound in his throat, seemingly pleased with how frozen I was in fear, then opened his mouth and pressed it against mine.

His tongue, laced with a deadly scent, urged me to open my mouth. Only then did I realize that, out of fear, I had instinctively clamped my mouth shut. When I awkwardly opened my mouth, a thick tongue slid in like a snake, filling my mouth completely.

“Nngh… mm… mmph.”

My suppressed, restricted breath came out from my throat in a struggling, whimpering sound.

Han Jihyuk locked me in place with our bodies pressed together so I couldn’t move at all, and then moved his tongue with a deliberate, intense precision, as if trying to memorize every fold of my lips. His eyes, watching me devouringly as he tasted the wet flesh inch by inch, were no longer wild. The haze that had clouded them was gone, replaced by newly awakened desire, brimming with curiosity and the urge to explore.

His tongue, swimming in my mouth as if deeply curious about what kind of being I was, became much gentler but moved with a chilling persistence and tenacity for exploration.

Even as he calmed down, the trembling in my body only grew stronger. The pale, numbing sensation engulfing my mind made it impossible to tell whether it was fear or sexual arousal.

Han Jihyuk’s once-destructive wave began to form a steady arc. The chaotic surge gradually mellowed into a gentler rhythm, and that alone filled me with joy.

The guiding was working. Even as my lips were bitten and raw, I felt a rush of euphoria as the guiding was drawn out of me like flowing water. As soon as our tongues finally untangled, I turned my head and coughed out a ragged breath.

It was hard, but I didn’t loosen my arms from around his neck. I was terrified he might disappear like smoke if I let go, even for a second.

Through the tousled strands of his dark brown hair, his obsidian-like eyes came into view.

His face, beautiful as though crafted by the hands of a master pouring all his skill into one perfect creation. His dark eyes, deep and gleaming as if they could absorb all light, made me unable to suppress both admiration and a sigh.

I finally met you, but I was angry at myself for not having prepared a single decent line to introduce myself.

All the feelings I kept stacking up for you, nearly to the point of blind obsession, ended up hardening that place inside me, like a fossil.

Even after five years of training, my lips only trembled like a fool, unable to say even a simple greeting.

Before I could say anything, tears began to fall in heavy drops, startling and flustering Han Jihyuk. You probably have no idea how happy I am right now.

No matter how hard I tried to hold them back, the tears spilled freely, beyond my control. I sobbed and cupped Jihyuk’s face with trembling hands. You just stood there, quietly staring at me. As I savored the feeling of your presence becoming real at my fingertips, nothing in the world felt more urgent or overwhelming than you.

“It’s okay… You’ll be okay now.”

In the distance, the sound of sirens began to wail, growing closer.

* * *

Han Jihyuk was detained by the special forces dispatched to the scene and urgently transferred to the Center. There, he was transferred to a lab deep within the most restricted section of the research building. A suppression device was placed on him to restrain his power, and a series of tests began immediately.

Normally, outsiders weren’t allowed in this far, but I was granted access because I was the first contact Guide who had calmed him down. I was to remain available in case he needed guiding again at any time.

I stood outside the lab, gazing intently at Han Jihyuk’s face.

They said he was breathtakingly handsome, and it wasn’t a lie. His smooth forehead, deeply set eyes, unusually prominent nose, and beautifully closed red lips formed a flawless, symmetrical face. He wasn’t the warm, sunny type of handsome; he gave off a colder beauty, sharp and sensitive, like someone who thrived in the shadows. But with his tall frame and charismatic aura, he never came across as gloomy. And now, as he slept peacefully, his face looked strangely soft and harmless, almost childlike. It made him seem unexpectedly endearing. 

The fact that I was seeing the Han Jihyuk I had longed for over five years with my own eyes was incredibly joyful and wondrous. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, not even for a second.

“Juwon-ah!”

It was my father’s voice.

Huh? What was he doing here, in the isolation zone? He rushed over and pulled me into a hug.

“My child, are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“Yes… I’m okay. But why are you here, Father…?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’? Who do you think I am?”

Right. You’re the Minister. Of the Esper Department.

The realization hit me a beat too late. That’s right, an S-rank Esper awakening was a rare event. For someone in his position, it made sense to drop everything and rush over as soon as he got the report.

“I just reviewed the footage from the scene. You stopped the Esper’s awakening rampage? I felt faint just watching it.”

His eyes, as he looked at me, were filled with worry and shock.

“Well… I just happened to be passing by and found him…”

“I saw the video. I almost passed out.”

He ran his large, calloused hand gently over my cheek as he examined me.

“You’ve got bruises.”

“I-It’s nothing. I just bumped into something.”

I had scrapes and bruises all over from trying to hold onto Han Jihyuk. I tightened the blanket around me, afraid he might notice anything worse.

My father’s voice trembled with fear. As a parent, he must’ve been terrified at the thought of losing his child. I’d been so focused on Han Jihyuk that I hadn’t stopped to consider what he must have felt. I had no excuse—no words that could make up for it.

He patted my shoulder with a warm hand. He could have scolded me, and yet he didn’t. More than anything, he seemed relieved I was safe. My eyes were already swollen from crying earlier, but now my nose began to sting again.

“Are you really alright? You don’t need to be hospitalized?”

“I’m fine. Really, truly fine.”

After crossing over into this world, it was the first time I’d ever truly understood a parent’s love. In the beginning, I treated what my father gave me like a debt to repay. I thought I had to pay him back just as much to balance the scales.

But he never wanted that.

All he ever wanted was for me to be happy, to grow and thrive.

For the first time in my life, I felt a sincere desire to live up to someone’s expectations. Even if I wasn’t really his son, even if the only form of filial piety I knew was shallow at best, still.

I didn’t want to see you die.

I couldn’t have known it at the time, but that new wish must have taken root inside me the very moment I threw myself at Han Jihyuk.

We’re almost there now.

I’m going to make it.

Because I promised myself I would.

* * *

Test results confirmed that Han Jihyuk’s abilities were beyond S-rank.

However, for some reason, they were completely uncontrollable.

Unlike other S-rank Espers who typically stabilized after a few days of initial instability, his case was different.

The higher-ups decided he needed an exclusive Guide, by force if necessary.

The reason Han Jihyuk couldn’t be controlled was that his capacity would eventually rise to L-rank—

An unknown pinnacle no one in the world had ever reached.

It was a harsh power for someone so young to bear alone, considering he had only just come of age this year.

When the Center announced they were recruiting an exclusive Guide for him, many Guides applied, including Kwon Minwook.

But, strangely enough, none of them could control him. Only I could.

A researcher speculated it was because of the unique nature of his initial awakening; specifically, the tendency to be drawn to one’s first Guide.

Some Guides complained that it made no sense to assign an S-rank Esper to a complete rookie like me, but what could they do when the Esper himself insisted it had to be me and no one else?

As Kwon Minwook walked away with a sour look on his face, I secretly gave him the middle finger behind his back.

Get lost from my favorite’s life, you toxic bastard.

“Oh my! Our youngest just shot straight up the ranks. All that hardship you went through was just the groundwork for this moment!”

Soojung sunbae looked at me with open envy.

She’d always said she didn’t want an exclusive post, but I guess she’d secretly hoped for it.

“Some people really are just born lucky.”

“Congratulations, rookie! Being the exclusive Guide to a freshly awakened S-rank Esper? Do you realize how impossible those odds were? Way harder than winning the lottery! Didn’t I say you had luck on your side? Maybe I should open a fortune-telling business.”

Team Leader Park Chisu looked like he was trying to stay composed, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

Apparently, having an exclusive Guide come from your own team was a big deal for a team leader, too.

“In ten years as the team leader, I’ve never had such a huge accomplishment.”

“It’s only been five years since you became team leader.”

“Soojung, be quiet for a bit.”

Seon Jaeyoung, who had his face buried in a game console, asked in a monotone voice, “Are we having a team dinner tonight?”

Park Chisu snorted.

“Why should you all benefit just because Seo Juwon got the post?”

“Come on, don’t be stingy! Let’s go get some beef!”

“Beef! Beef! Only the top-grade Hanwoo^[1]!”

As the team united under the banner of premium beef, I spoke up cautiously.

“But it’s just temporary anyway. Once Han Jihyuk can function on his own, it’ll be over.”

I didn’t want to rain on their parade, but they were getting a little too carried away.

Team Leader Park grabbed my shoulder as if to tell me not to think like that.

“Juwon, all exclusive Guide roles are temporary anyway. It’s not like you’re soul-bonding with the Esper.”

“Don’t start with that soul-bond nonsense. Like that’s even a thing.” Sun Jaeyoung scoffed.

“There is, you know? It’s called ‘bonding,’ a legend passed down in the Center.”

“How old do you think the Center is? Hundreds of years? Now you’re saying it has legends?”

“Let it go. Our team leader’s just an old bachelor who’s in love with his own romantic ideals.”

Ignoring the chattering Seon Jaeyoung and Yoon Soojung, Park Chisu took me aside to a quiet corner. He deliberately lowered his voice.

“Headquarters has issued orders. Your access restrictions to classified areas will be lifted, and you’ll be given a place to stay inside the Center. Because of the special nature of this case, you’ll need to act as a 24-hour exclusive Guide for the next few days. Are you ready for that?”

I had expected this. I nodded without hesitation.

“Of course.”