If there were as many Guides as there were Espers, it would be a different story, but Wonwoo was the only one. There was a limit to how much one person could guide, so they had no choice but to think about efficiency.
On top of that, Hyeonil's attitude was firm.
‘Even I'm finding my time precious right now. You want me to give it up to those worse than me'
‘Still….’
‘No. Anything else is fine. Chief Shin or Jinho are fine too. But I can't stand by and watch you guide others.’
‘It’s my guiding, what does it matter if I get Hyeonil-ssi’s permission or not…. For your information, I’m a citizen with plenty of free will.’
'For someone with only 1% favorability, you sure talk a lot!' Wonwoo grumbled, thinking of Hyeonil's petty favorability score.
‘No, Wonwoo. Listen. Part of this is because I’m thinking of you, you know? It gets more tiring if all the riff-raff come clinging to you. It's better for you to be a Guide limited to us than to cause a scene over a bunch of guys with mediocre efficiency, don't you think?’
‘Wonwoo-hyung, I agree with Hyeonil-ssi's opinion too. Please only go on gate conquests with us.’
‘That’s right. If things go wrong, you might have to hold something like a handshake event at every gate conquest, you know? How exhausting would that be.’
‘A… a handshake event? Me?’
For a moment, Wonwoo imagined himself with a 'Guide' name tag, like a politician on a campaign trail, greeting dozens of Espers at a gate entrance with, "I'm Guide, Kim Wonwoo," and shaking each one of their hands. He immediately nodded.
Right. Let's just stay put. Wonwoo thought so and kept his mouth firmly shut.
‘The world’s only guide… it’s finally starting to feel real.’
-Bbirong bbirong!
[When I said so! You just ignored me! （；´д｀）]
[Sob, sob, that’s so mean. But SYSTEM has a big heart, so I will understand!]
As usual, Wonwoo turned off his phone screen, dismissing the system’s message.
"And we also need to talk about your guild, Wonwoo-ssi."
"Yes. Um, I just submitted the guild establishment application!"
The application, which listed Yonghyun and Jinho as guarantors for the guild's establishment and Hyeonil as a collaborator, seemed to sparkle. Jaesung accepted the application with extreme care and ran to the Guild Cooperation Department with a determined expression.
"It usually takes about ten days to establish a guild, but... since I'm a guarantor, it won't take that long. I will use my influence to get it approved as quickly as possible."
Once the guild was established, Yonghyun added, they could form a cooperative relationship, like an alliance.
To the request to put Black Star's name first, Wonwoo replied nonchalantly, "I'll see how you behave, Hyeonil-ssi."
After briefly discussing their future plans, Wonwoo followed Yonghyun's lead into the meeting place and came to regret ever saying, 'I'll join the meeting too!'
"What's this. No way, is this frail-looking thing the Guide?"
Wonwoo had to face Juwon, who greeted him with sharp words as soon as he saw him, having thrown all manners out the window.
Wonwoo's first impression of Juwon was that he was a delinquent. His light brown hair and sharply upturned eyes reminded him of a cat with a bad attitude.
No, more than a cat... a cheetah. And the piercings, not just one but three or four in his ear, were more than enough to reinforce Wonwoo's prejudice.
On top of that, seeing him sitting in a slouched, cocky posture stirred an impulse to smack that broad back of his, hard. Wonwoo felt a strange itch in his palm and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘Jinho-ssi, you said he wasn’t nasty, just fiery. He’s fiery and nasty….’
This was the opponent that even Hyeonil, who Wonwoo considered to have a bad enough personality, had clicked his tongue at and called nasty. He should have known from the moment he heard that. No, but still. He never thought the guy would be so rude as to have his manners completely wrapped up in his awfulness! Wonwoo felt unjustly wronged.
"Frail-looking, I'm just...."
"Looking like this, can you even join us in a gate? You're going to need some intense physical training."
‘Right… this guy, he was always involved in a lot of controversies.’
He had forgotten because he had been so out of it until now. He hadn't committed any crimes or caused any major social disturbances, but the one who always stirred up issues with his tendency to blurt things out without filtering what should and shouldn't be said was none other than Juwon.
‘Baek Juwon Esper, I understand you suffered a major injury while conquering the gate this time. Many people are curious about what kind of monster could injure an S-rank Esper. Could you please tell us in detail about the situation at that time!’
‘Am I crazy, you think I’d talk about something that embarrassing? What do you mean many people are curious? Just admit you’re curious and stop trying to wrap it up in fancy words. Go away!'
‘Baek Juwon Esper! You were witnessed playing a game on your phone during a gate conquest! There are voices of concern that this was too complacent. Do you have anything to explain about this….’
‘Ah, yes. I see. I played for a very brief moment, for 1 minute, and it seems that was seen. Haha, those who are concerned must live very tightly-wound lives, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, huh? Oh dear, I am very, very, incredibly sorry. As a sign of self-reflection, I will be taking a week off from my Esper activities, so don't look for me. Yes.’
Wonwoo had a bitter taste in his mouth. Having grown used to Yonghyun who always treated him politely, Hyeonil who, despite his 1% favorability, was always friendly, and Jinho who always watched over him with a warm gaze and took care of him, such a sharp reaction was bound to feel unfamiliar.
‘But this is our first meeting, being like this is a problem...! This isn't a personality issue, it's a manners issue!’
But what saddened Wonwoo most of all was the fact that there wasn't much that was wrong with Juwon's words. In reality, while conquering the B-rank gate yesterday, he had mostly moved with the help of Jinho or Hyeonil.
It was a remark that was bound to bother Wonwoo, who had been wondering since yesterday if he should start running and jump-roping every morning.
"I had high hopes after hearing about the Guide's ability, but, hmm...."
The moment Wonwoo, in his disbelief, was about to shout, Hyeonil spoke first.
"Wow, Juwon, seriously, even so. This is our first meeting and we're here too, don't you think you're speaking too harshly?"
Hyeonil, who had said he had a brief errand at the Guild Cooperation Department and would join after, had entered at some point and was now seated to Wonwoo's right.
"That's right. As someone who participated in a gate conquest with Wonwoo-hyung, I can't agree with that statement."
Jinho, who had asked them to wait a moment while he went to get drinks, also took a seat to Wonwoo's left and chimed in.
"Harshly? I'm not, I'm just stating a fact."
As he replied, Juwon's eyes, having confirmed Hyeonil and Jinho, softened somewhat. Seeing that, Wonwoo thought.
‘Is this bastard one of those who's strong against the weak and weak against the strong?! Or is it just because I look like a pushover?’
Wonwoo thought. He wished the system would update to show not just the Espers' favorability for him, but also his favorability for the Espers. If that happened, the first thing he would do is write ‘-200%’ in Baek Juwon's favorability slot.
Yonghyun and another person who appeared to be from the Geonyeong Guild entered the conference room that had been set up as the meeting place, and everyone was now gathered.
Wonwoo bit his lip and glared at Juwon.
‘I’m not approaching that bastard first. I won’t even hold his hand until he bows his head before me!’
***
"I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. My kid, he may talk like that, but he's not a bad kid…."
The leader of Geonyeong Guild's Team 1, Lee Jaeyoon, bowed his head in apology to Wonwoo and the others. Next to him, Juwon stood with a thoroughly sullen expression, but as soon as Jaeyoon glared at him, he spat out an apology like a crawling ant, "Sor. Ry."
"...Haha. Yes. It's alright."
Such is the way of professional life; you have to smile and say it's okay even when it's not. Wonwoo smiled at Jaeyoon, who was looking at him anxiously.
"I apologize. This guy may talk like this, but he's not a bad-natured kid. He is reflecting on his actions, so please look upon him with a generous heart."
'In what world does that look like a face of reflection? He’s scowling so hard?!' Wonwoo looked back and forth between Jaeyoon and Juwon with a wavering gaze.
Juwon's expression was still full of dissatisfaction.
-Bbirong bbirong!
[That's not true! That Baek Juwon Esper is very, very much regretting saying such harsh things to user 'Wonwoo'! (ノㅇДㅇ)ノ]
‘…What? While making a face that says he wants to destroy everything because he hates it so much? No, more importantly, how do you know that?’
[It's a trade secret so I can't reveal it, but it's true! ~(=^-^)ノ]
[It's because he's shy! Because he's shy!]
‘Did the dictionary definition of shyness change in the last few days without me knowing…?’
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