#50
Having heard the whole story from Jaeyoon and Juwon, the members of Geonyeong's Team 1 clutched their stomachs and roared with laughter.
“Wow! People of Geonyeong! Our youngest! Our princess! He says he’s embarrassed!”
“Sunbae…. Please, stop calling me a princess.”
“Hmm, alright then. Mouth of Terror! Was so embarrassed he did something even kids these days wouldn't do!”
“There’s no difference…!”
“Why is there no difference! Ah, so you do prefer princess? Our Geonyeong princess?”
“Aaaargh! Sunbae!”
As soon as Juwon's shout ended, Lee Yul threw himself back and laughed heartily. This was the same Juwon who, whenever Yul watched a romance drama, would grumpily chime in, "Why do you watch something so boring?" To hear that this very Juwon had done something even more childish than what happens in those dramas was the most delightful news Lee Yul could have received.
Lee Yul's breathless laughter finally stopped only when he felt the threatening heat from a small flame that Juwon had ignited right in front of his nose.
“Ouch, Baek Juwon! I told you not to use your fire recklessly!”
Having paid the price for teasing Juwon so much with the tips of his hair catching on fire, Lee Yul shrieked.
“Don’t know, I don’t know. It’s the sunbae who mocked me who’s at fault.”
Whether Yul and Juwon were bickering or not, Seongjun, for his part, was organizing the story they had shared.
“So, you’re saying Juwon couldn’t distinguish between what he should and shouldn’t say to the Guide, and now our image is completely ruined?”
“That’s right…”
“Is the Guide affiliated with the Bureau? If so, our image shouldn’t matter much. They’re strict about separating public and private matters, no matter what.”
“It seems that’s not the case.”
Jaeyoon ruffled his hair, looking troubled.
“He’s starting a guild. A Guide guild. So now, he said we’ll be working together through a cooperative manner.”
“Cooperation?”
“It means that even if we say, ‘Let’s borrow the Guide’s power,’ he can refuse, saying, ‘No.’ It means we can't just do what we want.”
Even if they proposed, ‘Shall we cooperate on a Gate raid together?’, if he didn’t agree, they couldn’t raid a Gate with him no matter what they did. The Bureau fundamentally forbade simultaneous Gate raids by guilds without prior agreement.
In truth, from Wonwoo's perspective, he couldn't raid Gates without an Esper, so there wasn't really a reason for him to refuse. He might be pushed down the priority list, but his goal was ultimately to prevent the world's destruction alongside S-class Espers. He would likely accept the request for cooperation with a sigh.
However, Geonyeong, unaware of these circumstances, had no choice but to make such negative assumptions. It was only natural. Even if one wasn't affiliated with the Bureau, cooperation wasn't something that came easily.
“This is a bit much. Juwon might have spoken harshly, but is it really that bad? Refusing a request for cooperation, unless there's a major reason, is like throwing down the gauntlet, isn't it?”
Having put out the fire on his hair, Lee Yul nodded in agreement with Seongjun's words.
“When I brought up cooperation, he told me to talk to him later. And with a very reluctant expression.”
"Whoa. Then we're really screwed?"
If Wonwoo had heard that, he would have cried out in frustration, ‘No, the one with the reluctant expression was your Esper!’
“But somehow, the atmosphere suggested he’s already formed a cooperative relationship with Han Jinho or Black Star. Even if he can’t refuse us outright… he has plenty of reason to keep delaying, saying he has to work with them first.”
“Hmm, then let’s think about it the other way? We don’t necessarily have to raid Gates with a Guide, do we? We can just keep doing what we’ve always done.”
“That… That’s… I don’t want to.”
At Juwon’s words, a brief silence passed between them.
“Team Leader, did you hear that? Our Juwon… said he doesn’t want to!”
“Lee Yul, you stop teasing Juwon. Why don’t you want to?”
“……”
“I won’t know if you don’t tell me.”
“Just by making eye contact, I felt like I could finally breathe.”
Juwon bit his lip. The moment he first laid eyes on Wonwoo, the overwhelming sense of comfort he felt was unforgettable, as if it had been imprinted on him.
The comfort he felt upon meeting Wonwoo faded with time, and the heat that always constricted him returned. It was only then that he realized. Everything he had experienced was the effect of Guiding.
“You can call me selfish, and I’m sorry for that… but I really want to… work with the Guide.”
Juwon ran a hand over his face. No matter how he thought about it, he felt so foolish that he kept rubbing his face.
“Wow…. In all my life, I've never seen Baek Juwon apologize first.”
“No, I do admit it cleanly when I’ve done something wrong…!”
“Seongjun’s suggestion to do things as we’ve always done, that’s actually right. Walking our own path without being swayed by any situation is Geonyeong’s policy.”
Jaeyoon let out a sigh.
“But to do that, the Guide’s ability is too, too much of a cheat. If Juwon receives Guiding, he could probably one-shot a monster that usually takes him an hour to burn down.”
After that remark, he added that they knew from the video, and Seongjun nodded.
The video released by the Bureau was, to exaggerate slightly, like a dream for all Espers. A being who, without doing anything—no, just by holding hands—could make you several, even tens of times stronger than you were.
As an A-class Esper, he didn’t feel the side effects that strongly. It was just an insane itch between his teeth and gums whenever he used his ability, not something that made daily life difficult or caused severe pain.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t uncomfortable. The appearance of a being who could not only eliminate such side effects in an instant but also enhance his abilities… made his heart pound.
Seongjun thought that if he, who had only seen the video, felt this way, it was only natural for Juwon, who had always suffered from side effects, to act so restless and antsy like a puppy that needed to go after receiving Guiding.
“Then, we need to somehow clean up this mess and appeal Geonyeong to the Guide.”
“Hmm, and while we’re at it, maybe clean up our Princess Juwon’s image too?”
Lee Yul shrugged.
“The only way is to appeal that ‘Our youngest isn’t actually that kind of person, he’s this kind of person!’”
Lee Yul quickly scanned and identified his role in this operation. No matter how much he teased him as Mouth of Terror maknae, to Lee Yul, Juwon was a cute youngest brother.
The youngest members are cutest when they’re running around, squawking. Seeing him look around cautiously like a rain-soaked dog didn’t suit him.
“If we make a good impression on the Guide, it’s solved! Right?”
“Then how about we first go, kneel, and beg, shouting ‘We’re sorry!’?”
“Nope. That’s the end of it. There's no room for anything to continue."
At Lee Yul’s words, Hyerin, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.
“Let’s become Cupids of love. If we connect that Guide and Juwon, wouldn’t something happen?”
If Lee Yul was a romance drama enthusiast, Hyerin was a delicate soul who loved shoujo manga more than anyone.
“The Guide in crisis! At that moment, Juwon suddenly appears and saves the Guide! Therefore, what’s needed is… a crisis for the Guide…!”
“That, if you’re not careful, could sound like you’re wishing for the Guide to be in danger.”
“Love is always full of hardship.”
Hyerin clasped her hands as if in prayer and nodded.
“No, let’s do as Junsung said and kneel and apologize. Maybe apologizing five or six times will do the trick? As they say, seeing a face often makes you grow fond of it. We go, show our faces continuously, apologize, and show a sincere form of repentance.”
Jaeyoon added a word to Lee Yul's suggestion.
“Can't we somehow refresh our image with our Joo-won's beauty?"
Lee Yul said.
“Team Leader. You said Han Jinho was stuck to him like glue during the meeting. Realistically, if you were him, would you be satisfied with Juwon’s face after looking at Han Jinho’s?”
“…Sunbae?”
“What. What. Did I say something wrong?”
“No, you didn’t.”
Team 1’s opinion eventually converged on showing their faces often and making a continuous appeal through apologies.
“And apologize. Right. Let’s just shut your mouth, Juwon.”
“Why? I’ve been studying hard, reading the book you gave me, Team Leader.”
On Juwon’s phone, there were already over five books downloaded today in the app. But Lee Yul said with a smile.
“If one day of studying was enough, our Juwon wouldn’t have bombed his college entrance exams and barely gotten into university through special admission, would he?”
“You shouldn’t make fun of someone for not being smart!”
“Let’s just keep your mouth shut. Silence is a virtue for a princess. Right? Got it?”
“Ah, Lee Yul-sunbae. I told you not to call me a princess.”
“Then what do I call a princess if not a princess? Even that Guide knows you're a princess now."
Mouth of Terror, Juwon, pinched the bridge of his nose. What tormented him most was the fact that from the start, there wasn't a single thing Lee Yul had said that was wrong. Therefore, he hated his situation of having to follow Lee Yul’s words.
“Alright, let’s try it that way. The so-called ‘Three Visits’ strategy!”
Without Lee Yul’s suggestion, Team 1 didn’t really have any other options, so they nodded. However, no one could answer Hyerin's follow-up question.
“So where is this Guide? We have to know where he is to go find him, don’t we?”
Unaware of Wonwoo’s plan to set up his base in a shared space provided by the Bureau ahead of his guild’s establishment, they had to fall into deep contemplation.
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