WTSG 11

The Beginning of the Pair (5)

The woman, in her late forties, was incredibly graceful and possessed a calm demeanor.
No matter the urgency of an emergency summons or the outbreak of an Esper’s rampage, she never lost her poise and always handled the situation with composure.

In contrast, the Esper Director…

Though Kang Junwoo had never met him, just listening to his conversation with Tae Ijae made it clear that he was the type to get worked up easily.

The Esper Director, who had seemingly placed Tae Ijae directly in the First Division, sounded like he was on the verge of a meltdown, worried that Tae Ijae might really resign.

It was understandable.
There wasn’t a single person unaware that there were only three SS-rank Espers in the world.
Among those three, Tae Ijae was already famous as the only Esper who participated in Black Gates without receiving Guiding.

Rumors about multiple Centers keeping a close watch on him weren’t just mere gossip.
Even Kang Junwoo himself, among those three, felt a sense of unexplainable pride that Tae Ijae belonged to the Ability Management Center he was part of.

It wasn’t just him—every Guide and Esper in the Center probably felt the same way.

He wasn’t sure what kind of effort the Esper Director had put into bringing Tae Ijae into the First Division, but judging by how desperate he sounded, it seemed those efforts were on the verge of becoming futile.

“From now on, when I take leave, my pair takes leave too.”

– “……”

“If not, I’ll resign.”

– “Ijae.”

“Why are you calling me so affectionately? It’s creepy.”

– “Sigh, do you know how much trouble I got into for calling the guide director at this hour? Your pair is S-class. Not A-class, but S-class. Do you know how many S-class guides there are in the guide department?”

“Do I need to know? Really?”

– “You punk, you’re not even receiving guiding from Kang Junwoo Guide.”

“Do I need to? Why?”

– “Haaaaa.”

“The ground’s going to collapse.”

– “And whose fault do you think that is, you brat?!”

“Yelling so loudly in the middle of the night… Isn’t that a nuisance to your family? Lower your voice before someone reports you.”

– “Ughhh!”

“Anyway, if you’re not going to approve it, then process my resignation.”

– “Fine! Do it! Just do it!”

“That’s for you to do, Director. It’s late, so get some sleep.”

Tae Ijae ended the call with a refreshed expression. Kang Junwoo, having already realized it, was once again reminded of how difficult Tae Ijae’s personality could be. He sent silent condolences to the unseen Esper director on the other end of the line and pondered what to do during the three days off.

“You don’t have to go in tomorrow.”

“I heard. The esper director’s voice was so loud that I heard everything.”

“What do you want to do?”

Kang Junwoo paused for a moment. ‘What do I want to…? Does he mean the two of us… together?’

“We have three days off. Wasn’t there something you wanted to do during your break?”

“There is, but… why?”

“Why? Because we should do it. We have three days now.”

“……Should I really do that with Tae Ijae Esper?” Kang Junwoo asked with an awkward smile, adding a hesitant “really?” Tae Ijae’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“Why are you asking something so obvious?”

“Why is that obvious?”

“You need to take care of me. To do that, you have to stay by my side.”

“……”

“If you’re staying by my side, wouldn’t it be natural to do what you want together, Hyung?”

Switching between calling him “you” and “Hyung,” it seemed like Tae Ijae led a rather chaotic life.

“……Then what should I do? If I’m supposed to take care of Tae Ijae Esper, I have to stay home.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re fine, but you want me to take care of you?”

Kang Junwoo tilted his head, looking confused. Seeing this, Tae Ijae sighed.

“Sigh. Which part is it that you don’t understand?”

“No, Tae Ijae Esper asked what I wanted to do during the break, and I said I had things in mind, but I questioned why I should do them with Tae Ijae Esper. The reason we have three days off in the first place is because Tae Ijae told the esper director…”

“Long-winded explanations aren’t my thing. Can you keep it short?”

“……We’re not close enough to do things together during our break, are we?”

“Wow. You really are a fortress, aren’t you?” Tae Ijae muttered in disbelief.

“What did you say?”

“We’re in the process of getting closer, aren’t we?”

“……”

“I’ve clearly said I want to get really close. I’m trying.”

“……”

“Isn’t it natural to do what someone you want to get closer to wants to do on their day off?”

Tae Ijae’s words left Kang Junwoo blinking in bewilderment. He stared at him with a face that clearly said he didn’t understand, then cautiously asked with those pretty lips of his.

“But… I’m really curious… why are you doing this to me?”

“What?”

“Why are you acting like this… do you want something from me?”

“Yeah, I do. You already know.”

“What? … Oh, the pair? We’re already paired, aren’t we?”

“Are you stupid, or is your memory bad?”

“What?”

“I want exclusive guidance with you. I said it from the start.”

“……”

“You’ll do it if we get closer, right? Exclusive guidance. Isn’t that so?”

Tae Ijae looked down at Kang Junwoo intently as he asked. His pitch-black eyes sparkled.

‘We’re already paired, so why…?’ Kang Junwoo was puzzled as to why Tae Ijae, who didn’t even receive guidance, wanted to get closer to him just to have exclusive guidance.

As he blankly looked up at Tae Ijae’s face, a hypothesis that even he found absurd popped into Kang Junwoo’s mind. So, without realizing it, he cautiously asked,

“Tae Ijae Esper… do you like me?”

For a moment, Tae Ijae’s face twisted in a peculiar way before quickly returning to its usual expressionless state as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, do I have to like you to do it? Well, then I’ll do that too.”

Kang Junwoo furrowed his brows at that.

“Are you joking?”

“No, I’m deadly serious. So, tell me. If I like you, can you be my exclusive guide?”

Looking up at Tae Ijae, who asked with a rather cold expression, Kang Junwoo became even more confused. The difference between a pair and exclusive guidance was merely whether it was fixed or not. A pair could be dissolved at any time, and in case of an emergency call, the pair Esper could move separately, making it a flexible contract. Exclusive guidance, however, was slightly more complex, involving accompanying tasks like gate management beyond just fulfilling requests.

The point was, there was no reason for Tae Ijae, who didn’t even receive guidance, to insist on exclusive guidance when they were already paired. So it was inevitable to misunderstand it in another sense.

“I…”

“Yeah, right? It’s too early for exclusive guidance. We’re not close yet. We have to get really close before I might consider it, right?”

“……”

“Oh, did I say I have to like you to do it?”

Tae Ijae raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk. It was a chilling smile.

Kang Junwoo felt that chilling smile keenly and unconsciously pressed his lips together tightly.

Since Tae Ijae already knew the reason for not doing exclusive guidance, he was well aware that there wouldn’t be any particular issue in doing it with him. Nevertheless, Tae Ijae’s willingness to make an effort to make Kang Junwoo want to do it, rather than just demanding exclusive guidance, was appreciated.

However, there was an ominous feeling that once they became exclusive, this relationship might disappear like a drop of water, which made it difficult for Kang Junwoo to readily agree to it. Perhaps he had grown attached in that short time. Or maybe it was natural since he had been harboring a crush on Tae Ijae from the beginning.

Kang Junwoo found being with Tae Ijae quite enjoyable and wanted to continue this relationship to the point where he hoped to extend their pairing even after the one-month period ended. Realizing these feelings anew, he couldn’t bring himself to readily agree to the exclusive guidance that Tae Ijae wanted.

Even though it didn’t seem like their relationship would change by becoming exclusive, for some reason, he felt that way.

“I… I won’t do exclusive guidance.”

Kang Junwoo lowered his gaze, avoiding Tae Ijae’s eyes, and spoke softly. For a moment, disappointment flashed across Tae Ijae’s face, but he quickly composed himself and said to Kang Junwoo,

“That’s fine. Let’s do what you want to do during your time off.”

“……”

“Let’s just become really close first.”

***Esther’s Funds***

Tae Ijae’s eyebrows twitched rapidly. It was because his attending physician, Moon Taejoo, claimed he had never used injectable drugs.

– “Are you trying to get us into trouble? What kind of disaster are you inviting by conducting clinical trials on a precious SS-class body?!”

“You’re really not?”

– “No, it’s not! Wow, this is frustrating! Don’t you trust me?!”

“We’re not exactly in a relationship built on trust, are we?”

– “Wow, that hurts. Watch your words, okay? You know I’m your attending physician, right?”

“My body feels too light. My eye color has returned to normal too.”

– “You didn’t receive guidance, did you?”

“You know I can’t receive it.”

– “I don’t know if you can’t, but I know you don’t. You’ve never told me why you don’t receive it.”

“Anyway, I didn’t.”

If he had received guiding, there would have been some trace left on his body.

In the past, when his body was on the verge of going berserk, he lost consciousness, and a guide performed guidance on him without consent. When he woke up, he experienced excruciating pain, as if his body was being torn apart, along with unimaginable nausea. It had been so painful that he had to completely drain all fluids from every orifice before he could finally calm down. So, it definitely wasn’t guiding.

Tae Ijae unconsciously bit his lower lip.

– “Then is it because your back was torn? You know this recent injury was really dangerous, right?”

“What, are you trying to say that if you survive a near-death experience, your energy waves stabilize on their own?”

– “If that’s the case, you’ll have to face near-death experiences often.”

“Tsk.”

– “Anyway, it’s not drugs. It’s still in the clinical trial phase, so it’s not something I can possess.”

“……Yeah.”

– “How’s your back? Are you applying the medicine properly? Guide Kang Junwoo…”

“Hang up.”

Before Moon Taejoo could finish speaking, Tae Ijae abruptly ended the call.