“You’re the only one who matches Baek Yu-geon’s compatibility rate, right? Playing with people’s lives like this, back and forth. Or are you just trying to raise your worth in this manner? Swapping one Esper for another?”
While I was lost in thought, Song-I kept running her mouth, as if she had already won.
“If you’re a Guide, then prove your worth through guiding. Stop tarnishing the Baek family’s image by flirting with one man after another.”
She said it as if driving in the final nail and stood there, brimming with confidence.
‘She must really dislike me.’
I wasn’t sure exactly how old she was, but seeing someone so much younger than me spew such venomous words was a refreshing experience, something I hadn’t encountered in a long time.
In fact, it was the first time since I’d awakened as a Guide that someone had picked a fight with me this directly.
“Didn’t you say you’re ranked A? Even B-ranked isn’t that different from A, but are you really trying to challenge someone like me, an S-rank?”
“Bragging over just one rank difference.”
Even though I brought up ranks, she didn’t back down.
“Just one rank? This is hilarious.”
Seeing her arrogant attitude, I burst into laughter. At first, I had only planned to humor her a little, but now I found the situation genuinely interesting.
Everyone around us could feel the tension, and as I suddenly laughed aloud, people started staring at me as if I were strange.
“I’m telling you because you seem unaware. The difference isn’t a mere five or ten times, it’s over a hundred times. The difference in resonance between an A-rank and an S-rank is colossal.”
“As if I don’t know that. Being so childish over ranks… Ugh…!”
In the middle of speaking, Song-I suddenly collapsed to the ground.
“Childish?”
The air around us changed. The previously calm atmosphere grew heavier. I directed the resonance only at Song-I, so it wouldn’t affect the other awakened beings nearby, but instinctively, they must have realized what I was doing.
Soon, the sharp gazes of the awakened ones locked onto me.
“You think this is childish?”
I bent down to meet Song-I’s gaze, a cruel smile playing on my lips. I was now releasing a dominance-infused Guiding pulse. The greater the rank difference, the more oppressive it would feel to her as a Guide.
“And you say I tarnish the Baek family’s image? No, you’re the one destroying it.”
“I… As a member of the Baek family…”
“She still has the energy to talk, huh?”
“Ahh!”
I intensified the resonance, and Song-I began trembling, gasping for air. Her neatly dressed clothes were now wrinkled, and she couldn’t even swallow her saliva, drooling onto the floor.
“Baek, Song, Kim—why should I care about any of that?”
Seeing the top of her bowed head eased my annoyance slightly.
“The important thing is that you’re an A-rank, not even worth the dirt under my toenails, lecturing me as if you know anything.”
From the start, I hadn’t liked her stiff, self-righteous demeanor. If she were from Branch C, she likely hadn’t encountered an S-rank Guide before. That would explain why she’d never experienced such pressure.
“You take so much pride in those Baek family Espers—Baek Han-gyeol and Baek Yu-geon. You’re acting like this because you’re relying on them, right?”
And every time, she couldn’t stop mentioning the Baek family. The Baek family this, the Baek family that.
“But what can you do? One of them is my lover, and the other is my match. So whose words should I listen to, little girl?”
No matter how much she belonged to Branch C, in terms of rank, I was clearly superior. This was outright insubordination.
The system of rank-based hierarchy was established by one of the Baek family’s senior Espers, the very same family she kept talking about. But even if she went to the branch head to complain about this insubordination, would they even listen?
I didn’t think so. Even without mentioning hierarchy, an S-rank Guide was a rare and valuable asset in the center. If word got out that she had committed insubordination by trying to use the family name, would the media side with her? And if I, in turn, became fed up with the center and decided to retire on medical grounds, who would suffer more?
In fact, two S-rank Guides had already retired due to illness. With only three S-rank Guides left in the country, that meant the center was essentially relying on just me. My value was now so high, it couldn’t even be measured.
If this escalated to the worst-case scenario, with both the head of Branch A and the center director being members of the Baek family, one of them might end up resigning.
Who does she think she’s messing with? My confidence in acting out like this came from knowing exactly where I stood. She had picked the wrong opponent, by far.
I looked down at Song-I, her eyes bloodshot, as if she were about to suffocate, with cold indifference.
“There’s just a one-rank difference, so why don’t you try to shake this off? Shouldn’t you be able to handle at least this much resonance?”
I didn’t hold back and increased the intensity on her, not offering any mercy.
“You were running your mouth so well earlier, so why can’t you speak now?”
She could no longer beg me with words. Gasping and crawling on the floor as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, her appearance gave off an odd, unsettling vibe, like a fallen aristocrat who had lost everything.
“Shouldn’t someone stop this?”
“How are we supposed to? We can’t even get close.”
The Espers watching from a distance whispered among themselves, realizing the severity of the situation. Though I controlled the resonance to ensure it wouldn’t affect them, the Guides had already fled the scene as if escaping.
“Sa-weol, stop.”
Someone grabbed my shoulder. When I looked up, it was Ji-han.
“Let go.”
“Stop it, I said.”
“Don’t interfere.”
“If you keep using radiation guiding like this, it’ll be dangerous.”
He was clearly struggling, breathing heavily and biting his lip. Even though I was controlling the resonance, Ji-han must have been affected since he was so close. This level of radiation guiding was hard on Espers, even though they experienced it differently from Guides.
As Ji-han approached me, other Espers began stepping closer as well.
“Gu Sa-weol’s resonance is no joke. No wonder Baek Yu-geon is so obsessed.”
“Using radiation guiding in the middle of the center? She’s got guts.”
“Honestly, if something goes wrong here, isn’t it partly the Guide’s fault too?”
“Damn, I’d love to experience it just once. Bet it’d feel amazing.”
Their eyes gleamed as they stepped into the range of my resonance, the growing sexual tension causing them to react. I glanced around and mumbled quietly to myself.
“Just a little more time.”
“Stop it! Do you want to kill Baek Song-i?”
Ji-han stood in my way again.
“So what if I do?”
My nonchalant response made Ji-han’s eyes widen. A cold air wrapped around us.
“I’m joking. Just a moment longer.”
I smiled softly, as if to say I didn’t really intend to kill her, and eased the intensity of the resonance.
“Huff, huff…”
Just enough so she could breathe again.
Let’s see how long she can last. I waited for the right moment.
“Excuse me, are you okay? I think Guide Baek Song-i went too far with her words.”
As I was thinking the time was almost right, an Esper, who had been watching from a distance, approached me. He was one of the Espers Song-i had brought from Branch C.
He came closer, feigning concern, but his intentions were obvious. I looked at him with disgust, and at that moment, a heavy, unfamiliar aura descended between us.
“Everyone, stop.”
It was an unrefined resonance, prickling like needles. It was Han-gyeol who had stepped between us.
“Oppa…”
“Are you okay?”
He pushed the Esper away from me and immediately went to support Song-i, who looked at Han-gyeol as if he were her savior.
“Is this a spectacle? Return to your stations.”
When he commanded the nearby awakened ones, they hesitantly began to disperse, sensing the dangerous aura of an S-rank Esper.
“That Guide…”
“You’re causing a scene as a guest. Is this what you came here to do?”
“Why are you only yelling at me!”
When Song-i tried to complain, Han-gyeol scolded her. She eventually burst into tears, her large eyes spilling with sobs.
Maybe I went too far.
But isn’t he going to show up?
“Gu Sa-weol!”
Just as I was about to end this farce, a voice called out. It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time, strong and clear. Despite the overwhelming resonance, it was vibrant.
“Are you okay?”
Baek Yu-geon appeared before me.
His hair was a mess, and as soon as he arrived, he frantically examined me from head to toe. Even after confirming I wasn’t hurt, he kept running his hands over my body as if to double-check.
“Gu Sa-weol, are you hurt?”
“Why would I be?”
“Wasn’t this a fight? Why are you dealing with something like that when you usually ignore things so well?”
“Hey, Baek Yu-geon! Can’t you see me? I’m the one who’s hurt, not her!”
Song-i screamed at him, drawing his attention. Yu-geon finally looked down at her. Her beautiful hair was disheveled, her knees were scraped and bleeding from crawling on the floor, and red marks covered her throat from scratching it in frustration.
In contrast, I was completely unscathed. To anyone watching, I was the obvious aggressor, and Song-i the victim.
“Uh… looks like it hurts.”
Yu-geon awkwardly said, scratching his head.
“Go put some ointment on it.”
Then, as if trying to quietly slip away, he began backing up.
“Well… I’ll be going now.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I grabbed his arm before he could escape. It seemed he’d already figured out the situation and was trying to bolt. I leaned in close and whispered so only he could hear.
“If you try to run, I’ll open my creature form and chase you down.”
Yu-geon glared at me out of the corner of his eye, but of course, I had no intention of transforming. I just wanted to make sure he didn’t get any ideas about running away.
“We’re leaving now.”
I decided it was time to go since my goal was achieved.
“Sa-weol, wait.”
But as I turned to leave, Han-gyeol, who had been supporting Song-i, called out to me.
“You won’t avoid punishment for what happened today.”
“It can’t be helped.”
Using radiation guiding outside of a capsule was a punishable offense. And doing it with the intent to harm a Guide was even more serious.
If I had miscalculated even slightly, I could’ve killed her. That’s why I hadn’t wanted to resort to this method in the first place.
But Yu-geon had hidden himself so thoroughly I couldn’t find him, and then some nobody picked a fight with me in front of a ready audience.
I figured if I caused enough of a scene with my radiation guiding in the middle of the center, Yu-geon, who was obsessed with guiding, would eventually show up on his own. Along the way, I’d gotten a bit carried away by Song-i’s constant harping about the Baek family.
Ironically, Han-gyeol had stopped my guiding, and Yu-geon only showed up after everything was over.
And he hadn’t even realized I had been guiding at all, immediately checking to see if I was injured instead.
“Captain, please take care of Guide Baek Song-i. I’ll go fix things with my pair.”
“… Fine.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
I was about to leave the aftermath to Han-gyeol, but I remembered something and turned back to Song-i.
“Guide Baek Song-i, do yourself a favor and stay out of my sight while you’re here. It’d be best if you stayed buried in Branch C forever.”
