Beyond The Control

Chapter 36

With such thoughts, the existence of Lee Su-hyeon couldn’t be welcome. Even while feeling instinctive fulfillment and satisfaction through his guiding, Song Ji-hyeok’s mind was busy imagining Choi Young-sun’s guiding.

Of course, this must be better. The matching rate is quite high, and above all, Choi Young-sun is an A-rank Guide.

When he finally accompanied Choi Young-sun to the 4th raid, that expectation reached its peak. Although her behavior of only looking out for herself during the battle was compared to Lee Su-hyeon’s, Song Ji-hyeok tried to think positively, remembering that ordinary Guides have zero combat ability.

And finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. When he stood face to face with Choi Young-sun for guiding, Song Ji-hyeok felt his heart pounding with excitement after a long time. It wasn’t rational attraction or pull, but purely an expectation based on his instinct as an Esper.

However, the result was disappointing, unlike what he had expected.

‘It’s done.’

Even without her saying it with a pale face, Song Ji-hyeok instinctively realized that the guiding was over. But instead of satisfaction, his expression spread with bewilderment. He looked down at the hand he had been holding with Choi Young-sun with a hardened face, opening and closing it.

The unfit energy in his body was completely neutralized, and he was filled with the Guide’s energy. But something felt lacking. If he had to compare, it was like quenching his thirst with water, but the water wasn’t cool and refreshing, leaving him unsatisfied.

Choi Young-sun’s reaction also contributed to the bewilderment. Throughout the guiding, her face was visibly pale. To be more precise, she became increasingly pale as time went on. Eventually, on the second day, she even sat down and vomited.

He knew that some Guides might have side effects. But seeing her vomit almost right in front of him didn’t make him feel good. Naturally, Lee Su-hyeon came to his mind.

That senior wasn’t like this. It felt like a perfect fit.

The unfit energy he thought had dissipated seemed to stir just by thinking of Lee Su-hyeon’s face. After experiencing a comparison, he naturally realized how amazing Lee Su-hyeon’s guiding was, which he had taken for granted until now.

The energy Lee Su-hyeon possessed was… like warm and massive sunlight. When his energy flowed into the body filled with unpleasant residue, it calmed down as if the energy had never run wild. When the warm energy gently overwhelmed and swept through, it felt like even his mind was turning white, and the thirst that seemed impossible to quench was being filled.

Moreover, he didn’t seem to have any side effects. During normal guiding and even during more intense guiding involving kissing, he only showed a dazed, heated expression. It didn’t seem like he was hiding and acting through side effects.

‘In guiding, matching rate is more important than anything else.’

He also remembered something a director, maybe Park or Kim, had told him. He had scoffed at it then, but experiencing it firsthand proved those words true.

Even now, the title of A-rank Guide was tempting, but he felt powerless in the face of the guiding gap he physically experienced. Even if ten Guides of Choi Young-sun’s caliber were to approach him simultaneously, or even if an as-yet-unannounced S-rank Guide appeared before him, he wouldn’t turn his eyes away from Lee Su-hyeon unless their compatibility was better.

“…”

Song Ji-hyeok silently looked down at Lee Su-hyeon. The first visitor to this house and the first to occupy the guest room bed was still sleeping, oblivious to the world.

He roughly knew about Lee Su-hyeon’s situation. Tight finances with a family member in long-term illness, a dual awakened one as rare as an S-rank but not highly valued in either aspect as a C-rank.

A life that seemed tough without any joy. Yet Lee Su-hyeon always seemed cheerful. It didn’t seem like he was pretending or being fake, but rather his innate personality.

It was a good thing from Song Ji-hyeok’s perspective. If Lee Su-hyeon was picky or sensitive, it would be tiring, but he always welcomed Song Ji-hyeok to the guiding room as if he had been waiting, so there shouldn’t be any trouble.

However, he still felt a bit regretful about Lee Su-hyeon’s rank, so he set a private grace period.

One year from now. He planned to wait exactly one year, and if no Guide with better compatibility appeared by then, he would make Lee Su-hyeon his official partner. Of course, he would fully enjoy the so-called guiding high during that time.

Song Ji-hyeok turned away, removing his gaze from the face he had been looking at for a while. After taking a couple of steps, he went back and pulled out the blanket from under Lee Su-hyeon. He awkwardly covered him with the blanket as if wrapping an object, then quietly closed the door and went outside.

***

When I opened my eyes, I saw a plain wallpaper. Even after waking up, I was lazily stretching as usual, when a thought suddenly struck me and I sat up abruptly.

‘My phone. Where’s my phone?’

I felt anxious realizing I had woken up without an alarm. But an even more surprising realization hit me. The scene before my eyes was clearly not my room.

Where am I?

I instinctively looked around cautiously. There was a pure white blind on one wall, and in the lower left corner, there was a simple design table with two chairs. At a glance, it seemed unified in a monochrome style without any messy parts, giving the impression of a business hotel room.

And I saw my outer clothes hanging on a stand coat rack next to the door. I jumped up and immediately rummaged through the coat pockets. Fortunately, I found my phone in the right pocket.

10:17 AM

I was about to be shocked by the time, but seeing the date that caught my eye simultaneously, I sighed in relief. Right, I took a day off today.

With the worry about work gone, it was time to solve the next problem. I looked around the room once more. The state of the bed and the fact that only my clothes were hanging on the coat rack showed no traces of anyone else.

Unable to get any more information, I quietly opened the door like a stray cat. As I thought, it wasn’t a hotel, and a spacious living room with good lighting came into view. The problem was that whether this was a house or a hotel, I didn’t know why I was here.

I remember drinking enthusiastically yesterday, and getting in a taxi with the team leader and Song Ji-hyeok… But my memory after that was blank. It seems like one of them must have brought me here.

The person left after elimination was obviously the team leader. I felt apologetic for causing trouble not only at work but also privately.

Anyway, the house was quiet. They must have put a lot of effort into soundproofing, as I couldn’t hear even the usual neighbor’s living noises or cars passing by. And how about this wide and clean space. Now that I look at it, there’s even something like a ceiling fan attached to the living room ceiling.

‘Living in a house like this would be nice.’

Well, I’m perfectly satisfied with my studio apartment too.

Pushing aside these random thoughts, I pondered what to do now. It seems the team leader is sleeping in another room. It doesn’t feel right to peek into someone else’s bedroom, and it’s also awkward to just stand around waiting.

Remembering that the team leader was also drinking heavily yesterday, I silently took out my phone again. I should thank him for letting me stay and buy him coffee on Monday.

As I was organizing what to say in my head and about to send a message, I heard a click sound and a door somewhere opened.

I instinctively turned my head towards the sound and was surprised. The person who appeared wasn’t the team leader. Song Ji-hyeok, with his hair slightly disheveled, was standing there with a face that anyone could tell had just woken up.

Why are you coming out of there? No, why are you here? Wasn’t this the team leader’s house?

“When did you wake up?”

“…Just now.”

Even in my confusion, an automatic response came out. Unlike me, Song Ji-hyeok seemed completely calm.

“I’m hungry, let’s eat first. Is there anything you want to eat?”

Is he saying he’ll make breakfast too? I can’t imagine him cooking.

“Do you know how to cook?”

“What are you talking about? We should order delivery.”

Ah, as expected.

I nodded, immediately understanding. Anyway, my original plan was to have convenience store cup noodles for hangover relief on the way, but hearing about ordering delivery tempted me. Proper food would obviously be better than ramen on an empty stomach.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Hangover soup is the standard, but…”

“Then I’ll order hangover soup.”

“Sounds good. Ask for an extra serving of rice.”

“I’ll go get my phone.”

As Song Ji-hyeok went into the room, I sat down on the living room sofa. I was just rolling my eyes around aimlessly when he appeared again shortly after and plopped down next to me. He fiddled with his phone with one hand and then lightly tossed it onto the table.