Disrupting the flow of their energy into the device, the match rate dropped drastically back to 0%. Rim Young's hand, still on the device, felt a tingling sensation when Wi Hajoon abruptly ripped it off the device and stared hard at his palm.
"What kind of trick are you using, you scoundrel!"
Wi Hajoon asked him, keeping his voice low, while Rim Young was frozen solid, taken aback by the sudden touch. Blinking many times, he drew his hand back, his heart startled, making his skin slightly flushed.
["Esper Wi Hajoon, please complete the match test and stop messing around..."]
A tired voice came from the small speaker on the corner wall of the booth. With a fierce look in his eyes, Wi Hajoon placed his hand back onto the device. Rim Young did the same, and the match rate started going up again.
40%...
50%...
52%...
Slowing down after the 50 mark, it took a moment before it stopped at a number. Completing the match test, the final match rate was...
55%.
Five again... It was Wi Hajoon's favorite number, but he didn't seem the least bit happy about this result. Putting a hand on his lower face, he paced around the small booth, pondering over something.
Should I close this issue now?
He was going to propose that if Wi Hajoon assigned him as his guide, he'd take the police report back without any disputes. At that moment, Wi Hajoon turned towards him and, with a glare, declared:
"Fine, you bastard. We've been in a secret relationship."
"....?"
"I must've stepped on shit this morning."
Muttering to himself, Wi Hajoon left the booth. Through the glass walls of the booth, he saw Wi Hajoon talking with Officer Shin when a blue window popped up.
[Participant #555, congratulations on awakening as a B-Class Guide. The plot will begin soon. Please prepare.]
By that, you mean the first scene where Hyeong Ki gets heavily injured and gets guided by Su Iseul for the first time, right?
[Yes.]
The reason Hyeong Ki, an S-Class Esper, gets into a critical stage is because Wi Hajoon and Hyeong Ki get in a fight. That's how Wi Hajoon's villain arc starts, when he sees Su Iseul run to Hyeong Ki despite him also being injured, and he gets ignored by his crush of five years.
Pitying Wi Hajoon, he forgot he was staring at him, and only when he was glared at by Wi Hajoon did he move his gaze and exit the booth.
***
"Nuna, I joined the center as a guide today."
Rim Junhee's mouth froze in an 'O' shape, blowing nothing. Flipping the spoon, the soup splashed back inside the bowl as she pointed the spoon in his direction.
"You-"
She began with wide eyes, the widest they'd been since he got here.
"Which bastard is threatening you? Tell me the name. I will go and rough him up right now."
"No one. I want to join. I want to become Wi Hajoon's guide."
The spoon in Rim Junhee's hand dropped to the floor. It clanked in the silence as Rim Young stared at her. Then, getting up from the chair, Rim Junhee grabbed him by the shoulders, rattling him as she exasperated:
"Esper Wi Hajoon? He's the one dragging you into this? Where did you meet him?!"
Head bobbing back and forth, Rim Young erupted in a smile, distressing her older sister even more.
"Why would he do that? I'm a nobody to him. It's just my wishful thinking to be his guide."
Finally stopping, Rim Junhee gazed at him.
"I know you only have sunshine and rainbows in that head of yours, but besides his looks, Wi Hajoon doesn't have a single good quality about him. So what if he's rich? Money can't buy you happiness if you're in a toxic relationship."
"I'm not planning to date him, Nuna. I just think it would be more rewarding if I could just have a view of him."
"Oh... yeah... that's not bad... hahaha..."
Trying to appear not stressed, Rim Junhee took the chair again and began sipping on her soup without bothering to blow on it.
***
"Did you see my new kill count? I killed 10 monsters in the last fissure."
"Stop exaggerating. You were probably waiting out for the big ones to be gone and went out at the last minute to kill the offspring."
"That's what happened this time. I'm telling you. Why don't you believe me?"
"I would be a fool to believe you ever again."
There. That's the look I love so much...
Staring only at Hong Juryeon, he pressed on his crotch again with his foot under the table. Hong Juryeon remained unmoved, wearing the same deadpan expression. The impassiveness was what Park Taehee loved more than anything in the world. The fact that he was the only one who had seen this stiff person writhe under him was maddening.
"Esper Hong Juryeon, is he telling the truth?"
"Yes."
"See!"
"He killed them after I had already put them in deep slumber."
The two other Espers sitting beside them at the table were too busy to even eat their food. They couldn't guess in a million years that Hong Juryeon was being teased by him right now. Only Park Taehee could notice the slight pauses in Hong Juryeon's jaw as he chewed.
How could he ever leave?
This was far too entertaining. Rubbing the foot still in a sock over the occasionally throbbing member underneath the fabric of Hong Juryeon's pants, who was sitting across from him, Park Taehee enjoyed the feel of it. He leaned back in his seat, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as he absentmindedly shifted. His attention drifted toward the window, his gaze sharpening with interest.
Outside the restaurant, near the Center's entrance, a young man with brown hair had been lingering for quite some time.