Knowing What Hurts

Saheon stared fixedly at the pale hand pressing against his chest.

“Of course I know. It’s my body.”

He lifted his head as he spoke, his expression saying how could he not know what was happening inside himself.

It was energy that resided within Saheon’s body, yet even Jaeyoung found it frightening.

How much more so for Saheon himself.

Jaeyoung hesitated, lips parting and closing again and again.

He couldn’t even imagine Saheon saying he was in pain, or afraid.

As the strange silence dragged on, Saheon’s eyes narrowed as if measuring Jaeyoung.

Then, as though he’d reached some conclusion, he spoke without looking away.

“Have you ever gone for a run and felt your heart pounding so hard you’re scared it might tear through your chest?”

Jaeyoung’s eyes flew wide.

The word “fear” coming out of Saheon’s mouth felt unreal.

Saheon merely rolled his eyes, sweeping Jaeyoung’s stunned face.

“What about pain like thin, sharp needles raking through your insides?”

Jaeyoung frowned.

Just hearing it, he could imagine the sensation vividly.

‘You feel that even when it’s not a rampage?’

Having just seen that savage energy, his chest felt inexplicably heavy.

“Sometimes it feels like rough hands are grabbing and kneading your organs.”

Despite describing something horrific enough to make someone groan out loud, Saheon’s eyes sparkled.

He almost looked like he was enjoying himself, as if he were waiting to see Jaeyoung’s reaction.

“So it’s that bad even without a rampage?”

Saheon nodded.

‘Then how brutal does it get when you actually rampage?’

Jaeyoung was horrified.

At the sight of Jaeyoung’s face turning pale, then bluish, Saheon’s lips curled upward.

The smile was lazy and satisfied, like a well-fed beast.

Jaeyoung glared at him.

“If I hadn’t met you, I might’ve ended up like that someday.”

Ignoring Jaeyoung’s sharp stare, Saheon casually voiced the dreadful possibility.

“You said you managed fine without a Guide until now.”

Jaeyoung snapped, irritated by Saheon’s calmness.

“There’s a limit to what drugs and machines can do.”

In a way, that was obvious.

If medication and machines could fully replace a Guide, Saheon wouldn’t have dragged Jaeyoung all the way to a research lab.

Jaeyoung overlapped Saheon’s image with the rampaging Esper from the video earlier.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t picture Saheon screaming in agony.

“Is my Guiding… enough?”

Tired of thinking about the future, Jaeyoung asked.

Saheon looked at him as if asking what he meant.

“…It’s not lacking, is it?”

Jaeyoung’s voice came out hoarse.

If his Guiding was insufficient, like machines or drugs, maybe Saheon was still in pain even now.

The thought wouldn’t leave him.

“If it were, that 98 percent matching rate would be crying.”

Saheon straightened and placed a hand on top of Jaeyoung’s head.

After deliberately trying to scare him, his tone turned soothing.

“It’s 97.6.”

Jaeyoung corrected him, his face crumpling.

Saheon raised an eyebrow.

Jaeyoung avoided his gaze, rolling his eyes as he searched for a new topic.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you take my blood back then?”

He suddenly remembered something he’d forgotten.

Brightening, Jaeyoung leaned in close to Saheon.

“Ah, that was to check your rank.”

Saheon, standing his ground, pushed Jaeyoung’s forehead away as if bothered.

That reminded Jaeyoung that Guides, like Espers, had ranks.

He also remembered Saheon telling the man who drew his blood to send the results directly to his phone.

“So? Did the results come out?”

Saheon nodded calmly.

“You could’ve told me. What rank am I?”

Jaeyoung pouted, then lifted his head again, eyes shining.

It was a very late awakening, and he’d never dreamed of becoming a Guide, so he didn’t have high expectations.

Still, if he was a Guide, he was curious.

“Hm.”

Resting his chin on his palm, Saheon let out a languid hum while watching Jaeyoung.

Say it, don’t say it.

When and how should he say it to get the reaction he wanted.

Jaeyoung saw the face of a certain MC who loved sixty-second suspense games.

“S-rank.”

Finally, the mouth that had been teasing him opened.

And at the same time, Jaeyoung felt disappointed.

“Not your rank. Mine.”

Saheon started to speak again, then closed his mouth.

Frowning in annoyance, he scrolled through his phone.

Jaeyoung’s eyes caught the screen shoved right in front of him.

– G (Guide), S-rank

There were more messages below, but Jaeyoung didn’t see them.

Saheon wasn’t someone with time to spare, and there was no reason for him to fake texts just to mess with Jaeyoung.

“G-Guides… S-rank Guides are common, right?”

A sudden crushing pressure hit Jaeyoung.

He grabbed Saheon’s clothes with both hands and clung to him, staring up with desperate eyes.

“As far as I know, you’re the first.”

The unreal words drained all strength from his body.

Jaeyoung collapsed straight into Saheon’s arms, mouth hanging open.

He still couldn’t fully accept that he was a Guide, and now he was the first S-rank.

If his identity got out, attention was inevitable.

His head spun.

“Then why didn’t you tell me the results came in?”

Murmuring into Saheon’s shoulder, Jaeyoung slowly regained strength as Saheon kneaded the back of his neck, even if unintentionally.

“Does rank matter? You’re only going to deal with me anyway.”

Saheon’s confident declaration of exclusive rights left Jaeyoung speechless.

His casual attitude toward rank actually helped.

Jaeyoung boldly shoved Saheon, who was sitting on one side of the bed.

“I think I need to lie down for a bit.”

After clearing the bed, Jaeyoung lay flat with his head on the pillow, hands resting on his stomach.

Seeing him shut his eyes like he wanted to see nothing at all, Saheon let out a hollow laugh.

“Fine. Sleep.”

Shaking his head lightly, Saheon pulled the blanket over Jaeyoung, covering him up to the crown of his head.
Footsteps followed, as if he were heading home.

Before Saheon could leave the bedside, Jaeyoung stuck an arm out from under the blanket and grabbed his hand.

“We still have more Guiding to do.”

The blanket slipped down with the movement.

Jaeyoung peeked out over it, staring at Saheon.

“This is how much we usually do. It’s enough.”

Saheon said it so casually that Jaeyoung froze, like he’d been struck on the back of the head.

He’d never known how Guiding was supposed to work, how much was enough.

He’d just entrusted everything to Saheon.

“Why? You said it hurts……”

“It was like this even before I met you. I’m used to it.”

Jaeyoung’s frown deepened.
Being used to pain didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“I’m S-rank, remember?”

Not only was his rank high, his matching rate with Saheon was absurdly high too.

He didn’t know much, but he was sure they could do more than this without any problem.

Jaeyoung looked up at Saheon, eyes firm with resolve.

“Let’s keep going until it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“You don’t like it when I’m in pain?”

Saheon asked, eyes studying Jaeyoung as if he were looking at a natural monument.

“Am I not allowed to worry about you?”

The words burst out of Jaeyoung.

Esper Jin Saheon, always at the forefront of dungeon entries, had always felt reliable.

People probably consumed live broadcasts like entertainment because he seemed unbreakable.

Jaeyoung had only just learned that he endured pain every single day.

“…No. Do it.”

After staring blankly at the shouting Jaeyoung, Saheon shook his head.

“Not bad.”

The smile on Saheon’s lips made it clear he found this more than just ‘not bad.’
Jaeyoung’s eyes sharpened.

“If you don’t want me worrying, hurry up and make me a proper ‘Guide.’”

Saheon teased him.

“I’ll wait patiently until you do.”

The words made Jaeyoung flinch.

Saheon waiting patiently for him was somehow more frightening.

Jaeyoung pulled the slipped blanket back over his head.

Low laughter drifted through the thin fabric.

Light footsteps followed, and then the window closed on its own.

“That’s insane!”

Jaeyoung suddenly shouted, bolting upright.

“Me, S-rank? And the first? Doesn’t ‘first’ basically mean ‘only’?”

He vented his frustration to the empty space beside him, looking ready to be shoved back onto the bed by someone watching.

Thankfully, no one was there.

“It’s not world-first, right?”

Hurriedly, Jaeyoung opened a search app and looked up S-rank Guides.

Several foreign S-rank Guides popped up.

Only then did he sigh in relief.

“But there’s none in Korea.”

His face fell again.

In such a small country, rumors spread in the blink of an eye.

Still, if he looked on the bright side, the only ones who knew he was a Guide were himself, Saheon, Saheon’s partner Esper Jaehyo, and the man at the research lab.

Even as partners, Jaeyoung couldn’t imagine Saheon kindly telling Jaehyo about Jaeyoung’s rank or showing him the messages.

“That guy… does he keep his mouth shut?”

That left only the lab technician who’d seen the results.

It felt unsettling, but Jaeyoung didn’t even know where the place was.

There was nothing he could do.

“Espers need to be careful too.”

It hadn’t been a coincidence that the security guard he’d met in the elevator at his brother’s company had noticed he was a Guide.

There was too much power to miss.

“But, well. If I had to be something, being the best isn’t bad.”

Jaeyoung organized his thoughts.

“At least it makes Guiding him easier.”

Thinking that way lightened his mood.

“Yeah. Good is good.”

Lying back down, Jaeyoung’s face looked clear and carefree, as if he had no worries at all.

But Jaeyoung’s peace of mind didn’t last long.

No matter where he went, he kept feeling someone’s gaze on him.

With an uneasy expression, Jaeyoung looked around.

Sitting in the very back, he had a clear view of the classroom.

The teacher was writing diligently on the board with their back turned, and most students copied along.

The rest were dozing off or doodling like Min-tae.

‘Doesn’t seem like rumors have spread.’

If they had, the kids sneaking glances at their phones wouldn’t be this quiet.

‘Or did I unknowingly come into contact with an Esper?’

Maybe someone had brushed against him by chance and realized he was a Guide.

Jaeyoung let out a deep sigh.

“If this is how it’s going to be, maybe I should just spread the rumor myself.”

“What rumor? You secretly dating a celebrity or something?”

At the sudden voice, Jaeyoung nearly jumped out of his seat in shock.