Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Warm Touch
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‘Of course, even if that weren’t the case, that bastard’s personality has always been a piece of shit.’
In any event, since Yeon Woo-jin—the man right in front of him—had shouldered more of that responsibility than anyone else, Ha Do-kyung clamped his mouth shut.
And the term “invalid” wasn’t entirely off-base either. Lately, Yeon Woo-jin had been suffering from intense waves of pain.
“What, none of the guides I introduced you to worked out? I figured it might depend on the situation, so this time I rounded up some that seemed pretty urgent-looking.”
“Yeah, no dice. Just get lost already.”
Ha Do-kyung scowled at the shooing gesture, like swatting away a bug. He’d momentarily forgotten this was the kind of guy who threw your concern back in your face.
“Who do you think you’re like this because of? You trying to die for real?”
Lately, Yeon Woo-jin’s rampage cycles had been shortening. Thanks to that, he was turning into a person of interest everywhere he went.
Up until now, people had been calling him a savior or the ultimate weapon—fancy terms like that—but those only applied when he could still keep things under control.
The moment control slipped, that immense power became nothing short of a disaster.
Some might say you could just have another S-rank Esper hold off the rampage.
But everyone agreed that Yeon Woo-jin’s power was only nominally S-rank—it was actually beyond that.
So if his rampage progressed to the point where even drugs couldn’t handle it, he’d instantly become a top-priority kill target.
‘Though I wonder who could actually kill that monster...’
Anyway, there was only one solution. Espers needed guiding. That was an immutable truth.
But Yeon Woo-jin didn’t take kindly to that fact. It wasn’t that he hated Guides.
He just despised those who lost themselves so completely to a Guide that even their brains melted away.
Sure, the people involved might not have had a choice, but not everyone ended up that way in those situations.
Ha Do-kyung calmly reflected on the past, then grimaced deeply as a certain face came to mind.
“Hey, you’re not acting like this because of Doi Hyun, are you?”
“......”
“Whoa, it’s true? I knew you liked that guy, but I didn’t think you two were that close.”
“Keep yapping if you wanna get beat.”
Fierce golden eyes glared at him from beneath the blanket. Ha Do-kyung quietly raised both hands and took a step back from the bed.
It was impressively stoic—pale-faced and groaning, yet not letting out a single proper whimper.
He was that kind of guy, but when the damage scale was big enough, he’d answer the call. The problem was it all depended on his mood that day.
Anyway, since it seemed like this bastard would never meet a Guide, Ha Do-kyung figured he’d better prepare himself mentally as a longtime friend.
His gaze drifted to the countless pill packets scattered across the floor as he thought.
‘Hope the next guild master is a normal one.’
Guiding didn’t just calm rampages—it also repaired and restored the broken vessel. A lack of it meant agony.
Pain so bad you’d rather go insane—like your whole body’s blood boiling like lava, your organs and bones ground to dust.
The stronger the ability, the worse it got—never less. So he must be enduring even greater torment than Ha Do-kyung.
At that point, you’d think he’d step up and try finding a solution himself, but there wasn’t a shred of intent to improve.
They said you couldn’t understand a madman’s mind, but Ha Do-kyung was tempted to crack open Yeon Woo-jin’s skull just to see how he endured it.
‘He might snap one day and turn full villain. Maybe I should cut ties early. Nah, his temperament’s already pretty villainous...’
A winter not far from spring.
Back then, Ha Do-kyung hadn’t imagined for a second that Yeon Woo-jin would soon end up like a leashed dog.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ To Yeon Woo-jin, that day had been no different from any other routine. As usual, he met the Guide Ha Do-kyung had summoned at the cafe near his place.
The everyday sameness shattered after he accidentally brushed hands with one of the cafe staff.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it—I was just reaching for the fork and grabbed the wrong thing by mistake. It looked like it was about to fall off the table, so I tried to catch it, but ended up grabbing something else...”
He heard a voice stammering excuses, but he couldn’t really process it.
What kind of sensation was that? More than discomfort, an inexplicable peace faintly brushed his fingertips.
Instinctively, he grabbed the retreating hand, but before he could even think about the feeling, it shook him off.
Of course, he could’ve held on by force. But for some reason, he didn’t want to.
“By any chance... Oh, I see. Got it. You were curious about my hand cream! It’s R brand’s soft bread scent—super cozy and nice, right?”
“......”
“I love bread, so... If you’re interested, try it out at Olive Young. They’ve got bread, cake, chocolate, cookie scents—tons of varieties! And it’s 60% off this month! Pay with Notte card for another 10% off—you can live that fancy consumer life!”
...What hand cream?
Only then did he look at the face of the hand’s owner.
A woman with slightly sharp features stared at him with intense eyes, like she was pressuring him to nod already. Without realizing it, he nodded.
If anyone who knew him had seen that obedient attitude, they’d have denied reality and dragged him to an eye doctor.
After that day, he started visiting the cafe even without appointments. And he began doing things he’d never done before.
“Could you recommend something for me too?”
“Uh, um, I usually get the grapefruit honey black tea.”
When he asked her to recommend a menu after she told the person ahead of him hers, she answered with a flustered look.
The recommended drink was sweet, unlike the coffee he’d always had. He made a strange face as the sweetness lingered in his mouth—he didn’t enjoy sweets—but it wasn’t as repulsive as usual.
It was bizarre.
His taste buds, dulled and pickled by years of meds, rejected most food as disgusting. Coffee was the only thing that barely worked.
After that, he visited almost every day, except on mission days. Then a massive gate broke out, and he couldn’t go for about a week.
After half-assed guiding that yielded no real results compared to the time invested, plus some meds to patch things up, he returned to the cafe.
Staring blankly at the rain scattering without touching him, he pushed open the door.
Ding—a small bell rang, and the black-haired woman inside appeared.
“Hello.”
As he set his umbrella in the stand and approached, she spoke again.
“Welcome. Please take any seat you like, and press the bell for your order.”
“Ah, I’ll order here. Iced Americano.”
At his words, her brow furrowed slightly, as if pondering something.
“Um... You don’t look so great. Any chance you’d consider something warm? It’s raining today, and it’s cold out.”
Yeon Woo-jin was momentarily speechless at the suggestion. This was the first time she’d brought up anything beyond business talk.
“What warm drink?”
“...Pardon?”
“You said a warm drink would be good. Recommend one.”
“Uh, grapefruit honey black tea. Or yuja tea?”
Same as last time.
‘Her favorite?’
Recalling the citrusy sweet-and-sour taste, he asked.
“You must like it.”
“Pardon?”
“The grapefruit one. You recommended it last time too.”
“Ah...”
She trailed off awkwardly and nodded.
Soon the drink arrived. It grew on him as he sipped, so he finished it and rang the bell for another.
He waited a while, but no staff came. Finally, he got up and went to the counter, where he saw her sorting small pieces of paper.
As he was about to ask about it, his body—which had been off since before arriving—suddenly acted up.
While enduring the familiar pain and regulating his ragged breathing, her hand touched his forehead.
“Are you okay?”
For a moment, it felt like his breath stopped.
Warmth seeped into his cold breath. Oxygen began circulating through his pounding head, and a peace he’d never felt before lay in that much smaller hand.
He reflexively grabbed the hand starting to pull away. An excited breath leaked from his lips without him realizing.
The warmth in his hand shifted again. Forcing it to stay might scare her. He let the hand pull away a second time.
Yeon Woo-jin fundamentally didn’t know how to accommodate others. It was his innate nature, and his position never required it.
But right now, he was unconsciously holding back, mindful of the woman before him.
“Ha, haha... My hands are a bit cool, right? I was making drinks just now.”
“Yes...”
“You seem unwell—maybe see a doctor? No fever, so probably not a cold, but better safe than sorry. Could be migraines. Do you get headaches often?”
“I’m fine. Hospitals are useless anyway, and I know this feeling well.”
He felt dazed, like in a dream. He clenched his fist to stop his hand from twitching toward the lost warmth.
‘My Guide.’
Mine.
Instinct eroded his mind. It was ecstasy beyond compare to any guiding or guiding agents he’d experienced before.