Seoh was startled and quickly bowed his head in greeting.

“A-ah, hello, Director.”

“Relax, relax. We’ll be seeing each other often from now on, so doing that every time will make me feel awkward too. Anyway, come in first. We need to treat your injuries.”

Park Sungmin brought the stiff Song Taejoon and the tightly tense Yoon Seoh inside, then closed the door.

“I was shocked when I heard Guide Yoon Seoh had been injured. Where exactly are you hurt? From the way you’re walking, it thankfully doesn’t seem like you can’t move around…”

From Seoh’s blind spot, Park Sungmin punched Song Taejoon hard in the waist. Song Taejoon looked incredulous, and Park Sungmin warned him with his eyes to behave. Then he led Seoh into a small room with a bed.

“Sit here.”

Seoh obediently sat where he was told.

“Let me see the injured area.”

Here, now? At the abrupt request, Seoh froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered Park Sungmin’s ability.

Esper Center director Park Sungmin had the ability to heal. Not just heal, but regenerate severed arms and legs. He was an S-plus-rank Esper with special A-class healing ability. He was so capable that even other countries had their eyes on him.

After hesitating for a moment, Seoh slowly took off his shirt.

As his upper body was exposed, Park Sungmin hurriedly examined his injuries. The areas hidden by his clothes were all red and swollen. He had been relieved just because Seoh seemed to be walking fine, but his insides were an absolute mess. There wasn’t a single healthy-looking spot. And why was his shoulder like that too?

After checking Seoh’s condition, Park Sungmin glared at Song Taejoon with angry eyes.

“You little son of a, ha, hey… Song Taejoon, come with me for a second.”

He told Seoh to wait for a moment, then dragged Song Taejoon out of the room. The moment the door closed, he burst out shouting.

“What are those injuries? Since when did you start beating up Guide Yoon Seoh, of all people?!”

Even if Song Taejoon hated Guides, he had never once injured one. So even the Guide Center, irritated though they were, couldn’t openly complain to Song Taejoon. But then this happened right after an assigned Guide was attached to him. Park Sungmin was furious to the point of wanting to scream.

“And those wounds look pretty old. You just let them sit there all this time? What, are you making a protest because you got an assigned Guide? If you’re going to act up, do it to me, why take it out on an innocent Guide!”

“Calm down, hyung.”

“Do I look like I’m in a state to calm down right now?!”

Taejoon rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache, then let out a long sigh.

“…Hyung, you can tell just by looking. Those injuries weren’t caused by my ability.”

“I know that! Then what the hell caused them to end up like that?”

“During the guiding right before the last rampage… I think it happened in the backyard. The ground was covered with crushed stone, so I think that’s what caused it. I only found out just now, so I brought him here.”

“What?”

Park Sungmin couldn’t understand what he had just heard. How could he only find that out now? Wait… had Guide Yoon Seoh been hiding it all this time?

“When he came to, he was in the living room, and Seoh was staying in the room because he felt sick.”

“…”

“I didn’t think he’d be hurt either. It had never happened before.”

The wounds scattered across Seoh’s body were clearly from being torn and scraped by rocks. If one were generous, that could be considered an accident. Seoh had happened to be in the backyard when Song Taejoon was on the verge of rampaging. Right, that part could be understood. Of course, he didn’t know why Seoh had hidden it, but.

But the shoulder wound…

“What about the teeth marks on your shoulder?”

When Park Sungmin asked in a slightly calmer voice, Taejoon’s expression hardened.

“That… I don’t know either.”

“…”

Well, of course he wouldn’t know. The guy had been out of his mind.

Remembering the trace of a bite deep enough to draw blood, Park Sungmin rubbed his temples as if a headache were coming on.

There was only one reason an Esper would want a Guide’s blood.

Marking.

Because the matching rate was high, he had instinctively wanted Yoon Seoh’s blood.

The marking of a Guide and an Esper was carried out by mixing the two people’s blood in a special solution and drinking it after it was divided. Once an Esper and Guide were marked, they became completely dependent on each other, as the guiding itself would only react to that one partner. At that point, the Guide was said to become unstable if they didn’t guide their partner Esper.

He had never seen such a case in person, but based on past records, the only way for an Esper and a Guide to become equal was through marking. Because of that, the Guide Center, which did not want it, had sealed away the marking method for thirty years. It was possible because the Guide Center controlled the formula and management of the special solution.

It was something every Esper knew, but Song Taejoon had been so focused on the fact that he had drawn blood, rather than the fact that he had bitten the shoulder, that he hadn’t thought of it. What an idiot.

Park Sungmin dragged a hand down his face and sighed in frustration.

“…Anyway, make sure you check his condition after every guiding from now on. Got it?”

“…”

When Song Taejoon didn’t answer, Park Sungmin punched him with all his strength. Honestly, because of this bastard, there was never a day his heart could rest.

“I’m going to treat him and come back out, so stay here.”

“Yes.”

Park Sungmin glared at Song Taejoon and went back into the room. First, treating Guide Yoon Seoh was the priority. Because old injuries couldn’t be restored to normal even if one used an Esper’s power.

There was also a golden time for regenerating severed arms and legs. If that window was missed, even Park Sungmin couldn’t regenerate them. Unless an S-rank healing Esper appeared, but for now that was just a dream.

Park Sungmin approached Seoh, who was sitting quietly on the bed.

“Let me look at the wounds again. I need to see how extensive they are.”

At those words, Seoh’s face turned bright red. Park Sungmin wondered why he was blushing so much, but he only found out later.

The only uninjured part of Yoon Seoh’s entire body was his face.

Throughout the treatment, Park Sungmin kept cursing Song Taejoon in front of Seoh. Saying things like, that bastard wasn’t even fit to be an animal, or why didn’t you bite him back and teach him a lesson? And then at the end, he would desperately defend him, saying he wasn’t really that kind of person.

Seoh would stammer when hearing Song Taejoon’s insults, but when Park Sungmin defended him, he nodded eagerly.

Seeing that, Park Sungmin felt a little sorry, so he patted Seoh on the back. He also lamented that rumors really couldn’t be trusted.

The treatment progressed smoothly.

“Here, this is warm yuja tea. Have some.”

After finishing the treatment, Park Sungmin seated Yoon Seoh and served him warm tea. Seoh received it carefully, thanking him, and began to drink slowly while blowing on the rising steam.

Park Sungmin watched him fondly, then spotted Song Taejoon secretly peeking at Seoh and furrowed his brow. This was the classic case of shutting the barn after the horse had bolted.

For a moment, what he had felt after meeting Seoh was that, unlike other Guides, he didn’t hate Espers much. That alone was enough to be grateful for, but the person was gentle too.

From what he heard, he also seemed to give guiding whenever Song Taejoon wanted it. It was almost painful that such a lucky prize had ended up in Song Taejoon’s hands.

“Come to think of it, are you doing well at the lodging?”

Seoh, who seemed to like the yuja tea and was sipping it, clasped the mug in both hands and nodded.

“Yes…”

“Which room is yours? Is it the room next to Taejoon’s?”

He hadn’t even expected them to stay in the same room, and in fact Song Taejoon had told him Seoh had a separate room.

“No, it’s not.”

Seoh hurriedly set the cup on the table and waved both hands, shaking his head vigorously. His reaction practically screamed, How dare I, how could I even dream of it. Park Sungmin soothed the boiling frustration in his stomach and barely managed to steady the expression that was about to fall apart.

“Then, the room next to it?”

“I don’t go upstairs. I stay on the first floor.”

“Ah, the first floor…”

Park Sungmin ended up kicking Song Taejoon’s shin under the table. Taejoon, who had sensed it one step ahead and dodged, asked with his eyes why he did that, and Park Sungmin glared back silently, telling him they’d talk later without Seoh noticing.

“Is the room warm? Is there anything you need?”

“Ah, well…”

Seoh, who had looked like he would say everything was fine, hesitated for the first time and glanced at Song Taejoon. He seemed reluctant to speak because Taejoon was there, but that was something the two of them would have to work on anyway. In a sense, it was something Taejoon should hear too.

Park Sungmin asked on purpose as if he didn’t know.

“So there is something you need. What is it? Tell me and I’ll bring it to you.”

“Ah…”

“If there’s anything like that, you can also ask Taejoon. Don’t make it too hard on yourself.”

No matter how reassuring he tried to sound, Seoh would still feel pressured. And if he said what was going on with him, the blame would obviously fall on Song Taejoon, so he wanted to prevent the misunderstanding from deepening. Seoh shook his head.

“No, I just need to request it from the Guide Center…”

“The Guide Center?”

Song Taejoon flinched at that moment. Park Sungmin looked at Taejoon’s reaction once, then asked Seoh.

“You can always contact the Guide Center, can’t you?”

“…The manor doesn’t have phone service.”

“It doesn’t have phone service…”

Park Sungmin couldn’t finish his sentence and turned to look at Song Taejoon. Now he was blatantly avoiding his gaze. This bastard is really something.

“It doesn’t… quite, right? It must be because of security. I forgot to tell you. Ask Taejoon about it when you go back. Aww, you must have been bored all this time.”

“No, I wasn’t bored… Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. But is it something important? If you’re contacting the Guide Center for it. Even though Seoh is a Guide, he’s practically under the Esper Center now. That’s why he’s living with Taejoon at the lodging.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Seoh had only just learned that he belonged to the Esper Center.

“Of course, you’re still also affiliated with the Guide Center. Just think of it as half and half, and it’ll be easier.”

“Yes.”

“Then, may I ask what you were trying to contact them about?”

After explaining so much, it would be strange to hide it. It was better to say something they couldn’t easily get here, if not everything.

“Well… it’s not an important request, but I need Guide clothes and some essential supplies.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Park Sungmin seem to understand, nodding. Guide clothes and essential supplies definitely had to be requested from the Guide Center. But… if he wasn’t going out for field work like last time, did he really need to wear Guide clothes?

For now, since he said he needed them, Park Sungmin readily agreed.