Churu for the Angry Guide

28

Today too, the espers who came out to Area A13 had dark shadows on their faces.

Even though they were armed with protective gear, they were all on edge. Even experienced espers couldn’t perform at their usual level.

Mistakes were happening everywhere, and requests for support were arising. This was a sight rarely seen in Area A13, which was composed of only elite groups.

There was only one cause for this situation.

“Ka-Kang Geonho esper! That’s not a monster!”

“Ahh! That’s a person! A person!”

An esper who nearly got crushed by the monster corpse thrown by Geonho shouted with a pale face. Although he had partially transformed his arms and legs into animal form to increase speed, he was certainly not at a level to be mistaken for a monster.

It seemed Geonho had just vented his anger on something that caught his eye. No wonder people called him a mad dog.

The frightened esper fled quickly, his long white tail fluttering. If he stayed any longer, he might end up being killed by a fellow esper rather than a monster. By the way, he was a weasel beastkin.

“Team B, retreat.”

Jihan, unable to stand by any longer, stepped in and ordered the guild the weasel beastkin belonged to to retreat.

Geonho, still not satisfied even after threatening the weasel beastkin, glared at him until the end. The fluffy white weasel tail irritated his already sensitive nerves. Because it reminded him of someone.

“Geonho, I understand how you feel, but…”

“Shut up.”

“Okay.”

Jihan, who backed off cleanly, focused on organizing the surroundings instead of trying to calm Geonho down. He knew well that no amount of talking would help Geonho in his current state.

Geonho’s eyes were half-crazed. Ever since that day, for the entire week. Every single day without fail.

“Ah, this is going to cause trouble at this rate.”

The secretary of the Baekya Guild, who had come out to check the situation, still looked grim. He couldn’t relax for a moment, not knowing when Geonho might cause a major incident.

The secretary clicked his tongue while recording Geonho’s monster elimination count. At this rate, it was Geonho’s body, not the gate, that might overload and burst.

“Is Geonho hyung still at it?”

Seojun, whose turn had come, approached the secretary upon arriving at the scene. He too was properly wearing protective gear. As always, Seojun didn’t look to be in bad condition.

“Yes. He needs to rest now, but I can’t bring myself to tell him.”

The secretary exhaled a sigh, rubbing his tired face. Seojun also made a worried face, unable to suggest, “Should I go talk to him?” He had already tried a few times, but it hadn’t worked at all.

“Still no news, right?”

Seojun asked the secretary while cleaning the dust from inside his safety goggles. His attitude suggested he anticipated the answer.

“It seems he left the center. Otherwise, there’s no way we wouldn’t have seen even a hint of him.”

The secretary tried to swallow his emotions calmly with a bitter expression, but eventually burst out in anger. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

“How could a person do such a thing? Just wait until I catch him. I swear!”

The secretary stopped speaking and composed his agitated breathing. Since Geonho was already angry enough, he was trying not to get swept up in emotions himself.

“After all Geonho esper did for him…”

Still, it was hard to calm his feelings easily. He too was the type to become attached easily, no less than anyone else.

Every time he thought of the toys and snacks he had brought, and the time he had poured in whenever he could, he felt a burning rage inside. He felt hurt.

If he felt this way, how much worse must Geonho esper feel? While the secretary was distressed by Geonho’s violent behavior, he could understand his feelings to some extent.

“He must be feeling terrible right now. He’s the type to give his heart and soul once he cares for someone.”

The secretary made a pitiful expression as he watched Geonho burst the internal organs of monsters with his bare hands.

To abandon such a kind-hearted thug… without any lingering attachment.

“He’s a very cold-hearted guide. He must have planned this from the beginning.”

“What do you mean?”

Seojun, who had been quietly listening to the secretary, tilted his head. With his special safety goggles on, more than half of Seojun’s expression was hidden.

“He didn’t steal anything, did he? He just ate a lot while he was here.”

The secretary paused at Seojun’s words, furrowed his brow, and then looked at Geonho smashing the gate.

While nothing physical was stolen, something was definitely taken. And it was something very big. It might have been better if it had been an expensive item.

“He stole his mental stability, so that’s a big theft.”

And of all people, he took Kang Geonho esper’s mental stability. Although he looked as tough as the leader on the outside, he was actually the most tender-hearted person. How many wounds must he have received from people to be like this?

“Anyway, if we catch him, we won’t let him off easily.”

Seojun stared blankly at the secretary. He seemed to be asking what they were planning to do.

“Well…”

The secretary, with his arms crossed, glanced at Geonho while showing off his thick arms. Although it wasn’t close enough for the conversation to be heard, he approached Seojun and whispered, just in case.

Seojun, who bent down to the secretary who was shorter than him, listened carefully to the lowered voice.

And silently raised one eyebrow.

* * *

Siwoo’s footsteps were heavy.

His body hadn’t recovered yet, and he found it hard to move his feet as he was about to meet a new esper right away. He slightly regretted acting on impulse again.

He had been full of enthusiasm when he set out with the team leader, but as the excitement subsided, his aching body screamed at him to lie down in bed immediately. Of course, it meant his cozy bed in the dormitory, not the bed in the guiding room.

“Hey, Han Siwoo.”

The guide team leader who had been repeatedly calling Siwoo’s name frowned. Siwoo, who had been following absentmindedly, responded with a delayed “Yes?” The kid really didn’t look well.

“Are you really okay?”

Siwoo just nodded silently with his lips tightly closed. In fact, he wasn’t okay at all. But he clenched his fist, feeling that if he backed down now, he might not get another chance.

He had already been rejected by guilds multiple times. Because of that, even matching had become difficult. Every guild was precious to him now.

“Is it in there?”

Siwoo asked, suppressing a sigh as he looked at the door the team leader pointed to.

“You go in first.”

The team leader, walking ahead, opened the door of the guiding room and gestured with his chin.

It was an ordinary general guiding room. It was where guides not affiliated with guilds performed light contact guiding. The furniture consisted only of a small table, chairs, and a mini-fridge, and the space was very cozy.

“While you wait, fill your stomach at least.”

The team leader handed Siwoo a plastic bag while checking his wristwatch. It was originally a sandwich and orange juice he had bought for himself.

He took out the juice, opened the cap, and told Siwoo to drink it.

“Drink it, quickly.”

He felt that if he didn’t do this, Siwoo wouldn’t touch anything. His gaunt appearance made him look like he had been starving for a long time, which worried the team leader. What was so pretty about that?

Siwoo didn’t refuse and drank the juice, giving a slight nod. It was his way of saying thanks.

Seeing Siwoo give thanks, which he usually didn’t do, the team leader’s head gradually tilted sideways.

“Hey, Siwoo.”

He looked at Siwoo sipping the juice with a worried face. After swallowing dry saliva with a sigh, he asked very seriously.

“You didn’t commit some terrible crime, did you?”

His expression hoped it wasn’t the case. Siwoo remained silent as usual.

“Um… ahem, you know. Like, cheating on the Baekya Guild espers.”

At the word ‘cheating’, Siwoo frowned in disgust.

“Then what the hell did you do, man!”

When the team leader burst out in frustration, Siwoo turned his head and put down the juice.

In the end, the team leader clicked his tongue and dragged Siwoo to sit him down in a chair himself. Seeing that Siwoo was determined not to open his mouth, he gave up asking.

“Fine, I get it. I’ll stop prying, so just eat.”

He took out the sandwich from the bag and put it in Siwoo’s hand. Whether he had grown fond of him or not, he kept taking care of him.

“Eat quickly. Eat before it gets cold.”

It was a sandwich, so there was nothing to get cold. Siwoo looked at the team leader with an expression that seemed to argue this point. In response, the team leader raised his upper lip slightly and slapped Siwoo’s back.

“My heart is getting cold. My heart. If you’re not going to eat it, I’ll take it back.”

Siwoo immediately started fiddling with the sandwich. It meant he would eat it.

Just then, the team leader’s phone rang, so he couldn’t check if Siwoo was actually eating.

“Call me if anything happens. I’ll be out front.”

“Okay.”

Siwoo watched the team leader’s back as he left the guiding room, his mouth slightly open.

“Thank you…”

He mumbled so quietly that the sound didn’t reach the team leader. What’s so hard about saying thank you properly?

Thud.

At the sound of the door closing, Siwoo’s expression darkened further.

Siwoo rubbed his heavy eyes and clenched his jaw tightly. He was annoyed at the situation he was in, and angry at himself for creating this situation.

“Why am I living like this…”

As he hit his own head, he glanced at the sandwich when his stomach growled.

He had no appetite, but his stomach was burning. It was natural for his stomach to hurt after taking medicine on an empty stomach.

He slowly blinked his eyes while weakly unwrapping the sandwich’s plastic. Whether the fever reducer had some sleep-inducing component or not, his body felt heavier and heavier.

He held the refreshing orange juice in his mouth and strained his eyes. He wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep, but he held back. This was all his own doing, so he had to grit his teeth and endure it without blaming anyone else.

This was something Siwoo was quite good at. Enduring difficult situations.

Right, he had rested for a whole week, that should be enough. If he stayed lazy any longer, he would either be caught by the Baekya Guild or starve to death without money to buy food.

“Let’s eat. Eat.”

He swallowed a sigh instead of saliva as he picked up the ham sandwich filled with fresh vegetables. He was hungry, but it was incredibly difficult to put anything in his mouth.

He needed to eat quickly.

Strangely, the fool’s face kept flickering before his eyes, making his appetite decrease even more.

What would that guy be doing now?

Is he going crazy looking for me? I wonder if he’s eaten, being so focused on catching and punishing me.

And the kind secretary… he probably got caught in the crossfire for no reason.

Siwoo thought of Geonho and the secretary who had been kind to him, taking small sips of juice. He kept blinking, attributing his stinging eyes to the light. This way, tears wouldn’t well up.

“I have to eat free food. No matter what.”

After encouraging himself to eat while he could, he opened his mouth wide. Even with his mouth wide open, he couldn’t eat much due to his small mouth opening.

He took a big bite of the sandwich made with savory grain bread. There was a crunchy sound from the fresh lettuce. He tried to cut the sliced ham with his front teeth, but the ham was tough and didn’t cut easily.

He chewed the sandwich that filled his mouth after cutting the ham with a serious face. One cheek bulged out, moving unusually slowly. Usually, he would gulp down food quickly, eager to show an empty plate whenever he had the chance to eat.

Siwoo let out a deep sigh through his nose and lightly bit the protruding ham with his front teeth. The saltiness wasn’t bad.

After barely swallowing it with juice, chewing thoroughly, he opened his mouth wide again. He intended to finish the sandwich without leaving anything, as he had to make it last for the whole day.

However, Siwoo only gulped in cold air instead of bread.

It was because he heard the sound of the guiding room door opening.

“Co-ugh…”

Siwoo, who reflexively turned to look at the door, let out a small cough. A familiar face was captured in his trembling blue eyes.

Siwoo ended up dropping the sandwich that he had only taken one bite of. His hand lost strength as soon as his eyes met with the large figure walking towards him.

“Why.”

The sandwich with small teeth marks on it was placed on the desk instead of falling to the floor. By the esper’s telekinesis.

“Eat more.”

The sound of the chair opposite Siwoo moving echoed. Along with the esper’s low voice.