“Hey, Tae Seunghyun!”
“Wh-what in the world…!”
Injeong and the others rushed in, but they froze at the scene before them, their minds going blank.
It took everyone a moment to process.
Through the half-torn curtain, Seunghyun’s broad back was visible.
It felt as if their thoughts had come to a screeching halt.
“Where’s the Guide?” a man behind them asked.
The words snapped Injeong back to reality.
Only then did she see the Guide, covered in blood and crumpled in a corner, trembling.
The man’s pale face was filled with terror.
“Uh, first, check on the Guide!” Injeong ordered the bewildered staff, and they entered the room.
The Guide, practically being carried by another person, brushed past her.
“Just a moment, Sergeant Lee Yonghun,” Injeong called out.
“Ugh…”
She stopped Yonghun, who was covered in blood and looked as if he was about to collapse.
It wasn’t right to stop a patient in immediate need of treatment, but Injeong had only seen up to the point where Seunghyun burst in and subdued Yonghun on the CCTV.
She couldn’t make any sense of the situation.
“What happened?
What about the guiding?”
“It was… reverse guiding, sir.”
Injeong was dumbfounded.
“What?
reverse guiding?”
“Yes…”
He had never witnessed a case of reverse guiding before.
A rare case he had only read about in research papers was happening right before his eyes.
Was that woman’s ability that powerful?
They had treated her like any other ability user because the damn test results were so late.
It was a grave miscalculation.
With those last words, Yonghun finally lost consciousness.
“Get him to the treatment room, now.
Administer a sedative and keep him under observation.”
“Yes, sir!”
Amid the bustle, someone who had approached Seunghyun called out, “Captain, over here.
This is…”
The man, his neck and face flushed, didn’t know what to do.
Having gotten a rough grasp of the situation, Injeong walked toward Seunghyun.
When he saw what was happening, Injeong pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to steady his dizzying mind.
Seunghyun was kissing the woman, Cha Yeonsu, with a devouring intensity.
As if completely oblivious to the commotion, they were still tangling their tongues together.
A wet, sensual sound echoed through the now-silent room, causing Injeong and the others to avert their gazes.
‘Has this bastard lost his mind?’ Injeong knew she had to pull him away.
“Hey, Tae Seunghyun… What the hell are you—”
She placed a hand on Seunghyun’s shoulder.
An abnormal heat, along with a sensation like a spark of electricity, shot from Seunghyun’s body into her fingertips.
Injeong snatched her hand back, her face contorting in alarm.
“Is Lieutenant Tae guiding right now?
Was he a Guide?”
“What?
Lieutenant Tae Seunghyun?
Th-That can’t be.
If he was, there’s no way we wouldn’t know…”
“…You’re right.”
Touching someone mid-session could break the flow and harm both parties.
That was why they had tried to stop him, but he had charged in anyway and was now guiding in place of the Guide from headquarters.
And he was doing it to an ability user who had inflicted reverse guiding on a veteran Guide.
“…For now, it seems to be guiding, so we’ll talk after it’s over.
Call security to the door and have them run a Guide test on Lieutenant Tae Seunghyun the moment he comes out.
After that, bring him straight to my office.”
“Understood.”
Injeong spoke firmly to the remaining personnel.
“First, keep this quiet.
Nothing is certain yet.”
“Yes, sir.”
The staff at the Ability Center were jaded, but today’s incident was baffling even for them, so Injeong drove the point home.
The staff, still looking dazed, nodded.
Injeong didn’t show it, but he couldn’t believe it either.
He’d seen ability users manifest later in life, but the accepted theory was that it was nearly impossible for a Guide to do so.
If Seunghyun had manifested as a Guide, it would directly contradict that.
Then again, there was more unknown than known about them, so he couldn’t dismiss it as entirely impossible.
Leaving the recovery room, Injeong hurried toward the lab.
He had to check Cha Yeonsu’s test results immediately, even if it meant grabbing one of the overworked lab technicians by the collar.
Injeong stared in disbelief at the large figure entering her office.
His leisurely stride and infuriatingly relaxed demeanor were incredibly grating.
To top it off, the strangely refreshed expression on Seunghyun’s face twisted something in her gut.
“I thought you were about to clock someone.”
“Why would I hit you?” Seunghyun asked.
His tone was even gentle.
Injeong was flabbergasted.
She tossed the report file onto the table in front of Seunghyun.
It was Yeonsu’s results, which she’d gotten hours earlier by coaxing and threatening a half-dead lab tech to push it to the front of the line.
“I saw the provisional A-rank the lab assigned her and thought, ‘no way,’ but it’s true.
She’s A-rank.”
“Cha Yeonsu is?” Seunghyun’s reaction was lukewarm as he crossed his legs and leisurely began to read.
‘Right, what does an A-rank matter to a detective?
To them, a criminal is just a criminal.’ Injeong suppressed her anger and elaborated.
“Yep.
A-003.
She’s the third A-rank ability user ever discovered in our country.”
“Huh.
Her ability is that incredible?”
“It is.
That’s why Sergeant Lee Yonghun got hit with reverse guiding.
He probably couldn’t handle an A-rank.
His Guide rank was only B.”
“So that guy’s name was Lee Yonghun.”
Injeong sighed, sensing a flicker of fire in Seunghyun’s dark eyes again.
She had no idea why Seunghyun was being so hostile.
She’d heard that people sometimes became possessive of those they guided, but as a non-user, it was a world she couldn’t comprehend.
Nor did he want to.
“You got tested, too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’d they say?
Are you a Guide?”
Without a word, Seunghyun closed the file and looked at Injeong.
The results still hadn’t been updated, making Injeong anxious.
She swallowed dryly, thinking she’d have to tear the lab guys a new one for being so damn slow.
Seunghyun, having tested her patience, finally spoke.
The grin on his face looked, in a way, relieved.
“They said it’s not complete yet.
According to the numbers, I’m in the process of manifesting as a Guide.”
The test results showed that Seunghyun had not yet fully manifested.
But his numbers were merely fluctuating; once they stabilized, he would become a full Guide.
The technician had stared at him in wonder, saying that he could receive an official rank once his numbers stabilized.
Tae Seunghyun, one of the agency’s top detectives, was a Guide.
Anyone at headquarters would have thought the same thing.
“My God.
Tae Seunghyun, you’re a Guide.”
Injeong looked at him with fresh eyes.
Unlike the generally robust bodies of ability users, most Guides were physically frail.
It made sense, as they had to purify themselves while cleansing an ability user’s backlash, and their bodies constantly suffered from the aftereffects.
But a Guide this muscular, who looked more like a physical-type ability user?
Pushing aside the stray thought, Injeong laid out the next steps.
“First, once your rank is confirmed, you’ll be registered as a state-affiliated Guide.
You’ll be assigned a code.
This is mandatory, so you know you can’t refuse, right?”
“I know.
And?”
“Once your numbers are stable, you’ll be called in whenever guiding is needed.
That’s why the state manages Guides.
As for your current position… well, that’s an internal matter, so talk to your team captain.
I’ll share the results with him once they’re in the system, so give him a heads-up.”
Seunghyun nodded.
“That’s it.
You can go.
Oh, and apologize to Sergeant Lee Yonghun.
He’s a complete wreck…”
“Where is Ms.
Cha Yeonsu now?”
Injeong looked at Seunghyun, who only said what he wanted to say, with an exasperated expression.
“I received a report that she regained consciousness.
Her backlash levels have stabilized, so take her with you on your way out.”
Yeonsu’s eyes, which had cleared after her kiss with Seunghyun, were dark once more.
As she clung to her fading consciousness in his arms, her gaze had held a question: ‘why are you here?’ The vixen who could bewitch a man with a single glance was gone, leaving only a woman innocent like a rabbit.
She had no idea how that contrast could drive a man crazy.
“A Guide,” Seunghyun muttered.
It was merely confirmation of something he had already suspected, so he wasn’t particularly shocked.
In fact, now that his suspicion was confirmed, he felt as if his vision had become clearer.