Guide Me If You Dare
Chapter 102: THE PERFECT MATCH

Chapter 102: THE PERFECT MATCH

[An hour ago...]

CRAAACK.

The shield that Ki Gayoon started to have cracks all over because Yang Youngjae wouldn’t stop flinging boulders at them.

It’s about to collapse.

"I don’t think Yang Youngjae is in the right condition to talk," Yang Youngjae said, sighing. "Should I just knock him out? He’ll just attack us as soon as the shield collapses."

"Yang Youngjae will collapse before my shield does."

"Where’s your confidence coming from?"

"Because I’m Ki Gayoon."

"You’re so freaking annoying."

"Just watch," Gayoon said, pulling out a ziplock from the inner pocket of his suit. It contained cinnamon sticks. He was feeling the urge to smoke, so he brought that out. "The air in the dungeon is different from the air in the outside world. What do you think will happen to an Esper who keeps releasing his Mana like that?"

"Oh," Ryu Sungbin said, pausing for a moment. "He’ll drain his Mana quickly."

"Right."

And Gayoon was right.

"ARGH!"

That loud groan of pain was from Yang Youngjae.

All the floating boulders around them fell down as the Rampaging Esper fell down to his knees while clutching his chest.

There you go.

Gayoon snapped his fingers, making the shield collapse.

Now they could see Yang Youngjae lying down on the ground, staring at the sky while catching his breath.

He didn’t pass out?

"Yang Youngjae, you’re not really on a Rampage, are you?" Gayoon said, taking a bite of the cinnamon stick stuck between his fingers like a cigarette. "You just wanted to destroy things because you’re angry at the world. Well, I guess that’s also a rampage in its own right."

Yang Youngjae took a deep breath before he opened his mouth. "Lucca is one hell of a Guide. We only have a 49% matching rate as opposed to my 89% matching rate with Choi Kangmin. And yet my mind cleared right away."

"That’s why Lucca is called the ’Golden Angel’ of the Bureau," Ryu Sungbin said. "He has a 49% matching rate with all the naturally awakened S-Class Esper. On the other hand, he has a 55% matching rate with most A-Class and "artificial" S-Class Espers. That’s pretty high."

"Except for me," Gayoon said. "We only have a 19% matching rate."

"You’re our class’ defective product."

"Wow. Someone is getting creative with his insults. Keep it up, man. Someday, you’ll be as fluent as Noh Yuno in sarcasm."

"You really seize every chance you get to mention your Exclusive Guide."

"Please stop fighting," Yang Youngjae complained. "I thought you were here to console me."

"We’re here to ask you questions," Gayoon said, squatting down to look at Yang Youngjae properly. "Thanks to your Rampage, all the cameras in the fitness center were destroyed. The only footage we got didn’t tell us anything about the serial killer’s physical appearance."

"It’s a man, probably in his mid to late twenties."

Both Gayoon and Ryu Sungbin were surprised.

"It’s a man in his mid to late twenties?" Ryu Sungbin asked, shocked. "You didn’t tell the investigation team about that important detail."

"I wasn’t in the right mind when I was first questioned," Yang Youngjae. "My Rampage was suppressed. I wasn’t able to go all out back then because I didn’t want to accidentally destroy Choi Kangmin’s body."

Right.

That was how Yang Youngjae was suppressed right away.

"Did you talk to the culprit?" Gayoon asked sternly. "Did you see his face? Or just his voice?"

"Just his voice," Yang Youngjae said, pausing for a moment. "That bastard said he returned to watch my reaction upon seeing Choi Kangmin dead. I don’t remember anything else after that, though. My mind has already snapped back then. But..."

Both Gayoon and Ryu Sungbin kept quiet while waiting for Yang Youngjae to continue.

"I think he asked me a question," Yang Youngjae finally said after pausing for at least a minute. "He asked me if I wanted to be his new Esper."

Ah.

That was a vital piece of information.

"Yang Youngjae, I’ll take you to the Esper Association," Ryu Sungbin said. "You need to repeat what you said to the investigation team."

"Fine," Yang Youngjae said, closing his eyes. "Let me get some sleep first."

"Don’t sleep here— you’ll die in your sleep if you do," Gayoon said, snapping his fingers. And, just like that, they were back in the hospital room— in the outside world, of course. He used his telekinesis power to lift Yang Younjae and bring him back on the bed. "Yang Youngjae, if you remember something else, tell us right away."

Yang Youngjae groaned in his sleep. "Yes, Hyung-nim."

"I’m not your hyung-nim."

***

"HYUNG, is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Ki Gayoon said in response to Lucca’s question. The Golden Retriever waited for him outside Yang Youngjae’s room. "Yang Youngjae is sleeping, and Ryu Sungbin will stay with him until he wakes up. Then Ryu Sungbin will bring Yang Youngjae to the Esper Association."

"Oh, but we need to bring Esper Yang Youngjae-ssi to the National Guide Bureau..."

"Why?"

Lucca looked hesitant to speak.

Oh.

He knows that Ryu Sungbin has sharp senses, and this kid doesn’t trust the Bureau run by Chief Kim Munhee.

Gayoon patted Lucca’s shoulder. "Follow me."

"Yes, Hyung."

He brought the kid to the emergency exit, and then he snapped his fingers and created a sound-proof barrier.

"Now tell me," Gayoon said, leaning against the railing. "What’s going on?"

"While Esper Yang Youngjae-ssi was still recovering from his Rampage, we made him take the matching rate with the newly awakened Guides in the Bureau. I know it’s harsh, but it’s the protocol. Esper Yang Youngjae-ssi is a high-ranking Esper, so the Bureau wants him to get a new Guide as soon as possible."

That may have sounded harsh to other people.

But that was the protocol.

Even so, he was still pissed.

That just goes to show how the Bureau thinks Guides are disposable.

"This morning, we received a call from the Bureau," Lucca said nervously. "They said they found a Guide with a 79% matching rate with Esper Yang Youngjae-ssi."

"What a coincidence," Ki Gayoon said, raising an eyebrow. "You don’t think it’s a coincidence, do you?"

"The Top 5 Espers’ Guides are special because out of all the Guides in the country, only they have a matching rate with the Top 5 Espers that surpassed 75%."

Yes, all newly awakened Guides were required to have a matching rate with the Top 5.

That was the protocol.

As I said earlier, the Bureau sees Guides as disposable powerbanks.

But, for the past years, none of the newly awakened Guides had a high matching rate with the current Top 5.

That was why the rank hadn’t changed all this time.

Not until Noh Yuno picked a fight with Choi Kangmin, that is.

"Hyung, am I the only one who finds all of this strange?" Lucca asked awkwardly. "I should be happy that Esper Yang Youngjae found a new Guide. But I feel like this is too good to be a coincidence."

"I’ll call the sly fox," Gayoon said, patting Lucca’s shoulder. "Talk to him— he has the connections you need to investigate the Guide who matched with Yang Youngjae."

***

AFTER arranging a meeting between Lucca and Moon Noa, Ki Gayoon returned to the National Guide Bureau to fetch Noh Yuno.

That punk isn’t answering my calls.

Haaah.

He wants to be punished, doesn’t he?

"Gayoon Hyung."

Argh.

Gayoon looked at Bambi in disgust when the bastard blocked his way. "What?"

"Our training for today is over," Bambi said. "Guide Noh Yuno-ssi is in the infirmary. He had a nosebleed after using his Mana to help us."

Gayoon let out a sigh. "Why is that punk working too hard for the people who treat him like shit?"

"Hyung, don’t be like that. I’m doing my best to take care of Guide Noh Yuno-ssi while we’re under a temporary ceasefire. That’s why I sent him to the infirmary right away."

"Do you want me to thank you for doing the bare minimum? It’s only right to send your subordinate to the infirmary after he had a nosebleed."

Bambi frowned— no, he actually looked like he was about to cry. "Hyung, why are you being so harsh to me?"

"Did you forget that you sexually assaulted me in my sleep?"

"Sexual assault doesn’t exist between a Guide and an Esper during a Guiding Session. You were on the verge of a Rampage back then, so I had to—"

"I was managing my Rampage on my own when you trespassed on my building, attacked my people, and used a powerful aphrodisiac to drug me."

"Hyung, that much shouldn’t have fazed you."

"You’re right," Gayoon said while nodding. "I grew up in an environment where sexual assault against an Esper by a Guide isn’t acknowledged. In fact, I laughed at Noh Yuno’s face when he asked me to sue you. He even said he was willing to stand as a witness."

Bambi knitted his eyebrows. "What? Guide Noh Yuno-ssi said that?"

"Yes, and that was probably the moment I realized that Noh Yuno is my one and only Guide."

"Hyung—"

"Noh Yuno is the only Guide who respects my body and my boundaries," Gayoon said, clenching his hands tight when the realization finally hit him. "No, he’s the only person who actually sees me as a human being and not as a mere killing machine or a cash cow."

Ah, fuck it.

Do I really have feelings for that punk?

***

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