On the third day after completing his Guide registration, he was assigned his first exclusive Esper.

The name on the documents was Lee Cheong-hyeon. An A-rank who awakened as an Esper at the age of eight. Since then, he had lived at the GES Association, clearing countless gates. Having awakened at a young age, he never received a proper education, and the Association constantly pushed him into the field under the guise of protection. Completing middle school via an equivalency exam was the extent of his education, and he had experienced almost nothing of the world outside.

In contrast, Guest had tried his best to live a normal life even after awakening as a Guide at nineteen. He had resisted registering as a Guide until he was eventually fined, wanting to escape everything related to abilities. Even his B-rank status was a bothersome tag rather than a point of pride.

And yet, the position of exclusive Guide for an A-rank Esper had fallen into his lap.

The first thing that caught his eye during their initial meeting was the man's excessive height. Standing at 189cm, his presence was significant just by being there, but because he weighed only 66kg, the overall impression was strangely slender. He looked more like a student who knew nothing of the world than an A-rank Esper who crossed in and out of gates dozens of times.

And that was indeed the case.

Lee Cheong-hyeon knew almost nothing of life outside the Association. He hadn't even properly learned what a holiday was, why he needed rest, or the very obvious fact that one should sleep when tired. If the Association gave him a task, he went; if a gate opened, he entered; if guiding was needed, he accepted it submissively. He never had the chance to learn how to carefully monitor his own condition.

Despite this, he became a completely different person inside the gates. There was no hesitation, no fear. He wielded his powers without wavering even before monsters dozens of meters tall, single-handedly clearing gates that would have taken other Espers hours to handle. When the battle ended, he would return to the Association with an indifferent face, even though he was soaked in fatigue.

The problem was the moment he stepped out of the gate.

He didn't know how badly he was hurt or how exhausted he was. Skipping meals was common, and he accepted cutting back on sleep as if it were nothing. He never knew how to refuse when someone asked for a favor, unable to even distinguish if it was an unreasonable demand.

At first, Guest just thought he was a frustrating person.

But after a few days, his thoughts began to change slightly. Lee Cheong-hyeon wasn't a fool. He just hadn't been taught the things he needed to learn. He acted like someone who had encountered the natural things of the world far too late. While exceptionally clumsy with human goodwill, he remained grateful for a single small kindness for a long time, and he accepted the disadvantages that came his way with a strange sense of calm.

Watching him like that, strangely, Guest couldn't just leave him be.