Would you like to try negative guiding?
Yes.
Pain throbbed through Yoojin and the room's lights flared in his vision. He shut his eyes.
When guiding felt like warmth and comfort to those he cared about.
Negative guiding felt like poison and violence.
It was a fire that started in his belly and tightened into an acidy burn.
He teetered on the verge of passing out.
It was painful.
Someone was gagging, choking.
It was hard to breathe.
There was a weight crushing down on his chest.
Yoojin opened his eyes. He was dizzy, and couldn't focus his vision on anything right away.
Diarma panted on the floor after rolling off the sofa. He coughed up blood and took deep, wheezing breaths. His hands shook as they reached for his throat and jerked away when he touched his neck. It looked like a crushed water bottle.
His throat wasn't the worst part either, his face dried up like a month-old jack-o'-lantern. Diarma withered in pain and tried to call out for help. Too bad their point of contact was a kiss. The negative guiding had broken everything in between Diarma's lips and lungs. It was lucky for Yoojin, otherwise Diarma could scream, and either Yoon Kyeongsoo or one of the twenty espers in the building would come running. And there was no way Yoojin could handle that many.
While Diarma suffered from the physical pain of his face, neck, and lungs, his powers wrecked his insides. It was like watching an esper deal with a guiding deficit. Their bodies weren't designed to handle that. A guide was only meant to drain an esper's condensed power, but Yoojin took everything from Diarma. His energy, his power, and his rank.
Whatever magical force gave espers their rank demanded its power over the health of the esper. Diarma's powers were literally eating him alive to replenish themselves. Worse, Diarma was an extremely high ranking esper, so the attack on his body happened much faster than Yoojin had ever seen.
Yoojin hated negative guiding. He could barely control it. Every time he lost focus, he worried this would happen. What if he did this to someone he cared about? How could he live with himself?
Yoojin moved to the edge of the sofa and swung his legs off the side. He pulled his hands apart and the rope snapped. The energy choked him, and the side effects were getting worse. He had to squint to see because his vision darkened and the loud ringing in his ears covered up Diarma's labored breathing.
Diarma looked up at Yoojin with frightened eyes.
Yoojin stood. He had to make this quick. There were twenty espers in the next room and he couldn't use negative guiding on them all. Yoojin didn't have any skills. He was just temporarily stronger but still weaker than an esper.
Diarma hacked up blood. With shaking arms, he crawled to get away. Yoojin walked up behind him and touched his face. His powers greedily rushed into Diarma and flooded Yoojin with the sickening feeling. He drained Diarma. The moisture was sucked out of his eyes, his blood crystallized while still inside him and his skin crack under Yoojin's hand.
Diarma raised one of his hands to shove Yoojin away, but his bone snapped instead.
Yoojin hated this. Why did espers keep forcing him to guide them? First Hiroki Juhyeok, then Choi Sukwon, and now Diarma. What would the kids from the restaurant think if they saw Yoojin like this? They would never let him guide them again.
Yoojin's fingers tightened on Diarma, making him gag in pain.
Diarma's face shrunk up to outline his skeleton, and his mouth bobbed open like a fish. When he fell over, more bones snapped. Even after he died, his body continued to dry out.
Yoojin stood and walked into a pipe sticking through the middle of the room. He hadn't seen it, and the impact knocked the metal over.
Yoojin rubbed his shoulder. It was already tingling and bruising. He might have the power of an esper but his body was still that of a guide. The pain increased to a throb. He had to hurry if he wanted to escape and to warn Sung Hyunjae in time.
Yoojin could either go into the front room with the twenty espers or the backroom where Yoon Kyeongsoo was. He headed to the backroom and walked up behind Yoon Kyeongsoo. The esper spun around. Eyes wide at the sight of Yoojin.
His fist came for Yoojin, but Yoojin grabbed it. He was still slammed him into the wall and shouted in pain, but Yoojin never let go of his grip on Yoon Kyeongsoo.
Yoojin was a little faster, and Yoon Kyeongsoo didn't expect the quick movement. Yoon Kyeongsoo's bones weakened under Yoojin's hand and his face seized in pain. Yoon Kyeongsoo tried to pull back, but Yoojin grabbed his throat, pulling more power from him.
Yoon Kyeongsoo gagged, and his knees gave out. He fell to the ground. He pulled his broken arm away from Yoojin and fell backwards.
Yoojin knelt in front of him. His own feet almost gave out on him, but he had to look like he wasn't in pain. He had to look tough now. Otherwise, Yoon Kyeongsoo would figure out one more round of forced guiding or a single hit would knock him out.
Because Yoojin showed no cracks in his armor, Yoon Kyeongsoo stared at him in terror. His voice trembled. "I-I thought—I thought the rumor of negative guiding wasn't true. I thought your brother was just trying to hide you."
The ringing in his ears was so bad, Yoojin could barely hear him.
Yoojin touched a finger to Yoon Kyeongsoo's forehead, lifting his head. Yoon Kyeongsoo sucked in a breath.
"Where did you take Noah and Yoo Myeongwoo?" Yoojin asked.
"Downtown. My auto mechanic's place… there's a secret basement that not even S-Ranks can break through… I'll take you there, just don't—AHHH."
Yoojin took all the power from Yoon Kyeongsoo. The process was a little slower than Diarma, but the sick feeling rushed through him faster. The deficit worsened, and his vision faded around the edges.
He completely drained Yoon Kyeongsoo. It surprised him that no one came when Yoon Kyeongsoo screamed. Or maybe he wasn't screaming? It was hard to hear anything. Yoojin flinched at the uneven pressure in his inner ear.
Yoon Kyeongsoo fell over, and Yoojin stood.
Downtown.
Auto mechanic.
Get word to Sung Hyunjae.
Find Noah and Yoo Myeongwoo.
Yoojin took a step and stumbled, needing to hold on to the wall for support. He had to get out of here. He was shaking and blood dripped from his nose.
When he started coughing, he tasted blood and had to spit it out.
Did he overdo it? Even if energy filled him, negative guiding didn't break down like normal guiding. It was a dense stone inside him. Like a venom that twisted his insides.
Yoojin looked around, but couldn't find a way out of the back room. His powers were already fading. With each step, he had to lean against the wall to drag himself forward.
He almost fell down again. He headed to the holding room again. Maybe he could find a vent or window and sneak out and avoid the other espers in the front of the building.
Yoojin stepped back into the holding room and froze.
Sung Hyunjae stood in the center of the room surrounded by dead espers. From the look of it, he had gotten all twenty of them. There was a little blood on the corner of his jaw and the cuffs of his shirt, but the gangster didn't even look winded.
Sung Hyunjae stared at Yoojin with molten gold eyes, like burning lava. The enchanting color of a powerful esper about to destroy everything in their path. Someone about to rampage. Yoojin had never seen it look so beautiful on anyone else.
Yoojin couldn't breathe past his suddenly dry throat. Sung Hyunjae had seen everything. He knew.
Sung Hyunjae took a step forward, and Yoojin took one back.
Yoojin let go of the door and it swung shut, but Sung Hyunjae was suddenly there. Carelessly wasting his power. He held the door opened and looked in the room where the remains of Yoon Kyeongsoo's body lie.
Yoojin couldn't breathe or meet his eyes anymore. Sung Hyunjae sighed deeply and reached for Yoojin. He stepped back, but the esper was faster and caged him against the wall.
Yoojin's mind raced. Was Sung Hyunjae mad? Disgusted? What was he going to do now that he found out Yoojin had been keeping this from him? Would he ever be able to touch him again?
Sung Hyunjae touched Yoojin's chin and raised his gaze up to his, turning his head in different directions and searching his eyes. His thumb caressed Yoojin's cheek and the area Choi Sukwon slapped stung.
"Looks like I underestimated my guide once again. I suppose my little princess grew tired of waiting to be rescued and took matters into his own hands."
Yoojin's powers gleamed hungerly at the S-Rank esper, threatening to spread to him. Yoojin lifted his arm to smack Sung Hyunjae's hand away, but froze. He couldn't increase their contact. That would only put Sung Hyunjae in more danger.
"Stop it!" Yoojin turned his head out of Sung Hyunjae's hold.
Sung Hyunjae stepped back and stripped off his red coat, draping it over Yoojin. The warmth and familiar scent enveloped Yoojin.
"What? Why?" Yoojin looked up at the taller man, confused why he would do this. Instead of answering, Sung Hyunjae lifted him in his arms, carrying him like a princess.
"Hey! Stop! Ugh!" Yoojin flinched. Sung Hyunjae's chaotic powers swarmed against him. The thick, condensed powers left Yoojin trembling.
Sung Hyunjae was about to rampage, but he smiled down at Yoojin with his molten gold eyes.
"It seems I was too slow getting here. I will have to do better from now on, to make it up to my guide."
"What?"
Sung Hyunjae turned and headed out of the foul room. "I would have preferred to keep them alive, Yoojin-ssi. An esper's unresolved rage can lead to a rampage, you understand? And I had many nasty things planned for them. There are still a few underlings left. They might have to do. You won't mind, right? Please don't think too badly of me."
Yoojin just stared at him. He balled his hands up and held them against his chest, away from accidentally touching Sung Hyunjae. He could still feel the lingering negative guiding power reaching for Sung Hyunjae.
"Be careful! You shouldn't be touching me." Yoojin shouted.
"Is it because of the negative guiding? Do you plan to use it against me?"
"How could you ask me that?!"
"Then do I have anything to fear?"
Yoojin's mouth fell. "It's… It's dangerous…"
"I've never thought about having a dangerous guide." Sung Hyunjae smiled. "How exciting."
"Sung Hyunjae! What if I lose control? I could kill you."
"What an interesting way to die. Would you let me tell everyone how dangerous you are? Maybe then, other espers will stop flocking to you. But while your powers are like this, I won't protest you hugging Noah."
Yoojin opened his mouth to yell at him, but no words came out. He was shivering again, even wrapped in the warmth of Sung Hyunjae's arms and coat. Sung Hyunjae stopped and reached for Yoojin's face while he effortlessly held him in one arm.
Yoojin flinched away from his touch. "Don't—!"
"Yoojin-ssi, there's blood on your neck." Sung Hyunjae wiped the blood off, his finger sliding down Yoojin's throat. His thick power pressed against Yoojin. Sung Hyunjae really was close to rampaging, and his chaotic energy rolled off him in waves. "So pretty. It's so erotic to see how dangerous my little guide is."
Yoojin blinked at him. What? Finally, he looked away and muttered, "There's blood on yours as well."
Sung Hyunjae readjusted his hold. "They stood between me and my guide."
Just a little, Yoojin relaxed in Sung Hyunjae's hold as he walked through the corpse filled room. Outside, there was a line of cars from Jupiter.
Yoojin couldn't figure out how he knew where Yoojin was, how he had gotten here so quickly, or how he avoided Choi Sukwon's ambush and the guide attack.
"You really are crazy," Yoojin said. "Maybe I'm meant to be your guide."
Sung Hyunjae's steps slowed, and he looked at Yoojin. "Be careful, Yoojin-ssi. That sounded like a confession."
"Confession?! What?!"
"I accept," Sung Hyunjae said. "I feel the same."
With a dazzling smile, Sung Hyunjae snapped his fingers and a bolt of lightning burst through the sky into the building they just left. The loud crack of thunder caused Yoojin to flinch and the ground shook. A gigantic cloud of dust lifted in the air and a fire spread through the building.
"What the fuck?! You're about to rampage! Don't use your powers so carelessly!"
"Of course, Yoojin-ssi. Anything my guide says."
Yoojin glared at the handsome esper's lying face. Those glowing eyes, the color of lava, threatened to destroy the entire country if he let his rampage worsen. And here he was, wasting his powers.
He really was crazy.
I feel So Weak, I Can Hardly Speak, When I'm Next to You.
Sung Hyunjae ordered some men to look for Choi Sukwon and another to retrieve Yoo Myeongwoo and Noah. He took one last glance at the burning building. The fire would destroy the evidence of Yoojin's guiding, but he gave Evelyn a look to tell her to clean up the rest.
Sung Hyunjae had been on the receiving end of assassination attempts with guiding bursts and negative guiding. It left him weak against and made fighting more difficult, but he had seen nothing like this before. Yoojin's negative guiding was on another level.
The tracking device on the earrings had worked perfectly. Sung Hyunjae thought he would only need to use them if Yoojin tried to run away. How foolish he had been. Sung Hyunjae left a string of orders for his men before the car left for Jupiter.
He held Yoojin in the back seat while someone else drove. He didn't listen when Yoojin said he could sit on his own.
How could he let his guide go while he was shivering so severely? Yoojin's fingers were tinted from coldness, but he was sweating like he had a fever. Sung Hyunjae wondered how much Yoojin could see. His pupils dilated, nearly blackening his obsidian eyes. Along with signs of hearing loss and exhaustion, he looked like he may throw up.
Sung Hyunjae regretted not learning more about guiding deficits the first time Yoojin was hospitalized. Yoojin didn't want to be touched, but he didn't pull away either. Sung Hyunjae could hold him, but nothing more. Physical contact seemed to make him uncomfortable or even hurt him.
Sung Hyunjae's powers fluctuated while he looked Yoojin over. There were more injuries, bruises, and cuts on his skin from the ropes they tied him with. It took a lot of concentration to hold his rampage back. Sung Hyunjae focused on breathing and rested his head on Yoojin.
"Hey." Yoojin squirmed. "Not so close."
His guide was safely returned to his arms. But it left him greatly unsatisfied that he wasn't the one to kill them, and Choi Sukwon got away. He wasn't sure how Yoojin felt about torture, but what he didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. And the remaining MLK members would be perfect outlets.
Sung Hyunjae reached into a compartment in the car and found inhibitors. He crushed the bottle open instead of removing the cap and took half the pills inside.
"Mr. Sung?"
Sung Hyunjae swallowed the pills and focused on slowing his heart rate. He opened his eyes and patted Yoojin's thigh.
"I'm having trouble regulating my powers right now, Yoojin-ssi. Staying close to my guide is helping."
"Is it bad? I can guide you."
"No. This is fine." Sung Hyunjae laid his cheek back on Yoojin's head and closed his eyes. "This is all I need."
"…Will you use another guide when we get back?"
"I have inhibitors."
"You need a guide."
"I have a guide."
"… your eyes…"
"Do they scare you?"
Yoojin lowered his head, pressing against Sung Hyunjae's shoulder. "…beautiful…"
Sung Hyunjae's eyes widened, then he laughed. His guide was made for him.
I Feel so Cold and Over Exposed, When I'm Next to You
Yoojin was taken to one of Jupiter's healers. She recommended Yoojin go to the hospital, but he refused. He didn't want anyone to see him right now… There was too much evidence of his reverse guiding. His chest tightened just thinking about it.
Sung Hyunjae allowed it and instructed the healer to do what she could.
She gave Yoojin some medicine and used her skill to heal the cuts on his wrist. Her healing powers washed over Yoojin's arms and completely erased the wounds from the kidnapping. It also removed the faint marks from Sung Hyunjae's chains. The negative energy still lingered inside him, like a weighted stone in his chest.
Sung Hyunjae took Yoojin to the penthouse and prepared a warm bath. Yoojin soaked alone while Sung Hyunjae stepped out, leaving him with a tray of water and orange juice to hydrate with.
Life must be very busy for a mob boss.
Yoojin didn't stay long in the bath but when he stepped out, Sung Hyunjae was freshly cleaned, changed, and holding a towel.
"Sit so I can dry your hair."
Yoojin pressed his lips into a thin line and stared at the gangster. Sung Hyunjae sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot between his thighs.
Once again, Yoojin couldn't shake the feeling Sung Hyunjae acted strangely for an esper. Did he perhaps not understand Yoojin had used negative guiding? Even if he didn't, why was he always the one serving Yoojin? He was the boss of Jupiter, rich, handsome, and charming. He could be an ass and guides would line up around the block just for a chance to work with him.
Yoojin hesitated to move closer, but Sung Hyunjae didn't push or ask again. He waited like he had all the patience in the world. Yoojin sat between his thighs, and Sung Hyunjae ruffled the towel through his hair.
It felt good.
"I've used negative guiding before." Yoojin was the first to speak. "When Yoohyun first got into monster hunting, someone asked me to be their guide. After I turned him down, he snuck up on me, and I used it to kill him."
Sung Hyunjae stilled, the towel setting awkwardly on his head. He lowered the towel. Sung Hyunjae sigh and his head fell on top of Yoojin's shoulder.
Yoojin held his breath and tried to judge his expression.
"How old were you?" Sung Hyunjae asked.
"What?"
"You worry so much about the people you care for, but have you ever thought about how it affects you? Espers find it fun to hunt and kill monsters. It's part of our nature. But how old were you when you learned to defend yourself against monsters?"
"It was an esper, not a monster."
"They seem similar to me."
Yoojin didn't answer. He didn't want to agree with him. His brother and Sung Hyunjae were both espers, not monsters.
"Your brother awakened early, so he must have started monster hunting while you were still underage." Sung Hyunjae asked again, "How old were you?"
"I don't remember."
Sung Hyunjae poked his side. "Liar."
Yoojin didn't care he was called out. What difference did it make? Yoojin still killed someone. If anything, it proved just how long he's been lying about his negative guiding.
"I want you to know the truth. You saw how bad it was, and it's not something I can control. There are better guides who don't get scared every time they lose focus while guiding."
"Yoojin-ssi, you shouldn't be worrying about that now."
Yoojin's nails dug into his palm. "But it's monstrous, isn't it? Not knowing if you can trust me? What if one day, I can't focus and it happens to you?"
"My guide seems more concerned with my safety than his own. I said I would trust you. Not just as my guide, but as my partner."
Yoojin's head jerked up to see him. "How can you be so careless with your own protection? Don't you know how dangerous this is?"
Sung Hyunjae's arms wrapped around Yoojin, pulling him against his chest. "My guide was recently kidnapped. Do you not realize how dangerous that was?"
Yoojin turned his head away and bit his lip. "I don't… I don't understand Diarma. He seemed a little odd, but I didn't expect this from him."
Sung Hyunjae sighed and rested his chin on Yoojin's head. "He was high ranking even compared to me. He may have been drawn to you as a guide."
"But he has plenty of guides," Yoojin muttered.
Sung Hyunjae was quiet for a few moments, then he said, "one thing I learned about espers is they can go mad without a guide. Their power consumes them until they become a monster that needs to be eliminated. Everyone knows that. They even teach it in schools."
Sung Hyunjae's fingers traced over Yoojin's hands as he spoke.
"But espers don't talk about how they go mad for guides."
Sung Hyunjae's fingers circled Yoojin's wrist. The healer had done a perfect job, but Yoojin wondered if she left some kind of mark Sung Hyunjae could see. His fingers traced perfectly over where the rope had cut his skin.
"Some espers try to hide it. They're the most powerful beings in the world, but they're reduced to the mercy of guides. A guide not only relieves the energy inside an esper but raises their power levels, heals their pains, and stabilizes them."
Sung Hyunjae's fingers locked around Yoojin's wrist, with a grip stronger than rope and more powerful than chains.
"They chase after the perfect guides and highest sync rate, hoping for someone to lead them through their own darkness. An idea that one person can do all that for them will drive them mad."
Sung Hyunjae turned Yoojin's hands over and his fingers slowly tightened around his wrist. Yoojin grunted from the firm grip, but Sung Hyunjae wasn't even using a fraction of his strength.
Sung Hyunjae's voice lowered. "And what if they found the perfect guide who could do all those things for them? How maddening would it be to have someone like that within their reach? A person weaker than an F-Rank, unable to escape, with no protection skills. You say you can see the darkness inside an esper. Then you should know what hideous things they can do. With or without a guide, an esper is nothing more than a monster."
Sung Hyunjae sighed and released Yoojin's arms. He leaned back on his palms while Yoojin stared down at the faint hand marks Sung Hyunjae had left on his wrists. They stung. Yoojin turned his head to Sung Hyunjae. Even with the inhibitor, his golden eyes glowed faintly. He looked bored, but that was only because he was covering how he really felt.
"You can't group all espers together like that," Yoojin said, thinking about all the good he had seen.
Yoohyun gave up being guided to protect Yoojin. Yoo Myeongwoo wanted to be successful so he could take care of Yoojin. Noah showed so much gratitude for being guided, even though he was shy and hurt. And no matter how bad of a day Yerim had, she would always check on Peace or make sure Yoojin ate that day.
Yoojin said, "A guide may have the powers to do the things you say, but what they can't do is fight monsters, heal the unawakened, or use their abilities to save people. The world is cruel and demanding of espers."
Sung Hyunjae's expression never changed, but when he spoke, there was a hesitation in his voice. "What do you think I am?"
"You're not a monster either. Sometimes you have the most perverse thoughts, do strange acts of service, and have a strong obsession with guiding. But you are not what you described."
Slowly, Sung Hyunjae said, "What about your fated esper? Could I be that as well?"
Yoojin shook his head. Once again, shocked Sung Hyunjae would suggest such a thing. "You don't even know our sync rate. How can you be so flippant about who you call 'fated?'"
Sung Hyunjae didn't respond, and a strange expression crossed his face.
He didn't like how hurt Sung Hyunjae looked. Maybe Sung Hyunjae was a little more sentimental than Yoojin originally thought. "I can still guide you, but we haven't even gotten the results back from our sync rate. How can you want a guide who you don't even know if you match with or not?"
"The results are meaningless."
"Meaningless!?" Yoojin couldn't keep the inner turmoil out of his voice.
"I agreed to the test on your behalf, but you're already my guide. What do the results matter?"
"I don't understand. Don't you want a compatible guide?"
"You're asking if I want a 'perfect guide,' Yoojin-ssi. And that's not fair."
"How is that?"
Sung Hyunjae wrapped his arms around Yoojin. Pressing him so tight against him, Yoojin couldn't raise his head.
"A perfect guide does not exist. But the guide in front of me does. And he's easily embarrassed, ticklish, mindlessly brave, and makes delicious cakes. I wanted you before I knew you were a guide, but my greed has grown and made it impossible to let you go. Do you think the numbers from a sync rate will change that?"
Yoojin tried to shove him away, but the esper didn't budge. "Not so close! I still can't control my powers."
Sung Hyunjae didn't respond or move. Yoojin's stomach twisted. What if he hurt Sung Hyunjae? He couldn't stop himself from thinking about what the members of his brother's syndicate had said about him. They had been right, even though they were wrong about the situation. Yoojin was still a guide who delt in negative guiding. He deserved it.
Yoojin shook. He couldn't hide how upset he was anymore. "Why are you always so reckless!? You're not a low tier gangster, you're the head of Jupiter, you can afford a good guide. Do you not care about your own health?"
"Yoojin, the closest I came to rampaging, was when I heard you were gone. How can I care about my health when my guide won't think of his own?"
"But you're the one they tried to ambush." Yoojin's eyes stung, and he was grateful Sung Hyunjae couldn't see his face. "They tried to kill you."
"They had no chance of succeeding. Not while I have my guide protecting me."
It felt like Yoojin was choking on something. "Protect you? You think I can protect you? When I heard what Choi Sukwon was planning, there was nothing I could do."
Sung Hyunjae leaned back and raised Yoojin's face. "Yoojin, I had been without a guide for almost a year, and you completely stabilized me in less than a week. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have had the power to face them. Is that not protecting?"
Yoojin pulled away from Sung Hyunjae's touch. The esper let his hand slip from his face but didn't release his hold around his chest.
"But when my guide needed me, I was the one who failed him. I couldn't stop someone from taking you, neither could I protect someone you cared about, and I was too late to rescue you. You are the one who deserves a better esper."
"Stop it." Yoojin demanded. It was strange being relied on with so much compassion, and knowing Sung Hyunjae completely trusted him to the point he was doubting his own abilities. It left Yoojin speechless.
"Yoojin-ssi?" Sung Hyunjae wiped the tears from Yoojin's cheek. He hadn't even realized he was crying. "Is that upsetting? Have I said too much?"
Yoojin shook his head and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of Sung Hyunjae's touch. His negative guiding settled and finally faded. "No. I'm glad you said it. Thank you."
Yoojin met those golden eyes with his own determination. He might not know everything about guiding, but he would become a better guide for him. He would pay Sung Hyunjae back for everything he had done.
He would show Sung Hyunjae that perfect guides did exist.
A Perfect Guide
King walked over the rubble of her brother's, Diarma's, destroyed outpost building. She wore a slimming suit and black heels. Her soft hair was the color of lilacs and seemed to float around her. People said it resembled a jellyfish. There was a lot of lightning and fire damage. The cleanup crew had already swept through the area, but there was no doubt the Jupiter organization had done this.
As a daughter of the Transcendent Organization, she came to find out what happened to her brother, but she found something even more interesting.
"King," a beautiful blonde woman called. She wore a soft pink dress, and her styled braids looked like a crown on her head. "Be careful. This building is scary. What if it collapses?"
King didn't react when the woman took her arm and hugged it to her chest. Her guiding filled King so effortlessly, like they were one. King never felt even the slightest dip in power, and the woman guided her like second nature. Easier than breathing, to the point the woman didn't even realize she was doing it.
They walked together.
"What are you looking for?" The blonde asked.
"A guide," King said. "Someone worth causing this much of a mess."
"King! How could you? You said I was your only guide!"
"Mary, isn't it fascinating what kind of guide could cause this kind of mess? Doesn't that sound interesting? Someone that might be just like you?"
Mary pouted with her cheeks puffed out. "No. You said I was the perfect guide. I don't care about other guides."
King patted her hand. Mary's steady stream of guiding wavered during her aggression. "You are the perfect guide, Mary. That's why I have a job for you."