Guiding the Obsessive, the Childhood Friend, and the Nerd — Chapter 1

Gates had appeared all over the world.

People initially prophesied the end of the Earth in the face of such a sudden catastrophe, but humankind was, as they say, an animal built for adaptation.

Ordinary people began developing abilities, one after another.

They were called Espers.

Of course, being an Esper didn't automatically make someone omnipotent. There were cases where an Esper would use their ability, suddenly lose their reason, and go on a rampage—unable to tell friend from foe.

But human beings are stubbornly resilient creatures, and soon enough the cause was discovered, along with a solution.

Guides. They found people with the ability to reduce an Esper's rising rampage rate through 'Guiding.'

Present-day South Korea had established the National Awakener Management Headquarters to manage them.

Now that ability users existed, the highest-paying jobs in the world were naturally Espers and Guides.

It made sense—they risked their lives clearing Gates. Only the chosen few were admitted into the government-built centers, where their abilities and ranks were assessed before they were officially affiliated.

The problem, however, was that Espers rampaged the more they used their abilities, whether they wanted to or not, putting their lives in danger—which made Guiding an absolute necessity.

And Guiding could only be achieved through direct contact between a Guide and an Esper.

In other words, sexual contact. Sex! That was the only thing that could save the world.

Because of their abilities, Espers and Guides gained money and fame, but if they were matched with someone they had no feelings for, skinship became a matter of necessity rather than desire.

Higher ranks usually carried higher danger levels, so they were assigned dedicated Guides, while lower ranks often entered relationships with multiple Espers.

For this reason, some people pitied them—but a tiny minority of perverts envied them instead.

And there was one pervert in particular who took an intense interest in their glamorous love lives.

That pervert was Lee Seo-ah.

Having recently awakened as the rare and precious S-class Guide, she was now showered with the utmost protection and care.

She was also a lifelong virgin.

Having spent her entire life looking at impossibly handsome, impossibly well-endowed men through the two-dimensional lens of novels and webtoons, she had entered the center carrying expectations swollen to bursting.

Seo-ah's e-book library was so packed with boundary-pushing 19+ novels and webtoons that she'd have to delete it on her deathbed to preserve her dignity.

Stimulation and dopamine. That had been the ultimate form of relaxation for a sexless, study-worn virgin like her.

She'd never even been on a date with a man, never mind a relationship—had never even gotten to the flirting stage—but her research materials on the subject were vast and extensive.

An S-class would be matched with a high-rank Esper, and high-rank Espers were usually famous.

These days Espers were more popular than celebrities, and Seo-ah had thoroughly memorized every one of their faces and physiques before even entering the center.

Handsome faces. Solid muscle. Incredible stamina.

A-rank Kang Han-seo's body was absolutely insane... and B-rank Lee Tae-min is gorgeous too.

If she could have this kind of sex and that kind of sex with them...

Seo-ah's face flushed crimson in an instant. Her mind filled with images that would need a mosaic over them.

Today is finally the day. The day my match results come out.

She stood at the threshold of a turning point in her life.

Her eyes, gazing up at the enormous building, were brimming with desire.

Around her neck hung a staff ID card trimmed in a golden halo. She was nervous to the extreme, but her excitement was even greater.

Beep—

With a cheerful chime, the entrance doors slid open.

Seo-ah's footsteps felt unusually light today.

"Ugh... so, here's the thing."

Kim Han, team leader of the High-Rank Management Division, scratched his head.

Looking at those clear, expectant eyes waiting for the match results, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

"...So, the thing is."

"Is there a problem?"

"Hmm. There is... a very small problem."

Truthfully, it was good news for a Guide.

From the center's perspective, however, it was a colossal financial disaster.

"It's fine, just tell me. Whoever I'm matched with, I'll accept them."

"...There's no one."

"I'm sorry?"

"There's no one. Not a single Esper matches your wavelength."

As Kim Han nodded slowly, Seo-ah's shoulders slumped and her face crumpled, ready to cry.

"This has never happened before, so the center's on high alert. We're checking whether it's an algorithm issue, so let's wait a little."

"Right? There's no way nobody matches with me. With this many Espers around. Someone has to need Guiding..."

"Honestly, you. If you don't need to guide, you should be happy about it. Do you really want to do something for your country that badly?"

She truly was an incomprehensible child. He'd handed her a golden opportunity to coast through life doing nothing, and she looked like the world was ending.

"...W-well, yes. But even so, receiving this many benefits and living in such luxury, it's my duty to give something back."

"Oh..."

At her words, Kim Han let out an involuntary gasp of admiration and nodded, his eyes brimming with affection as he looked at her.

"You really are a rare talent these days. I'll do my best to sort this out, so don't be too disheartened. Your match will turn up soon."

Seo-ah found hope again in his words.

Right. There had never been a single case in this center of a Guide with zero matches. So it had to be a machine error, she reasoned.

But that very first case turned out to be Seo-ah herself.

Lee Seo-ah spent an entire year without a single matched Esper.

An unprecedented S-class Guide—and completely useless.

The reason given was that her wavelength was so unusual, no Esper was compatible with her. Seo-ah felt a little wronged.

She'd finally been about to escape her lifelong virginity and experience all the sex she'd only ever read about alone. Instead, it had all ended as mere fantasy.

The only Guide in the entire center goofing off on the government's dime was Lee Seo-ah herself.

Worse, as the year dragged on with no assignment in sight, people began speculating about her.

Apparently, the beautiful S-class was so picky that she kept rejecting the center's proposals because no partner met her standards.

Which, to be fair, wasn't entirely wrong.

Seo-ah's criteria were crystal clear—and nearly impossible to satisfy.

Handsome. Great body. And huge below the belt.

But you can't filter candidates against criteria when there's no candidate list to begin with.

"Hey, you still haven't picked a partner?"

"Shut up. I'm stressed out about that as it is."

"You were so excited when you became a Guide, and now you're just stealing a paycheck. Must be nice."

"If you're that jealous, go awaken yourself."

Her childhood friend Kang Eun-chan lay sprawled on the bed, shaking his head.

"They say you earn a lot, but they work you to the bone for it. I mean, the training alone looks brutal—harder than what I do. Not for me."

Harder than what you do? Seo-ah snorted at that.

"You don't even go to the training gym to work out. They gave you a private training room, so why do you keep hitting the communal one? You're so obvious, Kang Eun-chan."

"You work out, you meet girls—it's all the same ecosystem. Besides, the private room's boring."

Seo-ah narrowed her eyes at Eun-chan, who'd settled into a comfortable sprawl on her bed.

"Honestly, it fascinates me. Who on earth agrees to date you? Your personality is garbage, and you lose your mind the second you see a woman."

"I'm popular."

"...You are?"

Then again, in the novels she read, guys like him were the ones who bulldozed their way into being love interests.

Truth be told, Kang Eun-chan didn't have a bad face. To be even more honest, he was handsome.

The naturally golden-blond hair so rare in Korea, and the golden eyes that matched it perfectly. She really, really hated to admit it, but he had the air of a golden prince straight out of a romance fantasy.

His personality, however, was nothing of the sort. More than anything, to Seo-ah, who'd grown up beside him since childhood, Kang Eun-chan was simply a male friend who happened to have a dick.

Just a friend who happened to be a different gender—the kind of relationship with zero sexual attraction whatsoever.

Besides, he was so far removed from Seo-ah's ideal type that even if she were pushed at him, she wouldn't spare him a glance.

For one thing, Kang Eun-chan was way too popular with women.

In all the novels and webtoons she'd consumed, the male leads had eyes only for the female lead.

Sure, some male leads were womanizers, but that was forgivable only because they were fictional. In real life, a guy who couldn't keep it in his pants was just a trash-tier dog.

"Hey, I'm better than those guys on your screen, aren't I?"

Eun-chan pushed himself up from the bed and yanked his shirt off.

"What the hell are you doing, you psycho?"

"Consider it an act of charity. Letting a lifelong virgin get a look at a man's body for once."

"Charity my ass—ugh."

At the confidence in his voice, Seo-ah turned her head—and found herself stealing a glance at Eun-chan's body without meaning to.

Huh? Not bad, actually.

Somehow her quick glances had turned into a full, unblinking stare. He really did have a great body—no surprise, since he'd trained in sports professionally. His muscles were beautifully sculpted, carved cleanly into place.

"Not bad at all."

"...Hey. What's with that look?"

"I'm just giving an objective assessment. Like the line running from your pecs down to your abs."

Seo-ah tilted her head slightly, examining his side profile. As if in a trance, she drifted toward him and reached out a hand.

"Your obliques and lats are pretty solid too. Must be all that shoulder work—the lines are really pretty."

"God... Why am I having this conversation with a lunatic like you?"

Eun-chan reached for his discarded shirt to put it back on. Seo-ah hastily grabbed his sleeve.

"No, wait—you're already showing me, so let me look a little longer. I need to know this stuff for later, whether I end up doing it or not."

"What did you just say, you insane—?! Let go! I said don't touch me!"

Seo-ah cackled as she ran her hands over Eun-chan's body.

Guess that's what training gets you. His body really is nice. Even the feel of him under my fingertips is solid... So he is a man after all.

Maybe it was because it was her first time seeing a man's body up close in the flesh, but the sensation was strangely novel.

"I said get off!"

"You hold still for once!"

A brawl broke out on the bed. One trying to fend her off, the other trying to grope him. And in the end, the victor was, predictably, Kang Eun-chan.