"It's used for haemostasis in emergency situations."
"Oh, it's not just cool."
"This can't be cool."
"It's cool in my eyes."
While it may feel like something unique among other espers, Joo-hyun actually felt embarrassed by the tourniquet belt always hanging on his arm.
It was obvious that other espers didn't have it. Because they didn't need it. With guides always nearby, how often would there be a situation where haemostasis was necessary? With multiple guides around, guiding could quickly heal any injuries.
Not only Block A, but also Block B, were equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities. In order to deal quickly when there was emergency patients.
However, a runaway esper couldn't seek help in neither Block A nor Block B. Because it was impossible to put a time bomb in such a place. It's the same with dying espers, who usually received first aid and immediately after were transported straight to Block C, for it was located in a remote area.
Even if an esper went to Block C, there was no guide to ask for help, so an esper would get a dose of guiding drugs, recommended for use only in case of emergency, and call a guide under the pretext of parole. Wearing the belt was to extend their life a little during that process.
As a result, Joo-hyun was ashamed every time he saw the red colour that symbolised his sin.
Since he didn't respond, Cha In-ho quickly lost interest and was now looking at his phone. Sitting right next to him, the screen caught Joo-Hyun's eye even though he had no intention of looking. It seemed like the guide was exchanging text messages with someone.
Joo-hyun, who was more familiar with radios than phones, slowly let go of Cha In-ho's hand.
Cha In-ho didn't hold the retreating hand. He didn't even ask if there was a lack of guiding. Joo-hyun just got out of the chair and went across the room to sit across him.
It was natural, expected even. Both of them were just in a business relationship resulting in mutual benefit. Of course, just like Cha In-ho, Joo-hyun didn't really believe in the matching and was wondering when the guiding would be cut off.
The sunset rays fell on Joo-hyun's fingertips as he touched a straight line of sunlight next to him. As the guide drifted away, the emptiness began to rise again.
Of course, Joo-hyun couldn't admit it. He wouldn't talk about the lingering uncertainty, no matter what. It was dangerous, so he hold his guard up and didn't reveal much. Right now it was better to choose death than to ask Cha In-ho to come to his side again and hold his hand.
Fortunately, Joo-hyun was used to the pain. In fact, all espers in Block C were.
"Well, time's up. I'll go now. See you next week."
With a neither fast nor slow pace, Cha In-ho rose from his seat and bid a casual farewell before exiting the guiding room. Until the door clicked shut, he didn't look back once.
Sitting alone, feeling the guiding fading away, Joo-hyun hesitated for a moment with the burning cigarette butt in his hand before tapping it against the corner of the table. Breathing became uncomfortable, but for a different reason this time.
* * *
Cha In-ho was a celebrity. Namely, an actor. The profile that the stuff were sure to put in Joo-hyun's head stated that he debuted in high school.
To be honest, Joo-hyun had no idea about it. He lived a life too busy and hard to have a fantasy about celebrities that he saw a few times on a small screen. In addition, Cha In-ho himself never boasted about being a celebrity, so Joo-hyun's perception of the guide remained even more blurry.
That's why Cha In-ho, with a script in hand, reading the lines with a serious expression, felt a bit unfamiliar.
He had been reading it since Joo-hyun entered the guiding room; the esper chuckled inwardly at his behaviour of marking the book with a highlighter. Joo-hyun, who had never bothered to bring a new book, silently cursed his ignorance and deliberately dragged a chair with a sharp noise.
Only then did Cha In-ho, who raised his head in surprise at Joo-hyun's entrance, offer a somewhat awkward smile.
"Hello. Any injuries today?"
"I'm all fine."
This time, after fetching a cigarette, Joo-hyun placed his elbow on the table. His eyelids were heavy and his head was throbbing. As he was rubbing the eyes with the back of his hand, Joo-hyun heard a soft voice.
"That's a relief."
When Joo-hyun put his hand down, instead of the sarcastic tone he expected, he saw the usual polished smile on Cha In-ho's face. For some reason, it seemed like the guide had no intention of maintaining the cold attitude he had shown before.
"If you don't mind, could I take a look at this during the guiding?"
Cha In-ho lightly shook the script he had been scribbling on just now. Last time, he looked at his phone several times to kill time, and now Joo-hyun didn't understand why he was asked this.
"What is that?"
"The script. It suddenly got revised, and I'm running out of time."
Again, Joo-hyun remembered the fact that Cha In-ho was an actor. Joo-hyun nodded with a sour expression on his face.
"Do it."
"Thank you."
"You have nothing to thank me for."
"It's natural to feel bad if you do something else while working."
Joo-hyun twitched his eyebrows as if he hadn't even thought of it, and couldn't find a word to answer, so he just pretended he wasn't interested. Joo-hyun flicked off the ash and placed the filter between his lips, while Cha In-ho turned his attention back to the script.
"...Do you have to memorise all of that?"
After a moment, the subtle question made Cha In-ho look up. Glancing at the extinguished cigarette butt crushed on the table, he slowly smoothed out the script.
"It's not all, I only need to memorise my lines, but I usually memorise my partner's lines as well to match the timing."
"Hmmm... It must be hard."
Joo-hyun's leg, clad in black clothing, perched on the empty chair next to him. Leaning deeply into the worn chair, he gazed out through the barred window. Beyond the electrified fence, he could see the bright blue sky and tall trees.
While this place always had the same scenery, aside from some seasonal changes, Cha In-ho didn't live in Block C. Outside, he had his own life.
He had a family and friends, a career, and he was even successful and loved by many. Being a guide was just a small part of his life. Unlike Shin Joo-hyun, for whom being an esper was everything.
Suddenly, Joo-hyun felt a bit sorry for him, having to split his busy time to come to this harsh and dangerous place to guide a runaway esper. Of course, anyone would say Joo-hyun's life was far more miserable and pitiful, but he was free to think whatever he wanted.
"I heard that others say it's easy money. They think just saying a few lines in front of a camera brings in a big paycheque."
Even as he responded, Cha In-ho's eyes didn't leave the script. Watching him mutter the same lines repeatedly, Joo-hyun spoke up.
"Cha In-ho. Twenty-six years old. Debuted at eighteen in Sea of Whales. Height: 186 cm. Hobbies: working out. Family: parents and a younger brother. Recently won a Best Supporting Actor award. Allegedly, he had been hiding that he was a guide until now."
Cha In-ho looked at Joo-hyun with a face full of curiosity, his long eyelashes fluttering lightly.
The guiding was ultimately about waves, and the quality of those waves depends on the physical state of a guide. Unless the guide was extremely exhausted, there wasn't much difference in quality, but it was obvious when the waves became slightly muddled. It was subtle difference like the one between fresh and not-so-fresh vegetables.
And today Cha In-ho's guiding was less clean than usual.
"It doesn't look that easy to me. It must be creepy to have people you don't know yet they know everything about you."
The information Joo-hyun spouted was obviously something the staff had gathered from the internet, details anyone could find out.
The well-known celebrity looked at the esper hidden away in Block C. After a brief silence, during which he seemed to ponder something, he touched the highlighted script with his fingertips.
"My debut work wasn't Sea of Whales."
"What?"
"The year before, I was in an independent film called Yesterday. I had just one line as an extra."
Joo-hyun didn't know what an independent film was, but there was no need to reveal his ignorance, so he remained silent.
"I waited in the snow for four hours on a winter's day, and the filming was over in three minutes. They gave me a roll of gimbap and fifty thousand won for the effort."
Even though it didn't seem like a particularly pleasant memory, Cha In-ho had a smile on his face. Although he smiled frequently, this time felt different. It had been over a month since they signed the contract, and for the first time, it felt like Joo-hyun was looking at Cha In-ho, not just his guide.
"I don't work out as a hobby. This is my main occupation."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. And I don't have a family. I cut ties with them a long time ago."
Cha In-ho still carried a pager, always within reach in his left pocket.
Although they were matched, neither trusted the other, and they hadn't let their guard down. It was unclear why Cha In-ho suddenly revealed a fact that could be considered a weakness in such a situation.
"What if I tell someone about it?"
Of course, there wasn't anyone Joo-hyun could share it with anyway.