BCGWR Chapter 44 Part 2

As public opinion regarding one specific individual became overheated, unusually, mental-element specialists even went so far as to point out the significantly higher suicide rate among Guides compared to Espers or non-Awakened individuals. Nevertheless, everyone just treated them as overly sensitive depression patients. Of course, even now, there are still significantly more people who think that way.

‘Jung Ha-jin Esper never made a paired Guide after that…….’

Guides and Espers with high Matching Rates or good compatibility become pairs through a deep mental connection called ‘Imprinting’.

In such cases, even if the Guide doesn’t perform Guiding, simply having the Imprinted Guide and Esper together slightly reduced the Esper’s Berserk level, or even when an Esper unleashed their power and used abilities, the Berserk Gauge rose noticeably slower, which has been confirmed in numerous cases.

Not all pairs were like that, but when Imprinted, the two became so deeply connected mentally, as if they were one, that most cherished each other terribly, fully understood their partner, and over 80% acted as if they were the only two people in the world.

As a result, they didn’t feel the need to find other romantic partners, so it was common for pairs to end up marrying each other.

On the other hand, for these reasons, there were cases where people, despite having high Matching Rates, were reluctant to become pairs. This was partly due to society’s assumption that two paired individuals were automatically a couple, but another reason was even greater.

‘If you lose your pair, you can’t live properly due to that sense of loss…….’

The deeper the connection and intimacy through Imprinting, the more often it was that if one of them died, the remaining person would not last long and choose to follow them.

The sense of loss from losing one’s other half, the endless sorrow that no one could possibly comprehend, and despair drove the one left behind to madness.

Ji-su himself was struggling so hard after losing Kang Jae-yoon, so he couldn’t even imagine how much pain people who had lost what was essentially their other half must be in. That made the man in front of him seem even more remarkable. A man who, even after losing his partner, had silently endured and lived his life doing what he had to do.

Ji-su, recalling tragedies that were not as uncommon as one might think, fidgeted with his fingers and parted his lips. Seeing the man in front of him immediately recognize his discomfort, Jung Ha-jin spoke first.

“Besides that, there are complex reasons involved, but they’re not important. If Han Ji-su Guide is alright with it, I want to stay by your side during the rest period.”

At his words, Ji-su lowered his head and parted his lips. Would his sadness get better just by having Jung Ha-jin by his side? Could he really bind an SS-rank Esper like him simply to rescue a lowly B-rank Guide like himself? Just as a million thoughts began to clutter his mind, Jung Ha-jin continued.

“Han Ji-su Guide, are you perhaps uncomfortable with me, or do you dislike me?”

“……!?”

Ji-su, startled, vigorously shook his head. While not many people would immediately say yes if someone suddenly asked if they disliked them, Ji-su didn’t dislike him. He just wondered if it was really okay to do this. His gaze, seeing Ji-su shake his head vigorously in hasty denial, softened even further.

“Then there’s no problem.”

“Yes…”

※ The rights to this work belong to the copyright holder. Copying, duplicating, modifying, or distributing this work may result in criminal prosecution and civil liability.