Chapter 01

Hello, Honey

The moment I resigned myself to death, I remembered the first time I met my husband.

He was a man with an icy expression that seemed somewhat stiff, and his sharp gaze was so piercing that it felt as though it could dig into my skin.

His handsome lips twisted as he spoke, and his voice was so curt and gloomy that it almost carried a hint of murderous intent.

At the time, the only thought that crossed my mind was—

Wow, foreigners can speak Korean really well.

That was all.

Perhaps my thoughts had shown on my face, because my husband relaxed his expression slightly and muttered as though dumbfounded.

[Ha, what is this now?]

That did not mean he abandoned his domineering attitude.

The way he slowly looked me up and down with displeasure in his eyes reminded me of a soldier checking whether I was an enemy or not.

My husband was a world-famous S-rank Esper.

And not just any S-rank Esper. He was a rare Esper capable of using dual elements, the kind everyone coveted.

[What kind of matching rate is this…? With a mere B-rank.]

I had only just awakened as a Guide when, through a coincidence that felt almost like fate, I met him and was forcibly subjected to a matching test.

Even I had been rendered speechless by the unbelievably high matching rate.

Had I imagined it, or had my husband looked both shocked and somehow relieved at the time?

Afterward, the fact that I had become his exclusive Guide felt like a dream. For a while, I would often find myself staring blankly at the sky.

Because I had never known anything but misfortune throughout my life, and yet somehow, such incredible luck had come to me…

The reason a mere B-rank Guide like me could become the exclusive Guide of an S-rank Esper was because of our overwhelming matching rate.

Even when an Esper and Guide had a high matching rate, around 80% was generally considered the limit.

But my husband and I had a matching rate of 99%, almost 100%.

It was a matching rate that had never existed before.

The astonishing figure attracted attention not only in Korea but around the world.

And yet, for some reason, my husband had disliked me from the very beginning.

Through his expressions, actions, and words, he made it clear that my presence was uncomfortable and unpleasant to him.

It felt almost like a warning, as though he had drawn a line and was telling me not to cross it.

I still didn’t know why…

[Your superior’s words are more important to you than your exclusive Esper.]

[In the end, you’re just the same kind as them.]

His perpetually displeased expression still lingered before my eyes, and his cruel words, which had crushed one side of my heart, remained embedded in me like blades.

That was why I had never even dreamed that I would marry him.

No matter how much I was his exclusive Guide, I thought I could never dare to hope for something like that.

But when I heard that he wanted to marry me, all the sorrow I had endured until then vanished in an instant, and I began dreaming of a rosy future.

His expression had been stiff as he proposed, but his blue eyes, containing flames burning fiercely within them, had radiated an intense heat.

I had staked everything I had on those eyes alone.

So, in the end, I loved him even though I knew something like this might happen.

Even after we got married, my husband’s attitude did not change much, but I thought I was happy in my own way.

Even when I returned home after being pushed around by the other Guides and my direct superior, I could see him at home.

[You really do everything in this world by yourself.]

Although the words that slipped between his lips were as sharp as daggers, I was fine with it.

I understood the common saying that the one who falls in love inevitably becomes the weaker party, so I wanted to endure everything and embrace him as he was.

After all, I had fallen for him the moment I first saw him.

How could I not?

He was a tall man, nearly 190 centimeters, with a body that appeared slim at first glance but was covered in beast-like muscles once his clothes came off.

Just thinking about the hands that held me tightly whenever I Guided him was enough to make my fingertips tremble with excitement.

Beneath his jet-black hair, his sharply defined nose rose prominently, while his long, almond-shaped eyes were deep and alluring.

The blue eyes within them were so beautiful that I could lose myself in them no matter how many times I looked.

I didn’t know whether it was because of his ability, but sometimes they gave off a reddish tint.

Because of that, they could look almost violet at a glance, making them seem mysterious.

I even liked his cold and arrogant aura.

A man accustomed to controlling people with nothing but his fingertips.

And what about his voice?

His low voice, resonating as though it came from somewhere deep within him, was enough to send shivers down my spine just by hearing it.

Perhaps it was my fault for coveting someone like him in the first place.

I should have stepped away when a world-famous S-rank Guide came to me in tears and begged me to leave him.

[Seohyun, don’t you have a conscience? Have you ever thought about how pitiful Ciel is?]

[…I know.]

Yes.

It wasn’t as though I didn’t know what he heard from others.

If a Guide of the same rank as my husband Guided him, his hidden abilities might have emerged even further.

I knew very well that because of me, he was always struggling with inadequate Guiding.

And I knew what kinds of insults and treatment he received because of it.

And yet, I…

[Even knowing all that, you’re still going to stay by his side? If it weren’t for you, that man would be able to climb even higher.]

[…I have nothing to say.]

Yes.

I knew that too.

But as long as he didn’t let me go, I couldn’t let him go either.

I wasn’t the only one who had chosen him.

[What’s with that expression? Do you really think Ciel chose you? Really? You’re truly shameless.]

When I faced that woman’s expression, twisted with contempt and disgust, I had no choice but to realize that the feelings I had believed belonged to the two of us had only ever belonged to me.

After she left, leaving only a cold silence behind, I could do nothing but swallow my tears while screaming silently inside.

The steadfast belief that my husband simply didn’t express his affection in words, but still loved me, shattered into countless pieces so easily.

No.

Perhaps I had known all along.

I had simply been unable to admit it.

I shouldn’t have clung to his side out of greed and stubbornness…

I should have regarded it as nothing more than a memory from the past and simply watched him from afar.

If I had…

I wouldn’t have lost my life.

An Esper’s rampage possessed enough power to wipe out an entire city.

And when the cause of the rampage was unknown, there wasn’t even a way to save the Esper.

But I couldn’t simply stand by and watch.

Even if our relationship wasn’t particularly good, he was my husband.

And he was my Esper.

He had already become more precious to me than my own life.

That was why, despite everyone’s attempts to stop me, I threw myself into the inferno.

His abilities were fire and wind.

I forced my way through the uncontrollable flames using nothing but my willpower.

By the time I found him, my flesh had begun to melt away, and the pain had gone beyond the point where I could even feel it.

He was standing at the peak of a pillar of fire.

The moment I found him, I ran toward him and blindly wrapped my arms around him.

Physical contact was the most effective way to increase the efficiency of Guiding.

But the heat pouring from his body inflicted pain beyond anything I could have imagined.

My mind reeled, and my body trembled on its own.

Gathering every last bit of strength I had, I began absorbing his heat.

Guiding by absorbing an Esper’s energy was something a Guide would never do except in an emergency.

A Guide was weaker than an Esper, so the body of a Guide, which was closer to that of an ordinary person, could not withstand an Esper’s energy.

Still holding him tightly, I looked up at his unfocused face.

Unlike his usual cold and indifferent appearance, he was making sounds like the cries of a beast.

Before it was too late, I whispered the title I had always wanted to call him.

“Hello, honey…”

As the heat gradually filled my body, I felt as though my insides were melting away and disappearing.

I had already foreseen the end.

But now that it had arrived, it didn’t feel real.

Before I knew it, my body, which could no longer even feel pain, collapsed with a thud.

It was my body, yet it no longer felt like mine.

I could only blink my eyes when I heard someone collapse beside me.

Even that sound seemed to come from somewhere incredibly far away, so I wasn’t certain.

My vision was gradually becoming dark.

Still, I felt relieved that the sky I could glimpse between the darkness was no longer red like it had been moments ago.

His rampage had stopped.

That alone filled me with such relief.

“…Seohyun?”

My heartless husband, Ciel, called my name in his usual monotonous voice.

I’m so glad you’re safe.

I wanted to say it, but my throat was filled with blood, so I couldn’t speak.

As everything became distant, I felt my consciousness slowly slipping away.

Strangely enough, a completely unrelated thought crossed my mind at that moment.

Is this what it feels like when the soul separates from the body?

Ah…

I think I can finally let go of my feelings for you, Ciel.

I loved you with my whole heart and my whole body, but now that both my body and soul are disappearing, I think I can finally give you up.

I thought that when this moment came, my heart would ache as though it were being torn apart…

But strangely, the feeling of relief was much stronger.

In my next life, I hope I can have a warm family like everyone else.

I want to meet a man who loves me and live an ordinary life.

Hoping that there was a god who would grant my wish, I finally released the strength from my eyelids that had desperately struggled to keep his face in sight until the very end.

The moment they slowly closed was strangely sweet.

Just like falling into a deep sleep.

It felt as though my body were gently floating upward.

I was about to surrender myself to that peaceful sensation when a hoarse voice, sounding as though it could fade away at any moment, lingered beside my ear.

“Don’t…”

That voice sounded so familiar, so unbearably desperate and fragile, but I could no longer remember whose voice it was.

The entire world became stained in red and black.

I could no longer think about anything.

And just like that, death so easily took me away from myself.