"Yeah, six years early next year."

Tim really doesn't want to think about this.  But he needs to, or else he might find himself in search of a new partner.  And he really, really doesn't want that.  "Um.  Any advice for making a partnership work, long-term like that?  It can't be easy."  I'm not going to destroy two partnerships in a row.

That one's for hyung, he's only had the one partner.

"Well, it's at least partly down to luck. Tae-hwan is my best friend, and you know how they say you should date your best friend? Partnering isn't exactly dating but it's, like, not exactly totally not dating, either. You can have a perfectly nonsexual snuggling partner but you're gonna spend a ton of time with them, interact with them daily, coordinate your work with them, and they'll see you backlashed and for some people that's really vulnerable. So it's like, a lot of the advice for dating also applies here. Communicate a lot, be very clear about everything, what you do and don't want, your boundaries and needs, and try to meet them in the middle, compromise when you need to, all that.

"And... being just professional works for some people, but it definitely doesn't work for me. Like, if I can't kick my partner's ass in Dance Dance Revolution what's the point."

"Excuse you, you're kicking my ass in DDR?"

"Yes, I am. My win rate is forty percent."

"Which means that my win rate is sixty."

Awww, they're so cute.  "Yeah, I've - had professional guides and I can do it, but - not for a real partner, I don't think I have it in me.  I don't want to be just laying on someone who's just there for the paycheck, you know?  It'd feel - wrong."  It'd hurt if April or Sara was just with me because I was paying her.

"Yeah, I get it. So, you know, if you have the luck to partner with someone you can be friends with, being friends with them is a good idea. Like, actively spending time and effort on cultivating the friendship, being interested in their interests, growing close to them as a person. Just, you know, also be careful if you do do sexual guiding, because people are bad at having a friend they have sex with who they are not dating and it might end up being more dating than you wanted it to be if you're not careful. That's why the boundaries. Well, part of why."

"Yeah.  I, uh.  Kind of fell into that trap.  Dick-first.  We were compatible, but.  We weren't...compatible-compatible.  It's why I'm kind of on - pause with that kind of thing."  Wait, why are you just pouring your story out to these two guys you just met?  "Uh, sorry, you didn't - sign up to hear all of my dumb decisions."

"Oh hyung loves it when people overshare, in another life he'd be a therapist."

"You're making me sound bad, Tae-hwan."

"But anyway, yeah, that makes sense. Honestly it kind of half-happened to me? My second partner was compatible in powers and really hot and I kind of ignored some red flags. And then she decided she didn't want to partner a bi guy, once I came out of the closet. ...well, she didn't say that was why she did it, but I knew."

"Well, that's pretty unprofessional."   He pauses for a second.  "And messed up, of course.  Sorry."

He shrugs. "That's Korea for you. Even espers are sometimes like that."

Tim grunts, clearly unimpressed.  "I guess.  So, treat it like it's kind of like dating, communicate, mark boundaries, don't cross boundaries, be friends if you can manage it, and don't be afraid to compromise."  He's taking notes on his phone - none of it's new, exactly, but it's good advice from veteran espers.  He's also got their names in there, he can look them up later or maybe see if they have Insta or something.  He's doing his best to get a good grade in Networking!

"Yeah, you got it."

Cool.  Okay, he'll close up his notetaking app.  "Hey, tell me a story about one of the weirder dungeons you've seen?  You must've seen so many of them!"

They chitchat and guide.  It's comfy.  Tae-hwan is hilarious, and Min-woo young is almost uncomfortably insightful at times.  And they're both cute together.  He doesn't have a crush on either of them.  But he might have a crush on their relationship, they're just so comfortable with each other.  It's really a shame he promised himself not to do anything relationship-adjacent honestly, you already did more than you meant to, Tim.  It wasn't coercion, or even all that much pressure.  But probably I wouldn't have done that if they hadn't been - well.  Hot and close and thoughtful and kind.  But mostly close.  Next time, maybe I step away for five minutes to think first.

It takes a few hours for his bone to heal completely, which is insane magic but it's not like Tae-hwan expected the injury was going to outlast the day regardless. He's an A-rank esper, and there are some perks he's come to expect with the job, be they from Aumento or other healing espers.

And by then it's pretty late and Tae-hwan is not fully guided, so they exchange contact information with Aumento then retire to their quarters to do some higher-intensity guiding and get him all the way to zero.

Excellent plan, in his opinion.

Well.  He knows that look, he's seen it before, on another face.  He's happy to exchange contact info and wish them well!  Not for the first time, he regrets making certain commitments.  He's never making that mistake again.

Well.  He's got their contact info, they'll be around in another three and a half months.  He's got the date marked on his calendar.  Maybe they'll be in the neighbourhood.  He hasn't blown his chances completely, not yet.

Later on in the evening, he excuses himself in order to conduct a thorough after-action review of the guiding strategies employed today by the two gorgeous older espers.  After that, he needs a shower.  A long one.  During the shower, he realizes that he never actually looked them up in Racehorse.  Hey, Racehorse on my phone, who's Min Woo-Young and Seo Tae-hwan?