# Chapter 53
While Sangjun’s mind was working incessantly, Junseo spoke with feigned kindness.
“It doesn’t seem right for Guide Kwon Jihun to be the only one working.”
“…I refuse,” Jaesik said firmly, as if drawing a line.
“Esper Seo Jaesik, why are you like this? We have some cozy things to talk about, don’t we? I don’t think our conversation was finished.”
“There’s nothing to discuss! Why would you do guiding for me when your partner Esper is right here? Just take good care of Esper Choi Dohyuk. I’ll wait a bit longer and receive guiding from Guide Kwon Jihun.”
Jihun, who had suddenly become popular, awkwardly lowered the corners of his mouth. His expression suggested a strange sense of déjà vu.
Anyone would be intimidated by such a firm rejection, but Junseo remained confident.
“My Esper is in a stable state right now. Esper Choi Dohyuk, Esper Seo Jaesik, would it be alright if I do a quick guiding for you?”
Of course, Junseo had other motives. There was no way he would volunteer for distasteful guiding without some benefit. He was confident he could extract more information from Jaesik while conversing during guiding. Absorbed in the pleasant fantasy of establishing emotional dominance and pressing down on Jaesik through guiding, Junseo sought Dohyuk’s permission. Given what he’d observed of Dohyuk’s personality, he naturally expected Dohyuk to say it was fine, so the question was little more than a courtesy.
“Not allowed.”
This firm refusal from Dohyuk was completely unexpected.
Junseo blinked at the unforeseen situation, observing Dohyuk carefully. Dohyuk himself seemed to have blurted out the response without proper thought, as his lips were now moving wordlessly. A gust of wind suddenly blew past. Dohyuk’s hair, caught in the wind, shook uncontrollably. Normally he wouldn’t have cared, but Dohyuk needlessly ran his fingers through his hair.
Trying to suppress the strange emotions rising within him, Dohyuk slowly continued speaking. His tone remained stiff.
“…If you really want to, I can’t stop you. But does Guide Yu Junseo-nim specifically need to do Esper Seo Jaesik’s guiding? Esper Seo Jaesik has a history of doing bad things to Guide Yu Junseo-nim. I think it’s dangerous. And Guide Yu Junseo is…”
Dohyuk, who still firmly believed Junseo’s words, was about to publicly mention that ‘Junseo experiences great pain when guiding other Espers’ but could only move his lips without speaking.
“This is getting annoying now that I think about it. I keep telling you I don’t have a history of trying to do bad things.”
The atmosphere froze at the sudden start of this three-way argument.
Moreover, Sangjun witnessed the corners of Junseo’s mouth gradually curling upward. Initially flustered by Dohyuk’s words, Junseo seemed to be enjoying the increasingly strange situation as time passed. Now, Dohyuk’s unexpected behavior appeared to please him greatly.
Sangjun wanted to leave quickly. He didn’t want to add watching a competition for Guide Yu Junseo to his already tight schedule—that was a beggar’s errand.
“Excuse me. I’ll go receive guiding from Guide Kwon Jihun now. I’m tired, you know?”
“T-Then I’ll also go to guide Esper Hansol. …Please don’t fight among Espers!”
“I’m going too. If you’re going to fight, do it outside the base to avoid damage. Piggy kitty, you’re coming too, right? Meow. Yes, yes. You want to go too. I agree.”
With Hansol’s declaration, which echoed everyone else’s thoughts, followed by Jihun and even Sangjun carrying the fussing cat, they all disappeared in a rush, leaving only Jaesik and Junseo before Dohyuk.
Jaesik finally responded with an expression full of irritation.
“What’s with this permission business anyway? From the beginning, I wanted to receive guiding from Guide Kwon Jihun. There’s no guarantee that Guide Yu Junseo-nim, who has absolutely no talent for guiding, would do a good job with my guiding.”
“I told you I have more to discuss with Esper Seo Jaesik.”
“I said there’s nothing to discuss!”
Just as Jaesik was about to explode, a seemingly nonchalant tone gently gripped Junseo’s wrist. At the solid weight squeezing his wrist, Junseo looked at the face of the person standing beside him. Sharp eyes were coldly fixed. Rather than appearing angry, his expression resembled that of a child unable to find a way to shake off his confusion.
Even while knowing he shouldn’t, Junseo unconsciously gazed with full expectation.
It felt like a book he had been engrossed in had entered a new episode. His peculiar eyes, gasping with thirst, openly begged for Dohyuk’s next words.
He was curious.
Why Dohyuk was making such an expression now.
Why, despite averting his gaze as if troubled…
“…Guide Yu Junseo-nim. I have a severe headache right now, could I ask for your guiding?”
Why he couldn’t hide such fierce eyes.
Junseo blinked his large eyes. His gaze traveled from Dohyuk’s eyes to the bridge of his nose, then to his Adam’s apple that bobbed as he swallowed. Dohyuk’s choker flashed with green light.
This was a first in his life—forgetting everything he had decided to deal with today because of such obviously apparent whining.
*
Dohyuk’s tent was empty. Sangjun, who usually went to Hayeon’s place for guiding, seemed to have stuck there completely.
In truth, Dohyuk had been regretting intensely from the moment he entered the tent. He could only sigh with complicated feelings.
He knew it. A partnership might appear to be an affectionate relationship on the surface, but in reality, it was just a position that prioritized efficiency. He had no right to designate the range of a Guide’s guiding activities simply because he was the partner Esper. Moreover, in dungeon missions where anything could happen, guiding flexibility was much higher. Dohyuk wasn’t even in a state requiring guiding, so Junseo guiding Jaesik wasn’t a bad decision. In this situation, Dohyuk stopping Junseo from guiding was clearly overstepping his authority.
Despite knowing this, he felt displeased. So he lied about desperately needing guiding. Junseo probably noticed that Dohyuk didn’t actually need guiding.
“Sorry.”
As soon as he sat down on Dohyuk’s spot, where a few belongings and a sleeping bag were neatly arranged, Dohyuk apologized first. Junseo, as if claiming his rightful place, firmly held Dohyuk’s hand and tilted his head. His fingers intertwined with Dohyuk’s firm fingers. They were soft. Hands that had only ever held the sweetest and most valuable things in the world. It felt a bit awkward that those hands were firmly holding his.
“For what?”
“For me arbitrarily restricting your guiding range…”
“You were jealous?”
“……”
Intending to systematically lay out excuses like counting on an abacus, Dohyuk stopped breathing, feeling caught off guard. As Dohyuk lowered his head and covered his eyes with his other hand, Junseo smiled mischievously.
“Wow, were you really jealous?”
“…It’s not jealousy.”
“Because I said I would guide Esper Seo Jaesik?”
“……”
“Even lying about needing guiding?”
“…Stop it.”
Watching Dohyuk mutter weakly that his head was really throbbing now, Junseo inwardly lamented. What should I do? Having lived believing nothing seemed as complacent as a blatant lie, he couldn’t understand why this wooden man, still unfamiliar with the ways of the world, appeared only cute to him.
His heart was inexplicably elated. Junseo infused strength into the hand he was holding, as if breathing light air onto a window. It was a gentle sensation, more like a baby chick pecking than proper guiding. Junseo gazed at Dohyuk through narrowed eyes. With his head deeply bowed, Dohyuk’s whorl was visible. His whorl was on the left. Crazy. Even that was cute. Despite being preoccupied with such thoughts, Junseo casually rolled his eyes and teased Dohyuk.
“You seem angry too. I guess I’ve been too complacent as your partner Guide.”
The response was quick.
“The anger isn’t directed at you.”
“Hmm.”
Concerned that Junseo might misunderstand, Dohyuk slowly added an explanation.
“…It’s just that Esper Seo Jaesik treating you disrespectfully bothers me…”
“Hyung doesn’t care when others are disrespectful to you, but cares when they’re disrespectful to me.”
When Dohyuk slightly raised his head at the gentle voice, everything before his eyes brightened. He was speechless.
“……”
Between the brightly blooming expression, both cheeks were flushed red. A shy smile like azaleas freshly bloomed to welcome spring. The moments when various colors spread across Junseo’s canvas-like face were always hard to bear, so Dohyuk buried his face in his palm again. Junseo’s lips, which followed to the very tips of Dohyuk’s fingers as he bent his waist tightly, made a small sound. With each movement of his lips, it felt as if something came blowing in and stuck thickly.
“In a good way.”
His entire body was filled with heat. Trying to drive away that heat, Dohyuk tried to act bluntly tough.
“I told you clearly, Espers have strong possessive feelings toward their Guides. Of course I get angry when someone is rude to my Guide…”
Though he tried to speak confidently. The large palm covering his eyes must have unknowingly slid down to press against his lips. Dohyuk became even more embarrassed by his muffled tone, obvious even to himself.
Junseo pressed his lips firmly, feeling like laughter might burst out. The unexpected harvest was too great. Choi Dohyuk’s possessiveness? It felt like receiving a prize without knowing why.
In the midst of all this, Dohyuk still worried about Junseo.
“…Esper Seo Jaesik didn’t bully you while I was gone, did he?”
