Gulp.
Left alone in the recovery room, Heewoo stared blankly at Heichi beyond the barrier. AJ, who had been with them until just moments ago, had long since left after conveying several precautions, saying he would give them some privacy. Before his eyes was a button that could remove the transparent barrier.
‘Actually, the Captain shouldn’t have been going to see you as a Guide this frequently.’
AJ began with that, opening the preface to a long story. For Heewoo, who had taken it completely for granted that Heichi would come see him, it was shocking news.
‘Top-tier Espers and above must use considerable power even in their everyday lives to suppress their massive wavelengths. Otherwise, their abilities could leak out recklessly and cause dangerous situations.’
Heichi’s ability…
Heewoo didn’t actually know much about what his ability was. He could only roughly deduce it was related to ‘cutting’ based on how most of the convenience store shelves had toppled over as if sliced, and how whenever he encountered his ability, a cutting phenomenon would occur. But even that was enough to know Heichi’s ability was formidable.
‘Just landing on Earth’s surface and spending time normally with you as a Guide probably required him to expend quite a lot of power. And then…’
AJ only went that far, but Heewoo understood what came next well enough. He was referring to when Heichi had gotten involved in the recent problem surrounding Heewoo and had to use his ability.
‘In any case, the Captain currently needs sufficient guiding. He probably didn’t tell you until now because he didn’t want to burden you, Guide.’
Hearing those words, Heewoo felt his sympathy for the collapsed Heichi stirred a bit more. Of course, since Heewoo himself had hesitated awkwardly and embarrassedly about making contact with Heichi, it would have been difficult for him to ask forcefully. Learning that Heichi had collapsed partly because of him made Heewoo feel terribly uncomfortable.
‘Guide Lee Heewoo. Listen carefully from now on. If you press the button before you, the barrier will disappear and you’ll be able to approach the Captain.’
‘Y-yes…’
‘If you guide him through contact, the Captain may open his eyes midway through.’
Hearing that Heichi could open his eyes just from his guiding brought Heewoo great relief. It seemed he wasn’t in as critically dangerous a state as Heewoo had braced himself for.
‘The problem starts from that point. After the Captain opens his eyes, you must—without fail—call my name. My name is AJ.’
‘…What?’
AJ suddenly emphasized his name even though Heewoo already knew it, which rather flustered him. Call his name? Wasn’t that like asking for help?
‘Then I’ll immediately come in to rescue you, Guide.’
‘Why, why do I have to do that…?’
‘You must. The reason is… sigh, when guiding levels rise sharply during a weakened state, Espers become obsessively fixated on that Guide. On top of that.’
Heewoo waited for what would follow with a tense expression. Then AJ revealed the truth in a small voice with an endlessly embarrassed face.
‘…Their sex drive becomes very high.’
After that, Heewoo had to receive several more precautions. Honestly speaking, AJ’s warnings didn’t quite sink in, but he stuffed them into his head for now. When he opens his eyes, call AJ’s name.
‘And as for imprinting… Well, let’s set that issue aside for now. Then please, I’m counting on you. Guide Lee Heewoo.’
With those words, AJ left the recovery room. Heewoo wanted to grab AJ and properly ask what imprinting was, but AJ’s expression was so poor he couldn’t do that either. And so, in the end, Heewoo was left alone in the recovery room.
Of course, with just one barrier between them, Heichi was lying beyond it. Heewoo was afraid that Heichi, lying on the long cylindrical bed, might suddenly open white eyes and stare at him like that tree-branch Esper he’d met before. If the Esper before his eyes had been anyone but Heichi, Heewoo would have undoubtedly turned and fled without hesitation.
But his opponent was Heichi.
The first person in his life to help him.
Countless people had clicked their tongues at the sight of poor, unfortunate Heewoo, calling him pitiful as they passed by. But while everyone called Heewoo pitiful, none stepped forward to help. Heewoo’s misfortune was too enormous for anyone to readily step forward.
Heichi was the first to reach out a hand to such a Heewoo. When he was being beaten for unreasonable reasons at Matgal Meat Restaurant, watching Heichi express anger on his behalf made Heewoo feel something strange. It was the same when he was forcibly assaulted and fired from the convenience store.
A person who took his side without even examining the trivial facts. Heichi was the first such person for Heewoo.
Click. Whirrr…
When he pressed the button, the barrier disassembled in midair and disappeared with just a slight noise. With nothing left blocking between them, Heewoo slowly extended his foot toward him.
There was so much he wanted to give back to him. Even if all the goodwill Heichi had shown was simply because he was an Esper and Heewoo was a Guide. Even if all the goodwill and emotions he’d shown him were fleeting things that would pass in just a brief moment, that was fine. For the first time in his life, Heewoo wanted to help Heichi, who had made him feel the emotion of looking forward to tomorrow.
“…Heichi.”
Looking at the sleeping Heichi, Heewoo called his name softly. After standing beside the cylindrical bed floating in the air, Heewoo carefully reached out his hand. Heichi lying defenseless with his eyes closed didn’t actually feel scary or unfamiliar at all.
The first place Heewoo touched him was the exposed nape of his neck between Heichi’s collar. He’d thought about holding hands, but AJ had told him earlier that touching the nape where wavelengths originate would be more efficient than the hand. When he felt Heichi’s lukewarm body temperature at his fingertips, Heewoo looked once more at Heichi’s sleeping face.
Still no reaction.
From that point, Heewoo also closed his eyes and began to focus a bit more on the contact itself. That ‘sense of connection’ he’d felt before. Focus on that. Though novice Guide Heewoo still didn’t really know what guiding was, he started like that for now.
Something connecting, linking, a sensation of some energy he didn’t even know he had flowing over to him…
The energy that was at first no more than tiny particles began to gradually grow larger as time passed. At a certain point, Heewoo released his energy almost as if pouring it out. Immersed in the sensation of connecting with Heichi, at that moment, Heewoo inadvertently opened his eyes.
Then he saw Heichi before him revealing bright yellow golden eyes.
Not only that, but he could also see the energy he’d seen before behind Heichi’s back swelling in enormous size.
Heewoo blankly looked over Heichi’s energy. One curious thing though—every time he retched up chunks of some energy he possessed, Heichi’s energy rippled as if profoundly affected. Like a human encountering the aurora for the first time, Heewoo stared entranced at that beautiful and magnificent sight.
“Ah…”
When thoughts couldn’t flow naturally in his dazed head, the precautions AJ had requested flashed through his mind.
Come to think of it, hadn’t he been told to call AJ’s name when Heichi opened his eyes?
But the Heichi before his eyes had simply opened his bright yellow golden eyes and was quietly staring at Heewoo without taking any particular action. Still, a precaution was a precaution, so Heewoo opened his mouth to call AJ’s name. Just as the syllable ‘A’ was about to pop out between his slightly parted lips—
“Come here.”
Huh.
Wh…at?
He’d clearly tried to make a sound—no, his head even thought he’d already made it—but from Heewoo’s mouth, not only ‘AJ’ but not even a single ‘A’ managed to flow out. Not realizing it was because the air had been cut off, Heewoo belatedly recognized that his body had tumbled into the cylindrical bed.
When he opened his eyes, he was in Heichi’s arms. But having already lain side by side in a similarly narrow cave at the jjimjilbang and been held in his embrace, Heewoo still didn’t feel any particular sense of alarm even then. Heichi tightly embraced Heewoo’s body that had tumbled into his arms, binding him up.
“Stay still.”
He’d only fidgeted just a tiny bit, really just a tiny bit because his posture was uncomfortable, but Heichi caught on like a ghost and spoke. At the words to stay still, Heewoo obediently accepted again and stopped moving. He thought Heichi would let go on his own then.
“Good boy…”
Even hearing praise for the first time felt good. It was when Heewoo was blankly looking up at Heichi.
Their lips collided in that very position.
No, correction. Heichi devoured Heewoo’s lips.
