A faint disgust crossed Jo Yonghwi’s face as he conveyed the reality he’d witnessed countless times. Soon, compassion and affection dwelt in the eyes looking at Han Seoha.
“I’m sorry this must be uncomfortable to hear.”
“Not at all. I’ll be careful too.”
Though it wasn’t something a guide could fix by being careful, he expressed gratitude to Jo Yonghwi for his concern.
Unlike before, Jo Yonghwi, who hadn’t brought along armfuls of things, continued the conversation without leaving even though treatment had ended. After a brief silence, Han Seoha bowed his head first again.
“I’m sorry. For meeting like this over these kinds of things.”
“Not at all. I’m truly happy to be called for things I can help with.”
“That’s so like you, Healer-nim. Thank you always.”
“Guide-nim is the one who always works hard.”
Jo Yonghwi’s empathy was surprising as he felt a sense of kinship with Han Seoha, who was both an esper and a guide.
Thinking he might as well deepen their friendship this time since he didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving, Han Seoha made a dinner suggestion.
“You didn’t finish your sandwich earlier, and though it’s early, how about dinner? My treat.”
“Sounds good. But let’s go dutch.”
“I’ll pay today and you can treat next time.”
“Ah… yes, that’s good.”
Jo Yonghwi was noticeably pleased at a meal arrangement that wasn’t one-time, but when Han Seoha actually grabbed his coat, his eyes wavered and he began to flustered. Han Seoha, who had put on his coat, tilted his head questioningly toward Jo Yonghwi who wasn’t gathering his things.
“Healer-nim?”
“That, um, I think we can go a bit slowly.”
“Ah, if I’m being too familiar and making you uncomfortable…”
“No! That’s absolutely not it.”
Jo Yonghwi, unusually restless and preventing Han Seoha from leaving the guiding room, had a dark expression. Why was he trying to keep Han Seoha here?
Thinking about it, it seemed like he’d shut the door more hastily than usual when entering the room. As if the purpose was to quickly separate this place from the outside.
An esper’s goodwill and concern sympathizing with a guide. At the hypothesis that suddenly came to mind, he tapped his watch to check the guiding room usage status and the answer appeared.
‘The guiding room right nearby is in use.’
He had to strain his jaw to hold back the laugh trying to emerge at Yu Haneul’s three-character name, and Jo Yonghwi became restless.
“Guide-nim…”
Jo Yonghwi had witnessed those two fucking in the guiding room when they could have done it in their lodging.
Jo Yonghwi was desperately blocking Han Seoha from witnessing them. Han Seoha smiled innocently as if he hadn’t noticed what Jo Yonghwi was hiding.
“Healer-nim. No, let’s call each other by name. If I call you Healer-nim outside, people will make a fuss asking you to treat them.”
“I don’t mind but… okay, Seoha-nim.”
Good people are nice. He wished there were even one more person who would sympathize with Han Seoha and protect him.
So he needs to open the door and go out.
“I’m hungry. If you don’t come out quickly, I’m going first.”
“Guide-nim, no, Seoha-nim! Just a moment!”
Even if they used the same floor, there was no way he’d run into Han Seoha if they were guiding, yet Jo Yonghwi jumped in surprise and hurried out after him.
And coincidence was on Han Seoha’s side.
Seeing how it let him witness this again.
If it were really Han Seoha, it would be an encounter that felt like a terrible ill-fated relationship and the curse of destiny.
* * *
In the guiding room where hot breaths mixed and even the air felt muggy, a satisfied sigh flowed.
“Haah, Jaegeon hyung. That felt so good. I think I felt even more today.”
“Yeah, the efficiency increased.”
“Right? Doing it every day, it suddenly shot up. Anyway, our compatibility really is good.”
The pleasure obtained from penetrative guiding was much greater than normal relations. On top of that, the guiding sensation that seeped in a bit deeper and spread out made him feel completely dazed.
The guide’s face, which had been sulky when he brought Yu Haneul who’d been touring the Center as soon as the operation ended and suddenly proceeded with close-contact guiding, was now filled only with well-fed satisfaction.
“Is it like this for all pairs? At this rate, I won’t be able to separate from hyung.”
“It’s only been a few days since we paired and you’re talking about separating?”
“I’m just saying. Don’t sulk.”
Just from Yu Haneul’s voice full of affection, one could tell how satisfied he was. Ryu Jaegeon himself had a more refreshed attitude than usual.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Ugh, no mood. Let’s enjoy the afterglow.”
“I skipped lunch running around on an emergency operation.”
“My back hurts. Because a certain someone was too rough.”
Yu Haneul, who rolled on the bed and wrapped his wet body in the blanket, didn’t seem to have any intention of getting up.
Yu Haneul’s languid reaction today was natural. It was the same for Ryu Jaegeon too. The sensation that had been connected more intimately than usual throughout the close contact due to the exceptionally high guiding efficiency added specialness.
At other times, Ryu Jaegeon would have tried to stick with Yu Haneul longer for providing such a sensation, but his head was complicated. No, rather it had become simple.
The past ten days without guiding with Han Seoha. He thought the gradually declining guiding efficiency with Yu Haneul was just from getting used to it. Because the efficiency on both the first and second day of guiding with Yu Haneul had been excellent.
But from just the third day, the efficiency dropped sharply. No matter how much time he spent, he couldn’t recover like the first day.
Since it was A-rank guiding, the output was certain, but the wave recovery speed was terrible.
Today, in the guiding he received after meeting Han Seoha, Ryu Jaegeon felt the same comfort as always. The careful guiding like a touch that was thin but seeped in deeply to examine the painful places was familiar.
The hypothesis he recalled while having close-contact guiding with Yu Haneul as soon as the operation ended was turning into certainty.
He needed to see Han Seoha again.
Remembering the guiding room where Han Seoha mainly stayed right nearby, Ryu Jaegeon’s heart grew urgent. While taking out a fitting size from among the esper uniforms hanging in the closet, he pulled out all the clothes of a different body type from his and threw them to one side.
“Why are you taking out all the clothes?”
“You won’t need to receive other espers, so get rid of them.”
“Ah, strangely today even when hyung acts petty, it’s not annoying. Should we do it one more time?”
“Recover your guiding energy first.”
At Ryu Jaegeon’s plain response when he would have normally jumped right into bed, Yu Haneul became slightly mischievous. He didn’t like how he was suddenly acting busy when he’d eventually give in if approached physically anyway.
He thought about seducing Ryu Jaegeon, who was adding ascetic sexiness by fastening his uniform tightly up to his neck, but his body that had been too satisfyingly satisfied went completely limp and wouldn’t move at all.
“Fine. I’ll sleep a bit. And I hate this room. This is a room only B-rank and below use.”
At Yu Haneul’s whining, Ryu Jaegeon approached again, lightly kissed him, and covered him with another blanket.
“A-rank guides originally stay in esper lodging. Because you wandered around sightseeing here and there, we used it in a hurry. Think of it as a vacation home concept.”
“Mmm… if that’s what it is, okay.”
Even when their lips touched, the guiding was minimal, so he could tell Yu Haneul’s guiding energy had hit rock bottom. For emergency situations, this kind of situation wasn’t good. Rest was definitely the right answer.
The Guiding Center was the safest in that regard. Ryu Jaegeon’s steps leaving Yu Haneul behind were nothing but light.
In just a few steps, arriving in front of the guiding room Han Seoha mainly used, his mood became strange.
‘Looking for a guiding room to see Han Seoha.’
Ryu Jaegeon, who hadn’t thought anything of it when pushing Yu Haneul into the room without a care, felt strangely repulsed. The place where Han Seoha should be wasn’t somewhere like this. Displeasure arose at a place dealing with an unspecified number of people.
The place where Han Seoha should be was by his side.
If he became S-rank, he could have both a pair and a partner. Ryu Jaegeon, whose wave readings had risen recently, was a promising candidate.
‘I had no choice but to terminate it. If I say I’ll take him back as a partner once I become S-rank.’
Han Seoha would be delighted. Ryu Jaegeon became triumphant at the brilliant proposal he’d thought of. The moment he reached out his hand to grab the doorknob, the door opened wide and Han Seoha leapt into his arms.
The facility wasn’t built so carelessly that he could have sensed Ryu Jaegeon’s waves from beyond the door and rushed out. Even knowing it was a coincidence, Ryu Jaegeon willingly embraced Han Seoha.
“That’s an intense welcome? We saw each other this morning and you’re seeing me again, are you that happy?”
“Jae…geon.”
The eyes that had first widened in surprise filled with gladness, then soon clouded over. Ryu Jaegeon was puzzled at the emotions changing like flowing water.
“Your waves… stabilized.”
Ryu Jaegeon was a bit flustered at Han Seoha’s gloominess, who previously would have been sincerely happy saying it was fortunate.
“Jaegeon, will you let go?”
“I don’t want to. Why are you like this? Aren’t you happy I’m stable?”
“Of course I’m happy. I’m happy but…”
At the words from Han Seoha, who’d been biting his lips and pushed away weakly, Ryu Jaegeon had no choice but to be obediently pushed back.
“Sorry, I don’t feel well so I’ll go first.”
Ryu Jaegeon was bewildered at Han Seoha’s actions fleeing with a sobbing voice.
“There’s a healer here, where are you going?”
Jo Yonghwi popped out first in front of Ryu Jaegeon, who was turning his body to follow Han Seoha. Jo Yonghwi’s face, who glanced back at Ryu Jaegeon, twisted.
“You smell like semen.”
Unable to even care about being dumbfounded at the F-rank esper glaring at him, Ryu Jaegeon was confused.
