“I told you to stay home and rest — and you went and scurried off to play? Princess is still such a baby.”
“…Put me down. I’m saying it nicely.”
“Why, you’re not feeling well right now. Your face has gone red. Sitting on a cold floor can’t be better than being held by me. More importantly — who made you angry?”
As though the whole world held nothing but Hee-young, Shin-yul smiled warmly and gently coaxed the small body in his arms. Hee-young tried to argue back, but the truth was that Shin-yul’s solid embrace had become familiar over the past few days — comfortable, even — and so he couldn’t say a word and simply trembled.
Tae-seong pressed a hand to his forehead watching Hee-young quiver like a vibrating toy and Shin-yul gaze at him with eyes dripping with adoration. Of all the pairs to be….
Having grown sensitive to being watched during the Guiding session he was barely managing to get from Ha-ram, Tae-seong’s irritation hadn’t eased even when he realized the source of that gaze was the Guide everyone had been talking about. The unfortunate circumstances — that the man had delusional symptoms — were known to him, but wasn’t that a separate matter? And if a Guide had issues, wasn’t it the paired Esper’s responsibility to handle it? The problem being that the paired Esper happened to be Han Shin-yul.
The Center coddling Han Shin-yul, and Han Shin-yul coddling his Guide. It seemed to Tae-seong that if he of all people didn’t say something sharp, no one would — and so he let out a long sigh, stepped in front of Ha-ram who was standing awkwardly to one side, shielding him, and spoke.
“Han Shin-yul. I understand your Guide’s circumstances — but at least teach him some basic manners, wouldn’t you say?”
“What?”
Hee-young’s eyes went white with fury at Tae-seong’s cold words.
“Manners? Ma — nners? Oh that is rich. Huh? You lot are out here in broad daylight with no shame, swapping spit and grinding on each other like you’ve lost your minds — and you’re talking to me about manners?”
It was the one thing this near-fifty ajeossi — a former mob boss who could let most things slide — could never let slide: anything touching on manners. Hee-young began to lose it completely. Furious beyond reason, Hee-young fumed and thrashed in Shin-yul’s arms, spindly limbs flailing, fully intent on giving that man a proper thrashing.
“Doesn’t give a single thought to his own faults, and at that age — where does he get off lecturing anyone about manners! Huh?”
“At that age……?”
Tae-seong murmured, completely baffled. Shin-yul gently patted the squirming body in his arms, shot Tae-seong a cool sideways glance, then turned Hee-young’s head to face him and answered with a warm smile.
“Yeah, yeah. Ajeossi is right about everything. They’re the ones in the wrong. Right? Hey — your face is getting even redder. You’ll pass out again.”
“Let go of me! I’m going to — that guy, I’ll—!”
Hee-young couldn’t overpower Shin-yul’s hold on him — his face had gone scarlet all the way up his neck, and now he could barely breathe, gasping in shallow bursts. Watching the scene unfold, Ha-ram shook off Tae-seong’s hand and rushed to Hee-young’s side.
“Ah, Ha-ram—!”
“Hee-young! Hee-young! We should have just done the Guiding in the Guiding room. You gave me a fright. Oh no, first just try to breathe properly—”
“Oh my, what on earth is all this. Hee-young? Shin-yul! What happened here!”
Deputy Seong and Deputy Shin, who had just managed to secure a Guiding room and come back, rushed to Hee-young in alarm — and the whole scene descended into complete chaos.
The commotion drew the surrounding people in too, and the lobby of The Center turned into a noisy, frenzied marketplace with people crowding around and making a fuss over Hee-young’s condition. In the middle of it all, only Tae-seong stood frozen — hand still faintly reaching toward Ha-ram, going nowhere.
Despite everyone’s attempts to calm him down, Hee-young kept pointing furiously at Tae-seong — and in an instant, Tae-seong found himself the target of reproachful stares from all sides, a condemned man sweating profusely. What did I even say that was so terrible….
In truth, what Tae-seong had said was an entirely reasonable and sensible piece of advice — but the sharp eyes of people who didn’t know the full situation and saw only Hee-young’s state did not change.
Shin-yul brushed away the crowd that had gathered as though they were nothing but nuisances, pulled Hee-young’s face into his chest, and said to the staff,
“The Guiding room — did you get it?”
“Hm? Yes! Let’s go, let’s go!”
As the group fussed noisily over Hee-young and hurried away, Hee-young kept his gaze fixed on Tae-seong to the very last, sending him a withering glare. I may be leaving in humiliation today — but one day I will destroy you, it said — eyes blazing even as tears clung to the corners. Tae-seong looked back with a completely baffled expression.
Ha-ram followed quickly after Hee-young and Shin-yul, and Tae-seong grabbed his arm in a rush.
“Ha-ram, where are you—”
“I’m really worried about Hee-young, and the Guiding session is done, so I’ll head off first.”
Ha-ram shook off the desperate grip without even noticing Tae-seong’s expression crumpling — he kept his eyes on Hee-young’s retreating figure, fretful and anxious, then broke into a quick jog after him.
The murmuring crowd dispersed, and Ha-ram shrank to a dot and vanished — yet Tae-seong remained standing there, motionless.
***
By the time they reached the Guiding room, Hee-young had calmed down enough to grumble at the people still fussing over him.
“Hey, ajeossi isn’t dying. Even if this body is on the weaker side — you think throwing one fit is going to kill me?”
“Oh, Hee-young, that’s because you can’t see yourself right now. Earlier you could barely breathe — we genuinely thought something terrible was about to happen……”
“Making such a fuss over nothing….”
Hee-young had been too busy shrieking in fury to notice — but his face was flushed, his breathing was rapid and shallow, and there were even tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. He looked like a person on the verge of a serious episode.
His ferocious nature trapped in a body that couldn’t keep up — Hee-young had hit an overload, unable to act on his own temper. He could only seethe in helpless frustration at being forced to back down before he could do a thing.
Upon entering the Guiding room, Hee-young tilted his head at the surprisingly spacious room that contained nothing but a bed and a shower. Even as Shin-yul carefully smoothed out the bedding and laid Hee-young down on it, Hee-young refused to lie still — he shot upright, beating the pillow with both hands, burning with indignation. If only this wretched useless body of mine—!
“Ah, goddammit…. I should’ve at least smashed that rude bastard’s face in…. If only this damned body of mine…. Huh? Back in the day, let me tell you—!”
“Yeah, ajeossi used to beat them all to the ground, right?”
“Of course I did!”
The face spitting out all those rough words looked pitiful and aggrieved, like a child’s. Both eyebrows and the corners of his eyes were drooping low, and the reddened skin around his eyes still burned.
Shin-yul pressed close to his side — not caring in the least that his uniform was getting wrinkled — turned back the soft inner fabric of his sleeve and used it to gently dab at the beads of sweat on Hee-young’s round forehead, giving him a few agreeable nods. That’s right, ajeossi is right about everything. At that, Hee-young finally seemed to settle — and let out a long, slow breath.
“Anyway — was me looking over there really that much of a… thing? No — if they’re bothered by other people’s eyes, they shouldn’t be doing it in public!”
Having spotted Ha-ram, who had come rushing in after them and was hovering hesitantly behind the staff, Hee-young frowned as he asked. No matter how many times he turned it over in his head, he couldn’t make sense of it. Sure — in this place, kissing was normal? It was Guiding? Fine. He understood. He understood it all too well by now.
But watching it openly was off-limits? Why? When they were the ones doing it in plain sight? It was all so difficult to follow.
“Well…. Not watching someone who is Guiding falls under the category of manners and etiquette. When an Esper’s Guiding level drops from using their ability, they become extremely sensitive — and not just in terms of mood. Espers already have physical capabilities far superior to ordinary people, but when the Guiding level drops, those senses become even more heightened — even a small sound feels as loud as thunder, and it’s said to be quite agonizing. On top of that, the more Espers use their ability, the more intensely they feel a sense of psychological deprivation — and they release that through Guiding.”
“Ah….”
Hee-young listened to Ha-ram’s kind explanation, then quietly turned his head and looked at Shin-yul’s face — still staring fixedly at him and no one else. Even as he listened to an explanation about Espers, Shin-yul acted as though none of it had anything to do with him — he simply beamed with delight at catching Hee-young’s gaze. At that open, unguarded smile, Hee-young found he couldn’t bring himself to snap at him the way he usually would.
“As I mentioned before, when an Esper’s Guiding level falls, they enter a Rampage state. Gradually losing their sense of self — and the point at which the Rampage fully takes hold — is described as being taken over by the ability. Espers carry a deeply ingrained fear of Rampage, and as the Guiding level drops and their senses sharpen, that fear and sense of deprivation intensifies greatly — which is why they become fixated on Guiding. It’s simply their instinct. That’s why Espers are so desperate when it comes to their Guide — and during Guiding, they become very defensive, and in that state of heightened sensitivity, even another person’s gaze can feel threatening. That’s why it’s considered good manners not to look.”
“…Is that right.”
“Of course, as you say, if everyone conducted Guiding in the Guiding rooms, situations like this wouldn’t arise — but as I mentioned before, Guiding rooms are difficult to reserve, and when work has piled up for Espers, lighter Guiding sessions in the lobby like this do happen from time to time. You must have been quite startled, Hee-young — but going forward, it would be good to make a conscious effort not to look at an Esper and Guide in the middle of Guiding.”
Hee-young clicked his tongue and made a sheepish expression. Well then, I really was the rude one. That poor young man.
“Right, princess. I get jealous, so stop looking at other Espers.”
“Ugh…. How can I feel this dizzy just from getting worked up a little.”
Hee-young didn’t bother pushing back on Shin-yul’s comment and simply changed the subject. With a soft thud, his slight body fell back against the bed.
“What are we going to do with someone this frail. How are we going to send her into a Dungeon.”
Deputy Seong muttered it almost like a sigh — and Ha-ram’s eyes went wide.
“A Dungeon? You’re sending Hee-young into a Dungeon?”
“Yes? Ah, the work schedule—”
“Work depends on the person! Someone this frail and — well — regardless! An ill person—!”
At Ha-ram’s words, the staff fell silent. It was something they themselves had been worried about — but Shin-yul’s work had backed up so severely that Hee-young’s schedule had inevitably become packed as well.
Ha-ram understood The Center’s situation — but sending someone into a Dungeon this soon was far too early. Why is The Center so harsh when it comes to Hee-young specifically!
“And besides, since he’s still only been doing contact Guiding with his matched Esper and hasn’t yet awakened to the Guiding sensation, the schedule should be pushed back even further—”
“Ah, instructor. I’ve awakened to the Guiding sensation.”
?
Why.
