“What? How did that happen?”
Ha-ram asked in shock, and Hee-young hesitated, sat himself up, and shot a sharp glare at Shin-yul. But he would rather die than admit that he’d had his lips taken by force by a boy younger than him, so he just scratched his head roughly.
“Well, he came back from the Dungeon looking half-dead, and he said he really needed Guiding…. Eh, what does it even matter! The point is, I rubbed lips like you said and it opened right up.”
Just yesterday you declared you would never rub lips even if it killed you…!
Ha-ram’s expression filled with betrayal, and Hee-young gave a dry, forced cough.
“Ah, come on. I gritted my teeth and saved someone who was practically dying, and that’s the face you give me? I should be getting a commendation from the minister.”
Ha-ram stammered and fumbled his words.
“Wh, what, no — I mean, what was the Guiding level even at, for Esper Han Shin-yul to be in such bad shape?”
“Uh… what was it again? Around fifty, sixty…?”
He was perfectly fine!
Exaggerating symptoms to wheedle Guiding out of their Guide when they were in perfectly good health was a classic Esper trick. Fresh, naive new Guides fell for it completely — but a Guide was fundamentally supposed to be able to accurately read their Esper’s condition, so that kind of act did Hee-young, who had only just Manifested, absolutely no good.
Ha-ram couldn’t hold back and was about to lunge forward and tell Hee-young just how spectacularly he’d been fooled, when the employees, who had been carefully watching the situation, stepped forward first and wedged themselves between Hee-young and Ha-ram.
“That’s incredible! So incredible! My goodness… Shin-yul is alive because of you, Hee-young!”
“That’s right! That must have taken a lot of resolve for you too, Hee-young! Well done!”
“Ha, well…. You don’t get to my age for nothing, do you? You think I’d just sit there whining about not wanting to do it in front of someone dying? Kids, your Ajeossi isn’t that kind of person.”
Shin-yul, who had been watching Hee-young puff up with pride at the stream of praise with fond eyes, nodded along — that’s right, that’s right. He said nothing at all about the fact that he’d kissed Hee-young without permission.
With Shin-yul keeping his mouth shut, Hee-young got carried away and acted like a great hero of the age.
“By the way — around fifty, sixty? What kind of shape does that put him in? With the kid being this scrawny, what is he going to do protecting the country?”
At Hee-young’s question, the employees’ eyes flickered.
“Uh… we don’t really know much about the Guiding side of things. Either way, you really did great.”
“What do you mean. I asked the teacher.”
Sensing his opening, Ha-ram tried to leap forward — and the employees strained to block him.
“Guide Jeong Ha-ram! Ow! Really? Hee-young, Guide Jeong Ha-ram says he has another appointment and needs to go~! Oh, what a shame. Shall we save the question for next class? Guide! I’ll walk you out. Thank you so much for your time!”
“No, I — wait—!”
“We’ll head down first! Enjoy your rest!”
Being dragged away by the employees, Ha-ram cried out desperately.
“Hee-young! Make sure you come to the next class! Come alone, alone! Leave the employees behind too, come alone…!”
Hee-young watched the people bustling noisily out of the room with a puzzled look, then shrugged — ugh, fine — and flopped down onto the bed. Shin-yul was quick to fuss and fix the space so Hee-young could lie down comfortably.
At that attentive gesture, a complicated expression crossed Hee-young’s face.
“Hey. Does it… really get that bad when the Guiding level drops?”
“Hmm? Well…. It’s okay now.”
Shin-yul smiled softly and took Hee-young’s hand with a plaintive little tug — Hee-young scrunched his face but didn’t pull away.
“Is there really nobody else who can fix you besides me?”
“There isn’t. Only you, Princess.”
“What did you do before I was around?”
“Took medication.”
“Medication?”
Ah, I think I heard something about that. When there was no suitable Guide or when Guiding wasn’t possible, they took medication.
“But the medication is, well… not great. It’s like being starving but getting an IV drip instead of actual food. My insides are completely hollow, but it just keeps the body from breaking down. On top of that, the medication makes you really foggy. It’s dulling your mind to suppress the emptiness that won’t go away — it feels absolutely disgusting. Oh, and the Guiding medication you take during missions has a ton of stimulants in it, which is its own kind of miserable.”
As he answered, he rubbed his face against Hee-young’s thin chest. Like a newborn creature clinging to its mother, the large frame barely tucked into the small arms wore a peaceful expression.
“If it’s that bad… shouldn’t you have a backup Guide lined up too?”
“What for, when I have you. You’re all I need.”
“Yeah, but what happens to you if I disappear?”
“Why would you disappear.”
Shin-yul’s eyes sharpened.
“Well, you know. I’m originally….”
“Princess. Hee-young.”
The voice that came out was tender and sweet, the complete opposite of those dangerous eyes.
“That won’t happen. Not as long as I’m alive.”
***
Steam rose in thick clouds from the bathtub as Hee-young sank into it up to his neck, and the tension in his muscles dissolved, his expression softening and melting right along with it.
“Ahhh…. Now this is it.”
“Princess, I’ll leave clothes outside the door.”
Shin-yul’s voice came from beyond the door. Ah, did I forget to bring clothes in? It was always the same mistake — living alone for so long, he’d never developed the habit of getting dressed inside the bathroom.
He was about to call back to say he understood when he went still, and Hee-young submerged his face into the bathtub water. Beneath the rippling surface, Hee-young turned the events of the afternoon over in his mind.
It had been a long time since he’d felt that kind of chill. A primal, instinctive fear. The grip on his hand had been tight enough to ache, and he hadn’t been able to make a sound. He hadn’t been able to look away from the golden eyes that met his, gleaming like those of an apex predator — he’d just stared back. Shin-yul had stroked his frozen cheek slowly and whispered, breathe — and it was only then that Hee-young realized he’d been holding his breath.
He’d felt it then. He had to hide his plans to return home from this person, no matter what.
Was it because he’d heard that without his ability, Shin-yul’s life would be in danger? Or because of the way Shin-yul treated him like something infinitely precious? Even when Shin-yul did as he pleased with him, Hee-young had quietly felt himself to be the one in the position of power. No matter how tremendous Shin-yul’s ability was, no matter what terrifying monsters he brought down, Hee-young had more or less thought of him as just another one of the many subordinates he used to run.
But that wasn’t it. It wasn’t that he had Shin-yul on a leash through the ability called Guiding — it was that this beast was gripping him tight in order to survive. That fierce obsession, that desperate hunger for a life he could breathe in — it was what bound Hee-young in place.
But am I really going to stay stuck in this body just because of this one young bastard? He clenched his fist underwater and surfaced — and Shin-yul was crouched right in front of the bathtub, watching him.
“AAAAUGH!”
“Was my princess a mermaid this whole time?”
“Wh — wh — what — what?!”
Hee-young flailed, and the bathwater sloshed and spilled over, soaking Shin-yul. Shin-yul didn’t care in the slightest about his drenching clothes — he grabbed Hee-young’s cheeks firmly and wiped the water off his face with his own sleeve. The soft flesh squished and smooshed into a ridiculous shape.
“Ow! Mmph! Hey! Stop it and get out!”
“You weren’t answering, so I got worried and came in.”
“You’re insane if you barge in the moment someone doesn’t answer!”
“Oh, want to try this?”
He dropped round purple and yellow bath bombs into the splashing water, and foam fizzed and bubbled up instantly, a fragrant scent drifting out in soft wisps. Shin-yul watched the wide bathtub fill with a mysterious swirl of color, then rummaged around and produced a rubber duck toy, setting it afloat on the surface.
“Are you playing games?”
“Cute.”
“Who exactly do you think I am?”
“My princess.”
“Ha…. You’re just…. No, forget it….”
Just… don’t bother with this one….
Hee-young stared blankly at the duck paddling around on the surface, and Shin-yul beamed and squeezed the duck — squeak squeak. Watching the ducks let out their pathetic little sounds, he felt on the verge of losing his mind. At least the cloudy bathwater covered his body, and Hee-young clung to that and tried to compose himself.
“…Right, thanks for that. But are you going to leave or not?”
“Want to wash up together?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Cute. You’re embarrassed?”
Ha…. Please….
Hee-young covered his face with both hands in despair. I’m going to die of frustration before I even get home….
Hee-young yelled get out! and pelted Shin-yul with the rubber ducks one after another. Shin-yul grinned, stood up, and shot him a wink — and Hee-young, burning with indignation, thrashed his arms and legs and kicked up a splash. The cute little toys that had flown at Shin-yul squeaked away as they spun through the air in circles. When he’d first seen Shin-yul’s ability, it had seemed so incredible — now it just drove him insane with how much he hated looking at it. Using that tremendous power like this had to be a talent in its own right.
The ducks that had been spinning in the air came back down and bobbed on the surface of the bathtub, and Shin-yul called out little mermaid, wash up properly before disappearing with his nonsense — and Hee-young slumped down, all energy gone.
He lamented yet again that he hadn’t managed to form any proper plan today, and sank deep into the fragrant bathwater. That guy — is he doing this on purpose? His head ached because of Shin-yul, who seemed to sense with uncanny timing whenever Hee-young started turning things over in his mind and would come along to derail him. Every time Shin-yul rattled him with some absurd action or comment, this wretchedly frail body would be drained completely dry and he couldn’t string his thoughts together. If Shin-yul was doing it deliberately, he was truly frightening.
He’s walking all over me because I let him. Sudden anger surged up inside him.
Hey. There’s a limit to how little you can respect your elders. Hee-young fumed as he rose from the bathtub and washed off quickly. Honestly, he’d been so thrown off by the new world and new body that he hadn’t been able to fend off the lunatic’s relentless advances — and that had been the start of the problem. No, actually, he’d never met anyone quite that level of insane from the start, so he’d let bad habits form from the very first meeting. This was the chance to put his foot down hard. He needed to make it crystal clear who was on top. Just you wait, you half-wit who’d be gasping his last breath without me….
Even after teasing him, Shin-yul had neatly folded his pajamas and placed them in the clothes cabinet — Hee-young let out a derisive scoff at that, then picked up the fluffy yellow chick pajamas and pulled them on, then stomped out the door.
Shin-yul must have been taking advantage of being already wet to shower — the sound of running water came from the bedroom bathroom. Hee-young sat cross-legged on the bed in a dignified posture and waited for Shin-yul.
Soon the sound of water stopped, and with a click, Shin-yul appeared in a gust of warm steam.
“Hey, Han Shin-yul. You little shit. Get over here.”
“Hmm?”
Shin-yul came out bare, towel-drying his hair. Long legs, a broad chest, skin without a single scar — smooth and flawless — and water droplets running between well-built muscles that looked almost indecent. But Hee-young, with no interest whatsoever in a man’s body, found his gaze fixed on a spot just a little below Shin-yul’s beautiful frame.
“You….”
“Why are you out already.”
“…….”
Is that thing a snake?
