At Shin-yul’s words, Hee-young was about to snap back — but Shin-yul was faster.
“Princess doesn’t need to know the details. Just stay comfortably by my side.”
“What…. F*ck, get your face out of mine first.”
“I mean it. I said I’d protect you. Trust me. Okay?”
Shin-yul held Hee-young’s gaze steadily, his expression set in a deep frown as he looked down at him. He meant every word.
Being referred to the disciplinary committee meant being stuck in isolation for at least a week. But when Hee-young’s condition worsened and Shin-yul heard that he was looking for him, he immediately accepted full responsibility and requested that the disciplinary decision be finalized as-is, without any self-defense on his part. When a disciplinary committee convened, all relevant parties at the time would be summoned as witnesses, the incident would be reviewed, and fault would be assessed. If the proper procedure had been followed, it would have come to light that Shin-yul, as team leader, bore no responsibility for the incident — and he could have come back cleared. But he didn’t do that.
A pay cut was a given, and he voluntarily offered to return every benefit he was currently receiving — in exchange for which he was able to walk out in a single day. “Every benefit” referred to the fact that he had currently been exempted from S-rank work on account of Hee-young’s condition. Because of that, starting as early as tomorrow, Shin-yul would have to tear through high-rank long-term Dungeons without a moment’s rest — and since Hee-young had refused Dungeon entry, even with a Guide assigned to him, Shin-yul would have to carry Guiding Medication again like before and grind away like a dog.
But that was fine. Because Hee-young had sworn he wouldn’t leave him. And so he had made his promise to protect Hee-young. To be there when needed, and to keep him from seeing anything unpleasant or dangerous. Hee-young didn’t need to know these petty details. He just needed to stay somewhere safe and comfortable. By his side.
Hee-young pounded on Shin-yul with the hand that wasn’t in a cast, then grabbed him by the collar and yanked. Shin-yul didn’t resist, and let himself be pulled down by Hee-young’s weak grip without a fight. Their faces were close enough that their foreheads might touch. Hee-young looked at him with a cold smirk.
“Ha, just trust you without any explanation? Come on, I don’t even do that with my own family.”
At Hee-young’s scoffing words, Shin-yul’s lips twitched before he let out a shallow sigh.
“…If I told you everything, you’d run.”
“Run my—!”
“Hee-young? What’s going on… oh my, I’m so sorry.”
Ha-ram had returned from his walk and, startled by Hee-young’s shout, flung the door open — only to walk into an awkward scene. Of all times, Shin-yul was straddling Hee-young, and Hee-young was gripping Shin-yul’s collar and pulling his face even closer — so at a glance, it looked very much like they were in the middle of a very intimate moment. Ha-ram’s face flushed red and he hurriedly slammed the door shut and stepped back outside.
Oh no…. It seems Hee-young really does love Guiding with Shin-yul….
Even after attending lessons so diligently, to be that enthusiastic about Guiding — Ha-ram became fully convinced that Hee-young genuinely had feelings for Shin-yul. Well, that’s fortunate, at least. At least he was fond of his own Esper. Ha-ram walked briskly away from the patient room. Still, in a hospital of all places….
“F*ck! No! Come back!”
“Princess, you want to do it for real?”
“What for real! F*ck, get out!”
Hee-young’s insides turned over even more at Shin-yul’s words. Bastard! Bastard! Talking clearly wasn’t getting through to him. This guy was a disaster in human form, completely impossible to manage with words. Hee-young hit Shin-yul’s solid body until his own hand turned red.
There really was no other way. You fight fire with fire. Hee-young glared viciously at Shin-yul’s face — smiling without so much as flinching no matter how hard he was hit — and ground his teeth.
I’ll become an even bigger disaster. Just you wait.
***
Hee-young was demanding to see the Center staff first thing in the morning. It wasn’t until the staff member on duty — who’d been on the receiving end of Hee-young’s angry calls to the Center since the crack of dawn — said that Deputy Shin would be sent to the hospital instead of the Center, that Hee-young was finally able to settle his restless body down.
Hee-young hadn’t slept a wink all night. Partly because of how furious he was, but also because of Shin-yul — who had refused to leave and kept tormenting him until the early hours of the morning. Thanks to Shin-yul, who had crammed his large frame into the narrow bed and wrapped his arms around Hee-young, he hadn’t slept a single hour through the night.
With bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes, Hee-young sat staring daggers at the door, waiting for the staff to arrive. Beside him, Ha-ram hovered awkwardly, hesitating before finally sitting down.
“Um, Hee-young? You look really unwell…. Maybe you should get some rest?”
“Why don’t you go sleep, Ha-ram. You came in at the crack of dawn, didn’t you.”
“Ah…. Yes, well….”
Ha-ram answered, then opened and closed his mouth like he wanted to say something, before screwing his eyes shut and blurting it out.
“Hee-young! I know you know this, but! Even so, in a hospital—!”
“What! What! F*ck, like I knew that guy was going to barge in on me?”
Ha-ram, taken aback by Hee-young’s furious retort, opened his eyes wide — then forced himself to smile. For an Esper to come and immediately receive Guiding as a matter of course…. Hee-young really does care about Shin-yul….
“Um…. Oh…. Alright. Well, I also gave the nurses a heads-up not to come into the room, so it should be fine.”
“What?”
That was you? Hee-young bit down in a surge of betrayal. He had planned to ask whoever came back to please kick this bastard out and call the police — but since no one had opened the patient room door until Shin-yul finally left of his own accord before dawn, Hee-young had been held captive the entire time.
Even after that, too furious to sleep, Hee-young had been sitting bolt upright on the bed when Ha-ram snuck in and let out a shriek — which brought a nurse running again, creating an absurdly comical situation — but Hee-young had sat rigidly upright, driven by one single thought: he was going to fix Han Shin-yul’s manners once and for all.
Hee-young’s head was spinning. He had thought the teacher — who was a bit, no, actually quite unhinged, but at least trustworthy — had been the very person responsible for keeping him trapped like a dakimakura for eight hours! This insane world really had no one worth trusting. No, more fundamentally — if a patient is being pinned down, shouldn’t you call the police, not clear the room for them? Were they genuinely crazy?
As Hee-young trembled with rage, Ha-ram, picking up on the mood, quietly retreated back to his own bed. Is he embarrassed that someone caught him Guiding? Well, I suppose — he could never even accept watching others Guide, so being caught in the middle of such an intimate scene himself must be mortifying. Ha-ram nodded to himself, understanding.
What kind of weird thing is he thinking now? Suddenly giving me that soft, sympathetic look — what’s that about.
Just as Hee-young was about to say something to Ha-ram, Deputy Shin came bursting in, throwing the patient room door wide open.
“Hee-young! What’s, hah…. What’s going on…? Haah….”
Watching Deputy Shin arrive heaving and gasping for breath, Hee-young clicked his tongue. Urgent matters first.
“Oh, you’re here? What, did you run?”
“Well, hah, Hee-young, khh…! They said you were suddenly asking for us…! I was so startled and worried, hah, I couldn’t wait for the elevator….”
He’s about to keel over…. Hee-young looked at Deputy Shin with a pitying shake of his head. Why not just walk normally instead of sprinting like an idiot?
“You’re young, what are you doing being so out of shape. Ha-ram, do you have water?”
“What? Oh, yes.”
Ha-ram found it impossible to get used to Hee-young — the youngest and the scrawniest of the three — scolding Deputy Shin, no matter how many times he heard it. He laughed to himself, then startled at being called upon and jumped up to find water.
“Oh, looks like it’s all gone. Just a moment. I’ll go fill some up from outside.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I can go instead.”
“No, you need to stay and listen to me.”
At Hee-young’s words, Deputy Shin immediately snapped to attention. As it was, Deputy Seong — Deputy Shin’s direct superior — had been heading up to the top floor since the crack of dawn to lodge a complaint on Shin-yul’s behalf about his brutal, inhumane schedule. On top of that, he’d been beside himself with worry about whether something had happened to Hee-young as well.
Thanks to Shin-yul voluntarily taking on a penalty he never would have received if fault had been properly determined, the two of them were not just burning with frustration — they were reduced to ash. Deputy Shin made a silent vow. While Deputy Seong worked to restore Shin-yul’s schedule to something normal, he himself would provide Hee-young with absolutely perfect support.
“Right, it’s about Han Shin-yul.”
“Oh, Shin-yul. Deputy Seong is actually working on the schedule adjustments as we speak.”
What is he going on about? Hee-young’s expression soured, and Deputy Shin thought, ah, that’s not it? and coughed awkwardly in embarrassment as he quickly racked his brain.
Then what is it? Wait — does he even know about Shin-yul’s schedule right now? He must, right? They met yesterday, didn’t they? Is he trying to request a Dungeon entry? That’s just like them — always bickering but they really are close. But no matter how brutal Shin-yul’s schedule is, how do I convince him that Hee-young’s health comes first?
He was still fake-coughing when the door clicked open and Ha-ram reappeared.
“You’re going to kill the kid, you’ll kill him. Let him drink some water first.”
“Khh…!”
“Oh, here’s the water! Oh goodness. You must have had a really rough time.”
Deputy Shin shot Ha-ram a resentful look despite himself — Ha-ram had returned with water in the blink of an eye, before Deputy Shin had even sorted his thoughts. Why are you so quick on your feet…. What a lively morning you’re having….
Watching Deputy Shin force a smile and down the cup of water in one go, Hee-young spoke casually.
“I want to check Matching Rates with other Espers. See if there’s anyone with a higher rate than Han Shin-yul.”
Deputy Shin, at those words, stared blankly — and promptly spit the water he’d been holding in his mouth all down the front of himself.
Excuse me?
