Even the slightest movement seemed to echo loudly, making him cautious about moving at all.
Huddled under the blanket, Jiwon tensed up as his anxiety grew. At this rate, he felt like he’d experience sleep paralysis.
Hnnng… I’m kind of scared.
He whimpered internally. His body trembled with fear. Then, thinking he saw a shadow pass by the window, his head shot up.
“Huk!”
There was nothing. He’d just scared himself for no reason.
Why is this house so eerily empty…? A ghost might appear.
“…This won’t do.”
Gulping, Jiwon couldn’t bear the fear any longer and suddenly got up, running to Seo Gangwoo’s room. Once his frozen body started moving, he rushed forward as if someone were chasing him. Jiwon opened Seo Gangwoo’s door and dashed right in. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to knock.
Sensing Jiwon’s presence in the room, Seo Gangwoo opened his eyes, sat up, and turned on the mood lamp beside the bed.
Seo Gangwoo’s upper body, shirtless, was exposed as the blanket slid down. Jiwon, who had burst through the door, flinched at the sight. But soon, the situation before his eyes blurred under the snowballing fear that crawled up his back.
“What’s the matter?”
At Seo Gangwoo’s question, Jiwon’s mouth twitched.
…What should I say?
He didn’t want to say like a child that he was too scared to sleep alone because a ghost might appear, but he couldn’t just pretend nothing was wrong and leave the room either. Jiwon stood in place, fidgeting with his feet.
“Well… I mean… the house is too big and… cold and… No! I don’t mean I’m cold…! I was worried the Esper-nim might be cold?”
Jiwon’s expression gradually turned into a tearful face. With his mind numbed by fear, he wanted to bite his own tongue for spouting such nonsensical rambling. He should have just said he was scared.
“And… I’m also worried about the guiding…”
Jiwon’s head drooped lower and lower. He tried to salvage the situation, but the nonsense he’d already blurted out kept circling in his head.
Embarrassed, Jiwon’s ears turned red. The quiet room felt so awkward he thought he’d go crazy.
Ugh… What do I do? Is he upset that I woke him? Opening the door without even knocking was a bit rude, wasn’t it?
Maybe if I go out and sleep in the living room with the lights on, it’ll be okay? …Right! It’ll be less scary with the lights on.
Having thought of a good solution, Jiwon clenched his fists and cautiously raised his head.
“Never mind. I had something to ask, but thinking about it, it’s not urgent… I’m sorry. Sleep well…”
He turned around and grabbed the doorknob, trying to sneak out quietly.
“Guide Kim Jiwon.”
Just then, a voice with a firm tone echoed through the spacious room. At Seo Gangwoo’s call, Jiwon’s body flinched and slowly turned around.
In Jiwon’s eyes, he saw Seo Gangwoo shifting his body to the side and lifting the blanket as if inviting him into the bed.
His eyes widening, Jiwon looked at Seo Gangwoo with a confirming gaze. Seeing him waiting quietly, Jiwon quickly shut the open door and scurried to the bed, worried he might change his mind.
Slipping under the lifted blanket, Jiwon lay down in a proper position and settled in.
Without a word, Seo Gangwoo covered Jiwon’s body with the blanket he’d been holding and lay back down on the bed himself. The room was also large and chilly with its sparse furniture, but the soft glow of the mood lamp and Seo Gangwoo’s presence put Jiwon at ease.
He’s an S-rank Esper, so he must be incredibly strong, right?
He could even beat a ghost. Of course.
Jiwon’s tension and fear melted away. They’d been stuck together since meeting and had shared a bed for two days already, so what did it matter?
The texture of the thick blanket, crisp as if dried thoroughly in the sun, brushed against his cheek. Jiwon rubbed his face against the blanket and closed his eyes. Before long, the steady breathing sounds from beside him became a lullaby, drowsiness washed over him, and he fell into sleep’s embrace.
“……”
Once Jiwon had fallen into a deep sleep, Seo Gangwoo, who had been lying still, opened his eyes. Then he quietly turned on his side, propped up his arm, and looked down at the small face.
Jiwon had fallen asleep with a gentle, baby-like face that made his age of 22 hard to believe.
White skin, a straight forehead, long eyelashes curving in a soft arc, a prominent nose bridge, slightly plump cheeks, and red lips.
Seo Gangwoo found it fascinating how Jiwon slept so defenseless—whether he lacked a sense of danger or trusted him.
Before he knew it, he thought the bunny hood covering Jiwon’s head suited him quite well.
He reached out, grabbed one of the dangling ears on the side of the hood, tugged it lightly, then let it go. Then he brought his hand up to Jiwon’s small face, which seemed like it could be covered entirely with one hand.
He seemed like a completely different species from himself.
Even after that, Seo Gangwoo couldn’t fall asleep easily and continued gazing at Jiwon’s face, this unfamiliar existence, for a long while.
* * *
“Kuh, urk…”
A pained groaning sound reached Jiwon’s ears as he slept.
A chilling coldness emanated from the space beside him. In his hazy state, a familiar situation came to mind, and Jiwon snapped awake and sat up.
Since the mood lamp was on, it wasn’t very dark, and he could immediately take in the surroundings. On the bed, Seo Gangwoo was lying with his back to Jiwon, groaning.
Though he sensed Jiwon sitting up, Seo Gangwoo had to focus all his attention on the waves that had begun raging all at once like a broken dam.
Beep, beep beep-.
Seo Gangwoo’s watch, which had been on since he’d turned it on in Jiwon’s dedicated room, began making sounds. Startled, Jiwon clung to Seo Gangwoo’s back and poured out guiding.
Thanks to that, the violently moving interior maintained a lull and began to settle down. The watch’s sound, which had rung briefly, disappeared.
But he couldn’t be relieved. Jiwon also knew that unlike other Espers, Seo Gangwoo’s watch was set to ring at a higher threshold of 85%.
Jiwon pulled at Seo Gangwoo’s solid body as he turned onto his back.
“Haa… haa…”
Without even opening his eyes, Seo Gangwoo only let out harsh breaths following Jiwon’s touch. His cold skin, as if he’d been pulled out of ice water, glistened with cold sweat.
Jiwon climbed on top of Seo Gangwoo, pressed their bodies together, and lowered his lips to swallow the harsh breaths. The moment Jiwon’s soft, plump lips touched his, Seo Gangwoo moved desperately as if drinking life-giving water.
With the deeply penetrating movement, their pressed-together noses made it hard to breathe, so Jiwon turned his head to the side without separating their lips.
Following Jiwon’s movement, Seo Gangwoo’s face also turned.
After thoroughly indulging in the guiding Jiwon, Seo Gangwoo regretted their briefly separated lips and gave a light peck, then held Jiwon’s body steady so it wouldn’t shake and sat up.
Ending up sitting facing him on Seo Gangwoo’s lap, Jiwon looked at his black eyes.
Jiwon, who had been steadying his heaving breaths, couldn’t take his eyes off his own reflection in Seo Gangwoo’s eyes, then closed them as his face approached.
A large hand cupped Jiwon’s face while the other pulled his waist. With their bodies pressed tightly together, Jiwon also stretched his arms over the broad shoulders and embraced him.
The two’s rapid breathing, the wet squelching sounds of their tongues rubbing together, and the soft sound of their lips parting echoed through the spacious room.
“Hah.”
Seo Gangwoo didn’t pull away for a long time, sucking on Jiwon’s lips as if they were coated with precious honey.
When their touching lips rubbed together, Jiwon’s shoulders shrank at the ticklish sensation.
Jiwon’s mind became hazy and the strength drained from his body at the persistent movement exploring his mouth. He heated up from the thrillingly good sensation.
Though the guiding continued, he couldn’t distinguish whether they were guiding or kissing.
After sharing a long guiding-slash-kiss, the two’s lips separated and they leaned their faces against each other’s shoulders.
Jiwon lowered his arms, which had grown stiff from holding on over Seo Gangwoo’s shoulders, to grasp around his waist.
Under his palms, he felt the firm muscles he himself didn’t have. The uncontrolled, raging waves had now settled down considerably and found their place.
He had heard from Research Director Choi Seunghyeon that the gauge could suddenly shoot up. He’d been scared to sleep alone in the living room that was too cold and too big, so he’d made excuses about guiding when rambling nonsense, and immediately this happened.
He’d let his guard down because he’d spent a considerable amount of the day on Seo Gangwoo’s guiding, thinking it would be fine. Jiwon wanted to pinch his own mouth for being so loose-lipped, but he didn’t raise his languid body after the long kiss.
“How’s your gauge right now?”
Feeling like he might fall asleep sprawled out like this, Jiwon blinked hard once and asked in a murmur.
“It’s 75%.”
Seo Gangwoo glanced at his watch screen and answered.
The gauge, which had been in the low 70s when leaving the Center even without using his abilities, had suddenly shot up to 85%, triggering the watch alarm.
It seemed he’d need to be more careful going forward.
No way… this dangerous state won’t continue like this, will it? Jiwon was worried about Seo Gangwoo’s precarious condition.
“Let’s do a bit more before sleeping.”
Taking a deep breath in and out, Jiwon buried his languid face in Seo Gangwoo’s shoulder and rubbed against it. Whether it tickled, Seo Gangwoo’s body twitched.
It would feel nice if the gauge dropped smoothly like when he’d guided other Espers.
Seo Gangwoo’s gauge was frustratingly slow, moving like a high-speed train when going up but like a sloth when going down.
