Hae-il glared sideways at Moon Woo-shin’s back while moving his body that felt stiff for no reason.
“Sit.”
“Ah, yes.”
After appropriately hiding his expression and going to sit to the side, a video played on the monitor in front.
It was a video he’d seen yesterday too. The recorded video of that Gate where Hae-il had fainted.
“If you see anything new, tell me. Even very small things.”
Watching it on screen didn’t give much impression. Hae-il carefully examined the scene where he suddenly couldn’t control his body, the scene where a tree-like monster swung its branches to attack, and the appearance of himself ultimately fainting right after Moon Woo-shin took it instead.
Meanwhile, Moon Woo-shin observed Hae-il’s reaction. He also checked while releasing light guiding whether the same rejection reaction as that time appeared.
When he seemed fine, he even suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Hae-il, who was startled at the unexpected contact, hastily pulled his hand back.
“…What is it?”
“Contact guiding.”
“Why suddenly, I’m fine though.”
At the defensive attitude, Moon Woo-shin’s eyebrow curved diagonally. With a gaze as if looking at something pathetic, he tapped the monitor with the back of his finger.
A voice that deliberately broke off as if emphasizing followed rigidly.
“Forgot you showed an abnormal reaction to guiding at the scene? I said yesterday too that you need to figure out exactly what you reacted to so you can either avoid it or handle it.”
“Ah.”
“Not concentrating?”
Hae-il, who had been hesitating, held out his hand again. Moon Woo-shin’s hand covered over his wrist again. Though his wrist isn’t on the thin side, is Moon Woo-shin’s hand on the large side? It covered generously and more.
From beneath the hand that gripped with appropriate pressure, guiding wavelength began to flow out.
Unlike the radiant guiding they’d been doing, contact guiding had no waiting time or time to prepare mentally.
The wavelength that immediately permeated as if stabbing beneath the skin gently wrapped around his wrist, then climbed up his arm and spread upward. As if caressing.
There wasn’t even a bit of the sharp feeling he usually felt. A soft and squishy texture felt ticklish. It feels like my whole body is being newly composed and filled while wrapped in intangible force.
And….
“Haaa…..”
Hae-il unknowingly exhaled a long breath.
It’s natural to feel good when receiving guiding, but beyond simply that level, the sensation is gradually expanding in a strange direction.
In vulgar terms, he was a bit… turned on.
It feels like heat is spreading for no reason, so as soon as he raised his head to come to his senses, he made direct eye contact with Moon Woo-shin. It was natural since he’d been observing his reaction the whole time.
That indifferent gaze brought me fully to my senses.
“Th-that’s enough now.”
“Enough what?”
“It’s completely different from that feeling at that time. I don’t think it’s because of guiding.”
When he twisted his wrist to pull it out, Moon Woo-shin let go without much to say.
“In my opinion, that tree-like monster is suspicious, when we first entered the Gate too….”
Even while stating his opinion pretending to be calm, inside he was confused.
‘Is it because it’s been too long since I had contact guiding?’
Originally, light contact guiding like holding hands was mandatory to receive periodically. It had been quite a while since he’d gone for the recent two months or so since just the radiant guiding received during training was enough.
It seems it felt stimulating because I suddenly raised the level to contact and poured it in after only receiving radiant guiding. I originally had good compatibility with Moon Woo-shin too.
“Then let’s change direction tomorrow. Now next.”
“Yes. But can I come a bit late tomorrow?”
Just as he was about to move on to the next training, he quickly brought it up first.
It was a schedule decided impromptu just now. From experience, guiding issues are especially better solved as soon as you feel something strange.
As soon as he threw the question, Moon Woo-shin raised his eyebrow.
“Reason?”
“I’m going to visit the Guiding Center. It’s been a while since I received regular guiding.”
The corner of his mouth rose diagonally.
“Ah. Guiding.”
“Yes.”
“The guiding you receive throughout training should overflow. Are you saying you’re openly going to enjoy yourself right now?”
“…Yes?”
“Are you saying you’re going to fuck around to the point of reducing training time?”
“No, it’s not that….”
Absurd, he was at a loss for words.
Of course, there were Espers or Guides who used guiding for that purpose. Actually, quite a lot. It was certain that the closer the contact became, the deeper they became emotionally entangled with each other, sexual pleasure followed.
But it was a distant story from Hae-il.
If even a little leisure arose, I’m busy working for immediate livelihood, or studying for future livelihood, or if not that, building connections to expand my network—there’s no way I’d have time to properly date.
Nor was making a light partner relationship solely for the purpose of sexual release his preference at all.
“You said you can’t do anything but this, was that desperation at a level that gets pushed aside by sexual desire?”
However, listening to Moon Woo-shin’s sarcasm, embarrassment soon evolved into absurdity, and then into displeasure.
“Looking at you jumping to conclusions, it’s not that you’re at that level yourself, is it?”
“Then explain. What other reason is there to need additional guiding in a situation where you have to receive guiding from me all day?”
“Even if it’s correct that I’m going to fuck around, it’s ‘mandatory’ guiding, so what does it matter?”
“Wasting time because of useless things is the problem, Hae-il. It’s not even mandatory at your current guiding index.”
An inexplicable sense of pressure was felt from the name called out of nowhere. While Hae-il hesitated for a moment, Moon Woo-shin, who had been staring persistently, continued.
“If you have leisure to talk shit without a convincing reason, analyze my wavelength. Before I really use even travel time as training time.”
At the same time, a dense guiding wavelength wrapped around the surroundings. The fiercely rushing wavelength pushed in forcefully as if injecting guiding by force.
‘Crazy.’
Is it because the guiding index is already full at 100%? This time, even without contact, he began to feel strangely rapid.
Hae-il, who was alarmed at the ticklish feeling of heat rising, hastily covered his mouth with his hand and stepped back.
“I got it, so stop.”
The wavelength that had been filling the surroundings only gradually thinned in concentration after a few seconds. Suppressing the instinctively regretful feeling, Hae-il gritted his teeth.
It’s the first time reacting this much to a specific Guide’s guiding. He felt like he finally understood a bit what it meant to be swayed by guiding. Though it’s a bit different from what’s commonly said, anyway this is unpleasant and repulsive in its own way.
Hae-il, who had lived maintaining only amicable relationships without particularly disliking or being conscious of anyone, felt for the first time in his life unfamiliar emotions creeping in.
Dirty traces remained in the place swept and dug up by emotions that rippled as if swept by waves.
‘Annoying. So irritating.’
It was emotion twisted in the wrong direction.
I don’t like any of it—that always sharp way of speaking and cold attitude, that thoroughness of looking down loftily while not giving even a sliver of gap, that opinionated tendency to judge people arbitrarily.
***
Jang Yun-seo watched Moon Woo-shin and Seo Hae-il enter the team training hall side by side today again with suspicious eyes.
They would converse in low voices, then glance at other people, and stealthily move closer together while continuing their conversation in even lower voices—it all looked very suspicious.
Were they plotting some conspiracy? The atmosphere and tone didn’t feel particularly soft, but seeing them stick together alone like that so often lately, they’d definitely gotten quite close.
Seo Hae-il was the type who got along well with anyone without discrimination, so that was fine, but seeing Moon Woo-shin—whom he’d observed since freshman year—standing so close to another person was a first, and quite fascinating.
“Why do you two always come together?”
When he casually approached and asked, both their gazes instantly focused on him. Unlike Moon Woo-shin, who looked annoyed, Seo Hae-il’s expression noticeably brightened as he greeted him and answered.
“We ran into each other up ahead by chance.”
What were the odds of that coincidence repeating every single day?
He was about to ask more, but Moon Woo-shin changed the subject first.
“Is everyone here?”
“The preparations are almost done already.”
“What I asked you yesterday?”
“Oh, that.”
As they talked, Seo Hae-il had already approached the other team members and was mixing in cheerfully.
Jang Yun-seo turned his head without much thought and looked up at Moon Woo-shin, feeling puzzled.
The conversation partner was clearly him, but Moon Woo-shin’s gaze was precisely fixed on Seo Hae-il.
