After receiving guiding, he had asked Jaehwi to stop by his office, but Jaehwi hadn’t shown himself for five days now. It felt like they’d returned to that moment when he had avoided him, saying he didn’t want a Guide after being told he’d assign one.
According to reports, he appeared at set times every day to use Training Room X. And as if he planned to try the guiding of all the Guides in the center who hadn’t formed exclusive bonds, he was receiving radiative guiding from at least five or more Guides per day. Due to his refusal, he wasn’t wearing a watch that could check his stability and condition, so no actual information remained at the center, but since he was receiving guiding, it was clear he was managing well enough on his own.
“This is the draft contract for Nox.”
Raon, who was about to pick up the file the contract team had made, let out a small sigh at the sharp pain that started from his fingertips. He was someone who hadn’t paid any attention to exercise except breathing exercises. If there was anything he enjoyed, it was swimming, but even that was just because he liked playing in warm water—it wasn’t professional.
And yet here he was, waking up at 6 AM to do at least an hour of stretching-focused exercise, and after work doing nearly 2 hours of strength training. Knowing it wouldn’t get better overnight, he told himself not to be impatient, but after pushing himself without rest for five days straight, with just a bit of exaggeration, even his hair seemed to hurt.
Raon chose to leave the file on the table and flip through it sideways rather than picking it up and reading it, carefully reviewing the draft they’d created. It wasn’t much different from when they’d hastily made it because Jaehwi was making a fuss about wanting to sign a contract quickly.
The items that needed to be included would all be there anyway, and they were just putting their heart into the parts the center could additionally provide. Additionally, while checking the personal details of the Guides currently under discussion by the center, Raon’s expression hardened when he noticed Aiden Jung was missing.
He hadn’t expected at all that the one person he had specifically pointed out and insisted be included would be missing—and no one else but that person.
“Why is Aiden Jung missing?”
“There’s still no answer.”
Recalling that Aiden had been contacted after Jaehwi signed with the center, Raon sighed. Even the small attempt to lean back in his chair made his muscles scream.
“Fix the checked items and bring me the main draft before you leave work. He must be receiving contract proposals from other places too, and ours can’t be the only one that’s late.”
After sending the employee out with the report, Raon slowly stood up from his seat, gripping the desk. He couldn’t just sit there because of something that had suddenly occurred to him while looking at the contract.
Since he was receiving sufficient guiding, he probably didn’t need stabilizers, but it would still be ideal to have stabilizers made for Jaehwi.
“While I’m at it, I should ask for some muscle pain relievers too… Ugh. I’m dying. This is why people break down when they do things they don’t usually do. What riches and glory am I going to enjoy? Really, Min Jaehwi. You need to appreciate what I’m going through.”
Raon, who had gripped his waist with one hand and taken a deep breath, deliberately ignored his muscles’ screams and left his office with as peaceful an expression as possible. Since he had gone to the training room last time too, that’s how they met—running into Jaehwi by chance in the vast center was definitely not an easy thing.
Especially not in a situation where Jaehwi seemed to be deliberately avoiding him. But Raon, who had been heading to the research lab, only realized after arriving in front of the guiding room that he had to pass through here to get to the research lab.
And seeing the Guides gathered in front of the guiding room, he could easily infer who was inside right now.
“Who’s in there now?”
“A Guide from Team A.”
Listening to the Guides’ conversation, Raon entered the guiding room and stood in front of the transparent window. He could see Jaehwi lying comfortably on a motion bed designed to support the upper body, eyes closed, and a Guide sitting in a chair a little distance away.
“How long does it take?”
“Usually doesn’t go over 3 minutes.”
Raon, who ended up hearing the parts he was curious about through the Guides’ conversation, crossed his arms while standing at an angle. He could wait 3 minutes. While Jaehwi showed no movement at all, as if he’d fallen asleep, he could see the sitting Guide’s condition deteriorating in real-time.
First their breathing, then their posture became disheveled. The Guide raised a hand to touch their forehead, stood up staggering, and quietly opened the door and came out. Outside, there was talk about who would go in next and that five people were done for today, but unlike outside, Jaehwi remained there as he was.
Entering the guiding room was quite an impulsive act. Even knowing it wouldn’t be of much help to him, all of Raon’s actions as he entered the guiding room were cautious, trying to reduce his footsteps. After closing the door, Raon approached not the chair where Guides sat, but where Jaehwi was lying.
Had he really fallen asleep?
Raon, who had been staring at Jaehwi’s face, moved his creaking body and bent his upper body slightly toward him. Was he uncomfortable even in sleep? Since his breathing became a bit rough and his eyes furrowed, Raon brought both hands to his ears, and as always, cupped his hands and covered his ears.
At how he didn’t wake even when touched, Raon transferred his energy through his hands as he’d been coached. He had thought he was relaxed and asleep, but when the wrinkles around his eyes smoothed out and the tension disappeared from Jaehwi’s body, a faint smile appeared on Raon’s lips.
So this is guiding.
It was the first time watching Jaehwi become comfortable.
With the awkward standing position and the continuing muscle pain, Raon sat lightly on the edge of the bed. Because of that, the guiding was interrupted for a moment, but there was no major problem continuing the guiding.
Others said 3 minutes, but had it even been 30 seconds since he started? No matter how much he tried to gather it, the energy only depleted quickly. Just a little more… Raon’s jaw tensed as he tried to bring over even a bit more of the energy scattered from his head to his toes.
Hup.
The energy that had been like a trickling stream gradually decreased, and at the same time the thread-like connection snapped, Raon gasped.
Jaehwi, whose eyes had clearly been closed, was looking at him, and both hands that had been covering his ears were captured in one of his hands at some point.
Like a child caught doing something wrong, Raon couldn’t readily move.
Not wanting to meet his gaze, he looked at Jaehwi’s large hand gripping both his wrists. An awkward silence continued. Although his wrists hurt a little, it wasn’t really uncomfortable, and he swallowed a sigh of relief inside at the warmth he felt from Jaehwi’s hand.
He tried to shake it off from his memory, but the last image of Jaehwi before regression kept grabbing his ankle. So whenever he looked at him, he found himself checking his complexion, looking closely at his skin. He never wanted to experience again holding Jaehwi’s body gone cold.
The moment he released the bound hands, Jaehwi got up from the bed and got down on the opposite side from Raon. At the sight of Jaehwi heading straight for the door without any words or actions, Raon finally opened his mouth.
“The final contract has to be done with me, so how long are you going to avoid me?”
“I haven’t received the contract yet.”
“I was planning to send it by tomorrow morning, but you still haven’t given me your contact information and address.”
Raon, sitting on the edge of the bed, looked down at both his palms. They said if he expended all the energy he had and got sufficient rest, it would return. Since he was also practicing radiative guiding every day, Jiwon’s words were true.
Also the words that since the container he had wasn’t large, he had no choice but to raise the quality. But since he couldn’t get feedback from the person who received his guiding, he couldn’t know the exact situation. He had no intention of guiding other Espers, so if Jaehwi didn’t tell him, it would definitely take much more time to learn.
Raon clenched and opened his fists, then pressed both palms together, and slowly raised his head when he felt no answering words or presence.
“Team Leader Kang.”
“Yeah.”
“Are we in a relationship where we can speak comfortably in private? If you have feelings of guilt or pity toward a young Esper, just let them go.”
“It would be a lie to say I don’t have guilt or pity, and I just want to help you.”
“Who’s helping whom?”
When Jaehwi, who had been showing his back, slowly turned around, Raon quickly moved his gaze elsewhere.
“I’m uncomfortable with you, Team Leader Kang. I think a relationship of center team leader and affiliated Esper is just right, and I’d like to hear Team Leader Kang’s opinion. The answer you give now will have a big influence on which center I choose to contract with.”
For both sides to have similar feelings toward each other was truly a remarkable and important thing. Unlike when he had shown blind favoritism toward him, dealing with Jaehwi who now held feelings of discomfort close to hostility was difficult.
Making light jokes, enjoying playful physical contact, eating together, the series of actions of embracing and sleeping together—Raon was only now properly realizing the emotions that had permeated those acts. What did the age difference matter, what did the grade difference matter?
What had been such a big problem for him back then was now a problem for Jaehwi. How terrible must it be for a C-grade Guide six years older to say he wants to become exclusive and wants to get along well with you? On top of that, bringing up a friendship from childhood that wasn’t even worth mentioning. But what could he do when that was all he had to offer?
He had never tried to please anyone, never tried to make a good impression.
Worrying about how to make the other person happy was also not something Raon did.
