“Let’s talk inside. Espers would be fine if they receive guiding, but Guides aren’t. You want me to take Woo Ilkyung back home now and then go back to my house?
Guides don’t have the ability to guide themselves, so they get tired. Someone made me not sleep yesterday too, so I’m seriously tired to death.”
Come to think of it, somewhere on his pale face, he looked haggard. Ilkyung, who had been observing the situation, hesitantly got down.
“Aaaagh!”
“You stubborn puppy who won’t listen. Let’s go inside and talk. We can talk while you wash up too.”
“Wait, put me down!”
“Look at Woo Ilkyung’s loud voice. You’re going to bring out all the neighbors.”
“There aren’t even any neighbors here!”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s be quiet. It’s so noisy I could die.”
Daehoon, who had slung Woo Ilkyung over his shoulder like a piece of luggage, walked inside with steady steps as if he hadn’t been tired at all. He didn’t care whether Ilkyung was hitting his back with his fists or not. After all, Ilkyung had already scratched him all over with his nails yesterday, so adding a few more fist stamps was nothing.
Daehoon, who came into the house, sat Ilkyung down on the island table. The moment the front door closed, Ilkyung was somewhat flustered because it seemed like Daehoon would go for his lips first, but he didn’t. Not knowing where to look, he just rolled his eyes when Director Ha spoke.
“I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Why?”
“I thought you’d be thirsty from talking so much.”
Ilkyung sat still and followed Daehoon’s back. Daehoon went into the kitchen and came out with water filled with ice. Then he held it out to Ilkyung. The moment he saw the ice water, he realized that he was thirsty.
“Thank you.”
“Ilkyung-ssi.”
“Yes?”
Ilkyung gulped down the water and looked at Daehoon.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know your feelings yet, and it doesn’t matter if you want to pair with me just because we’re both S-ranks.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know since when, but you keep being cute. I don’t like Woo Ilkyung Esper receiving guiding from someone else, so I’m trying to pair with you and keep staying together, so what do you think?”
Ilkyung just blinked while holding the glass. Daehoon took away the water glass that somehow looked precarious and put it aside, then continued speaking.
“Hm? What do you think?”
“But, weren’t you coming to get the matching rate test to pair?”
“No. I went to say I wasn’t pairing. I was trying to say that there’s someone I want to do the matching rate test with, but I don’t know what the other person thinks yet.”
“Ah……”
Only then could Ilkyung understand why Daehoon came down to the matching room, and why he kept giving Ilkyung the choice to pick someone he wanted to pair with.
Ilkyung had kept denying his feelings for Daehoon. It was because of the things he had said during that time. He had boasted that he wouldn’t date someone he knew. And he had also resolved that he absolutely shouldn’t get involved with Director Ha after the contract dating.
“So what do you think, Ilkyung-ssi?”
“I, I like it.”
The words he had spat out during that time passed like a panorama. Moreover, Ilkyung’s head gradually lowered because he was too embarrassed about digging his own grave.
“You like it? What do you like?”
His white nape was quite reddish, showing he wasn’t a little embarrassed. Daehoon, even at this moment, found this Woo Ilkyung cute and tilted his head down to meet his gaze that had gone down.
“Pairing with you, Director.”
“Just that?”
“Ah, why! What else do you want to know! Uh, mmph.”
Daehoon blocked Woo Ilkyung’s gaze that seemed like it would dig into the ground.
When he saw a face with chiseled features right before his eyes, Ilkyung unknowingly squeezed his eyes shut. When soft and tender lips touched his lips, Ilkyung was startled even though it wasn’t their first or second kiss.
When he kissed him to make a smacking sound and pulled his face back, Ilkyung raised his head following Daehoon.
“As for me, aside from that, I like Woo Ilkyung?”
Ilkyung moved his mouth open and closed like a goldfish.
“Does Woo Ilkyung not like it?”
“N-no, I like you too.”
“What do you like?”
“You, Director.”
“Shall we wash up together?”
Daehoon lifted Ilkyung up in one swoop. Ilkyung’s heart was somehow swelling up so much that he couldn’t look at his face. He couldn’t show his embarrassed face to Daehoon right now. So Ilkyung just hugged Daehoon tightly and hid his face on his shoulder.
* * *
“Ah, ah! I said it hurts!”
“Even if it hurts, endure it a bit. I have to apply medicine, don’t I? Who would have thought you’d fall there.”
He didn’t know how many times they did it in the bathroom. Daehoon, who had thoroughly devoured him until Ilkyung became completely limp and exhausted, with a face like a satiated predator, came out of the bathroom, put Woo Ilkyung down on the sofa, and brought the first aid kit.
Daehoon clicked his tongue while watching Woo Ilkyung throwing a fit saying it hurt when he applied disinfectant to the wound.
“You’re really exaggerating.”
“It’s not exaggerating! It stings so much. You don’t know because you haven’t experienced it, Director.”
“That’s why I’m asking why you fell over there. You scared me.”
“I didn’t know either.”
Ilkyung’s face turned red as if he was still embarrassed even now thinking about it.
“You use your telekinesis just fine, so why did you fall there?”
Daehoon asked while fanning the wound covered with disinfectant with his hand.
“Because I was looking at you, Director.”
“Why were you looking at me? Was I that cool?”
Ilkyung pouted his lips.
“Answer me. Hm?”
“I didn’t know you’d come, Director.”
“I’m the one in charge of the explosion team.”
“You never went to accident scenes before. Last time too, you said Henry and noona were there, so you stayed with me and— ah, never mind.”
Ilkyung was speaking and then closed his mouth. Last time when Daehoon and he were leaving work, after Ilkyung used his telekinesis, other Espers immediately dispatched to the scene. Daehoon, who was the chief in charge of that scene, said what would a Guide do there and took Ilkyung home with him, and after that the two had thoroughly made out.
“So you thought maybe I came because I was worried about Woo Ilkyung?”
“No way. Do you think I’m someone overflowing with groundless confidence?”
“You can be overflowing with groundless confidence. I went because I was worried about Woo Ilkyung.”
Daehoon said as he put away the first aid kit and got up from his seat. Then he turned his back.
There’s a saying not to show your back to a beast, but there was no rule about not showing your back to a bad-tempered Maltese. However, it seemed like such a saying needed to be newly created. Woo Ilkyung climbed onto the sofa and jumped straight onto Daehoon’s back.
“You’re trying to get hurt!”
“You’ll catch me well, Director.”
“You really have no caution, what is this. There aren’t many S-rank telekinesis types in our country, so take care of your body, will you? Imagine saying you got hurt while playing around at your boyfriend’s house. How absurd would that be.”
Even while saying that, Daehoon properly supported and carried Ilkyung on his back. Ilkyung dangled on Daehoon’s back and started chattering.
“Huh? Did you just call me your boyfriend?”
“I’m your boyfriend. I said boyfriend’s house. Were you going to say friend’s house again? Or noona’s house?”
“Ah, geez! Stop it.”
“What excuse are you going to make tomorrow? Are you going to tell noona again that you slept at a friend’s house?”
“I don’t know. If noona really throws a suitcase at me, I trust you’ll do something about it, Director.”
“What am I supposed to do. I’ll help you find a studio apartment.”
When the desired answer didn’t come out, Ilkyung, who was on his back, rubbed his face all over his back. Daehoon wasn’t surprised since he already knew he had a talkative personality and liked to act cute.
“Get down here for a moment.”
Daehoon, who had stopped near the island table, said.
“Can’t you keep carrying me? My legs are still shaking because of you, Director.”
“What did we do so much that you’re like this.”
“Even when I said I was hungry, you kept going.”
“That’s why I’m trying to feed you something delicious now. Get down a bit. I can’t cook while carrying Woo Ilkyung in front of the fire.”
“Even so. I’m not food, and you’re telling me to get down on the table.”
“Wait a bit. I’ll feed you and then eat Woo Ilkyung too.”
