# Chapter 20
‘Contact guiding.’
Contact guiding with a bonded partner. No Esper could refuse it. Since it was directly connected to survival, the body instinctively absorbed the guiding energy.
But there was a problem. No matter how much one tried to suppress it, the amount of guiding energy transferring through the point of contact was too great.
‘But if I just had that!’
A solution to this problem emerged. Jaehee looked at the examiner and asked:
“Do you have ability control devices for guides prepared here?”
The examiner showed confusion at the sudden question.
“What? Oh, yes. We have a few… but why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
The examiner’s question was reasonable. Unlike the Esper ability control devices that were constantly needed, guide ability control devices were typically used by newly manifested guides.
Those who had just manifested as guides couldn’t control their guiding abilities and scattered guiding energy everywhere. Moreover, when Espers and guides manifested, it was common for Espers to manifest as alphas and guides as omegas.
This meant they were scattering not only guiding energy but also pheromones everywhere. Espers exposed to both simultaneously naturally lost their senses easily, leading to regrettable incidents.
That’s why newly manifested guides used guide ability control devices while learning to suppress their pheromones.
So when Jaehee, who had manifested as a guide long ago, asked for one, the examiner wondered why it was needed. Still, since Jaehee said it was necessary, the examiner found one and handed it over.
A thin silver bracelet came into Jaehee’s hand. Jaehee immediately put it on his wrist. He felt a sensation like a transparent membrane covering his body, and the energy flowing inside his body began to pool within.
Jaehee immediately released a much greater amount of guiding energy than before.
As expected, most of the guiding energy was blocked, and only a tiny amount flowed outside his body.
In that state, Jaehee looked at Geonwoo and moved closer. Geonwoo’s eyes, which had been crying sorrowfully, darted around.
As Jaehee approached, Geonwoo felt hope rising—perhaps his guide had changed his mind?
But on the other hand, the bracelet that Jaehee had received from the examiner bothered him. A guide ability control device? Geonwoo didn’t know what it was. He was afraid because he didn’t know what Jaehee would do with it.
Jaehee ignored Geonwoo’s gaze full of anxiety and looked at Geonwoo’s hand lying helplessly on the bed. He saw bony fingers with protruding knuckles and carefully placed his hand on them.
Geonwoo’s eyes widened as he felt a tiny amount of guiding energy transferring from the point of contact.
At the point of contact, Geonwoo’s resistance to the guiding collapsed feebly. The senses in that area were opening up brightly as they accepted Jaehee’s guiding.
Geonwoo’s eyes filled with confusion. He had clearly rejected the guiding, yet guiding energy was entering his body. It was incomparable to radiant guiding. His body was arbitrarily absorbing Jaehee’s guiding.
He couldn’t refuse with his own will. His dying body was greedily sucking up the vitality before him. Moreover, through the opened senses, energy from other people flowed in as well.
Jaehee felt it too. The energy inside his body was gradually transferring to Geonwoo. Jaehee turned his head to look at the examination machine. He checked the values. The numbers displayed on the machine were dropping.
But,
‘No, it’s too little…’
Because the contact area was too small, the amount Geonwoo was accepting was infinitely small.
‘This isn’t enough.’
Jaehee removed his hand from Geonwoo. Then he said to the guides behind him:
“Please keep releasing guiding energy.”
After saying that, Jaehee placed his hand on his shirt buttons. One by one, Jaehee’s shirt buttons came undone. Jaehee’s snow-white skin gradually revealed itself.
When Jaehee suddenly started unbuttoning his shirt, one of the guides asked in a tone that couldn’t hide his confusion:
“Uh, what? Why the clothes? Don’t tell me… you’re going to do contact guiding?”
To that question, Jaehee replied in a dry tone:
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“N-no. That’s… uh, no, not at all.”
Faced with Jaehee’s behavior, the guide became flustered and hurriedly finished speaking. For guides, removing the upper body clothing for contact guiding was practically routine. Nothing to be surprised about.
But Jaehee was an exception.
He had always strictly limited his guiding to just holding hands. That was possible because he was an S-class guide, and because he himself wouldn’t allow anything more.
For such a person to be taking off his clothes? That meant he was going to do more than just hold hands. That’s why everyone in the room was surprised.
But the most surprised person here was separate.
It was Geonwoo.
His pupils, looking at Jaehee, were shaking violently. It was as if an earthquake had occurred.
A moment ago Jaehee had suddenly held his hand, and now he was taking off his clothes. As more of Jaehee’s snow-white body was revealed, Geonwoo didn’t know where to place his gaze.
Moreover, among the emotions that had been welling up with sorrow, embarrassingly, bashful feelings were mixing in. As more of Jaehee’s body was revealed, both types of emotions mixed together, creating confusion for Geonwoo.
Normally, Geonwoo should have been angry. He should have hated Jaehee. He should have hated him for trying to make him accept guiding from other people through contact guiding despite his strong refusal.
But all that hatred returned to himself. Geonwoo hated himself the most right now. He couldn’t understand himself.
Each time one of Jaehee’s shirt buttons came undone, a hot flush kept rushing to his face. Geonwoo had never held anyone in his heart before. Being as he was, now wholly containing only Jaehee, his heart was beating extremely violently at Jaehee’s actions.
Geonwoo hurriedly closed his eyes. His emotions were already too complicated just from this situation. It was hard. He was afraid, not knowing when he would be abandoned by Jaehee.
But seeing Jaehee unbuttoning his shirt, other emotions kept surging up. Looking at it felt somehow dangerous. He felt like he was becoming strange.
‘Why am I like this…’
It was strange. A stuffy heat kept rising inside his body, and that hot sensation spread throughout his entire body. It was just a small exposure. And it was the body of another man seen through an open shirt.
‘Why am I trembling like this…’
It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept men. In a world with alphas and omegas, Espers and guides, the distinction between men and women wasn’t important when holding someone in your heart. He was like that too.
But even so… he never imagined that he would be so stirred by the body of a man, something he had seen countless times.
Moreover, judging from their conversation earlier…
‘In that state… he’s going to do contact guiding?’
What was about to happen naturally formed in his mind. Geonwoo’s face reddened further. As if closing his eyes wasn’t enough, Geonwoo squeezed them shut even tighter.
Then suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
Come to think of it,
‘We’re not… alone here!’
Geonwoo opened his eyes wide and hurriedly looked at Jaehee. He scanned his surroundings. His vision filled with everyone in the room looking at Jaehee.
Geonwoo gritted his molars. His forehead wrinkled. His eyes, which had sunk to the bottom, watched them. As if engraving each one in his eyes. He took note of who was looking at Jaehee, who was arbitrarily coveting his guide.
The more he took them in with his eyes, the more murky emotions crept up. They began to dominate his entire body. As if unexpressed emotions had reached their limit, they burst out all at once.
‘Why… why, am I!’
So powerless…
This situation where he was trembling in fear of being abandoned by Jaehee. His body heating up at the sight of the one he had feelings for. This possessiveness that didn’t want to show Jaehee to anyone else.
Because of his powerlessness, there was nothing he could resolve. He was merely sinking deeply into overflowing emotions.
So Geonwoo became desperate.
‘I want to… manifest soon. As an Esper… right now!’
But Jaehee, unaware of his feelings, continued unbuttoning his shirt. Without even caring about others’ gazes.
That made Geonwoo feel upset. He wanted to shout.
‘Don’t take off your clothes! Put them back on! Everyone can see! Other people can all see! I hate it, people watching! I hate it! Don’t show them!’
But the buttons kept coming undone. The body that only he should see was gradually revealed. Geonwoo’s gaze became urgent.
‘Don’t look! Don’t look at him!’
But such outcries only echoed inside Geonwoo, unheard by anyone. People continued to look at Jaehee. Pretending not to, they were carefully examining his body.
That was understandable because Jaehee’s skin, so white it was almost transparent, naturally drew the eye. One might say that a smooth body without any excess fat was possible due to years of training, but the elegance of his lines was another story. It was different from when he was clothed.
