He’d never thought about suing Jung Sijun. He might have wanted to charge at him and grab him by the collar. But he had no idea why there was talk of settlement money.
“Since you signed the contract, we’re working together again anyway.”
Jung Sijun began speaking to resolve Yoon Kihyun’s confusion. Yoon Kihyun nodded as if to say continue.
“Whatever the reason, it’s true that I called you by that nickname at the Center, and from what you said last time, it seems like you were really stressed.”
“…”
“This is money I’m giving to make myself feel better. Honestly, I want to get along well with you, Yoon Kihyun-ssi, but all I have is money.”
All he has is money?
It was the first time in his life he’d heard such words. Someone didn’t have that money and until just recently was thinking of nothing but dying.
Of course, he knew that his poverty wasn’t Jung Sijun’s fault, and that even having such thoughts was an inferiority complex, but he couldn’t help being annoyed.
‘Just how much money does he have to send this kind of money calling it settlement money when I didn’t even sue him?’
He tried not to look, but his gaze kept going to the amount transferred to his account.
Even though he hadn’t worked for a month, a larger amount than that was deposited under the bizarre pretext of settlement money. No matter how he thought about it, there was only one reason Jung Sijun was doing this.
“If you’re pitying me because I’m sick…”
Yoon Kihyun, who had been muttering almost to himself without thinking, trailed off. Because Jung Sijun’s expression proved his guess was wrong.
‘His expression…’
Jung Sijun was flustered. It wasn’t the face of someone flustered because their inner thoughts were exposed, but truly troubled because that wasn’t the meaning behind this at all.
Well, thinking about it, it was Yoon Kihyun himself who arbitrarily announced he was sick, and he’d only said the medicine was expensive but never mentioned the name of the disease or anything else.
Even if Jung Sijun’s unsettled settlement money really was an act stemming from pity, it was a sufficiently sincere amount.
Whether money was rotting away or not, he’d look foolish to stubbornly refuse when someone was giving this large sum saying they wanted to feel better.
“No. I’ll accept it gratefully since you’re giving it.”
“That’s not what I meant by giving it. Really.”
Jung Sijun added, seeming to struggle a bit unlike himself. Yoon Kihyun had the same thought as Jung Sijun, so he quietly nodded.
“I won’t care what Jung Sijun-ssi called me at the Center before. I’ve received enough settlement money and apology.”
Yoon Kihyun believed in working properly for what he received. Just as he always did his best at the Center, he planned to guide Jung Sijun better than anyone from now on.
He hadn’t asked for it first, but having received settlement money, he didn’t want to keep bringing up past matters and act pathetically.
“But this won’t be a tax problem later, right?”
When Yoon Kihyun asked a half-joking question, the conversation atmosphere became much lighter. Jung Sijun, who had been at a loss, also shook his head with a slightly more comfortable expression.
“Ah, that kind of thing will all be handled, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Sure. Well, it’s nice that my employer is so generous.”
Definitely, rich guys spend money refreshingly too.
Yoon Kihyun shook off the thought of digging deeper and glanced at Jung Sijun. Color was returning to his pale complexion.
“Get your pen.”
Yoon Kihyun casually pushed the pen sitting alone on the table toward Jung Sijun. When their fingers touched then, their wavelengths tangled for a moment.
“Ah.”
The moment their wavelengths tangled briefly, Jung Sijun let out a short sigh and grimaced. Yoon Kihyun’s words were blocked by the disastrous wavelength he felt, even if just for a moment.
The fact that he could feel it even though he hadn’t deliberately tried to pull in the wavelength meant Jung Sijun wasn’t properly controlling his wavelength.
“Didn’t you receive guiding?”
Today, Jung Sijun had finished dealing with special Gates that occurred consecutively near the metropolitan area, and as soon as he returned late at night, he’d rushed straight here to meet Yoon Kihyun.
So naturally he’d thought he would have received guiding, but the wavelength he encountered was a complete mess.
“This is how it is after receiving it.”
“Your wavelength control isn’t working well right now.”
Yoon Kihyun looked at Jung Sijun with a concerned gaze.
In the past, he might have ground his teeth calling him a bratty bastard, but now he was an Esper and employer he had to care for.
He had to work properly for what he received, but the wavelength he had to take responsibility for was more of a mess than expected. To the point where he wondered how he managed to move inside a Gate with such a messed-up wavelength.
“Why I’m clinging to you, Yoon Kihyun-ssi, going on about settlement money and whatnot… You understand now, right?”
Jung Sijun smiled awkwardly and muttered quietly. Only then did Jung Sijun’s appearance properly enter his eyes.
Heavily bloodshot whites, temples with bulging veins, strangely rough breathing.
When Yoon Kihyun’s gaze was wandering over Jung Sijun’s face, a water droplet beaded at the end of Jung Sijun’s bangs dropped onto the table with a plop.
At that moment, a very small ripple arose in Yoon Kihyun’s heart too.
At first, he’d thought it was an offer close to the whim of a rich young master with lots of money, but Jung Sijun’s feelings might have been more desperate than he thought.
“Since awakening, there hasn’t been a day I didn’t hurt, so this much is bearable. It’s daily life, so it’s not even surprising.”
Jung Sijun muttered in a plain tone as he filed away the contract with Yoon Kihyun’s signature. But Yoon Kihyun knew better than anyone that this didn’t mean he was okay.
Putting aside personal feelings, he himself was the person who had guided Jung Sijun’s wavelength for quite a long time.
There were times when other team leaders took on the guiding, but generally Jung Sijun’s guiding was often handled by Yoon Kihyun. That was partly because Yoon Kihyun tended to guide whatever came his way, but it was also a schedule that reflected Jung Sijun’s subtle preferences.
‘His condition is similar to right before he rampaged last time, what “bearable” my ass.’
Pain that torments the body being daily life was accompanied by unspeakable unpleasantness and suffering.
Having been in pain himself, those words from Jung Sijun resonated deeply more than anyone else’s could. It was an emotion he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t been suffering from an illness with a name still so unfamiliar he couldn’t recall it all at once.
‘I received the money, so I should do my job.’
Yoon Kihyun looked straight into Jung Sijun’s eyes and held out his hand.
“Want to receive guiding now?”
“Here?”
Jung Sijun asked back as if somewhat reluctant. Looking at his condition, it wouldn’t be enough even if he demanded guiding right now, yet such a question came out first.
“Honestly, you’re not in good shape.”
Jung Sijun closed his mouth as if he couldn’t deny it. Yoon Kihyun, who glanced at his stubbornly pressed lips, wiggled his hand as if urging.
“From now on, I’ll be in charge of your guiding, Jung Sijun-ssi, so shouldn’t I check once in advance whether my guiding skills are still the same?”
“You don’t really need to do that…”
Jung Sijun was frowning when his eyes met Yoon Kihyun’s and he let out a small sigh.
Not knowing how people feel, offering to guide in a place like this. Still, his mood was better than ever.
Wasn’t it Yoon Kihyun’s guiding that he’d longed for so much? Actually, even now he felt like he’d go crazy needing guiding, but he was habitually suppressing it.
Moreover, when Yoon Kihyun was the one offering to guide first, he couldn’t keep refusing.
“Then…”
Jung Sijun carefully reached out his hand.
Why was placing his hand on top of Yoon Kihyun’s white hand so nerve-wracking? Even though he’d received guiding to the point of being sick of it, his breath strangely caught.
‘What is this, why am I trembling and shit?’
For Jung Sijun, guiding was classified in a category similar to breathing. That’s why he had no hesitation receiving guiding in the Center’s guiding rooms, temporary bases, or even places filled with people’s phones and cameras all around.
Just as people don’t breathe while picking a location, for Jung Sijun, guiding was an act he could receive anywhere. Besides, it hadn’t been just a day or two since he’d entrusted his wavelength to Yoon Kihyun.
The reason he’d begged and pleaded right now, shoving money at Yoon Kihyun to ask for guiding, was also because Yoon Kihyun was the only person who could understand and purify his wavelength well.
But now that he was actually about to receive guiding again, what on earth was the reason he was nervous?
“You really look in bad shape. I’ll start guiding.”
Unable to watch Jung Sijun hesitate any longer, Yoon Kihyun grabbed Jung Sijun’s hand that had awkwardly approached near his own hand first.
At the sensation of soft fingers wrapping around and gripping his fingers, Jung Sijun’s body stiffened.
It was because the wavelength that had been moving around as if it would sizzle and melt his entire body suddenly escaped through their clasped fingers.
‘Wow, fuck.’
Yoon Kihyun’s hand was white and slender, but clearly a man’s—solid to anyone’s eyes. His fingertips were a bit hotter than other places and the flesh of his fingertips was soft, but the bones were thicker and firmer than expected.
His vision spun from the contrast between his own hand, slightly tanned from frequent training and Gate raids, and Yoon Kihyun’s white hand.
“Ah.”
When a certain thrill starting from the crown of his head struck down like lightning, Jung Sijun moaned quietly and squeezed his eyes shut. It was Yoon Kihyun’s guiding that he’d mulled over so many times.
‘Why did I take this for granted? It’s not like I’m a crazy bastard.’
