He also knew this was crazy. But there weren’t many ways to catch Yoon Kihyun’s attention.
After being rejected over the watch and going together to his father’s columbarium, the relationship between Yoon Kihyun and Jung Sijun remained awkward. He thought they’d grow closer, but it strangely felt like more distance had formed.
Unlike that, he still seemed to be in regular contact with Seo Igyeong. Of course, he’d received definite confirmation several times that he had absolutely no intention of accepting Seo Igyeong’s personal guide offer, enough to snap at him irritably, but being anxious was still being anxious.
As expected, seeing Yoon Kihyun worry about him, this strategy was well worth it. He was thinking of developing it a bit more and pretending to be sick.
He subtly leaned his forehead lightly against Yoon Kihyun’s shoulder. He didn’t forget to tilt it at an angle where the dressing attached to his cheek was clearly visible.
“Actually my side hurts too and I’m feeling strangely weak today, but it’s funny that it’s bearable because Yoon Kihyun-ssi is here.”
“That’s not funny at all.”
Seriously, he had absolutely zero sense of mood.
Yoon Kihyun was still not easy. However, Jung Sijun didn’t back down and subtly murmured in his ear.
“So, about that.”
“…”
“Give me more guiding when we get back to the center. They got a complaint so we have to clear it as fast as possible.”
He mentioned the complaint to play around, but the content itself was true.
Even though they’d finished earlier than the expected clear time, instructions came down to do minimal guiding and return to the center to handle the rest.
Because it was an area close to a residential district, the higher-ups were anxious to quickly calm citizens’ anxiety. It seemed people in high positions had put subtle pressure because property values were dropping.
“That damn complaint.”
Yoon Kihyun shook his head.
Anyway, this crazy center.
Whether Espers or guides, they only knew how to work them, and it pissed him off that they still had no intention of protecting them from malicious complaints. No matter how much money was the priority, times like this were disillusioning.
“When do they want to do the demolition?”
“They said ten minutes? Originally it was five minutes, but when I flipped my eyes, it suddenly doubled. Isn’t that fucking hilarious?”
No, why are you only saying this now? Yoon Kihyun shook his head and closed his eyes as if telling him to shut up. He had to calm Jung Sijun’s wavelength as much as possible before the base was demolished, but time was tight.
“I’ll guide just enough for you to move from here, and we’ll finish the rest at the center.”
“Yep.”
Having heard Yoon Kihyun’s confirmation, Jung Sijun answered energetically. He didn’t forget to subtly close his eyes following Yoon Kihyun.
***
It felt like Jung Sijun was getting injured frequently these days.
He’d been quiet until yesterday, but today he came in with a half-cast on his arm. Yoon Kihyun tilted his head sideways and murmured.
“…It’s a cast.”
“They said it’ll heal by tomorrow morning at the latest, but it’s better to stabilize it until then.”
Jung Sijun shook his right arm slightly. Today too, he deliberately injured himself and came out of the gate.
The crazy thing he’d started to at least receive Yoon Kihyun’s gaze for a long time because he was keeping his distance was working well. He planned to continue for a while.
Only Yoon Kihyun, who had no idea Jung Sijun was committing this crazy act, fell into deep anguish.
‘Is there a problem with my guiding?’
Even when guiding was always insufficient at the center, the injuries of someone who rarely got hurt had sharply increased.
His recent changes were only to the extent of employing a personal guide. Since he was the only guide in charge of him, such thoughts naturally arose.
Yoon Kihyun pressed the tip of his index finger hard with his nail. It was a habit he often did when he had a lot on his mind. He only had one Esper to look after, Jung Sijun, but he kept getting injured, so his nerves were on edge.
“Why does your expression look so serious again?”
“I only have one Esper in charge but he keeps getting injured. I can’t help but worry.”
“I just let my guard down for a moment. Should I say my judgment gets momentarily loose during combat because my condition is better than before?”
“…Is there anything to give feedback on for the guiding?”
“Feedback? It’s just fucking awesome.”
Jung Sijun felt the seriousness of the situation seeing Yoon Kihyun’s brow that wouldn’t smooth out. The sudden search for guiding feedback too.
‘Don’t tell me he thinks I got hurt because he’s lacking?’
Looking at his face deep in thought, it seemed almost certain. This was unexpected and flustering.
Yoon Kihyun’s guiding was flawless. He didn’t know if his understanding had increased since he started only purifying his wavelength, but he was feeling the guiding becoming more refined day by day—what kind of misunderstanding was this? Naturally, he was the one who provided the cause again.
‘Ah, fuck. This isn’t it…’
Jung Sijun subtly pulled down the stuffy half-cast and murmured. He didn’t want this kind of reaction and deliberately did that dog-like behavior. His mouth tasted bitter.
“There won’t be any minor injuries from now on. I’ll be careful too. There’s really no problem with the guiding. My physical condition is really the best since awakening. These days I just can’t concentrate on combat because I’m distracted.”
“…If there’s a problem with the guiding, tell me. That’s what you pay me that expensive salary for.”
“That’s true, but there’s really no problem.”
“Sit down first. I’ll give you guiding.”
Jung Sijun obediently sat down. Even though quite a bit of time had passed since the guiding started, Yoon Kihyun’s face was stiff.
It was just a ploy to use the injury as an excuse to talk more, but how did things turn out like this? It was a clear error in judgment.
“Um, Yoon Kihyun-ssi.”
At Jung Sijun’s call, Yoon Kihyun slightly raised his gaze. It wasn’t just a day or two that Jung Sijun chattered while receiving guiding. However, today he wished he’d be a bit quiet.
Of all things, he was treating a rare disease that only developed in guides, so it would be troublesome if problems arose with guiding. The doctor in charge of Yoon Kihyun’s treatment advised him to refrain from excessive guiding as much as possible.
‘The best would be to stop guiding and focus only on treatment, but…’
‘I really have to work.’
‘Yes. Then it would be good to proceed with a maximum of less than 10 minutes per day, and keep the frequency as low as possible.’
Yoon Kihyun’s guiding tended to finish within 10 minutes at most, so following the doctor’s recommendation was easy.
Unable to withstand the blatant gaze waiting for an answer, Yoon Kihyun reluctantly responded.
“…What?”
“What if.”
“…”
“If I’d been good to Kihyun-ssi from when you were at the center, so… from the beginning, would it have been a bit different?”
It was an unusually calm voice for Jung Sijun. Yoon Kihyun stared at Jung Sijun while purifying the jagged wavelength. His Adam’s apple was moving ceaselessly, as if very tense.
‘What kind of question is this?’
Yoon Kihyun also made many such hypothetical scenarios, but always thought them futile. Nevertheless, Jung Sijun asking such a question meant this current situation wasn’t comfortable for him.
“Remember what I say well, get less angry at me, look at me a bit more favorably…”
“What are you trying to say?”
Yoon Kihyun asked back while looking at the half-cast attached to Jung Sijun’s right arm.
“I just feel it’s a waste, the time when you disliked me?”
Even knowing he’d only be rejected if he pushed recklessly on someone who said they disliked mixing business relationships with personal feelings, giving up was truly difficult. He kept endlessly ruminating on ‘what if’ scenarios in his head.
The wavelength influenced by his utterly depressed heart flowed through Yoon Kihyun’s palm. Feeling the irregular waves that bounced around then suddenly slowed, Yoon Kihyun looked at Jung Sijun’s utterly dejected lips.
The lips that should be pouting were unusually quiet. They just twitched while pressed tightly together. Seeing him look gloomy with his injured arm, one corner of his heart felt stuffy again.
“Team Leader Jung.”
“…Yes.”
“To be honest, I found Team Leader really irritating before.”
As Yoon Kihyun’s words ended, Jung Sijun’s lips split open. He already knew he disliked him.
Now he spoke formally and continued conversations gently, but when they met near the gate, Yoon Kihyun’s tone was much more hostile than now. Recalling that, it wasn’t entirely unexpected, yet the situation of receiving confirmation was quite shocking.
At Jung Sijun’s open lips, Yoon Kihyun’s mouth corners twitched and he continued.
“But I don’t think that way now.”
“Really?”
His deeply lowered head shot up instantly. Light sparkled in his eyes looking directly at Yoon Kihyun’s face, as if not even dizzy.
“Then what do you think?”
