Chapter 10
Dohyuk wasn’t shameless enough to casually exchange vulgar jokes with others, but as an Esper, he’d occasionally heard explicit stories related to guiding. In slightly more sanitized terms, stories along the lines of “They say guiding from a high-ranked Guide is that ecstatic” were something he’d heard from time to time. But when Dohyuk himself had coincidentally received guiding from an S-class Guide before, he hadn’t felt a significant difference, so he thought the vulgar jokes were just exaggerated stories. But yesterday, Dohyuk finally realized it—what that ecstasy was like.
When Dohyuk closed his mouth in embarrassment, Seungmin responded as if he understood.
“That’s how it is. I also nearly died when I received guiding from Guide Yu Junseo before.”
Yu Junseo?
For now, Dohyuk committed the victim’s name to memory. Since he had to take the matching test today, he could apologize then.
But had the Guide also agreed to the matching test? This made him a bit anxious.
If he had to face someone uncomfortable without warning while simply following the schedule set by superiors, even he would be flustered.
“So, was S-class guiding really intense…? Is this a common occurrence?”
While saying this, Dohyuk was secretly relieved that he wasn’t the only one who’d created such an embarrassing memory. Lost in his own thoughts, Dohyuk didn’t properly hear what Seungmin continued to say with a smirk.
Keenly noticing that Dohyuk’s face wasn’t concentrating on his words at all, Seungmin poked him again. At the same time, his fiercely slanted eyes turned toward the red ginseng gift set in front of Dohyuk.
“But what’s this? Why red ginseng all of a sudden? Are you starting to take care of yourself with these things now?”
“No, it’s a gift. …To apologize to Guide Yu Junseo.”
Responding as nonchalantly as possible, Dohyuk was suddenly met with Seungmin raising his voice.
“What?”
Startled by the suddenly elevated tone, Dohyuk frowned.
“You scared me. Why are you shouting?”
“What do you have to be sorry for!”
“I received guiding and all. Yesterday while receiving guiding, I kind of… without realizing it. Wouldn’t he have been quite shocked? Why is this guy who supposedly knows acting like this suddenly.”
Dohyuk felt self-loathing for having to explain even this to Seungmin, but since the latter’s expression was so severe, he glossed over it. However, Seungmin’s expression only crumpled more, as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have. Seungmin, extremely agitated, looked at Dohyuk as if he were the most naive human being in the world.
“Why are you sorry for a physiological response? Bluntly put, how could an A-class maintain their sanity when receiving guiding like that? This guy is really a pushover. If anything, he should be giving you something. It’s his fault!”
No. What the hell is this guy saying?
Dohyuk was genuinely disappointed in Seungmin. In his memory, Seungmin wasn’t this type of person. Was Seungmin actually someone who viewed Guides as weak and looked down on them? Having experienced it himself, Dohyuk couldn’t understand how he could blame the Guide. Bluntly speaking, the problem was the person who couldn’t control their impulses, not the guiding.
Dohyuk, with a deeply sunken expression, showed his disappointment to Seungmin.
“That’s a perpetrator’s mindset.”
Firmly grabbing the red ginseng set, Dohyuk looked at Seungmin once more with obvious disappointment before leaving.
Thanks to this, Seungmin, who’d been bewilderingly equipped with a perpetrator’s mindset, was dumbfounded.
“What’s he talking about? Did he go crazy after receiving guiding from that lunatic?”
Left alone, Seungmin’s muttered words didn’t reach Dohyuk, who’d already departed.
***
The research wing inside headquarters is divided into Buildings A and B. Unlike the interior filled with expensive experimental machines, the research wing building itself was old-fashioned. Due to the sudden transformation, they say headquarters was quickly established by purchasing an old campus and remodeling the buildings rather than constructing new ones. Unless it was a case of rebuilding or adding structures after destruction by monster attacks in the past, they were still using the old buildings as they were.
The matching test is conducted on the 8th floor, the top floor of Building A, and the test process is simple. Both the Esper and Guide wear machines and conduct guiding for 5 minutes with light physical contact, after which the machine calculates the matching rate. It’s said that blood tests were needed in the past, but these days it has become a simple test conducted like a brief survey.
Despite having gone through matching tests with up to fifteen Guides in a single day in the past, today Dohyuk felt strangely nervous. He inhaled briefly and opened the examination room door. A researcher had already arrived inside. Since anyone who knew how to operate the machine could conduct the test, the staff in charge often changed, but today’s test supervisor was someone familiar to Dohyuk.
“Esper Choi Dohyuk, you’re early. How’s your condition these days?”
Dr. Choi Sumin. A thin, strict-looking headquarters researcher in his mid-50s.
“Yes. I see Dr. Choi is in charge today. Um…”
Soon Dohyuk awkwardly looked around and added:
“…Is Guide Yu Junseo not here yet?”
At the question, Dr. Choi Sumin glanced at the clock. Dohyuk also followed his gaze. 10:50 AM. The test was scheduled to start at 11:00 AM.
“He’s not the type to be late, so he’ll probably arrive on time. Would you like to take your seat first?”
“Yes.”
“The machine has changed a bit. The accuracy has improved, but it’s harder to wear by yourself. I’ll help you.”
“But is there a reason I’m taking a test with an S-class Guide when our ranks don’t match? Since guiding will work regardless of the matching rate, is it necessary to use manpower for this test? I don’t mind, but it seems like a waste of time for the Guide.”
Just as Dr. Choi Sumin, who was checking the machine, was about to answer, the door opened.
Extremely tense, Dohyuk immediately cast his gaze toward the opened door, then closed his mouth. He was confused whether the clunk sound came from the hinge or his own heart.
The first thing that caught his eye was jet-black pupils.
As they caught the sunlight leaking through the examination room window, light danced over the large pupils. His downward-sloping eye corners looked docile to the point of mournfulness, and his skin, contrasting with the black hair flowing over his forehead, was as white as untouched snow, permitting no one’s footprints.
The light pooled in his pupils naturally flowed down along his elegant nose bridge and lips as he moved. Despite his tall and large frame, perhaps because of his delicate face, it was astonishing how fragile he looked, like a finely crafted artwork that would shatter into pieces at the slightest wrong touch.
The long neckline, casually revealed between his neatly trimmed hair, was elegant. It was enough to make Dohyuk want to trace the continuing lines with his eyes and hands all day long.
Startled by his own perverted thoughts, Dohyuk unconsciously curled his hands into fists.
Finally, when the man’s gaze slowly paused on him, Dohyuk’s breath also paused momentarily.
It was a moment like eternity.
The smooth lips held a hint of a smile. It was dizzying, clearly a meaningless smile created like an expressionless mask for social activities.
The striking face became diverse again with just a simple change in muscles. Whether opening or closing his mouth, even in the moments of blinking his eyes, his face felt new.
“Am I late?”
His gentle but low, languid voice made Dohyuk’s spine tingle.
At the same time, the voice that had been vague like an old dream was now clearly remembered. It was like a low-quality video suddenly switching to high-definition.
Damn.
Having already taken his seat, Dohyuk crossed his long legs, praying to God that his current posture looked natural to that man’s eyes.
His lower abdomen tightened. Responding like Pavlov’s dog, Dohyuk truly accepted that he was a son of a bitch.
***
Dohyuk kept repeating to himself inwardly.
This is just a physiological phenomenon where blood flows into the corpus cavernosum, increasing volume and hardness. I swear I didn’t have any obscene thoughts, I was just a bit surprised and reminded of past events…
“……”
Holding the machine with his left hand while slyly putting his other hand in his pocket, Dohyuk’s appearance didn’t make a good first impression, even as a white lie. His cool impression, which appeared chilly unless he made an effort to smile, and his carelessly crossed legs all contributed solidly.
But Dohyuk felt wronged. He was currently doing his best to maintain human dignity.
Dohyuk glanced sideways at Junseo, who was busy putting on the machine with Dr. Choi’s help. Before sitting down, Junseo took off his Guide-exclusive uniform, which looked similar to a snow-white lab coat. He was neatly dressed in a white shirt and jet-black dress pants underneath. As Junseo lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes cascaded down. As Dohyuk stared as if entranced, the gaze soon turned toward him.
Simultaneously, Dohyuk quickly pretended not to be peeking with an Esper’s tremendous physical ability. He also didn’t forget to tightly pull up his pants with the hand crumpled in his pocket.
Yes. It’s up.
Dohyuk was truly on the verge of going crazy from self-loathing. He definitely considered himself quite detached regarding sex. He’d never shared deep affection with others to the point of needing skin-to-skin contact to feel secure, and he’d been too busy with work to maintain a nightlife, but he’d lived comfortably without even feeling inconvenienced until now. Even masturbation was closer to something he did periodically out of necessity.
That was certainly the case, but…
As a result, Dohyuk was now responding to that Guide again.
Just at a simple “Am I late?”!
