# Chapter 11
He was no better than a beast. Had his body truly gone crazy? His head felt like it was about to explode.
What made it worse was that with even the slightest relaxation, he felt he might become properly and rigidly aroused. Dohyuk was in a tearful state, appearing to others with a face frozen solid and cold as ice while frantically tensing and relaxing his thighs to maintain blood circulation.
If he made another mistake here, it would be over. He’d rather rot in prison for 500 years than see that Guide’s beautiful face frown at him with a look of reproach. That would truly make him want to die.
“Are you alright?”
Startled by the whispering voice beside him, Dohyuk nearly crushed the device he was holding like a lifeline.
“Yes.”
He almost squeaked by constricting his throat too much, but managed to produce a normal voice. However, Junseo’s tightly closed lips and clouded expression made Dohyuk belatedly realize his mistake. Even to his own ears, his tone had been as hard as stone and stiffly rigid. To exaggerate slightly, it conveyed an annoyance like, “Don’t concern yourself with me. It’s uncomfortable.” Feeling as if he’d been doused with ice water, all color drained from his face as he straightened his back.
Amid all this, the one fortunate thing was that his crazed lower body seemed to have regained some sanity. He relaxed his hands that had been pulling his pants tight to prevent revealing any outlines.
Simultaneously, Dohyuk tried to salvage the now-quiet situation by blurting out messily.
“…Ah, no. It’s, you don’t need to worry. Perhaps because it’s still morning, I’m just feeling a bit dazed.”
Choi Dohyuk, the quintessential morning person who would normally wake up refreshed at 6 AM for a jog if nothing unusual happened, said this when it was already past 11 o’clock.
“Then would you take it off?”
“Yak?”
Take what off? Why?
After letting out that strange sound like a scream, he noticed those black eyes cautiously studying his reaction. Dohyuk asked again with a still-bewildered face.
“…Did I hear you wrong?”
“Your gloves.”
“Ah…”
At Dohyuk’s reaction, those fine eyebrows gradually drooped as if discouraged. They say the ancient Chinese beauty Xi Shi was loved by all because even her frowning face was beautiful, and similarly, even his dejected expression was pretty. Looking at that pale face, what kind of misunderstanding had Dohyuk momentarily had? He felt such self-loathing that he wanted to take off his shoes and climb into the trash can.
Dohyuk, who hadn’t been in his right mind even once since Junseo entered the room, completely failed to notice the amused gaze that had been fixed on him the entire time.
“Esper Choi Dohyuk, Guide Yu Junseo. We’ll proceed with the test. Please begin guiding.”
Dr. Choi intervened, unable to watch any longer. Dohyuk hurriedly rolled up his sleeve while speaking.
“I-I’ll roll up my sleeve. That’s what I’m used to. I’d prefer if you could guide me by holding my arm.”
As someone who used his ability through his hands, Dohyuk was extremely averse to touching others with his bare hands. Moreover, even in those dream-like hazy memories, the sensation on his palm remained so vivid that he wanted to avoid it even more if the person was Yu Junseo.
If what had just barely subsided were to rise again…
The mere thought was horrifying.
Junseo’s face was still dejected, perhaps misinterpreting Dohyuk’s strangely stiff expression again. Seeing such an expression on that fluffy, youthful face made Dohyuk feel like the worst villain in the world.
“Am I really making you uncomfortable? …Well, I’ve heard that a lot, actually.”
No, who would say such things to you?
Dohyuk almost reflexively demanded to know, but suppressed it with all his might. Come to think of it, Park Seungmin had also spoken as if Guide Yu Junseo was uncomfortable. Were these deranged Espers daring to mistreat and bully an S-class Guide? This wasn’t the First Cataclysm when tigers supposedly smoked tobacco.
Dohyuk looked at Junseo. He still had that puppy-like, seemingly kind expression. In fact, due to his languid tone, he seemed not just like any puppy but a one-month-old puppy that might collapse at any moment and fall into a flower-like sleep. His was a face that healed just by looking at it.
That innocent face looked like it would endure harassment alone, and just imagining it made Dohyuk’s insides burn with rage.
“Not at all! It’s just my fault! I absolutely do not find you uncomfortable, Guide-nim!”
After speaking, even to Dohyuk’s own ears, his tone sounded like someone who would go crazy from how uncomfortable this situation was, making him feel like crying.
Fortunately, Junseo seemed to accept Dohyuk’s words at face value, responding to his passionate assertion with an eye-smile. Dohyuk gazed at him blankly again. His downturned eyes softened even more when smiling, radiating a gentle light.
“Then can I hold your hand? I find that comfortable. It’s also much better for focusing on guiding.”
Before Dohyuk could blink, Junseo’s long fingers, which had been holding Dohyuk’s exposed wrist, flowed to touch the top of his glove. He pretended to raise his neatly trimmed index fingernail and scratched the stiff leather.
Junseo then casually directed his hand inside Dohyuk’s glove. Pushing his fingertips through the gap in the glove, he hooked the ring and smiled like a mischievous child. His gleaming gaze approached Dohyuk.
Dohyuk instinctively turned his head away hurriedly and raised his opposite hand, which had been holding the device, to cover his face. Was he truly going crazy? He felt blood rushing to his head. Get a grip—he couldn’t keep appearing like a strange person.
“……”
Feeling like he should act as naturally as possible, he barely opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Watching Dohyuk silently move his lips, Junseo slightly narrowed his brow.
This was maddening. Over something so trivial, Dohyuk’s chest ached.
“Do you really dislike it and find it uncomfortable?”
“…No. Please… hold my hand.”
Despite facing that docile expression that seemed like it would quietly withdraw the moment he said he disliked it, Dohyuk ultimately surrendered.
As if noticing the silent permission, the finger hooked around the ring easily removed the glove.
His heart dropped with a thud. A strangely familiar sensation flowed across his bare palm.
Junseo casually interlaced his fingers with Dohyuk’s, and Dohyuk lowered his eyes with an extremely tense face.
What followed briefly was an ecstatic hell.
Receiving guiding while fully conscious was extraordinary. Even though Dohyuk was already in good enough condition not to need guiding, he realized for the first time that there was an even higher state of mind while receiving Junseo’s guiding.
Saliva pooled in his mouth. As he swallowed with a gulp, fear surged that Junseo might hear the sound. His body half-froze, unable to properly exhale.
It felt like someone was taking away all the anxiety and sadness in his head. His heart began pounding at a tremendous pace without stopping, even as he felt drowsy enough to want to take a nap, yet elevated by waves of emotion. His whole body floated with a strange excitement. Dohyuk clenched his teeth, trying his best to suppress his elevated feelings. But between the suppressed gaps, greed leaked out.
If he could touch that Guide more, would even the dregs settled thickly at the bottom disappear? If they pressed together with a surface wider than a palm, could all this anxiety and depression become nonexistent?
He wanted to stick closer. He wanted to cling so close that not even the smallest gap remained, to extort everything from that docile Guide.
Just as Dohyuk realized his unbidden thoughts with dismay, the device sounded an alarm signaling the end of the test.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Dohyuk quickly offered his greeting and released the strength from the hand he was holding, as if escaping, while catching his ragged breath. But the hand that he thought would immediately fall away remained held by the other party. Dohyuk raised his gaze quizzically at Junseo, who showed no intention of letting go.
“Guide Yu Junseo?”
“…Ah.”
Only then did Junseo slowly release his hand and respond to Dohyuk as if nothing had happened. His eye-smile, narrowed considerably, seemed to be a habit. Such a habit was of poor quality. A smile that could so easily entice the soul of another was close to an attack for Dohyuk.
“Thank you for your hard work, Esper Choi Dohyuk.”
The sound of his pounding heart was loud, perhaps an aftereffect of the guiding. It was truly harmful.
Dohyuk put his glove back on, hoping the tactile sensation clinging to his hand would fade, but sadly, it didn’t seem to be a good solution.
Within the glove, his fingertips only tingled from the already sticky accumulated warmth of the other’s body temperature.
***
Matching rate: 88%.
This couldn’t be right.
Dohyuk stared blankly at the number before him. It had indeed been an ecstatic guiding experience unlike any he’d had before. But looking at the overwhelming number made it feel unreal. Junseo was the first Guide Dohyuk had met with such an exceptional matching rate. Honestly speaking, as an Esper, it was impossible not to feel desire.
But reason quickly asserted itself. Junseo was an S-class Guide. They said S-class Guides were even more precious than S-class Espers, so what difference would it make if he had a high matching rate with an A-class Esper? Realistically speaking, even having this matching rate test together was a waste of time for him. Guide Yu Junseo would be far more efficient guiding an S-class Esper with a 60% matching rate than A-class Esper Choi Dohyuk with an 88% matching rate.
While Dohyuk was standing there lost in such thoughts, Junseo, who had confirmed the results, addressed him in his still-gentle tone. He appeared neat and tidy, having already put back on the Guide uniform he had taken off earlier.
