# Chapter 28
“After making me a body that knows only you, how could you think of sending me to someone else?”
“Hey, you. Even as a joke, don’t… Don’t say things like that.”
Dohyuk turned his head and sighed, pretending to look at the empty wall. His fully exposed ears were bright red. Dohyuk bowed his head deeply and pressed both his palms firmly against his eyes. His embarrassment over something so trivial was cute. Junseo blatantly stared at Dohyuk’s wrist revealed through his shirt. While looking as if he would lick between each finger, the voice flowing past his lips was only languid.
“They say it’s called a guiding partner, but that doesn’t mean you unconditionally become someone’s exclusive. Don’t feel too burdened.”
“I don’t know where you heard that explanation about partners. That’s the headquarters’ policy, but generally, Guides and Espers who form partnerships act almost like exclusives. Unless your partner is unavailable, it’s considered courteous to receive guiding from your own partner.”
“Ah.”
“Of course, since Guides are rarer, it might be different for Guides, but most Espers think that way. I’ll probably think that way too.”
This was favorable for Junseo. Holding back the smile he wanted to flash, Junseo innocently lifted just the corner of his mouth.
Dohyuk, feeling his headache growing, roughly rubbed his eyes with his palms again, and because of that, he only realized much later how close Junseo had approached while he had his eyes covered.
A whispering voice was heard by his ear.
Goosebumps seemed to rise from his earlobe to the nape of his neck. If the devil whispered to tempt someone, wouldn’t he use a voice like this?
“As an Esper, don’t you desire me? I heard that being obsessed with Guides is like a survival instinct for Espers.”
During the Second Upheaval period, when Guides’ human rights were much lower than now, it wasn’t uncommon for Espers to forcibly take Guides as partners.
Junseo observed Dohyuk while pretending not to have such malicious thoughts, maintaining his composure. Because Dohyuk had his face half-buried in his palms with his body bent, only the round back of his head was visible.
Thinking it was a shame he couldn’t see his expression, Junseo’s gaze traveled down from the back of his head to the nape of his neck, where the vertebrae protruded roundly from bowing so deeply. Junseo licked his lips with his tongue, feeling a rising thirst.
“You ask if I desire you?”
When Dohyuk finally turned his head to face him after struggling to avoid it, Junseo felt a strange pleasure at those deep brown eyes. Not knowing what had stimulated Dohyuk, Junseo’s chest tightened as Dohyuk sighed deeply as if in disbelief and gave a crooked smile.
Junseo blinked slowly and made the most objective assessment he could.
This is a bit…
“Junseo. Do you think I’m joking when I say I get excited by your guiding? If I wanted to, someone like you…”
Dangerous.
He was childishly excited by the erotic sensations that he could moderately divert his attention from during guiding. Something in his body was strangely entangled. Saliva pooled in his mouth, wetting his tongue helplessly, but Junseo endured it. From what Junseo could see, Dohyuk was the type to pretend otherwise while drawing a line in front of him. He was being cute, cautiously guarding against even the offer to be guiding partners. If he tried to cross that line here, Dohyuk would obviously flee in panic. Yet, because he was affectionate, he wouldn’t strongly push away someone who had already slipped inside the line before he knew it.
I have to be patient. Yes, I must be patient.
He needed to approach as slowly as possible so Dohyuk wouldn’t notice.
Frankly, if a casual relationship was needed, standing in the middle of a busy street for an hour would bring at least five suitable candidates passing by. But for Junseo, even after a year at headquarters, Dohyuk remained the only Esper whose guiding didn’t make him irritated or disgusted. He wanted to cherish and treasure him as much as possible.
It’s unclear how Dohyuk interpreted Junseo who was trying to regulate his breathing with a thin sigh, but Dohyuk rubbed his temple and then wrinkled his handsome nose bridge once. The sneer that had appeared as if drawn crumbled instantly. Dohyuk watched Junseo’s reaction like a dejected animal.
“I’m sorry.”
Junseo felt like his suppressed laughter would leak out. Despite deliberately raising his fur to intimidate, when the other person seemed to be scared, he ends up getting hurt instead. How could something be so adorable? It was amazing that until now, no one had claimed him, letting him stand desolately before his eyes. Do the people at headquarters not have eyes?
Despite having such thoughts, Junseo’s eyes curved sweetly from smiling fully. While smiling in a way that seemed like it could only exist in fairy tales, what Junseo actually said was utterly out of place.
“Will you demand forceful relations with violence every time we guide?”
“…Are you crazy?”
Dohyuk’s answer was sharp. His tone clearly revealed his incredulity at how a grown adult could do such a thing. Junseo found Dohyuk’s measured response cute. He was starting to think this was serious. Everything about him seemed cute. Isn’t this the kind of sentiment an Esper feels toward a Guide with a high matching rate?
“It’s okay, so don’t apologize. Truly deranged Espers don’t act like you. They would already be grabbing my neck and shoving me into a corner while talking.”
“Are there still Espers who act like that?”
Dohyuk, who had been sitting quietly like a scolded puppy, somewhat depressed, suddenly stood up.
Junseo’s eyes shone.
Of course, such Espers were rare. Thanks to the Guide Protection Law, guiding rooms had emergency buttons in places only Guides knew about, and regardless of their effectiveness, various self-defense tools were abundantly stocked in the cabinet behind Dohyuk. The permissible range for a Guide’s self-defense had also become much more lenient than in the past. This was also Junseo’s favorite revised bill.
Besides, isn’t the world harsh to the strong and soft to the weak?
No Esper was bold enough to touch him while ignoring Junseo’s rank, family background, and other circumstances. On the other hand, lower-ranked Guides had higher exposure to crime, which was a sad reality.
Not wanting to lie to Dohyuk but even more unwilling to miss this opportunity, Junseo slightly diverted his words. Saying there were ‘no such Espers so far’ rather than definitively stating there ‘will never be’ such Espers in the future wasn’t deception, it was the truth.
Junseo blinked slowly. His eye area, reddened and slightly puffy, looked poignant even under the plain white fluorescent light. His always moist eyes seemed like they would spill tears if touched lightly. Dohyuk, though pretending otherwise, liked this the most. Even now, wasn’t he staring entranced, not knowing what to do? Junseo tilted his head pointedly.
“You’ll protect me, right?”
It was an expression and tone so detestable that anyone acquainted with Junseo would sigh, but unfortunately, the one facing this spectacle now was Dohyuk, the only person in the world who would view Junseo as a fragile baby rabbit.
Dohyuk moved his lips and remained lost in thought for a while before finally nodding slowly.
“…Okay, let’s be partners. But only until an A-class or higher Esper with a good matching rate appears.”
Junseo smiled. Though he felt he had been pushed around all day, the fact that that smile still appeared lovely made Dohyuk think he was doomed.
“And give me a list of Espers who mistreat you.”
The realization seemed to have come too late.
***
Thanks to Junseo’s guiding, Dohyuk’s mind was clear, but in a different sense, his fatigue was severe, and he only wanted to hurry home, cover himself with a blanket, and despair. However, Junseo, who had badgered Dohyuk into obtaining his signature of acceptance, diligently submitted the guiding partner application. His face, unable to hide his smile as he watched Dohyuk sign, was still gleaming.
Surely the administrative staff who process such matters had already gone home, so the review would only begin after tomorrow’s working hours began. Despite Dohyuk’s assertion, Junseo claimed tomorrow was too late and completed everything in less than 15 minutes before leaving the personal room with Dohyuk, grinning widely.
Standing side by side, waiting for the elevator after pressing the button, the time had already passed 8:30.
“Why are you so fast at completing paperwork?”
To Dohyuk’s question, Junseo answered nonchalantly.
“Probably because I’ve done it once before. This is why experience is important.”
“……”
There was an edge to his words.
Thinking that Junseo wasn’t as docile a character as he seemed, Dohyuk frowned, and Junseo gently rubbed Dohyuk’s forehead with his finger.
Already accustomed to the finger massaging his brow, Dohyuk casually looked at the elevator door.
Their builds, reflected in the door, were quite similar. Judging by the cute demeanor and pretty face, one might expect his head to be at about the level of Dohyuk’s shoulder, but Junseo’s tall, slender height still felt awkward to him.
The sound of the elevator arriving echoes through the empty corridor with no sign of people.
“Let’s have dinner together. Then I’ll see you home.”
“You don’t need to see me home.”
“It’s night, so it’s dangerous. There are a lot of strange people these days.”
