# Chapter 30
However, Cha Haseong’s current position was not as a guide for Delta, but as Yeo Dowoon’s exclusive guide. Therefore, the guide assigned to Yoon Minoh was not Cha Haseong but Shim Woomin.
But Shim Woomin was only an A-class guide at best. To handle Yoon Minoh, the help of S-class guide Cha Haseong was desperately needed.
An electric whip might be painful, but it wouldn’t cause any significant harm to his life. At worst, it would just make him pass out.
So there was no need to waste energy asking Gu Seohyun to stop the restraint. She wouldn’t readily agree anyway, and would more likely increase the current instead.
“You probably won’t release me anyway… please check on that bastard first.”
When Yeo Dowoon barely managed to nod toward Yoon Minoh, Cha Haseong seemed to hesitate for a moment before taking off his cardigan and covering him with it.
Ah. Cha Haseong’s unique, refreshing scent permeated through. The indescribably soft texture of the wool was also felt. Cha Haseong put his face in as well, and with a faint smile, said:
“Can you break it off?”
It was a meaningful question.
Yeo Dowoon, who couldn’t easily infer his intentions, spoke in a shocked voice as Cha Haseong tilted his head toward him.
“…Guide-nim?”
“Break this whip while we kiss. I’ll go over there once I see you’re alright.”
The power of contact guiding provided by an S-class guide is exceptionally superior beyond imagination.
Not only can it deflect Kwon Jeonghoo’s mental response and bring down the berserk possibility from 43% to the 3% range, but it also possesses the power to maximize those abilities.
Pop, crack!
The electric whip surrounded by dense heat flashed for a moment, then turned into grayish-white ash and disappeared.
“…Haa.”
Inside the coat mixed with messy breaths, Cha Haseong, who had detached his saliva-soaked lips, looked at Yeo Dowoon’s now-free neck and smiled bitterly. He kissed the burn mark that had swelled as thick as the whip and whispered.
This is driving me crazy.
“At this rate, I might get physically attached.”
At that low murmur, Yeo Dowoon felt an uncertain belief of unknown origin surrounding him. Inside the cardigan was constantly nauseating.
Cha Haseong couldn’t conclude whether it was because of Yeo Dowoon’s persistent gaze looking at him, or because of his hot palm grabbing his collar, but he vaguely lost his composure.
“Guide-nim, you don’t dislike me, right?”
There was certainty in Yeo Dowoon’s voice.
When Cha Haseong hardened his expression as if he was hearing nonsense, the arrogant Esper threw another reckless statement, irritating his temper.
“There’s no way you could dislike me.”
Thanks to this, Cha Haseong felt curious and asked back.
“Why?”
“……”
“Do you think everyone in the world will like you, Dowoon-ssi?”
Though they could hear Gu Seohyun, who had noticed the electric whip being shattered, shouting Yeo Dowoon’s name from afar, they didn’t take their eyes off each other.
As if they didn’t want to miss a single emotion hidden beneath the surface, they persistently dug in.
When Yeo Dowoon, who had been staring at him like he would devour him, fell silent as if choosing his answer, Cha Haseong shook off his hand gripping his collar and continued.
“Dowoon-ssi is my Esper.”
It was a tone without any rise, like a sea without waves.
“I’ve always acted like a guide, but now if you misunderstand that I’ve fallen in love with you, it becomes troublesome.”
“……”
“If you stay still, I’ll treat you kindly on my own…”
Cruel periods fell in succession.
“Why don’t you just enjoy it without holding onto those feelings?”
“……”
“I’ll pretend to be your lover as much as you want.”
***
As punishment for causing the disaster of butchering his partner’s belly with an ice block, Yeo Dowoon was able to establish himself as the only Esper to return to the wavelength examination room in the shortest time for a stability test.
At this rate, it’s fair to say he was treated almost like a time bomb.
I wonder if Yoon Minoh is okay, he was thinking about something completely unrelated to his own welfare when he spotted a researcher entering with awkward gestures and raised his hand.
“Can I ask a question?”
Yeo Dowoon was already accustomed to such naive attitudes from researchers, but the other person, seemingly quite afraid of the S-class Esper who had been exiled for trying to tear people apart, answered uncomfortably.
“…A question?”
His friendly face was stuck with undisguised difficulty.
Perhaps because he had entered the examination room loaded with solutions to administer, the researcher was worried that Yeo Dowoon might attack him and gradually backed away.
It was behavior that clearly revealed a psychology of securing a safe distance first. But Yeo Dowoon wasn’t particularly offended.
If it were him, he would probably have a similar reaction when facing an Esper whose limbs were restrained and had needles of various thicknesses stuck into his skin all over.
As if the dangling injection lines were cumbersome, Yeo Dowoon raised his arm and said:
“I want to take all the shots at once.”
“What?”
“I want to take all the remaining drugs at once.”
“…What?”
“It’s troublesome for both you and me to inject them one by one. I’ll take all of today’s doses, so bring me a puzzle or something.”
Being held in the examination room all day was making him itch with impatience.
Moreover, except during administration times, all researchers were just hiding behind the magic mirror, so Yeo Dowoon had no choice but to indulge in loneliness as if stranded alone on a deserted island.
But the researcher shook his head as if he had heard nonsense. Crazy talk.
If Yeo Dowoon’s recent proposal were to be rephrased, it could be translated into a suicide note stating that he wanted to die from drug overdose rather than berserk.
After placing the basket he had brought on the shelf, the researcher gathered a yellow line that looked elastic and a needle that seemed thick even from a distance, and approached.
“You’ll die if you do that, Dowoon-ssi.”
A man who looked like he might be spending his days working overnight shifts, beaten down by a tedious and old-fashioned life, carefully grasped Yeo Dowoon’s arm.
Examining the flesh already full of needles with no space left, he deliberated before finally finding a bare patch of skin and skillfully tied the rubber band.
After wiping the forearm, which had started to turn white as the blood flow was blocked, with a cotton ball, he said, “It will sting a bit,” and inserted the needle.
Due to the unique thickness he had never experienced before, Yeo Dowoon let out a groan without even realizing it.
“Ungh……”
“A bit painful, right?”
Fuck. It’s going in deep.
It was appalling, as if he was really pushing it in by about the length of one finger joint. This is confusing—whether they’re administering drugs or injecting needles.
Normally, Yeo Dowoon would say, “I’m fine,” and even comfort the researcher, but as he stared intensely at the injection scene, the researcher smiled artificially and pushed the needle in a bit deeper.
“Ah…!”
“Because the thickness is different from what Dowoon-ssi has experienced so far, the sensation of it going in might feel a bit unfamiliar. But I can confidently say I inject with the least pain. Look, there’s no bruising at all.”
His rambling explanations without being asked seemed quite suspicious.
But as the researcher said, he could agree that his skill wasn’t bad at all, given that there were no bruises of blue, purple, and green hues occupying his forearm.
“Yes, thank you.”
As Yeo Dowoon was giving a courtesy thank you, since he couldn’t end the answer with silence, he moaned again when his toes and fingers suddenly began to tingle as if receiving strong acupressure.
“Hng……”
Come to think of it, it wasn’t like acupressure, but more like the pain of having fingers plucked out and thrown around.
He wanted to applaud the research team’s efforts for how they could select such terrible drugs to inject every time.
When Yeo Dowoon hunched his waist, a warning beep sounded from the brown speaker installed on the left side of the ceiling.
“W-well then, I’ll be going now. Rest!”
Surprised by the drug reaction that came earlier than expected, the researcher took a clean handkerchief from his gown pocket, wiped his forehead, and left the lab.
“Hng, argh……”
No matter how much he wanted to lie on the mattress to reduce the pain, it was impossible because his wrists were connected to restraints extending to the ceiling.
Forcibly sitting upright and biting his lips, Yeo Dowoon calmly watched his sweat drop and wet the bed below. It’s okay. This is pain that will eventually end if he endures.
It means that if he holds on, if he endures, the wound and pain will naturally fade away.
Damn it.
Realizing that he was confusing physical and mental pain, Yeo Dowoon smiled dimly with derision. Perhaps it was self-mockery.
“You can’t go in…!”
As he was about to bite his tongue to lose consciousness for even a little bodily comfort, he languidly turned his gaze toward the sudden noisy commotion.
