#041
The pasta was as delicious as it looked. It was even better than most pasta restaurants.
“How is it? Is it edible?” Choi Hanseo asked with a faint smile in his voice.
“It’s delicious,” Eunseok answered honestly and focused on devouring the pasta. While Choi Hanseo occasionally glanced at him as he ate, Eunseok kept his head down, concentrating solely on eating. Fortunately, having a good appetite and a strong stomach, he was able to continue eating deliciously despite Choi Hanseo’s gaze.
A considerable amount of pasta soon disappeared into his stomach. Eunseok only raised his head after completely clearing his plate. Surprisingly, despite not seeming to eat enthusiastically, Choi Hanseo’s plate was also clean.
As their eyes met, Choi Hanseo suddenly reached out. Eunseok stiffened. Knowing this reaction, Choi Hanseo still wiped the corner of Eunseok’s mouth with his thumb. His thumb had pasta sauce on it when he pulled it away. Choi Hanseo then slowly licked his finger.
The sight of the red tongue licking the white cream off his finger was quite suggestive.
“Delicious,” Choi Hanseo said with a smile in his eyes. Eunseok couldn’t find words to respond.
After moving to the sofa, Choi Hanseo brought coffee. The coffee soothed his stomach pleasantly after eating the rich cream pasta.
“So, have you thought about it?” Choi Hanseo asked, putting down his coffee cup.
“About what?” Eunseok asked back, knowing full well what Choi Hanseo meant.
“About dating me.”
“…”
Really… This man was skilled at coming on strong.
When Eunseok didn’t open his mouth, Choi Hanseo asked, narrowing his eyes, “The kiss, it was quite good, wasn’t it?”
“…It wasn’t bad.” In truth, it was so good it made his head spin, but Eunseok didn’t have the courage to say that honestly.
“Then, am I lacking in charm?”
“That’s not it,” Eunseok answered honestly.
“So in your eyes, I’m charming, stylish, and the kiss was good… Then why are you hesitating and worrying so much?”
Eunseok let out a soft sigh. He didn’t like dragging things out either. If he liked something, he liked it; if he didn’t, he didn’t. However… he couldn’t shake off the feeling of bewilderment and confusion.
Choi Hanseo was definitely an attractive man, enough for Eunseok to find him handsome. There was nothing to fault in his appearance or anything else. The kiss hadn’t felt unpleasant at all, so he couldn’t push him away just because they were both men. In short, as Choi Hanseo said, there was no reason to hesitate or worry.
“Give me some time. It’s too sudden, and I’m a bit flustered.”
At Eunseok’s quiet words, Choi Hanseo looked at him for a moment before nodding.
“Alright. But in exchange, spare me some time every day.”
“What kind of time?”
“You’re hesitating whether to date me or not, right? Then you need to get to know and understand me better to reach a conclusion. So, meet me every day, spend time with me, and observe me well. That’s how you’ll be able to make a decision, don’t you think?”
“…Alright.”
Unable to find a reason to refuse even this, Eunseok eventually nodded. Choi Hanseo picked up his coffee cup again, smiling with satisfaction. He didn’t seem to consider even a 0.1 percent chance of being rejected by Eunseok. Probably because he was well aware of his own attractiveness.
‘What a cocky bastard,’ Eunseok muttered inwardly as he sucked up the cool Americano through his straw.
***
While Eunseok was that type too, Choi Hanseo was also the type to follow through when he said he’d do something.
From the very next day after Eunseok nodded to his request for daily time together, Choi Hanseo consistently requested unnecessary guiding sessions once a day. And using guiding as an excuse, he spent time with Eunseok every day.
Some days he brought coffee from a café, and other days he brought coffee he had brewed himself. Contrary to concerns, he didn’t attempt any skinship beyond holding hands during the guiding sessions. Though he seemed busy, he would stay for up to two hours, but mostly left after about 30 minutes.
Time heals, they say. The awkwardness Eunseok felt towards Choi Hanseo gradually disappeared as they spent time together. It wasn’t like they were doing anything special. Most of the time, they sat side by side holding hands, with Eunseok working on his phone or laptop and Choi Hanseo on his tablet, each doing their own work. As a result, the awkwardness of being close to him or holding his hand slowly disappeared, and comfort and familiarity began to fill its place.
Just yesterday, before leaving the guiding room, Choi Hanseo had given him a light kiss, and Eunseok didn’t refuse. And that short, light kiss was… not bad.
‘Is this okay?’ Eunseok thought to himself, recalling his relationship with Choi Hanseo. At this rate, it seemed like things would naturally progress to the relationship Choi Hanseo wanted.
“…Seok-ah?”
Eunseok snapped back to reality at the voice calling him. Ji Taeuk lowered the hand he had been waving in front of Eunseok’s face and gave him a narrow-eyed look.
“Eunseok, something’s up with you lately.”
“What could be up with me?”
Eunseok answered with a slight smile, trying to act nonchalant. But Ji Taeuk didn’t withdraw his suspicious gaze.
“You’re not the type to space out during guiding, so I’m saying this because you suddenly did. Plus, lately you…”
Ji Taeuk paused for a moment, then lowered his voice to a whisper, as if hesitant to say it out loud.
“Lately, the Guild Master has been getting guiding from you every day.”
“How do you know that?”
When Eunseok asked, Ji Taeuk shrugged.
“You only handle the 1st Combat Team anyway. But for the past few days, your reservation schedule has been filled with at least one slot every day, even though none of our team members made any reservations. Who else could it be but the Guild Master?”
Eunseok felt a sense of crisis at this simple deduction. If he and Choi Hanseo really became involved, at least the 1st Combat Team members would figure it out immediately.
“Hey, you. Are you…”
Ji Taeuk lowered his voice even further and asked.
“Being stalked by the Guild Master?”
“…Stalked?”
When Eunseok quietly repeated the word, Ji Taeuk scratched his head with his free hand and spoke with difficulty.
“Well… Bora noona was worried. She said the Guild Master might be trying to seduce you. The Guild Master may not seem very human-like, but as Bora noona said, he’s still a hunter after all. It would be strange if he didn’t take notice when a high-matching S-class guide appeared… But then again, the Guild Master never had that kind of image…”
Ji Taeuk rambled on incoherently, seeming confused. Eunseok could neither confirm nor deny. Instead, he called out to Ji Taeuk.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever chased after a guide?”
“Uh… Huh?!”
Ji Taeuk’s face suddenly turned bright red.
“I guess you have.”
When Eunseok stated it as if it were a fact, Ji Taeuk’s earlobes turned so red they looked like they might bleed.
“Ah, why are you suddenly asking something like that?”
“I’m curious. I saw in the guide textbook that hunters often become obsessed with guides and develop erotic feelings for them, so we should be careful. Honestly, maybe because I’m a guide, I still don’t quite understand it. I thought you might have had that kind of experience since you’re a hunter.”
Eunseok spoke with a serious face instead of teasing Ji Taeuk. Ji Taeuk scratched the back of his head embarrassedly and finally spoke.
“Well… I guess I can’t say I haven’t, since I awakened as an esper and even lived as a hunter… Yeah, I have had that experience…”
An embarrassed and awkward expression appeared on Ji Taeuk’s face.
“Do you naturally develop feelings when you see a high-matching, high-rank guide? Do sexual urges arise when you receive well-matched guiding?”
Eunseok asked in as neutral a tone as possible to prevent Ji Taeuk from feeling more embarrassed.
Ji Taeuk stared blankly into space for a moment as if wanting to escape, but eventually nodded slowly.
“I guess so? It’s like how men typically get interested when they see women, and are especially attracted to pretty women with nice figures… Something like that…”
Ji Taeuk furrowed his brow for a moment before speaking again.
“Actually, at first, I did fall for a guide after receiving well-matched guiding and followed them around. It felt like that person was my destined one. But that was when I was a novice, experiencing proper guiding for the first time… Once you get used to it, you naturally learn to distinguish.”
“Distinguish?”
“Yeah. Men naturally feel sexual desire when they see a sexy woman, right? But that’s just a momentary, reflexive sexual urge, separate from actually liking that woman. I think it’s similar to that. It’s true that hunters feel obsession and sexual desire towards well-matched guides, but actually liking that guide is a different matter.”
Having said that, Ji Taeuk scratched his chin, looking unsure if he had explained it properly.
“I think I understand roughly. Thanks for telling me, hyung.”
“Oh, sure.”
Ji Taeuk nodded. Then, after rolling his eyes for a moment, he asked,
“So, the Guild Master is coming on to you, right?”
Eunseok neither confirmed nor denied, instead checking Ji Taeuk’s watch.
“It’s turned blue. Let’s stop here.”
Eunseok briefly said, releasing the hand he was holding. Ji Taeuk’s face looked uncertain as he opened his mouth to say something more, but then he nodded.
“Okay. Thanks.”
Ji Taeuk turned to leave the guiding room with a reluctant expression. Eunseok let out a deep sigh as he heard the door close. It was fortunate it was Ji Taeuk; if it had been Moon Bora, she wouldn’t have left so easily.
