#130
His body felt refreshed like never before. The curse-like pain that had never left him since his awakening was completely gone. It was like magic.
Choi Hanseo savored the sensation of the hot water stream, filled with wonder and joy. This body condition, without even a headache, was truly amazing.
S-rank guide.
Choi Hanseo had never expected to obtain such a treasure. But when he opened his eyes, it was in his hands. It was miraculous.
Come to think of it, in his rookie days, he had desperately wished for it inwardly. For a high-ranking guide with a high matching rate to appear and alleviate the constant risk of rampage and pain he lived with… For someone perfect for him to exist somewhere. He had earnestly hoped to meet them someday. But that hope gradually withered away in the face of reality. He merely survived day by day, barely hanging on.
But now it’s different. Now an S-rank guide is right in his hands.
Choi Hanseo recalled the guide who was desperately suppressing his moans while pinned beneath him just earlier. Sensing the guide’s reluctance towards guiding, he had been as gentle as possible. And he had given him maximum pleasure. Yet, the guide never once opened his eyes and turned away from Choi Hanseo. He just acted like a sacrifice offering his body for guiding.
Does he have a lover?
Choi Hanseo thought to himself as he turned off the water.
If he had a separate lover, penetrative guiding would be burdensome.
After finishing his shower, Choi Hanseo stood in front of the mirror and paused while drying his hair with a towel. An unfamiliar piercing was firmly in place on his earlobe.
“Huh-.”
Choi Hanseo was so dumbfounded that he moved closer to the mirror. The piercing with a black jewel was undoubtedly an accessory made from gate byproducts.
“I don’t have this kind of hobby…”
He couldn’t understand what great event had occurred in the past two years to make him buy and wear such a thing.
Choi Hanseo frowned and removed the piercing. He was about to throw the removed piercing in the trash but hesitated. There was a strange… reluctance. A peculiar reluctance, or worry, or maybe… fear that if he threw it away, he wouldn’t be able to find it again?
Having thought that far, Choi Hanseo smirked. Fear? Since his awakening, nothing had terrified him except for the surging numbers.
“Losing my memory is making me think all sorts of strange things.”
Choi Hanseo muttered quietly, fiddled with the piercing for a moment, then carelessly tossed it into the drawer under the sink.
Putting on a bathrobe and leaving the bathroom, Choi Hanseo sensed a familiar presence. When he went to the living room, Chief Secretary Lee was standing there waiting.
“What’s the matter?”
“Guide Lee Eunseok asked to move some of his belongings, so I came up. Is that alright?”
Chief Secretary Lee asked cautiously. Choi Hanseo frowned again.
“Why are Guide Lee Eunseok’s belongings in my house?”
“…Because you lived together.”
Chief Secretary Lee answered, half a beat late, with a businesslike face and tone. But behind that, a slight resentment could be felt.
“Are you saying I brought an S-rank guide into my home and lived with him?”
“You lived together.”
Chief Secretary Lee corrected his words, saying they “lived together” rather than him “keeping” the guide.
“Has Guide Lee Eunseok ever been in a threatening situation within the guild?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no need for him to live with me in my house, is there?”
“…That’s correct.”
Choi Hanseo didn’t like that the usually sharp Chief Secretary Lee kept responding half a beat late. But he thought there might have been some changes in her during the two-year gap.
“If it’s not a situation where I need to keep him close for protection, he can take his belongings. I’m sure Guide Lee Eunseok wouldn’t be comfortable here either.”
Especially if he has a separate lover, Choi Hanseo thought to himself.
Chief Secretary Lee nodded and called in the guards waiting outside. The guards began removing Lee Eunseok’s belongings from various places under Chief Secretary Lee’s direction. About half the clothes in the dressing room disappeared, and half the shoe rack was emptied. Large military duffel bags and cases that looked like they contained sniper rifles were moved by the guards’ hands.
“We’ve removed everything. Please rest well.”
Chief Secretary Lee gave a final nod and left the penthouse. Choi Hanseo looked at the half-empty dressing room with a strange expression for a moment, then returned to bed and fell into a sweet sleep, free from headaches and pain for once.
***
It was truly a refreshing morning. Choi Hanseo woke up savoring his body’s condition, free from any pain or discomfort. As he slowly opened his eyes while tightly hugging something in his arms, he saw a white pillow he was holding like a body pillow.
I must have developed a strange habit in the meantime.
Choi Hanseo thought as he pushed away the pillow he was holding.
After getting out of bed, Choi Hanseo brewed coffee as usual. The rich and fragrant coffee smell made his refreshed mood even better.
As Choi Hanseo was about to take his coffee cup to the living room sofa, he paused. Besides his own coffee cup, there was another cup filled with ice and iced Americano. He had unconsciously made two cups.
Could it be for that guide? Looking at how he unconsciously made coffee like this, it must have become a solid habit.
“I must have really coddled him, being an S-rank guide and all.”
Choi Hanseo muttered quietly, stared at the cold glass cup for a moment, then poured it down the sink.
The office he arrived at after putting on his suit was, unlike his home, unchanged. Choi Hanseo was very pleased with that.
“Here’s a new tablet and phone. We couldn’t find the previous ones, so we prepared new ones.”
Chief Secretary Lee said in a businesslike tone, holding out a tablet and phone.
“We’ve installed the essential guild apps, but haven’t touched anything else. You can log into your account and install any other apps you were using, like contacts.”
“I see. Good work. Also, please email me Guide Lee Eunseok’s contract documents. We need to manage such high-quality personnel well.”
Chief Secretary Lee nodded and disappeared outside the office. Choi Hanseo first picked up the phone to check the installed apps. As Chief Secretary Lee had said, the phone was in a clean state with only basic apps and guild apps installed.
Choi Hanseo logged into his account to download contacts and bulk downloaded previously installed apps from the store. While those were installing, he turned on the tablet and took the same measures.
As apps were being installed one by one on the tablet, he tapped the guild app, and intuitive menus no different from before popped up. Choi Hanseo looked at the tablet for a moment, then accessed the guide reservation menu. Yesterday, he was in such a hurry that he focused on guiding and couldn’t have a proper conversation with Lee Eunseok. He planned to take some time today to have a thorough talk with him.
A list of guides popped up. As befitting an S-rank guide, Lee Eunseok was at the top of the menu. Choi Hanseo clicked his name without hesitation. But all that appeared was a notification that reservations were already full.
Not possible today, I guess.
Choi Hanseo thought to himself as he closed the guild app.
When he entered his mailbox, there was an email from Chief Secretary Lee. Choi Hanseo opened the attached PDF file.
The contract contents were reasonable. For an S-rank guide, this level of annual salary and gate shares was natural. However…
“One year?”
Choi Hanseo frowned as he saw the contract period.
This was an S-rank guide. He was a talent that should be secured for life. But the contract period was only 1 year…
Surely, he wouldn’t leave an S-rank hunter like Choi Hanseo and go somewhere else. He was willing to offer even better contract conditions to keep him. However, people don’t move solely for money and conditions.
Lee Eunseok was a man in his prime. Moreover, he was a handsome man with very delicate features. There was more than enough possibility that someone might use a honey trap to lure such a Lee Eunseok. Even if it wasn’t a honey trap, but just a lover he met out of genuine emotion, the possibility that the lover might be recruited by another guild couldn’t be ruled out.
Lee Eunseok’s lover…
Choi Hanseo recalled Lee Eunseok trembling with pleasure beneath him last night. The man who desperately swallowed his moans and kept his eyes tightly shut, refusing to open them. He didn’t think the man would act like that in front of his lover. He would probably gaze at his partner with passionate eyes. Thinking about that somehow made him feel a bit unpleasant.
I’ll need to find a way to extend the contract period.
Choi Hanseo thought as he tapped the PDF file displayed on the tablet. For now, meeting him and having a conversation was the priority.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
