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A tense silence passed between Geonho and Jihan. Neither of them spoke first.
Jihan, who had arrived earlier, began a staring contest, looking at Geonho with a sideways glance. For a beastkin like Geonho, staring intensely was a challenge to fight.
Geonho wasn’t one to shy away from a fight, regardless of the reason. He glared back at Jihan and sat down with a defiant posture.
“Geonho.”
In the end, it was Jihan who broke the silence first.
“What.”
“Is this how I taught you?”
Geonho’s expression crumpled as it seemed Jihan was about to start his nonsense. Jihan shook his head with his usual sly attitude, his eyebrows drooping.
“I’m so disappointed. I knew you were short-sighted, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.”
“Fuck, what are you talking about!”
“It was the day the Guide came back from the grade test.”
Jihan’s voice lowered slightly as he dropped his eye smile. He tapped the back of his hand on the desk as if knocking and stared at Geonho.
“Do you think it makes sense to drain guiding all night from someone who’s been exhausted all day?”
Just from the change in wavelength, he could read how deep the guiding Geonho had received was. Moreover, Geonho was still exuding Siwoo’s energy. Just how much had they done?
“Shut up. You don’t have the right to scold me.”
“Since when do you need qualifications to scold someone?”
Geonho, who had shouted at the grinning Jihan not to smirk, let out a big sigh.
“You broke the promise first.”
Jihan had first broken the promise not to receive guiding until Siwoo’s body recovered. The day he first kissed Siwoo. The awful feeling of tasting Jihan’s cigarette in his mouth was still vivid. He couldn’t forgive Jihan for ruining his first kiss.
“I only kissed. And even that was just a peck because of someone.”
That “someone” was Geonho. Unaware of this fact, Geonho rubbed his ear.
“Forget it, don’t interfere. I know everything without you telling me.”
At Geonho’s last words, Jihan closed his mouth and silently tapped the desk. It’s good that he at least knows he’s wrong. To push like a dog in heat knowing the Guide’s weak physique. And all night at that.
“He’s different from us. Remember that.”
Jihan’s languid voice turned serious. He stared at Geonho with a subdued gaze, resting his chin on his hand.
“Pretend to be strong even when the Guide says he’s okay. We need to control ourselves.”
“I know that too.”
Geonho turned his head towards the window and scratched his head vigorously. The words “I know but can’t control it” lingered on the tip of his tongue. Sex is done with the body, not the head. An excited body doesn’t always move according to the brain’s commands. Unless he was a robot, Geonho thought it was impossible to restrain himself.
“If you know, do better. Don’t just talk big.”
“What the fuck?!”
“Is ‘fuck’ the only swear word our Geonho knows?”
Geonho, who had slammed the desk with a ‘bang!’, stood up. Just as Jihan blocked the psychic force Geonho emitted with a barrier and smiled.
“Are you guys fighting…?”
Seojun, who had just opened the office door and entered, intervened between the two with a surprised face. Jihan greeted the startled youngest with a smile.
“We’re not fighting. Just talking.”
“You son of a bitch! Don’t ignore me!”
“Alright, alright. Our Geonho, calm down and sit.”
Seojun also joined in and made Geonho sit in the chair. As Seojun was calming down the grumbling Geonho, he paused for a moment. His expression instinctively hardened at the strong scent of Siwoo emanating from Geonho.
Is this hyung crazy? What on earth did he do and how much?
Just as an unpleasant curiosity arose in Seojun, the leader appeared. At the same time, the unsettled atmosphere instantly calmed down.
“Leader, good morning.”
Only Jihan waved cheerfully to greet Taebeom. Geonho and Seojun sat quietly with their eyes lowered, as if in sync. Just being in the same space as Taebeom made their bodies tense automatically.
Taebeom sat in the main seat and placed the silver case he had brought on the desk. Without any explanation, he opened the special aluminum box and showed it to the guild members.
“What are these bracelets?”
Jihan tilted his head and showed interest. Inside the heavy case were three bracelets. The design was different from the control bracelet Taebeom wore on his right hand. Their purpose seemed different as well.
“Can we wear them right away?”
As Jihan reached into the case, Taebeom tossed him a silver bracelet, saying, “This one’s yours.” The other two were black, the same color as the one Taebeom wore.
“What? I’m the odd one out.”
Jihan put on the silver bracelet, the only one of a different color, on his wrist. The dull sound of it locking, ‘click’, evoked a strange sense of discomfort.
“Someone is intentionally causing beastkin outbursts.”
At Taebeom’s calm voice, the three’s gazes focused on him. Only the youngest, Seojun, showed signs of bewilderment, widening his eyes. Taebeom said that until the culprit was caught, they would strengthen the restrictions on beastkin espers going out, just like now. It meant an indefinite extension.
“Then what should we do?”
“Focus only on gate removal. The search team will catch the culprit.”
A special overseas search team was already at the center. They were a team of elites with abilities specialized in searching, who had solved several major crimes.
“That’s no problem.”
Jihan shrugged and fiddled with the silver bracelet. As he touched the bracelet made of cold material without any pattern, his fingertips caught on a concave part. Inside were two buttons smaller than a fingernail. The buttons were only on Jihan’s bracelet.
Jihan lightly caressed around the small buttons and spoke again.
“It’s somewhat fortunate that there’s a cause. It would be a bigger problem if it were simple stress or unexplained outbursts.”
Seojun also smiled faintly, following Jihan who was smiling to lighten the mood. Geonho looked at the aluminum case with a sour expression, arms crossed. He roughly guessed the purpose of the bracelets.
“From now on, when you start on-site guiding, all of you move together.”
Taebeom gave a new order, looking at Geonho and Seojun. The two, who had been looking at the black bracelets, faced Taebeom with tension.
“Oh, really?”
Jihan welcomed Taebeom’s decision for them to do field missions together from now on. Because Baekya had designated gate areas for each member, except for Seojun, they had been acting separately.
“That’s a good idea, Leader. It’ll be much easier to protect the Guide that way.”
As Jihan clapped, Seojun also applauded faintly. He too was relieved, thinking Siwoo would be safer if they all went together.
“Then will you come along too, hyung?”
Geonho asked casually. Taebeom only pushed the case with the bracelets towards Geonho and Seojun without answering. It was time to explain about the bracelets.
“When a certain level is exceeded, a suppressant will be administered.”
Inside the bracelets for Geonho and Seojun, there was a needle inserted where the pulse would be felt. The needle contained a special suppressant that was forbidden for ordinary espers. It was a drug with twice the dangerous components of the suppressant used on the excited Geonho.
“If symptoms of an outburst begin, all the suppressant inside will be administered.”
“It sounds dangerous just hearing about it.”
Jihan sighed and rubbed his eyes. He could guess why only his bracelet was a different color and had buttons.
“What happens if it’s all administered?”
Taebeom answered with concise and clear words.
“Instant death.”
At the same time, Seojun’s Adam’s apple bobbed. On the other hand, Geonho just blinked his sharp eyes at his brother. He didn’t understand the meaning of the word.
“You die on the spot.”
Taebeom added, without looking at Geonho. Only then did Geonho open his mouth with an “Ah,” and ran his hand through his hair. Then he immediately grabbed the black bracelet placed in front of him.
“I just need to wear it from now on, right?”
He put on the bracelet without hesitation. Following his brother, he put the black bracelet on his right wrist and even sniffed it. Taebeom, still not looking at Geonho, pointed to Jihan’s bracelet with his chin.
“If you judge it dangerous, you decide.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
Jihan pretended not to know and shrugged one shoulder. If he pressed the buttons inside the silver bracelet, a lethal dose of suppressant would be injected into Geonho and Seojun. Even without explanation, the perceptive Jihan would have realized at a glance. The buttons, colored after their eye colors, were divided into red and gold. He laughed at the ridiculously simple method.
“Everyone must have worked hard to make these.”
Jihan muttered quietly and smiled at Taebeom as he took off his bracelet.
“But what a shame. Making you waste your efforts.”
He said he would never use it and put the bracelet back in the case.
“If that’s all you have to tell us, I’ll go first.”
Before he could get up from his seat, it was Geonho, not Taebeom, who threw the bracelet at him. And to Seojun as well.
“The leader told you to wear it.”
Seojun glanced at Taebeom and put the bracelet on his wrist. Jihan crossed his arms and refused the bracelet.
“Wear it for Han Siwoo’s sake. You’re the only one who can protect him properly.”
Geonho used his psychic power to pull Jihan’s arm and forcibly put the bracelet on him. When Siwoo’s name came up, he couldn’t easily refuse. Jihan just tilted his head sideways and sighed.
“You be careful too, hyung.”
Geonho said to Taebeom. However, his gaze was fixed on his own bracelet. He was fascinated by how the bracelet automatically tightened to fit his wrist circumference. It was also surprising that this small machine could kill him. And he liked it.
This will be safe. Geonho thought of Siwoo and tapped the bracelet with a satisfied expression. For a moment, Taebeom’s gaze touched and left Geonho’s rough fingertips.
“Excuse me!”
At that moment, the office door burst open. The secretary, skipping the knock, came running in with a loud voice. He was panting so hard, as if he had been running for a while, that he couldn’t continue speaking. What could have happened to make such a fuss again?
“Ha, haa…! It’s, it’s out!”
The secretary pressed his throbbing chest, gasping for breath while leaning on the desk. His heart was pounding more from shock than from running fast.
“What’s out?”
Jihan looked at the secretary while rubbing his forehead. He delivered the news, spitting saliva before his breathing had fully calmed down.
“Guide Han Siwoo’s grade is out!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
