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Geonho and Seojun eagerly raised their thick arms, volunteering to receive guiding. Jihan, the eldest, maintained a calm smile before suddenly pressing his temple, complaining of a headache – implying he needed guiding.
Siwoo looked around at them and sighed. Right, I’m the fool for asking.
“You go and receive it.”
In the end, Siwoo stepped in and picked one of them. The others let out sighs of disappointment at not being chosen.
“That bastard’s just pretending to be sick! Han Siwoo, don’t be fooled!”
“Jihan hyung, should I get you some headache medicine?”
Siwoo had chosen Jihan as his guiding partner. Jihan, who had been rubbing his temple, pumped his fist with a “Yes!” and flashed a bright smile.
“Look at that! Does that look like the face of someone who’s sick?!”
Geonho pointed accusingly at Jihan’s grinning face. Nevertheless, Siwoo remained firm in his decision.
“You guys rest more before going. Yoo Jihan, follow me.”
“Yes, Guide.”
Jihan walked lightly, keeping pace with Siwoo. Geonho followed them, huffing and puffing, while Seojun pretended to try and stop him as they both attempted to enter Siwoo’s room.
“No. Get out.”
Of course, neither of them even made it past the threshold. Geonho’s feet were rooted to the spot by Siwoo’s resolute gaze, and he wore a dissatisfied expression. His face seemed to be asking why it had to be that guy.
“He just came back from work. It’s been a while since he received guiding too.”
Unlike Geonho and Seojun in casual clothes, only Jihan was in combat gear. He alone had been out in the field. So he was likely the most fatigued.
“Then can I just sit next to you? No, I’ll stand.”
Geonho stubbornly poked his face between the door. His dark eyes were full of disappointment. Even though he wasn’t in his true form, Siwoo almost thought he could hear him whimpering. Seeing his dejected look, Siwoo’s resolve began to weaken slightly.
“Don’t make it difficult for the Guide.”
At that moment, Jihan closed the door with a loud ‘thud!’ and even locked it. Startled by the loud noise, Siwoo reflexively hit Jihan’s arm. Jihan naturally took Siwoo’s hand that had touched his body and met his eyes deeply.
“You can’t waver so soon. You need to be firm.”
Caught off guard by his uncharacteristically serious tone, Siwoo forgot to retort and just gaped. Jihan looked at Siwoo’s face for a moment before clicking his tongue lightly.
“Our Guide’s soft heart is going to be a big problem. You’ll end up being led around by Geonho.”
“I’m not soft.”
Siwoo snorted and gripped Jihan’s hand tightly, almost squeezing it. As soon as he read the wavelength through his palm, he couldn’t help but sigh. As expected, Jihan’s wavelength was full of fatigue. It was amazing how he could still grin in this condition.
“Hey, go lie down over there.”
When Siwoo pointed to the bed, Jihan’s eyes widened slightly. There was a chair, yet he was told to lie on the bed. He was so excited he couldn’t even joke around.
“Don’t get any weird ideas. I’m just going to hold your hand.”
“Aw, what a waste of a bed.”
Jihan plopped down on the soft sheets and lay down, resting his head on his left arm. Then he lazily swung his right hand, still connected to Siwoo’s, and smiled with his eyes.
Siwoo didn’t get on the bed but pulled up a nearby chair to sit on. Ignoring the subtle pull towards the bed, he slapped the back of Jihan’s hand. Then he rolled up Jihan’s sleeve about half a span and held his wrist instead of his hand.
“I prefer holding hands.”
“Just close your eyes.”
Jihan obediently closed his eyes. He cooperated actively, sensing that Siwoo was trying to do something different from usual.
“Yoo Jihan.”
Feeling the cute grip firmly holding his wrist, Jihan responded with a slightly delayed “Mm?” It felt strange that Siwoo was just holding his wrist without immediately starting the guiding as usual. Plus, he even called his name.
“Try breathing loudly. Like this.”
Warm breath fell on Jihan’s cheek as his eyes remained closed. His sensitive eyebrows twitched slightly.
Jihan focused on Siwoo’s exhaled breath, keeping his eyelids tightly shut. Without even trying, his breathing naturally became louder. The ticklish feeling building up inside made his chest swell.
What was he doing? Siwoo’s unpredictable actions piqued Jihan’s curiosity. As the pressure on his wrist increased slightly, Jihan’s lips parted gently. The breath that had been flowing only through his nose now entered through his mouth, inflating his chest.
“Breathe comfortably like usual. Just make the sound louder.”
With his vision blocked, Siwoo’s voice sounded even clearer. The more he heard that pleasant voice, the harder it became to keep his legs still.
“I’m starting.”
Soon after the warning, the guiding began to seep in.
The guiding flowed along with Jihan’s pulse, spreading throughout his body. Jihan welcomed Siwoo’s energy melting into him, tilting his head towards him. The guiding was being absorbed unusually quickly. His body, recognizing the change first, showed signs of surprise and increased his heartbeat.
“How is it?”
Siwoo, who had been sending out guiding, pressed firmly on Jihan’s wrist.
“A bit different?”
Jihan slightly opened one eye, the corners of his thin lips turned up. A bit different? It was so drastically different that he almost got an erection.
“Did you learn this during training?”
“Yeah.”
Siwoo nodded with a proud face. Seeing how quickly Jihan’s wavelength stabilized, it seemed the newly learned guiding method was effective.
“Not bad, right?”
It wasn’t a special technique he had learned. Just a small tip, you could say.
“They say if you send out more guiding when inhaling and reduce the energy when exhaling, it’s absorbed better. I didn’t think it would really work, but it’s amazing.”
Just by adjusting the guiding energy to match breathing and pulse, the absorption rate increased beyond expectations. Siwoo, who had been chuckling proudly, soon lowered the guiding.
“Now… I’ll do it like usual.”
Belatedly noticing Jihan’s heated gaze, Siwoo quickly averted his eyes. He felt that if he got caught up in the atmosphere, things might escalate.
Today, he would only hold hands. With the final training just ahead, he shouldn’t overdo it. Siwoo, who had finished a full day of training, was already quite tired.
“Guide, your voice is really nice.”
Jihan closed his eyes again, seemingly not intending to be greedy. He gently stroked the soft back of Siwoo’s hand with his thumb.
“I never knew voices could resemble faces too. It’s the first time I’ve realized this in my life.”
Siwoo focused on guiding, ignoring Jihan’s ramblings. To increase contact just a little more, he reached for Jihan’s left arm to hold his other hand. As he did so, his eyes fell on Jihan’s left wrist.
“What’s that bracelet?”
Jihan was wearing a bracelet Siwoo hadn’t seen before. Come to think of it, Kang Geonho and the youngest seemed to be wearing new bracelets too.
“Just a bracelet.”
Jihan lightly shook his left wrist and suddenly changed the subject, lowering his voice as he called out, “Guide.”
“You asked before if our leader was okay.”
Siwoo, who had been looking at Jihan’s silver bracelet, blinked rapidly. Jihan didn’t miss this subtle change in expression and looked at Siwoo more closely.
“Why did you ask that?”
An inexplicable silence passed between them for a moment. Siwoo didn’t answer, and Jihan didn’t press for an answer.
“…Just because.”
As the silence was about to stretch on, Siwoo’s lips moved slightly.
“I just asked, why?”
Siwoo didn’t reveal Taebeom’s secret. He felt it wasn’t the right time yet.
“Stop talking and just receive the guiding.”
He pressed down on Jihan’s shoulder to make him lie flat. At the same time, Jihan caught hold of him.
“Then do it properly.”
Soft arms wrapped around Siwoo’s thin waist. Jihan embraced Siwoo and pulled him onto the bed.
Caught off guard, Siwoo suddenly found himself lying on top of Jihan. He tried to get up immediately, but Jihan’s wavelength clung to his entire body, holding him down heavily.
“Didn’t you learn anything else? Try out everything you learned.”
Jihan subtly wrapped his arms more tightly around Siwoo’s waist, pressing their bodies closer. He believed that a hug wouldn’t be too much for Siwoo.
“I’ll stay still.”
Jihan grinned and relaxed his arms. He just rested his hands on Siwoo’s slender waist without holding it.
He would be content just having Siwoo lie on top of him like this. The small body nestled in his arms without rejection was so lovable that he couldn’t help but smile.
If only I could just kiss him here, it would be heaven.
This fleeting desire made him lift his chin. Siwoo, who had been lying quietly in his arms, reached out towards Jihan’s approaching face. Just as he was about to grab his lips, the door suddenly burst open.
“Eat some snacks.”
Geonho entered with a brazen face, carrying a tray full of various snacks. Despite having broken the locked doorknob, he casually offered the snacks. Seojun, who followed him in, pretended to be embarrassed as he opened the door wider.
“Guide, now’s the time. Give them a good scolding.”
Jihan hugged Siwoo tightly, encouraging him that now was the time to get angry. Geonho used his psychic power to pull Jihan out and chased him under the bed. Siwoo was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even curse.
“That’s enough, go to sleep now. It’s late.”
Geonho approached Siwoo and arbitrarily ended the guiding session, saying this much was enough. Seojun chimed in, saying, “Oh, it’s already this late.”
These guys, all of them. They’re really something.
“Just all of you, get out.”
Siwoo chased everyone out, except for the snack tray. To think these childish brats represent the Baekya Guild of South Korea. He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like Kang Taebeom might be doing all the work alone.
Ah, is that why he’s so busy?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
