137
Siwoo, who had fallen into a deep sleep due to Jihan’s ability, finally dreamed of Taebeom. It was a dream he had been waiting for.
The moment he opened his eyes in the dream, he checked his hands first. The slightly dark skin tone, as if tanned by the sun, was clearly Taebeom’s hands.
They were much smaller than when he first saw them in a dream. It seemed to be a memory from an even younger time.
[Son, can you give Geonho a snack?]
The young Taebeom, who had been doing homework, immediately went to the kitchen. Siwoo had to suppress his surprise at the sight of a woman’s back washing a large pot. He was startled by her bright smile, which resembled Geonho’s so much.
[It’s cooled down, so you can feed him right away. Don’t just give it to Geonho, eat some yourself too.]
She said, pointing to a large plate on the table. The plate was piled high with boiled potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Siwoo was stunned by the enormous quantity, and even more surprised by Taebeom’s reaction that followed.
He was laughing out loud. It was a very small sound, but a clear laugh nonetheless.
[Why are you laughing? Are the carrots funny?]
The woman asking this also burst into laughter. She seemed to think that even though she had prepared it, the amount was too much. A warm feeling surrounded the woman’s smile, which was like that of a young girl.
[Geonho’s been eating well lately. He must be trying to grow taller.]
The woman emphasized that Taebeom should eat too, as she finished washing the dishes. Her sleek black hair, tied in a ponytail, swayed gently with her movements. Just as Siwoo thought it looked like Geonho’s tail, young Taebeom chuckled again and picked up the plate.
Siwoo wanted to see more of the woman, but couldn’t because Taebeom moved. Taebeom carried the heavy plate through the small living room and into a room.
The moment he opened the tightly closed door, Siwoo’s heart skipped a beat again.
In the small, worn-out room, a young Geonho, who looked to be about elementary school age, was watching an old TV. Although he was in human form, his ears and tail were visible, and he even had black fur.
His sitting posture, with both knees folded, was closer to that of a dog than a human. Siwoo’s nose stung at the sight of the young Geonho, unstable, neither fully human nor dog.
[Geonho, let’s eat a snack.]
The face that turned and smiled at his brother’s presence was the spitting image of the woman. Taebeom smiled again slightly as he looked at the wagging tail. It was a sight unimaginable now. Kang Taebeom, laughing out loud.
[Wait.]
Young Taebeom approached Geonho firmly, put the plate on the floor, and sat down. However, Geonho couldn’t resist and buried his face in the plate. He wagged his tail excitedly as he stuffed his mouth with properly cooked carrots and potatoes.
The hand that hesitated whether to take away the plate or not soon stroked his brother’s head.
[Is it that delicious?]
Woof woof! Geonho barked loudly and playfully wrapped his huge tail around his brother. He seemed to be in a very good mood. Despite being in a cramped room and likely bored from watching TV alone, he showed a bright smile.
[Eat slowly. It’s all yours.]
Taebeom picked up all the snack pieces that Geonho had dropped while eating hastily and put them in his own mouth. He only ate what his brother had dropped and didn’t touch the plate. He gave everything to his younger brother.
[Let’s go for a walk when the sun sets.]
Geonho, who had been happily filling his stomach, perked up his ears at the word ‘walk’ and smiled. It was a pure smile that made even the observer happy.
Taebeom’s heart warmed at his brother’s clear smile. Siwoo’s heart also heated up in response.
He wished they could be this happy for their entire lives. The moment he harbored this wish, the dream faded away.
Siwoo woke up, touching his warm chest.
“Ha…”
When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar ceiling. It was his room in the dorm.
When did I come back? As he rubbed his eyes to open them properly, his hand felt wet. It seemed he had shed tears while dreaming. Not just his eyes, but his cheeks were all damp.
As he irritably wiped away his tears, Siwoo’s lips trembled and he buried his face in the pillow.
“Hic.”
Although it was clearly a pleasant dream, his heart ached. Perhaps because he knew it was a scene he could no longer see in reality.
He had never experienced parental love, so losing his family didn’t affect him. However, the fact that the warmly smiling woman was no longer in this world was unbearably sad.
“Ugh, hu… hup.”
If he felt this way, how must Kang Taebeom feel, carrying all these memories alone?
“Hic…! Sh-, huuung-.”
Thinking of Taebeom, Siwoo burst into even louder sobs. After crying miserably, he suddenly started hitting his pillow and even banging his head against it.
“Han Siwoo, you crazy, bastard…!”
His sadness was turning into embarrassment. It was because he remembered his guiding with Taebeom.
Han Siwoo, you guiding-obsessed fool.
He pulled his hair, recalling how he had rushed at Taebeom. It wasn’t just a matter of being embarrassed.
He had almost imprinted. If Kang Taebeom hadn’t pushed him away, he would have done something irreversible.
Suddenly, the high matching rate with him felt dangerous. In fact, when he first heard about imprinting from Guide Yoon Soha, he had thought of Kang Taebeom. He had thought that if he imprinted with him, he might be able to know the emotions and thoughts that he kept so tightly hidden.
But imprinting wasn’t something to attempt out of curiosity. It required extreme caution. Even Siwoo, as enthusiastic as he was about guiding, had no intention of imprinting on impulse.
Moreover, if the other person didn’t want it… he had even less desire to do it.
[No.]
For a moment, the image of Kang Taebeom firmly pushing him away flashed before his eyes. At the same time, his own voice, crying dramatically and asking if he was that disgusting, echoed in his ears. This is so embarrassing, really.
“Why are you crying and making a fuss!”
Said while still crying. While scolding his past self, he kept punching the pillow. Along with the embarrassment, an inexplicable bitter feeling added to the mix, making him feel even more conflicted. He didn’t want to delve into the reason for it.
“…”
Siwoo, who had been hitting the pillow hard, suddenly looked down at his hand. Only now did he realize he was tightly gripping something. He must not have fully woken up yet to notice just now.
“An acorn…?”
The smooth surface of the acorn reflected the light from the lamp, shimmering. As Siwoo tilted his head, holding the acorn, there was a knock at the door.
“Guide, are you okay? Are you awake?”
It was Seojun. He was turning the locked doorknob as if he would break it and knocking on the door vigorously. Siwoo quickly got up from the bed before the door could be broken.
As Siwoo put his feet on the floor, he paused again and looked down at his legs.
“What…”
His body felt unusually fine. No muscle pain, and no places that should have been hurting. As he unconsciously massaged his buttocks a bit, his eyes suddenly went to the acorn.
“Guide, I’m coming in.”
“Wait!”
Just before Seojun could break the doorknob, Siwoo quickly ran and opened the door first. As soon as the door opened, Seojun grabbed Siwoo’s shoulders and checked his condition.
“Why did you shout? Are you hurting somewhere?”
He smelled of wind, as if he had just arrived at the dorm. Siwoo shook his head and first let Seojun in. He had something to ask him anyway.
“Sit down.”
He sat Seojun down on a nearby chair with a serious face. Seojun, who obediently followed, stared intently at Siwoo’s face. His white face was a bit puffy, as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. Although his complexion wasn’t bad, his eyes were reddish.
Had he been crying in his sleep? His gaze, scrutinizing closely, moved from the reddened corners of his eyes to his neck, where a white band was attached.
It was what Jihan had put on Siwoo’s neck along with some ointment. Under the thin band, Taebeom’s deep teeth marks were hidden. Not just teeth marks, but even dark bruises. How hard had he bitten?
Seojun had seen the wounds on his neck before Jihan put the band on. He had found out when he came to check on Siwoo at the dorm as usual.
[Jihan hyung, what are you doing?]
At that time, Jihan was putting new clothes on the sleeping Siwoo. Seojun’s expression hardened as he saw Siwoo, who looked drained of all energy.
[It wasn’t me.]
Jihan informed him that Siwoo had come back after guiding the leader. Only then did Seojun relax his expression and help Jihan put Siwoo to bed.
Geonho hyung is like that, and now even the leader is too much.
Knowing that the guide’s body is weak, did they really have to extract guiding from someone who had just come back from training? Is it that hard to hold back?
Seojun was quite displeased with the fact that Siwoo had done guiding after coming back from his last training. The band covering his pale neck also made him uncomfortable. Especially since it was with the leader, not anyone else, he must have pushed himself harder than usual.
Thinking about how that small butt had to accommodate a body twice his size made his mouth water. No, it made his mouth dry.
“H-how do you feel? Does anything hurt?”
Seojun, shaking off his thoughts, watched Siwoo while rubbing his nape. Siwoo, who just answered with a vague “Yeah,” was busy moving around on his own.
He seemed to be looking for something, opening the wardrobe and rummaging through all the pockets of the clothes. After irritably scratching his head, he rushed to the bedside table and fumbled through the drawer. Seojun quietly waited, thinking he might interfere with Siwoo.
Soon, Siwoo took something out of the drawer and returned to Seojun.
“Do you know what this is?”
Seojun tilted his head, looking at the small stone Siwoo held out. It just looked like a common stone. A grayish stone that sparkled a little.
“Then do you know what this is?”
Siwoo watched Seojun’s puzzled face and held out his other palm. Seojun finally opened his mouth with an “Ah.”
What Siwoo held out to Seojun were a barrier stone and an acorn. The two objects of similar size but different shapes were stuck to Siwoo’s small palm like magnets.
While he didn’t know one, Seojun knew a little about the other.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
