‘Let’s just observe a bit more.’
If the future was changing, then the relationships around me would inevitably change too. Rather than making hasty judgments, I decided to keep a close eye on the Center Director for a while as I looked out the window.
I had left early in the morning, but the sun was already beginning to set.
‘I wonder who would be at home at this hour.’
Even though we were supposed to start living together today, everyone had their own private lives, so I didn’t expect all four of us to be home. Personally, I was most comfortable with Yang Garam and Jeong Seyeon. If I were to receive Guiding, it would be better from those two.
‘In the past, I wouldn’t have been in a position to be picky, and would have hoped for anyone to be there. Now I’m even choosing my Guide. Woo Jeongjae, you’ve grown up a lot.’
I smiled at my own thoughts. I had underestimated the significance of the number 121, but as time passed, the heat rising from my body intensified. I exhaled a hot breath and unbuttoned a few buttons of my shirt that had been done up to my neck.
Fortunately, A-gate and A-zone were relatively close, so the car didn’t travel far before passing through A-zone and soon stopped in front of a two-story country house.
“It’s bigger than I expected.”
I’d only heard it was a luxury housing complex, but this was my first time seeing it in person. I got out of the car and looked up at the two-story country house with its spacious garden. It was well-maintained considering our sudden move-in. I heard the sound of the transport vehicle’s engine fading as it drove away. I glanced briefly at the back of the car before reaching into my inner pocket. I felt something hard under my fingertips.
‘This is the access card for the house you’ll be living in from today. Yours is red, but the access cards issued to Guides are blue, so you won’t get them confused. You’ll see for yourself when the mission is over, but I hope you like the house.’
I took out the red card that I had received along with the band before entering the dungeon. Thinking about it now, the explanation about the house had been longer than the explanation about the dungeon.
It seemed like the Center Director had been considerate in his own way, but since it wasn’t something I had wanted, I didn’t feel particularly grateful.
I held the card against the sensor next to the door, and watched as the door unlocked and opened.
The first person I encountered after passing through the entrance and heading to the living room was Jeong Seyeon, who was preparing dinner.
He was quite skillfully trimming vegetables and cutting them when he noticed me.
“Welcome, Jeongjae-ssi.”
For a moment, I thought I was seeing things when I saw him wearing an apron with an expressionless face. He had the image of someone who would only eat food prepared by others in his formal attire, not someone who would cook for himself. But surprisingly, that image suited him so well that I forgot he had greeted me and just stared blankly.
“Have you had dinner?”
“Ah, no. I just got back.”
I hurriedly came to my senses and quickly walked into the living room.
Did I just say something strange?
I slightly regretted blurting out whatever came to mind in my confusion, but for some reason, the back of my head kept tingling. I tried to ignore it while rubbing the back of my head, but in the end, curiosity made me turn around.
“……”
Jeong Seyeon, who had arranged the trimmed vegetables on one side, was untying his apron. All while not taking his eyes off me. His gaze, which had felt like it was piercing through the back of my head, was now fixed on my eyes, and I awkwardly turned toward him.
“Did you want to say something?”
When he took off his apron, it revealed his casual attire of a shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black pants. Instead of answering, he walked out of the kitchen and strode toward me. As he got closer, my head naturally tilted upward. I think he said he was 190cm tall when I asked before. There was definitely a difference between sitting face-to-face and standing.
Standing in front of me, Jeong Seyeon politely extended his hand to me.
“You want me to shake your hand?”
Jeong Seyeon nodded slightly, and though puzzled, I placed my hand on top of his. Even though my height was above average and I never thought my hands were small, my hand looked particularly small on top of his.
“…!”
As I was admiring Jeong Seyeon’s hand that was calmly enveloping mine, I suddenly flinched at the energy flowing in and withdrew my hand in an instant.
“Just now, I mean, I didn’t do that on purpose.”
“It’s alright.”
Jeong Seyeon calmly responded to my hastily uttered words.
‘What’s wrong with my body?’
Unlike usual, my body was refusing to accept his energy. It felt like an electric shock, causing a tingling pain that made it impossible for me to keep holding his hand.
I had felt something similar before when receiving Guiding from Yang Garam and Do Wonjin after training, but this repulsion was more severe than back then.
I was more surprised by my body’s unexpected reaction. Because of that, I didn’t notice that my breathing had become rough, compounded by the heat that had been rising since I was in the car.
“Breathe, breathe slowly.”
At Jeong Seyeon’s voice, I regulated my breathing, switching from mouth to nose. Jeong Seyeon firmly held my trembling hand as if he knew why I was reacting this way.
“What’s your runaway risk level?”
“121.”
His expressionless face showed a subtle change.
“It would be best to receive Guiding right away.”
Without performing Guiding, he led me away, still holding my hand. The spacious living room had several doors, and he naturally opened one of them as if he had already toured the house once.
The first thing I saw when the door opened was a large bed, and next to it was a shower booth. I was looking around at the minimal furniture in the room when I flinched at the sound of the door closing.
“Hyung, this is…”
“The Guiding room.”
What came to mind at that moment was the artificial Guiding room I used to frequent. But the scenery here was quite different.
“There’s a Guiding room?”
Although I had signed a contract with Joo Seolhyeon as my exclusive Guide and lived in the same house, there was no separate Guiding room. Joo Seolhyeon never allowed anyone to invade his territory, so I had never been in his room, and he never came into mine. The only place he performed Guiding on me was in the open living room.
“I wasn’t told there would be a separate Guiding room.”
The atmosphere felt like an entire hotel room had been transplanted here, making me feel awkward as I rubbed the back of my neck. Jeong Seyeon, unbuttoning his shirt, said to me:
“It seems they deliberately created a shared Guiding room to protect the privacy of the temporary Guides.”
“But why are you…”
Taking off your clothes?
I couldn’t finish my sentence because as soon as I started speaking, Jeong Seyeon completely removed his shirt and turned to look at me.
“Let’s get on the bed.”
Jeong Seyeon pointed to a bed that seemed spacious enough for four grown men to lie side by side, and I had difficulty breathing as I looked at his exposed upper body.
‘Hyung, there’s a tiger on your back?’
His well-defined muscles were impressive, but what really caught my eye was the elaborately tattooed design. I had thought he was in good shape before, but every time his muscles flexed, the tattoo seemed to come alive, making my heart clench.
“Woo Jeongjae-ssi.”
Seeing Jeong Seyeon already on the bed waiting for me, I snapped back to attention and hurriedly followed him onto the bed. The bed was so spacious that despite sharing it, there was considerable distance between Jeong Seyeon and me. Seeing me fidget, he extended his hand again.
“Aren’t you going to receive Guiding?”
At his words, I remembered why we had come here, and shaking my head, I took his hand. Jeong Seyeon pulled me firmly, and I felt the soft bedding against my back. In an instant, he positioned himself over me.
“……”
Jeong Seyeon’s face, up close, resembled a meticulously carved work of art. His elegant and sculpted appearance was beautiful even to a man, but his lifeless eyes contained nothing, making me wonder if he truly was a living person like me.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
He lowered his waist and cupped my cheeks with both hands.
The first side effect that manifested when using abilities was the rise in body temperature. My cheeks had been burning with heat since leaving the dungeon. In the past, I thought it was just a part of daily life and not a big issue, but the moment Jeong Seyeon’s cool energy caressed my cheeks, his Guiding felt as welcome as an air conditioner in the middle of summer. However, as that energy moved downward and penetrated deeper inside me, my body began to resist again.
“Ugh.”
The conflicting energies throughout my body caused a dull, tingling pain. As I groaned and furrowed my brow, Jeong Seyeon let out a faint sigh while still holding my cheeks. He stared at me intently before lowering his head.
“Close your eyes.”
Watching his face drawing closer, I asked with slightly anxious eyes.
“Why?”
I knew he was going to do more than just place his hands on my cheeks, but I couldn’t believe what he might be planning.
Instead of answering, he removed his hands from my cheeks and covered my eyes. His large hands covered half of my face, and as I uttered a sound of surprise, something soft and supple touched my parted lips. The moment I froze in shock at the foreign tongue entering my mouth, a cool yet fiery energy spread inside, flowing down my throat.
This was a completely different dimension of Guiding compared to simple skin contact. Driven by thirst rising from my core, I frantically swallowed the saliva coming from Jeong Seyeon’s mouth and desperately sucked on his lips.
Like giving candy to a child, Jeong Seyeon let me do as I pleased while moving his hand from my cheek to start unbuttoning the shirt I was wearing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
