# Chapter 12
It sounded kind and gentle, but it was actually mockery. Saeon pushed away Domin’s hand, his lips trembling slightly. Conscious of the eyes around them, he forced the corners of his mouth to curve upward.
There was nothing good about showing people that Domin hadn’t released the imprint while adding fuel to the rumors of their conflict. For now, I’m still Choi Domin’s guide. Saeon decided to focus only on that thought.
“Shall we move somewhere else?” Saeon asked in a sweet voice, different from moments ago.
That meant he wanted to go somewhere quiet because there were too many people watching, so he could throw a fit. Did he think Domin would follow him like a fool just because he asked?
Instead of answering, Domin shrugged his shoulders lightly. It was a polite refusal saying he wouldn’t go.
“Domin.”
Saeon grabbed his hand without permission. When Domin’s face hardened with anger, Saeon sent him a desperate look begging him not to let go. He ignored Saeon when he was crawling on the ground asking to hold hands just once, but now he seemed quite anxious.
Memories of those past days when he suffered from withdrawal symptoms because he couldn’t hold this hand flashed through Domin’s mind. There was no reason to hold this hand that no longer gave him any feeling when touched, so Domin lightly brushed off Saeon’s hand.
A look of deep shock appeared on Saeon’s face. People around them began to stir at the unbelievable sight of an Esper refusing contact with their Guide, when Espers normally desperately want to touch their Guide even once because of withdrawal symptoms.
“I will refuse any contact without permission, Guide Ju Saeon.”
The whispering grew louder after Domin’s statement that completely drove home the point.
Saeon’s face turned bright red with shame from the unexpected humiliation. It was the first time Domin had seen such an expression on Saeon since knowing him.
‘That face is worth seeing.’
Domin covered his mouth with his hand, barely managing to pull down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to rise. If it weren’t for all these unnecessarily gathered people, he would have laughed out loud.
“…You’ll regret this.”
Domin remained unmoved by Saeon’s warning. He was about to get his hands on a very convenient Guiding battery named Yeo Jeongyun, so what use would Saeon be?
“That will absolutely never happen.”
Domin answered with a smile.
With Domin’s reply leaving no room for doubt, Saeon pressed his lips tightly together and turned to leave. After Saeon disappeared, the gathered onlookers quickly scattered.
“It’s become a rag.”
Left alone in the hallway, Domin frowned at his shirt that couldn’t even cover his exposed chest.
Standing in front of people looking like this, how shameful.
“I can’t breathe.”
Domin slipped his finger into the choker that was tightly squeezing his neck to make some space. While taking a couple of deep breaths, he saw Junyoung running toward him from far away.
“Why are you so late?”
“Jung Yona, Department Head, huff, sir, huff.”
At Domin’s complaint, Junyoung spilled out the reason for his lateness without even catching his breath.
To summarize, Department Head Jung Yona was angry at Domin for taking the pager without saying anything, and had been nagging Junyoung until now.
“Fine. Shut up and just open the car door quickly.”
Domin waved his hand lightly to cut off Junyoung’s words and walked toward the parking lot first. By then, Junyoung had caught his breath and followed behind Domin.
“But why do you look like that?”
Junyoung asked, looking at Domin’s tattered shirt. Domin let out a deep sigh and bluntly said Saeon’s name. With just that, Junyoung perfectly understood the situation and didn’t ask any more annoying questions.
Ring ring ring.
At the loud bell sound, Domin stopped walking and turned to look at Junyoung who was following him. Junyoung hurriedly took out his phone from his pocket and switched it to vibrate.
“It’s noisy, so shut it.”
At Domin’s scolding, Junyoung smiled awkwardly and checked the messages that had flooded in. He thought they’d be schedule-related contacts, but they were messages sent by team members who usually never contacted him.
News travels faster than feet, they say, and it seemed the news that Domin had cut ties with Saeon and was partnering with another Guide had already spread.
“Damn, word spreads quickly.”
Domin was already looking at his phone too. The already icy atmosphere grew even colder.
The phone in Domin’s hand floated up, then flew with fierce speed and hit the wall. The shattered phone fragments fell to the floor with a shower of debris.
After rubbing his tingling fingers from using his ability, Domin silently continued walking toward the parking lot.
I shouldn’t even make breathing sounds today. Junyoung made that promise to himself as he stuck close behind Domin.
* * *
Returning home, Jeongyun took out the note he had kept deep in his pocket. He had long memorized the number written on the white paper, but he deliberately read it over and over.
‘Should I really do this?’
Becoming Domin’s dedicated Guide.
It was something he had dreamed of since he went to take the Guide test, leaving behind his shouting parents. After facing the reality of being C-grade, it was something he hadn’t even dared to dream about.
‘Will you be my dedicated Guide?’
Truthfully, he wanted to accept without any hesitation from the beginning. But Domin was an A-grade Esper, and he was a C-grade Guide.
The match rate would only be known after an accurate test, but with such a big difference in grades, they would need skinship beyond just kissing for effective Guiding.
If Guiding beyond kissing didn’t show any effect, Domin might go berserk because of him, or in serious cases, even lose his life. So this wasn’t something to decide based on greed alone.
As a Guide, Guiding was his job. It was work that should be viewed the same whether his partner was Choi Domin or another Esper.
But even in a situation where the answer was already decided, his heart kept wavering without reaching a conclusion.
‘Choi Domin wants me.’
Was it wrong to be selfish just this once? Even with a low match rate, they had already imprinted, so that would provide some coverage.
Also, until now, he had usually limited Guiding to non-contact or just hand-holding, but if he became Domin’s dedicated Guide, he could start Guiding from kissing. If that wasn’t enough, going further would be fine since they were imprinted partners.
It was possible if he became Domin’s only Guide just as Domin was his only Esper.
‘Let me be selfish just this once.’
Finally ending his long deliberation, Jeongyun straightened his back and took a deep breath. He lowered the note and slowly dialed the number he had memorized. Surprisingly, it took 30 minutes to dial just 11 digits.
“…Don’t tremble.”
Jeongyun calmed himself, then pressed the call button with trembling fingertips.
His heart pounded at the ringing sound in his ears. He closed his eyes tightly then opened them, tense because he didn’t know when Domin would answer.
First, he would greet him by asking if he had a good day, then identify himself, and get to the point. As he was recalling what to say in order, the ringing stopped. At the same time, Jeongyun held his breath.
[Hello?]
Domin’s tired voice came through the receiver. While Jeongyun was fumbling, not having finished his mental preparation, Domin sighed with annoyance and said:
[If this is a prank call, I’m hanging up.]
“It’s, me. Yeo Jeongyun, Guide…”
[Ah, Yeo Jeongyun.]
Domin’s voice, which had been cold until just now, changed to a friendly tone. Jeongyun’s heart started to beat as if it would burst at the sweet voice.
Jeongyun briefly held the phone away and exhaled shakily.
‘Please calm down.’
He pulled himself together and brought the phone back to his ear.
He was about to say what he had organized in his head, but Domin’s surroundings were noisy. Did he catch Domin at a bad time? Jeongyun carefully asked:
“Are you busy, by any chance?”
[Hmm. I am busy, but not too busy to talk with Guide Yeo Jeongyun.]
Though he put it nicely, it still meant he was busy. Jeongyun needed to say what he had to quickly and hang up, but as his heart raced, his thoughts began to tangle.
[So, what’s the matter?]
“Well… I’ve been thinking…”
Jeongyun stammered out the words that came to his mind.
Originally, he wanted to say “I’ve been thinking and I want to be Esper Choi Domin’s dedicated Guide.” But what actually came out of his mouth was completely different from what he had planned.
“I want to do it!”
The random statement, cutting off both the beginning and end, was unnecessarily solemn.
Jeongyun covered his burning face with his hand. Even knowing that Domin couldn’t see him through the phone, he couldn’t bear the embarrassment.
[If you were going to accept this quickly, why did you play hard to get earlier?]
Hearing the voice mixed with mockery, Jeongyun realized his mistake. Maybe he should have taken at least a day to seriously think about it. He belatedly blamed himself for his impatience.
[Shall we meet?]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
