# Chapter 64
Maybe because he had been caught in the winter rain yesterday without an umbrella, his fever started to rise. He had taken medicine just in case, but it didn’t seem to work as his blanket was soaked with sweat.
Jeongyun placed his hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh. Though he wasn’t a doctor and couldn’t make an accurate diagnosis, his temperature was higher than usual, so it was certainly a cold.
‘What should I do?’
Requesting sick leave wasn’t difficult, but he didn’t want to use it for just a cold. After considering his options, Jeongyun got out of bed. His vision swayed slightly, but he was fine once he found his balance.
Since he had a cold, he took a longer shower than usual, but by the time he finished, it was already late enough that he would be tardy if he didn’t hurry. Jeongyun quickly finished preparing, hastily put on his shoes, and opened the unusually heavy front door.
Normally, he would have taken the subway, but with his body feeling different today, he didn’t want to be in a crowd. So he decided to indulge in a special luxury.
Jeongyun went to the main road and caught a passing taxi. After stating his destination, he leaned back on the comfortable seat and sat comfortably.
‘Let me rest a bit.’
The headquarters was quite a distance away, and since it was rush hour with the roads completely jammed, it didn’t seem like they would arrive quickly.
While the taxi drove diligently, Jeongyun planned to get some sleep.
“Sir, we’ve arrived.”
After some time had passed, Jeongyun opened his eyes to the driver’s voice announcing their arrival and confirmed the headquarters building visible through the window.
Still half-asleep, Jeongyun took out his wallet and handed his card to the waiting driver. Only after hearing the machine beep confirming the payment did he open the taxi door and step outside.
‘I’m late.’
The traffic had been worse than expected, and much time had passed. Letting out a short sigh, Jeongyun entered the headquarters.
He tried not to look at the wall that was visible right after passing through the revolving doors. As always, Domin’s advertisement was playing there.
‘I should stop by the hospital first and then go to the Center.’
Normally, he would have just dropped off his bag at the Guiding room and gone straight to the Center, but today he planned to visit the hospital inside the headquarters before going to the Center.
His cold seemed worse than expected; despite taking a brief nap in the taxi, his fever had risen even more during that time. If he went to the Center and provided Guiding like this, he might pass his cold on to Hwayeon.
Of course, Espers typically had stronger constitutions than ordinary people and didn’t often suffer from minor illnesses like colds, but that didn’t mean they were completely unaffected by disease.
‘There are a lot of people.’
The corridor was bustling with Espers who had started coming to their Guiding rooms on time. It was a scene Jeongyun rarely saw since he usually came to work earlier than others and stayed in the Guiding room or went to the Center all day.
Jeongyun carefully passed through the corridor, avoiding contact with the Espers, entered the Guiding room, put down his bag, and took a moment to catch his breath. Perhaps because his body was sick, he was out of breath just from moving this little.
‘Let’s go quickly.’
Thinking that Hwayeon was waiting for him, he couldn’t rest comfortably.
Just as Jeongyun, who had put on the Center access badge from the desk, was about to leave the Guiding room, the door suddenly opened without a knock. And an unexpected person strode into the Guiding room.
“…Choi Domin?”
The intruder was Domin, who had only been sending calls for over a week. While Jeongyun hesitated in surprise, Domin flicked his finger to completely close the half-open door.
In an instant, he had completely cut off any escape route for Jeongyun. Now he could have a conversation, or whatever, in peace. With that thought, Domin moved even closer to Jeongyun.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
As Domin greeted him with a smile, Jeongyun lowered his gaze to the floor and slowly backed away. But as much as Jeongyun distanced himself, Domin closed the gap again.
Domin, who had finished his tediously long overseas schedule, had rushed here as soon as he returned to the country. All he could think about in the car was what to do with Jeongyun, who had ignored or rejected more than a hundred of his calls.
Since Jeongyun had been so insistent about terminating the dedicated partner contract, maybe he should give him a taste of the pain felt when releasing the Imprint. That would shut him up.
He had come with his head full of destructive thoughts, but when he actually faced Jeongyun, those thoughts vanished.
‘Why does he look like this?’
Today, Jeongyun looked especially small and insignificant. Whether it was because he was frightened or because of his flushed, feverish face, looking at him made Domin’s energy drain.
Of course, that was separate from the fact that he was still angry.
“I wondered what was going on since you never answered my calls, but you seem more fine than I thought.”
Jeongyun couldn’t find his words in response to the sarcastic comment. As Jeongyun stammered, unable to continue speaking, Domin, who was staring at him, muttered as if to himself.
“Or maybe not fine.”
When Domin reached out his hand, Jeongyun, startled, quickly moved his body backward. Domin lowered his hand, which remained in the air without reaching Jeongyun, and asked in a sharp voice.
“Do you hate even my touch now?”
It wasn’t that he had avoided it with such thoughts, but since he had already decided to terminate the dedicated partner contract, they couldn’t continue as before.
This was actually a good thing. He needed to talk to Domin about terminating the dedicated partner contract when he came like this. It was uncertain when Domin would come again due to his busy schedule.
‘Good thing I prepared in advance.’
Jeongyun pushed Domin aside and quietly headed to the desk. He opened the drawer and took out the neatly placed documents. Then, picking up a pen, he returned to Domin.
“Since you’re here, would you sign these documents?”
“…What did you say?”
Jeongyun handed the pen and documents to Domin. On the already completed documents, all that remained was Domin’s signature.
“Once you sign, it will be over.”
Domin covered his throbbing forehead with his hand. It was so ridiculous that now he could only laugh hollowly. Meanwhile, Jeongyun continued to push the pen toward Domin.
“…Shit, are you playing with me right now?”
The anger he had been containing exploded.
Domin snatched the documents from Jeongyun’s hand, then tore them in half lengthwise. After completely shredding the documents in front of Jeongyun’s eyes, he scattered them in the air.
Jeongyun stared blankly at the papers fluttering like snow, then fiercely glared at Domin. Not that it posed any threat to Domin.
“What are you doing?”
“I already told you. I have no intention of terminating the dedicated contract.”
“And I told you. Please terminate the dedicated contract.”
Despite having trembled in fear just a moment ago, now he was looking him straight in the eye and speaking his mind clearly. He must be feeling heated in his own way.
The papers that had been fluttering in the air had already all settled on the floor. Domin kicked aside a paper at his feet and grabbed Jeongyun by the collar.
Jeongyun, who had been dragged without resistance, struggled with his body. Hearing his labored breathing, Domin confirmed that he was indeed sick somewhere. His body was also more reddish than usual, as if he had a fever.
Well, that was none of his concern.
“Let go of me!”
Jeongyun tried his best to remove Domin’s hand. But Domin didn’t budge at all. He dragged the struggling Jeongyun and threw him onto the small bed.
The bed creaked and shook precariously. Jeongyun quickly tried to get up, but Domin was faster, climbing on top of him.
Domin, who easily subdued Jeongyun, held both wrists in one hand and pressed them firmly against the bed. With each labored breath Jeongyun took, his chest rose and fell dramatically.
Perhaps because it had been so long, even that sight was stimulating to Domin. He knew that the efficiency of Guiding would be terrible now, but strangely, he wanted to touch Jeongyun.
‘It’s because I’m lacking Guiding.’
Having quickly derived the reason, Domin bent down deeply. He buried his lips against Jeongyun’s feverish neck and inhaled deeply. There was a subtle scent of soap.
“Don’t… do this…!”
Jeongyun wanted to escape, but he was no match for Domin’s strength.
Meanwhile, Domin pressed his body closer to the struggling Jeongyun. Caught between the bed and Domin, Jeongyun twisted his body in distress.
Domin’s lips, which had lingered on Jeongyun’s neck, gradually moved downward. He would nibble on the prominent parts through the clothes and stick out his tongue to lick them.
‘…I’m dizzy.’
As the intensity of the Guiding increased, Jeongyun’s fever rose even more. His vision became hazily blurred, and his struggling body gradually sank down.
“Yeo Jeongyun?”
Sensing something wrong, Domin stopped the contact and called out to Jeongyun. His labored breathing sounded different from before. More precarious and anxious.
“Hey, wake up.”
Domin lightly slapped Jeongyun’s cheek. Jeongyun, whose eyes had been blinking with unfocused pupils, let his face fall weakly. His breathing became faint.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
