# Chapter 65
As soon as Jeongyun opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. With a body that felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton, he managed to sit up and realized he was in the hospital inside headquarters.
‘Did I faint?’
He remembered being in the Guiding room when Domin came in, but everything after that was unclear. It was hazy, like a thick black fog. As if someone had deliberately erased it.
His head hurt when he tried to recall. Thinking it probably wasn’t an important memory, Jeongyun was emptying his mind when the door opened and a doctor in a white coat with nurses entered the room.
“Mr. Yeo Jeongyun, are you feeling better?”
“…Ah, yes.”
His response was a bit slow because his mind hadn’t fully returned yet.
The doctor examined Jeongyun’s unfocused eyes and said something to the nurse standing beside him. Jeongyun stared blankly at the doctor.
“I’ll take your temperature for a moment.”
Another nurse approached and put a thermometer in Jeongyun’s ear. With a beep, his temperature appeared on the small screen. Glancing at it, Jeongyun saw it read 38.5°C. The fever was quite severe.
“Don’t think about being discharged today. Rest well in the hospital room.”
“That’s not necessary—”
“Please do as I say, Guide Yeo Jeongyun.”
The doctor smiled while cutting off Jeongyun’s words. Jeongyun had no choice but to nod. The hospital room felt stuffy and he wanted to go home quickly, but he couldn’t argue with the doctor’s firm stance.
“Then rest well.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Left alone again after everyone left, Jeongyun looked at the patient gown on the blanket. Remembering the nurse asking him to call when he finished changing clothes, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Well, resting in the hospital with an IV drip would probably be better than going home and taking medicine that barely worked. He would recover faster this way.
‘Let’s just rest well for now.’
Quickly giving in, Jeongyun carefully got out of bed to change clothes. His vision swayed momentarily when his feet touched the floor, but fortunately, he held onto the bed and stood upright.
To put on the patient gown, he needed to take off his clothes first. As he was slowly unbuttoning his shirt with hands that had no strength, the hospital door swung open.
Thinking the nurse had already returned, Jeongyun turned around and his eyes widened. The person who stepped inside wasn’t a nurse or doctor.
“You’re awake.”
Domin closed the door and spoke in an indifferent voice. Jeongyun stopped unbuttoning his shirt and stood frozen, watching Domin approach.
Ah, now he remembered.
Domin had visited him early in the morning, so he couldn’t go to the Center. Instead, they talked about terminating the Dedicated contract, which they hadn’t finished discussing the previous day.
At that time, Domin refused to end the contract, and Jeongyun wouldn’t back down either. In the middle of their heated argument without any compromise, Domin suddenly performed Guiding… after that, Jeongyun’s memory was blank.
It made sense that his body would be strained from forced Guiding while having a severe fever. At times like this, Jeongyun felt once again how incompatible he and Domin were.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Is it strange that I’m here?”
In response to Domin’s playful question, Jeongyun was about to shake his head but then honestly nodded instead. Domin chuckled and stood in front of the motionless Jeongyun.
“You’re not a child. Can’t you even do this properly?”
Domin pushed away Jeongyun’s hands that were struggling to unbutton his shirt. Jeongyun lowered his hands as they were easily moved aside, and watched Domin’s hands unbuttoning his shirt instead.
“Are you always this weak, Mr. Yeo Jeongyun?”
“…No.”
“I heard this isn’t the first time you’ve fainted?”
“That’s—”
While they were talking, Domin finished unbuttoning and gently pulled the shirt. The shirt slipped off Jeongyun’s shoulders, down his arms, and then disappeared completely.
Even though it wasn’t the first time Domin had seen him undressed, perhaps because of the quiet hospital room, Jeongyun felt sensitive wherever Domin’s gaze traveled.
‘It’s probably because I need more Guiding.’
Feeling anxious that Domin might start Guiding again, Jeongyun quickly grabbed the patient gown and put it on. Only after he had buttoned up the gown with trembling hands did the suffocating atmosphere relax a bit.
“I’ll put on the pants myself.”
“…Go ahead.”
Only after Domin turned around did Jeongyun take off his pants. He kept glancing at Domin in case he suddenly turned back, but fortunately, Domin remained facing away.
After fully changing into the patient gown, Jeongyun got back into bed. Hearing the sound, Domin turned around to look at him. Their eyes naturally met.
“Wearing a patient gown really makes you look like a patient.”
At Domin’s mumbling, Jeongyun was about to say that he really was a patient, but stopped himself. He didn’t want to continue the conversation by saying unnecessary things. Everything felt uncomfortable right now.
“I think you can leave now.”
Instead of answering, Domin pulled over a simple chair. Sitting down with his arms crossed, he just silently stared at Jeongyun.
Uncomfortable with that gaze, Jeongyun lowered his head and looked at the white blanket. Even though he tried not to mind, Domin’s stare was too intense.
‘Why isn’t he leaving?’
While it made sense that Domin had brought him to the hospital since Jeongyun had fainted because of him, it was strange that someone with Domin’s personality would stay afterward.
The quiet and uncomfortable time passed. Jeongyun deliberately tried not to look at Domin, while Domin only looked at Jeongyun.
Why was the gaze on his right cheek so intense? Just as Jeongyun was about to lie down thinking it might be better to sleep, Domin spoke.
“No thoughts of changing your mind?”
Though there was no subject, Jeongyun immediately knew it was about the Dedicated contract. Without hesitation, he answered, “Yes.”
“What’s your reason?”
“…I remember already telling you.”
Jeongyun’s voice was quiet but firm. Domin held his throbbing head and let out an annoyed sigh.
‘Should I just give him what he wants?’
Terminating the Dedicated contract wouldn’t be difficult since he’d done it once before. Even a one-sided Imprinting, though painful, wasn’t impossible to end.
He could return everything he needed to return, discard the useless C-class Guide, and ask headquarters to assign a new Guide. But things weren’t going as planned. There was no reason it had to be Yeo Jeongyun, yet it felt like it had to be him.
“What would it take for you to continue the Dedicated contract?”
Though his words were sharp, anyone could see that Domin was pleading with Jeongyun. Domin’s pride was severely hurt, but he wanted to make Jeongyun continue the Dedicated contract even if it meant begging like this.
If Jeongyun wanted, Domin was willing to modify some parts of the contract. Of course, while doing so, he also planned to slightly change one clause – from “refraining” from giving Guiding to other Espers to outright “prohibiting” it.
It was his fault for thinking loosely about Jeongyun because he was C-class. Whoever this Min Hwayeon guy was, Domin had absolutely no intention of sharing Jeongyun with him.
“I’ll do whatever you want. I can give back some of the Guiding decision rights, if not all. Well, even now I’m trying not to force unreasonable Guiding.”
Domin told Jeongyun about his efforts. He expected this approach might work better and looked at Jeongyun’s expression, but nothing had changed. If anything, his face seemed even more rigid.
“No matter what you say, Mr. Choi Domin, nothing will change.”
Even though Domin had put aside his pride, Jeongyun’s answer remained the same. This wasn’t why he had pushed aside his schedule and waited for Jeongyun to wake up. His irritation surged.
Unable to control his anger, Domin stood up and was about to leave the room. In this state, continuing the conversation with Jeongyun wouldn’t lead to anything good.
“I have no intention of terminating the contract. So, Mr. Yeo Jeongyun, you should give up.”
With those final words, Domin left the hospital room. When the door closed, Jeongyun, now alone, could finally breathe comfortably.
‘My expression was okay, right?’
He had tried to be firm in front of Domin, but his heart had raced countless times. Every time Domin acted kindly, Jeongyun found himself hoping again, despite knowing how terribly those hopes had crushed him before.
‘This is the right thing to do.’
Perhaps Domin’s desire to keep him was, as Saeon had said, because Jeongyun was a convenient Guiding battery. Unlike other Guides, he had completely given up his Guiding decision rights to Domin.
Back then, Jeongyun had been so overwhelmed by the fact that he could be by Domin’s side that he couldn’t think of anything else, as if under a spell. That infatuation had finally worn off.
‘I’m just fixing what was wrong.’
Domin would return to his place, and Jeongyun to his. Thinking that they were never meant to be together, Jeongyun tried to pull himself together despite his gloomy feelings.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
