# Chapter 76
Even though Domin had backed down and yielded this much, Jeongyun didn’t change his mind. If he wasn’t going to change his mind, he could at least give an answer or a hint about what to do, but without even that, Domin’s mind was in complete chaos.
‘Just how far do I have to go?’
Domin wanted to unleash all kinds of curses at Jeongyun, but his lips were tightly sealed as if coated with glue. He was angry, but at the same time, he felt utterly miserable.
Raising his hand to wipe his face, Domin first tried to calm his complicated feelings. Calmly, don’t get angry, stay composed. As he repeated these words to himself and tried to separate his tightly closed lips, Jeongyun broke the silence first.
“I was too greedy.”
“…Greedy?”
From the moment Jeongyun had decided to become a Guide, he wanted to be Domin’s Guide. Knowing it was an excessive desire, he had been eager to seize the miraculous opportunity that came his way.
But he shouldn’t have. If he had coldly faced reality, considering his rank and various conditions, he would have immediately suggested breaking the imprinting, no matter how difficult it was.
If he had done that, his relationship with Domin wouldn’t have deteriorated to this worst-case scenario. He would have continued his one-sided love as always. Reflecting on this newfound regret, Jeongyun smiled faintly.
“…You said you liked me.”
Domin managed to open his mouth and asked.
Facing what seemed like a desperate expression, Jeongyun almost misunderstood for a moment. He didn’t know why Domin was trying so hard to hold onto him, but he couldn’t waver anymore.
“…Not anymore.”
Though lingering attachment choked him up, fortunately, Jeongyun was able to give the answer he had decided on. Then Domin, who had been standing still, immediately turned his back and left the guiding room.
As the wide-open door slowly closed, Jeongyun’s eyes trembled. Though he knew it was certainly a misunderstanding, the last look he saw on Domin’s face kept haunting him.
Jeongyun knew that expression all too well. It was the same expression he himself made whenever he had expectations for Domin and was disappointed. But that couldn’t be the case for Domin – yet his lingering attachment shook him again.
“Is it over?”
Before the door closed completely, Hwayeon, who had been waiting outside for Jeongyun, peeked his head in. Quickly shaking off his thoughts, Jeongyun smiled at Hwayeon.
“You said it would be over soon.”
Hwayeon, pouting his lips, strode up to Jeongyun. Then he naturally examined various parts of Jeongyun’s body to check if Domin had left any marks.
‘Thankfully, there are none.’
Breathing an inward sigh of relief, Hwayeon gently took Jeongyun’s hand, who seemed somewhat dazed. Though he had heard until his ears hurt that contact without a Guide’s permission was forbidden, his anxious heart made him want to stay connected with Jeongyun.
“That’s him, right? The person you one-sided imprinted with.”
“Do you know what imprinting is when you ask?”
“I learned everything at the Center.”
Hwayeon, who had lost most of his memories due to manifestation pain, received basic education at the Center. He had learned many things, but imprinting, being a concept that existed only between Espers and Guides, was particularly memorable.
“Do you like that bastard, hyung?”
Hwayeon finally asked the question he had wanted to ask all along. In fact, he already knew the answer, but he wanted a definite answer from Jeongyun. You never know – it might just be his misconception.
“…Where did you learn such bad language?”
Jeongyun naturally changed the subject. Hwayeon took one step closer to Jeongyun, who was scolding him for not giving the answer he wanted and for using bad words.
Jeongyun was startled by the unnecessarily close distance and tried to step back, but faster than that, a strong arm wrapped around his waist. Hwayeon’s eyes were quite serious as he pulled Jeongyun close.
“Hwayeon, let go of this—”
Jeongyun had to stop mid-sentence. Hwayeon’s face tilted and came right up close, and something soft touched his lips.
Jeongyun only realized later that it was Hwayeon’s lips. The shock was so great that he froze without even thinking to push him away.
“I like you, hyung.”
Only after hearing Hwayeon’s confession as he pulled his lips away did Jeongyun come to his senses. He pushed Hwayeon away with all his might, but only his waist bent backward while he remained in the same place.
“Be careful, you’ll fall.”
Hwayeon steadied the staggering Jeongyun and pressed his body even closer.
Hwayeon, who had always seemed endlessly young, looked grown-up for the first time. Jeongyun had only smiled when Hwayeon mentioned becoming an adult in a month, but now it struck him differently.
Still, nothing would change. To Jeongyun, Hwayeon was like a younger brother. That would never change, no matter how much time passed. Hwayeon was different from Domin.
“Let go first. It’s uncomfortable.”
“Answer me. Then I’ll let go.”
“What answer?”
“I just confessed to you, hyung.”
Though Jeongyun tried hard to avoid it, Hwayeon prevented him from doing so and urged him to answer. Jeongyun subtly avoided eye contact and kept his mouth shut. Then Hwayeon let out a deep sigh.
“Can’t you imprint with me too?”
“…Does that make any sense?”
For imprinting to occur, guiding was necessary, and merely holding hands or hugging wasn’t enough. Jeongyun looked at Hwayeon with confused eyes, wondering if he had properly learned about imprinting before saying this.
“But you did it with that bastard.”
“That was—”
“So, imprint with me too.”
Hwayeon said as he clung to Jeongyun like a child throwing a tantrum. Jeongyun refused without hesitation, saying it was not possible, but Hwayeon didn’t give up. Meanwhile, their touching bodies kept stimulating each other.
“Our matching rate is over 90 percent. They said if we imprint, guiding would be easier.”
“Who said that?”
Hwayeon, briefly lost in thought, then answered, “The Center Director.”
Jeongyun seriously doubted whether the Center Director had properly educated Hwayeon about imprinting before saying that, but he couldn’t go and question the Center Director directly.
But explaining it himself… he didn’t want to. If Hwayeon knew everything and still insisted on imprinting, Jeongyun couldn’t even imagine how to face him.
To Jeongyun, Hwayeon was truly like a younger brother. Though he would become an adult in a month, to Jeongyun, Hwayeon always looked endlessly young. Of course, there were very rare exceptions, like just now.
‘He probably said it easily because he doesn’t know.’
Having come to that conclusion, Jeongyun met the eyes of Hwayeon, who was innocently unaware of his own feelings. He tried to push away the arms that were tightly wrapped around his waist to a suffocating degree, but again, they didn’t budge.
“Hwayeon. I understand, so first let go—”
Smack! Hwayeon kissed Jeongyun again. Jeongyun, whose words were cut off in the same way as before, opened his eyes sharply, but Hwayeon just smiled brightly, clearly enjoying it.
‘I want to stay like this forever.’
Hwayeon bent down and rested his cheek on Jeongyun’s chest. He gently closed his eyes, listening to the thumping heartbeat. He loved the scent of Jeongyun that filled his body with each breath.
In Hwayeon’s incomplete memories, only Jeongyun was clear. According to the Center Director, that’s why he regarded Jeongyun as special. The imprinting theory, was it? He had mentioned some difficult concept, but Hwayeon couldn’t remember.
But whatever the reason, Hwayeon liked Jeongyun. So he didn’t want to share Jeongyun with anyone else. When Hwayeon first knew Jeongyun, he was already Domin’s dedicated Guide, but from what he had briefly heard, that seemed precarious.
‘I can do it too.’
In fact, Hwayeon knew how imprinting worked from his education. But he pretended to be innocent, acting like he knew nothing, afraid that Jeongyun would feel burdened. Jeongyun seemed to forget every time, but Hwayeon would also be an adult in just a month.
So—
‘Don’t forget what I said. You are… because.’
‘What was that just now?’
For a moment, an unfamiliar voice flowed through his mind.
The man who was with him in that dark, stuffy space had his face erased black, so it wasn’t visible, but he was definitely someone Hwayeon knew.
But no matter how hard he searched his mind, Hwayeon had never seen such a person. Yes, at least not since he had come here.
“…Hwayeon?”
Only when he heard Jeongyun calling did Hwayeon come to his senses, belatedly realizing that he was trembling. Hwayeon released his arms that were holding Jeongyun and stepped back.
His anxious eyes quickly scanned the surroundings before returning to Jeongyun. Only then did Hwayeon let out a short sigh of relief, as if reassured. Cold sweat had formed on his forehead.
“I have an appointment… I should go now.”
Before Jeongyun could catch him, Hwayeon left the guiding room. After closing the door with a bang, Hwayeon stood in the hallway for a moment to catch his breath.
He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and noticed his body was trembling severely.
‘What am I afraid of?’
An unknown fear was consuming him.
Hwayeon clenched his fists and looked at Jeongyun’s guiding room, which had been firmly closed in the meantime, but then walked in the opposite direction.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
