I Want to Be Your Guide 83

# Chapter 83

Beyond consciousness, Domin heard the sound of gentle breathing. Slowly opening his eyes, he discovered that he and Jeongyun were lying side by side on the rug. He had only meant to rest for a while, but it seemed they had fallen asleep.

‘He must be uncomfortable, yet he slept so well.’

Domin thought Jeongyun was quite sensitive about his sleeping environment, but he must have been tired enough not to notice. Sighing deeply, Domin quietly sat up, careful not to wake Jeongyun.

‘I’m thirsty.’

Blinking his drowsy eyes, Domin habitually felt around beside him, but since they weren’t at home, there was no water bottle. Though it was bothersome, he would have to go to the kitchen for water.

As Domin was about to stand up, he suddenly felt the warmth against his left hand and paused. Looking down, he saw Jeongyun’s hand gently resting on the back of his own.

‘What’s this, was he giving me Guiding?’

Since Jeongyun wouldn’t take his hand first unless it was for that reason, Domin concluded they must be in the middle of Guiding. No wonder his body felt so refreshed—it was thanks to being in constant contact with Jeongyun.

‘Why does it have to be Yeo Jeongyun?’

Domin pondered once again the answer to the question he still hadn’t found.

Because he was a convenient Guiding battery, because of the one-way Imprinting, because it was troublesome to terminate the dedicated contract. He had attached all kinds of reasons, but none of them were the real answer.

‘I want to kiss him.’

Even though he had already received enough Guiding, he still wanted to be in contact with Jeongyun. Not just lying there holding hands, but kissing him, sharing body heat, connecting more deeply.

Stopping his complicated train of thought, Domin slowly moved toward Jeongyun. With his eyes gently closed and lips neatly closed, Domin carefully placed his lips on Jeongyun’s.

At first, it was just a light kiss, their lips barely touching. But when Jeongyun parted his lips to breathe, Domin couldn’t resist pushing his tongue through the gap.

“Mmm…”

A small moan escaped from between Jeongyun’s teeth. Startled by the sound, Domin immediately regained his reason that had run far away. After straightening Jeongyun’s disheveled clothes and covering him well with a blanket, he left the spot as if fleeing.

Domin entered the kitchen and gulped down cool water. But the heat wouldn’t subside, so he turned on cold water in the sink and thoughtlessly dunked his head in. Perhaps because it was winter, the water was ice-cold.

‘…This isn’t because of Guiding.’

The main reason Espers want to be in contact with Guides is for Guiding. Since Guiding is the only way to completely eliminate the aftereffects that follow each use of abilities, Espers can’t help but become obsessed with Guides.

But that wasn’t the case just now. Thanks to Jeongyun holding his hand, Domin wasn’t lacking Guiding at the moment. Despite being in this state, Domin wanted to kiss Jeongyun and share body heat.

‘That can’t be right.’

Domin desperately tried to erase the answer that had appeared in his mind, but all the answers were already visible on the answer sheet. The behavior and tone that he had thought were unlike himself all pointed to one answer.

“Damn it…”

Spitting out a rough curse, Domin straightened his back. Though he had been under the cold water long enough to make his teeth chatter, the heat that had risen once wouldn’t cool down.

Eventually, after taking off his wet clothes and entering the bathroom, Domin set the shower temperature to the coldest setting. He needed to somehow return his malfunctioning body temperature to normal before Jeongyun woke up.

* * *

When Domin came out after finishing his cold shower, Jeongyun was awake, rubbing his puffy eyes and looking around. Since he seemed to be mumbling someone’s name, Domin pricked up his ears to hear Jeongyun’s voice.

“…Choi Domin.”

Jeongyun was calling his name. Feeling pleased, Domin approached Jeongyun with the towel he had been using to dry his wet hair still hanging around his neck.

“Are you awake?”

“…Yes. Did you just take a shower?”

Jeongyun’s reaction was a bit slow, as if he hadn’t fully woken up. Instead of answering, Domin sat behind Jeongyun and wrapped his arms around his waist. Cold water droplets fell onto Jeongyun’s shoulders.

‘…I just calmed down, and now this is driving me crazy.’

Despite having been under ice-cold water for quite some time, as soon as he touched Jeongyun, his lower body started to feel tense again.

Sighing deeply, Domin tried to let go. But contrary to his thoughts, his body held Jeongyun even closer.

“…It’s cold.”

“That’s because I didn’t dry my hair.”

The shoulder had become damp from his wet hair, and it felt uncomfortable. Jeongyun tried to twist his body slightly, but since Domin wouldn’t release his arms, he remained in place.

“Choi Domin.”

Even though Jeongyun called out to Domin impatiently, there was no answer. Wondering if he might have fallen asleep again, Jeongyun turned his head, only to find his eyes meeting Domin’s, who had just lifted his face.

Unlike Jeongyun, who was startled by how close they were—close enough to feel each other’s breath—Domin smiled brightly. After a brief kiss on the lips, Domin asked in a playful voice:

“Yeo Jeongyun. Should we speak casually to each other?”

“Casually?”

At Domin’s sudden suggestion, Jeongyun was initially surprised but soon felt slightly incredulous. After all, Domin had been subtly speaking casually to Jeongyun from the beginning.

“It would be more comfortable for you too. So, from now on, let’s stop using formal speech with each other—”

“Domin-ah.”

“…!!”

Domin doubted his ears. Jeongyun, who had consistently called him “Choi Domin” until now, had called him “Domin-ah” for the first time.

Looking at Domin, who had frozen like a fool, Jeongyun smiled sweetly.

“I’m older than you, right?”

Domin nodded like an obedient child. Actually, it was just something he had casually thrown out there, but Jeongyun’s informal speech was more… much more stimulating than he expected. So much so that he wished Jeongyun would keep calling him “Domin-ah.”

“I don’t want to speak casually, so you use formal speech too. Stop speaking casually on the sly.”

“Yes, I’ll… wait, what?”

At first, he didn’t understand correctly, but after thinking about it, Jeongyun’s conclusion was that they should use formal speech.

Unlike Domin, who was dumbfounded, Jeongyun was extremely satisfied. He had been bothered by Domin’s subtle casual speech for a while, and now that he had created an opportunity to address it, he couldn’t miss it.

“You want us to keep using formal speech?”

“Yes, I think that would be better.”

Jeongyun had returned to using formal speech. When Domin asked why on earth they should do that, Jeongyun replied that it was because he was used to formal speech.

“But I want to speak casually.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Then I’ll be the only one who does. That works, right?”

“I’m older than you, Choi Domin. If I’m using formal speech, why should you use casual speech?”

“No, but with that guy—”

Domin swallowed the words he was about to say urgently.

He knew that Jeongyun, who was so insistent on formal speech with him, used casual speech with Hwayeon. Yet both Hwayeon and he were younger than Jeongyun.

But he didn’t want to bring up Hwayeon in front of Jeongyun. He wanted nothing to stand between him and Jeongyun while they were here.

‘This is annoying.’

Pressing his lips tightly, Domin hugged Jeongyun more firmly and buried his face deeply in his shoulder. Though Jeongyun twisted his body, saying he was uncomfortable, Domin didn’t budge.

“Then is it okay if I call you Jeongyun hyung?”

Not “Yeo Jeongyun,” but “Jeongyun hyung.”

Just changing the way he addressed him made his heart pound loudly. When Hwayeon called him that, it hadn’t affected him at all, but it was different when Domin said it.

“Let me do it.”

“W-what?”

“Let me call you Jeongyun hyung.”

Domin whispered with his lips pressed tightly against Jeongyun’s ear. Feeling Jeongyun’s body trembling from the stimulation, Domin pretended not to notice and rubbed his lips against the ear cartilage or blew his breath into it.

“Choi Domin, could you… move aside for a moment?”

“You have to answer me, Jeongyun hyung.”

“Could you move away from my ear… ah!”

When Domin gently bit his earlobe, Jeongyun unconsciously let out a moan. He tried to raise his hand to cover his mouth, but Domin was faster. He grabbed Jeongyun’s wrist, preventing him from moving, and began to lick his ear in earnest.

“If you touch without permission… ah.”

“This isn’t Guiding right now.”

The act of rubbing and touching skin was certainly Guiding. Yet Domin was saying this wasn’t Guiding. When Jeongyun asked with a shaking voice what it was, then, Domin gave a short answer.

“Just because.”

“Just because?”

Why would Domin want to touch him for a reason other than Guiding? Domin kissed Jeongyun’s eyelids, which were trembling with confusion, and whispered in a voice heated with desire:

“Let’s have sex, not Guiding.”