“Ouch…….”
Lim Haeyul’s elbow area felt prickly. He slathered body lotion, which he rarely used, all over the area. He had scrubbed so hard that it felt like the body wash had seeped beneath his skin. It was both itchy and stinging.
The body lotion he applied to soothe the disaster caused by his overly long bath spread from his elbow to the rest of his body.
“…….”
This was all because he was nervous. Well, it might sound silly to say he was nervous, but he kept feeling anxious.
“Do as you please.”
Lim Haeyul had suggested to Cha Jae-woo that they try guiding while naked together.
He worried that he might be seen as a pervert, or that his suggestion would be taken as a ridiculous attempt to satisfy his own desires. However, Cha Jae-woo nodded without much resistance.
Lim Haeyul had been racking his brain, thinking about what he would say if Cha Jae-woo looked at him strangely, but Cha Jae-woo’s reaction was surprisingly calm.
Of course, he was grateful for that…
“Can you really agree so easily?”
Unfortunately, the emotion that surfaced at that moment was jealousy.
Did this mean that Cha Jae-woo was indifferent to skin-to-skin contact? Of course! Just thinking back to the day he first came to this house, it was easy to see that such things meant nothing to Cha Jae-woo.
‘Should I tell him not to mess around?’
But as soon as Cha Jae-woo questioned him, he was at a loss for words. That wasn’t it either. Lim Haeyul believed that this act would be beneficial for Cha Jae-woo. So, he wanted to give it a try.
Therefore, Lim Haeyul didn’t say anything more to Cha Jae-woo, who willingly agreed to participate in his experiment. He just pretended to be resolute and told him they would do it tomorrow, then sent him away.
And today.
Time was running out. It was already 8 PM. Since Cha Jae-woo rarely stayed out past 9 PM, he would be back soon. And as usual, he would shower and then come to his room.
“……Ugh.”
The natural progression of his imagination made his whole body shiver. He should have been uncomfortable with the idea of two men being naked together, but unfortunately, he was too excited.
His heart had been racing with anticipation for a while. He hated to admit it, but this guiding session was sure to satisfy his desires.
“But, wouldn’t anyone feel the same way…….”
The words he muttered to himself sounded like an excuse.
That couldn’t be true. There were plenty of guides who hated even holding hands during guiding. Even ordinary people often felt uncomfortable with physical contact, regardless of gender. So, it was abnormal for him to be so excited that he couldn’t control his expression.
‘Well, so what? I like it.’
But he had known that for a long time.
Lim Haeyul liked Cha Jae-woo. Even if it was a side effect of guiding, he had feelings for him, so he couldn’t help but be happy about getting closer to Cha Jae-woo, little by little.
Lim Haeyul jumped up from his seat and paced around his room. Anyway, today was the day he would make some kind of progress with the person he liked. No, saying it like that sounded really weird! So, let’s just say it was a kind of level-up day. Because he wanted to believe that this would improve his guiding abilities.
‘It will definitely be effective.’
He kept moving, trying to calm his racing heart. There was still no sign of Cha Jae-woo returning.
‘I want him to come quickly, but also not too quickly.’
He was used to these mixed feelings. His emotions towards Cha Jae-woo were always contradictory.
* * *
“…….”
The rain poured down like a storm. It was hard to believe it had been calm just a moment ago. Lim Haeyul was now pacing around the living room, having left his room.
It might be called a living room, but this place was actually the first floor. Cha Jae-woo’s house had a rather unusual structure. Most of this vast space was empty. Lim Haeyul wondered why Cha Jae-woo chose to live only on the second floor, but that wasn’t important right now.
It was already past midnight, and there had been no word from Cha Jae-woo. He hadn’t even responded to Lim Haeyul’s message asking if he would be late.
Occasionally, there were days like this when Cha Jae-woo would be late even if he hadn’t gone to the gate. On those days, Lim Haeyul would just go to bed, assuming they wouldn’t be guiding. But today was supposed to be the day of their experiment, so he felt he should wait for Cha Jae-woo.
“Haah…….”
Lim Haeyul let out a deep sigh and plopped down on the living room floor. The room was so empty that there wasn’t even a sofa, and the floor felt cold beneath him, despite the heating.
‘Maybe he’s avoiding me because he doesn’t like the idea?’
Sitting there, Lim Haeyul started to have doubts. Cha Jae-woo had agreed, but maybe he wasn’t really into it. Cha Jae-woo wasn’t the type to do something he didn’t want to just to please someone else. But if that wasn’t the case, why would he be out so late without any contact?
“Well, it’s his choice when he comes back…….”
Lim Haeyul reminded himself that Cha Jae-woo didn’t owe him an explanation. After all, he was just a guest in Cha Jae-woo’s house. Cha Jae-woo had no obligation to report his schedule to him. Besides, the experiment didn’t have to be done today. If Cha Jae-woo was busy, they could just postpone it. He probably wasn’t even thinking about Lim Haeyul waiting for him.
“Ugh…….”
Realizing this, Lim Haeyul felt a bit silly sitting alone in the living room. He stood up and waved his hand over his head, as if to clear his mind.
‘I should just go to bed.’
Even if he didn’t sleep, it would be better to be in his room. He didn’t want Cha Jae-woo to come home and find him sitting there, wide-eyed and anxious. It might be a bit startling, or even scary, to see him like that, especially after he had suggested they do the guiding naked and had been waiting for so long.
“Ugh.”
With a sudden sense of self-awareness, Lim Haeyul quickly headed upstairs.
“…….”
But halfway up the stairs, he froze. His body tensed, and a different kind of chill ran down his spine. A few seconds later, he rushed back down the stairs.
Bang!
“Ah, Guide….”
Just as Lim Haeyul reached the front door, it swung open violently. The driver called out to him, but he didn’t have time to respond. Cha Jae-woo was standing there, his sharp energy spiking, staring at Lim Haeyul with a blank expression.
How…?
Why…?
How could this happen in just one day? Even if he had been to the gate, he shouldn’t be in this state. What had happened?
“Cha, Cha Jae-woo….”
Lim Haeyul’s body began to tremble as he felt the chaotic energy radiating from Cha Jae-woo. He took a step forward, then another, trying to approach him.
“Ugh…….”
Cha Jae-woo’s energy surged again, as if warning him to stay back. Lim Haeyul fought the urge to retreat and managed to hold his ground. Cha Jae-woo was still standing there, soaked from the rain, his energy wild and uncontrolled.
“Let’s get you inside…….”
The driver seemed at a loss, trying to push Cha Jae-woo into the house, but he wasn’t moving. Lim Haeyul finally stepped forward and reached out to Cha Jae-woo, pulling him inside.
“Huh……!”
To his surprise, Cha Jae-woo, who hadn’t budged for the driver, stumbled forward at Lim Haeyul’s touch. They both fell to the floor in a heap.
Thud!
The sound echoed through the house, loud enough to make anyone wonder what was happening. The driver looked shocked but tried to help. Lim Haeyul, pinned under Cha Jae-woo, knew he had to act fast. Cha Jae-woo’s energy was a mess, and he seemed to be in some kind of shock.
“Just… just give me a moment. I’ll stabilize him, and then we can move him.”
“I’ll go get more help.”
Lim Haeyul knew he had to start guiding right away. It didn’t matter that they were both soaked or that they were lying on the living room floor. He reached under Cha Jae-woo’s shirt, pressing his hands against his cold skin.
‘……I’m sorry. This is an emergency.’
He silently apologized, knowing Cha Jae-woo couldn’t hear him, and pulled him into a tight embrace, ready to begin the guiding process.
The guiding began immediately. Lim Haeyul used only half of his mana for this initial guiding session. His plan was to first stabilize Cha Jae-woo’s mind before using the rest of his mana.
