100
Even as the newly risen sun was setting, Siwoo still hadn’t woken up. He slept without moving, his mouth slightly open, as if he wasn’t even dreaming.
However, Siwoo was actually dreaming. It wasn’t an ordinary dream, but a very strange one. A dream of being pinned down by a large dog.
For a moment, he was terrified, thinking Kang Geonho had transformed into a dog and crushed him, but he quickly realized it was a dream. Siwoo wasn’t lying in the quiet hospital room, but on a beach where he could hear the sound of the sea. Moreover, it wasn’t summer, but cold winter. The white snow piled on the damp ground indicated a season far removed from reality.
Siwoo wondered as he touched the cold snow and the dog’s stiff fur. Could sensations be this vivid in a dream? It was strange how the texture and temperature were transmitted directly to his skin.
Woof! Woof!
At that moment, the pitch-black dog barked loudly and wagged its tail vigorously. The dog was sitting on Siwoo’s chest, pressing down firmly with its huge rear, looking at the sea. Its mouth corners were turned up, looking very happy.
[Do you like it?]
Huh, who’s that?
Siwoo was startled by the sudden unfamiliar voice and tried to look around. However, his body wouldn’t move as he wished.
Is there someone else here besides me and the dog? As he strained his hearing in frustration, he became dazed.
Woof!
[If you like it, why are you just watching?]
The unfamiliar voice was coming from his own mouth. The owner of the voice was none other than himself.
[Go run around. Don’t just sit there.]
Now that he looked, even the hand touching the black fur wasn’t his own. Unlike Siwoo’s snow-white hands where blue veins were visible, the hand stroking the dog had skin moderately tanned by sunlight. Like Kang Geonho and Kang Taebeom.
The hand reminiscent of the two kept fiddling with the dog’s tail. Siwoo could feel all those sensations directly. He watched the situation with a dazed feeling.
The dog sniffed towards the sea but stubbornly stayed in place. It didn’t try to move at all.
[I told you to go play by yourself. I can’t run for long.]
There was a hint of laughter in the unfamiliar voice. It was a deep, low voice, but strangely boyish.
[Hurry.]
The boy patted the dog’s rear and pushed it towards the sea. The dog whimpered and curled its tail. Despite the wide, empty beach perfect for running around, it stuck close to the boy, not wanting to leave. It just quietly watched the night sea that had turned as black as itself.
[Grrrr.]
Disliking being pushed on its rear, the dog adjusted its position. It lay down flat, burying its face in the boy’s chest as if covering his body. Even Siwoo, watching the dream from the boy’s perspective, felt the dog’s heavy weight.
It was so heavy that his body felt stiff, given its enormous size. It was even hard to breathe. Nevertheless, the boy endured the weight pressing down on his body while hugging the dog tightly.
[It’s okay. You can go run.]
At the boy’s kind voice, the dog, which had been sulking, raised its head.
The dog’s eyes glowed red. It was evidence of being a beastkin.
Seeing those red eyes, Siwoo felt a burning sensation under his tongue. The emotions that followed were those of the boy.
The boy silently stroked the dog, which was whimpering with its ears folded back. He felt like he would burst into tears if he opened his mouth.
[……]
He endlessly stroked the frightened face of the dog, its back, and its fluffy tail. He built up silence, waiting for the suddenly surging emotions to subside.
Then the dog started licking the boy’s face and chin with its long tongue. The boy chuckled at the ticklish sensation. At that small laugh, the dog’s big tail started wagging left and right again.
[Don’t be scared. Don’t worry either.]
The boy finally spoke. As if comforting the dog snuggling into his arms.
[Hyung will protect you.]
The boy hugged the dog tightly and muttered like a prayer into its drooping ears. Siwoo listened intently to every word of the prayer-like whisper.
[Everything will be alright. You don’t need to worry about anything.]
As if understanding the boy’s words, the dog started running along the vast beach, moving its body little by little. Its black body, leaping up like fireworks, moved away at tremendous speed. The boy burst into laughter watching it roll around with its nose buried in the snow-white sand. The more he laughed, the more it felt like the painful feelings were evaporating and disappearing.
[Don’t go too far.]
After laughing for a while, he waved his hand towards the dog that had gotten very excited. To call the dog that had gone too far to hear his voice, he put his right hand to his mouth and shouted loudly.
“Geon, ho……”
Siwoo, who had been moving his mouth, woke up frowning. He wondered why his vision was blurry, only to realize his eyelashes were heavy with tears.
Siwoo paused as he tried to wipe away his tears with a dazed expression. Geonho was hugging his body tightly as he slept. No wonder his body felt heavy.
Seeing Geonho’s face, sleeping as if unconscious, an inexplicable sense of relief washed over him. The sound of his deep breathing put Siwoo at ease.
Siwoo sniffled as he touched Geonho’s pitch-black hair. His nose was running due to the tears that had burst out while he was asleep. He naturally rested his chin on Geonho’s face and was about to rub his nose against the black crown of his head when—
“Want a tissue?”
Siwoo’s eyes widened at the sudden voice. Jihan was sitting in front of the bed. He hadn’t been visible because Geonho’s large body was blocking the view.
“What kind of dream did you have to cry like that?”
Jihan slowly walked to the head of the bed. He even used telekinesis to cover Siwoo with the blanket up to his chin. Siwoo tried to pull down the blanket but realized he was naked and held onto it tightly.
“You turned back into a human while sleeping. Looks like your strength has recovered a bit.”
Siwoo wiggled his feet, embarrassed by his naked body without even underwear on. Fortunately, thanks to the thick blanket, even though Geonho was hugging him, their bare skin didn’t touch. Geonho was sleeping soundly as always.
“How are you feeling?”
Jihan placed a glass of water and tissues near the bed. Siwoo glanced at the transparent glass and suppressed a sigh.
He hadn’t noticed right after waking up, but the pain he had forgotten was gradually coming back. Although it had gotten a bit better, his waist and thigh muscles were still screaming in agony. Above all, the biggest problem was in his buttocks. Damn buttocks.
“Where’s Kang Taebeom? Where’s Ha Seojun?”
Siwoo ignored the annoying muscle pain and asked Jihan. He was most worried about those two. Especially the youngest, whose wavelength he hadn’t been able to lower sufficiently.
“They’re all fine. Don’t worry.”
“But where are they?”
Jihan stared down at Siwoo, who was roughly wiping his face with a tissue.
“Now’s not the time to worry about those two. Take care of yourself first, Guide.”
Jihan pulled up a chair and sat close to the bed. He personally handed the water glass to Siwoo.
“They say you’re malnourished again. You haven’t been eating well lately, right?”
“Hand me that pad over there. I want to check the wavelength numbers.”
There was a pad on the bedside table. He wanted to check the youngest’s numbers first. He believed the leader would be fine since he had given him more than enough guiding. Even though he had cracked his head with a vase, anyway.
“Give me the pad.”
He stretched out both hands, barely pushing away Geonho’s heavy arm. However, Jihan offered the water glass instead of the pad.
“Water first.”
At his firm voice, Siwoo glared at Jihan as if ready to scratch him. In response, Jihan rounded his eyes and politely offered the water glass with both hands, as if presenting it to an elder.
“Please wet your throat. Your voice sounds so bad it’s breaking my heart.”
Siwoo finally drank the water after glancing at Jihan, who was even bowing his head as he offered the glass. Once he started drinking, he felt thirsty and quickly emptied the whole glass.
Jihan listened to the gulping sounds of Siwoo swallowing the water and casually opened his mouth.
“This is the hospital room where you stayed before. Remember?”
Siwoo just nodded slightly. How could he not remember?
“The food here is quite good, and they’ll clean daily if you want. It’s always quiet.”
Siwoo made a face that seemed to say “So what?” at the sudden praise of the hospital room. Is he saying I should pay for such an expensive room or what?
“You’ll be comfortable staying here. If anything’s inconvenient, just let us know anytime.”
“Why should I stay here?”
Siwoo tilted his head sideways, catching onto Jihan’s intention. He wasn’t sick enough to need a long hospitalization. He could return to the dorm right away without any problem.
“It would be good for you to stay here for a while. Let’s go back to the dorm a bit later.”
“Why?”
“The atmosphere at the center isn’t good. We won’t be able to take care of you properly.”
“The atmosphere isn’t good?”
Jihan nodded and said they would be busy for a while. He hadn’t given detailed explanations yet. You’ll find out soon enough anyway.
“Our dorm is safe too, but there’s no one there to take care of you right now.”
So he advised Siwoo to stay in the hospital room until things calmed down. Currently, only the secretary and Jihan could properly take care of Siwoo. Unfortunately, those two were in the busiest situation.
Even now, Jihan was holding a pager in his hand. He would have to go to the site immediately if a signal came.
Siwoo stared at the pager in Jihan’s hand. After confirming that he was fully dressed in combat uniform, he didn’t ask for more details.
“Do you want to eat? Or sleep more?”
“…I’ll sleep.”
Siwoo lowered his gaze towards Geonho, who was sleeping while hugging him like a pillow. Seeing his black hair reminded him of the strange dream. What kind of dream was that anyway?
“Guide.”
Jihan, observing Siwoo not pushing Geonho away, spoke again. His gaze moved from Geonho’s arm wrapped around Siwoo’s chest to the new bruises on his neck.
“From now on, don’t go meet the leader alone. Unless it’s an emergency.”
Now he must have realized how dangerous it is. Jihan thought Siwoo would keep his distance from the leader on his own, without him having to say anything. However, the answer he got was different from what he expected.
“I’m going. I have something to say.”
Jihan tilted his head, his lips trembling for a moment before he smiled brightly.
“Then let’s go together.”
“No. It’s something we need to talk about alone.”
“What kind of talk?”
Jihan probed persistently. He continued asking questions even though he knew Siwoo wouldn’t like it.
“Is it something I can’t hear?”
“What about Ha Seojun?”
Siwoo ignored him and checked on the condition of his assigned Esper first. That was the most important thing right now.
“Is he really okay? What about the guiding? Why did his numbers suddenly go up? He didn’t fight with that unconscious wolf beastkin, did he?”
Siwoo’s barrage of questions continued. He didn’t forget to ask what happened to that Seowol Guild leader bastard. He had a mountain of questions.
“Ask Seojun directly when you meet him.”
Jihan answered one by one in a leisurely tone, with one arm draped over the back of the chair.
“He’ll tell you everything if it’s you, Guide. And the leader has cautioned the Seowol Guild leader.”
Siwoo’s eyebrows twitched at the word ‘leader’ and he pressed his thighs together. Is that Kang Taebeom bastard really okay too? He couldn’t decide whether to meet the youngest or the leader first.
“If you have any questions for the leader, tell me. Our leader is tight-lipped, so he probably won’t answer even if you ask.”
He smiled gently, implying that Siwoo shouldn’t meet the leader alone. Our guide, who still has a lot to learn, needed to keep his distance from the leader. If he were the type used to relationships, it might be different. But seeing his pure face, which had likely just lost his virginity, made Jihan uneasy.
“If I tell you, will you really tell me everything?”
Siwoo glared at Jihan while patting Geonho’s back, who was shifting slightly, as if hitting him. His grinning face didn’t look trustworthy at all.
“I’ll try to be loose-lipped. Just for you, Guide.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Siwoo looked at Jihan with suspicious eyes but was intrigued. He had heard that Yoo Jihan had known the leader for a long time. They were close even before manifestation, they say. If so, he should know most things.
“Kang Taebeom’s left hand.”
Siwoo, gripping Geonho’s shoulder, brought up the question he was most curious about.
“Did he do that?”
At the same time, the smile disappeared from Jihan’s eyes, which had been cunningly curved. The corners of his mouth, which had been fixed in a smile, also hardened.
“Who did you hear that from?”
After acting like he would answer anything, his reaction was different from what Siwoo expected.
“…I heard it directly. From Kang Taebeom.”
“The leader told you himself?”
Siwoo nodded and gently touched his left wrist.
“He took off his prosthetic hand and showed it to me.”
At this, Jihan looked incredulous. Is this such a surprising thing?
