171
Siwoo, with his mouth wide open, imagined screaming. If Geonho and Jihan hadn’t been in his sight, he would have actually screamed.
It wasn’t that his neck had been bitten, just that he had been kissed, but the fact that it was Taebeom shocked Siwoo.
He even wondered if he had done the guiding wrong and made Taebeom lose his mind.
However, Taebeom was perfectly sane. You could tell by looking at his calm, composed eyes.
“Why, why…”
Siwoo stared at Taebeom, his mouth opening and closing. Taebeom was still touching Siwoo’s neck. Unlike his lips, which had touched briefly and pulled away, his hand continued to circle over the mark.
“I saw it.”
That doesn’t mean you kiss it. It’s not a target.
“Just because you saw it, you kiss… Huh! Really now.”
Siwoo let out an exaggerated laugh on purpose. It was to cover the sound of his pounding heart.
His heart was reacting excessively even though they had done more intense contact before. He was worried that the loud thumping of his heart might be transmitted to Taebeom.
“Instead of my neck, touch my face.”
He said bravely while pulling Taebeom’s hand to his face. He became more irritated as heat rose to his previously normal cheeks.
Taebeom just stared intently at Siwoo’s neck, which was breathing heavily. His deep gaze wouldn’t leave the area above Siwoo’s collarbone. He seemed quite concerned about it.
No, but being concerned… does that mean he’s jealous?
It was a word that didn’t suit Taebeom at all. Kang Taebeom being jealous? That’s impossible.
Even knowing it couldn’t be true, Siwoo’s cheeks turned red as he indulged in his own fantasies.
Then, a cool sensation touched his reddened cheeks. Taebeom began to caress Siwoo’s cheeks as if cooling them.
“Don’t overdo it. Anything.”
At his low voice, Siwoo’s ears turned red too. It seemed like he was talking about Siwoo guiding Geonho and Jihan simultaneously, which made Siwoo feel a twinge of guilt.
Embarrassed, Siwoo lowered his head, pretending not to hear, and changed the subject.
“I’ve improved a lot at guiding, haven’t I?”
It was a question he genuinely wanted to ask. Everyone except Taebeom had praised Siwoo, saying his guiding skills had improved. Even he thought his guiding level had significantly increased since receiving his grade assessment.
“Haven’t I gotten better?”
He gave Taebeom a chance to praise him too. As he stared, urging for an answer, Taebeom’s gaze finally lifted from Siwoo’s neck.
“Growth is usually fastest about half a year after manifestation.”
Siwoo’s expectant eyes became sharper than ever. If he had a tail, it would have been thumping against the floor.
“Alright, don’t touch me anymore.”
He pushed away Taebeom’s hand that was touching his face. When he turned his head to prevent further touching, Taebeom touched his hair instead of his face.
“You were good from the start.”
Just with this short sentence, Siwoo’s sharp gaze softened. As if he had never been upset, Siwoo immediately turned back towards Taebeom.
It finally felt like they were really communicating. Usually, facing Taebeom felt like looking at a solid wall. But not now.
“Then… did you like me from the start?”
His round eyes sparkled, expecting an answer. Taebeom just nodded briefly.
What’s the big deal? Siwoo smiled, even making a silly “heh” sound in his happiness.
Taebeom continued to stroke Siwoo’s cheeks as he giggled.
“Even when I was a trainee, the guiding team leader said I was good.”
Siwoo continued to boast, feeling Taebeom’s gentle touch.
“He said I didn’t seem like a newbie. That there weren’t many people who could lower wavelengths as much as I could with radiant guiding.”
“Yes, there aren’t.”
Siwoo, who had been chattering like an excited sparrow, stopped talking as he felt Taebeom’s hand move to his lips. The fingertips that had been gently caressing his lower lip moved to the corner of his mouth.
Along with a ticklish sensation, tension built in his lower abdomen. Siwoo, subtly tightening his thigh muscles, met Taebeom’s eyes again. Taebeom was now looking at Siwoo’s eyes instead of his lips as they talked.
“Can you hear now?”
Taebeom nodded.
“…Do you sometimes not hear?”
“For now, I can hear more often than not.”
Siwoo briefly lowered his gaze at Taebeom’s calm expression and covered the back of Taebeom’s hand with his own.
“Then… give me a signal when you can’t hear.”
He wanted to help him in any way he could. He could remember what Taebeom hadn’t heard and relay it later, or step in to clear up any misunderstandings.
What kind of signal would be good?
After pondering ways that wouldn’t be too noticeable, a decent idea came to mind. This seemed like something even Taebeom wouldn’t refuse.
“When you can’t hear, call me ‘Guide Han Siwoo’. Usually, just call me ‘Han Siwoo’.”
He asked if this was okay. It was a small difference that no one else would notice. Taebeom seemed to think it was fine too, as he nodded in agreement.
Siwoo smiled with satisfaction. For some reason, he kept smiling. Even though it wasn’t quite the situation to be relaxed yet, he felt elated.
His elated gaze fell on Taebeom’s lips. The moment he saw those thin, tightly closed lips, Siwoo’s upper body began to lean forward slightly.
What would happen if I kissed him now? The thought suddenly occurred to him.
The guiding was going smoothly. Given their high matching rate, even radiant guiding was giving Taebeom’s wavelength great strength.
There was no need for physical contact in this situation. Taebeom’s wavelength was already stabilized due to the medication. With Siwoo’s guiding on top of that, his recovery rate had also increased.
Knowing this, Siwoo still wanted to kiss him.
“Leader…”
He moved his hands restlessly and drew a little closer to him. Remembering their last kiss, his tongue reacted first.
The sound of swallowing saliva echoed embarrassingly loudly. Taebeom’s calm gaze was also scanning Siwoo’s lips.
Nevertheless, he gently pushed away the white face approaching him.
“When we get out.”
Taebeom murmured softly as he pressed Siwoo’s shoulders, making him lean back in the chair. Siwoo, whose lips had been parted, gaped like a fish before nodding vigorously.
He means we’ll do it when we get out, right? Properly, when we get out.
Siwoo blushed as he added his own interpretation to Taebeom’s words. He ignored his loudly beating heart again. He dismissed it as probably due to doing a lot of guiding.
“Go to sleep now.”
Taebeom pulled the jacket covering Siwoo’s knees up to cover his upper body as well.
Siwoo rested his chin on Taebeom’s jacket. The clothes were infused with his scent. Wanting to keep it covered, he slipped both arms into the sleeves.
“You should sleep too, Leader.”
“Later.”
Taebeom poked the fire with the stick Siwoo had been playing with and added more firewood. The air became warmer as the flames grew.
Siwoo momentarily forgot the situation and enjoyed the cozy atmosphere. Then he casually asked Taebeom.
“We’ll be able to get out, right?”
“Yes.”
The immediate response gave Siwoo great reassurance. Like brothers, their approach to problems was similar to Geonho’s. It seems Kang Geonho learned from his brother.
“Don’t worry. And don’t recklessly get hurt.”
Siwoo said he understood, forcing his heavy eyelids open. He wanted to talk with Taebeom longer, but drowsiness was overtaking him due to the continuous guiding.
“If you get hurt, everything falls apart.”
Taebeom spoke softly, almost whispering, as he closed Siwoo’s eyelids that were struggling to stay open. Siwoo asked him back with his eyes closed.
“Would you fall apart too, Leader?”
He couldn’t imagine Taebeom falling apart. It seemed like he might get a little sick or weak, but never truly fall apart.
“I’d try not to.”
What’s that supposed to mean? Siwoo pouted at the ambiguous answer before soon breathing evenly.
He lost to sleep as soon as he closed his eyes. It was natural to be tired after guiding everyone since entering the gate interior.
Taebeom watched Siwoo’s peacefully sleeping face for a very long time. As if trying to make up for the time he hadn’t been able to see him, he sat motionless, just looking at Siwoo.
And sometime later, the campfire went out.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
