81
Siwoo’s blue eyes cautiously scanned the spacious room. Geonho’s room was still unique.
A dry laugh escaped him as his gaze fell on the large bed occupying the center of the room.
“He’s really sleeping…”
Geonho was sprawled out in the middle of the bed. He seemed to be in such a deep sleep that he couldn’t hear Siwoo’s presence.
Seeing him sleeping so carefreely made Siwoo feel strangely relieved. He slowly approached the bed to get a closer look at Geonho.
When did he fall asleep?
Siwoo bent over at the head of Geonho’s bed. He put his ear close to the peacefully sleeping face and heard steady breathing.
Listening to the gentle, childlike breathing, he stared at the deeply sleeping face.
He kept chuckling at the sight of Geonho’s arms and legs stretched out wide. Despite looking like he could be a high-ranking member of a gang, he was sleeping as peacefully as a gentle lamb, not even tossing and turning. It was a bit cute.
Am I really going crazy?
Siwoo blinked and shook his head, disgusted by his own thoughts. Thinking an Esper twice his size was cute – he must be losing his mind. He’d definitely need to see a doctor soon. There must be something wrong with his head.
“Hey… Wake up already.”
After watching the sleeping Geonho for a while, he muttered softly. Though he said that, he didn’t really intend to wake him up, merely moving his lips.
He wanted to talk, but knowing that Geonho had stayed up for several nights because of him, he couldn’t bring himself to wake him. Remembering the dark shadows under Geonho’s elongated eyes, he stayed put.
But doesn’t he have to go to work?
He tilted his head, thinking of the always-busy Yoo Jihan and the punctual youngest member. Then he straightened up.
Well, it should be fine. It’s not like anything dangerous will happen.
There were no longer any urgent situations that required Kang Geonho’s presence. It was all thanks to the Baekya Guild. The public was now free from the danger of monsters because of them. The same was true for ability users.
No one was risking their lives for work anymore. The atmosphere at the Center was becoming more relaxed, and conflicts were decreasing. Espers who used to have serious conversations about gates in a tense atmosphere now talked and laughed about hobbies and retirement plans.
“He must be sleeping so deeply because he doesn’t usually sleep well…”
However, the Baekya Guild, treated as heroes, still lived busy lives. They went out to the field every single day without fail. Yoo Jihan, who wasn’t a beastkin, seemed to have an especially tight schedule.
Except for mealtimes, it was hard to even see Yoo Jihan’s face. The youngest member had less work but went for personal training whenever he had free time. He devoted all his time outside of training to guiding.
The Baekya Guild that Siwoo saw up close lived even busier lives than he had imagined. At least Kang Geonho went for walks. The others had no leisure time, either working, training, or doing new work for their work.
“When do you guys rest and have fun?”
While pretending not to care about them, Siwoo was secretly observing their every move.
Unlike the glowing reviews of the Baekya Guild, their daily lives were just dry. Watching them do the same things every day made Siwoo feel stifled.
Can’t they take it easy now? It’s not even a gate saturation period anymore.
“You guys supposedly brought about the era of peace or whatever. You should be living it up.”
Siwoo hit Geonho’s muscular arm with a disapproving look. As expected, there was no response.
He tried hitting him a few more times, but Geonho showed no signs of waking up. Siwoo moved closer until his knees touched the bed. His pale face drooped as he looked down at the deeply sleeping Geonho. It was a bit boring with no one to answer him.
“What are you, hibernating? Are you a bear? Huh? I asked if you’re a bear.”
Whispering faintly, he pretended to pinch Geonho’s thick arm. Geonho, breathing evenly, seemed unlikely to wake up until dawn.
Siwoo grumbled to himself and then gently sat on the edge of the bed. He wiggled his hips a bit before lying down completely. He must have been very bored.
“You’re sleeping with your clothes on.”
Usually, he slept shirtless, but now he was still fully clothed. Looking closely, it was the same clothes he wore yesterday.
Could he have been sleeping continuously since falling asleep on the sofa? Yoo Jihan might have used his telekinesis to bring him to the room. Somehow, seeing Geonho in such a deep sleep made this guess seem correct.
If Jihan were here, he would have praised Siwoo’s sharp deduction skills. He would have made a lewd joke about seeing them in bed together. He would have also complained about why he wasn’t allowed to sit on the bed.
Siwoo only allowed Geonho on his bed. Even now, lying in bed with Geonho didn’t feel awkward at all. It was just comfortable, thanks to spending every day cuddling on the bed when he was a cat.
“Kang Geonho.”
Calling the now-familiar name, he raised his upper body. While checking the sleeping face, he slowly reached out and gently grasped the large hand.
Even though Geonho hadn’t asked him to hold his hand. Siwoo took Geonho’s hand first.
Unlike Yoo Jihan, Geonho’s skin was rough. He seemed to have naturally thick skin. Siwoo kept touching the dark skin that looked nicely tanned by the sun.
“How much can I ask you?”
He asked tentatively.
“I want to know everything.”
Siwoo whispered lowly, gripping Geonho’s hand a little tighter. His voice became even softer as he put his true feelings into it.
“Why does your brother treat you so coldly? Why do you hide your true form?”
Siwoo licked his dry lips as he murmured that he wanted to know the reasons. It was frustrating not knowing anything in detail about the Baekya Guild. However, he still didn’t feel like asking directly.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. If it’s uncomfortable, don’t say it.”
He continued whispering, almost to himself, as he held Geonho’s hand with both of his.
“But I’m really fucking curious.”
Then he started to release his guiding little by little.
It was a kind of bribe. It conveyed the message: I won’t ask you directly, so please tell me on your own.
He sincerely wanted to know. Even the reason why Geonho came to particularly dislike people who lie.
“Why is your wavelength like this?”
Siwoo frowned slightly as he caressed the back of Geonho’s hand. As their skin touched, he could faintly feel Geonho’s wavelength. He was much more tangled up than Jihan.
Siwoo didn’t release his guiding as enthusiastically as he usually did. He emitted it very carefully while examining Geonho’s wavelength.
Through guiding with Jihan, he had realized on his own that his method was dangerous. Siwoo now resolved to learn how to control his power.
He never wanted to be in an awkward situation with them again. Siwoo had absolutely no intention of doing any guiding beyond hugging. Unless it was an emergency situation.
There were no more situations where the Baekya Guild might be in danger now. Feeling relieved at that fact, he closed his eyes gently.
Siwoo slowly approached Geonho’s wavelength and released his guiding as if calling his name. Suppressing his impatience, he waited for Geonho’s wavelength to show a response.
However, as expected, it wasn’t easy. As the guiding was released weakly, Geonho’s wavelength remained calm. It couldn’t be easy to guide an Esper with low compatibility.
As he concentrated on guiding, Siwoo’s expression gradually crumpled. Although he could read Geonho’s wavelength as much as their skin touched, the guiding wasn’t being absorbed and just skimmed the surface.
“Just absorb it, man.”
He needed a reaction to adjust his guiding accordingly. But Geonho’s wavelength didn’t detect Siwoo’s energy at all. It was much harder to approach than when he had freely poured out his guiding.
“Haa—”
Finally stopping his guiding, Siwoo opened his eyes wide. After glaring hard at the childishly sleeping Geonho, he adjusted his position. A little closer to Geonho.
“I’m giving you guiding.”
Warning him not to misunderstand, he placed his hand on Geonho’s shoulder.
As he stroked the bare skin exposed between the clothes, he could feel the faint shoulder scar under his palm. The wound from the monster had now almost completely healed.
Siwoo continued his guiding while touching that scar. This time too, instead of releasing it strongly, he emitted it secretly.
“I can do contact guiding now.”
Since Geonho couldn’t hear anyway, he talked to himself freely. In fact, he wanted to tell him first. It would be the best news for Geonho, who had low compatibility with him.
“I’m going to get even better at it.”
Siwoo whispered as if making a promise and leaned his upper body towards Geonho. It was to look at the scar more closely.
Although new skin had grown, it hadn’t fully recovered yet. It seemed to be healing even more slowly because Geonho didn’t take care of it at all.
Geonho didn’t pay any attention to the wounds on his body. He would scratch carelessly, saying the bandages were uncomfortable, or shower recklessly every day even though the wound got completely wet.
He understood why the leader had told him to pay more attention to Kang Geonho than to Yoo Jihan and the youngest. Kang Geonho had something about him that made people worry. Just like a child left by the water.
As Siwoo was stroking Geonho’s scar, he unconsciously released a lot of guiding again. It was an unconscious action. He didn’t realize his guiding had become stronger as he focused on the scar.
He shouldn’t have let his guard down.
“Ah…!”
Just as Siwoo felt a sharp gaze and was about to remove his hand from Geonho’s shoulder.
Suddenly losing balance, his upper body fell onto Geonho’s body. It happened so quickly that there was no time to react.
Siwoo looked down at Geonho, who had grabbed his wrist, with a very surprised face. The grip strength was so startling that for a moment he thought someone else had grabbed him.
“Are you… awake?”
Geonho’s red eyes, now open, were directed at Siwoo. He seemed to have woken up after sensing the guiding.
“I knocked, but you didn’t hear.”
Hurriedly making an excuse, he tried to pull his hand away from Geonho’s grip. However, the more Siwoo moved his hand back, the stronger the grip on his wrist became.
“Hey, let go.”
Siwoo frowned at the unnecessarily strong force squeezing his wrist.
“I said let go, ugh!”
His body, which was about to jump up from the bed, fell onto Geonho’s chest again. Siwoo inhaled sharply as he saw Geonho pulling and hugging his waist.
“Kang Shiro.”
The moment he realized the danger, a drowsy voice, still affected by sleep, brushed his ear. At the same time, an alarm went off in Siwoo’s small head.
“My baby…”
