85
Seojun entered Siwoo’s room and carefully laid Siwoo down on the bed. Siwoo, who had been softly sobbing, crawled under the covers as soon as his bottom touched the sheets, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Even his crawling motion was sluggish, indicating that he truly wasn’t in good shape. Seojun felt increasingly uncomfortable watching Siwoo’s wobbly movements.
“Guide-nim,” he said, making his voice as gentle as possible as he approached the head of the bed.
“I was wrong.”
There was no response from Siwoo, who was hidden under the blanket. Only muffled breathing could be heard.
“I didn’t consider your feelings. I’m sorry for being so harsh.”
He hadn’t properly gauged how shocked Siwoo must have been by the incident with Geonho hyung. Why couldn’t he have controlled his anger, especially when it wasn’t unusual for guides to act on their own?
“I’m really sorry. Sincerely.”
Seojun apologized sincerely, recalling the image of Siwoo pinned under Geonho. At that time, even Siwoo’s hands were trembling. The trembling hadn’t subsided easily even after leaving the room.
“Do as you please, Guide-nim. I won’t say anything again.”
Although he was concerned about Siwoo going around alone, there wasn’t much he could do. Believing that even if it wasn’t him, his hyungs wouldn’t leave Siwoo alone, he continued to apologize earnestly.
“I’m sorry for pressuring you. I won’t worry about you going out alone. Just call me when you want to.”
As Seojun was speaking words he didn’t truly mean, a faint sound came from under the blanket.
“…you know…”
“Pardon?”
The slurred pronunciation made it difficult to understand. Even Seojun’s exceptional esper hearing couldn’t catch the words clearly.
“You guys, while saying that— what…”
“What did you say?”
Seojun narrowed his eyes and moved a bit closer.
“I’m sorry, but I really can’t hear you.”
The sound was still unclear. Siwoo coughed, as if his throat hurt, then sniffled and raised his voice.
“You bastards are busy, aren’t you?”
Seojun’s lips parted slightly upon hearing this. His expression was as shocked as when Siwoo had burst into tears.
It was true that they were busy, but not so much that they would neglect their dedicated guide. He was a bit dumbfounded, wondering if that had been bothering Siwoo.
“We have time to go out if Guide-nim calls.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Siwoo kicked off the blanket and shouted. He seemed to lack the strength to get up, so he just grumbled while lying down.
“Why keep telling me to call when you’ll just find it annoying?”
Tears that had been clinging to his long eyelashes fell onto his wet cheeks. It seemed he still had more crying to do.
“I’ll, take care of things myself, so don’t worry about it.”
Siwoo turned to face the wall, rubbing his throbbing head. He was embarrassed about crying in front of Ha Seojun and unbearably ashamed of being seen in just his underwear. He didn’t want to face anyone for a while. He felt like he wanted to be stranded alone on a remote island.
“Get out.”
At least until his emotions settled down.
“…Alright. I’ll leave.”
Seojun stood up immediately. However, he didn’t leave right away.
“But Guide-nim.”
He still had something to say. He wanted to convey this before leaving.
“It’s already plenty annoying right now.”
“Then get lost!”
Siwoo turned towards Seojun and threw a pillow. Despite throwing it with all his might, the heavy pillow didn’t even come close to reaching Seojun.
“But I came anyway, even though it’s annoying.”
Seojun quickly picked up the pillow and moved closer to the bed. He hadn’t said this to anger Siwoo further. Rather, it was the opposite.
“I came because I was worried about you, even though I’m incredibly busy. Even though you didn’t call.”
Siwoo glared at Seojun with his mouth firmly shut. The tip of his raised chin was moist. His reddened eyes, the area below his nose, and his smooth cheeks were all wet with tears.
Seojun stared intently at Siwoo’s pale face and said with a serious expression:
“So if you call, of course I’ll come. How could I not?”
He then put on his usual gentle smile and placed the pillow back on the bed. Siwoo didn’t immediately understand his words and just furrowed his brows.
“Even if it’s annoying, I’ll come, so feel free to call. Please.”
Seojun continued to look down at Siwoo, confessing his feelings in a way that Siwoo could easily understand. Seeing Siwoo’s pale complexion, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He wanted to hear something, anything, before going. Even if it was just cursing.
“…My throat hurts.”
At that moment, Siwoo, hugging the pillow, mumbled faintly.
“Should we go to the hospital?”
“Water.”
As soon as Siwoo answered, Seojun headed for the door.
“Just water? Aren’t you hungry?”
Siwoo shook his head. He didn’t want to put anything in his mouth right now.
Seojun briefly observed this unusual behavior of Siwoo refusing food, then quickly went to the kitchen and returned.
“Do you need anything else?”
Siwoo, who had been thirsty, drained the glass of water Seojun brought. Instead of telling him to leave immediately, he bit his lower lip, seeming to have something more to say.
“Kang Geonho…”
“Yes.”
It seemed he was going to talk about Geonho hyung again. Seojun swallowed a sigh but listened attentively.
“It’s not his fault. I was the one who initiated the guiding.”
After a long hesitation, Siwoo spoke up, wiping his wet face.
He was worried that Kang Geonho might suffer because of this incident. He already felt guilty enough for causing Geonho to be given a strong sedative with side effects.
“I went into his room on my own. I should have been more careful… I wasn’t paying attention.”
His mumbling voice gradually became softer. The more he spoke, the more he regretted it.
It wasn’t even a necessary situation, but he had unnecessarily performed guiding. As a result, he had caused trouble for Kang Geonho.
Seojun silently watched the dejected Siwoo. When Siwoo didn’t continue speaking, Seojun asked in his characteristic pretend-nice tone:
“Are you done talking?”
“…Yeah.”
Seojun rubbed the back of his neck, seeming to organize his thoughts. He spoke before Siwoo could get frustrated.
“I know you like Geonho hyung, but we can’t just let this incident slide.”
“Why?”
Couldn’t they just keep it a secret? Siwoo thought that if he and Ha Seojun just kept quiet, no one would know.
“You know our leader’s personality.”
“We don’t have to tell him.”
“That’s not possible.”
Seojun shrugged and shook his head.
“How can we not report it when you’ve been hurt?”
“I’m not hurt.”
Siwoo raised and lowered his arm once, then shook his seemingly fine leg. Although he was too weak to walk properly, all his limbs were intact. There were no broken bones or bleeding wounds.
“Look in the mirror later.”
Seojun’s stern gaze swept over Siwoo’s neck and the collarbone visible above his clothes. It was quite a sight.
Reddish kiss marks covered his pale skin. There were even clear bite marks scattered here and there. They stood out even more against his naturally fair skin.
“And you were very shocked, weren’t you? That’s enough to count as harm.”
Siwoo racked his brain for a rebuttal. Perhaps because he didn’t yet know the state of his neck where Geonho had bitten him, he was only trying to defend Geonho. In truth, he probably would have covered for him even if he had seen it.
“Anyway, he didn’t do anything wrong.”
It was okay since Geonho hadn’t intentionally assaulted him. That’s why he wanted to prevent Geonho from being scolded by his older brother.
“Just lie down for now.”
Seojun patted the sheets and lifted the blanket. After a moment’s hesitation, Siwoo obediently lay down with his head on the pillow. Although he hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted yet, his tired body was eager to lie down quickly.
“Thank you for covering for Geonho hyung.”
Seojun tucked Siwoo in and met his eyes. He was sincere this time too.
“But the judgment is for the leader to make. Not us.”
At Seojun’s low voice, Siwoo’s lips quivered slightly before he lowered his gaze.
It wasn’t because he agreed. An indescribable, stifling emotion blocked his throat. He gave up, feeling that if he opened his mouth now, he might cry again.
“Get some rest now. You really don’t look good right now.”
Before leaving the room, Seojun gestured towards a small cotton doll tucked in the corner of the bed.
“At least hug that little rat or something.”
“Don’t call it a rat. It’s a mouse.”
Isn’t that the same thing?
Tilting his head slightly, Seojun slowly walked towards the door, watching Siwoo hug the doll. At the familiar “Squeak” sound, his head reflexively turned back towards the bed.
“Guide-nim.”
He called out to Siwoo one last time before closing the door. Siwoo frowned, as if wondering why he hadn’t left yet.
“You’re not going to leave our guild, are you?”
Siwoo frowned even more at Seojun’s question and hugged the mouse doll tightly. The mouse’s “Squeak” seemed to answer for him, but there was no way to know what it meant.
Seojun looked at Siwoo’s hunched back for a moment before slowly closing the door and leaving.
