Toward the End (10)
After the brief drinking session with Esper Lee Cheol-min, Sa Hae-geon and I took a taxi home. After greeting Cream who welcomed us, and feeding her, it was already late evening. Although we had started eating quite early, I thought I would get hungry soon, but the feeling of fullness lasted longer than expected.
After putting my clothes, which smelled heavily of meat, in the laundry basket and taking a shower, I heard water running in the kitchen, suggesting Sa Hae-geon was preparing something. I thought it might be good to eat some fruit. With that thought, I sat on the sofa, rubbing my somewhat bloated stomach, and turned on the TV. As the outbreak date of the S-rank dungeon approached, various media simultaneously poured out both hopeful and negative stories.
Even the TV program I turned on featured clashing arguments: one claiming that with improved technology and many high-ranking ability users, we could request support from other countries if needed, and the other arguing that the difficulty of S-rank dungeons was rising proportionally.
As if reading my mind, Sa Hae-geon, who sat on the sofa with a tray of fruit, glanced at the TV and asked.
“What are you watching? A debate show?”
“Yeah. Seems like they’re debating about the S-rank dungeon. All the other programs are talking about the same thing, so it’s similar no matter what channel you turn to.”
“What do you think, hyung?”
Sa Hae-geon asked bluntly while peeling an apple.
“About what I think about the S-rank dungeon?”
“Yes.”
Although I hadn’t thought deeply about it, the S-rank dungeon was like a huge, towering mountain to me, who feared even the monsters of lower-ranked dungeons. Nevertheless, it was a mountain that had to be climbed to the top. But how could I express my honest feelings in front of Sa Hae-geon?
There was no way I could tell Sa Hae-geon, who would face S-rank dungeon monsters at the closest range, that I was scared.
“Well, I just… don’t think it’s that different from other dungeons.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s just a higher rank compared to other dungeons. It’s silly for me to say this as a Guide who stays at the rear in dungeons, but…”
Sa Hae-geon’s hand paused briefly as he peeled the apple. But as if nothing had happened, he soon resumed skillfully cutting the apple into pieces. Sa Hae-geon handed me a neatly peeled apple piece on a fork, making eye contact. Somehow, his gaze toward me seemed to be sticky.
As I unconsciously lowered my gaze, feeling a ticklish sensation in my stomach, Sa Hae-geon placed the fork directly in my hand and asked softly.
“Why are you avoiding my gaze? Do you dislike looking at me?”
“What? No, it’s not that… I just felt a bit strange.”
“What feels strange?”
I avoided answering by taking a bite of the apple Sa Hae-geon had peeled. Sa Hae-geon’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at me with a sulky face before promptly snatching the fork from my hand.
He put the fork down on the tray and turned his body.
“Why are you suddenly taking away my apple?”
“Because it seems like you’re more interested in the apple than in me.”
“What?”
“I want to talk with you, but you’re avoiding me. I’ll give you the apple back later, so please look at me, hyung.”
“Geez…”
I sighed at Sa Hae-geon’s unreasonable behavior, but pretending to give in, I raised my gaze and noticed the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. Seemingly pleased that our eyes had met, Sa Hae-geon’s face quickly relaxed as he moved his lips.
“Do you think the boss in tomorrow’s dungeon will act strangely like today’s?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure… Since Esper Lee Cheol-min said it was his first time experiencing such a thing, I don’t think the same thing will happen again.”
But if it had something to do with Esper Yoon Seon-hoo, as Sa Hae-geon had mentioned at the restaurant, things could be different. Of course, I knew it was nonsensical, but even from my perspective, Esper Yoon Seon-hoo seemed to be hiding something.
He might think he wasn’t showing it, but he couldn’t hide the underlying sinisterness that flowed through his behavior, tone, and gaze. And from what I’d heard earlier, his brother, Esper Yoon Seon-ho, also seemed troubled in various ways.
As I remained silent, lost in thought, Sa Hae-geon tilted his head and asked.
“Hyung, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Huh?”
“What are you thinking about that makes your expression so serious?”
There seemed to be a hint of disappointment in Sa Hae-geon’s voice, which made me feel a bit mischievous. I tapped his slightly parted lips with my index finger and replied slyly.
“Thinking about you.”
Sa Hae-geon jumped up from his seat in surprise. Since it was a somewhat expected reaction, a shallow laugh escaped between my lips. While I chuckled softly, Sa Hae-geon’s face turned red. He floundered, opening and closing his mouth before stammering.
“W-why are you so glib?”
“What did I do? You do it often too.”
“Not to the extent you just did.”
“So did you dislike it?”
When I asked the question that I often asked whenever Sa Hae-geon shot back with a troubled expression, his sharp eyes, which had been pointing upward, gradually lowered. Having calmed down somewhat, Sa Hae-geon sat beside me and mumbled.
“How could I dislike it?”
“That’s a relief.”
Sa Hae-geon glanced at me briefly before sighing softly and resting his head on my shoulder. His soft hair tickled my neck. He rubbed his head slightly and naturally placed his hand around my waist.
When I unconsciously straightened my spine at the sensation of his large hand wrapping around my waist, Sa Hae-geon laughed softly. Then, to my surprise, he began fiddling with my waist and lower abdomen.
“What… are you doing?”
“Hyung, your belly is so soft.”
The answer from Sa Hae-geon’s mouth was ridiculous. I never thought I’d hear from my lover that my belly fat was soft. While it hurt my pride, strangely, I didn’t feel entirely bad about it. Was it because it was belly fat gained from eating the meals Sa Hae-geon prepared?
After briefly entertaining these idle thoughts, by the time I finally came to my senses, his hand was lifting my clothes.
“W-what are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Sa Hae-geon kissed my neck and cheek in turn. The sensation of his hot and soft lips touching and leaving made my body tremble. The playful atmosphere had somehow transformed into something sticky. My mouth went dry at the suddenly intensified atmosphere.
His slightly warm hand played with my stomach, waist, and pelvis.
“We haven’t done today’s guiding yet.”
“That’s…!”
There was so much to say about that. Originally, it was an issue that should have been resolved in the dungeon or at the headquarters and central center after the conquest, but Sa Hae-geon, uncharacteristically, had refused. He said he hadn’t exerted himself enough to need guiding and didn’t want to bother me with such things.
I had casually checked Sa Hae-geon’s wavelength, and since it was stable, I had passed it without any particular suspicion. I never expected it to come back to me like this. It felt like I’d been blindsided.
Of course, I don’t dislike mingling bodies with Sa Hae-geon and searching for warmth in each other’s breaths. To be honest, I like it. But there was something uncomfortable about intimacy that started with guiding as an excuse. Just as I had heard and learned repeatedly in school until it was ingrained in my ears, I really didn’t like the idea of mingling bodies solely for the purpose of guiding.
And as if seeing right through me, Sa Hae-geon said something strange.
“I like it when you guide me during sex without even realizing you’re guiding.”
“W-w-what?”
“I want guiding that you don’t even know you’re doing. It’s something only I know and can feel, while you’re unaware.”
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak. Was it a problem that I unconsciously emitted guiding wavelengths while we were intimate? Until Sa Hae-geon told me, I hadn’t realized at all that I was guiding him. I wasn’t in a state of mind to notice it either.
Recalling that day again, I involuntarily swallowed dryly.
“I don’t need guiding, but I want to do other things with you.”
“Hae-geon.”
“Is that not okay? Do you dislike it?”
Sa Hae-geon gently bit my left shoulder, which was exposed as my clothes became disheveled. My skin, already sensitive from recalling our previous intimacy, was being stimulated, making my heart race.
“It’s not that I dislike having sex with you…”
As I struggled to begin speaking, Sa Hae-geon’s lips left my shoulder.
“I disliked when the purpose of sex became guiding.”
At that, Sa Hae-geon burst into laughter as if he had heard the most ridiculous, funniest story in the world.
“That’s impossible, hyung. I’ve lived just fine without guiding all this time.”
I felt an indescribably great relief at the sight of Sa Hae-geon mockingly laughing at the obvious principle that he would become more fixated on guiding precisely because of that.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
