A Certain Moment (9)
Sa Hae-geon, seated at the table in the Guiding room, stared at me intently. Uncomfortable with his fervent gaze, I scratched my cheek and sat in the seat beside him. Unlike usual, Hae-geon didn’t eagerly grab my hand or embrace me. He simply stared at me silently, as if waiting for me to figure out what he wanted.
“…What?”
When I carefully broke the awkward and embarrassing silence, Hae-geon promptly replied.
“Please Guide me.”
“Ah, yeah. Sure. Give me your hand. Or would you like a hug?”
“No.”
Hae-geon shook his head. He didn’t want either option. Even though he didn’t particularly like radiation Guiding… I wondered what kind of Guiding he wanted.
“Then?”
But even as I asked, I recalled how Hae-geon had asked to be Guided with a kiss a few days ago. Surely he couldn’t be asking for the same thing today. I had an ominous feeling.
Hae-geon’s lips moved slowly.
“With a kiss.”
At Hae-geon’s reply, I forgot to breathe for a moment and just stared blankly at his face. Hae-geon smiled innocently and pushed his face closer to mine. Until just a few days ago, he had stolen a kiss from me and run away, and now he was asking for the same thing again.
Did he gain some confidence after secretly kissing me? He didn’t seem embarrassed at all.
“A k… kiss alone might be uncomfortable for Guiding, so let’s do that at the end and hold hands first.”
I attempted to compromise with Hae-geon as if soothing a child. He looked at me with suspicious eyes, seemingly considering whether he should follow my suggestion, but then nodded obediently.
“Okay. Let’s do it that way for now.”
“Good. You made the right choice. Give me your hand.”
I began Guiding as I held his large, cool hand. The Esper’s wavelength was quite turbulent after completing the dungeon conquest. The radiation Guiding I had done as we exited the dungeon gate clearly wasn’t enough. Being an S-class Esper, he definitely required more Guiding than other Espers.
Either that, or his tangled wavelengths needed high-quality Guiding to unravel.
Hae-geon’s wavelength had been tightly tangled before meeting me, so I needed to be more careful. While gently soothing his wavelength like untangling a knotted thread, I became lost in thought. The conversation I had with Jong-hyeok lingered in my mind like an afterimage.
Looking at the innocent-faced Hae-geon sitting before me made my head hurt even more. But then I wondered if I needed to worry about this at all.
‘This is Hae-geon’s decision, not mine.’
What good would it do for me to agonize over it? Hae-geon’s wishes were what mattered most.
I thought it would be best to talk to him and let him decide for himself. No matter how much I worried, I couldn’t find an answer to this problem. And Hae-geon seemed very curious about what Jong-hyeok and I had discussed. If he casually agreed to join without much thought, we could discuss it further then.
Just as I was about to bring it up after swallowing dryly, he beat me to it.
“What are you thinking about so deeply, hyung?”
“Ah, well… Hae-geon, you wanted to know what Jong-hyeok and I talked about earlier, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll tell you. Um, how would you feel about joining the S-class dungeon conquest team?”
Hae-geon blinked at my question. He couldn’t answer right away. It seemed like a matter he needed to consider carefully. Yes, even though he followed me around like a large puppy dog regardless of the circumstances, he had to be cautious about matters involving life and death.
While waiting for Hae-geon’s answer and letting my imagination run wild, he spoke.
“I was planning to join, of course.”
“…What?”
“I was obviously planning to go with you. You’re going too, right? And you don’t have the option to not go. Am I wrong?”
“Well… that’s true…”
“Exactly. So I’m going. With you.”
Hae-geon spoke with such certainty. It didn’t seem like he had hesitated to answer because he was contemplating whether to go or not. Perhaps he was just confused why I would ask something so obvious.
When I realized this, I felt a surge of frustration. Entering an S-class dungeon isn’t something to respond to so casually.
Even veteran ability users with extensive dungeon experience, as well as ability users who conquered an S-class dungeon ten years ago, would hesitate and agonize hundreds of times over such a decision. One famous Esper who experienced S-class dungeons twice even suffered from PTSD.
But this rookie Esper who just entered a dungeon for the first time says what? That he’ll obviously go? Just because I’m going?
“Did you seriously think about it? This isn’t a trivial matter at all. Do you know what an S-class dungeon is like, and you’re still eager to go?”
“I know. Even at regular school, we learn what an S-class dungeon is like. My parents also experienced one, so I’ve heard quite a bit about it.”
“Hae-geon, you… you just went to a dungeon for the first time today. Why are you so nonchalant about this…?”
“Because I am nonchalant. We just need to conquer it, right? Then I can keep staying with you.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about right now.”
In this moment, Hae-geon seemed like an immature younger brother to me. I couldn’t understand how he could so easily decide to enter an S-class dungeon despite knowing what kind of place it was. Perhaps it’s because I’m a more fearful person.
Getting used to fear and overcoming fear might seem similar, but they’re completely different.
But Hae-geon is different from me. He’s fearless, and his abilities are more than sufficient. Combined with his innate combat sense, he might really do well. Still, I wanted to stop him, even knowing he wasn’t the type to be dissuaded.
“Fine… do as you wish.”
“Okay.”
Even at words that would make most people’s hearts sink, Hae-geon just nodded and accepted my words sincerely. It was another moment when I realized he had grown up without any hardships.
“But hyung.”
“Yes?”
“What about the kiss?”
“…Oh right. I forgot about that.”
I almost forgot about it, being drained from our serious conversation. Hae-geon blushed shyly and brought his face closer to mine. More specifically, his forehead.
“On your forehead?”
“Yes. I’m still a bit shy about other places.”
“…Ah, I see.”
How can he say he’s shy in such a nonchalant tone? Hae-geon was truly a difficult being to understand the more I got to know him. I stared at his broad forehead for a moment. Even though it was for Guiding, the thought of kissing his forehead made my heart race.
Taking a deep breath, I carefully pressed my lips against Hae-geon’s forehead. As my lips touched his cool forehead, his face began to turn red. Before I knew it, Hae-geon had quickly moved away from me and stammered with a crimson face.
“H-hyung, you c-can’t just do it without s-saying anything f-first.”
He had asked for it earlier, but once he received the kiss, he became embarrassed. I was looking fondly at the stammering Hae-geon, finding him cute, but then remembered his answer about joining the S-class dungeon, and my expression hardened.
The next day, as soon as I arrived at Field Team 1’s office, Jong-hyeok called for me.
“Do-min, come see me for a moment.”
I tapped Hae-geon’s hand, who was standing next to me, and mouthed ‘I’ll be back’ before following Jong-hyeok out of the office.
“Did you ask him?”
“…Yes.”
“What does he want to do? As you said, he just experienced a dungeon for the first time yesterday, so was it too overwhelming for him?”
Even as he spoke, Jong-hyeok seemed to be expecting a positive answer.
“…He wants to go.”
“Really? Truly? I thought so. That’s great. Really great.”
Jong-hyeok couldn’t hide his joy and smiled brightly. Then suddenly, his face turned serious.
“No, this isn’t the time to be happy. Instead of wasting time like this, we need to gather the S-class dungeon conquest team, coordinate, and train. We also need to talk with the Ability Department…”
“Yes…”
“Do-min, don’t you think Hae-geon will quickly get the hang of it if he goes through selected A-class dungeons?”
“…Do you think so?”
“Given his excellent instincts, I think it’s possible. Anyway, I need to talk with the Center Director. I’ll go first. See you later.”
Seemingly in a hurry, Jong-hyeok waved his hand casually and headed upstairs in large strides. Watching his back, I felt conflicted. Was it right not to dissuade Hae-geon? But if he wants to go, do I have the right to stop him? These mixed feelings tormented me.
And that afternoon, Jong-hyeok announced to the office that the members of the S-class dungeon conquest team would be determined by the end of the day.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
