# Chapter 24
“Haah, ha…”
Heerim, lying in bed, let out ragged breaths. I sat beside him, observing his condition.
“Heerim-ssi?”
“Hnngh.”
Whatever he had been doing, the guy didn’t look good. His usually flushed face had turned pale white with beads of cold sweat, and faint moans escaped through his slightly parted lips. Even the tips of his hair had faded slightly.
What’s going on? Did he use his ability alone outside?
“Heerim, are you okay?”
The Director, sensing something was wrong with Heerim, reached out to him with a serious expression.
“Don’t touch me!”
Slap—!
Just as the Director’s hand was about to touch him, Heerim roughly knocked it away. A flash of intense fear crossed his rigidly frozen face. The blow was so forceful that it left the Director’s hand bright red and swollen as she looked at me with a troubled expression.
“Jaeo-ssi. I think he needs Guiding right now.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Seeing Heerim so hypersensitive and gasping for breath reminded me of the dream I had last night. The face of young Heerim, terrified and crying silently, overlapped with the Heerim before me. It was heartbreaking.
“Heerim-ssi. I’ll do the Guiding now.”
“Hnng, ngh.”
Worried that Heerim might also push away my hand, I carefully spoke to him first. Heerim, seemingly unable to hear my voice, only groaned painfully with his face contorted. I quickly grabbed his hand. His temperature, usually warm, had cooled down considerably.
“Ugh, ungh…”
A different type of moan escaped Heerim’s lips. I tried to transfer energy with the feeling of conveying my body heat to him.
Today’s Guiding was definitely different from usual. Heerim’s energy was tangled like a messy ball of yarn, making it difficult to find a path to send my energy. It felt constricting, like indigestion.
“Ah, hngh. Stop…”
Heerim, seemingly distressed by the uncomfortable Guiding, squirmed and tried to pull his hand away from mine. It felt strange that the guy who always begged for “just a little more” was now pushing me away. An inexplicable sense of competitiveness welled up inside me.
“Stay still. I need to do the Guiding.”
“Haah. Ngh.”
I interlaced my fingers with Heerim’s. His expression seemed to relax for a moment before crumpling again. Meanwhile, his body was growing increasingly cold and rigid. Even the usually expressionless Jeongmun-ssi approached cautiously with a worried look and massaged Heerim’s legs. The situation was concerning. This could turn serious.
“Director. What should we do? The Guiding isn’t working well.”
“What?! Wait. Hold on.”
The Director urgently rummaged through a drawer at her desk and found a white medicine bottle.
“Try giving this to Heerim.”
“What is this?”
“Emergency medicine for Espers.”
“Emergency medicine? You had something like that?”
“It’s a pill that contains concentrated Guide energy. We’ve used it whenever Heerim’s condition deteriorated.”
I wondered how the Director, a regular person, had obtained such pills when information about Espers was so restricted, but that wasn’t the priority right now.
“Heerim-ssi. Open your mouth for a moment, please.”
I grabbed the jaw of the barely conscious Heerim and forced his mouth open. His chapped lips parted, and I inserted the pill I had been handed.
“Ungh, ugh…”
“Ah!”
Heerim’s soft tongue touched my finger, causing a sharp spark at my fingertip. Startled, I quickly withdrew my hand. It was just a momentary contact, but the stimulation was stronger than when we held hands.
“Here’s some water.”
“Ah. Yes.”
Jeongmun-ssi handed me a water bottle as I remained momentarily frozen in shock. I clenched my tingling finger into a fist, as if hiding it, and took the bottle with my other hand.
“Gulp.”
After I poured water into Heerim’s mouth, he swallowed the pill with a slight cough. His body went limp and heavy.
“It works immediately, so he should improve soon.”
“Did you always do this before he received Guiding?”
The Director rubbed her chin with a troubled expression, then nodded.
“This has only happened two or three times a year, but this is already the fourth time this year. I’m afraid Heerim’s energy might be reaching its limit.”
“If his energy completely runs out…”
“He’ll go berserk. He could probably turn an entire city into ruins. And then he’ll die.”
The Director tried to sound calm, but couldn’t hide her concern.
“It’s really fortunate that you resonated with Heerim. We don’t have much medicine left either.”
I silently looked at the unconscious Heerim.
My Guiding contract with the Earth Peace Research Institute was for one year. I had planned to quit immediately after the contract ended. So what would happen to Heerim then?
There was no reason for me to be responsible for him just because I resonated with him. Yet thinking about Heerim’s future made my heart feel heavy.
As the commotion subsided, the Director and Jeongmun-ssi stood up from their seats.
“Where are you going?”
“Remember I mentioned a client coming today about the Kang Seokgi matter? It’s almost time, and given Heerim’s condition, I think we should meet outside.”
“What? Oh, yes. Have a good meeting.”
“Call if anything happens.”
“I will.”
Both seemed reluctant to take their eyes off Heerim, concerned about leaving him in the office. Though Heerim’s condition wasn’t good, they looked like parents leaving their child at daycare for the first time.
“Then we’ll be going.”
Jeongmun-ssi gave me a slight bow before following the Director out. Soon, only Heerim and I remained in the office. I sat beside Heerim and let out a deep sigh. Heerim’s beautiful face, drenched in cold sweat, looked pitiful.
“What kind of mission did you go on to end up in this state?”
I murmured while fixing Heerim’s bangs that were stuck to his forehead. Naturally, the unconscious Heerim couldn’t answer my question.
It felt unsettling to see him lying powerlessly like a doll when he usually wagged his tail whenever he saw me. I must have grown fond of Heerim after all. As I let out a deflated chuckle, Heerim’s body twitched.
“Ngh…”
“Heerim-ssi? Are you awake?”
“Haah, hng. Jaeo… Hyung.”
Heerim called for me without properly opening his eyes. His face, which had seemed fine after taking the medicine, was now contorted in pain. Was the medicine not working?
“Hnng, Hyuuung. Ah, it’s hard, it’s so hard.”
“No, why suddenly… Wait. Let me call the Director—”
“Guid…ing. Please, do Guiding. Ngh.”
Heerim grabbed me. In contrast to his earlier attempts to push my hand away, his grip was surprisingly strong. For some strange reason, I felt oddly relieved by this.
“I will.”
I closed my eyes and interlaced my fingers with Heerim’s cold hand. I awakened all my senses to focus on Heerim, trying to feel his complete energy, but I only felt constriction without being able to transfer any power.
“Why isn’t this working? Heerim-ssi. Wait. I think I should call the Director.”
“Haah, no…”
“What? Woah—!”
Heerim tightened his grip and pulled me toward him. My upper body fell forward, and my face ended up directly above Heerim’s, upside down. We were close enough to feel each other’s breath.
Right before my eyes were Heerim’s lips. Though they were dried and pale from lack of blood circulation, they were still plump and beautiful. I remembered how soft those lips had been.
“I-I’ll try Guiding again.”
Embarrassed by the memory, I tried to sit up and readjust my grip on Heerim’s hand.
“This won’t work.”
“What?”
“It’s not enough.”
Heerim growled deeply and reached out to cup the nape of my neck.
“…”
“…”
I met Heerim’s feverish gaze. The moment I saw myself reflected in Heerim’s eyes, an indescribable, confusing emotion enveloped me.
“Jaeo Hyung.”
Heerim called my name in a low voice. This wasn’t the usual Heerim who wagged his tail whenever he saw me. I sensed a deep hunger from him. My mouth went dry under his gaze that seemed about to devour me. Instinctively, I anticipated what would happen next. Hadn’t I already experienced it on the pedestrian bridge? Knowing this, I still couldn’t push him away.
“Hyung.”
Heerim’s hand, which had been holding my nape, slowly moved down to the left side of my chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of my heartbeat traveled through Heerim’s palm to him. I hadn’t felt it was particularly fast, but my heart was racing.
“Hee-Heerim-ssi. Wait—”
“Accept me.”
“Mmph…!”
After uttering those incomprehensible words, Heerim pulled me close again. Soon, his cold lips pressed against mine. Our chapped lips rubbed together.
“Hmph.”
As I parted my lips at that rough kiss, Heerim’s tongue pushed its way in. Unlike his cold lips, Heerim’s tongue was hot. It traced the tender mucous membrane inside my mouth, sending an electric current down my spine. Simultaneously, whatever had been blocking between Heerim and me melted away. Following that came a dizzying, overwhelming sensation that swept through my entire body.
“Jaeo, Jaeo Hyung. Hngh.”
Heerim desperately called my name as he clung to me. I barely followed his rhythm as our tongues intertwined. I couldn’t think about pushing him away or stopping him. The pleasure that followed was incomparable to Guiding done by holding hands. My bewilderment was only momentary. Since I believed this pleasure came from Guiding, I didn’t even feel particularly guilty.
“Huu, ngh.”
“Ungh.”
The heated atmosphere filling the quiet office didn’t cool down but instead urged us on. Heerim had already risen from his seat and placed me on his lap. When I flinched in surprise at his muscles, which were much firmer than they looked, Heerim wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I could feel his body, which had been cold, growing warmer.
“Focus on me.”
“Uh, uhm.”
Heerim’s hands tightened around my waist. Embraced in his firm hold, I forgot that what we were doing was Guiding and kissed him back. It felt strangely euphoric, as if I were drunk and floating on clouds.
Just as I was becoming intoxicated with Heerim and my reason was growing hazy…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
