#5
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
During a leisurely lunch break, Eun-hu disrupted Ui-jin’s peace. Ui-jin, who was splitting a well-sauced meatball with his spoon, raised his eyes questioningly.
“Have you heard about Ju Seung-oh?”
“What?”
Wondering if news about their relationship had already spread that far, Ui-jin stroked his slightly raised cheekbone with the back of his hand and asked again.
“They say he’s been promoted to S-class.”
“…What? What are you talking about?”
Ui-jin’s face stiffened abruptly. That didn’t make any sense…. He set down the spoon he was holding onto the tray and gulped down the water in his paper cup. Unaware of Ui-jin’s complicated feelings, Eun-hu continued to feed him new information.
“What do you mean, what? Your Esper got promoted! The whole Center is in an uproar. How could you not know about it?”
“Ji Ui-jin.”
When Seung-oh appeared, Eun-hu’s booming voice automatically shrank. At the familiar voice, Ui-jin slightly raised his head. Somehow Seung-oh had approached with a complicated expression on his face.
When Seung-oh appeared in the cafeteria, gazes fixed in one direction to the point where even Ui-jin could feel it. In an instant, the dozens of white fluorescent lights fixed to the ceiling seemed to transform into pin lights hanging over a stage. All the lighting was focused on Seung-oh.
“Oh, Seung-oh.”
“Have you finished eating?”
“Yeah. More or less.”
“Then, just a moment.”
At the unusually subdued voice, Ui-jin quietly rose from his seat. Of course, Seung-oh’s voice normally lacked inflection, but there was always emotion in it. What was it called—non-verbal expression? When he was happy, he would look softly into Ui-jin’s eyes, or when angry, he wouldn’t even make eye contact.
“Did something happen?”
“Let’s… go to the room first.”
But this was an expression he’d never seen before. A complicated face. Like his assessment of the expression, Seung-oh’s mind seemed equally complex. Soon after entering the room, the two embraced each other without hesitation.
“Why is our Seung-oh suddenly acting like this? Was dating me such an unexciting thing?”
“What are you talking about?”
When meeting Ui-jin, Seung-oh wanted to do many things. First, he wanted to kiss him—not as a starting point for sex, but an ordinary kiss.
The kind of playful affection where they would leisurely press their lips together, feeling each other’s breath through parted teeth, savoring warm, soft tongues, and then teasing each other’s thin lips. Sensual but loving acts of caressing skin while discussing his promotion, once they were both breathless.
“I’ve been promoted this time. They say I’m S-class. The rank the Center so desperately desires.”
“Then you only have a red carpet—no, a flower path ahead of you, so why…?”
But after completing his rank evaluation, he was immediately summoned to the Strategic Planning Team and received a proposal. It was a message delivered personally by the team leader, someone whose face was rarely seen.
‘As you know, the emerging organization called The City is threatening not only us but national security as well. Guide abductions are happening nationwide. Yet the information team has practically uncovered nothing. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
Click, click. The shiny shoes momentarily gleamed when reflected in the fluorescent light. Walking around Seung-oh with his hands behind his back, the man exuded considerable pressure by his mere presence. As Seung-oh bowed his head, he came closer.
‘Tracking The City and finding out what’s happening there.’
‘…’
‘I believe a mental S-class Esper like you can do it.’
‘…’
‘Of course, we won’t have you perform this alone. You may accompany the official Guide assigned as your partner, or if you prefer, we can arrange for you to recruit a Guide yourself.’
The team leader patted Seung-oh’s shoulder and looked at the young face that clearly showed tension before averting his gaze. In truth, it was closer to a mission assignment than a proposal.
‘Isn’t it a glorious opportunity to elevate the honor of Espers?’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘For the motherland, for the peace of the nation. Please give it your absolute best.’
‘I will devote my life.’
The words, learned since childhood, came out reflexively. When Seung-oh bowed his head and answered, the man left the room with a satisfied smile. The time given to recruit a Guide was one week. At that moment, Seung-oh thought of Ui-jin.
“I have something to tell you.”
They weren’t just partners anymore; they were lovers now. Because of this, Seung-oh couldn’t bring himself to tell Ui-jin. The City was the organization that kidnapped Guides, cut open their stomachs, and extracted their organs. If their identities were exposed, Ui-jin would obviously be the first target.
An S-class Esper and a Guide showing close to 100% Guiding efficiency. It would be like laying someone out covered in honey in front of an ant hill.
“Seung-oh.”
Seung-oh looked down at Ui-jin, who was nestled against him. Before, he had been careful even about making eye contact, afraid he might unconsciously read Ui-jin’s thoughts. Ui-jin affectionately said, while nuzzling against Seung-oh’s chest:
“I told you not to shower in the training room.”
“How can I not when I feel sticky?”
“Shower here. The shampoo smell there is awful.”
“…I’ll do that from now on.”
Normally, Seung-oh would have pushed back against his forehead saying what did it matter, but now he docilely accepted Ui-jin’s grumbling. Even that small change seemed to reinforce that they were lovers, making Ui-jin smile slightly.
“And you know what we always do when training ends.”
“…”
Seung-oh looked at Ui-jin, whose eyes were shining from about half a span below him, then put his bag down beside his foot. As the not-so-heavy weight sank with a plop, Ui-jin immediately pulled at the collar of Seung-oh’s jumper. Seung-oh naturally bent at the waist, and Ui-jin planted three brief kisses on his lips—smack, smooch, peck. Ui-jin slowly pulled away.
“How is it? Are you a bit recharged?”
Recalling the warm sensation that had touched his lips, Seung-oh gently grasped the back of Ui-jin’s head and kissed him again. Without showing any surprise, Ui-jin’s teeth parted, allowing Seung-oh’s tongue to slide in and caress him softly, producing a muffled sound of pleasure.
As their flesh rubbed together, Seung-oh felt his tangled mind becoming more at ease. Just mixing breaths with Ui-jin could settle his body and mind into tranquility.
After biting and releasing Ui-jin’s thin lower lip, Seung-oh straightened up and tousled Ui-jin’s hair. The light brown hair flew this way and that following Seung-oh’s touch. Ui-jin didn’t seem to mind the touch either, as he remained smiling.
Soon, Seung-oh sat down on the sofa, had Ui-jin sit beside him, and turned on the TV.
“What was it you wanted to talk about?”
“…”
Amid the noisy subtitles and replay of a funny scene, a breaking news report suddenly overlaid the screen. It was about a national B-class Guide who was missing from the Hwacheon Center in Gangwon Province, presumed to be the work of The City.
“After getting re-evaluated, I had a conversation with the team leader, someone whose face is usually hard to see.”
Ui-jin turned his head toward the unnamed reporter who was continuing the breaking news briefing with a consistent tone.
—Defense Minister Silvia claimed that mentioning ‘The City’ would only cause further provocation and that media coverage should be minimized. Recently, at other institutions…
When the breaking news, which lasted less than three minutes, ended, the television resumed the comedy scene as if nothing had happened. Only then did Ui-jin look back at Seung-oh.
“Don’t tell me…”
It was the explosive result of Ui-jin’s excessive excitement and Seung-oh’s condensed affection combining. Someone had said that love was a catalyst for enhancing abilities. They also said that as feelings for each other deepened, the proportional energy would create something beyond imagination. The synergy between an Esper and a Guide had no absolute value.
“I’ve been assigned a mission.”
Seung-oh turned his body just like Ui-jin had. Perhaps because he had to propose a somewhat dangerous journey, his mouth kept going dry. Seung-oh took a sip of the sparkling water on the table.
“It’s about tracking ‘The City’ that just came up on the news. Since there’s so little information about them, mental Espers need to build up a foundation of data.”
“Tracking? Isn’t that too dangerous? It means continuously infiltrating around them.”
“That’s our job. Devoting our lives to protect the country.”
There was only one reason why the government spared no expense in supporting this place. Both Seung-oh and Ui-jin had heard it repeatedly since their trainee days. Those born with abilities also had predetermined reasons to die. For the country. For the motherland. For peace.
“That’s true…”
Ui-jin let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t that he was defying that mission. But he didn’t want to die early either. To put it bluntly, it’s not like he chose to become a Guide. Somehow, he just ended up being able to provide energy to Espers. When he entered the Seoul Center as a high-ranking Guide, that’s what he thought.
Ah, I wish I had been a pathetically low C-class. Then I could have been assigned to a quiet place, enjoying the scenery and having fun sleeping around with various Espers. The problem was that his ability was far superior to what had been expected.
“I can choose the Guide who will accompany me. Even if you’re my partner, it’s not mandatory that you come along.”
“…Yeah.”
“What do you think? If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go together.”
“…I,”
I don’t know if it’s true, but there was a rumor circulating unofficially among Guides. That the mysterious ‘City’ taking Espers and Guides one after another was working frantically to materialize Guides’ abilities. That Guides were dying cruelly because of those experiments.
Even earlier, the Defense Minister had been reticent about the Guide’s disappearance. Maybe that folklore-like rumor was true. Ui-jin suddenly felt scared. What if they found out there was an Esper whose rank had risen due to Guiding? The next target could be him. When he thought about it that way, a chill ran down his spine.
“I’m scared.”
“…What?”
“To be honest, it’s only in the news now. Even this broadcast might not be aired in some regions. It’s not the first time Guides have disappeared.”
“…”
Seung-oh knew too. That the reaching hand of ‘The City’ was getting closer and closer. Ui-jin brought his thumb to his mouth with a pale face. The sound of biting off tender flesh was heard dully.
“You got promoted, right? Imagine if ‘The City’ found out. Wouldn’t they try to gut me? I could be the next Guide to disappear in Seoul.”
“So what you’re saying is,”
“I’m really worried about you. But, I’m also worried about myself.”
“…”
Seung-oh understood what Ui-jin meant. Still, the disappointment was hard to hide. His face, swirling with understanding and disappointment, looked quite complex. When Seung-oh tightly closed his mouth, Ui-jin quickly pulled his slightly injured thumb from his mouth.
“I don’t know, Seung-oh. I don’t want to send you away, and I don’t want to go to my death either.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
