# Chapter 53
Only then did the Esper’s hand, which had been tightly gripping Jaeha’s hand, slowly let go.
For a while, there was commotion on the other side, but it quieted down soon after.
Lee Yuri examined Jaeha’s hand, touching it here and there, then sighed with relief.
“Fortunately, your hand isn’t injured, but please wait a moment.”
When Yuri opened the door, two guards were standing outside. The shouting of the Esper being dragged away could be heard from beyond the door. Confused, Jaeha just stared at the backs of the guards who didn’t turn around.
After a short while, Yuri returned with a tired face and apologized.
“I’m sorry, Guide Seo Jaeha.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Researcher.”
“No, it’s our oversight. We were supposed to proceed with tests only for selected Espers, but it seems someone switched with the originally scheduled Esper.”
“Then whoever made the switch is at fault. I was a bit scared, but I’m fine.”
Yuri bowed to Jaeha, who was still rubbing his sore hand.
“We selected people who have strong patience or care about others… but suddenly a short-tempered Esper with a gangster background showed up. We’ll prepare thoroughly to prevent this from happening again.”
Hearing Yuri’s sincere apology, Jaeha realized he still didn’t feel a sense of danger.
Since the first test subject had gone wrong, the remaining schedule was postponed to the afternoon to ensure safety measures were in place.
The number of guards increased, and the Espers who came for testing were all tense due to the strict atmosphere.
All of them showed disappointment when they had to let go of his hand but left immediately due to the stern warnings.
After guiding several Espers for periods of 10 to 30 minutes each, Jaeha became a bit tired. It was a natural result, as his energy decreased the longer the guiding continued.
After several hours of testing, sufficient data had been collected.
“Hmm. As expected.”
A rare broad smile appeared on Yuri’s face. After washing his hands, Jaeha peeked at the results Yuri was looking at.
“Did it turn out well?”
“No. Everyone’s results are lower than expected.”
“Huh? Then why are you smiling like that?”
“Esper Seo Jaeyoon mentioned something on the broadcast. Since Esper Kwon Haeil agreed with it, I thought it must be reliable information.”
Jaeha tried to watch all the broadcasts his brother appeared in, but with so many reruns and programs covering them, he sometimes missed things. Seeing Jaeha’s confused response, Yuri smiled slightly.
“He said guiding efficiency is related to intimacy.”
Intimacy.
Until today’s tests with various Espers, Jaeha had only performed guiding with people he was familiar with. Since the results had been similar each time, he hadn’t thought there might be a reason for it.
“Could today be different?”
“Yes. When you guided the three people you’re familiar with, they showed similar recovery rates, so we used that as the baseline for ability measurement. But today’s guiding all showed less than half the expected rates.”
“Was it that poor? I feel bad for the Espers.”
At Jaeha’s concern, Yuri shook her head.
“Even with those rates at less than half, the Espers were very satisfied. To achieve this level with Espers you don’t even know—I wonder how much the rates will increase with people you become close to.”
Yuri’s eyes burned with excitement as she thought about the next test.
“This makes me want to try other tests…”
“Um, the test is over, so I’ll be going now.”
Jaeha quickly greeted her and tried to leave the room after sensing Yuri’s ominous mood, but it was already too late.
“Guide.”
“Ugh, there aren’t even any other Espers here, so why are you calling me that?”
When he looked back with uneasy eyes, Yuri waved the results in her hand and smiled.
“Are you shy with strangers?”
“I don’t… think so?”
“Then let’s try having you become friends with a few Espers.”
After having his brother manage his friendships, now even his non-workplace workplace was trying to dictate his relationships. But since it was supposedly based on what Jaeyoon had said, Jaeha had to agree.
“Alright.”
“Great. I’ll set up a natural meeting for you. I’ll contact you tomorrow, so rest today.”
“What? What do you mean by a ‘natural meeting’? Can’t we just have a meal together to become friends?”
“See you tomorrow, Guide!”
“Wait, Researcher!”
Yuri, who normally wanted to conduct more tests, was practically pushing him out of the room. It felt unsettling, as if she was telling him to rest because tomorrow would be difficult.
As he came outside, Cheonoh, who had been standing against the wall, approached him. Jaeha, who had wanted to thank him for his help during the morning’s commotion, was startled to see the bruise on Cheonoh’s face.
“Did, did you get hurt earlier?”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry. This happened because of me.”
“Not at all. It’s because I’m an ordinary person and struggled to subdue the Esper.”
Cheonoh was embarrassed, saying it was due to his own lack of ability, even as Jaeha apologized.
In the dormitory, even though Espers couldn’t use their abilities due to the mana suppressor, they still had physical advantages. Cheonoh had done his best in an unfavorable situation. Despite being a guard, Jaeha couldn’t understand why he was so intent on protecting him in a place full of Espers. Seeing his face turn gloomy every time Jaeha pushed him away, today again they headed to the dormitory together.
Getting into the elevator, Jaeha suddenly checked the time and was surprised.
“It’s already this late… I need to pick up Dorim.”
“Due to requests from other guardians, they’re running programs until the evening session. I think you can take a breather before going.”
“But if I go too late, Dorim might cry.”
“You can check in real-time, would you like to see?”
As soon as they exited the elevator, Cheonoh showed the daycare situation through his phone. Fortunately, Dorim was braiding hair with a girl who looked like she was two or three years older. Seeing dolls and toy teacups placed beside them, it seemed they had been playing house.
Jaeha felt relieved, as she looked much happier than when she was alone with him.
“Then I’ll wash up before going to pick her up.”
“Esper Joo Dojoon will arrive shortly. Why don’t you ask him?”
Jaeha was somewhat touched by Cheonoh, who provided information and offered opinions more like a dedicated secretary than a guard.
“That’s right. Her oppa should take care of her sometimes too. Now that I’m busy, we should take turns.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Cheonoh didn’t ask about Dorim’s parents or Jaeha’s parents. Instead of showing unnecessary curiosity, he understood the situation and helped, which Jaeha appreciated.
As the dormitory got closer, he thought he would feel relieved, but he didn’t feel at ease. No matter how much the dormitory was meant for safety, Jaeha couldn’t get used to the hotel-like space.
His worry about Jaeyoon, which had been pushed aside while conducting guiding tests all day, started again.
‘He has so much to do, he probably doesn’t even have time to calm his waves.’
Though he disliked the idea of holding hands with his brother, he could sacrifice a hand if necessary.
Unlike his own readiness, he had many questions for his brother who had disappeared, refusing to receive guiding.
He wanted to ask how much Jaeyoon knew about what would happen if he had regressed.
He wanted to ask if this situation—him doing guiding and being close to men—was predestined.
And he wanted to ask if Jaeyoon was eating properly. He was concerned about his brother, whose appetite shrank when he wasn’t eating home-cooked meals.
‘From what I briefly saw of his physical condition, it doesn’t seem like I need to worry.’
He was more of a problem than Jaeyoon. It bothered him that he had been unable to move when his hand was grabbed.
It would be good to exercise, but the fatigue after guiding was considerable. Telling Cheonoh he was going straight to bed, he sent him away and jumped onto the bed.
“Ah, I should wash up… but I’m so sleepy…”
He felt uncomfortable, having broken out in a cold sweat from the pain and tension caused by the unfamiliar Esper he had guided first. He had washed his hands repeatedly, but it wasn’t enough. However, once his body lay down, he couldn’t get up, let alone resist the overwhelming sleepiness.
* * *
The fatigue from guiding disappeared completely after sleeping. The downside was that it was difficult to gauge how long he had slept.
Waking up later than usual, Jaeha hurriedly washed up and was about to leave the dormitory when he opened the door and was so startled to see his brother standing like a totem pole that he almost closed it again.
“Oh geez, you scared me. Why are you standing there like that?”
“Where are you rushing off to?”
“To the lab for guiding tests. Oh, right. You need guiding too.”
Thinking there was nothing to be embarrassed about since the corridor was empty, Jaeha grabbed Jaeyoon’s hand without hesitation. Once he grabbed it, he was surprised to find his hand touching a thick leather glove.
“Hey, why are you wearing leather gloves in this weather? You’ll get sweaty.”
“It’s an item, so it’s fine.”
“An item? What kind of item?”
At Jaeha’s question, Jaeyoon gestured with his chin toward the elevator and started walking.
“You said you were late.”
“Oh, right. I was confused because you suddenly appeared.”
Walking alongside Jaeyoon, Jaeha eyed his outfit, which was bundled up to the neck. With his hands and neck all covered—places easy to touch—only his head remained. Thinking he’d pretend to pat his brother’s head, Jaeha reached out, but Jaeyoon maintained just enough distance to be out of reach.
“Are you avoiding me right now?”
“I told you I don’t need guiding.”
“I might have wanted to hit your annoying-looking back of the head.”
It wasn’t even a plausible excuse, but Jaeyoon showed some loyalty by smiling wryly.
“If you want to touch me, practice your guiding.”
“That’s what I’m going to test right now.”
“No. You shouldn’t be going around guiding multiple people right now.”
As soon as they got on the elevator, Jaeyoon easily avoided Jaeha who approached him and remained firm.
“You can’t control your guiding. Practice that first.”
“Can that be controlled?”
“If guiding happened automatically whenever skin touches, guides would wither away and die. You need to learn how not to be drained.”
Jaeyoon fluently explained precautions that even the researchers didn’t know. Looking at Jaeyoon, who naturally knew things others didn’t, Jaeha accepted his brother’s regression as natural. Perhaps there was another reason why he shouldn’t do guiding. Just as he was about to ask and raised his head, his eyes met Jaeyoon’s, who gave a lazy smile.
“When you can do that, then you can touch me.”
Jaeha didn’t understand why he was speaking that way. He got goosebumps, wondering if Jaeyoon had picked up flirting after briefly meeting Kyun Jiho.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
