# Chapter 19
Domin had to return alone after leaving Jeongyun’s cleanup to Junyoung.
He wondered if this was really necessary, but he disliked waiting endlessly for the road clearing to finish. It was better to just walk alone.
‘What a hassle.’
Looking at the distant road ahead, Domin took a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. He felt uncomfortable as a sweet taste kept appearing in his mouth even though he hadn’t eaten any candy.
After lighting it and taking a deep drag, the bitter tobacco flavor filled his mouth. He quickly finished one cigarette and put another in his mouth. Only then was the lingering sweetness on his tongue covered by bitterness.
‘It’s definitely… different.’
After increasing the level of Guiding, his body felt satisfyingly light. It was different from when he had to beg Saeon just to rub lips.
Of course, considering the grade difference, it was obvious that pushing Guiding to the limit would be too much for Jeongyun, but that wasn’t his concern. He didn’t need to worry about the condition of a convenient Guiding battery.
“Ah…”
When he touched his stinging lips, he found blood spreading. It seemed to be a wound from kissing Jeongyun. Since there was usually no time to spare during Guiding, he often only noticed injuries afterward.
From now on, he should visit Jeongyun regularly for Guiding. Of course, there was no guarantee that incidents like today wouldn’t happen again, but rushing through Guiding had many inconveniences.
Like having to press bodies together in a cramped space, or having to put clothes back on without washing after Guiding was over.
‘So unpleasant.’
Domin clicked his tongue lightly and flicked away the cigarette he was smoking.
* * *
Thud—his body shook heavily. As Jeongyun painfully lifted his heavy eyelids, he saw the lights of street lamps passing quickly. He seemed to still be in a car.
Judging by how his memory was cut off, he must have fainted during Guiding. Despite his basic training, it was still too much to keep up with an A-grade Esper’s stamina.
‘What if this happens every time?’
As soon as he opened his eyes, he worried about needing to build more stamina for stable Guiding. As long as Domin had the decision rights for Guiding, it seemed like this would continue.
“Ugh…”
As he tried to rise, he suddenly felt exposed below.Â
Looking down, Jeongyun saw a jumper covering his legs. Other than that, he wasn’t wearing anything.
Startled, Jeongyun looked around for his clothes. Searching the dark car interior, he spotted neatly folded clothes at his feet.
Just as he was about to reach for them, he felt someone watching. Slowly raising his head, he met eyes with Junyoung through the rearview mirror.
“Are you awake?”
“Ah, yes…”
Jeongyun closed his mouth tightly in embarrassment and watched Junyoung’s reaction while putting on his clothes. Junyoung held back a smile at Jeongyun’s appearance, like a cat with its fur standing on end, and turned his gaze elsewhere to let him change comfortably.
“When you’re finished dressing, could I have my jumper back?”
“…Ah, here you go.”
Junyoung took the jumper and placed it on the empty passenger seat. Only then did Jeongyun realize that the seat where Domin should have been was empty.
With a small hope, he thoroughly searched the dark car, but Domin was nowhere to be found. There were only him and Junyoung in the spacious van. Had he gone ahead?
“That guy Domin went ahead.”
Junyoung quickly answered after immediately recognizing who Jeongyun was looking for. Jeongyun tried to hide his disappointment and nodded.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little drowsy.”
“That’s good. I was worried when you fainted.”
In truth, he ached all over as if someone had beaten him up, but he tried not to show it. Junyoung obviously knew Guiding had occurred, and he didn’t want to prompt any unnecessary comments.
“Are you going to headquarters?”
“If you tell me your address, I can drop you off at home.”
“No. Just dropping me at headquarters should be fine.”
In reality, the distance from headquarters to home was quite far, but he didn’t want to give his address to Junyoung since he was an Esper. Although rare, there were occasional Espers who would visit Guides directly.
After that, there was no more conversation between them. Although it was troubling that his eyes kept closing due to the strenuous Guiding, fortunately headquarters came into view before he lost consciousness.
“We’ve arrived.”
The car slowly came to a stop with Junyoung’s announcement. Jeongyun silently opened the door and went out, circling the car to reach the driver’s seat where Junyoung was.
“Thank you for taking me.”
“It’s nothing. Go get some rest, Jeongyun.”
After exchanging warm greetings, Jeongyun turned toward headquarters. Although all he’d done today was Guiding for Domin, it was unexpectedly well past the end of working hours.
‘Will I get overtime pay for this?’
While pondering this practical concern, he heard someone calling him. Looking back, he saw that Junyoung hadn’t left yet and was still in the same place.
“Yeo Jeongyun! Don’t trust Domin too much!”
“…What?”
“I warned you!”
After leaving these puzzling words, Junyoung hastily drove off.
Left alone, Jeongyun mulled over Junyoung’s words before finally giving up and turning away. Right now, hurrying his late departure was the priority.
* * *
<Esper: Choi Domin (A-grade)
Guide: Yeo Jeongyun (C-grade)
Matching Rate 32%>
Jeongyun sighed deeply after checking the matching rate test results sent from the center as soon as he arrived at work. Despite the Imprinting effect, a mere 32 percent was a more disastrous result than expected.
With this level, the matching rate must have been less than 10 percent before Imprinting, making it miraculous that Guiding had worked properly back then.
‘This is bad.’
Already, due to the grade difference, simple contact provided minimal Guiding effect, and with such a low matching rate, the only option was to increase the intensity.
‘I can’t do this every time.’
He didn’t regret giving Domin the decision rights for Guiding, but the aftereffects of yesterday’s Guiding were still continuing today.
Lacking energy was just the beginning; certain unmentionable places hurt so much that even sitting was difficult. If every Guiding session was like this, his body might be ruined.
After placing the test results on his desk, Jeongyun pondered how to convey this issue to Domin. If he explained it well, wouldn’t Domin understand? As he tried to hold onto this vague hope, Junyoung’s words from yesterday came to mind.
‘Don’t trust Domin too much!’
Had it been someone else’s warning, he might have dismissed it lightly, but Junyoung was the person closest to Domin. Perhaps there was a reason for those words.
‘Let’s solve the Guiding problem first.’
Jeongyun decided to put aside complicated thoughts and deal with the immediate issue. But when he actually tried to contact Domin, he found himself unsure how to start the conversation.
How had he spoken to other Espers? Try as he might to remember, his mind went blank. After pacing around the room for a long while with his phone in hand, Jeongyun finally thought of an opening and placed his fingers on the small screen.
Knock, knock.
Just as he was about to press the keys, someone knocked on the door. Since becoming Domin’s dedicated Guide, the only person who would visit him was Wooyeon.
But if it were Wooyeon, he would have opened the door immediately after knocking. If it were Domin, he would have opened the door without knocking at all.
‘Who could it be?’
Jeongyun approached the door that had remained quiet afterward. On guard about who might be on the other side, he held the doorknob to prevent it from turning.
“Who is it?”
“Guide Yeo Jeongyun, open the door.”
It was a voice he’d heard somewhere before. Jeongyun carefully turned the doorknob he had been holding. Peering through the slightly opened gap, he saw someone unexpected standing there.
“…Mr. Ju Saeon?”
“May I come in for a moment?”
Saeon, smiling brightly, took a step forward. Having opened the gap completely out of surprise, Jeongyun ended up appearing to grant permission for Saeon to enter.
After entering the Guiding room at will, Saeon looked around the narrow space. “It’s quite small,” a similar impression to Domin’s came from Saeon’s lips.
“Why are you here?”
“Obviously, I came because I have something to say.”
Although he had opened the door, Jeongyun hadn’t formally permitted Saeon to enter the Guiding room. Yet Saeon was extremely confident.
‘He seems different from other Guides.’
It seemed that mentioning Department Head Jung Yona wouldn’t be enough to drive Saeon away.
At least he didn’t appear to have come to cause trouble aimlessly like other Guides, so Jeongyun decided to have the conversation Saeon wanted.
“Please sit wherever you’re comfortable.”
“I will.”
Without even a word of thanks, Saeon sat in the best chair. Until now, Jeongyun had only seen him from a distance, but meeting him directly gave a clearer sense of Saeon’s personality.
‘He’s really rude.’
Afraid his thoughts might show on his face, Jeongyun deliberately put on an awkward smile. To start the conversation, he pulled up a chair and sat facing Saeon.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
