# Chapter 33
“I heard there was a fire in the Guide building today?”
Domin slightly opened his eyes at the news Junyoung shared. No wonder he had been looking at his phone throughout the entire photoshoot; he must have been busy hearing this news from the headquarters people.
Domin leaned forward slightly from the seat and was about to ask something when he hesitated. In that brief moment, Junyoung noticed Domin’s lips moving and added:
“No one was hurt.”
“…Who said I was curious?”
Domin kicked the driver’s seat with his foot and reclined his chair completely.
Still, hearing Junyoung’s words had resolved his curiosity. Since no one was hurt, Jeongyun must be safe too.
‘Well, the Imprint has been quiet anyway.’
Though it was weaker than a mutual Imprint, a one-sided Imprint was still an Imprint, and it allowed him to instinctively sense when the other person was in serious danger.
But the Imprint had been calm all day, so nothing must have happened to Jeongyun. That was enough. He shouldn’t care about it anymore. Not that he ever did.
‘…Should I send a call?’
Come to think of it, it was about time he should receive Guiding. Though he was restraining himself from using his abilities as much as possible and was still fine, if he didn’t receive Guiding in advance when he had the chance, he never knew when the aftereffects would hit him.
Domin took the Pager out of his pocket. He placed his finger on the call button, but pressing it required more deliberation.
‘Do I really need to do this?’
He let out a hollow laugh at his uncharacteristic behavior.
Domin pressed the call button for a long time, and a green light blinked. It meant the signal was being sent to Jeongyun.
‘Why isn’t he answering?’
But even after a long time had passed since the signal was sent, there was no confirmation message from Jeongyun. He waited for the light to go off and pressed the button again, but still no response.
“Are you sure no one was hurt in the Guide building fire?”
“Yes, they said no one was hurt.”
Domin checked with Junyoung again, but still, there were no injuries. That meant Jeongyun wasn’t answering for purely personal reasons.
Could he be sleeping and unable to answer?
No. From what Domin had seen of Jeongyun, he wasn’t the type to miss a call for such a trivial reason. There must be another reason. Whatever it was.
“Should we go to headquarters?”
Junyoung, who had been watching Domin through the rearview mirror, asked. Since Domin had been clutching the Pager and looking distressed, Junyoung thought he might need Guiding.
But Domin’s answer was completely different from what Junyoung expected.
“Why bother?”
“Aren’t you trying to go to Guide Jeongyun?”
“No, I’m not.”
Domin put the Pager back in his pocket as if nothing had happened and put on a shameless expression. Though there seemed no point in hiding it, as always, Junyoung couldn’t understand Domin.
Come to think of it, he had heard that the higher the grade, the more different their minds were from others. With such strong abilities, their aftereffects were also strong, so their brains couldn’t be normal.
“Then, shall we go home?”
“Sure.”
Domin sighed deeply and raised his seat back up. Then he looked at the scenery passing quickly outside the window.
Due to the heavy tinting, the reddening sunset and orange sky all looked pitch black, but he kept his gaze fixed there anyway.
“Can I say one thing?”
Domin’s eyebrow went up crooked at Junyoung’s voice breaking the peaceful silence. Domin caught Junyoung’s eyes glancing at him through the rearview mirror and gestured with his chin as if to say go ahead.
“Be good to Guide Jeongyun.”
“What’s this all of a sudden? Don’t tell me you like Jeongyun?”
At Domin’s teasing question, Junyoung denied it with a serious face. But wasn’t it said that strong denial meant strong affirmation? Seeing his slightly protruding earlobes, it didn’t seem like he was completely without feelings.
What did he see in that blank-faced guy?
Of course, his appearance wasn’t bad to keep by one’s side. And Domin rather liked those pale eyes that shook with delight whenever they saw him.
But that was only the side he showed in front of Domin. In front of others, he was like a wildcat with its claws out. No, was it a wildcat? The name is confusing.
“You never said this about Ju Saeon.”
“That’s true.”
“So why care about Jeongyun?”
Junyoung became quite troubled by Domin’s persistent questioning despite his denial. Domin now moved closer to the driver’s seat and began teasing Junyoung in earnest.
“Want me to set you up?”
“It’s not like that. Besides, he’s your Dedicated Guide.”
“…Come to think of it, that’s right.”
Domin had briefly forgotten that he was Imprinted with Jeongyun while teasing Junyoung. But a one-sided Imprint only placed restrictions on himself; it had no effect on Jeongyun.
Just in case, the contract stated that Guiding other Espers should be minimized, but minimizing didn’t mean completely stopping.
Well, as long as the Esper and Guide didn’t sleep together, it was fine. Even though it was Guiding, Domin didn’t want to share that much with another guy. Of course, he wondered what Guide would be crazy enough to allow that anyway.
“And Ju Saeon was a bit much, as anyone could see.”
“What was?”
“The way he lorded it over you.”
The scene of the usually arrogant Domin pitifully crawling on the floor and begging for Guiding had left a huge impact on Junyoung’s mind.
Saeon had smiled as Domin struggled to breathe properly due to the aftereffects. Then he extended his foot like giving alms to a beggar and told him to lick it, wasn’t it?
Though Junyoung had only seen it once, based on what Domin said, it seemed such incidents were repeated whenever he asked for Guiding. That’s why Domin habitually said he wanted to break Saeon’s neck.
“But Guide Jeongyun seems to care a lot about you.”
“…Is that so.”
Though Domin responded that way, even to someone like him with deep distrust of Guides, Jeongyun was different. Perhaps that’s why he was secretly concerned.
“Guide Jeongyun likes you a lot.”
“I know.”
“…Really?”
“Do I look that oblivious to you?”
Junyoung almost answered ‘yes’ without thinking. Fortunately, he quickly closed his mouth before the word escaped, but seeing Domin’s sharp gaze, he seemed to have caught on.
“You don’t like that kind of thing.”
“…That’s right.”
From the beginning, Domin was a person who only cared about himself. Though his memory was now hazy, he had lived in the Center ever since his parents died when his powers manifested.
They say those who have received know how to give. Because Domin had no one to give him affection, he became a person who didn’t know how to give.
During that time, Saeon was the first person to give Domin affection. At first, it was fascinating how Saeon would follow him around saying he liked him and would blush when their eyes met.
But no matter how nice Saeon was to him, Domin never developed the same feelings. The one-sided affection only felt bothersome. So he rejected him. He didn’t need it.
But if he had known how easily affection could turn into hatred, he would have been more careful.
After continued rejection, Saeon, who used to shyly smile and hold his hand, changed completely. He told Domin to kneel before him and crawl on the floor if he wanted Guiding.
Though his pride was shattered, Domin had to follow Saeon’s words to survive. In the relationship between an Esper and a Guide, the Guide was the superior.
After that, Domin came to despise affection from others. He considered it merely a fleeting emotion that would change if the numbers didn’t add up.
So wouldn’t Jeongyun be the same? Right now he might say he likes Domin, but one-sided emotions don’t last long and eventually tire out.
No one remains unchanged. No one.
“We’re here.”
While lost in thought, they had arrived home.
Domin got out of the car without a word of thanks. As he closed the door with his telekinesis without looking back, Junyoung rolled down the window and shouted something.
‘How noisy.’
Domin tapped his key card and took the elevator that went straight to his home. Once inside, he changed into slippers and headed to the living room. Due to exhaustion, he threw himself on the sofa without even taking off his outer clothes.
He should shower, he should change his clothes. Fragments of thoughts floated around. But he was too lazy to do anything.
‘Still no contact.’
He took out the Pager from his pocket. As expected, it was filled with missed calls he had sent. Nothing had been confirmed.
Could something really have happened?
This time, he took out his phone instead of the Pager. He found Jeongyun’s saved number and pressed the call button. After the connection tone rang about three times, Jeongyun finally answered.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
