# Chapter 34
“Why aren’t you answering the calls?”
He hadn’t intended to get angry, but his voice came out with a sharp edge. Perhaps the unfamiliar waiting had built up more irritation than he’d realized.
[Ah…]
Jeongyun opened his mouth as if to say something but then went quiet again. However, Domin’s patience was already at its limit, so he didn’t wait and immediately called out to Jeongyun.
“Guide Yeo Jeongyun?”
[I’m sorry. Actually…]
After hesitating, Jeongyun finally gave an excuse that barely qualified as one. Something about sleeping. Domin sighed deeply and ran his hand over his face.
The reason for not answering the call was that he was sleeping? Normally, he would have given him a good scolding, but he didn’t even have the energy for that. As long as nothing was wrong, it was fine. He decided to let it go.
“So, are you in the Guiding room now?”
[Yes, I’m in the Guiding room.]
“And you’ll be there tomorrow too?”
[Unless something special happens, I suppose so?]
“That’s fine then.”
The briefly interrupted conversation was very ordinary. Where are you, what are you doing tomorrow, things like that. In a way, it seemed like he had called to check on Jeongyun rather than for Guiding.
‘This isn’t right.’
Domin lightly tousled his hair and brought the conversation back to the main point. After saying he would come for Guiding tomorrow and trying to end the call, he sensed Jeongyun hesitating on the other end of the phone.
It was quite remarkable. Even though he couldn’t see him, he could clearly picture what Jeongyun was doing and what expression he was making. Perhaps it was because he was such a transparent person, but despite not having known him for long, Domin found Jeongyun easier to read than Ju Saeon.
[Um… Choi Domin. I have something to tell you.]
At that moment, Jeongyun’s voice, breaking the silence, was quite serious. Whatever he wanted to say, it probably wasn’t ordinary.
Was it something serious? Could it be related to today’s fire incident?
‘This is unexpected.’
Tense, Domin unconsciously sat up straight. He focused all his attention on the ear pressed against the phone, waiting to hear what Jeongyun would say.
As the silence lengthened, his anxiety grew. Finally unable to bear it, Domin asked what it was, and Jeongyun replied in a hesitant voice:
[For a while, I’d like you to… control the intensity of the Guiding.]
“…”
His mind, which had been imagining the worst, went blank. While it was fortunate that nothing was seriously wrong, this was still surprising in its own way.
Domin’s frequency of receiving Guiding was extremely low. Yet, to be asked to control the intensity of Guiding that they barely did, anyone would think he was like a madman devouring Jeongyun every time.
‘What should I do?’
In truth, tomorrow he was only going for Guiding as a precaution against possible issues, so he had no intention of proceeding to deep levels of Guiding as Jeongyun worried.
But he was irritated that Jeongyun hadn’t answered his calls and had made him anxious, so he didn’t want to immediately give the answer Jeongyun wanted. So Domin deliberately stalled, delaying his response.
[Um…]
Unable to wait any longer, Jeongyun spoke up. Thinking he’d made him suffer enough, Domin, satisfied, finally gave Jeongyun the answer he wanted.
“Let’s do that. It wasn’t urgent anyway.”
Being considerate of a Guide’s poor health condition. He wondered if there was any Esper as kind as himself. Domin, satisfied with his own boundless heart and generosity, smiled with one corner of his mouth lifted.
[Thank you for understanding.]
Jeongyun’s returning voice was half a tone higher than usual. Domin thought it strange to be so happy about this, but since Jeongyun was expressing gratitude, he accepted it with good humor.
After exchanging a few more meaningless conversations, they ended the rather long call. Seeing the time displayed on the screen, Domin casually tossed his phone onto the table.
Domin lay back on the sofa and stared at the empty ceiling. He had thought he didn’t need it, but now that he wasn’t going to do it, he felt a bit regretful about the intensity of the Guiding. It was better to have certainty. Had he made a concession unnecessarily?
‘Well, Yeo Jeongyun is physically weak after all.’
Jeongyun always lost consciousness during Guiding. Well, being so delicate that he might fly away if lightly touched, the act itself might be difficult for him. At least, that’s what Domin had heard somewhere.
‘I should add physical strength improvement to the contract.’
Thinking about going to see Jeongyun tomorrow, Domin closed his languorously relaxed eyes.
* * *
The hour hand of the clock was approaching 12 o’clock. Jeongyun kept glancing at the tightly closed Guiding room door, waiting for Domin who might arrive at any time.
‘Will he be late today too?’
It would be nice if he gave some prior notice, but both his pager and phone remained silent. Even though he wanted to ask if Domin was still coming today, he hesitated to even send a message for fear of disturbing him.
‘But it’s for work, not personal reasons, so it should be fine, right?’
After contemplating, Jeongyun eventually found Domin’s number.
He tapped the small keypad to type a message to Domin, but he couldn’t bring himself to press the send button. It was surprisingly difficult for something so simple.
While mindlessly fiddling with his phone and passing time, someone knocked on the door. Thinking that Domin had finally arrived, Jeongyun jumped to his feet and immediately opened the door.
“You’re late—”
But the person standing there wasn’t Domin. Wooyeon, who was standing there with a face stiff as if very angry, pushed past Jeongyun’s shoulder and entered the Guiding room.
“…”
“…”
An uncomfortable silence followed briefly. Unlike other times when he would have been busy chattering, Wooyeon was uncharacteristically keeping his mouth firmly shut, and Jeongyun was busy watching him anxiously.
“I heard you collapsed yesterday?”
Wooyeon asked in a sharp voice, cutting through the silence. When the hesitant Jeongyun honestly nodded, Wooyeon sighed deeply and approached with long strides.
Jeongyun tensed his shoulders, not knowing what Wooyeon might do. But Wooyeon spread his arms wide and embraced Jeongyun.
Surprised, Jeongyun stiffened, but soon relaxed as he felt Wooyeon’s body heat.
“Do you know how shocked I was when I heard that from others?”
What had seemed like anger on his distorted face wasn’t anger at all. It was all concern. Of course, that was how Wooyeon had always been. Full of affection, full of concern, and rarely so genuinely kind.
Overcome with emotion, Jeongyun sniffled. When Wooyeon asked if he was crying, Jeongyun denied it, but his eyes had already turned red.
Wiping his eyes roughly with his sleeve, Jeongyun pretended to be calm as if nothing had happened.
“You’re not still sick, are you?”
“…I’m fine, it really wasn’t a big deal.”
“How can it not be a big deal when someone collapses!”
Wooyeon shouted angrily and grabbed Jeongyun’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth. Jeongyun apologized but laughed at the same time. When Wooyeon asked why he was laughing, Jeongyun said it was just because he was happy.
“It’s not always like this, but you can be reckless sometimes. Please think about your body first. What good is Choi Domin or anything else if you get hurt or sick?”
Though his voice was sharp, knowing it was all concern directed at him made Jeongyun’s heart warm. After all, worrying meant having affection for the other person.
Jeongyun was endlessly grateful for that feeling.
“Thank you, Wooyeon.”
“Sure.”
“And… I’m sorry.”
Jeongyun gathered his courage and apologized to Wooyeon. As if trying to show that he wasn’t completely over his anger yet, Wooyeon deliberately frowned deeply, but soon smiled and let it go.
“Alright. I’ll accept that apology, just this once.”
Wooyeon playfully patted Jeongyun’s back. Jeongyun, who had been tense wondering if Wooyeon would accept his apology, could finally smile too.
“In exchange, promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Never, ever do anything reckless in front of me.”
Jeongyun nodded immediately without hesitation. To never do anything reckless so that Wooyeon would never worry again. He engraved it deep in his heart.
“When it comes to Choi Domin, your eyes just flip… sigh.”
“I won’t do it anymore.”
Though Jeongyun answered confidently, Wooyeon didn’t remove his suspicious gaze. Saying he needed to secure an even more definite promise, Wooyeon held out his pinky finger, something they hadn’t done since childhood.
“Hurry and hook it.”
“Do we really need to do this?”
“Yes, you have to.”
For something so trivial, Wooyeon was extremely firm.
When the hesitant Jeongyun finally hooked his pinky finger, Wooyeon smiled with satisfaction. Whatever the process, as long as Wooyeon’s mood improved, that was what mattered. That’s what Jeongyun thought.
“Let’s go get something to eat. I’m hungry.”
Wooyeon said, patting his slim stomach. The hour hand of the clock had already reached 12 o’clock.
By then, Wooyeon had opened the door and gone outside. Responding to his urging to hurry, Jeongyun put his pager in his pocket and followed Wooyeon out of the Guiding room.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
