# Chapter 58
It was only after three days that Jeongyun hung the Center access badge around his neck again.
Originally, he had planned to wait a week, but the Center not only sent calls daily but also came to his Guiding room, making him head to the Center earlier than planned.
It had only been three days, but winter had approached quickly during that time. The weather had become so cold that he needed to take out his winter coat from the closet. Maybe it would snow after a few more days.
While deliberately filling his head with various thoughts, the Center began to appear in the distance. And as always, Hwayeon was waiting for Jeongyun in front of the main entrance.
Hwayeon, who had been standing dejectedly, saw Jeongyun and opened his eyes wide.
‘I told him not to come out because it’s cold.’
Although his clothes were thicker than before, what Hwayeon was wearing wasn’t a winter coat. Plus, who knows how long he had been out there—his hands and nose were completely frozen.
Approaching Hwayeon, Jeongyun narrowed his eyes. Yet Hwayeon just smiled brightly, saying how happy he was. Seeing that smile, Jeongyun’s anger melted away helplessly.
“Are you not angry anymore?”
“No, I’m still angry.”
“That’s not good…”
Hwayeon drooped his shoulders gloomily.
As they headed to the Center, Hwayeon stuck closely to Jeongyun’s side and kept watching him cautiously. At the same time, out of anxiety, he blocked the way behind Jeongyun to prevent him from leaving.
“Hello.”
A researcher who recognized Jeongyun greeted him warmly. Jeongyun bowed slightly and smiled awkwardly. The researcher stopped and came toward Jeongyun, saying:
“I heard you took a vacation, but you came back early.”
“I still have to come to work.”
“True, even if you don’t come to the Center, you still have to go to headquarters.”
Hwayeon, who couldn’t wait even during this brief conversation with the researcher, urged Jeongyun to hurry. Just when Jeongyun thought Hwayeon had become a bit more mature, he had reverted to how he was before these three days.
After finishing the conversation with the researcher, Jeongyun went to the training room with Hwayeon. When they opened the door and entered, the trainers welcomed Jeongyun.
“You have no idea how much of a mess Hwayeon was while you were gone, Jeongyun.”
“It’s a good thing this is a training room. Otherwise, he might have burned down the entire Center building.”
When Jeongyun turned around after the trainers’ revelations, Hwayeon pretended not to know and looked elsewhere. Now he had grown enough to shamelessly pretend not to know.
“Hwayeon.”
“…It only happened once.”
Even though Jeongyun just called his name, Hwayeon, feeling guilty, confessed the truth. Of course, he seemed to have downplayed it a bit, but Jeongyun didn’t press further.
“Don’t do it again.”
Hwayeon nodded his head in agreement.
Soon, a trainer announced the start of training, and Hwayeon reluctantly headed to the center of the training room. Jeongyun briefly followed a researcher who called him out of the training room.
“You’re coming back now for sure, right?”
As soon as they closed the door, the researcher asked abruptly. Jeongyun nodded for now. There were still issues to resolve, but they weren’t major problems.
‘So, are you going to continue Guiding that guy?’
Probably. …Maybe.
“The Center Director asked me to tell you he’s really sorry. He didn’t know that Guide Yeo Jeongyun would be so troubled by it…”
I wonder if he really didn’t know, but for now, I had no choice but to say it was fine. It bothered me that he called me to the Center Director’s office when he wanted to ask a favor, but he apologized through a researcher, though I kept that thought to myself.
“So I was thinking, since I can’t do Contact Guiding, how about increasing the basic Guiding time a little…”
“We would be so grateful! We were worried about making Guide Yeo Jeongyun uncomfortable, so we couldn’t even mention it!”
The researcher jumped up and down excitedly.
Though he couldn’t provide Contact Guiding, increasing the Guiding time was possible. This was an important period for Hwayeon. If nothing else, he wanted to do at least this much.
After finishing the conversation with the researcher and returning to the training room, Hwayeon, who was on break, came running to Jeongyun.
“Did you see me?”
Hwayeon looked at Jeongyun eagerly, as if he had done something amazing and wanted to show off.
Should he tell a white lie so Hwayeon wouldn’t be disappointed, or should he be honest? After considering, Jeongyun decided to tell the truth.
“Ah, sorry. I was out talking for a bit.”
“…That’s mean.”
Jeongyun promised Hwayeon, who was pouting, that he would make sure not to miss it next time. With just that one promise, Hwayeon’s mood improved, and he leaned his body against Jeongyun.
“Will you keep coming from now on?”
“That depends on how you do, Hwayeon.”
“I’ll do well, so please don’t say you won’t come anymore.”
Though he was trying to smile, Hwayeon’s eyes were full of anxiety. Belatedly, Jeongyun wondered if he had been too harsh with Hwayeon that day, but he couldn’t take back the time that had already passed.
Hwayeon reached out and fiddled with the Center access badge hanging around Jeongyun’s neck. Jeongyun took Hwayeon’s hand, which was subtly making eye contact, and said with a smile:
“I won’t say such things anymore. I’m really sorry.”
“…That’s all I needed.”
Hwayeon smiled brightly.
* * *
Since he had started going back to the Center, he felt he should tell Domin, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up.
Sending a message was awkward, and making a phone call was equally uncomfortable. Meeting in person would be best, but the problem was that Domin had become busy again recently.
‘I don’t think it’s good if time just keeps passing like this.’
In truth, even if Domin didn’t agree, Jeongyun had no plans to stop Hwayeon’s Guiding immediately. Still, the reason he wanted to tell Domin was to be upfront about it. It would make him feel more at ease.
For Jeongyun, the work at the Center was his only breathing hole. Domin wouldn’t understand how painful it was to be at headquarters with nothing to do.
‘Should I send a call?’
Come to think of it, he had never sent a call to Domin before. Above all, this wasn’t a personal contact, so it should be fine.
After contemplating, Jeongyun took out his pager and pressed the button briefly.
A blue light flickered. It meant Domin hadn’t checked the call yet. Jeongyun placed the pager on the desk and anxiously paced around the Guiding room.
The blue light flickered for a long time before fading. When he checked, it had been moved to a missed call. Domin seemed to be much busier than he thought.
‘Should I just wait?’
Even the call he had sent with determination had gone to missed calls, so the only option left was to wait for Domin, who might come at an unknown time.
As he was about to turn his attention away from the pager with disappointment, the light flickered. When he quickly checked, there was a notification that Domin had belatedly confirmed the call Jeongyun had sent.
Zzzzzzing—
This time, a vibration rang from somewhere else.
Jeongyun looked around to find the source of the sound. After a while, he realized it was his phone ringing in his coat pocket.
[Esper Choi Domin]
Seeing the name on the screen, Jeongyun first cleared his throat. He calmed his nervous heart and pressed the call button.
“Hello.”
[Why did you call?]
Domin immediately asked the main question. He probably contacted Jeongyun after seeing the call during his busy schedule. Flustered, Jeongyun stammered that he had sent the call because he was wondering when Domin would come.
[It’s going to be difficult for a while. I don’t need Guiding yet either.]
It was the answer he expected.
Jeongyun thought it was fortunate that they were on the phone. Otherwise, Domin would have noticed the disappointment all over his face.
[Or, would you like to come to my house?]
“…Pardon?”
[I have some time tonight, but it’s too much for me to go all the way to your house.]
Jeongyun could barely hear Domin’s following words. Being asked to come to Domin’s house, reason and emotion began to fight fiercely in his mind.
After countless clashes between reason, which said he should maintain professional boundaries, and emotion, which wanted to visit Domin’s house at least once… emotion emerged as the winner.
“If, if you tell me the address, I’ll come.”
[Then I’ll send it to you in a message.]
With those words, Domin hung up first. Even after the call ended, Jeongyun stared blankly into empty space for a while.
A short time later, Domin sent a message with the address. Only then did it feel real.
‘Going to Choi Domin’s house.’
In fact, he had slightly regretted not following Domin that day. While staying for a long time would be burdensome, he wanted to visit Domin’s house at least once.
He had been vaguely hoping that an opportunity would come someday, but he didn’t know it would be today. Jeongyun quickly looked up Domin’s address. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far from headquarters.
‘First, I should report my outing, and maybe I should buy something before visiting his house.’
The purpose of having a serious conversation had long been overshadowed. Excited, Jeongyun urgently began looking for what would make a good gift.
The dull time today seemed like it would pass quickly thanks to Domin.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
