# Chapter 77
After Hwayeon left like that, a confused Jeongyun remained frozen in place for a while. He couldn’t help but worry about how Hwayeon had been happily cuddling against him like a child before suddenly leaving in fear.
‘Is he going to be okay?’
Until just a moment ago, Jeongyun had been quite angry because Hwayeon kept touching him without permission, but now he was only filled with concern. Even in his own mind, he knew he was incredibly soft when it came to Hwayeon.
Jeongyun sighed deeply and pulled over a chair to sit down. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do anymore. Despite repeatedly promising himself not to waver, Domin’s expression still lingered in his mind.
‘Maybe I’ve been dragging this out too long.’
He couldn’t just keep waiting for Domin to sign the papers. Before his firmly hardened heart melted completely, he needed to end things with Domin. Otherwise, he would be helplessly dragged along again.
‘…You said you liked me.’
Ending this long-held one-sided love was incredibly difficult.
Even though he knew this relationship was eating away at him, he had spent more time wishing to be by Domin’s side. Sometimes he wanted to comfort himself thinking that even this might be okay.
‘I’m such an idiot.’
While staring at the ceiling and insulting himself for being foolish beyond words, someone knocked on the door. He thought maybe Domin or Hwayeon had returned, but it was Wooyeon who peeked through the gap.
“What are you doing? Let’s go eat.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Jeongyun turn to look at the clock on the wall. Time had passed, and it was already lunch time.
As Jeongyun approached, his serious expression fading, Wooyeon narrowed his eyes and asked, “Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened.”
“That’s not true. Something definitely happened.”
Sometimes Jeongyun wondered if Wooyeon was a mind reader. But since he didn’t want to talk about always worrying about the same thing, he pushed Wooyeon’s back and left the Guiding room.
* * *
Domin, who had practically fled from Jeongyun’s Guiding room, retraced his steps. Although anger filled him to the tips of his hair, the feeling of misery was even greater. That’s why he couldn’t bear to look at Jeongyun anymore.
Domin couldn’t understand what to call this emotion. It was a kind he had never felt before in his life. Angry yet miserable, utterly wretched—what should he call this?
‘Why am I—’
Though the number of Guides had decreased significantly, Domin was an A-class Esper. That meant if he requested from headquarters, he could be assigned a new B-class Guide as his dedicated partner right away.
Even with a one-way imprint, he could just discard a C-class Guide with a mere 30 percent matching rate. So why? No matter how many times he asked himself this question, there was no answer. Even though he knew he was the one who needed to find the answer.
Domin flung open the Deputy Director’s office door without knocking. Semin, who was just now watering his plants after receiving visitors since early morning, slowly blinked at Domin who entered without permission.
“Why did you come back?”
Semin asked, but Domin didn’t answer. He closed the door with a flick of his finger and strode toward Semin.
“Yeo Jeongyun is my Guide.”
Domin raised his voice abruptly. Semin tilted his head, unable to understand the meaning of these words that lacked context.
“And?”
“So, he can’t be a Guide for the Grey team. Remember that.”
Semin wondered if Domin had come back specifically to say this. He slightly raised his hand to cover his lips that seemed about to break into a smile. Of course, this was just a thought, and his lips remained as stiff as before.
“Isn’t it rude to assign another Esper’s Guiding to a Guide who already has a dedicated partner?”
“As I said earlier, since it’s a one-way imprint, it doesn’t matter—”
“No, it does matter. So the Grey team should give up.”
Domin wouldn’t back down an inch. Semin, whose words were cut off, sighed deeply. As always, Semin’s face showed no expression, but his eyebrows were subtly distorted.
Realizing he might have been too disrespectful, Domin relaxed his tense eyes.
“…Sorry.”
“Well, no need to apologize.”
Semin shrugged and lightly patted Domin’s shoulder. At Semin’s suggestion to sit on the sofa, Domin obediently headed there.
Sitting with his back against the sofa, Domin raised both hands to his face. As reason returned, embarrassment washed over him.
‘I’m insane.’
He was making a scene in the wrong place when he should have been angry elsewhere. After all, Semin had done nothing wrong; he was simply trying to recruit Jeongyun for the Grey team at someone’s request.
If he wanted to confront someone, it should have been that Min Hwayeon kid, but he hadn’t even thought of that. Right now, his head felt like it would split just from the thought of preventing Jeongyun from joining the Grey team.
“Drink this and calm down.”
Semin handed Domin a mug of warm herbal tea. Domin nodded slightly as he accepted it and took a short sip. Perhaps thanks to the aroma of the herbal tea, his complicated feelings seemed to improve slightly. Of course, the effect didn’t last long.
Domin said nothing until he emptied the mug. Semin, too, just watched the visibly troubled Domin without speaking first.
“Are you okay now?”
Semin asked only after Domin put down his mug. Domin lowered the hand that had been pressing against his throbbing temple and nodded.
“You seem to like Yeo Jeongyun quite a bit?”
At Semin’s unexpected words, Domin’s eyes widened. He immediately denied it firmly, but Semin’s eyes shone as if he had sensed something unusual.
“Then why do you keep wanting to continue the dedicated contract?”
The question Semin asked was the most difficult of problems that Domin had asked himself countless times but still couldn’t find an answer to.
A self-deprecating smile spread across Domin’s lips as he sighed deeply.
“I don’t know either.”
From Domin’s vague answer, Semin immediately found the answer. As expected, the one-way imprint was both the reason for continuing the dedicated contract and an excuse. If it were the Domin he knew, he wouldn’t keep a Guide with such a difference in rank by his side.
Semin placed his own cup next to Domin’s, leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs. He stared at Domin’s face, which was distorted to a pitiful degree despite his forced smile.
Though he didn’t say it out loud, Semin cared quite a bit for Domin. After all, he was like a younger brother he had been with since childhood.
However, the situation wasn’t good this time.
It would be ideal if Domin would terminate the dedicated contract, but even if not, he needed to bring Jeongyun to the Grey team. That way, Hwayeon could receive Guiding without any problems.
“Domin, I’ll assign you a new Guide.”
“No.”
Domin rejected Semin’s offer without even considering it. Sensing it wouldn’t be easy, Semin exhaled a deep sigh. With both Espers refusing to give up, the only one left with a choice was Jeongyun.
“What if Yeo Jeongyun doesn’t choose you?”
“…That won’t happen.”
Though he answered that way, he no longer had confidence. No matter what he tried to say, he kept repeating for Jeongyun to sign the papers, so there was nothing he could do.
But if he backed down now, Jeongyun would surely imprint with that kid Min Hwayeon. He couldn’t show even the slightest weakness now. The moment he let his guard down, Jeongyun would be taken away.
“Give a new Guide to that rookie instead of me.”
“If that were possible, I would have done it already.”
Hearing Semin’s ambiguous words, Domin’s eyes wavered greatly. Could it be that without his knowledge, those two had already imprinted? While Espers became bound to Guides the moment imprinting occurred, Guides didn’t.
“They haven’t imprinted. Don’t misunderstand.”
Semin quickly corrected the misunderstanding that was solidifying in Domin’s increasingly serious expression. Only then did Domin’s face relax slightly.
“Domin, let me ask one favor.”
“What?”
“If Yeo Jeongyun wants to join the Grey team, don’t stop him.”
Though the voice was gentle, it was essentially a warning. Don’t stop whatever choice Jeongyun makes. Domin stood up without answering. After leaving the Deputy Director’s office, Domin spat out the curse he’d been holding in.
“…Fuck.”
He had to admit it. The one in control of this relationship was no longer him. Now it was time for Domin to beg Jeongyun.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
