#56
“I won’t be rough, so don’t run away.”
Oh-yul gently pressed down on Ho-woo’s hand, which was about to curl up and run away. Feeling Oh-yul’s body heat through his palm on his cheek and the back of his hand, Ho-woo faced a clearer sea.
There was an endless horizon spread out, invisible, felt only by the body’s senses.
The waves that had been tickling his toes surged up, instantly rising past his ankles, calves, and thighs. In an instant, the water that had risen to just below his neck engulfed Ho-woo again.
Though he didn’t feel like he was suffocating, Ho-woo swayed back and forth, even while sitting on the sofa, with the sensation of his whole body floating and lifting.
“…Ah.”
A slightly dazed and dull voice was slowly uttered. The dark blue eyes that had been persistently facing him gradually turned into an even deeper black.
Ho-woo watched this beautiful yet unbelievable sight. It was very subtle, but the color had definitely changed.
“Am I still asleep?”
The Esper, who couldn’t have missed Ho-woo’s very quiet muttering, laughed silently. The eyes that had clearly changed color, though it was a very small change, gave the answer.
No.
The eyes with delicate long eyelashes and almost invisible thin double eyelids, which were particularly pretty, narrowed slightly and curved into a round arc. That eye smile was as pretty as a fox’s.
Feeling as if he had been bewitched, Ho-woo asked with a still dazed expression.
“Have I become a Guide?”
“If so, then yes, and if not, then no.”
“……”
Ho-woo’s brow furrowed at Oh-yul’s vague answer. Under the unspoken pressure to answer straight, the man who liked to speak ambiguously took Ho-woo’s hand that was still cupping his cheek and briefly kissed the palm.
“Ho-woo is my Guide. And he can’t be a Guide for other Espers. So to me, he’s a Guide, but to other Espers, he’s still an ordinary person.”
Ho-woo’s expression changed oddly at the statement that he was a half-Guide, and one that only responded to Oh-yul at that.
Is that possible? The question was blatantly written on Ho-woo’s face. However, Oh-yul didn’t offer any further explanation.
Although he still didn’t look like he understood, knowing that there were areas he couldn’t comprehend, Ho-woo didn’t probe further. Even excluding that, there was a mountain of things to talk about with the man in front of him.
“Well, putting that aside for now.”
Ho-woo abruptly pulled his hand away. Even though he had rushed over in one step because he was worried about Oh-yul, he was still upset at the man who had acted on his own accord and then cut off contact.
We weren’t dating, but! Weren’t we at least flirting! If you’re going to shake someone up, you should take responsibility!
Ho-woo clenched his fist. The reason he didn’t punch him right away was because he knew there were unavoidable circumstances, so he was cutting him some slack.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
His sharply raised eyes looked quite fierce, unlike his usual slightly dull expression.
The beast, well aware of his wrongdoing, quickly laid out his case, curling up his nine tails and looking pitifully at Ho-woo.
“…I’m sorry.”
It was a short and simple apology. But his voice was sorrowful. With drooping eyes, he couldn’t meet Ho-woo’s gaze and just stared at the floor, rolling his eyes around.
“I wanted to contact you first, but the industrial complex took away my phone, so I had no way to do so.”
I know it’s an excuse, but…
The voice that trailed off without finishing was particularly lacking in confidence. Ho-woo’s anger softened a bit at that voice. As Ho-woo’s sharp expression relaxed a little, Oh-yul didn’t miss the opportunity and drove in the final nail.
“Please don’t hate me.”
The end of the pleading voice trembled. Unable to meet his eyes and biting his lower lip hard, the man curled up his large body as if afraid. Ho-woo closed his eyes tightly and then opened them at this vulnerability.
Right, what could this man do?
Ho-woo stopped his interrogation, feeling somehow drained.
Besides, he was being monitored, wasn’t he? What could the powerless Yul do?
Ho-woo, who had realized that the management complex that gathered Espers and Guides under state control wasn’t just a good place, looked at Yul with pity.
It seemed that currently, there was nowhere this man could stay comfortably, neither outside nor inside these high walls.
“Are you not being monitored now?”
“I could say that the people monitoring me have disappeared.”
“…That sounds really strange.”
In movies, they usually just get rid of them, but surely not…
Ho-woo gave him a dubious look, imagining some not-so-good scenarios. It felt like they were living in completely different worlds, even though they were living in the same city in the same contemporary society.
The pitiful face had been thrown off at some point, replaced by a grinning smile that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
“I can guess what you’re thinking, but unfortunately, the people monitoring me have fled the city.”
“…What?”
“They took their minions and fled the city.”
He said calmly, checking the time on his pager. The time had just passed midnight.
“It would be better to rest a bit more for now. After a good sleep, you’ll know everything when tomorrow comes.”
“Know what?”
“Everything.”
“…I’m starting to dislike you a bit.”
Oh-yul patted Ho-woo, who was grumbling that he didn’t like the ambiguous way of speaking, and laid him back down on the bed, then stretched out beside him.
Once back on the bed, his tired body relaxed again. His slowly blinking eyelids grew heavy once more, and soon he was breathing languidly.
“Sweet dreams.”
Feeling the strange familiarity and comfort of the large hand touching his cheek, Ho-woo, who had been teetering on the edge of dream, finally threw himself into deep sleep.
***
“Hey! If you don’t open the door, I’m breaking it down!”
A high-pitched woman’s voice resonated through the door. Ho-woo groaned and buried his head in the firm embrace, disturbed by the noise that grated on his sensitive hearing.
The light that had been stinging his eyes was blocked, but the sound of knocking on the door continued loudly. Unable to escape just by burying his face, Ho-woo finally pushed his eyelids open.
It’s so bright…
Sunlight was pouring in through the half-open curtains. Ho-woo glanced up at the man holding him. With that noise, he should have woken up, but he had his eyes tightly shut.
When he smiled with his eyes open, his face was quite pretty, but with an expressionless face, it was piercingly cold.
The curved eyes when he smiled and his long eyelashes made his eyes look particularly beautiful.
His straight nose bridge and tightly closed lips stood out, particularly red, among the disheveled jet-black hair half-buried in the pillow.
“He’s pretty.”
Ho-woo admired Oh-yul’s face for a moment and then carefully tried to unwrap his arms to get away from him.
However, the arm around his waist tightened even more at this small rejection. The arm that held him tightly, not letting him escape, felt strangely familiar.
Did he sleep with something in his pocket?
His mind, not fully awake, had a brief nonsensical thought before quickly regaining its senses.
…Let’s not think about it.
Ho-woo rubbed his slightly goosebumped forearm as he listened to the visitor, who now seemed ready to actually break down the door, counting numbers.
One, two…
The slowly continuing count finally stopped at ten.
Are they really going to break in?
Ho-woo had a brief moment of doubt, which was quickly resolved. The rough visitor didn’t break down the door. And they weren’t alone.
There was a short beep sound of the lock being released. And the voice that had sounded somewhat muffled through the door now came through clearly.
“Why are you here so early in the morning, mister?”
It was a fierce and blunt tone, like an irritated cat. But the underlying joy in it somewhat dulled that sharpness.
“Well, for now, I’m on my way to work since this is my workplace?”
There was a rustling sound of paper being touched. Ho-woo, who made direct eye contact with those who had entered the room, smiled sheepishly.
“…Hello?”
I wanted to get up from the bed too, but you see, it’s just an arm, but I can’t escape.
Thinking of excuses in his mind, Ho-woo awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth. Choi Seon-woo laughed heartily as he put the newspaper he was holding on the table. His eyes were particularly deep purple.
“Yul. Um, Choi Seon-woo and… Joo Si-yeon is here…”
Ho-woo desperately prayed for his companion to wake up, who showed no reaction even when he gently shook his body.
What are we going to do about this atmosphere!
“Leave him be, that’s not sleeping, it’s unconsciousness.”
Joo Si-yeon strode towards Ho-woo, who was still fidgeting, unable to escape even a little from Oh-yul’s embrace on the bed.
“So you’re Lee Ho-woo?”
“Huh? Yes, that’s right.”
She narrowed her yellow eyes and abruptly held out her hand to Ho-woo, who had barely managed to turn his head slightly to look at her.
“You know me, right? Even if it’s our first time seeing each other face to face, you should know my face.”
Just like when they were exchanging messages, and even now, Joo Si-yeon in front of him seemed to have no shyness, acting without hesitation.
