#72
This time, Ho-woo also seemed to not fully believe his words, with a trace of suspicion remaining in his gaze. Despite receiving such doubt, Yul acted quite affectionately, tidying Ho-woo’s slightly disheveled bangs with his hand.
“There are many faces I know here, so it wouldn’t have been inconvenient if I had come along. There probably weren’t many public transportation options to get here.”
Yul raised the corner of his mouth slyly as he sipped the tea, which was more bitter than fragrant and almost embarrassing to call black tea.
“Because you’re busy…”
Ho-woo trailed off. He trembled like a child caught doing something wrong by a guardian. He hadn’t done anything bad, just asked about something he was curious about, so why was he so nervous?
“No matter how busy I am, my priorities are always fixed, so don’t worry.”
At Oh-yul’s words, Joo Si-yeo shook her head.
“So, what were you discussing?”
The uninvited guest tilted his head slowly. His deep blue eyes gleamed beneath long eyelashes.
When his long, shapely fingers grasped the teacup, elegance naturally emanated from him. Nowhere in his demeanor was there any trace of the nervousness of an Esper who had rushed out in anxiety and haste.
“It seems you know Ho-woo.”
Cha Geon-woo carefully asked, noticing Yul’s particularly intimate behavior towards Ho-woo. He knew what kind of being the man who had barged in and sat down before them was.
Famous not only as an Esper whose matching rate never exceeded 40% with any guide, but the most well-known rumor about Oh-yul was:
He was a polite mad dog.
Could it be that such a person was dating a guide? Cha Geon-woo was incredulous at his own unbelievable conjecture.
However, he soon had to acknowledge that this incredible guess was the truth.
“We’re not just acquaintances.”
Yul traced Ho-woo’s hand on the table with his fingertips. His touch, slowly retracing the bones from fingertips to the back of the hand, bound Ho-woo persistently and obsessively.
Even without further words, those seated easily inferred the content. The two Espers weren’t particularly surprised, already knowing that Oh-yul was eagerly waiting for a chance to devour Ho-woo.
Only Cha Geon-woo inwardly marveled at this surprising news.
‘That’ Esper has found a guide.
“Now that we’ve answered Guide Cha Geon-woo’s question, there’s still no answer to mine.”
“We were talking about guiding. Then naturally, Lee Ho-woo’s Esper must be Oh-yul.”
“That’s correct.”
Ha Eun-chan’s expression darkened slightly at Oh-yul’s intrusion. However, the youngest Esper at the table couldn’t stop his guide’s mouth. The fierce predator sitting across was looking at Cha Geon-woo with languid eyes, resting his chin as if finding him very interesting.
Though Oh-yul could have easily silenced Cha Geon-woo with just his gaze, he ignored him. No, not ignored. He allowed him to speak.
“That’s good then. You knew about Ho-woo’s condition, right?”
“As my guide, I would know best.”
Cha Geon-woo’s gaze briefly touched on Ho-woo. The guide, with a look as if seeing something incomprehensible, suggested to the Esper before him.
“Then, I’ll give Lee Ho-woo the opportunity to speak first.”
“How very considerate of you.”
Cha Geon-woo frowned at the insincere pleasantry.
It was troublesome to give an opportunity, thinking it had been hidden because the person involved seemed completely unaware. He had heard that Oh-yul had a bad personality, but Cha Geon-woo thought the rumors were accurate, seeing how skillfully he mocked with a gentle expression without changing his face at all.
The other was a politely behaving bastard.
Although he felt sorry for Ho-woo, who had gotten involved with such an impossible person, Cha Geon-woo wanted to avoid getting more deeply involved, knowing the obsession of Espers.
“Where should I start?”
Given the opportunity by Cha Geon-woo, Oh-yul wrapped his hands around the mug and softened his eyes. The man who had been relaxed just moments ago had disappeared, and only a fragile being filled with worry for his lover remained.
“First, I should apologize to Ho-woo.”
Oh-yul’s expression was sorrowful. As if deeply sorry, he couldn’t properly raise his gaze, tinged with sadness.
“I’m sorry for hiding it all this time. I thought I was doing it for Ho-woo’s sake, but now that we’ve come to this situation, I realize my judgment was wrong.”
The Esper’s mouth moved smoothly. Like the cunning serpent offering the forbidden fruit to Adam and Eve, his tongue was unrestrained.
“For my sake?”
At Ho-woo’s question, Yul nodded slightly. A bitter smile hung on his lips. As if regretting past events, a well-crafted deep worry was displayed in the corners of his eyes.
“First of all, it’s true that Ho-woo has become a guide. This is not a lie.”
I know. Ho-woo had seen his eye color change himself.
Ho-woo watched Yul. He tapped the table with his fingertips, then bit his lower lip hard. His eyes, filled with anxiety and a bit of fear, closed deeply.
Ho-woo couldn’t understand the fragments of emotion he read from Oh-yul.
Why on earth was he afraid?
After hesitating for a long time like someone trying to say something difficult to utter, the Esper, with an unusually pale face, finally opened his mouth.
“Ho-woo’s channel was forcibly opened due to my energy.”
“……”
“Since it’s not a natural manifestation, it’s certainly not a good thing.”
He had expected this from what had happened so far. Until meeting Yul, Lee Ho-woo had been nothing more than an ordinary person A without anything special about him.
However, when it started was important.
Whether he knew from the beginning and approached Ho-woo without telling him, or if he realized it midway but hid it, that was the most important thing. The meaning of these two situations was vastly different.
Ho-woo tried to hide his trembling voice as he questioned his lover, whose face was indistinguishable between apology, sadness, or worry.
“Since when?”
“From the very beginning of everything.”
At those words, Ho-woo closed his eyes tightly, feeling dizzy.
Ho-woo’s first memory of meeting Yul was when he heroically saved him. The Esper who saved him from under the shadow of death created by a monster.
The sharp pain that pierced his body when he took the hand that was trying to help him up.
Was it from then?
Oh-yul, who had visited the hospital, and the man who coincidentally moved in next door three months later.
Was all of this really just a coincidence?
Ho-woo faced Yul with shaking eyes.
If he had approached him intentionally, he couldn’t distinguish what was sincere and what was intentional.
All sorts of thoughts tangled complexly.
If it was intentional, for what reason, and from where should he trust him? He had thought it was fortunate that he became a guide to keep him close, but what if he had approached because he had become a guide?
Oh-yul, reading the slowly rising distrust in the light brown eyes, contorted his face as if he had swallowed the most terrible and bitter thing in the world.
“This is why I couldn’t tell you.”
The man’s eyes slowly turned red. A silent tear fell on his white cheek, wetting his collar.
“There’s nothing sadder than having my sincerity doubted.”
He wasn’t bawling with tears and snot. It was just a single small tear, and even that stopped flowing now. Only his reddened eyes made him look like he might cry at any moment.
However, Ho-woo felt that the magnitude of emotion contained in that single drop was greater than tears shed until the eyes were sore.
“I won’t make excuses. It’s true that I approached you intentionally. However, the reason wasn’t because Ho-woo was a guide.”
“……”
“I suppose you won’t believe me even if I say this.”
Yul responded as if he had read Ho-woo’s mind.
As he said, once lost, trust is not easily regained. Though sitting right next to each other, their hearts had never been further apart.
He didn’t make long-winded excuses. He just watched Ho-woo blankly like a child who had swallowed fear of not being able to read the other’s mind, then averted his gaze first as if avoiding something.
Oh-yul continued speaking while avoiding eye contact. Even as he directly revealed information that Ho-woo should have known long ago but had been concealed, he couldn’t look at Ho-woo again, like a guilty criminal. Yet, he diligently continued the explanation once he had started.
“Because Ho-woo’s channel was forcibly opened, you can’t sense energy like other guides. Therefore, it’s impossible for you to directly draw in and guide an Esper’s energy.”
Then what had Yul been receiving from him all this time?
Ho-woo furrowed his brow at the inconsistent words. However, the rest of the group, except for Ho-woo, seemed to have realized something, their expressions showing understanding.
“…Reverse guiding.”
Cha Geon-woo muttered softly. Another reason why Oh-yul was infamous among guides, apart from his matching rate:
Unlike other Espers who received guiding solely by the guide’s will, Oh-yul used reverse guiding to exploit the guide’s body.
