#84
At Ho-woo’s resolute voice, Cha Geon-woo was about to say, “That’s not a human but a decorative sculpture,” but he kept his mouth shut. Someone with love blinders on. Moreover, they were lovers, so it was obvious that nothing would change no matter what he said. He might even end up at a disadvantage.
As Cha Geon-woo inwardly sighed deeply, Oh-yul’s eyes sparkled with a particularly pleased expression.
“Am I pretty?”
Oh-yul asked coyly in a softened voice. Cha Geon-woo’s expression soured at the unbearable sight, but the Esper paid no attention and rested his chin on his hand, staring up at Ho-woo.
“Can I ask which part is the prettiest?”
“……”
“Hm? Which part is especially pretty?”
Oh-yul asked insistently, showing his characteristic eye smile. His eyes, half-closed and narrowly open, and the blue glass-like pupils visible between them were especially pretty when he smiled.
But there’s no part that isn’t pretty.
Ho-woo pondered for a moment.
There’s no part that isn’t pretty, but do I have to pick just one to talk about? More importantly, why are you asking so persistently about what’s pretty?
“What are you going to do with that information?”
“I want to look prettier to Ho-woo. That way I can keep you right by my side.”
Unable to bear the maddening conversation between the lovers any longer, Cha Geon-woo finally stood up abruptly.
“Damn it.”
All sorts of emotions were contained in that short curse. He quickly tidied up his place, gave a slight nod to Ho-woo as a farewell, and strode away. Ho-woo blankly watched Cha Geon-woo’s back as he left without looking back once until he was out of the cafeteria, then turned back to Oh-yul as his fingers gently tapped Ho-woo’s fingertips.
“So, which part did you say was pretty?”
The Esper, showing a persistent side, raised the corners of his lips like a cat. Sensing that he would keep asking until he got an answer, Ho-woo finally set aside his embarrassment and answered briefly.
“Your eyes.”
“…My eyes, you say?”
The blue eyes, like spilled paint, shone with a mysterious light like a deep sea. While others might find those eyes scary and unsettling, Ho-woo liked that unique color Oh-yul possessed.
“The blue color resembles the sea I imagined.”
Oh-yul maintained silence with an indescribable expression. A faint smile appeared over his complex expression mixed with various emotions.
“Then how about purple instead of blue?”
Why purple, of all colors?
Recalling Choi Seon-woo’s eyes, Ho-woo tried to superimpose that purple onto Oh-yul. Oh-yul with purple eyes.
With such a handsome face, any color would…
“It would suit you well.”
“…Let’s head to exercise now.”
Huh? Did I answer wrong?
Ho-woo got up bewilderedly, following Oh-yul who was tidying up and standing.
The tips of Oh-yul’s ears had turned red, but Ho-woo didn’t notice this.
***
It was Sunday evening, unexpectedly delayed due to the added shooting training. It was the time when the physical training that pushed Ho-woo to his limits had just ended. After washing off his sweat-soaked body and coming out of the shower feeling refreshed, Ho-woo swallowed a groan of “Ugh” at his creaking joints and muscles.
He would have to trudge around suffering from muscle pain for a while again. Oh-yul, both lover and instructor, mercilessly drove Ho-woo, to the point where it was a relief that only about a month and a half remained.
He was worried if it was really okay to receive Guide qualifications just by exercising like this, but Ho-woo had no other options. He knew from the previous appointment that it would be difficult to ask for help from Joo Si-yeo or Eun-chan. Oh-yul’s gaze was on the Espers and Guides.
So even if it felt unsettling, the only choice was to trust and follow Oh-yul.
Ho-woo approached the man who had been watching him while leaning against the wall near the entrance. With each step, groans involuntarily escaped him.
It hurt now, but muscle pain is usually worse the day after, so tomorrow would probably feel like hell.
“Good work today as well.”
Oh-yul twirled the ends of Ho-woo’s wet hair around his finger. Under his touch, the wet hair dried instantly. After smoothing out the hair that had become fluffy from having its moisture suddenly stolen, Oh-yul showed a satisfied expression.
“If it hurts a lot, should I give you a massage when we get back?”
At Ho-woo’s questioning look that seemed to ask if he really meant just a massage, the man smiled mischievously.
“I’m fine with doing other things too.”
While saying such plausible words, the man who never actually reached out to Ho-woo with such intentions gently took his hand.
A unique feeling flowed through their touching palms. Ho-woo now knew what this sensation was.
The inexperienced Guide wiggled his intertwined fingers.
Neither of them brought up yesterday’s incident. As daily life flowed as if nothing had happened, would this unsettled feeling be forgotten if time passed like this?
The time walking side by side holding hands was peaceful. Their light contact, or rather their inner selves, were intertwined even more closely.
Just as all water endlessly circulates, the Esper’s energy flowed endlessly through the Guide. The vast sea was both the final destination and new starting point for all water. The sea boiled at the hot warmth of their touch.
Ho-woo (豪雨, heavy rain) poured down onto Oh-yul’s sea.
The gentle yet fierce raindrops shook Oh-yul’s sea. The spreading ripples breathed life into him.
Although Ho-woo couldn’t vividly feel that enormous flow, he recalled the intense sensation while feeling a very weak current.
The feeling of energy freely swirling and circulating inside his body was still vivid. The passionate sensation that tightened his lower abdomen and made his knees tremble, somewhere between fear and ecstasy, sent chills down his spine.
Are we not doing that again?
Ho-woo glanced sideways at Oh-yul. He had a particularly pleased expression with the corners of his lips, holding a faint smile, curled up roundly. Feeling the gaze on his cheek, he tilted his head slightly, his face bearing the question ‘What is it?’ His dark blue eyes, with a stronger black tint, sparkled particularly vibrantly.
“Uh… Well… Since we’re guiding like this, I was reminded. The guiding we did last time was a bit different, wasn’t it?”
“Last time?”
“I mean, that time… When you almost went berserk.”
Ho-woo awkwardly fiddled with the back of his neck. His slightly flushed face, with his lower lip lightly bitten, revealed a hint of expectation. Oh-yul raised the end of his eyebrow as if surprised.
“Do you like it rough…?”
Oh-yul trailed off. Ho-woo felt somewhat upset at Oh-yul’s subtle gaze.
“I’m not a pervert, you know.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Not what you meant? You were totally looking at me weirdly.
“I understand it’s a difference in taste.”
Saying it’s a difference in taste makes me more annoyed.
“If that’s what you want, anytime.”
Ho-woo was about to cover Oh-yul’s mischievously curved lips with his hand when he was startled by a sudden sharp noise. It was a sound he had become somewhat familiar with by now.
Oh-yul furrowed his brow as he checked the loudly ringing pager. The caller didn’t seem to be a welcome one, as his mood was visibly plummeting in real-time.
He must really not want to go, as the veins on the back of his hand bulged as he gripped the pager tightly before releasing it. It looked like he was forcibly relaxing his hand that had tensed up.
“Looks like you need to go.”
“……”
“I can get home quickly by taking the subway from here, so I’ll be fine going back alone.”
Despite Ho-woo’s efforts to send him off without lingering, knowing by now that the red light meant an emergency call, the man stood stiffly. Oh-yul maintained an attitude of indifference about whether he went or not, which made Ho-woo more anxious instead.
“Are you not going?”
“They’ll just make me work if I go.”
Both of them knew that work was important. Ho-woo was perplexed by Oh-yul’s attitude, suddenly refusing to go when he had always responded to calls or left promptly when paged before.
“Isn’t it urgent since it’s an emergency call?”
“It might be a useless matter to me.”
He meant that just because it was urgent for the other party didn’t mean it was urgent for him. That was true in a way. The problem was that they wouldn’t know until they answered the call.
Seeing Ho-woo’s anxious attitude, Oh-yul casually held up the pager and asked leisurely.
“Should I answer it?”
In truth, if any problems arose from not answering the call, it would be entirely Oh-yul’s responsibility, but knowing that watching this unfold wouldn’t make him feel good either, Ho-woo nodded slightly.
“Really?”
However, perhaps more upset by Ho-woo’s lack of hesitation in sending him off, Oh-yul made a slightly crooked, mischievous expression.
What is he trying to do?
At this point, Ho-woo also became a bit annoyed and looked up at the man with his arms crossed. Of course, Oh-yul felt quite wronged by this gaze.
“Aren’t you being too cold-hearted?”
“We should separate public and private matters.”
Ho-woo was already an adult who had tasted the bitterness of society enough to know that it was inappropriate to throw a tantrum asking someone who was about to become the representative of a huge organization encompassing the city to think of him before work, rather than just being an ordinary company employee.
Because he knew well when to give up and when it was okay to insist, he didn’t hold Oh-yul back, but he didn’t expect Oh-yul to feel hurt by this.
