“So what’s your answer?”
I twisted my body away from Yang Garam’s large hand and asked him. Whether he was truly unaware or not, his expression didn’t change even when I avoided his hand. The visibly excited Yang Garam just smiled broadly at my question, revealing his neat teeth. His face, with dimples forming as he smiled brightly, momentarily lit up the surroundings as if a light was shining.
“Let’s shower together.”
He did answer my question precisely, but his words had an unnecessary adverb attached. And suddenly my feet lifted off the floor.
“Huh?”
This wasn’t a response questioning Yang Garam’s answer, but rather a sound that came out when he scooped me up in his arms and lifted me.
In an instant, he opened the bathroom door behind me and entered. I found myself carried into the bathroom in Yang Garam’s arms rather than on my own feet. Still holding me, Yang Garam closed the bathroom door as if blocking any escape route.
Caught by surprise, I couldn’t react immediately, but when I heard the bathroom door close, I came to my senses and called out to Yang Garam. Acting like the obedient younger brother again, he promptly put me down on the floor.
“Such a bulldozer, really.”
As soon as I was standing stably on the ground, I put both hands on my waist and lifted my chin.
“Just picking me up like a sack of potatoes.”
I don’t usually get surprised easily, but it was quite shocking to be lifted so effortlessly, like a child, despite being taller than the average Korean man.
‘I’m a grown man, isn’t he lifting me too easily?’
I couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of having to endure the humiliation of my feet leaving the ground every time Yang Garam embraced me.
“I’m sorry.”
Yang Garam immediately apologized, watching my reaction.
“I just wanted to shower with you.”
When I didn’t say anything, Yang Garam seemed to gain courage and added more.
“Shower with me. That way, one of us won’t have to wait.”
It was an extremely practical and logical idea, and I almost nodded unconsciously, but there was something bothering me.
‘The marks Seyeon-hyung left would still be there.’
Normally, I wouldn’t have felt the need to refuse, but the issue was that Jeong Seyeon had been biting and sucking on my body earlier.
Currently, I had buttoned my shirt all the way to the collar so it wasn’t visible, but when I briefly looked down at my body before Jeong Seyeon helped me dress, I saw that wherever the heat rash had been severe, there were marks from his sucking. Now, the heat rash would have subsided due to the Guiding’s effect, but the traces left by Jeong Seyeon would certainly last for days. I wasn’t sure if they would look ugly to Yang Garam.
When I didn’t immediately refuse and appeared to be considering it, Yang Garam placed his hand on my shirt with a mischievous face.
“Are you asking me to undress you?”
“I think it might look a bit unsightly.”
Some marks were visible even with just the first button undone, so I grabbed Yang Garam’s hand.
“Do you have scars on your body?”
Yang Garam’s eyes flickered. The mischievous expression he had just moments ago disappeared, and his face filled with regret and pity.
“No, no scars. Just… something happened earlier during the Guiding. I’m fine with it, but I wasn’t sure if you would be.”
I’d prefer to shower as quickly as possible. But if there was even the slightest chance that Yang Garam might look at my body like Joo Seolhyeon did—as if I were a dirty insect—I wouldn’t like that.
Logically, I knew Yang Garam wasn’t that type of person. Jeong Seyeon had maintained a poker face from the beginning, so I thought he wouldn’t be disturbed no matter what he saw, but Yang Garam was the opposite. If I sensed even a hint of displeasure from him—someone who didn’t hide his emotions at all—I might be quite hurt in my current state.
“You received Guiding?”
Yang Garam spoke with a smile, but the corners of his upturned lips were trembling slightly. I realized that what I had said to reassure him had instead made things worse.
“Take off your clothes. I don’t understand what you’re trying to hide.”
His eyes weren’t sparkling like before. He locked the bathroom door behind him and smiled at me.
“It’s okay, hyung.”
Despite his words, his eyes looked anxious as they fixated on my clothes.
“Come on. Or should I undress you?”
Looking at his eyes, which seemed slightly off in an indescribable way, I let out a soft sigh and placed my hands on my shirt collar. Yang Garam was now leaning against the bathroom door, watching me. My shirt fell to the dry bathroom floor.
“There, satisfied?”
“Ha…..”
Yang Garam, who had said it was okay, frowned deeply as he looked down at my body. His trembling pupils, which initially didn’t show it, were now filling with something hot that surged and swelled.
“Was it Jeong Seyeon?”
Yang Garam, who had been holding something back with tightly closed lips, spat out a single sentence.
I was about to say something to Yang Garam as he scanned every part of my body, but was somewhat surprised by his voice. Despite his indignant gaze, his voice was full of moisture, as if he might cry at any moment. Suddenly curious about how I looked to him, I turned my head. Fortunately, the large bathroom had a mirror occupying one wall, and I could easily examine myself.
‘When did it get this…’
I briefly caught my breath at the number of red marks, more than I had expected—enough to make me forget what I was going to say to Yang Garam. My skin, pale as my mother’s, made the reddish congestion marks stand out even more.
“Jeongje-hyung.”
I turned my head upon hearing Yang Garam’s voice, which sounded as if he was grinding out each word. However, as my waist was pulled toward him and I was embraced, I couldn’t see his face.
“Today was the last day of my exam.”
His voice, which had been bright until we entered the bathroom, was now hoarse and cracked. From the moment I was in his arms, he had been performing Guiding on me.
“Did you know I rushed out after submitting my answer sheet in just ten minutes because I wanted to be the first to give you Guiding on your first mission today?”
“……”
Yang Garam’s voice was sinking deeper.
“I shouldn’t have been taking an exam at all. You’re too much, hyung. How could you have already received Guiding?”
“…Garam-ah.”
His voice was now completely hoarse, as if waterlogged. Perhaps because I was receiving Guiding with bare skin, I felt no strength to push him away, although normally I would have. Yang Garam didn’t budge at my call and continued to hold me, then began to sniffle.
“Are you crying?”
“……”
Now understanding why he couldn’t let me go, I let out a small sigh with my face buried against his chest.
“Didn’t you say we should shower together? Are we going to stay like this?”
Yang Garam stopped the Guiding. But he still didn’t release his arms, which was just as troublesome.
After pondering how to comfort him, I stroked his back soothingly and asked.
“Should hyung undress you?”
In an instant, Yang Garam detached me from his embrace and stared at me with shock in his reddened, tear-filled eyes. I grabbed the hem of his casually worn T-shirt and spoke to him just as I would to my younger brother.
“Raise your arms up, Garam-ah.”
At my words, Yang Garam’s expression became as complicated as someone bearing all the world’s worries. It was a reaction quite unlike someone who had suggested showering together in the first place.
“Hyung, you shouldn’t act like that elsewhere.”
With his nose still red from crying, he spoke in a slightly nasal voice.
It was a cuteness that couldn’t be found in Woo Jeonghyun. But despite this, his face was very serious and solemn. I felt like I might burst out laughing at this contradictory appearance, but I had to bite my tongue to hold back, fearing I might hurt Yang Garam’s pride if I laughed here.
“I’m fine, but all other men are wolves.”
However, upon hearing his next words, my amusement vanished and I was dumbfounded.
“Where did wolves come from?”
I wasn’t really listening properly to begin with, being distracted by his physical appearance, but the mention of wolves seemed completely out of place. When I reflexively frowned and questioned him, I noticed him flinch slightly. His expression resembled my father’s when I asked, “Dad, how are babies made?” at the age of seven.
He rolled his eyes with a perplexed face before looking back at me. For some unknown reason, he appeared extremely grave.
“You don’t need to know about such things. I’ll protect you, hyung.”
My frown deepened at these increasingly nonsensical words. Saying he would protect an S-class Esper—what kind of absurd statement was that? Though I didn’t like saying it myself, at 27, I was someone known as a walking natural disaster.
“Garam-ah.”
I gave up trying to understand Yang Garam and grabbed his solid forearm, pressing it gently with my palm as I asked.
“Enough with the strange talk. So are we showering or not?”
Honestly, I was feeling awkward being the only one undressed. I was about to tell him to either hurry up and shower or get out, when suddenly Yang Garam’s face turned bright red. He swallowed hard and looked at me with heated eyes.
“I’ll shower.”
Like someone making a confession, Yang Garam emphasized this ordinary word with unusual force. His fervent gaze and solemn voice made me slightly flustered, and I released his arm.
“Okay. Then hurry up and undress.”
As I spoke in a casual tone, avoiding his gaze, Yang Garam’s hands slowly lifted the hem of his white T-shirt. His firm abs appeared first, and as the white T-shirt rolled up in his hands, his contoured chest was revealed.
Though I clearly tried not to look, I couldn’t take my eyes off his perfectly sculpted muscles. Unconsciously entranced, I followed my gaze up his revealing body until I found myself meeting Yang Garam’s eyes as he removed his T-shirt and lightly shook his head.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
