Yang Garam was still holding my hand without letting go. I held his hand tightly in return while clarifying my intentions.
“If I could, I would like to form an imprint with everyone here. Whether as temporary guides or dedicated guides, I can accommodate all your wishes.”
I emphasized each word while looking into the guides’ eyes.
“Is that answer enough? I truly have not the slightest intention to terminate the contract.”
This time my intentions were clearly conveyed, as Do Wonjin’s expression softened. Yang Garam visibly relaxed with relief. Only Jeong Seyeon maintained the slight furrow in his brow.
“So we’ll continue maintaining the temporary guide contracts as they are now.”
Knowing that Jeong Seyeon could only have a temporary guide contract, I could see him keeping the other guides in check.
“Yes, that’s what we’ll do.”
At my answer, even Jeong Seyeon’s furrowed brow relaxed. In the end, nothing had changed—it was simply maintaining the status quo. Once our discussion was over, we each returned to our rooms.
“Hyung.”
Except for Yang Garam.
“Can I sleep with you just for tonight?”
I had already received sufficient Guiding from Jeong Seyeon, so I didn’t need Guiding. If he had used Guiding as an excuse to sleep together, I would have refused, but since he left that out, it was awkward to refuse.
Additionally, I felt guilty toward Yang Garam, which made it even harder to decline.
‘He must have been worried since his matching rate was the lowest, and now I didn’t mention the imprinting to him, so he must feel terrible.’
On top of that, last time he caught me receiving Guiding from Do Wonjin, and this time he caught me with Jeong Seyeon. While both were instances of Guiding, we all knew they weren’t purely to reduce my risk levels but were closer to personal indulgence.
‘I should apologize to him before sleep.’
“Can’t we just sleep holding hands?”
Lost in self-reflection, I forgot to answer Yang Garam.
As he asked again, squeezing the hand he’d been holding since Jeong Seyeon’s room, I shook my head.
“Let’s sleep together tonight, Garam.”
I spent the rest of the night with Yang Garam. Lying side by side on the bed, we cleared up misunderstandings by discussing things we hadn’t had a chance to talk about. It was then that I learned he had consulted with his brother about becoming a dedicated guide because of me. While we were deep in conversation, Serubi mischievously squeezed between Yang Garam and me, claiming a spot. True to his word about just holding hands while sleeping, Yang Garam didn’t let go of my hand until he fell asleep.
I must have fallen asleep at some point because when I opened my eyes, it was morning.
“You’re awake?”
When I turned my head, Yang Garam’s face was right in front of me. I don’t know how long he had been awake, but seeing his vibrant eyes made me feel good too.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, how about you, hyung?”
“Me too.”
A smile spread across my face despite the trivial conversation. Still drowsy with sleep, I stared blankly at Yang Garam’s eyes, which were welling up with emotion like waves creating foam. Then, impulsively, I kissed his lips.
*Smooch.*
There was no reason. In that moment, Yang Garam just seemed incredibly lovable, and it felt like the right thing to do. My action turned Yang Garam into salt with all moisture evaporated.
“Now that I’ve kissed you, shouldn’t the princess wake up?”
As I tapped his frozen cheek gently while smiling, sparks flew in his eyes. In the moment I thought “Huh?”, my head was grabbed and our lips collided. It wasn’t a playful kiss of just brushing lips, but an intense one with intertwined tongues. As my mind cleared, I caught Yang Garam’s hand slipping under my clothes. I pushed his shoulder with my other hand. As Yang Garam reluctantly pulled away after lightly biting my lip, I gave him a stern look.
“I thought we were just going to hold hands.”
“But it’s morning now.”
Well, that’s not wrong.
I almost nodded without realizing it, but then forced myself to look stern.
“And you started it first, hyung. I was trying to hold back until the end.”
That’s also true.
Even though I did it in a half-asleep state, I was the one who initiated. Seeing me nod in acknowledgment, Yang Garam asked with an innocent look:
“So can we do it just once more?”
With a face already at the end of its patience like a puppy that had its treat taken away, there was no way I’d agree.
I jumped out of bed and stretched.
“The weather is nice today!”
Seeing me pretend not to hear and talk about the weather instead, Yang Garam emerged from under the blanket with a dejected expression.
“Always stopping me from doing anything.”
Yang Garam probably thought I couldn’t hear his muttering, but I heard it all. I scratched the back of my head while opening the window for ventilation. If there was one thing I realized after talking with him all night, it was that Yang Garam was more sensitive and had lower self-esteem than I thought.
His pretense of being composed and cheerful was purely to look good in front of me. He obsessively ruminated over each of my actions, even ones I couldn’t remember, and took them to heart. I understood—I had been the same when I had a one-sided crush on Joo Seolhyeon in the past.
‘How can I make him feel better?’
Feeling sorry for him unintentionally comparing himself to the other guides, I racked my brain and came up with an idea.
“Garam, when’s your birthday?”
“July 7th.”
“You were born on the Seventh Day of the Seventh Month? It must rain on your birthday every year.”
“That’s true, but why?”
“On your twentieth birthday, hyung will grant you one wish.”
“Really? Any wish at all?”
“Not any wish. I’m not a genie, so something reasonable.”
“So anything you can do for me is fine?”
“I guess you could say that.”
I was glad to see Yang Garam brighten up, but now I felt a bit anxious. The word “wish” itself was too broad.
‘It’s okay. Garam cares for me so much, he wouldn’t ask for a wish that would make me uncomfortable, right?’
Forcing myself to think positively, I sent Yang Garam to the bathroom to shower first. While he was in there, I checked my phone, which I hadn’t looked at all night. There were messages from two people: Peter and Jo Hail. I checked Jo Hail’s message first. He would be visiting my home at 11 AM.
‘So I’m finally terminating the contract with Joo Seolhyeon.’
Although Jeonghyun had warned me that Joo Seolhyeon would be in danger, I had no intention of changing my decision. Whatever bad blood existed between him and the Center Director was none of my business, and even if something happened to him, I had no reason to feel guilty.
‘Considering what Joo Seolhyeon did to me, this is nothing.’
Joo Seolhyeon deliberately withheld Guiding from me, knowing I would die from going berserk. Remembering his malicious actions in the past, terminating the contract was mild by comparison. At least I wasn’t terminating this contract hoping for his death.
I couldn’t understand why Joo Seolhyeon had insisted on a temporary contract in the first place when he could have avoided it altogether, creating this uncomfortable situation.
‘Anyway, this ends today.’
Feeling unburdened, I checked Peter’s message. He had sent a map with a specific location marked.
“This is Seoul Amusement Park, but what’s this? A symbol?”
At the top of the map was a drawing of an hourglass inside a circle. The simple structure of the drawing made it easy to replicate, but I couldn’t tell if it was just a doodle or a symbol representing something.
When things are this unclear, asking the sender directly is the fastest and most accurate approach. I called Peter.
“I saw your message. I’m calling for an explanation.”
―So you’ve seen it. It’s the location of the site we’ll visit today and the symbol of the terrorist group we’re looking for. All members of the organization reportedly have this symbol inscribed somewhere on their bodies.
“Ah, I see. But the location is an amusement park, what’s happening there?”
―I haven’t had a chance to explore Seoul.
“Excuse me?”
―Can you make it by 1 PM?
While I was dumbfounded by Peter’s reason that didn’t sound like a reason at all, Yang Garam came out from his shower. I ended the call saying I understood, without being able to question Peter further.
As I sighed, still finding it absurd, Yang Garam came to my side and asked with a worried expression:
“Is it the Center Director?”
“Huh? No. Just someone I know.”
To avoid further questions from Yang Garam, I put my phone down on the nightstand and excused myself to go shower.
After showering more quickly than usual, I took Yang Garam down to the first floor. Having seen Jeong Seyeon’s injuries the night before, I wanted to help him in any way I could. But in the kitchen, Do Wonjin was already helping Jeong Seyeon prepare breakfast.
“I’ll take care of it, you go to the living room.”
Although the kitchen was quite spacious, three large adult men definitely made it cramped. As Yang Garam and I, having been banished from the kitchen, went to the living room, we found the morning news already playing, turned on by Do Wonjin.
―I’m currently at Seoul Amusement Park. Despite the early hour, there are people visiting the park everywhere.
By coincidence, it was about the place where I was supposed to meet Peter, making me feel awkward around Yang Garam. I thought about casually changing the channel but worried it might look more suspicious, so I just fidgeted with the remote.
―Seoul Amusement Park has been in full bloom with the rose festival that started in mid-May. Sadly, today marks the end of this splendid festival.
‘Wait, did they say rose festival?’
I raised my head to look at the TV screen. A reporter was concluding her final comments with a rose festival banner in the background. It was a scene I had seen somewhere before. Past memories rapidly flashed through my mind.
‘On the last day of the rose festival, an S-rank dungeon gate opens.’
‘Breaking news, S-rank dungeon appears. A mysterious man saves the crowd gathered for the rose festival.’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
