Chapter 36
“Crazy idiot. What the hell are you trying to achieve by having him call you ‘hyung’?”
Dowoon instantly regretted and cursed his damn mouth for blurting that out.
He still wanted to hear Seoyul call him “hyung,” but somehow he felt that if he did hear it, the reins he was barely holding onto would completely come loose.
“Haah. I’m really going to die.”
Seoyul was gradually finding his spirit again. After that nasty guy had disappeared, he was happy that more people were starting to talk to him.
How adorable he looked. If he called him “hyung” with that smiling, chattering mouth, it would surely be blissful…
“AAAARGH!”
Dowoon screamed as he rolled around on his bed. More people would approach Seoyul from now on.
He needed to claim more parts for himself before that happened. He needed to prove he was better than others and establish his position.
“What am I good at?”
Dowoon pondered seriously. Since Seoyul was a Guide, he needed to find something other than combat skills.
But having been educated and raised as an Esper his whole life, nothing came to mind easily.
Just then, an idea flashed through his mind.
“Yes! That’s it!”
Dowoon’s eyes sparkled.
* * *
“You want to help me study for the exam?”
Seoyul was taken aback by Dowoon’s sudden offer. His school life had indeed stabilized, making it a perfect time for studying.
But studying things again was enjoyable and not at all difficult. Moreover, there was the pleasure of tackling challenging topics one by one, so it wasn’t particularly necessary…
“Yeah. I mean, who am I? I’m Cha Dowoon, who passed the entrance exam with perfect scores! You probably do well on your own, but wouldn’t it be easier with someone like me helping?”
Dowoon boasted. At his words, Seoyul showed the exact reaction he wanted, exclaiming in surprise:
“You passed with perfect scores?! Wow!!”
Dowoon felt proud at the admiring gaze. The sparkling light in Seoyul’s eyes was terrifyingly cute.
‘Good. Things are going according to plan.’
Of course, he had lost first place in the comprehensive evaluation, but he did get perfect scores on the exam itself.
‘Why the hell does personality come up in the interview evaluation? What does that have to do with killing monsters?!’
It was completely incomprehensible to Dowoon, but he nodded, reasoning that since he got perfect scores on the exam, it wasn’t a lie.
Of course, he had no intention of telling Seoyul that particular detail.
“What do you think? Don’t do study groups at school. Study at home instead. I’ll help you.”
Yes, here was another advantage to this proposal. He had just heard that kids who wanted to be friends with Seoyul were making study group offers to him.
‘If he does study groups too, when am I supposed to see Seoyul?’
That was absolutely unacceptable. So this operation had to succeed at all costs.
“Wow. That would be great for me, but…”
Seoyul’s eyes sparkled, but he hesitated, trailing off.
He was worried about being a burden to Dowoon, who was already busy and tired. Instantly grasping this sentiment, Dowoon exclaimed:
“I’m not busy! I’m not busy at all! And you keep Guiding me. I’m an Esper, so as long as I get good Guiding, I can go days without sleep and be fine.”
“Really? Truly?”
That couldn’t be true.
Even Espers needed sleep. It was just that they were less affected by lack of sleep due to their better physical condition than ordinary people.
But Dowoon bragged extravagantly that he could go a whole month without issue, trying to entice Seoyul. After all, wouldn’t Seoyul also be cutting down on sleep to study? As an Esper, Dowoon couldn’t allow himself to collapse before Seoyul.
“Of course! So, what do you say? Will you do it?”
“Wow. Then may I ask for your help?”
“Great! Let’s start tomorrow!”
“Yes!”
Seeing Seoyul’s joy, Dowoon rejoiced internally.
‘Success!’
Now he could protect his time with Seoyul while also showcasing his own impressive qualities.
Dowoon had no doubt that his plan would proceed smoothly.
* * *
At last, Seoyul began studying with Dowoon. After attending classes at school, he would come home and review what he had learned, committing it to memory.
“What’s the strategy for defeating the Level 1 mutant Helthesis?”
Dowoon asked with a serious face. Seoyul thought for a moment, then his eyes brightened as he exclaimed:
“You have to push the constantly moving core towards the end of its tail, cut it off, and then destroy it!”
“Oh! Then, what’s the favorite location of the Level 2 mutant Biatic?”
As the next question came right away, this time Seoyul pressed his temples, struggling. But soon, as if finding the answer, he shouted with a bright face:
“Swamps!”
“Oh! You’ve memorized well!”
“It’s because you helped me memorize so well, Esper.”
Seoyul, pleased by Dowoon’s praise, smiled shyly. It wasn’t just modesty; Dowoon really was being a great help. Seoyul couldn’t help but think he was amazing.
The way he pinpointed exactly what was important and explained so well—after hearing content from Dowoon that he’d already learned at school, it would naturally be stored in his memory.
‘As expected, Esper is amazing.’
Seoyul’s eyes sparkled again with renewed admiration for Dowoon.
“Now you know my true worth?”
Dowoon jokingly shrugged his shoulders. In response, Seoyul clenched his fists and exclaimed:
“I’ve known from the beginning. Esper, you’re really, really amazing!”
“Ahem.”
Dowoon blushed at the continued praise, avoiding his gaze. The direct admiring look and sparkling eyes were enough to shake his heart.
It was quite a pleasant sensation. The desire to be remembered forever as an amazing presence, at least to Seoyul, began to creep up within him.
‘Back then I prepared out of stubbornness, but it’s turned out to be so helpful.’
Even S-class Espers had to take an exam to officially enter the Association, so he had prepared for it.
Given his personality, he had intended to just barely get a passing score, but he remembered getting into an unnecessary dispute at the time, which made him try harder than usual.
‘Ah, just thinking about it makes me mad.’
Dowoon frowned as he recalled the past memory. Seeing this, Seoyul asked with a concerned expression:
“Esper, does your head hurt? Should I Guide you?”
The cute Guide watched Dowoon’s face, fidgeting his fingers. Then, he gently took Dowoon’s hand that was resting on the table and carefully began to flow Guiding energy into it.
‘Ah, really. He’s going to kill me with his cuteness.’
Unable to control his rapidly rising mood, Dowoon desperately tried to suppress the corners of his mouth that were trying to turn upward. Instead, he interlaced his fingers with Seoyul’s and said:
“Are you rewarding me for teaching you well?”
“Pardon?”
He squeezed Seoyul’s hand once tightly before releasing it, then gently rubbed his palm with his thumb. Seoyul’s face immediately flushed at Dowoon’s ticklish skinship.
‘Uaah…’
The touch that massaged him felt like it was relieving fatigue, but the more he received it, the more it felt strangely ticklish.
They had held hands countless times, and lately, Seoyul was becoming accustomed to other forms of skinship too. But for some reason, his heart was racing, and he felt strange in a way he couldn’t understand.
‘W-what should I do…’
His face was burning so much that he couldn’t lift his head at all. Plus, hadn’t he been the one to take Dowoon’s hand first and start Guiding?
It would be weird to pull away now, and since he needed to do the Guiding anyway, either now or after they finished studying, Seoyul didn’t know what to do.
“Your Guiding feels good.”
“I-I’m… I’m glad…”
Seoyul muttered in a small voice, steadily flowing energy. Dowoon watched, resting his chin on his hand, and smiled.
‘Ah, this is crazy. Really.’
Seoyul being shy was insanely cute. The reason he was so bashful was probably because he wasn’t used to such affectionate touches.
With a pleased expression, Dowoon pressed down on the soft palm and then stroked it ticklishly. Slowly, leisurely, and with a somewhat sticky feeling, he rubbed and massaged the back of Seoyul’s hand.
Innocent Seoyul didn’t know what such touches meant and was flustered, not knowing what to do.
That reaction gave Dowoon a pleasant satisfaction.
“Um, excuse me… we should stop studying now.”
Seoyul, seemingly unable to bear it anymore, mumbled in an even more hushed voice. But having set the mood like this, Dowoon had no intention of letting Seoyul go.
“Mmm. Let’s study.”
Dowoon responded in a fresh voice that completely contradicted his lingering touch. This left Seoyul at a loss.
“Uh, well. M-my hand…”
“Hmm? You can study with one hand, can’t you? Oh, is it hard to turn the pages? I’ll turn them for you.”
“Pardon? Uh, well, that’s…”
Although releasing his hand would resolve everything, Dowoon pretended not to understand and refused to let go.
Seoyul thought that perhaps since Dowoon had started receiving Guiding, he wanted to continue receiving it.
‘I-I started this, so I should endure this much.’
Without realizing he had fallen for Dowoon’s trick, Seoyul turned his attention to the book.
Rub, rub.
Tickle, tickle.
Scratch, scratch.
The sounds of Dowoon playing with Seoyul’s hand and of Seoyul writing something on paper filled the room.
It was a peaceful study scene. But Seoyul’s internal state was anything but peaceful.
‘W-what should I do? I can’t concentrate at all.’
He couldn’t understand why he was so conscious of his hand being held. Maybe trying to study while Guiding was too much after all?
Seoyul kept thinking while busily moving his free hand.
Both Guiding and studying were important. He thought his concentration might be divided because of this.
‘I-I can do it. Hang in there!’
Seoyul strengthened his resolve to do well at both. He worked hard at Guiding and at memorizing.
But…
‘It’s not working. It’s too much.’
Seoyul finally raised his head with a tearful face.
And there, his eyes met directly with Dowoon’s, who was watching him with gently curved eyes.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
