Chapter 49
“Seriously, people with no skills sure talk a lot!”
After thoroughly beating those who had been badmouthing him, Dowoon walked away confidently.
Still, having faced two opponents at once, he was disappointed that he’d broken a sweat.
“Ah. How uncomfortable.”
He was slightly concerned about receiving Guiding in this state.
‘Should I wash up first? But what if I’m late?’
Seoyul had his own schedule. Dowoon had been careful to request Guiding only when Seoyul had free time.
He believed that was why Seoyul provided Guiding without complaint.
“Hmm…”
Dowoon fell into thought briefly. Time-wise, if he quickly showered and used spatial movement, it should be fine.
“Right. I can’t give him a dirty impression.”
Having made his decision quickly, he headed to the shower room. He showered faster than ever before and changed his clothes.
There wasn’t time to put on his top, so he held his t-shirt in his hand as he initiated spatial movement.
Flash!
With a white light, space distorted and he arrived at the Guiding room.
“Whoa!”
Seoyul, who happened to be moving somewhere, collided with Dowoon and lost his balance.
“Where are you rushing off to?”
Dowoon easily caught Seoyul, pulled him into his arms, and promptly sat down in a chair.
“E-Esper-nim?”
“Yes. It’s me.”
Seoyul looked at Dowoon, still unable to calm his rapidly beating heart.
When Dowoon hadn’t arrived by the appointed time, Seoyul had been about to check the hallway to see when he might come.
But to appear so suddenly like this!
He knew Dowoon could use spatial movement, but since he rarely used it, Seoyul was completely surprised.
“Why…”
“Why did I come by spatial movement?”
When Seoyul nodded slightly, Dowoon smiled and answered:
“Because I was in a hurry.”
“W-what?!”
Seoyul was surprised once more and opened his eyes wide. Just how many times was he planning to shock him?
Seoyul’s heart began to race again due to Dowoon’s words and actions.
‘H-hurry, he says…’
As his face reddened, he lowered his gaze and saw a firm chest. It seemed Dowoon had just showered, as his chest was still moist, not having been dried properly.
“Uh… E-Esper-nim… y-you’ll catch a cold…”
Seoyul’s face turned tomato-red, not knowing where to look. But Dowoon casually embraced Seoyul and spoke:
“Don’t worry. I don’t catch things like that.”
Seoyul’s body stiffened completely as he was held in Dowoon’s large embrace. He couldn’t understand why he was reacting this way when Dowoon had merely removed his top. Hadn’t they Guided in this position yesterday too?
‘Why am I so conscious of it?’
Seoyul tightly closed his eyes and then opened them, examining Dowoon. Gathering a bit of courage, he placed his arms around Dowoon’s neck and carefully began Guiding. After all, he still needed to provide Guiding.
“Haah…”
A satisfied breath escaped from Dowoon. That breath felt somehow ticklish, making Seoyul feel like his vision was turning white.
He became unnecessarily conscious of his nape and the parts touching Dowoon. With more skin contact than when Dowoon wore clothes, his reddened face showed no signs of returning to normal.
‘Ah, why am I like this…’
Seoyul truly couldn’t understand why he was reacting this way. He kept telling himself it was just the same person’s body, but the sensation lingered at his fingertips, and the image he had just seen kept circling in his mind.
Seoyul swallowed dryly and lowered his gaze. His eyes caught the sight of well-defined muscles that twitched with each breath Dowoon exhaled.
For some reason, his lips felt extremely dry.
“Seoyul.”
“Y-yes?”
At the sudden voice, his heart sank. Has he been… caught?
Seoyul’s heart began to race, fearing that his thoughts and emotions might have been read.
It was beating so loudly that he thought even Dowoon could hear it. So as he tried to move his body slightly away, Dowoon tightened his grip and whispered in his ear:
“I need to go somewhere quickly… is it okay if I receive a little faster?”
Okay?
Okay?
Okay?
In Seoyul’s confused mind, only that word floated around. He couldn’t remember the object of the sentence. So, thinking he should answer, he nodded.
“Really? Thank you, Seoyul.”
Dowoon’s clear, bright voice reached his ear. Though he wasn’t sure what he had agreed to, as long as Dowoon was satisfied, Seoyul felt it was fine.
But Seoyul stiffened again at Dowoon’s next action. A large hand slipped inside his top.
‘Uh…’
His mind went blank and ceased to function in an instant. What was truly surprising came next.
As soon as he registered Dowoon’s hand on his waist, Guiding energy began to flow out in large amounts.
Seoyul was flustered and tried to quickly pull away, feeling this wasn’t right. But Dowoon, not loosening his arms, quietly murmured:
“Just a little… okay?”
Whoosh.
This couldn’t be happening.
Seoyul couldn’t move at all. Though the words had no special power, that single sentence made him lose his will to escape.
As energy continued to flow out to Dowoon in large quantities, heat began to rise from the tips of his toes.
‘Gasp!’
Feeling a great sense of crisis, Seoyul quickly distanced himself from Dowoon and shouted:
“S-stop…!”
Wh-what now…?
Having shouted that, he couldn’t find the courage to face Dowoon. His first thought was what if Dowoon believed he was rejecting the Guiding.
Of course, that was partly true, but definitely not because he disliked Dowoon…
“Ah, I’m sorry. I think I got too greedy.”
“Uh… that’s…”
Seoyul hastily raised his head at Dowoon’s words. In front of him was a pitiful face that seemed genuinely sorry.
With a twinge in his heart, words that hadn’t passed through his brain tumbled out:
“N-no, it’s not that. It’s just… I’m not used to it yet… so.”
“No. You’ve tried hard enough. Thanks to you, I’ve gained a lot of energy.”
Dowoon stood up and helped Seoyul stand straight. As if wanting to praise him, he patted Seoyul’s head while conveying his gratitude.
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
“Ah… okay…”
Seoyul nodded dazedly. He watched as Dowoon turned around and left the Guiding room, hearing the “bang” of the door closing.
Only then did Seoyul’s tension release, and he collapsed onto the seat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
What on earth had just happened?
With his heart still pounding heavily and the lingering warmth the only reminders of what had just occurred, Seoyul couldn’t stand up for a while.
Unknown to him, Dowoon, who had appeared composed, was in a similar state.
Dowoon walked quickly, then stopped and leaned against the wall. Covering his mouth as if hot breaths were about to escape, he murmured softly:
“Ah… are you crazy, Cha Dowoon…”
Though he had left pretending to be fine, his actions just now had been truly dangerous. It was a miracle that he had managed to act as if nothing had happened.
“Seal it. Seal it. Absolutely seal it.”
He kept repeating to himself, but the consequences of his greed were devastating.
Seoyul’s Guiding that overflowed beyond what he could handle, the confusing emotions, the softness in his hands…
“Aaargh!”
Eventually, Dowoon screamed and collapsed right in the hallway. He had intended to slowly seduce Seoyul, but it seemed like he was the one who had rushed ahead.
“Haah…”
It seemed that in trying to tempt Seoyul, his own feelings had only deepened.
* * *
Having fallen for his own trick, Dowoon was again standing in front of the Guiding room the next day.
“Ahem. Hmm.”
Just yesterday, he had declared such actions sealed, yet his heart had changed before a day had even passed.
‘But I still need to receive Guiding, don’t I?’
Though it felt like he was about to go crazy, wasn’t this all part of training! He needed to be able to receive Guiding calmly and go into battle at any time.
Dowoon reassured himself with this rationalization. After a long deep breath, he pulled the doorknob.
“Seoyul. I’m here.”
“Y-you’re here?!”
Seoyul nervously welcomed Dowoon. As an awkward atmosphere flowed, Dowoon blamed himself, thinking he should have waited a bit. At the very least, he should have brazenly requested Guiding last evening and lightened the mood.
If he had done that, Seoyul wouldn’t be acting so awkwardly now.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do so, knowing he might do something unpredictable if he received Guiding yesterday.
‘But now is different!’
He had grown to another level. He was now in a state of strong mental preparation, so there was no problem. It was time to take another step forward.
Dowoon reaffirmed his resolve and brought up the conversation with Seoyul.
“Seoyul. I’ve been thinking a bit about yesterday’s incident.”
“Pardon? Uh, wh-what about it?”
Seoyul stammered in confusion. Thinking… was he referring to the rejection? His pupils trembled at the thought.
‘If I tell the truth… would that be okay?’
That it wasn’t because he disliked it but because he was just surprised.
Having never been touched like that by another person, Seoyul thought it would be fine once he got used to it. So he had made a small resolve to apologize immediately and express his thoughts if Dowoon came to complain.
But…
“I think both you and I need more practice.”
“Pardon…?”
Prac…tice…?
Seoyul’s head tilted in confusion.
“Since we don’t know when, where, or in what situation you’ll need to Guide, let’s both get used to it. And in such situations, your emotions…”
“Ah…”
Hearing that far, Seoyul’s face flared up again.
‘It seems… he feels it better.’
True. Though he had been gradually getting accustomed, he was still quite deficient. After being so flustered yesterday, his Guiding couldn’t have been perfect.
And…
‘I don’t… dislike it.’
He didn’t dislike being with Dowoon like that. So it was fine. Rather, it was goo—
“I-I understand what you mean!”
Seoyul quickly blurted out, alarmed by the direction of his own thoughts. Dowoon visibly rejoiced in response:
“Really?”
“Yes. So, like yesterday… we need to practice… Guiding…”
“Would that be alright?”
Before Seoyul could finish, Dowoon’s eyes sparkled as he confirmed his intention. Such behavior felt like consideration to Seoyul. So he answered with a quiet nod.
“Great. I’ll try my best too. To get used to your Guiding.”
“Y-yes…! M-me too! Esper-nim.”
Having obtained what he wanted, Dowoon inwardly cheered in triumph.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
