Chapter 52
Inside was a ranking battle leaderboard. Seoyul turned his head again to check Dowoon’s rank on the screen.
[1st place: Cha Dowoon]
Dowoon’s name was proudly written in the top spot. It seemed like not much time had passed since he heard Dowoon was participating in the ranking battle, yet he had already reached 1st place.
“Do you know how hard I worked to rise so quickly? This is really amazing. Getting 1st place is easy, but achieving it in such a short time is truly difficult!”
Dowoon whispered boastfully. Of course, his rank had naturally risen while he was running around keeping other Espers in check and continuing to receive Guiding from Seoyul.
It was impressive, but given Dowoon’s actions, it was an expected result.
“Amazing! That’s really amazing, Esper-nim!”
But Seoyul, who couldn’t possibly know the details, marveled with sparkling eyes.
“Esper-nim seems capable of doing anything! You were 1st in the entrance exam, and now 1st in this too!”
The admiration and respect in Seoyul’s gaze was palpable. However, Dowoon couldn’t purely enjoy the praise. His conscience… was slightly pricked.
Seoyul seemed to believe that getting a perfect score on the entrance exam meant ranking 1st, but Dowoon hadn’t actually been 1st.
‘No, what does that matter? Among the Espers, I was 1st.’
That’s right, that’s right.
Dowoon nodded and said to Seoyul, “I did well, right?”
“Yes!”
“Impressive, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then you’ll give me a reward, right?”
“Yes!! …Huh?”
Seoyul had been answering continuously but trailed off at the end, tilting his head in confusion. Reward…?
“You said you’d give me one, right?”
“What? Oh, no. This is…”
Flustered, Seoyul stomped his feet, unsure of what to do. A reward… what could he possibly give Dowoon?
‘I can only offer Guiding…’
Guiding?
Seoyul finally realized what he could give. Since Dowoon wasn’t the type to ask for something unreasonable, this seemed like the only possibility.
As proof, Dowoon faced Seoyul with a smirk and asked, “You’ll give it to me, right?”
“Uh… th-that…”
But Seoyul hesitated, his words trailing off. He wondered if that would truly be a reward for Dowoon.
He was already providing Guiding every day, so why would it be considered a reward? Shouldn’t he give something more special?
Despite these thoughts, he was willing to give it anytime if that’s what Dowoon wanted.
“I-if Esper-nim is okay with it…”
Seoyul said to Dowoon with a slightly flushed face. Someone calling his Guiding a reward… somehow it made his heart swell.
“Really? Then give me a hug now.”
“What…?”
For a moment, Seoyul thought he had misheard and looked up questioningly. But it seemed he had heard correctly as Dowoon continued explaining.
“I want it now. Okay?”
“Uh. Um…”
Flustered, Seoyul rolled his eyes around, surveying their surroundings. He could see Espers and Guides engaged in their own conversations.
“H-here?”
Seoyul asked again, just to be sure. This time, Dowoon came closer and whispered intimately in his ear.
“Since there are many watching eyes… appropriately… you know?”
That ambiguous statement made Seoyul even more embarrassed. Plus, asking for Guiding in such a crowded place.
It was awkward and embarrassing, but since Dowoon wanted it, a desire to comply gradually rose within him.
“Th-then, just a little…”
Seoyul approached Dowoon hesitantly. Then he carefully wrapped his arms around Dowoon’s back and buried his face against him.
He felt his face flush bright red, and both his neck and ears burned hot. He wondered if he could control his Guiding in this state. But thinking that he should be fine after all the practice he’d had, he carefully drew up energy.
‘Ah, really…’
A massive surge of energy began flowing into Dowoon. Yet, perhaps because he’d received so much energy before, or maybe due to Seoyul’s practice showing results, it was at a manageable level.
To think that Seoyul would provide Guiding in a place with so many watching eyes.
It was satisfying, as if he had spread rumors throughout the neighborhood that this Guide was his Guide.
‘Though there seem to be side effects too.’
Dowoon looked up while holding Seoyul in his arms. Immediately, the gazes of those who had been subtly watching the two of them dropped away.
‘They know what’s beautiful.’
The fact that such a Guide treasured him made him extremely happy. But simultaneously, the possibility that someone might take Seoyul away made him anxious.
It was like an instinct—even if it seemed childish, he wanted to expand his influence.
‘This should be enough, right?’
Judging that enough rumors had spread by now, Dowoon whispered in Seoyul’s ear.
“You can give me an appropriate amount now.”
At those words, Seoyul’s face adorably and beautifully heated up. The warmed Guide, having understood the meaning of his words, began providing C-grade energy.
‘Ah, this is good too.’
Regardless of the energy grade, everything Seoyul gave was wonderful. He adored this Guide who was screaming with his whole body that he cared deeply about Dowoon.
For now, it was just concern, but he hoped that over time, this concern would transform into the same feelings he had.
‘When that time comes…’
How wonderful would that be.
Dowoon grinned broadly, indulging in such happy fantasies.
But contrary to his reaction, those around them couldn’t close their mouths due to surprise.
‘Cha Dowoon with an expression like that…?’
‘Didn’t the Guide just willingly embrace him?’
‘Did he threaten him?’
‘So that’s why he was hovering around him.’
‘The Guide… is cute.’
Zap.
Somehow, a sharp gaze fell upon the person who had that last thought. Even knowing that Dowoon didn’t have mind-reading abilities, the person trembled as if his thoughts had been read.
Of course, other Espers who had similar thoughts felt the same. And everyone unanimously thought the same thing.
‘They say an S-class Esper’s intuition is beastly itself…’
Beyond intuition, Dowoon, who seemed to be baring his fangs to swallow his own Guide whole, appeared to be nothing but a beast in human disguise.
* * *
‘How could this happen.’
Seoyul never expected that the reward he gave to Dowoon would create such a ripple effect.
‘Why have the rumors spread so much…’
What had happened between him and Dowoon at the Center that day had spread to everyone.
If it had ended there, it wouldn’t have been so embarrassing, but the rumors had taken a strange, shameful, and flustering direction.
They were mostly nonsensical stories—either Dowoon was completely infatuated with his Esper and couldn’t escape, or the Guide was being coerced.
Insung had also heard these rumors and offered advice to Seoyul with concern.
‘Guide Seoyul, no matter how much an Esper wants it, you don’t need to provide Guiding in places where you’re uncomfortable.’
Setting aside the rumors, when Insung spoke to him like that, he realized it must not have been a normal behavior.
When with Dowoon, he was always bewildered, embarrassed, and flushed, so he couldn’t tell what was normal and what wasn’t, what actions were okay and what weren’t.
So he nodded and said he understood, but if such a situation arose again, he wasn’t confident he could refuse to provide Guiding.
‘Since I wanted it too… it should be okay, right?’
His heart kept leaning that way, so it seemed unavoidable. But that thought was short-lived.
While providing Guiding was fine, he became increasingly conscious of the gazes around them.
He felt eyes watching the two of them wherever they were. There were far more than Seoyul had thought. Though they didn’t seem to have bad intentions, once he noticed, it continued to bother him.
He had consulted with Minjun about this, but Minjun just said in a teasing tone that he was only realizing this now and told him to give up.
But unlike Seoyul, Dowoon didn’t seem to care much. No, he actually seemed to be enjoying it.
“Let’s go. Time to eat.”
Dowoon had been increasing his visits and now declared they would eat together. Of course, there was a reason.
Due to a mission scheduled for a week later, he planned to be away for a long time, so he needed to ensure his physical condition was perfectly recovered.
He needed to stick close to Seoyul to recover perfectly, he said.
Moreover, he made Seoyul’s heart flutter again by saying that since they wouldn’t see each other for a long time, he needed to see him as much as possible.
‘I-I shouldn’t misunderstand. Esper-nim is just treating me this way because I’m his Guide and he’s grown attached over time.’
Without even realizing that the premise of a misunderstanding itself showed his heart was tilting toward Dowoon, Seoyul repeated this to himself several times before looking at Dowoon.
A large hand was in front of him.
“What are you doing? Hurry and take it.”
“Ah, yes!”
Seoyul, who had been spacing out, quickly took Dowoon’s hand. Then Dowoon smoothly interlaced their fingers, readjusting his grip with a smirk.
“Let’s go.”
Thump.
Thump.
Seoyul’s heart began to beat intensely. It was no different from their usual behavior, but he couldn’t understand why his heart was racing and pounding like this.
“What do you want to eat today?”
“T-today…”
Seoyul trailed off, contemplating. Dowoon always asked for Seoyul’s opinion, so he tried to quickly gather his thoughts. But he was still so conscious of their clasped hands that it was difficult to think.
‘Why, why am I like this…?’
It was perplexing. The physical contact that had been fine until now seemed to become more and more noticeable as time passed.
The practice he had done so far felt embarrassing, as it became increasingly difficult and distracting over time.
But contrary to these feelings, his Guiding seemed to be going quite smoothly. How strange that his Guiding was working well while his heart was so unstable.
He wondered if that meant he had grown that much, but his fluttering heart still made him anxious.
“Uh, oh? Watch out!”
Perhaps because he had been walking with his mind elsewhere.
He failed to notice the stairs in front of him and misstepped.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
