Chapter 7
“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
Sunjeong winked at Seoyul as she turned her head. Dowoon, clearly displeased about something, entered the room with a frown.
‘Uh… that’s not anxious, that’s…’
It was a look that seemed like he wanted to tear Seoyul apart. How could that expression be described as anxious!
Seoyul felt intimidated by his presence and inched his hips back slightly. But Dowoon approached without hesitation, closing the distance as he spoke.
“Hey, I need to talk to you for a moment.”
…What did he want to discuss by calling him out separately?
Still afraid of that intense gaze, Seoyul just clutched his clothes tightly. At this, Sunjeong shot a sharp look and shouted.
“What do you mean ‘talk for a moment’? If you want to talk, do it here.”
She casually pulled Dowoon down to sit beside her. Only then did Seoyul breathe a sigh of relief, though he still sweated profusely under that intense gaze.
“Why did you come when nobody called you?”
Meanwhile, Sunjeong asked as she sat slouched on the sofa. Seoyul was also curious about this, so he cautiously turned his head.
But instead of answering, Dowoon posed a question.
“He’s my Guide, right?”
My, my Guide?
His face flushed at the sudden statement. Unable to lift his head, he lowered his gaze as the two continued their conversation.
“Since he’s the only Guide who can Guide you, I suppose so.”
“When will he start Guiding me then?”
“Well… I think he’ll need to practice for about three more months.”
“What? Three months?!!”
The man who had been quietly asking questions exclaimed in shock. What did she mean it would take three months?
Sunjeong seemed to read Dowoon’s mind and continued with a mischievous smile.
“Why are you so surprised? Rate is a beginner. Besides, did you think it would be easy for a C-grade to Guide an S-grade?”
“He did it last time! Why not now?!”
“That was just a small taste. Doing it properly is a completely different story. With such a big grade difference, do you want to ruin him by consuming him?”
Con-consuming?
Seoyul was startled and raised his head again. Though afraid to ask what that meant, he couldn’t help but inquire.
“C-consume me?”
When he asked in a trembling voice, Sunjeong slapped Dowoon’s arm as if to say ‘see?’
“See! Do you want to receive Guiding from someone who’s this scared of you?”
“…”
Unable to refute, he cast a fierce gaze at Seoyul.
‘Eek!’
Frightened again, Seoyul hastily lowered his head.
Seeing this, Sunjeong yelled “No fierce looks!” at Dowoon and hit his forehead. A vein bulged on Dowoon’s forehead from that action, but Sunjeong completely ignored it and spoke to Seoyul.
“When there’s a grade difference, the lower one can get dragged along. Since receiving Guiding is new to this guy too, we need to be very careful.”
“Ah…”
“Plus, since he can’t receive Guiding, even if he wants to practice, he can’t…”
As she spoke, her eyes looked at him as if he was useless. Dowoon caught that look and flared up, shouting.
“Why can’t I do it?! I can do it! All I have to do is stay still, right?!”
“Oh? Really?”
Sunjeong threw him a sly look and moved in close. Dowoon flinched and closed his mouth.
After closing his lips tight and pondering, he buried himself in the sofa and muttered in a disgruntled voice.
“You can… just supervise.”
“Puhaha!”
At those words, Sunjeong’s laughter burst forth.
It had been a while since she had seen him like this. After laughing for a while, she wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke.
“What do you think, Rate? Can you do it? If it’s burdensome, you can refuse. With us supervising, there probably won’t be any major danger, but your own will is important.”
Seoyul thought for a moment. But there wasn’t much to think about. If he had to practice anyway, wouldn’t it be better to do it with Dowoon?
That way, he could be of help a little sooner.
‘Besides, she said she would be watching…’
He still found it difficult to be alone with Dowoon. But knowing Sunjeong would be by his side was reassuring.
“I’ll… do it.”
“See! I told you he could do it!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Dowoon shouted. To Seoyul, it looked like he was irritated, but to Sunjeong, it was clearly visible.
‘Look at this guy?’
It was quite funny how he was pretending not to be relieved while actually stroking his chest in relief. Should she tease him more or not?
But thinking about how much this prideful guy must have agonized to come this far, she decided to back off for today.
“Alright. Then let’s practice here from now on.”
Sunjeong clapped her hands with a bright voice, clearly pleased. It seemed like she would get to see something interesting for a while.
But unlike Sunjeong, Dowoon’s face remained deeply furrowed. Sunjeong threw another warning at him.
“Especially you! You’re a beginner too, so do it properly, not half-heartedly. Understand?!”
“Ah, really! I get it!”
He showed his irritation, but it didn’t work on Sunjeong. Instead, she messed up his hair even more, considering him impudent.
Dowoon sighed deeply, seeing a bleak future ahead.
“Haah…”
* * *
After that, Seoyul went to the lab every day to practice Guiding Dowoon. Since there was also a teacher to guide him on Guiding techniques, he worked really hard.
Seoyul’s eyes always sparkled with enthusiasm. But Dowoon’s eyes were consistently dull. As soon as he received Guiding, he would lose focus and constantly try to take the lead, resulting in getting warned several times a day.
Amusingly, Seoyul was the honor student, and Dowoon was the poor student.
“Again, again! Won’t you pay attention?!”
“Ow!”
Seoyul, who had been continuing with Guiding under Sunjeong’s supervision, looked up at the powerful sound. The increasingly powerful slapping sound genuinely hurt to hear.
But Dowoon merely expressed irritation at himself for missing again, without showing any sign of pain.
‘As expected, S-grade Espers are amazing.’
It wasn’t particularly amazing just because he was S-grade, but to Seoyul’s eyes, which were completely smitten, everything looked impressive.
“Again, again!!”
“Ah! Really! Stop hitting me! I know! I know!”
“Oh? Getting temperamental? Shall we stop?”
“…”
Under Sunjeong’s threat, Dowoon obediently tucked his tail and started to focus again.
‘Haah. Damn. So tantalizing.’
It had been several days since they started Guiding practice. At first, it had been insanely good, but as he got used to it, he felt it was still lacking.
But even so, it felt so good that his reason kept slipping away. If he felt this way despite being several grades below, he wondered how those who received Guiding from someone of the same grade lived.
‘It’s only tolerable because I’m S-grade. Those crazy guys. They’re definitely having dirty thoughts while receiving something even better than this every day.’
Despite feeling more sensitive due to various overlapping circumstances, Dowoon cursed other Espers with such thoughts.
He did so because otherwise, he felt he might lose his last remaining pride.
“Again, again! No, Rate is doing well, why do you keep looking like that?”
Once more, Sunjeong’s sharp criticism flew at him.
‘I’ve never been treated like this before.’
Dowoon had been an S-grade Esper since before he matured. He had the disadvantage of not being able to receive Guiding, but because he was born with superior genes, he excelled at everything.
Having lived receiving only admiring glances, with people saying “as expected of an S-grade,” this kind of treatment was truly a first for him.
If he were his usual self, he would have kicked back and walked out immediately. But whenever he received the Guiding that Seoyul sent his way, that feeling disappeared.
‘Haah. Why is his energy so soft?’
What had been inconsistent at first became mellow and caressed his body just days later. Perhaps that’s why his sharper emotions were gradually settling down.
The tinnitus and headaches persisted, but just being able to feel these sensations was a great joy for Dowoon.
“Haah…”
“Look, look, he’s dying of pleasure again.”
Even Sunjeong’s teasing had become familiar by now. No, he had decided to be shameless now.
What’s wrong with an Esper enjoying Guiding? Isn’t that natural?
Thinking that way made his mind at ease.
“Dowoon, do you like it a lot? Tell me how much you like it. It might help as a reference when Guiding. Hmm?”
Familiar, my ass.
‘Damn it. Just wait. I’ll master this by the end of today!’
Dowoon was all fired up. But as the Guiding continued, he cooled down again with a hiss.
Sunjeong chuckled at his easy-to-read reactions, and the lab staff did the same.
A month passed like that.
“Oh! You’re getting quite good now!”
“See! What three months? I mastered it in just one month!”
Dowoon shouted arrogantly.
Sunjeong admired how well the two now exchanged energy, then clicked her tongue at Dowoon’s boasting.
“It’s not you who did well, but Rate. Espers usually only need ten days, you know?”
“…”
Ten days…
‘Damn it. Which bastards mastered it in just ten days?!’
Dowoon’s eyes flashed as he cursed the general statistics. Seoyul, now quite used to such behavior, couldn’t help but smile slightly.
After observing him for a month, he realized that Dowoon was just big in size but not a scary person.
Occasionally, he was startled by his fierce aura, but from his attitude towards Sunjeong and the research staff, he could tell that Dowoon let his guard down around his people.
So Seoyul’s goal was newly revised.
‘I want to be inside that circle too.’
It seemed like too shameless a wish for him, a C-grade, but he thought it would be okay to think about it alone, and grinned.
“Oh my. Look at how this cutie has gained weight in just a month.”
“Uwaaah. M-Miss Sunjeeeeong…”
Sunjeong stretched his now plump, firm cheeks, adoring him thoroughly. Of course, it was one-sided adoration from her, so Seoyul was embarrassed, and Dowoon grimaced as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
“Anyway, he’s ready now, right? He doesn’t have to come here anymore, right?”
“Hmm? Yeah. You can do Guiding on your own now.”
As soon as her permission was given, Dowoon celebrated as if he had finally achieved something. But for Seoyul, now that it was ending like this, he felt more regretful.
“Can I… still come visit?”
The boy asking hesitantly was just too cute. Sunjeong tried to hug him, resembling a squirrel, but failed. Dowoon had snatched Seoyul away before she could.
“Uwah!”
“Stop bothering him. We’re leaving.”
Lest anyone catch them, Dowoon held onto Seoyul and walked with heavy steps.
Seoyul realized it was now okay to hold hands like this without anyone else present. Though he still had to almost run due to the other’s inconsiderate pace, even that felt pleasant.
‘I need to… work harder.’
He found something he wanted to do well. He really wanted to do well so as not to let anyone down. Even if he couldn’t Guide perfectly, he thought that with consistent practice, Dowoon’s side effects might improve.
“Ah, what’s this? If you’re fast, you should say so.”
Discovering him following with a flushed face, Dowoon slowed his pace. The hand still holding his and the considerate slowing of his steps made Seoyul’s heart tingle.
‘I will definitely save him.’
Seoyul made another resolve and smiled without anyone noticing. His heart felt as warm as the warmth he felt in his hand, and he couldn’t suppress his smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
