Aside from a slight lisp caused by his stretched-out cheeks, Hye-seong thought he’d explained himself pretty well. Ji-ho’s expression was gradually softening too, as if his suspicions were finally being laid to rest.
It really felt like he was in PR mode now.
“Even if I were a fan of yours, Ji-ho, I’ve always done my best to stay professional in this position. I’ve never let personal feelings get in the way of my duties. As for leaks or crossing personal boundaries… you really don’t have to worry. I promised the Director too. I swear. Please believe me.”
“I see.”
“It’s true, really…”
Ji-ho’s expression was still complicated, but after a moment, the corner of his mouth twitched up into a faint smile—without him even realizing it. Those sad, droopy brows sitting over his big eyes were just… kind of pitiful.
“Why are you smiling?”
Even as Hye-seong asked, the corner of his mouth twitched up to match Ji-ho’s.
“Pfft.”
Ji-ho frowned for a second at that goofy look—but then burst out laughing.
Hye-seong blinked in surprise, and then his eyes curved into a smile of their own.
“…Hehe.”
“Pfft—puhahaha!”
His cheeks flushed red. Even with his face still being squished, Hye-seong kept smiling sweetly, and Ji-ho laughed harder than he had in a long time.
Now, instead of kneading Hye-seong’s soft cheeks, Ji-ho had to press his own lips together to stifle his laughter. Meanwhile, Hye-seong, finally freed, massaged his tingling cheeks but couldn’t take his eyes off Ji-ho’s laughing face.
“You really aren’t my fan?”
“No…”
“Alright. Got it.”
Hye-seong let out a breath of relief. Ji-ho, meanwhile, was still quietly chuckling to himself.
Hye-seong had no idea what was so funny and looked at Ji-ho curiously, but Ji-ho had no intention of explaining.
Ah. He’s such a dumbass.
That was Ji-ho’s latest impression of Baek Hye-seong. Especially with those flushed cheeks and that dopey little smile—it really sealed the deal.
“Alright, time to start guiding. You’re not my fan—you’re my Pair Guide.”
“Yessir.”
As ridiculous as it was to laugh like this—Ji-ho hadn’t laughed like this in ages—it still didn’t change the fact that he’d found Hye-seong’s earlier behavior genuinely infuriating.
Claiming not to be a fan and lying straight to his face. Who had dared to touch him and send him over like that? Someone else’s hands all over his Guide?
He didn’t look it, but the kid was unbelievably shameless. Not that Ji-ho really cared whether Hye-seong was his fan or not, or if he saw other people—but still.
The way he’d impulsively grabbed and kneaded Hye-seong’s face… he had to admit, it was oddly satisfying. He should’ve felt gross about touching someone’s skin like that, but it felt more like squishing a soft doll. Like it was filled with something kind of watery inside.
Who knew—maybe rumors had already spread among other Espers. Maybe that weird blush came from someone else manhandling his cheeks on the way here. And Hye-seong was just too much of an idiot to even realize it.
Annoyed by the thought, Ji-ho’s brows furrowed. His hands—resting on his knees—curled slightly as if searching for that earlier sensation.
And then a thought hit him.
If he’s my Pair Guide, doesn’t that mean all his energy is mine?
This guy, who claims to be a fan, and is a mere B-rank Guide at that, dares to share his energy with someone else? As if it doesn’t belong to me?
Fucking hell.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“……”
When their eyes met, Hye-seong blinked at him with those big round eyes. Ji-ho didn’t respond.
Instead, he shook his head. Hye-seong shrugged and went back to digging through his bag, focusing on the equipment setup.
Ji-ho was suddenly irritated, though he didn’t know why. He’d never really had anything taken from him before, so this feeling was unfamiliar—and confusing.
It was completely different from usual. Normally, he would’ve understood his emotions right away. But now… he didn’t.
Wasn’t this a breach of contract? Did Director Shin even know about this mess? What the hell is wrong with the Yeouido Center’s Guide management?
Ji-ho figured he should probably call the Director later.
He’d spent years criticizing the incompetence of the Center and other Espers, but this was the first time he’d questioned the Guide management system itself since becoming an Esper.
While Ji-ho was lost in thought, brows furrowed, Hye-seong finished setting things up beside him.
He pulled out a row of disposable wave pattern measurement patches from his bag. The smartwatch pager could measure wave patterns too, but this method was more accurate for calculating real-time fluctuations.
Lately, all Hye-seong thought about was how to improve his guiding efficiency with Ji-ho.
“I’ll show you that I’m taking this Pair position seriously—as a professional Guide.”
“……”
“Please trust me. I’ll make sure you’re never uncomfortable.”
Ji-ho stared silently at Hye-seong’s determined face.
Both cheeks were bright red. Did he realize what he looked like? It was absurd. Talking about being a professional when he’d probably just had his face squished by some other asshole.
He didn’t like it, but the atmosphere was too solemn to argue, so Ji-ho decided to let him do as he pleased. He gave a small nod, and Hye-seong gently pulled Ji-ho’s arm over and placed the patch.
The fact that someone could touch him like this and he was okay with it… was still strange. The sensation of unfamiliar skin was still odd, but not uncomfortable. It was even relaxing.
There was a time when the mere thought of this would’ve made him sick.
As Hye-seong continued, the noise in Ji-ho’s head started to fade.
Ji-ho stared at the hand holding his arm. Every time Hye-seong came to guide him, Ji-ho found himself watching wherever their skin met.
No matter how many times he saw it, it was strange. That he could be at peace with someone else’s skin touching his.
“Do you have a headache today too?”
“…No.”
“Wow. It’s still not perfect, but compared to the beginning, you’ve gotten so much better. That’s such a relief…”
“……”
“And your sleep’s been okay too?”
“Yeah.”
He was slowly getting used to the soft, gentle way Hye-seong spoke when holding his hand. It used to irritate him every time.
When the cool patch was attached and the device placed beside them, Ji-ho’s wave pattern graph popped up automatically on the connected tablet. Hye-seong had been granted access to view it recently.
It was still unstable, but steadily improving.
They hadn’t been guiding consistently for very long, so the future looked promising—as long as they kept at it.
“That’s strange…”
Hye-seong tore his eyes from the screen to look at Ji-ho’s face, tilting his head.
“You really don’t have a headache? You can tell me honestly, you know.”
“Yeah. I mean it.”
Ji-ho answered flatly. Headaches were so normal for him that this barely counted as one.
“Well… that’s good then.”
Hye-seong turned back to the monitor.
According to the graph, Ji-ho was still dealing with symptoms like headaches, tinnitus, and skin inflammation in his daily life. It was good to hear him say he felt fine, but they clearly still had a long way to go.
After placing Ji-ho’s hand gently on the folding table he’d set on the sofa, Hye-seong also laid a packet of mixed nuts beside it.
Ever since he started guiding Ji-ho, his energy had been depleting rapidly, so proper nutrition was more important than ever. If Hye-seong ever got dizzy, he’d need it. Hye-seong had even started eating regularly and taking supplements—something he’d never done before.
“Then I’ll begin the guiding.”
“Alright.”
Technically, guiding had already started back when Ji-ho randomly squished his cheeks for a full minute… but Hye-seong decided not to count that.
Were they really that red? He couldn’t check, but judging by the lingering tingling, they definitely must be. Still, the warmth on his cheeks came from Ji-ho, so he didn’t mind at all.
He checked his watch, then fixed his eyes on the graph on the tablet. With his other hand, he firmly grasped Ji-ho’s. His hand was warm, as always.
Ji-ho usually gave him about two hours a day, which lined up nicely with the runtime of a single movie. Hye-seong always wished there was more time—or that he could give Ji-ho more energy at once.
“Do you really have to keep staring at that screen?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah, sort of…”
Caught up in thought, Hye-seong gave a vague answer.
Still, it’s good his head doesn’t hurt.
Truly a relief. Headaches were one of the most basic aftereffects of Guiding Deficiency. The absence of that symptom meant that, despite what the numbers said, Ji-ho was in better shape than expected. Curious, Hye-seong turned to check his expression.
At that moment, Ji-ho was already looking at him. Their eyes met. Hye-seong flinched and quickly shifted his gaze back to the screen, head slightly bowed.
He’d almost gotten lost staring at Ji-ho again. His condition really did seem good today, so maybe he could finally relax a little.
…No, Ji-ho was as perfect as ever.
There were plenty of reasons Hye-seong hadn’t told him he was a fan. First, he figured Ji-ho would be uncomfortable. After all, Ji-ho had been in the public eye since he was barely legal—he didn’t need his own Guide to be a fan too. That would only add pressure. And then there was—
“Huh?”
A sudden flicker on the monitor snapped Hye-seong out of his thoughts.
The graph he’d been staring at to avoid Ji-ho’s eyes began glitching and blinking.
Fzzzt—
“Oh!”
And then with a strange sound, the screen went completely black. Smoke even started to waft up from the back.
“What the…?!”
Frozen in shock, Hye-seong looked over at Ji-ho in a panic. His eyes were practically pleading for help. Ji-ho calmly stared at the broken tablet.
“Huh. That’s weird.”
“……”
“I wonder what happened.”
Ji-ho shrugged innocently, his expression pure as could be.
