“When I first became a guide, I was mostly assigned to Han Geon-woo. It’s been a while since I last saw him—I hope he’s doing well…”
“Wow, so he and Hye-seong were connected that way?”
“Right? It’s so strange! Han Geon-woo was such a kind person too, and now that I think about it, you two kind of give off the same vibe. Maybe it’s because you’re friends…”
“He’s worse than me. Quiet to the point of being boring, way too polite. Is he still like that these days?”
Hye-seong tilted his head in thought.
“Well… I’m not sure about the quiet part… He always talked to me a lot about this and that. He was super kind and funny, honestly.”
“Really? You think he’s funny? That’s weird. That can’t be…”
Nam Tae-yoon suddenly stopped and stiffened, staring off in the distance.
Yoo Ji-ho was watching him with eyes sharp enough to kill. As a veteran guide himself, Nam Tae-yoon recognized the intent behind those eyes immediately.
He knew all too well what that kind of gaze meant from an S-rank Esper.
When the conversation abruptly stopped in such an awkward place, Hye-seong sensed something was off.
“Team Leader? Is something wrong?”
“…Come to think of it, I completely forgot I had something to do. Ha ha. I’ll be off now—see you both later! Please rest well. Sorry to intrude.”
“Ah, okay, then…”
Just as they’d been chatting comfortably, Nam Tae-yoon suddenly excused himself, and Hye-seong scrambled awkwardly to his feet.
He was a little dazed, but tried to follow after him to see him off.
“…Ah.”
But he couldn’t go after him.
Even before the door had fully closed, Yoo Ji-ho was already pressing a hand to his forehead and letting out a soft groan.
“Hye-seong, listening to someone else talk nonstop gave me a headache.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Haa. I might have to cancel the oath ceremony schedule…”
“What?! It’s that bad? No way!”
Hye-seong rushed over to him at once.
Behind them, the waiting room door shut with a soft click, leaving behind Nam Tae-yoon’s stunned expression.
“What do I do? Should I call Director Shin right away…?”
“No. Don’t call him. Please.”
It hadn’t been long since he finally managed to get rid of that loudmouth.
Director Shin was probably yawning his way through the orientation ceremony from the VIP seats in the auditorium right about now.
“Okay, then what should I do?”
“I feel like I’ll get better if you lie on top of me.”
“…Here?”
Hye-seong glanced around the waiting room.
“Isn’t that a bit… inappropriate?”
“It’s just the two of us. Why not?”
“Still, I mean… we’re not at home…”
“It’s not that big a deal.”
Yoo Ji-ho often liked to have Hye-seong lie face-down across his torso.
It was a comfortable, stabilizing position, so Hye-seong had never really minded it. But today, for some reason, his body wouldn’t move so easily.
The things they did so naturally at Ji-ho’s place suddenly didn’t feel so natural anymore.
Especially being outside—everything felt even more awkward.
“Hye-seong, I said I’m not feeling well.”
As Hye-seong hesitated, Yoo Ji-ho furrowed his brow and urged him again.
Reluctantly, Hye-seong climbed onto his thighs and sat.
He let his arms rest at Ji-ho’s sides and leaned his cheek against his chest.
Soon, Ji-ho’s hand came up to gently stroke his hair.
“Who’s Han Geon-woo?”
His voice was soft, as usual.
Hye-seong nuzzled lightly against his jacket as he replied.
“Ah, he was the first Esper I got matched with after I became a guide. I think he said he’s on the A2 Team…?”
“Your first.”
“Yeah. Do you know him?”
“Your very first, huh.”
“…….”
Huh?
Thrown off by the strange flow of the conversation, Hye-seong blinked in confusion.
I wonder if Han Geon-woo’s doing well.
Now that he thought about it, Hye-seong had only ever met kind Espers.
Even those who only passed through his care for a short time had always been polite and well-mannered.
He’d never had to deal with the so-called type who looked down on or disliked guides.
Of course, the best among them all was Yoo Ji-ho. He was the one who had given Hye-seong so much—helped him experience so many new things.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was just… blessed.
“…Oh!”
Lost in thought alongside Ji-ho’s silence, Hye-seong suddenly perked up as something came to mind and looked at him.
“Now that I think about it, you have met Han Geon-woo before! He told me about you!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah! He said he’d fought alongside you once. I was so impressed when I heard that!”
Yoo Ji-ho didn’t say anything, and Hye-seong, caught up in the memory, kept going excitedly. He remembered hearing about it the first time he met Ji-ho at the Yeouido Center.
“He said fighting alongside you was like a badge of honor for Espers. I was so surprised when I heard that…”
“So.”
“Huh?”
“There was a guy who used my name to flirt with you.”
“…….”
Hye-seong froze, eyes wide.
He couldn’t understand what Ji-ho meant. But it was clear that Ji-ho had misunderstood his story. And the bigger issue… wasn’t even that.
It wasn’t about the coarse language.
Even with a face that didn’t look particularly different from usual, Ji-ho gave off an unmistakable sense of anger.
Feeling that something had gone wrong, Hye-seong quickly straightened up and began rambling.
“No, no. That’s not it. He was just saying how amazing and cool you are. That’s how I understood it.”
“No matter how you slice it, it sounds like he used me to hit on you.”
His heart thudded in his chest.
Nervously, he clenched a bit of Ji-ho’s jacket.
“Come on, don’t say that. It wasn’t like that at all. When I heard that, I just admired you even more…”
Realizing what he’d just said, Hye-seong clamped his mouth shut.
He had no idea why that slipped out.
Thankfully, Ji-ho didn’t seem to have heard clearly—his expression didn’t show anything unusual. He was just staring, like he was waiting for Hye-seong to finish his sentence.
“Why’d you stop mid-sentence?”
Of course, Ji-ho started pressing him for an answer.
“Ah, I mean, when I heard that, I…”
“Admired me even more?”
“…!”
The hope that he hadn’t heard was clearly just wishful thinking.
Ji-ho hadn’t missed a thing.
“Uh, no…”
As Hye-seong began to stammer, Ji-ho’s sharp gaze slowly traced over his face. And just like that, he could feel his cheeks starting to burn red. It was already far too late to play it off as nothing.
In the end, Hye-seong couldn’t meet his eyes and hung his head.
Then, from above, Ji-ho’s voice came, laced with amusement.
“Unbelievable.”
“Huh…?”
Startled, Hye-seong looked up. Ji-ho was smiling, clearly satisfied.
“Both of you are outrageous… but I’ll let it slide.”
“…….”
“Because Hye-seong said he fell for me all over again.”
At those words, Hye-seong bit down on his lip.
Even he could tell that Ji-ho was teasing him. Still, he couldn’t tell if it was just a joke, or if Ji-ho actually knew something.
“…You should finish the guiding now.”
In the end, it was Hye-seong who couldn’t hold the gaze and lost.
Like fleeing, he buried his face back in Ji-ho’s chest—and above him came the sound of soft, stifled laughter.
I’m going to die of embarrassment.
The way Ji-ho had looked at him when he asked if he’d fallen for him again—it kept replaying in his mind.
And Ji-ho, as if he liked hearing it, had laughed cheerfully.
Maybe he already knew, and he was just enjoying having it confirmed. He hadn’t looked the least bit surprised. As if… he knew everything.
Then, a large hand covered the back of Hye-seong’s head. A finger gently stroked the rim of his reddened ear, like teasing him. Because his cheek was pressed against Ji-ho’s chest, his low voice resonated through him.
“I like it when your ears turn red like this, Hye-seong.”
“…….”
“It’s always been like that, I think.”
The ticklish sensation made his shoulders flinch on instinct.
Hye-seong froze, eyes wide open. His heart dropped, and at the same time, a strange thought crossed his mind.
What if he really does know everything?
If so, wasn’t this kind of behavior… just a little bit mean?
Really just a little… No—maybe more than a little.
His mind was a swirl of messy thoughts he couldn’t untangle.
He wanted to run out for a bit and clear his head, then come back and pretend nothing happened.
He just needed a moment to calm down. But running away like this…
He couldn’t bring himself to do it—not after Ji-ho had said his head hurt.
Hye-seong grasped the fabric of Ji-ho’s jacket beneath his hand. Despite the teasing words, his touch remained gentle—unbearably so. And in that moment, Hye-seong realized for the first time…
That kindness could sometimes hurt.
