Churu for the Angry Guide

30

Jihan recognized Siwoo as a beastkin the first day he saw him.

It was evident from his appearance as he tried to run away with the Churu, and his greatly flustered reaction upon seeing Jihan.

“I’ve always been quick to notice things.”

Siwoo was stunned into silence. He just stared at Jihan in surprise, not having expected such a statement at all.

“I knew everything but didn’t say anything.”

Jihan’s voice continued softly, as if sharing a secret.

“I didn’t think you were hiding it with bad intentions, so I just played along.”

“…”

“You were trying so hard.”

For a moment, all of Siwoo’s efforts to avoid being discovered as a beastkin flashed through his mind. He had even done things that were difficult to do while sober. All to imprint the idea that he was just an ordinary cat.

Siwoo’s pale face began to turn red. He was mortified to the point of death. He felt like punching Jihan and running away right then and there.

“You just thought of something bad, didn’t you?”

Jihan read Siwoo’s mind like a ghost. Siwoo flinched, wondering if Jihan was using psychic abilities too. He was greatly surprised, as it was known that only the leader of the Baekya Guild could use psychic abilities.

“It’s all over your face. ‘Should I hit this guy and go to jail? I’m going there anyway.'”

Despite the playful tone, Siwoo’s heart sank. It was because of a word he couldn’t ignore.

“W-why jail…”

“Did you think you wouldn’t go there? After deceiving all of us?”

Jihan’s expression became more mischievous. He spoke as if he was genuinely trying to scare Siwoo, with a face that seemed to ask if Siwoo didn’t know this. Siwoo’s face, which had been flushed red, cooled down again.

Jail? Sure, he had deceived the entire Baekya Guild and eaten a lot of their food, but he didn’t think it was a crime deserving of prison. It’s not like he stole any expensive gold items.

The moment he thought of gold items, he remembered the gold pendant he had carefully kept in his pocket. Suddenly, his pocket felt very heavy.

“…”

Siwoo swallowed hard and quietly wiggled his feet. Just as his stiff gaze was instinctively about to turn towards the door,

“Should I help you?”

Jihan’s calm voice caught Siwoo’s attention. His buttocks, which had been unconsciously shifting, settled completely on the chair.

“You probably know this, but our Geonho is very angry right now. The leader too.”

After making sure Siwoo was listening well, Jihan deliberately let out a big sigh.

“I’m worried because both of them lose sight of everything when they get riled up.”

Siwoo swallowed and wiped the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. The fever that had subsided a bit after taking the antipyretic was rising again. He needed to stay more alert in times like this.

Siwoo glared at Jihan, straining his eyes. He wouldn’t just help without any conditions. The more friendly someone seemed, the more likely they were to have ulterior motives.

“Don’t be so wary. I’m on your side, Guide.”

That’s ridiculous. What do you mean, my side?

“I’m serious.”

Jihan scratched his cheek, which was as white as Siwoo’s, while letting out a “hmm” through his nose. The more he looked at him, the less trustworthy his appearance seemed. Siwoo didn’t like his gentle eye-smile from the start.

“I kept your secret, didn’t I? You still can’t trust me?”

Siwoo, who had been openly cursing with his expression, suddenly bit his lower lip.

“I pretended not to know for two whole weeks, not just a day or two. That you’re a beastkin, Guide.”

That was true.

Then… is he really trying to help me? Siwoo furrowed his brows and carefully examined Jihan’s relaxed expression. No matter how he looked at him, he seemed untrustworthy.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything.”

Jihan burst into laughter, as if asking why Siwoo would say such a thing. But then, contrary to his previous statement, he immediately got to the point.

“Just grant me one small favor.”

So much for not wanting anything. Siwoo crossed his arms, raising his guard even higher.

“It’s nothing difficult at all.”

Jihan leaned his upper body towards the desk and smiled with crescent-shaped eyes. It would be a favor that wouldn’t be difficult at all for Siwoo, a guide. He lightly extended his hand towards Siwoo.

“Just do hand guiding once. Only for 10 minutes.”

“No.”

Siwoo refused flatly without hesitation. Jihan seemed to have expected this response. He just kept grinning.

“Why not? It’s not like I’m asking for a kiss, just holding hands.”

“I don’t do contact guiding.”

“I know. That’s why I’m asking.”

Jihan had already received Siwoo’s guiding records. He was an extraordinary newcomer who had changed temporarily assigned guilds more than ten times. It was certainly an uncommon record.

“If you just do it for 10 minutes, I’ll help you with everything. Promise.”

He extended his pinky finger towards Siwoo and wiggled it. He also subtly emitted wavelengths to indicate that he needed guiding, but Siwoo didn’t seem to notice this.

He really is a newbie after all. Jihan laughed inwardly as he watched Siwoo fail to read an esper’s wavelengths.

“Our Geonho is even scarier when he’s angry.”

As he softly whispered this fact that everyone knew, the guide’s pupils shook. He had been showing particularly strong reactions to Geonho’s name from earlier. It was good that he was so easy to read.

“5 minutes.”

After pondering, Siwoo finally accepted his proposal.

“10 minutes is too long.”

There was no other choice anyway. Although he didn’t trust him, he was an esper of the Baekya Guild. That meant he had abilities. Siwoo believed he could hide a single rookie guide like himself without any problems.

“5 minutes, okay.”

Jihan spread his hand wide, as if he had been waiting for this. Siwoo thought he would grab his hand immediately, but unexpectedly, he politely waited for the guide to take his hand first.

Is he more mannered than I thought? This brief impression was immediately shattered by his next words.

“A kiss only needs to be 1 minute.”

Siwoo, with curses in his eyes, gripped Jihan’s hand firmly. He frowned deeply, trying not to listen to Jihan’s soft laughter.

“I’m starting.”

As he had learned in basic guiding classes, he announced before emitting energy. He had been taught that in non-emergency situations, you should make physical contact first, assess the condition, and then start guiding, just like now.

“I’m counting on you.”

Ignoring Jihan, who was smiling with his eyes out of habit, Siwoo fixed his gaze on their joined hands.

He couldn’t really assess the condition, but he just wanted to start quickly. At a glance, that greasy guy looked very fine. It seemed like he could fly around easily for a week even without receiving guiding.

He looked healthy, and why were his hands so smooth?

Siwoo’s gaze naturally fixed on Jihan’s hand. His skin looked good, but when actually touched, it was as smooth as if it had been coated with oil. The back of his hand, as white as his face, felt good to touch too. For some reason, it seemed like his skin would smell nice. How annoying.

“Can I talk?”

“No.”

Siwoo answered curtly and shifted his gaze to the wall clock. After checking the time, he diligently sent out guiding energy, and the energy in his body was drained at an alarmingly fast rate. It was an incredible absorption rate.

As soon as the full-fledged guiding began, Jihan’s lips parted slightly. He stared intently at Siwoo, who was concentrating on guiding, and silently opened and closed his lips once. Then he gently rubbed Siwoo’s pale white hand with the tip of his thumb.

He had touched skin with many guides before, but this was the first time he had felt like this.

“Stay still.”

This coldness was also a first.

Siwoo flicked Jihan’s fidgeting fingers and continued to calm his wavelengths. In fact, he was a bit surprised that Jihan’s transmitted wavelengths were rougher than expected. Unlike his fine outward appearance, his inner state had consumed quite a lot of energy.

“When did you last receive guiding?”

“Are you already worried about me?”

Feeling like he shouldn’t have asked, Siwoo showed his canine teeth slightly and became irritable. He wasn’t telling him to smile, but his burdensome smile grew bigger.

Siwoo frowned even more fiercely as Jihan smiled, focusing on guiding. Wanting to let go of his hand quickly, he deliberately tried to send out more guiding. Lacking in technique, he just earnestly released energy.

Doing his best. With all his might.

“That’s enough now.”

Siwoo, who had been fully immersed in guiding, tilted his head with a blank face.

“This much is enough.”

It hadn’t even been 3 minutes yet. Jihan, who let go of his hand first, pulled his chair back and put about a hand’s width of distance between them. Siwoo hadn’t expected him to stop first.

“Is this how you usually guide?”

Jihan rubbed the hand that had been touching Siwoo and smiled faintly.

Was it not good? Siwoo nodded vaguely and clenched his fist. He didn’t have much experience with guiding so he couldn’t compare to an average, but he had done it as he always did.

He must not have liked it. Siwoo’s mouth corners drooped as he wiped the sweat that had run down his temple. He felt discouraged, wondering if his guiding was terribly insufficient for a high-ranking esper. Since this was the only thing he knew how to do, he became unnecessarily sensitive to the reaction.

“You still have a lot to learn.”

Jihan muttered to himself in a voice so low it was barely audible as he stood up from his seat.

Siwoo, who had jumped up following him, raised his chin.

“You’re going to hide me, right?”

He raised his voice while clenching his fist tighter. If he didn’t keep his promise, Siwoo would punch him in the solar plexus right then and there.

“Me?”

This bastard, really.

“You said you’d help me!”

His stomach churned as he raised his voice, his head already aching from the fever. It felt like the sandwich he had just eaten was stuck in his throat. Nevertheless, he shouted until the end.

“You said you’d help me!”

“I said I’d help, not that I’d hide you.”

For a moment, Siwoo recalled the day he first encountered Jihan in the Baekya Guild’s guiding room. The image of him approaching with a kind smile as if he would help, then locking the door, flashed before his eyes.

He’d been fooled again. He should have trusted someone trustworthy.

Speechless, Siwoo sliced through the air with his fist and slammed it on the desk. He definitely hit it hard, but there was no sound. It was because Jihan had blocked his hand with telekinesis.

“Let go!”

“Be careful. You might hurt your hand.”

“I said let go! Are you not going to?”

The hand held by telekinesis didn’t budge at all. Jihan wrapped his hand around Siwoo’s thin wrist and whispered soothingly.

“I’m doing this to help you, Guide.”

“Get lost! You scamming bastard!”

“They say it’s better to get beaten quickly.”

Jihan winked and activated his ability. Feeling his body float, Siwoo instantly realized it was teleportation and screamed even more loudly. There was no time to ask for help from the guide team leader outside the door.

“I’ll get beaten with you, so don’t be too scared.”

Siwoo couldn’t hear Jihan’s nonsense. He flailed pitifully, spouting all kinds of vulgar words.

As expected, people shouldn’t be trusted. He knew this, yet he was still deceived.