Churu for the Angry Guide

36

Damn it.

Having failed to escape, Siwoo quickly jumped onto the bed. He had transformed into a cat to flee swiftly, but he didn’t expect someone to be in front of the door. He had assumed the team leader would have left by now.

But not only the team leader, even the youngest member of the Baekya Guild was standing guard at the door. With his chance to escape gone, everything went dark before his eyes. Along with it, his motivation vanished too.

Knock knock.

Siwoo, who had taken refuge under the blanket, perked up his ears. He expected the team leader to come in angrily, but surprisingly, he heard a knock.

“Guide, may I come in?” 

At Seojun’s voice, Siwoo’s expression turned sulky and he covered his face with his front paws. Knowing that Seojun would come in regardless of whether he was told not to, Siwoo chose to remain silent.

Soon after, the door opened with a sliding sound. Siwoo remained hidden under the blanket, still in cat form. He didn’t even have the energy left to look for a chance to escape. He still needed rest.

“The guide team leader left earlier due to work,” Seojun said in a slightly brighter voice as he entered the room alone. He seemed to approach the bed but then changed direction. Siwoo, hidden in the dark blanket, listened for Seojun’s movements.

“I’m going to have a drink. Jihan hyung brought it.”

Simultaneously, the sound of the refrigerator opening was heard. As the hiss of a can being opened rang out, Siwoo’s throat began to feel parched too.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t opened his eyes or had even a sip of water yet. He should have drunk when the team leader offered earlier.

“Would you like some too, Guide?”

Seojun only got one for himself, expecting the guide to ignore him. After quenching his thirst with the cool carbonated drink, he walked leisurely to stand in front of the bed.

He put down the half-drunk can on the bedside table and tilted his head slightly. Judging by the deeply sunken blanket, it seemed Siwoo hadn’t returned to human form.

I wonder what he looks like in human form. Will he not transform in front of me?

“Guide, let’s talk a bit. Even briefly.”

Although he spoke politely, there was still no response as expected. Seojun rolled his eyes lightly and sat down in the makeshift chair near the bed. Since he was here, he wanted to see Siwoo’s face properly before leaving.

He was curious to see his face talking with eyes wide open, not sleeping. He wanted to know how similar it was to when he was a cat. It was simple curiosity.

Above all, he had important business to discuss.

“Take your time to answer. I finished work and came here, so I have plenty of time today.”

He indirectly conveyed his willingness to stay until Siwoo came out. Although Siwoo must have understood, he stubbornly refused to make even the slightest sound. It was the expected reaction.

How can they bring in someone like this as a dedicated guide? Seojun suppressed a sigh as he recalled the secretary’s plan.

A few days ago, when Seojun asked what they would do with the runaway cat once caught, the secretary had replied like this: They would force him into the guild.

[If we grant all his conditions, won’t he have no choice but to follow?]

Despite making a grim expression as if he would impose a severe punishment, the meaning behind his words was essentially that they would scout him. And with good conditions at that.

[He won’t be able to refuse easily, given what he’s done. At least if he has a conscience.]

[Does he have such a thing?]

When Seojun asked in genuine doubt, the secretary only cleared his throat. It didn’t seem likely that a guide who had taken advantage of them and then ran away would have something like a conscience.

[Anyway, I’ll use whatever means necessary to make him join our guild.]

The secretary’s expression was even solemn as he declared his firm resolution. Although he too must have negative feelings towards the betraying cat, Seojun was grateful that he was trying to recruit him for the guild’s sake.

It must all be for the leader’s sake. Well, with that level of matching rate, it would be hard to refuse even if the guide had committed illegal acts.

Seojun agreed with the opinion to recruit him as a dedicated guide. He also expressed his willingness to help as much as possible. He wanted to contribute even a little for the sake of the secretary who was dedicating himself to the guild.

Seojun also knew well that the leader’s guiding was urgent. So he had to help actively.

Seojun rolled his sparkling eyes and suddenly put his hand in his pocket. He took out a soft object from his pocket and gently pressed it. Deliberately bringing it close to the bed.

Squeak—

The guide, who had been hiding motionlessly under the blanket, twitched at the sound of the mouse doll. When Seojun made the squeak sound again, there was another small movement.

Fortunately, the bait worked properly.

* * *

Meow—

Stray cats gathered around Geonho, who had come out for a walk. Geonho had come to a different park, not his usual walking route. He hadn’t set foot on that walking path since the day of the heavy rain.

Nyaa, meow.

As Geonho plopped down on the dirt ground, cats climbed onto his legs, showing all kinds of affection. They were all cats that Geonho had been feeding snacks and food to for a long time. It was a relationship that had lasted for 4 years already, since he had started buying them snacks when he first came to the center.

Today, as Geonho didn’t readily give out Churu, the anxious cats rubbed their faces all over his body.

“Hey, look at me, you guys.”

Surrounded by a group of cats, Geonho locked eyes with them intently. He examined each one carefully, as if inspecting them, slowly looking into their eyes one by one.

“If any of you are beastkin, speak up now.”

He muttered lowly in a warning tone, his eyes fierce. Even as his voice lowered, his hands petting the cats remained gentle.

“Confess while I’m giving you the chance. If you tell me now…”

Geonho stopped mid-sentence and let out a long breath. Keeping the words “I’ll let it slide” inside, he took out some Churu. The excited cats pounced on it immediately.

The secretary, who was hiding behind a distant tree watching him, clutched his aching heart. It was a scene that couldn’t be watched without tears.

Ah, why does he have to be such a foolishly affectionate person?

It was better than turning the site into a wasteland, but it still bothered him to see Geonho alone in such a pitiful state. It was upsetting to see him crouched on the dirt ground instead of sitting on a bench. If the leader saw this, he would have scolded him for acting like a dog.

He was stricter with his own brother than anyone else. The same went for Seojun, who was a beastkin.

“Stop peeking and come out.”

Geonho, who was feeding Churu to the cats, pulled the secretary out with his telekinesis. The secretary, who had been hiding behind a tree, staggered as he was dragged out, losing his balance.

“Ahem, I wasn’t peeking, just looking. Just passing by for a moment.”

The secretary tried to act nonchalant as he approached Geonho. Fearing that Geonho might leave, he quickly blocked his path.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

Since Han Siwoo’s hospitalization, Geonho had been avoiding the secretary. Although he insisted he wasn’t avoiding him, the fact that he wasn’t even going to the site made it clear he was.

“I have nothing to say.”

“But I do. I do.”

The secretary sat down on the dirt ground next to Geonho. Despite having sat down fully, Geonho coldly got up and left.

“Kang Esper Geonho!”

“I told you to handle it yourself, what’s the problem!”

Geonho yelled at the persistent secretary following him. He was getting heated up as the secretary kept bringing up a conversation that was already over.

“I told you to receive guiding without me! I won’t receive it from that guy!”

“Then what’s the point of having a dedicated guide! You’re such an important figure in the guild, Esper Geonho!”

“What about my brother!”

Geonho stopped abruptly and turned around fiercely.

“Fuck, is my brother not important? Is that why he’s been surviving on machine guiding until now?!”

“That’s… a different case.”

The leader was a psychic esper, so it was an unavoidable situation. If they had accommodated him, they wouldn’t have been able to find a dedicated guide at all. It wasn’t something that could be fixed by willpower alone.

“If you refuse to receive guiding alone, the leader will try to find another guide. You know that!”

At the secretary’s sharp shout, all the stray cats that had been gathering around scattered. He expressed his opinion strongly in an unusually angry voice.

Han Siwoo guide was a precious talent that they absolutely couldn’t let go. Geonho must know that too, having heard the expected matching rate with the leader.

“Please open your heart, if only for the leader’s sake.”

“I will never trust someone who deceived me.”

However, Geonho was equally adamant. His stubbornness was no less than anyone else’s.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Geonho rejected Han Siwoo guide with an attitude far more resolute than the secretary’s concern. While he didn’t oppose bringing him in as a dedicated guide because of the matching rate with the leader, he absolutely refused to let him appear before his eyes.

“If that guy agrees to do it, bring him in as a dedicated guide. I’ll manage on my own.”

“The leader won’t allow it!”

“I don’t care! That’s for you to figure out!”

Refusing any further conversation, he left the place at high speed. It was an incredible speed that even the secretary, who was also an esper, couldn’t keep up with.

The secretary, rubbing his forehead, narrowed his eyes as he traced Geonho’s vanishing figure. Seeing Geonho still acting like a child despite being fully grown made him sigh endlessly.

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

It was already a headache trying to persuade the guide, and now Geonho wasn’t cooperating either. It was enough to make him lose his mind. But he had no intention of giving up, not even a bit.