* * *
“Ah, seriously.”
“Hahaha!”
Seeing Siwoo’s disgusted face, Raon burst into loud laughter.
Siwoo sharply turned his head away, completely ignoring Raon.
“Sorry, sorry. Are you mad?”
“Stop teasing me.”
“But your reaction’s just too funny.”
Without thinking, Raon spoke honestly.
Hearing that, Siwoo’s face stiffened.
“Then what does that make you, when you did that with the kid?”
“Uh… that’s…”
Siwoo, unable to hold back his feelings any longer, hit Raon right where it hurt, leaving him momentarily speechless.
It’s just work. Just guiding.
Raon knew full well that saying that would only hurt Siwoo more, so he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Instead, he shook his head and looked back at Siwoo.
“I said I’m sorry, okay? Don’t be mad.”
“Whatever.”
This time, Siwoo truly seemed irritated, eating his food without paying any attention to Raon’s attempt at appeasement.
Since Raon had taken only about half the portion Siwoo did, he was nearly done and stared quietly at Siwoo.
“I really won’t do it again, seriously.”
But Siwoo remained silent.
Watching him mechanically eat, Raon nervously drummed his fingers on the table and spoke in a coaxing tone.
“Anyway, you couldn’t do that kind of thing with a kid, right? Hmm?”
“……”
At that, Siwoo finally reacted.
The movement of his utensils suddenly froze, as if slamming them down.
Raon’s fingers, tapping the table, gently brushed over the back of Siwoo’s hand.
At the subtle touch, Siwoo’s eyes darkened.
“We’re going guiding, right?”
“Ha, honestly.”
Raon smiled softly as he asked.
Eventually, Siwoo let out a sigh and shook his head.
Clatter.
“Ah!”
As soon as the door opened, Raon was pushed against the wall, letting out a surprised sound.
He had become used to the arms that now circled around his back.
Seeing Siwoo’s face drawing close, Raon closed his eyes.
Warmth landed on his slightly parted lips.
Today too, since the guiding room was closed, he had brought Siwoo back to the dorm.
By now, this had become a routine part of the day.
“Mmm.”
Siwoo’s hot tongue slipped into Raon’s mouth, tracing his teeth as if savoring every bit like an appetizer.
Raon instinctively furrowed his brows at the careful, drawn-out attention.
Whether it was just a habit or if there was some hidden intention behind Siwoo’s over-the-top kisses, Raon wasn’t sure.
It was probably the former.
But still, every time they kissed like this, something stirred deep inside Raon’s chest.
It was a little embarrassing.
“Haa.”
Raon sighed and glanced at his watch.
Checking his watch had become a habit whenever he felt awkward like this.
‘62%?’
Raon’s eyes widened seeing Siwoo’s displayed stat.
Right after their last insertion guiding, Siwoo had been at 55%.
But within just a few days, it had already surpassed 60 — and they hadn’t even done insertion guiding again.
Siwoo had suffered chronic guiding deficiency for a long time due to not receiving proper sessions.
That’s why, no matter how much guiding he received, his numbers rose more slowly compared to espers who were regularly guided.
However, since the team reshuffle meant fewer small missions, he hadn’t been using much energy lately, and even surface-level guiding seemed to be enough to steadily raise his levels now.
Raon’s lips curled up at the pleasant discovery.
But then Siwoo bit down on them.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“Why are you looking at the watch again?”
“I have to check the stats!”
Raon snapped, wincing at his bitten lip, but Siwoo still looked displeased.
“You’re always looking at the watch. Even while we’re kissing.”
“It’s not kissing, it’s guiding. And I don’t check it that often.”
Embarrassed, Raon cleared his throat awkwardly.
He had formed the habit of checking his watch whenever he felt that strange stirring sensation, but now he worried Siwoo might have caught on.
“Just focus, okay?”
“Hmm, alright.”
Nodding, Siwoo lowered his face again.
Raon closed his eyes, watching Siwoo’s long, neat eyelashes come closer.
“Haa, ngh.”
As Siwoo’s tongue reached deep into his mouth, Raon couldn’t hold back his moans.
He tightened his arms around Siwoo’s neck, feeling the arms around his waist also tense in response.
‘This is getting a little dangerous.’
Unable to control his melting body, Raon muttered inwardly.
Yesterday, they had to stop because he was too hungry after skipping dinner while guiding.
But today was different.
As the kisses grew rougher, Raon grew more anxious.
‘Is there a guiding kit for insertion here in the dorm? If not, I guess lotion could substitute. We don’t use condoms anyway…’
‘Wait, don’t you have to report insertion guiding to the director first?’
Raon’s head spun in confusion.
“Haa, Siwoo.”
“Ngh, hyung.”
Panting heavily, Raon gently pushed on Siwoo’s chest, making Siwoo pull back, gasping for air.
A thin strand of saliva still connected their lips after the prolonged kiss.
Raon glanced at Siwoo, who was trembling with his shoulders, while casting him an embarrassed look.
As expected, he was visibly aroused.
Looks like I’ll have to bring him back to the dorm again tonight to take care of the rest.
Raon tried his best not to let his gaze wander to Siwoo’s bulging crotch as he opened his mouth.
“Um…”
“I’ll be heading back now.”
“What?”
Raon asked back in surprise.
But before he could even try to stop him, Siwoo opened the door and left without waiting for a response.
As Raon stared in disbelief at the door that had slammed shut, a dry sigh escaped his lips.
“Hah.”
An Esper running away in the middle of a guiding session — that’s a first.
Raon stared at the closed steel door for a while, calming the frustration boiling inside him.
“Aaaagh!”
Letting the now-familiar screams pass through one ear, Raon ran laps around the field with his team members.
Starting today, they weren’t just running; strength and agility training were added to the schedule as well.
Once Yejun’s fear of heights improved, they were also planning to begin full joint training sessions with the Espers.
While organizing the schedule in his head and trying to stay composed, Raon couldn’t completely hide the sluggish mood that had weighed on him since morning.
“Captain, is something wrong?”
“Ah.”
During a short break, Hamin approached and handed him a cold bottle of water, asking with concern.
Raon nodded, taking the bottle and giving him an awkward smile.
“Captain? You can just call me comfortably when it’s just the two of us.”
“No, I should address you properly.”
Until now, Hamin had never changed the way he addressed Raon, but for some reason, he had been strictly calling him ‘Captain’ the past few days, as if someone had told him to be more formal.
Raon gently shook his head, watching him for a moment before opening the bottle and taking a sip.
“Phew.”
“You seem a bit off today.”
“…Is it that obvious?”
Raon rubbed his cheek, which had grown a little sensitive, while raising his hand.
Hamin nodded vigorously this time.
“Of course. You can’t fool my eyes.”
“Hm.”
He didn’t seem like the type who was normally this perceptive.
Feeling momentarily suspicious, Raon decided to let it slide.
“It’s nothing serious. It won’t interfere with training.”
“Oh, that’s not exactly what I meant—”
“…?”
Flustered by Raon’s response, Hamin waved his hands quickly.
But just as he was about to say something more, it happened.
“There you are.”
“…!”
A chilly voice rang out in his ears.
Startled, Raon turned his gaze.
“What is it?”
Raon looked at Dojin with tense eyes.
His cold, sharp gaze was fixed directly on Raon.
Because of the incident from before, Raon couldn’t help but stay on guard around him.
Like a hedgehog with its quills raised, Raon instinctively stiffened.
Dojin spoke bluntly.
“There’s an executive meeting today. Haven’t you heard?”
“An executive meeting?”
He had heard from Seokhyun that one would be held soon, but he hadn’t received any concrete details.
Unable to hide his bewilderment, Raon pulled out the terminal issued by the Center.
The watch was mostly for alerts, while important schedules were delivered to the terminal.
“Ah, today… I see.”
After confirming the email on the terminal, Raon nodded awkwardly.
The meeting must have been scheduled last minute since the message hadn’t been sent long ago, but still, it was his mistake for not checking sooner.
“My apologies. I’ll head over right away.”
“Good.”
Dojin answered coolly and turned to leave.
Before following him, Raon turned back to Hamin.
“Guide Hamin, I’ve got to go handle this, so please— Guide Hamin?”
“Ah.”
Trembling, Hamin snapped back to his senses at Raon’s voice.
Raon looked at him curiously.
* * *
