* * *
It wasn’t like he had never guided someone at the guide office before—though it had only been for radiation guiding.
But usually, everything was done at home.
Besides, Haebom was planning to return home soon, so even if Wonho hadn’t come here, they would’ve seen each other at home anyway.
Then it clicked—he must have had other business and just ended up coming inside.
The idea that Wonho had come all the way from home to the center just for him never even crossed Haebom’s mind.
After answering his own question internally, Haebom turned and sat back in the chair he had been sitting in earlier.
That was just the basic routine when guiding at the office.
Of course, things were different when guiding Wonho, but for now, even if it was just radiation guiding, he figured he should at least sit down.
Then, suddenly, he recalled what had happened yesterday.
His face instantly flushed hot, but it was beyond his control.
No way… it couldn’t be… right?
“Are you just going to stand there?
Ahem… You should sit somewhere comfortable. It doesn’t really matter since it’s just radiation guiding, but standing like that is uncomfortable, isn’t it?”
Even though it would barely last five minutes, watching Wonho stand there felt awkward.
So he suggested that Wonho sit down, but instead of complying, Wonho tilted his head slightly to one side, his expression cold.
For a moment, Haebom wondered if he had done something wrong.
“How many people have you guided?”
Why was he suddenly asking something so random?
Haebom frowned.
“…Forget it. How did you guide them?”
Wonho could see the list of espers Haebom had guided, along with the times and the decreased instability levels, but he couldn’t see what exactly happened in those sessions.
Even though he had received guiding education and knew how a guide should assist an esper who wasn’t their pair, he still felt doubtful.
Because for an esper, a guide was that kind of existence.
The highest level of guiding for an esper who wasn’t a pair was close-contact guiding.
In other words, hugging was possible.
The thought alone made Wonho clench his teeth again.
He had no idea why he was getting so angry.
“How else? I held their hand.”
Haebom answered, even though he found the question strange.
Thanks to Wonho’s pointless interrogation, he was missing the timing to start radiation guiding.
Even though it would only last five minutes at most, he still wanted to do his best.
Other espers came for two-hour sessions, but his own pair could only receive five minutes max…
Of course, there had been other guiding sessions, but…
As the memory of yesterday surfaced again, Haebom groaned softly.
“I’m starting the guiding. If you’re just going to stand, do as you please.”
Giving up on making Wonho sit, Haebom didn’t wait for a response and released his guiding energy.
The energy filled the room in an instant, and Wonho’s body responded just as quickly.
Haebom already knew that even radiation guiding worked on Wonho, so he tried his best not to look at him.
Other espers liked receiving his guiding, but they had never reacted the way Wonho did.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he stole a glance at Wonho.
Then—snap!
Their eyes met in midair.
Haebom hadn’t realized that Wonho was looking at him like that.
Startled, he instinctively stopped releasing his guiding energy.
The moment his energy cut off, Wonho strode toward him.
The guide office was spacious, but the table and chairs for guiding weren’t far from the door.
The bed, sofa, and Haebom’s desk were farther inside.
So when Wonho moved, he reached Haebom in just a few steps.
Haebom blinked his large eyes, looking up at Wonho, who was now right in front of him.
“You cut off the guiding. And do you not know that pair guiding doesn’t work like this? Do you need to retake your training?”
“Huh? No, wait—”
Suddenly, Haebom felt his body lift off the ground.
His eyes widened like a rabbit’s as he stared at Wonho.
He was an adult man, too, but wasn’t this a bit too easy for him to pick him up like this?
Haebom furrowed his brows at the thought.
“You said you’d receive radiation guiding—! Wait, hold on…! Hey, Wonho? Calm down.”
Haebom struggled desperately to escape Wonho’s hold.
But escaping was nearly impossible when the other person was much bigger and stronger.
With one hand, Wonho secured Haebom’s waist, and with the other, he held down his flailing legs.
The struggle became futile.
“If you don’t stay still, I’ll just throw you on the floor.”
Haebom flailed his arms instead, though he knew it wouldn’t help.
But then…
The word “throw” made him freeze.
Wonho had only said he’d put him down, but in Haebom’s panicked ears, it sounded like he was actually going to throw him.
When Haebom finally quieted down, Wonho strode forward.
As an S-class guide, Haebom’s office was the largest among the guide offices.
Even so, it only took a few steps for Wonho to carry him from the door to the bed.
Haebom never felt like it was this close when he walked there himself…
He pouted as he realized the difference in their leg lengths.
After all that talk about throwing him, Wonho actually placed him on the bed quite gently.
Haebom, now sitting on the mattress, blinked rapidly.
“…What are we doing on the bed?”
Was the chair uncomfortable?
If that was the case, should he have just told Wonho to go home for this?
Haebom tried to ignore the soft sensation beneath him.
Since he had received guide training, he knew what could happen during guiding sessions on a bed.
And… he had done something similar once before.
Although that was a drunken mistake.
But hadn’t Wonho skipped guiding education when he became an adult?
Oh—was he planning on close-contact guiding?
Like how Haebom had hugged him on the sofa?
That made sense.
He sighed.
Wonho never explained things with words—he just acted.
Haebom shot Wonho a glare.
But then their eyes met, and Haebom cleared his throat awkwardly.
“…Guiding.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right. I came here to get guided.”
Wonho gazed steadily at Haebom, who was sitting in front of him.
Haebom thought that gaze might burn him.
Normally, Wonho’s eyes were always sharp when he looked at him, but today, they felt a little different.
It was almost as if he had already received the guiding…
Maybe he was just overthinking things.
Either way, it would take no more than five minutes, so he figured he should just get it over with quickly.
He had no way of knowing that Jin Seyoung had already taught Wonho.
Taking a deep breath, Haebom opened his arms toward Wonho. He spread them so wide that Wonho frowned.
“Hurry up and come here!”
Hah? Wonho let out an incredulous chuckle through his teeth.
Did that tiny body just tell him to—what?—hug him?
He wondered if he had heard wrong, but the confident expression on Haebom’s face told him otherwise.
If he actually went through with this, his broad shoulders wouldn’t even fit properly.
* * *
