Chapter 58: The Unwanted Houseguest

I stopped my meal and hurried home at Wonjae’s sudden call.
I needed to see with my own eyes if what I had heard was true.
However, the moment I entered the house, I could feel Sung Yohan’s wavelength, and I knew that his words were true without even looking.

I hurriedly followed the wavelength to the living room, and I saw him sitting on the sofa as if it were his own house.

Wonjae, who had been watching him from a distance, quickly came to my side as soon as he saw me.

“Hyung, you’re here?”

“Yeah. How long has he been here?”

“Right before I called you. He won’t leave even though I keep telling him to.”

At his words, I approached Sung Yohan and asked.

“Why are you here, Sung Yohan-ssi?”

“Shinui-ssi, I was waiting for you.”

He said with a smile in response to my question.
I asked again in a cold voice.

“Why did you come here?”

“I’m going to live here with you from today.”

“Why are you living with us?”

“You had a matching test in the US without telling the Association and even received a scout offer, right?”

Since Sehyun knew about the American Association’s scout offer, there was no way the Korean Association didn’t know.

“So you’re here because you’re afraid I’ll go to the US?”

“Yes. The Association told me to watch you.”

I had expected the Association not to leave me alone, but I hadn’t thought they would go so far as to put him in my house as a watchman.

“Still, coming without a word is not polite.”

“I’m sure an official document was sent.”

At his words, I hurriedly checked my terminal, and it had arrived 10 minutes ago.
A dry laugh escaped me.

“Is that enough for you?”

He stood up from the sofa.
And he walked towards the hallway where the rooms were and said.

“The room next to yours is empty. I’ll take that room.”

“Get out.”

I hurriedly told him to get out, but he ignored me and just walked to the room.
In the end, I quickly walked towards him and snatched his wrist.

“Didn’t you hear me say get out?”

“If I leave, the Association will start controlling you.”

“……”

“Then you won’t be able to go outside anymore. If you don’t want to become a human guiding machine like that, just stay by my side quietly.”

I couldn’t say anything to his words.
As he said, the Association was fully capable of confining me and making me do nothing but guide.
But even so, I didn’t want to let him into my house.

I just stared at him with a frown.
He grabbed my arm and said in a small voice.

“Hyung…. I think it would be better to do as he says for now. The Association has been strange lately.”

“Why?”

“When you were in the US, they told me that you had betrayed them and gone to the American Association.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

If I had intended to go to the American Association, I wouldn’t have come back to Korea in the first place.
It seemed they had created a pretext to control me.
To put me in the palm of their hands.

To be honest, it had been strange that the Association had been so meekly listening to me until now.
But sending him to my house was crossing the line.

“If you act like this now, I have no choice but to accept the American scout offer.”

At my words, he sneered.
At that, my expression hardened even more.

“Do you know how dangerous a statement you just made? And, do you think the Association will let you go meekly?”

“It’s because of you. I have no intention of going to the US. So please, just go.”

“You’ll get used to it if we stay together.”

“I said please get out!”

Despite my words, he went into the room next to mine.
At that sight, I hurriedly called Jinseok.

“Manager-nim, Esper Sung Yohan is at my house right now.”

• [I was just about to contact you, Guide-nim.]

From his reaction, it seemed he had known in advance that he would be coming.

• [An order has come down from the Association for you to live with him from today. There was also a word for you to become a pair again.]

“I have no intention of living in the same house with him, nor do I have any intention of becoming his pair.”

• [To be honest… the Association is watching you.]

“I know. If this was the case, you shouldn’t have sent me to the US.”

• [They probably sent you on purpose. They must have needed a reason to confine you.]

Jinseok was right.
Since I wasn’t moving as they wished, they were trying to suppress me even like this.

“Then what should I do now? I can’t just keep him here.”

• [For now, it would be better to follow the Association’s words. I will report on the situation and contact you again.]

“I understand.”

After ending the call, I clutched my head.
Nothing had been resolved, and only one more grim news had been added: that I might be forced to become a pair with him again.

Originally, I had no intention of accepting the scout offer, but if the Association continued to be this coercive, I would have no choice but to accept the American Association’s offer.

In the end, I ended up living with him until Jinseok’s situation report came.
Fortunately, he did not make any contact with us.
Instead, he spent a long time in the living room.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

He, who was sitting on the sofa all day, didn’t even drink a sip of water.

“I’m wearing a PTF patch, so it’s okay.”

The PTF patch was a patch that supplied essential nutrients even if you didn’t eat for up to a month.
Come to think of it, Hyun Taewoon also wore a PTF patch often.

I was once again reminded of how convenient the lives of S-Class Espers were.
The Association provided them with PTF patches, and they received no sanctions even if they invaded a guide’s residence.

In the end, only Wonjae and I ate, and he watched us from the living room.

It felt like being watched, so it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.
He must have thought the same, as he didn’t look happy all throughout the meal.
He also ate less than usual.

“Sung Yohan-ssi, how long are you going to be in the living room?”

“It’s my house, can’t I do as I please?”

“Why is this your house? And if you have nothing to do, go to your room.”

I said in a chiding tone to him, who was still sitting on the sofa as I cleared the dining table.

“Don’t you work? Why are you at home all the time?”

“Well… I don’t feel like going out. And I like being at home with you.”

He also seemed to spend his time at home usually.
Come to think of it, he also always stayed at home and received guiding.

A sigh escaped me as I wondered how long I had to live with him.

“How long are you going to be here? You’re not planning on staying long, are you?”

“I’m planning on staying indefinitely. I’m even thinking of imprinting and taking a vow with you like this.”

At the word ‘imprinting’, goosebumps rose all over my body, and I shuddered.

“Don’t say such ridiculous things. I have no intention of imprinting with you.”

At my words, he opened his mouth slightly and smiled.
His low laugh sounded like a curse.
I couldn’t even imagine how terrible it would be to be imprinted with him.
Imprinting with him was worse than imprinting with Hyun Taewoon.

I was arguing with him for a while when Wonjae, who had come out of his room at some point, came to my side.

“Hyung, can’t we go to your room?”

“What are you two guides going to do in a room?”

He must have had good hearing, as he heard him even though he was at a distance and stopped us.

“Don’t mind us.”

“I think I wouldn’t mind if you let me in on what you’re doing.”

I glared at him once and went into the room with Wonjae.
I stopped, thinking that no good words would come out if I continued the conversation with him.
And he looked anxious as well.

“I’m scared you’ll be imprinted by him, hyung.”

He said to me with a worried face as soon as the door closed.
I didn’t show it to him, but since there had been a time when he had acted coercively, I was also reluctant to be in the same house with him.

“Why does this thing called imprinting only exist between Espers and guides? It’s unfair.”

Like him, I also wished that imprinting didn’t exist.
After all, once you were imprinted, you had to spend your entire life with the other Esper.

“I don’t want to be imprinted either.”

“…I don’t want to be imprinted with an Esper either.”

Come to think of it, he was in the same position as me.
It would be more comfortable for him to live as an A-Class, not an S-Class.

If he were to be promoted to S-Class, he wouldn’t be able to escape the Association like me, and he would have to do unwanted guiding and be an exclusive.

“Can’t I sleep with you today, hyung?”

“Okay. Let’s sleep together today.”

He was as big as Sung Yohan, but since he might act unpredictably, it would be better for us to be together in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
And I also didn’t want to be alone in my room with him around.

Fortunately, my bed was big enough for two adult men to sleep in.

“I wish I were an Esper. Right, hyung?”

“I guess so.”

I had also thought about the situation where I became an Esper.
But Espers also had to confront monsters at gates and didn’t know when they would die, so it was just as dangerous.
Right now, I just wanted to go back to before I awakened as a guide.