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Join the ServerChapter 39
As I traced the line of his neatly aligned teeth, I felt Yoon Geon-woo gasp. His innocent, trembling reaction made me feel, somehow, as if I were doing something wicked to him.
‘This is guiding,’ I reminded myself. ‘It’s only guiding to heal him.’ I forced myself to focus and continued the intense kiss. Yet, for some reason, my heart pounded like a great drum within my chest.
‘I feel dizzy.’
The intense contact, enough to chafe my lips, left me breathless, my toes tingling. Having poured out so much guiding in such a short time, my head spun.
“Ugh, haa…”
To catch my breath, I pulled my lips away. A wet, viscous sound echoed between us, and a long strand of silvery saliva stretched. Glancing down, I saw Yoon Geon-woo’s plump lips, which I had just devoured so ravenously, glistening with saliva.
‘Did I suck too hard? His lips look a little swollen.’
As I fully drew my head back, Yoon Geon-woo’s half-closed eyelids fluttered. A drop, clinging to his long lashes, trickled down his cheek. With a light touch, I wiped away the tear streak on his face.
“Geon-woo. Are you still in pain?”
After the prolonged kiss, Yoon Geon-woo’s usually pale face was flushed a reddish hue. As I looked down at him, lying beneath me, his face crimson as he struggled to catch his breath, I felt as if… I was peeking at a scene I shouldn’t be seeing. Dismissing the strange thought, I shook my head.
“…Are you feeling a bit better?”
I brushed Yoon Geon-woo’s hair back and asked about his condition again. Perhaps because he had drained so much guiding from me, his condition seemed much better than before. To be frank, my own condition was deteriorating. My vision was starting to blur.
[Contamination Level: 82%]
Taking a moment to breathe, I immediately checked his contamination level. It was 82%. While still in the high-risk category, it meant he had entered the safe zone established by the center. The warning sirens that had been blaring around us had also ceased.
‘Is that a relief, at least?’
Just as I felt a momentary sense of relief, a firm, large hand clasped tightly around my waist. My upright torso was pulled sharply towards Yoon Geon-woo.
It seemed the eight minutes the ajusshi had announced were up, and Yoon Geon-woo’s restraints had been released. We were so close, pressed tightly together, that I could see my own reflection in Yoon Geon-woo’s blue eyes as we faced each other.
“Y-Yoon Geon…”
“No.”
‘What? What’s ‘no’?’
A similar situation I’d experienced before flashed through my mind, making me slightly tense. Hadn’t I been choked and thrown out after guiding him in Blue Wing Room 714? However, contrary to my expectations, an unexpected answer came from him.
“It still hurts.”
It was a simple string of words, yet for a moment, I thought I’d hallucinated it.
“…What?”
“I’m not okay at all.”
When I asked again in surprise, Yoon Geon-woo reiterated his condition. Just how bad was he feeling for such a weak complaint to escape his lips? Indeed, with a contamination level of 82%, he was in the high-risk group, so the pain must have been severe.
“What… are you really that unwell?”
His breathing was ragged, and his body temperature, where our skin touched, was still abnormally high. It seemed he would need professional medical attention. Although the people in this isolation room, including Dr. Nam, weren’t particularly trustworthy, I couldn’t just leave a sick person unattended, so I had to call for help.
As I frantically tried to get up, Yoon Geon-woo seized me again. I felt his grip on my waist tighten.
“Wait. Then, we shouldn’t be doing this here… The medical staff outside… Ugh.”
Before I could finish my sentence, Yoon Geon-woo frowned and pulled me into an embrace. His rough pull brought me even closer to him. Did he need more guiding? But my own body was in no condition to provide additional guiding right then.
‘No choice, then.’
After a moment of deliberation, I concluded that his condition was more severe than I’d thought. Since things had come to this, I resolved to push myself further, aiming to bring his level down to the 70s.
“82%, you say… You managed to get past the safe point, surprisingly well.”
A deep, resonant voice spoke from a few steps away. It was the ajusshi. I was bewildered, however, as to how he knew Yoon Geon-woo’s current contamination level.
“Was avoiding the recoil guiding purely your skill? Or does Esper Yoon Geon-woo have a particular fondness for you?”
Taken aback, I missed my chance to ask a question. Meanwhile, he seemed to be assessing the distance between us, looking down at our entangled forms.
The moment the ajusshi showed signs of approaching us, Yoon Geon-woo abruptly sat up. As a result, I, who had been lying on top of him, nearly fell onto my backside. Though Yoon Geon-woo quickly caught me, preventing a mishap, I somehow found myself cradled in his arms.
“I thought it was the former, but it seems to be both.”
The ajusshi’s eyes gleamed as if he had discovered an unexpected point of interest. At that, Yoon Geon-woo began to openly display hostility.
*Whoosh—*
Seeing the blue aura slowly rise around us, it seemed he was ready to use his powers at a moment’s notice. If this continued, his contamination level, which I had just barely managed to calm, would undoubtedly surge again.
‘No, this can’t happen. I worked so hard to lower that contamination level.’
My heart racing, I snapped at the ajusshi.
“Is that important right now?”
“Of course it’s important. Today’s successful guiding case is worthy of being recorded in academic journals. It’s my job to accurately determine the factors behind its success.”
“What do you mean… Ajusshi. What exactly is your identity?”
“Haven’t I already told you? I am your pair’s father.”
“What kind of father asks such questions when his son has just barely escaped death?”
“Didn’t I say I was his father, and a poor salaryman? I believe I’ve already explained it all to you.”
The ajusshi replied brazenly, as if I should already know. At his words, Yoon Geon-woo’s face twisted into a furious grimace.
“Stop your disgusting talk.”
“Still with that mouth, I see. What, do you want a private family meeting with your father?”
“Get lost, before I kill you.”
As blue flames erupted around Yoon Geon-woo, his contamination level instantly rose by 2%. I felt strange, as if I had stumbled into the middle of someone else’s family drama, but I decided that continuing this conversation would only further provoke Yoon Geon-woo.
“Ajusshi, please just be quiet. You’re not helping, so why keep provoking someone who’s already in pain?”
I stepped in front of Yoon Geon-woo and admonished the ajusshi. At that, the ajusshi made an offer.
“Answer a few of my questions, and I’ll leave you two alone.”
It was clear he would persist if I didn’t answer. I felt as though I was deeply entangled in something messy, but for now, I had no choice but to play along. I nodded lightly.
“You’re not even a formal guide yet. But you seem quite skilled at guiding. Where did you learn to handle Espers?”
The ajusshi maintained a suitable distance as he questioned me. Learning to handle Espers… what should I say?
In SAA’s regular curriculum, only practical training like holding hands or hugging was conducted. Oral contact guiding, which I had just performed with Yoon Geon-woo, was technically allowed, but only the theory was taught in school.
As a result, most students would either practice unofficially with those they matched well with, or have their first practical session with someone designated as a temporary pair.
‘I had a temporary pair, so… well…’
Before the regression, I had performed guiding with Jin Ian, my temporary pair. He was the type who frequently used his abilities, so guiding was relatively common. Over the past year, I had tried various methods within the possible range to find effective guiding points, so I had naturally developed my own techniques.
However, this was also before the regression, and not something I could explain to others, so I had to speak ambiguously.
“Where else… I learned it at school.”
“Successfully guiding an Esper with a significant grade difference isn’t easy even for experienced, formal guides. It’s not something that can be done with just theory.”
He probably didn’t know anything, yet his gaze felt as though it saw right through me, sending a slight shiver down my spine. As I pondered how to answer, the ajusshi spoke again, as if he had realized something.
“Ah, my apologies. I’ve been rude. I wasn’t trying to pry into your personal life.”
“What… what are you talking about?”
As I remained silent, my expression deeply troubled, the ajusshi seemed to have come to his own conclusion. But it felt rather absurd.
“Just because you’re a student, it doesn’t mean you only know theory, or that your proficiency must be low. Perhaps I’m too old-fashioned in my thinking.”
What? What is this ajusshi saying? I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t find a reason to refute him, when my eyes met Yoon Geon-woo’s, who was staring intently at me.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Phantom of the Library! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Phantom of the Library
