Chapter 21: The Next Step in Guiding

Chapter 21

Yoon Geon-woo reacted with a fierce intensity, as if to cut off any mention of oral contact guiding. Though he didn’t bare his fangs, his actions were strikingly reminiscent of Bok-sil’s when consumed by rage.

‘Perhaps, contact guiding through oral means… might even prove more effective….’

I doubted whether I could even attempt the next stage of guiding with a man who scowled at the mere touch of a hand. Yet, what alternative did I have? He had already chosen the latter option without bothering to listen to the full explanation.

Though I hesitated for a moment, I resolved that this was the opportune time to correct his habit of interrupting me before I could even finish a sentence. Given that we were now officially paired, we would frequently need to synchronize our actions. Such constant defiance would only make things difficult.

“Alright, then.”

Nodding in agreement to Yoon Geon-woo’s indignant words, I swiftly pulled down the zipper of the training uniform top I had on. Naturally, the garment I was wearing was his own, which he had lent to me earlier.

Yoon Geon-woo’s training uniform, a garment of deep color, featured a zipper that extended from the very top of the neck down to the hem. Much like an outer jacket, it was designed to open fully once the zipper was undone.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Since I wore nothing beneath the uniform top, my bare torso was immediately revealed. Yoon Geon-woo spewed a harsh expletive, his eyes widening in a furious glare, as if he had witnessed something utterly repulsive. His composure seemed utterly shattered.

“You’re the one who said to do the ‘next thing’.”

There was no backing down now. Who, after all, had been so quick to interrupt, refusing to hear me out? It was Yoon Geon-woo himself.

The intense aura radiating from him was palpable, yet I refused to yield, pulling open the outer garment I was still wearing.

“This is it. The ‘next step’ you insisted on.”

Yoon Geon-woo appeared utterly speechless, taken aback by my unexpected move. His deep blue eyes darted about aimlessly, a clear indication of his tumultuous thoughts. Frankly, I found myself wondering if this was truly cause for such profound embarrassment between two men.

Whatever he was thinking, I couldn’t possibly charge into the boundary with a contamination level only barely brought down to 74%. Spreading my arms wide, I urged him forward.

“What are you waiting for? Come here and embrace me.”

“You… are you truly insane?”

“Why? You claimed you disliked oral contact guiding.”

I fixed my gaze on Yoon Geon-woo, my expression clearly questioning his hesitation. Given the situation, it seemed best to simply close my eyes and get it over with swiftly.

I couldn’t fathom what else he found so disagreeable. The man before me, seemingly lost in a different train of thought, stood rigid and pale as a plaster statue.

‘Perhaps he’s just awkward.’

I had merely offered him the opportunity to approach first, anticipating that my initiative might fluster him. Yet, with his current reaction, what choice did I have? Ultimately, I, ever the more generous one, decided to make the first move.

Taking another step closer to the rigid man, I spoke.

“If you won’t do it, I’ll just proceed myself, alright?”

“What the hell… Get away from me!”

“There’s no time to back off now. We just need to get this done, quickly.”

I embraced Yoon Geon-woo with all my strength, just as he seemed poised to unleash a fit of rage. In the process, his short-sleeved shirt rode up slightly, exposing his taut, muscular abdomen.

A startled Yoon Geon-woo initially seemed to reach for his abilities, as if to restrain me, but then, as if realizing the impropriety of the moment, the shimmering haze that had begun to coalesce around him instantly dissipated.

“I apologize, but there’s no other way right now. I did consider that you, Yoon Geon-woo, might dislike this due to the extensive physical contact… However, as it’s partial body contact, the process should be swift.”

Though I was disheartened by how things had unfolded, I couldn’t indefinitely indulge Yoon Geon-woo’s sluggish and temperamental demeanor. He needed to be held accountable for sabotaging what was meant to be a formal guiding session conducted with mutual consent.

“Yoon Geon-woo. I’m going to lift your shirt a bit higher.”

“H-huh, you’re…”

“It’s simply more effective if our skin makes direct contact.”

I had no intention of waiting for Yoon Geon-woo’s response. Embracing him, rigid with tension, I channeled every ounce of my strength into guiding him.

‘Yes. It’s working.’

As expected, with our sensitive organs pressed together, sharing the rhythmic thumping of our hearts and even our body heat, the guiding effect surged with dazzling speed.

As I clung to him, expending every effort, Yoon Geon-woo began to mumble something incomprehensible.

“So… half-body contact….”

Pressed so closely, I strained to discern his words, but they remained indistinct. Looking up, I met his gaze, which was utterly clouded with confusion.

“Yoon Geon-woo, what did you say?”

“Half-body contact guiding is….”

Witnessing his dazed mumbling, as if his very soul had departed, I opened my mouth, a ‘surely not’ forming on my lips.

“Hey, you… You’re not, by any chance, a guiding rejector, are you—”

“…….”

Unable to conceal my exasperation, I pressed on.

“It’s not that you simply lack any knowledge of guiding, is it?”

The moment my words faded, a chilling silence settled between Yoon Geon-woo and me.

When I chastised Yoon Geon-woo for the very first time, he stared at me, utterly dumbfounded, like a mute who had swallowed honey. His expression suggested such a remark was entirely beyond his expectation, which, in turn, surprised me even more.

“Hold on tight. My strength is waning, and it’s becoming difficult to guide.”

Seizing the moment of Yoon Geon-woo’s bewilderment, I took his hands and wrapped them firmly around my body.

In truth, even with our skin pressed together to maximize the contact area, partial body contact alone proved insufficient. It was simply too much for me, a B-ranker, to stabilize Yoon Geon-woo’s body, whose contamination levels had surged into the high-risk zone, and return him to a safe state.

‘I’m already feeling lightheaded from just this much….’

The more I channeled guiding into Yoon Geon-woo, the more breathless and headache-ridden I became, akin to running a hundred-meter dash in high altitude.

As I buried my head against his chest, struggling to regulate my breathing, Yoon Geon-woo, to my surprise, offered his silent support.

Perhaps the connection we had forged through guiding wasn’t as displeasing to him as I had imagined. Indeed, while guiding him, I had observed a gradual return of color to his previously ashen complexion.

Remembering how he used to glare as if firing lasers from his eyes at the mere brush of fingertips, this could certainly be considered a monumental advancement achieved in such a brief span.

[Contamination Level 52%]

The thought that I might collapse from exhaustion crossed my mind just as I checked the final contamination level. Though our time together wasn’t particularly long, our highly compatible Esper absorbed the guiding like a sponge, completely draining my energy.

“Haa… Ugh.”

“That’s enough. Stop.”

As I groaned, overwhelmed by fatigue, Yoon Geon-woo immediately assessed my condition and gently pulled away. For some reason, he even tidied my disheveled clothes.

Indeed, even if he asked me to continue, I couldn’t. While I might be able to squeeze out a little more, I needed to conserve enough strength to search for the culprit.

Having completed the guiding after much tribulation, we finalized our preparations to enter the boundary area. As I stumbled, losing my balance, Yoon Geon-woo grabbed my wrist.

His grip was so strong that a sharp pain shot through the spot he held. At the same time, I wondered what had gotten into Yoon Geon-woo, who was usually so sensitive about physical contact.

“Can you even walk inside in this state?”

As I scrutinized him, he questioned me with a rather serious expression. Yoon Geon-woo seemed puzzled by my trembling state. I did feel empty, as if I hadn’t eaten for two days, and my energy had completely drained away, but…

No one dies from starving for two days, do they? They say people can go a week without food in ability training centers. I thought I could easily endure this much, so I immediately shook my head.

“I’m fine. This much is nothing.”

When I waved him off, saying I didn’t need assistance, Yoon Geon-woo acquiesced without further complaint.

Hidden in the safe zone, Yoon Geon-woo and I slowly began to approach the boundary line. Checking the status board on the ceiling, I saw that about 40 minutes had already passed, and unlike before, when Yoon Geon-woo had annihilated everyone, more than half of the students had not yet been eliminated.

‘Without Yoon Geon-woo’s previous rampage, progress is slow.’

Many students, including myself, remained as potential targets for the culprit. This created an unsettling atmosphere, as anything could happen.

Just then, something caught my eye at the perfect moment. It was a faint mark on the boundary, so subtle it would be impossible to spot if one wasn’t looking carefully.

“Yoon Geon-woo, do you see it? Right there, just inside.”

“What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?”

Yoon Geon-woo stared intently at the space I indicated, but he seemed unable to find anything unusual. I understood his confusion completely. It was likely only obvious to me because of my previous experience. Moreover…

‘The entrance to the boundary is subtly different from what I remember.’

Perhaps it was because these were items rented from the Central Agency, not supplies from the SAA, which I had encountered in previous practical training. The space rippled faintly, making it quite different from the past, where I could immediately recognize the boundary if I knew it was there. The one before me was so cleverly disguised that even if I pointed directly at it, he would still tilt his head in confusion. However, it was clear that this was where the boundary, like a secret passage, truly lay.

If he were to ask how I knew immediately, it was because its location hadn’t changed much from the previous boundary.

“Follow me. I’ll show you what happens when we go inside.”

Deciding it would be better to demonstrate myself, I stepped ahead of Yoon Geon-woo, who stood beside me. But before I could even take that single step,

Bang—

Yoon Geon-woo, with ghost-like agility, abruptly pulled me back.

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