Chapter 32: The Price of Guiding

Had his superior still been Team Leader Joo, a simple message would have sufficed today, allowing him to submit his work log the following morning. Yet, from Ryu Yishin, such warmth or understanding was utterly unattainable.

Believing it to be a truly unlucky day, Hanseol trudged back into the company, navigating several layers of security. The office, typically quiet, now felt even more hushed and desolate, the late hour amplifying its stillness.

Fearing the oppressive silence might give him goosebumps, Hanseol quickly boarded the elevator to the fifth floor. As he rushed towards the office, an unsettling sensation abruptly pierced the crown of his head, then vanished as swiftly as it appeared.

A dull, heavy throb—not entirely unfamiliar. It was a sensation only an Esper with unstable fluctuations could induce. Hanseol swiftly scanned his surroundings, seeking the source of this peculiar pain.

Yet, not only was there no Esper with unstable fluctuations, but he sensed no human presence at all. Each team occupied an entire floor; thus, any lingering presence would undoubtedly be a team member, but Hanseol had personally confirmed the office was empty before leaving.

‘Was he still half-asleep?’, he wondered. ‘Or was this headache merely a symptom of his stiff neck?’ Hanseol massaged his still-aching neck, trying to dispel the uneasy feeling.

‘It couldn’t be a ghost, could it?’, he mused. ‘Don’t they only appear after midnight? No, it absolutely couldn’t be a ghost…’

Calming himself with deep breaths, Hanseol reached the office door and presented his employee ID to the security scanner. Beyond the opaque glass, the office remained shrouded in darkness. Convinced that only by illuminating the space would his wildly thrumming heart find solace, Hanseol swiftly scanned his fingerprint.

The instant he slipped through the open doorway, that unsettling headache enveloped Hanseol once more, only to dissipate like mist. If a ghost truly was at play, he reasoned, he needed to banish the shadows immediately to lessen the fright, and so his finger flew to the wall switch.

Moments later, as his vision snapped into bright, stark clarity, Hanseol was utterly aghast at the gruesome sight before him.

“……Team Leader?”

There, by the cabinet in the office corner, stood Ryu Yishin. His hands were stained with blood, and he was haphazardly wrapping a bandage around his left arm.

Frozen in shock at the doorway, Hanseol found himself drawn toward Ryu Yishin. Up close, his condition appeared even more severe; the blood-soaked bandage was one thing, but what truly stole Hanseol’s breath was Ryu Yishin’s back and shoulder, drenched in dark crimson. Even as Hanseol watched, the bandage on his left arm continued to deepen in color, steadily absorbing more blood.

“Team Leader, a-are you alright? You’re… you’re bleeding so much……”

Hanseol’s expression was graver than that of the injured man himself as he examined the bandage, then looked up at Ryu Yishin with a worried gaze. Facing Ryu Yishin’s indifferent expression, Hanseol fidgeted, unable to either extend his hand to the bandaged left arm or pull it back. Despite Ryu Yishin being a terrifying and cruel boss who tormented him, the sudden surge of pity upon seeing him injured was far greater.

“Uh… the hospital… let’s go to the hospital first! I’ll go with you… quickly, Team Leader……”

Before he knew it, Hanseol’s face was contorted in a worried grimace, as if he might burst into tears at any moment. He was startled to see someone bleeding so profusely for the first time, but it wasn’t just that. His primary concern was the fear that if Ryu Yishin, who was practically drenched in blood, didn’t receive quick treatment, something terrible might happen.

Gathering his courage, Hanseol took Ryu Yishin’s right hand and stepped forward. He fully expected Ryu Yishin to follow, so the unexpected force pulling him back instead surprised him into a low gasp, his mouth slightly agape.

“Ah……”

It was a powerful force, utterly uncharacteristic of someone so severely injured. Helplessly pulled closer to face Ryu Yishin, Hanseol, flustered, merely stared up at him, blinking his wide eyes. The moment their gazes locked, meeting Ryu Yishin’s characteristically impassive eyes that revealed nothing, he abruptly stepped closer, a peculiar tension snaking down Hanseol’s spine.

“Hnng, uh……”

There was no hesitation in his next action. Ryu Yishin tilted his head slightly, pressed their lips together, and began to persistently bite and suck on Hanseol’s lips like a starving man. As Hanseol, pushed back by the force, stumbled until he hit the wall and stopped, Ryu Yishin brazenly intertwined and rubbed his tongue without any restraint.

A ticklish sensation seemed to course through his veins, spreading throughout his entire body. His body kept twitching, and his toes curled tightly. Even as his mind went blank and his thoughts fragmented, certain sensations grew clearer with each passing moment.

Ryu Yishin’s hot, pliant tongue; the cool grip of the hand that held his own; the helpless gasps that escaped each time their lips intertwined deeper, shifting angles; and the subtle, intermittent pain that gnawed at his nerves—these were the things that grew undeniably distinct.

“Mmm… hnnng, uh……”

The moment their slightly parted lips met again, the breathy moan that had escaped was swallowed by Ryu Yishin. His lower abdomen repeatedly chilled and then instantly flushed with heat, making his head spin.

As time passed, far from becoming softer, the force pushing him seemed to grow stronger. Yet, the frequency and intensity of the pain gnawing at his nerves were gradually diminishing. Only then did Hanseol realize that Ryu Yishin was seeking guiding.

The first time they had kissed, he had been overcome with embarrassment and hesitated for a long time, but this time, he regained his composure more quickly. The only thing that could have caused Ryu Yishin such severe injuries was a fight with a monster, which meant guiding was undoubtedly what he needed most right now.

“Haaah… T-Team Leader……”

Quickly collecting his thoughts, Hanseol slightly bowed his head, pulling away from Ryu Yishin, then reached out his stiff hand and tightly gripped Ryu Yishin’s waist. Facing him with a rather solemn expression, Hanseol quickly spoke.

“Team Leader, I’ll start the guiding first… If I fall asleep, you need to leave me and go to the hospital. Ah, understood? If you don’t get treatment quickly, it might get worse and hurt even more……”

Perhaps due to his urgency, the words tumbled out like a machine gun. He spoke first out of worry that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to go to the hospital with Ryu Yishin after the guiding. Ryu Yishin, maintaining his composure, simply stared down at Hanseol.

Given the situation, there was no time to delay, so Hanseol decided to just go for it. Just like that time when he impulsively hugged Ryu Yishin’s back, only to end up being held in his arms for even longer. Even when he first kissed Ryu Yishin, he had focused belatedly, but it seemed the guiding effect wasn’t entirely absent, so he hoped this method would work again.

To reach Ryu Yishin, who was much taller than him, Hanseol slightly rose on his tiptoes and clumsily kissed him. Lacking any technique, it was closer to a simple press of lips, just bringing them together and pushing.

‘Should I just press my lips against his and concentrate like this?’, he wondered. ‘Or should I bite his lips as Team Leader did, as if stretching them? Or should I open my mouth?’ Distracted by these errant thoughts, Hanseol found himself unable to focus on the guiding.

Ryu Yishin, who had been standing idly without any reaction, let out something that sounded like a light breath or a chuckle, their lips still pressed together. Startled by the lukewarm response, Hanseol pressed his body closer and his lips harder, whereupon Ryu Yishin suddenly lunged at Hanseol like a madman, devouring his lips.

“Huuup……”

Ryu Yishin cupped Hanseol’s cheeks and deeply intertwined their tongues. Hanseol’s back was pressed against the wall, his shoulder blades crushed, and his airway further constricted, leaving no room for thought. The initiative had entirely shifted to Ryu Yishin.

Ryu Yishin’s firm tongue tip burrowed in like a rude intruder, brushing against the underside of Hanseol’s tongue. Unable to bear the strange sensation, Hanseol twisted his body, prompting Ryu Yishin to swiftly entwine his tongue. As Hanseol was drawn into the fervent motion and inadvertently rubbed his tongue tip against Ryu Yishin’s, his body trembled violently, feeling as if a feverish rash had erupted across him; it wouldn’t be strange if his entire body simply melted away.

Hanseol squeezed his eyes shut and pulled Ryu Yishin’s waist even closer. He felt as though he needed something to hold onto to survive, and that only by doing this, by completely closing the distance so no gap remained, would even a faint guiding effect reach him.

“Just a little… just a little more……” Hanseol groaned, yet he tried to match Ryu Yishin and concentrate. His legs, weakened by the increasing exhaustion, trembled, and his head began to spin. All the while, Ryu Yishin deliberately stimulated only his most tender and sensitive spots, causing Hanseol to groan involuntarily.

“Haaah… w-wait… Team Leader, I can’t… I can’t breathe properly……”

At this rate, he felt he would collapse not from guiding side effects, but from respiratory failure. Not even when Jinwoo had forced him to exercise had his heart pounded so rapidly, as if it would burst. Leaning against the wall, Hanseol blinked, trying to clear his blurring vision, and could only docilely offer his lips as Ryu Yishin kissed him again.

“Haaah, mmmph……”

Ryu Yishin remained as relentless as ever, yet Hanseol sensed a strange softening in his touch. Was he getting used to it, or was it just his imagination? Unable to tell, Hanseol focused on finding a rhythm to his breathing, pulling Ryu Yishin’s waist even tighter.

Perhaps it was due to his desperate compulsion to calm Ryu Yishin, but his fluctuations gradually subsided. The only problem was the overwhelming sense of weakness and exhaustion now sweeping over Hanseol.

Moments later, Hanseol’s body went completely limp, and he collapsed forward as if unconscious. Ryu Yishin effortlessly lifted the inert Hanseol into his arms, slinging his body over his shoulder like a burden. After a brief glance at the blood-soaked bandage, Ryu Yishin clicked his tongue in mild annoyance and began to stride away.

He checked the wall clock one last time before using his ability to vanish instantly with Hanseol on his back. Only the open cabinet and the first-aid kit haphazardly strewn on the floor remained in the empty office, hinting that someone had been there just moments before.