Chapter 54: The Lunatic Who Was So Exhausted He Could Barely Stood

“Maybe I shouldn’t have told him to come back with a high Esper rating.”

It had already been a month since they returned from their trip, but Lee Chae could count on one hand the number of times he had actually seen Hae Jin’s face. He should have felt good that the guy who used to chase him around relentlessly was no longer sticking to him, but that wasn’t the case at all. Even while doing the same tasks at the same time every day, he felt anxious, as if there was something he had left undone; he had no motivation and no appetite.

‘Is he playing hard to get or something?’

It wasn’t as if Hae Jin would have gotten tired of him already just because Lee Chae had shown he liked him and they had shared a little kiss. However, because Hae Jin didn’t show his face under the pretext of being busy, Lee Chae felt like he was dying. Of course, it wasn’t that Hae Jin’s interest had died out, as he sent one of the Legion’s Espers every time Lee Chae went to the debris disposal unit. The problem was that the Espers sent were mostly the Yong-yong and Jae Hyung couple, which only produced the side effect of making him miss Hae Jin even more.

‘Who asked for a bodyguard? If it was going to be like this, why did he say all that stuff about leaving his time to me….’

He got off the bus and trudged toward the debris disposal unit, only to find the atmosphere a bit strange. He knew that the reason Hae Jin had been busy lately was due to the constant attacks occurring at all hours, but the mood here felt different from just being busy with work.

The place was crowded with lower-rank Espers as usual, but instead of the Guides performing guiding, they were standing in a line like soldiers. Why a sudden assembly? They always skipped these when there was a lot of work…. He carefully opened the door to the treatment room and apologized first.

“U-Um… I’m sorry I’m late.”

Someone approached, the sound of footsteps clicking sharply against the floor. It was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, and judging by the insignia on his uniform, he appeared to be an A-rank Guide.

‘What is an A-rank doing here?’

The man circled around Lee Chae, who stood still, confused, and then stopped right in front of him.

“Guide Jung Lee Chae?”

“Yes.”

“Is this job a joke to you? Are you always this late?”

“What? No. I’m not a full-time employee, I’m part-ti….”

The man’s eyes flared at the words Lee Chae blurted out as an excuse. His already intimidating impression turned even more fierce.

“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know Guide Jung Lee Chae is part-time? Even if it’s part-time, does it make sense to be late for a job where people’s lives are at stake?”

“I will correct my behavior!”

It was a mistake to stop by the Legion because he missed Hae Jin so much. He thought he might be able to meet him if he went, but he wasn’t at the Legion today either. He couldn’t even get in touch with him, perhaps because the battle was so hectic….

So, no matter what anyone said, his actions today were nothing more and nothing less than neglecting work because he was caught up in a romance. He was a hundred percent in the wrong, so it was only right to apologize.

At Lee Chae’s apology, the man nodded once and gestured toward the very end of the single-file line. Once Lee Chae went and stood there, the man continued speaking.

“I am Lee Kang Wook, an A-rank Guide from headquarters. Now that I’ve been assigned to manage the Guide team of the debris disposal unit, you’d better stay sharp, regardless of how you’ve worked until now.”

For the headquarters to suddenly send a Guide to the debris disposal unit they never cared about…. He couldn’t properly grasp what exactly was going on. Regardless, he was in no position to ask an A-rank Guide from headquarters why he had come when he was just a D-rank part-time Guide.

Standing at the front of the line, Kang Wook began to rattle off a list of rules to be observed in the debris disposal unit. It ranged from a ban on office dating to limits on the number of pads used and even dress codes. The only good news among the annoying regulations was that the hourly wage would increase slightly. They wouldn’t just give money for nothing, so it likely meant things would get that much tougher.

“Now, please follow the rules and return to your posts to work.”

The assembly ended in a stiff atmosphere. As soon as Kang Wook left, the Guides began to whisper. They wondered who that man was and why he had suddenly shown up. Lee Chae listened intently, hoping to gain some information, but there was nothing useful to be found.

After that, Lee Chae guided the Espers who came flooding in one after another and finally took out his phone.

[Are you very busy lately?]

The message Lee Chae sent remained the last one, with no reply coming back. Until just before the trip, he had been contacting him regularly; was he really that busy? Well, since the ratings would be out soon, he’d contact me on his own if he wanted contact guiding.

He tried to soothe his mind, but the anxious thoughts that had begun to take hold did not easily subside.

By the time he was walking back home, Lee Chae’s irritation finally boiled over. He even felt that unless his fingers were broken, failing to contact someone to this extent was a lack of basic courtesy toward the other person. Hae Jin had made such a fuss about him carrying a phone, yet if he was going to neglect him like this, Lee Chae felt f*cking furious wondering why he’d even said those things.

Walking in a state of peak anger, he turned into the alley in front of his house. There, Hae Jin was leaning against a broken wall under a streetlamp. The way he waved this way with a bright smile made him look like a total playboy.

After not a single call all day, he had the nerve to smile as if he’d done nothing wrong…. He couldn’t believe he had been worried and anxious because of a guy like that. When he hadn’t seen him, he missed him so much, but seeing his face now made him not want to see him at all. He tried to turn away with a quick pace, but Hae Jin caught him by the scruff of his neck.

“Hey, babe, hi. I missed you so much I thought I’d die.”

What a dramatic line. Anyone watching would think it was Hae Jin who had been waiting desperately, not him.

“Why didn’t you just die then?”

“That’s too harsh. Are you pouting because I didn’t get in touch? I ran here straight after the battle ended.”

“Then why didn’t you let me know the battle was over?”

Hae Jin fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Lee Chae sucked in a breath. Even without looking closely, it was obvious the device was smashed into several pieces.

“As soon as the battle started, I got attacked by a monster and it just went ‘pop’ and exploded. I’d rather have had my arm broken than my phone… Ow! Why are you hitting me?”

“How can you say that? It’s a relief you didn’t get hurt because of the phone!”

Lee Chae felt pathetic for resenting Hae Jin for not contacting him without knowing the phone was destroyed. If he had known it was like this, he would have cursed him out a little less…. Recalling the harsh insults he’d hurled in his head, he naturally felt apologetic. He knew the situation was suspicious because of the sudden increase in attacks, so why did he act like that?

“Our Lee Chae, you were worried about me. Were you afraid you’d become a bachelor ghost if I died?”

……With that one sentence from Hae Jin, the apologetic feeling vanished instantly. Honestly, every time he opened his mouth, he docked the points he barely had left. Even so, he just grinned as if everything was great. With soot from battle debris on his face, messy hair, and the smell of gunpowder clinging to him, he still looked beautiful in Lee Chae’s eyes. And that made him irritated all over again.

“Who says I’d be a bachelor ghost? How do you know, Hyung? Whether I’ve done it or not.”

At those words, the smile vanished from Hae Jin’s face. Lee Chae stuttered an addition at Hae Jin’s suddenly cold expression.

“I-I’m not saying I have! I just hate the arrogance of you assuming I haven’t. Can’t a Guide do that if they haven’t signed an exclusive contract? I could have done it with a civilian.”

“Sigh…. Man, I thought I was gonna drop dead from shock! Right! You can! I was wrong. So that means it’s your first time, right?”

Look at him obsessing over the ‘first time’ just because he’s an Esper. Lee Chae clicked his tongue, looking at Hae Jin with pity.

“If it’s not the first time, does something change?”

“Because I’m a first-timer!”

Hae Jin thumped his chest with a proud expression. Lee Chae had heard that he avoided contact guiding, but since Espers usually played around so promiscuously, he assumed Hae Jin was the same.

“It’s good if it’s your first time too. We can be each other’s first and last love.”

Hae Jin spat out cringeworthy lines without a hint of embarrassment. Where on earth did he learn to say things like that? But strangely, Lee Chae felt good at Hae Jin’s claim of it being his first time. He wondered what he was doing, having just despised Hae Jin for obsessing over firsts a moment ago.

“Now, excuses aside, let’s have a kiss.”

Hae Jin spread his arms wide as if inviting him into an embrace. Lee Chae couldn’t bring himself to hug him readily and just stared at him blankly. In the past, he would have ignored him, calling him a pervert pulling pathetic tricks, but now he didn’t dislike the gesture.

When Lee Chae didn’t move, Hae Jin strode over and placed his hands on his shoulders. A tingle of electricity ran through his shoulders. The moment he thought about running away again from the intense sensation, Hae Jin spun Lee Chae’s body around and leaned him against the wall.

“Why are you pretending not to hear me? You should give me a greeting of welcome, Mr. Jung Lee Chae.”

Lee Chae looked up and met his eyes. Because their entire bodies were touching, his heart began to race like crazy. Their chests rose and fell, repeatedly pressing together and pulling apart. It felt as if he could hear a siren warning of danger in his ears. Lee Chae pushed against his chest with all his might.

“A promise is a promise! No way until you bring back your report card and rating sheet.”

“That’s mean. Do you know how hard I pushed myself to finish the battle and get here quickly…?”

Come to think of it, the energy he felt from Hae Jin was different than usual. He was always overflowing with vitality, but right now, far from being energetic, he looked as if he might collapse immediately if he didn’t receive guiding.

He knew from last time that Hae Jin substituted medicine for guiding, but he didn’t know he even skipped the formal guiding one must receive after a battle. Surprised by that fact, he asked with wide eyes.

“You came here without getting your post-battle guiding?”

“That goes without saying. Why would I get guided by someone else when I have my own Guide? I’ll be all better if I just kiss Jung Lee Chae once.”

Though he had pushed him away saying it was impossible until the promise was kept, his heart softened at the sight of Hae Jin’s wrecked state from not taking medicine or receiving guiding.

So, Lee Chae slowly approached Hae Jin. The collar of his usually neat uniform was tucked inward. As Lee Chae pulled the collar out and smoothed it down neatly, the corners of Hae Jin’s mouth curled up as if he were pleased.

His lips, illuminated by the streetlamp, were exceptionally red. He suddenly became curious. Could energy really change through simple contact, without the effort of guiding, just as Hae Jin claimed?