Chapter 88: Lean

“Move him.”

Bodam’s eyes widened at Seung Ho’s low voice, as he indifferently turned away.

He scanned the unconscious Esper’s condition with his eyes and instructed the Teleport Esper.

To go to the specialized private room for high-level teams at the medical center.

Seung Ho gestured for them to wait a moment, as if he intended to move with them.

“Don’t go around alone.”

Seung Ho, looking down at Bodam again, gripped the wrist that was holding his arm.

He met Bodam’s round eyes, filled with tears, and pulled his wrist.

Bodam, pulled by that force, stepped one step closer to Seung Ho.

Bodam, who hadn’t yet received an answer, hid his bewilderment and asked.

The distance Seung Ho had closed was too close.

“Yo-you’ll heal him, right?”

“You.”

Seung Ho, changing the subject instead of answering, scanned Bodam up and down with his grayish-black eyes.

Other than his labored breathing, he seemed to have no external injuries.

His large hand, gripping Bodam’s wrist, tightened.

“Don’t move immediately; go once you’ve calmed down.”

“…The healing?”

“I’ll do it.”

Seung Ho released the tightly gripped wrist and answered.

He left his final words and went towards the Teleport Esper.

“It’s dangerous, so stay inside the Center.”

Just before disappearing with teleportation, Seung Ho turned his head towards Bodam.

He stared at Bodam, who stood blankly, and then at Tae Hwan, who guarded his back.

‘With Lee Tae Hwan here, he’ll be safe.’

He was a safer shield than any barrier Esper.

Above all, Yoon Bodam, standing next to him, looked comfortable.

“Lee Tae Hwan, you bastard….”

Bodam, who had been staring blankly at the empty space where Han Seung Ho had disappeared, spun around.

He approached Lee Tae Hwan, raising his fist, as the thought belatedly struck him.

Tae Hwan, perched on the end of a half-collapsed table, was only looking at Bodam.

His droopy eyebrows returned to their original position as he watched Bodam, angry, approaching him.

“You said you’d be here… quickly.”

Tae Hwan raised an arm towards Bodam, who was taking big strides, clutching a fist that he wished was fierce.

He just wanted to.

His body moved on its own.

“Is this quickly, you son of a, bi….”

Bodam, who punched the hand extended towards him, was huffing.

Still, his anger wouldn’t subside, so he punched Tae Hwan’s chest repeatedly, just as he had punched Han Seung Ho.

‘How long did I wait?’

‘After talking as if he’d come right away.’

“I’m sorry.”

Tae Hwan simply apologized without any excuses.

He apologized for being late.

“You waited a long time, didn’t you?” he said, pulling Bodam closer, his body still trembling.

Unable to stand upright, he carefully pulled Bodam into an embrace while remaining seated on the table.

“I won’t be late again.”

With Tae Hwan seated, their eye-level was similar, and Bodam buried his face in Tae Hwan’s shoulder.

With the person he had desperately waited for right before his eyes, strength left his body.

He tried to punch the Esper who dared to hug him without permission, but simply allowed himself to be embraced.

He definitely had a fever, but he was cold.

A chill ran through him, making his teeth subtly chatter.

Being within Lee Tae Hwan’s warm embrace brought him peace of mind.

“…Don’t cry.”

Tae Hwan, his mind going blank as he felt his shoulder gradually growing damp, whispered in Bodam’s ear.

Bodam, who had been crying silently, burst into louder sobs at the arms wrapping around him, as if to cover his entire back, and the hand stroking the back of his head.

“I, I hic…! How much, boo-hoo.”

Tae Hwan squeezed his eyes shut at the gradually increasing wailing.

He gathered Bodam’s legs, which looked like they might break with a touch, and sat them on his thigh with one hand.

He even used psychokinesis to chase away all the remaining Espers in the vicinity.

His breath caught, thinking of Bodam who had been waiting for him in such a dilapidated place.

“Oh, you… you said you’d come, hic, you son of a b*tch.”

Bodam, with his pent-up tears and fear erupting, continued to cry without exhaustion.

Muttering words that were barely comprehensible, he poured out his innermost thoughts, saying he thought he was going to die from fear.

His heart had almost burst, fearing that the woman’s knife, which had so easily sliced off an Esper’s leg, would be pointed at his own neck.

It was also heartbreaking to sit powerlessly, simply waiting for an Esper to come and save him.

As even the sorrow of having manifested as a guide washed over him, his tears wouldn’t dry.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being late.”

Tae Hwan diligently wiped away the tears streaming down Bodam’s cheeks with his large hands, pleading as if in prayer.

The more he cried, the hotter Bodam’s fever rose, and Tae Hwan felt like he could die from worry.

“Just hit me instead. Huh? Yoon Bodam. Let’s stop crying. Look at me. Get angry.”

Tae Hwan, thinking that seeing his face would make Bodam angry, slightly lifted his bowed head.

He held Bodam’s reddened cheeks and wiped away his tears, making their eyes meet.

He thought getting angry would put less strain on Bodam’s body than crying.

He was afraid that if Bodam cried any more with his weak body, he might pass out.

Yoon Bodam, once he started crying, wouldn’t stop.

Seeing him always suppressing his cries with sniffles, it tore his heart to see him wailing so loudly like this.

“…….”

Bodam’s sniffling gaze landed on the shoulder he was leaning on.

The moment he saw Tae Hwan’s shoulder and under his jaw, which he hadn’t properly seen before, his tears immediately stopped.

“You bastard, you-.”

Bodam, whose familiar fist was about to punch but quickly retracted, chastised him with his eyes instead.

Wiping away the tears blurring his vision, he looked closely at Lee Tae Hwan’s shoulder.

New skin was growing on his battle uniform, which had partially melted away.

“You crazy bastard.”

No matter if he was an Esper, he would feel pain just the same.

Bodam looked him over, this guy who only apologized without a word about his pain.

Sure enough, upon seeing Lee Tae Hwan’s right hand, which was in tatters, his tears dried up.

“You, this, where did it go!”

Bodam, pointing to the spot where Tae Hwan’s pinky finger was missing, gasped.

He had seen many injured Espers, but they were always on a comparable level.

The Espers Bodam had been in charge of in the past were mostly the type who intentionally avoided dangerous situations or took care of themselves.

He had never experienced guys like Attack Team 3 who recklessly abandoned their bodies without fear.

“Looks like it melted off.”

Tae Hwan, casually hiding his right hand as if he hadn’t even noticed it was gone, wiped away Bodam’s remaining tears.

His shoulder, which clearly seemed to have been touched by the monster’s poison, was recovering rapidly, but it looked painful.

And he, Bodam, hadn’t known and had rubbed his face and punched on top of those injuries.

‘My fist must have hurt.’

“Are you done crying?”

Tae Hwan, patting Bodam’s back, which was no longer shaking, asked.

He was relieved that the crying had stopped, but then his heart sank again as Bodam’s perfectly round, pretty eyes started to contort.

“Why, why. Stop crying.”

As a flustered Tae Hwan leaned his head closer, Bodam lowered his face so Tae Hwan couldn’t see it.

He also pulled at the wrist that was wiping away his tears.

It was Tae Hwan’s watch-wearing hand.

“You’re not crying because it hurts, are you? Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

Click.

Tae Hwan’s rambling mouth suddenly closed.

His body stiffened in surprise at the sound of Bodam pulling his hand and touching their watches together.

Bodam, without any warning, checked Tae Hwan’s wave level.

‘I’m fine.’

‘I didn’t come here to get guiding.’

“…….”

The words Tae Hwan was about to say to Bodam lingered on his tongue, then crumbled away.

He blinked, watching Bodam, who was examining his aching shoulder and then placing his hand not on any other neck, but on his own.

‘Am I dreaming right now?’

‘Where does the dream begin?’

“Close your eyes.”

Bodam, who had come so close their noses were almost touching, spoke softly.

“Close them.”

Tae Hwan, who had been dumbfounded, promptly closed his eyes as ordered.

A faint breath escaped Tae Hwan’s parted lips, astonished.

His tender flesh, parting his stiff lips wider, delved inside.

Bodam, tilting his head first and deepening their overlapped lips, poured out guiding.

He felt the strength drain from Tae Hwan’s legs, on which he was seated.

“Don’t, open your eyes….”

Bodam, who had pulled away his intertwined tongue after brushing against the mucous membranes, pinched Tae Hwan’s neck.

Detecting a hot gaze, he furtively opened his eyes to see Tae Hwan’s dark pupils looking as if they would swallow him whole.

“Mm.”

Tae Hwan, closing his eyes again, leaned against the table, clenching his fists in his hands that kept wanting to reach for Bodam’s waist.

It had only been a few months ago that he received mucosal guiding every day.

If he received it daily in his current state, his heart probably wouldn’t last.

It was surprising that his pulse raced so fast yet didn’t burst.

‘What if I go berserk like this?’

‘Yoon Bodam would be in danger too.’

Tae Hwan, suppressing his excitement as much as possible, bit his lower lip and waited for Bodam to breathe.

He wished Bodam wouldn’t overdo the guiding, yet he wanted to receive it all day.

‘If only he would stay in my embrace like this forever.’

“…It hurts.”

Bodam mumbled to Tae Hwan, who wouldn’t release his lower lip, as if he intended to chew it off.

Unable to hit the injured man, he only pulled the back of his neck.

He had used quite a bit of force, but Lee Tae Hwan seemed oblivious, which bruised his pride a little.

“Sorry.”

“What, what are you doing?”

“Just a moment.”

Tae Hwan, who had come to his senses and released Bodam’s lips, wrapped his hand around Bodam’s waist.

Moving swiftly before Bodam could get angry, he stood up and changed their positions, sitting Bodam down opposite him.

He immediately released the hand supporting Bodam’s waist and stood by leaning on the table.

He had stood up, forgetting his place.

“Are you okay?”

Bodam asked Tae Hwan, who was standing awkwardly leaning on the table.

He was hunched low, with Bodam tucked between his arms.

That intimate posture was a bit uncomfortable, but Lee Tae Hwan’s reddened face worried him.

“Do you want more?”

Bodam, taking Tae Hwan’s hunched face and lifting it, carefully examined his complexion.

Tae Hwan’s nervously wavering dark pupils avoided meeting Bodam’s eyes.

‘Was there not enough guiding?’

“Just, let’s stay like this for a bit.”

Tae Hwan refused Bodam’s guiding and simply buried his head again.

He desperately tried to clear his mind, to not chase the lingering heat in his mouth.

Even as he cursed himself as a “horny bastard,” his instincts were leaning towards Yoon Bodam’s skin scent.

“Lean.”

Bodam, who thought Tae Hwan seemed unwell, grabbed the back of his neck and made him lean his head on Bodam’s dependable shoulder.

It was only natural that he had used a lot of strength, having just defeated a giant monster.

Even if it was Lee Tae Hwan, a monster of that caliber must have been difficult.

Moreover, he tended to recklessly push his body, relying on his abilities, so he needed a guide’s careful care.

‘Anyway, they were high-maintenance Espers.’

As Bodam silently replayed the shortcomings of Attack Team 3’s incompetent members one by one, Tae Hwan was diligently suppressing the heat inside him.

He only rested his face on the lean shoulder, worrying that if he leaned fully, he might fall back.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t understand his past self.

‘How could he have made a Yoon Bodam like this cry?’

‘Yoon Bodam, with a small, round, snowball-like face, who only spoke and acted kindly, yet gave kisses that felt like melting.’

‘Where had he gone wrong?’

“I saw an unregistered Esper.”

Bodam, who was easily supporting Tae Hwan’s weight, which was lighter than he expected, opened his mouth.

He had planned to tell Lee Tae Hwan immediately when he arrived.

“What?”

No sooner had Bodam finished speaking than Tae Hwan suddenly lifted his bowed head and grabbed Bodam’s shoulders.

“Here? Did he come inside?”

Bodam pointed to his cheek, where the terrible sensation still lingered, at Lee Tae Hwan, who had quickly reverted to his original fierce expression.

Hoping Tae Hwan would catch that unregistered Esper.

“She touched my face.”