Chapter 9: Seo Yeong-u

He’s a dangerous Guide.

The image of the Guide I had of him changed from ‘pervert’ to ‘dangerous Guide’.

To be precise, the guiding energy flowing from his body was dangerous to me.

“Hah…”

Last night, the man had shattered my defenses with his guiding.

The man’s voice, as he gently pressed down on my trembling shoulders, was still vivid.

‘Lie down.’

I don’t know if I actually lay down when he told me to or not.

The last thing I remember was leaning against the man’s thin shoulders, exhausted by the rising heat.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying properly in bed like this.

“Wow, I’m going to lose my mind.”

I let out a long sigh at the stiff texture of the new patient gown and lifted the blanket.

The pants were new too.

And the… underwear underneath.

What’s next? Sleeping with that man?

“You crazy bastard.”

No matter how much I’d hurt my head and lost my memory, I couldn’t believe I was even entertaining the thought of sleeping with a man.

My reason, forged by three years of rotting away in an all-boys middle school, could never accept it.

But maybe it was because of that Guide’s face.

Even though I recognized that he had the same parts as me, his face was overly… handsome.

To the point where I even imagined lying down with the naked Guide.

“Perverted bastard.”

The more I recalled the sticky atmosphere of the previous night, the more my thoughts drifted in that direction.

To be honest, it felt like we had already gone all the way.

I had a feeling that we hadn’t just received guiding through simple hugs or kisses.

I could tell just by the way he unhesitatingly presented his naked body and the look in his eyes when he looked at me.

‘It’s okay.’

The man’s voice, crying as sorrowfully as if his own family had lost their memory, flashed past.

The cool temperature of his body as he hugged me and his face, insisting he was okay when he clearly wasn’t, lingered like an afterimage.

His desperate expression, as if telling me I was someone precious to him, was seared into my mind.

“Ah, I don’t know. I just don’t want to know.”

I shook my head to cut off my deepening thoughts.

I didn’t want to know the details of this man’s feelings, whom I had just gotten to know.

My current situation was overwhelming enough, and the more I thought about him, the heavier my head became.

“Haa—.”

I was about to hit my forehead to erase the man from my mind, but threw a pillow instead.

Thanks to the guiding, my wavelength had lowered and my body hurt less, but my mind was so uneasy that I could only sigh.

Still, seeing the pain lessen, I had to admit that guiding was amazing.

If it was this effective, I wanted to receive it every day.

From a different Guide, not that burdensome one.

Knock, knock.

The series of dry sighs was cut off by a knock on the door.

A voice, already familiar, came from the slightly ajar hospital room door.

“Um… may I come in?”

I stayed silent, not answering the voice of the Guide I least wanted to see right now.

The shock from last night hadn’t subsided yet, and I wanted to be alone.

I maintained my silence even at the second knock.

Thinking he would wait for a bit and then leave, I was just staring at the door when my eyes met the Guide’s as he peeked in through the crack.

Why did he even knock if he was going to do that?

“…Come in.”

The Guide, who promptly opened the door at my words and revealed himself, was thankfully fully clothed.

It didn’t seem to be his own clothes; judging by the name tag, it looked like a work uniform.

The drab, ink-colored clothes made his pale skin stand out even more.

“Did I wake you?”

I pretended not to hear the Guide who was slowly approaching.

Hoping he would leave on his own if I ignored him, I treated him as if he weren’t there and tried to drink some water.

At that, the Guide, cluelessly rushing over to pour it for me, picked up the water bottle.

“Drink a lot of water. Espers have to drink at least four liters a day.”

The Guide poured water vigorously, not even realizing the glass was already full.

Only when the overflowing water reached his feet did he realize he was spilling water and jumped in surprise.

I just watched, wondering what on earth he was doing.

“Ah, tissues… a towel….”

The Guide, flustered, ran to the bathroom and came out with a towel.

He seemed to be trying to run, but I thought I could walk faster than that.

His movements were sluggish compared to his frantic actions.

Lack of strength, perhaps?

The Guide first wiped the glass and handed it to me, then spread the towel to wipe the floor and the tray.

Taken aback, I accepted the glass of water and watched the Guide while I quenched my thirst.

It was much easier on the eyes with him wearing clothes.

I was so intrigued by the meticulous way the Guide folded the damp towel neatly that I ended up staring at him without realizing it.

The Guide, conscious of my gaze, suddenly pretended to wipe away sweat that wasn’t even there.

“It’s a bit hot.”

Even though the temperature was just right, neither hot nor cold, the Guide fanned himself with his hand and undid a couple of buttons on his shirt.

If he was hot, he could have just rolled up his long sleeves, but the Guide, who had revealed his hollow collarbones, bent his upper body towards me, pretending to pick up the towel that was perfectly fine in his hand.

What is he really doing?

“Ahem, are you hungry?”

As soon as I looked away, the Guide straightened up and tried to get my attention with food this time.

I was hungry.

A delicious smell was wafting from the large backpack the Guide was wearing.

“I brought some food.”

With a much brighter voice, the Guide placed the bag, which was bigger than his torso, on the edge of the bed and started taking out lunch boxes.

His hands were busy as he pulled the table in front of me and placed the lunch boxes down one by one.

Though his face was still tired and his complexion lifeless, he looked better than yesterday.

Perhaps because his expression was a little brighter.

“You need to eat better when you’re sick.”

The Guide, who had filled the table without a single gap, looked up at me.

I avoided his gaze before our eyes could meet and silently picked up my spoon.

I had been staring at his face too intently again.

So your eyes can be that big even without double eyelids. I had this useless thought as I took a large spoonful of mixed-grain rice, then paused for a moment.

“I made all of this myself.”

“All of this?”

I asked, unable to hide my surprised expression.

From clam and seaweed soup to seasoned vegetable side dishes, braised pomfret cut into bite-sized pieces, egg rolls without any other ingredients, and even japchae.

The packaged foods that Mr. Hwang had bought in bulk were amazing, but this was even more surprising in a different way.

“There’s more japchae. Eat a lot.”

How did he bring only the foods I liked?

Moreover, kimchi, which I didn’t eat much of, wasn’t even on the table.

“I seasoned it strongly.”

What is this man?

I glanced at the Guide, who knew my tastes inside and out, in bewilderment, and then moved my spoon.

The more I ate, the more my surprise grew.

I almost choked up at the taste of my mother’s cooking that I felt from the Guide.

“It’s still hard to use chopsticks, isn’t it?”

The Guide, who had been watching me eat with just a spoon, picked up a side dish for me instead.

It wasn’t easy to use chopsticks because of the tight bandages.

“If there’s anything uncomfortable, just tell me.”

I wanted to say that he was the most uncomfortable thing, but I held it in for now.

After accepting and eating the food he had brought in bundles, I couldn’t bring myself to draw a line and say he was uncomfortable.

I should have said I wouldn’t eat it from the beginning.

If I was going to push the Guide away completely.

“I was the dedicated Guide for Barrier Team 3. Though not anymore.”

The Guide, who had placed a side dish on my rice in time with my scooping, began to introduce himself without being asked.

“We lived together for about four years, and I left the team for personal reasons.”

So that means he’s guiding me even though we’re not on the same team.

I could guess the reason without having to ask.

Wanting to leave it as just an excessive assumption, I just ate my meal.

The food went down smoothly with the shockingly familiar tastes.

“Even after leaving the team, I continued to be the dedicated Guide. Only for you, Team Leader.”

The chopsticks that had been moving diligently along with mine paused for a moment.

The Guide, who had taken a small breath, prepared his next words with a thoughtful expression.

It felt like something tremendous was about to come out.

Like, Actually, we’re a couple who just haven’t had a wedding ceremony. Something like that.

“Excuse me.”

In the end, I was the one who spoke first.

I cut off the conversation, looking only at the table without giving the Guide a glance.

“I just want to eat.”

Did he get the hint?

Should I show more dislike? I thought of something to say to draw a line with the desperate Guide.

I didn’t want to face him, at least not until my memories returned.

The more I was with the Guide, the more I moved past feeling uncomfortable and started to feel sad for no reason.

My chest kept feeling heavy.

“It’s Seo Yeong-u.”

The Guide, who had been staring at me while I was lost in thought, continued his introduction.

Pointing to the name tag on his left chest.

“Feel free to call me that.”

He showed a smile for the first time.