When Tae Woo’s expression darkened, So Won, who had been watching him even more cautiously, continued speaking.
“Tae Woo, would it be okay if I lived at your house?”
‘Tae Woo?’
Tae Woo was surprised by the friendly address, but his blunt expression did not change.
It sounded better than the usual title of Esper Kang Tae Woo, but the address he was hearing from a Guide for the first time was a little unfamiliar.
Before he knew it, the dark thoughts that had filled Tae Woo’s mind had disappeared.
So Won, interpreting Tae Woo’s silence as meaning he was troubled, began making flustered excuses.
“The National Support Housing has CCTV everywhere, they say. Living in a place like that is a bit…”
“It feels unpleasant.”
So Won, while speaking, discovered the CCTV on the ceiling and shut his mouth.
There was a surveillance camera here too… So Won felt relieved that he had almost made even Tae Woo’s Personal Room into an unpleasant place.
It was a good thing he shut his mouth quickly.
If he had said that and touched Tae Woo’s nerves, he would have had to see Tae Woo frown like before.
Tae Woo thought So Won’s choice was unexpected.
Naturally, if they were going to live together, the safe National Support Housing would be better.
In fact, when an Esper and a Guide first lived together, they often used the National Support Housing under 24-hour surveillance for safety reasons.
A Guide was no different from a powerless ordinary person, and an Esper was a time bomb that could explode anytime, anywhere.
In So Won’s case too, since the other party was him, the National Support Housing was safer.
Moreover, Tae Woo’s house was located on the quiet outskirts of Seoul, so if something happened, he might not be able to get help right away.
“…I’ll tell you the address.”
Tae Woo made his decision after worrying.
Anyway, Tae Woo rarely stayed at home.
On days when his condition was bad, he had to attach multiple Guiding Machines, but his house had only one Guiding Machine, so he mostly spent time in a Personal Room at the Esper Association.
So Won also disliked the National Support Housing, and since he would continue to stay in a Personal Room, even if So Won lived at his house, it would not be very inconvenient for So Won.
So Won’s expression brightened after receiving Tae Woo’s agreement. It felt as if he had finally finished one of the things he had to do.
So Won had definitely thought of many things to ask, but after finishing the most important business, nothing came to mind. Should he leave now?
But not even 30 minutes had passed since he arrived. So Won worried for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“Shall I do Guiding for you?”
“Please do.”
Tae Woo did not refuse. So Won had also proposed it knowing he would not refuse.
So when he answered, So Won was not surprised, but he could not help feeling nervous.
So Won got up from across Tae Woo and moved to the seat beside him.
Glancing at Tae Woo’s profile, So Won felt anew just how big Tae Woo was.
It was as if a huge black ox was sitting next to him.
So Won was not small either, but sitting next to Tae Woo made him feel like a small animal.
So Won looked at the large hand quietly held out beside him.
The back of the hand, with dark red blood vessels protruding, was still scary and disgusting.
Even so, he had to gather his courage. So Won gently placed his hand on the back of Tae Woo’s hand.
Along with a tingling, stinging sensation, Tae Woo’s wavelength was felt.
Tae Woo felt a heavy wave of fatigue, but fortunately he did not faint like last time.
So Won felt his heart ease when he felt a warm heat instead of the cold hand from his dream.
Tae Woo was still scary, but it was not to the point where he could not stand properly like before.
Perhaps because the death of that monster-like man, who had never thought he would die, had become quite a trauma, So Won felt his gaze toward him changing little by little over the past few days.
Tae Woo’s hand was really big. It was to the point that So Won’s fully spread hand could not completely cover his clenched hand.
When he moved his hand slightly, he could feel the blood vessels beneath his palm.
When he spread his fingers slightly, a single dark red vein was visible.
Before, it had only been disgusting, but now it somehow looked painful.
When he turned his head and looked, Tae Woo was sitting quietly with his eyes closed.
Around his eyes, large and small blood vessels spread like the veins on the back of his hand, making the area around his eyes look especially darker.
Eight years later, these veins would cover Tae Woo’s entire body as if devouring him.
His face would grow a little thinner, and his dimples would deepen.
In that state, he met a miserable end. So Won’s expression darkened.
There was no sign that Tae Woo was about to open his eyes.
So So Won examined Tae Woo’s face a little more closely.
The thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and high nose had beautiful lines as if carved with a chisel.
The dimples and angular jawline made him want to brush them with a finger.
He was cleanly shaved, and except for the blood vessels around his eyes, there were no flaws on his face.
Because of the veins, So Won had not realized it, but Tae Woo was more handsome than expected.
So Won tried to imagine Tae Woo’s face clean without the veins, but he could not picture it at all.
So Won, who had been looking at Tae Woo’s face with his eyes closed, also gradually grew sleepy.
These days, So Won was short on sleep because of the nightmares that came whenever he closed his eyes.
But holding Tae Woo’s hand, he felt certain that if he fell asleep now, he would not have a nightmare.
Tae Woo’s small breathing sounded like a quiet lullaby.
So Won’s eyes slowly closed.
Tae Woo opened his eyes, which he had briefly closed, at the feeling of someone poking his arm.
When he looked to the side, So Won, who had fallen asleep before he knew it, was resting his head on Tae Woo’s arm.
Perhaps he had not woken while his head drooped, because even breathing could be heard.
It was the first time he had seen someone sleeping this close.
And right beside him, too. His heart stirred at the defenseless sight and the light weight he felt on his arm.
Though his arm was covered by clothes, when So Won’s head touched it, Guiding occurred there as well.
Just by increasing the area being Guided by the size of So Won’s small head, he felt his condition improve sharply.
It would be nice if they touched a little more.
At the very least, he wished he had worn clothes that exposed his arm instead of long sleeves, so they could touch bare skin.
Tae Woo felt regret, then suddenly flinched. Seeing So Won, his dirty greed raised its head again.
Tae Woo bit his lip and scolded himself.
Tae Woo looked at the head leaning against his arm.
He had thought So Won’s hair color was the same as his, but it was a dark brown with a little more brownish tint than Tae Woo’s clothes.
The slightly curly, fine hair with good texture looked like something he wanted to stroke once.
Just thinking about it made him feel its soft touch.
Unlike his own, So Won’s clean skin was even white, as if he were a different creature.
His plump cheeks like a rabbit and round eyes looked cute and innocent.
Lee So Won.
Tae Woo recalled. A few days before So Won was matched as a Guide, the name of the Guide who had come looking for him in the emergency room was also Lee So Won.
According to what he heard from the doctor in charge, that day was the day So Won awakened as a Guide.
Tae Woo could swear that the Guide was So Won, who was now fast asleep beside him.
He could not understand how So Won had known about him or why he had come looking for him.
The greater question was that the very next day, So Won had applied for a Designated Matching with Tae Woo.
The result was, astonishingly, 100%. It was as if So Won had known in advance that he would be matched with Tae Woo.
Then why had he not run away or refused the Wavelength Test, and instead applied for a Designated Matching first to him, someone everyone avoided?
He remembered how So Won had trembled when they faced each other in the Guiding Test Room.
During their first Guiding in the test room, his face had gone pale and he could not even move.
He could not understand why So Won, who was so afraid of him, had come to his Personal Room today.
Was So Won regretting his choice?
He wanted to know, and yet he did not want to know.
Tae Woo looked at So Won’s small hand resting on his rough back of hand.
A tender energy flowed in from where they touched.
Feeling that flow, his heart somehow grew peaceful.
Tae Woo began to want to believe.
That So Won would be a little different from other people.
Tae Woo did not touch So Won or wake him, and simply let time pass.
It was well over 2 hours later that So Won opened his eyes.
As he slowly came to his senses, he realized his body was slightly tilted and leaning against something hard.
It did not take long for him to realize that it was Tae Woo’s arm.
“Ah!”
So Won let out a short scream and moved away from Tae Woo.
Tae Woo noticed So Won had woken and was looking at him, and when the light weight he had felt on his arm disappeared, he felt regret.
So Won and Tae Woo’s eyes met.
Though it was short, some of the fatigue had disappeared from So Won’s face after sleeping deeply without nightmares for the first time in a while.
“I’m sorry. I must have dozed off.”
So Won said that and checked the time.
Well over 2 hours had passed, and he had been asleep for almost 3 hours.
This was not dozing off; it was full-on sleeping.
“You must have been tired.”
So Won’s face turned red. He felt as if Tae Woo were looking at him pitifully.
It was even more so because his tone was flat and without inflection.
Seeing So Won’s aimlessly wavering eyes, the result was far from Tae Woo’s intention to reassure him.
“I’m sorry… Next time I’ll Guide you properly.”
Because he had fallen asleep not long after starting Guiding, he could not be sure whether he had Guided Tae Woo properly.
Even though he had offered to do the Guiding first.
Before the heat in his face could subside, embarrassment rushed in.
So Won could not properly look at Tae Woo’s face.
He felt like hiding in a mouse hole.
So Won decided to run away.
“Um… I’ll be going now.”