Chapter 8 : No Time Out in Guiding

Do monsters get stomach cramps too?

As Jihan nervously scanned their surroundings, Sekyeom replied, his voice tinged with amusement.

“It’s not a stomach cramp.”

“Hoo, I think the attack from outside has begun?”

His lips, still lingering on the shell of Jihan’s ear, subtly rubbed against it as if he were merely speaking.

Sekyeom was exercising the utmost patience of his life, restraining the urge to make even more contact.

“Ah, hey! Wait, time out!”

“There’s no time out in guiding.”

“The one doing it says time out!”

“Hey, how do we get out of here?”

Overwhelmed by the guiding due to the difference in their ranks, Jihan gradually began to gasp for breath.

Or perhaps it was because of the greedy skinship Sekyeom was indulging in.

However, guiding was inherently more effective with intense skinship, so he couldn’t bring himself to push Sekyeom away.

[ECI Value 64%.]

Sekyeom glanced down briefly to check the value on his watch and clicked his tongue softly.

Then, as if it were the most natural thing, he pressed his lips against the nape of Jihan’s neck.

Because he was receiving guiding while using his ability, the value didn’t drop sharply but decreased little by little.

Of course, this was also because the contact area was small and the intensity of the skinship was relatively weak.

“It’s still 64%.”

“Agh, you crazy bastard, don’t talk with your lips pressed against me…”

“Can’t you stay still?!”

“Your hands are getting really bold, aren’t they?”

“I haven’t used my hands yet…”

‘Making jokes even now.’

Jihan gasped for breath and irritably shrugged his shoulder.

But Sekyeom didn’t back down easily.

He couldn’t help it.

It had already been eight years since he became an Esper.

For the first time in his life as an Esper, Sekyeom was receiving proper guiding.

Just trying to think rationally in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to lose his mind was commendable.

The only problem was that Jihan, the one who should have been praising him, didn’t know Sekyeom’s circumstances.

“Ugh, just! Find a way out!”

“That’s what this, ugh, guiding is for!”

“I can’t do anything until the value goes down.”

“Are you a debt collector?”

“Acting like you’re taking back something you deposited, ah, really?”

As Jihan, who flinched every time Sekyeom’s lips touched his seemingly sensitive neck, shouted angrily, Sekyeom burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the stomach acid steadily rose, already reaching their feet.

There was no more room to go up.

Jihan clenched his teeth, glancing downwards with anxious eyes.

As Sekyeom used his ability again, the stomach acid that had risen to their ankles seemed blocked by something, maintaining a constant

distance without touching them.

But how long could they last with such measures?

Jihan felt anxiety rise up to his throat.

“Can’t you contact the support team and ask them to get us out first?”

“Signal reception is blocked, so we can’t contact the outside.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

“To think I was destined to die here with you!”

“I won’t let you die, so stop saying annoying things and try guiding with a bit more effort.”

Even in this dire situation, Sekyeom’s voice held a faint trace of amusement.

Shuddering again, Jihan finally dug his nails into the nape of Sekyeom’s neck, scratching him.

 you do it!”

“If it’s as easy as you say, why don’t you become a Guide and try guiding!”

“…If only I could, I would want to.”

“I’m telling you to do it?!”

“Say something that makes sense!”

At Jihan’s unreasonable demand, Sekyeom also frowned and lifted his head.

To be honest, Sekyeom had wanted to quit being an Esper long ago.

Not only was it an ability he hadn’t asked for, but he was also tired of suffering from the side effects that seemed to eat away at his mind each time.

Although he’d angrily told Jihan to make sense, if given the choice to abandon being an Esper and become a Guide, Sekyeom would choose that path without a second thought.

Jihan, perhaps realizing he was being unreasonable, quickly softened his stance.

Now was not the time to fight with Sekyeom.

what?

Sekyeom replied curtly to the sullen call.

However, seeing Jihan hesitate and unable to continue, he tilted his head inquisitively.

“What is it?”

“You called me, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“…Let’s go all out.”

“All out?”

“Let’s just do it intensely and get it over with at once.”

“I’m already feeling a bit dizzy, you know?”

“At this rate, I’ll pass out before I can lower your value.”

“You hippo-like bastard.”

“Hippo…?”

Jihan, who had been hesitating as if he’d finished deliberating, raised his hand and cupped Sekyeom’s cheek.

He could feel Sekyeom’s surprise in their meeting gaze but forced himself to ignore it.

“I’ll do mucous membrane guiding.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s an emergency, so I’m proceeding without consent, okay?”

Jihan recklessly pressed their lips together.

His eyes squeezed shut, he lunged forward with his lips, nearly knocking out Sekyeom’s front teeth.

Sekyeom, tasting blood as Jihan’s teeth grazed his lip, instinctively opened his mouth.

‘What the hell is this?’

As Jihan pushed his tongue between Sekyeom’s parted lips, he felt a sense of self-loathing, wondering why on earth he was doing this.

Although he had become a Guide, Jihan had his own rules.

Among them, of course, was the rule not to perform guiding beyond simple contact.

The boundary he had set—no mucous membrane guiding unless he had a paired Esper or was dating one—had been broken.

And with his estranged childhood friend, no less.

‘I should have manifested as an Esper too…’

‘If I was going to manifest anyway, it would have been cooler to be an Esper.’

Jihan held back tears of regret as he swept his tongue across the hot mucous membranes.

A violent energy surged menacingly through their connected mouths.

The gentle energy tried its best to softly envelop and unravel it.

Then, Sekyeom’s arms, which had been still as if frozen for a while, suddenly tensed.

Sekyeom, pulling Jihan’s waist tightly enough to feel like breaking his spine, regained his senses and slowly began to use his tongue.

Entwining their tongues like mating snakes, Sekyeom sucked hard on the tongue that entered his mouth.

He devoured even the gasping breaths Jihan took out of difficulty.

Neither of them kissed like they had any experience, nothing quite aligned properly, but Sekyeom felt an ecstasy akin to walking in a dream just from being able to connect with Jihan like this.

Meanwhile, the continuously rising stomach acid had now reached their necks.

Sekyeom, rolling only his eyes to check it, expanded his telekinetic field a little wider.

Sekyeom, who always felt a precarious limit whenever he used his power, was emitting his energy fully for the first time in a long while.

Then, pushed back by the fierce energy, the stomach acid began to recede towards the stomach wall.

As Sekyeom used his ability more, the stomach acid, which had risen almost to the top, sloshed dangerously.

It seemed the Guild members who came for support were also launching fierce attacks, as the monster’s whimpering <Bbo, bbo> cries

became slightly more frequent.

[ECI Value 55%.]

Just as the guiding intensified, the ECI value dropped rapidly, and Sekyeom’s telekinetic range continued to expand.

Overwhelmed by the force seemingly about to burst out from within, the monster let out a long scream.

‘My guide.’

It was the moment Sekyeom, surrendering himself to the guiding, fully recognized the being in his arms.

Within the space expanded by his telekinesis, hundreds of sharp ice shards materialized, encircling the two of them.

Their hot tongues rubbed together before the tips pressed firmly.

In that instant, as they shared warm breaths while exploring the moist interiors of their mouths, the ice crystals scattered explosively.

With the monster’s final cry, its flesh burst apart explosively.

Simultaneously, the outside wind enveloped them, and moonlight poured down from above.

Halos of light from the city lights reflected on the river spread across their closed eyelids.

Jihan, who had briefly opened his eyes at this, went limp and lost consciousness.

Sekyeom, too, who had surrendered to guiding for the first time, kept looking only at Jihan until the very end before slowly closing his eyes.

As soon as Sekyeom closed his eyes, the two began to fall.

Seeing the two figures falling, the Guild Espers rushed towards the landing point, and someone shouted Sekyeom’s name loudly.

“Shin Sekyeom!”

But neither of them heard the call.

Waking up to sunlight streaming through the window is often described beautifully.

However, for the person soundly asleep and subjected to it, it couldn’t be anything but quite irritating.

Jihan raised a hand to cover his eyes from the light striking his eyelids.

Despite having slept, his body felt heavy, as if none of the fatigue had dissipated.

As he tossed and turned, intending to go back to sleep, Jihan suddenly startled and sat bolt upright.

“Wh-What?”

“Am I alive?”

“You’re awake?”

“Yes, thankfully, you’re still alive and well.”

Jihan, who had hastily sat up and was patting down his own body, furrowed his brow slightly.

Perhaps because he’d woken up after a life-or-death ordeal, his body felt incredibly good.

It felt as if someone had used an air pump to inflate his muscles.

However, before he could even marvel at that, he had to turn his head towards the voice coming from beside him.

“Getting swallowed by a mere Code Blue monster, tsk tsk.”

“I thought you left the monster behind because you weren’t feeling well, I never imagined you’d actually be inside it…”

“Huh?”

“It’s the Taepyeong Guild Leader.”

“…What is this guy talking about?”

It was a face he had seen often on TV.

At that, Jihan raised his hand and pointed at the Taepyeong Guild Leader.

Shin Jinho’s expression twisted at the impolite pointing.

Because his nephew seemed somewhat strange.

“But why is the Guild Leader here?”

“And where is this place?”

Jihan quickly turned his head, scanning his surroundings.

First, the place he woke up in was a bed.

The bed with crisp white sheets was a hospital bed, and although the room was decorated like a hotel room, the presence of an IV stand suggested it was a hospital room.

Just as Jihan, having noted the steam rising from a humidifier on a small table, was about to ask again where he was, a large hand landed on

his forehead.

“Is he like this because he lacks guiding?”

“His condition seems really off.”

“Or did you hit your head?”

“Why are you doing this?”

The leader of one of South Korea’s top guilds was naturally a huge celebrity.

Seeing such a person touch his forehead with a worried expression naturally flustered Jihan.