Churu for the Angry Guide

51

Originally designed as a study, it was left empty as it was deemed unnecessary.

They thought it would remain empty in the future. Everyone stayed in their own rooms, rarely coming out to the living room. Even Geonho rarely came downstairs.

Taebeom, who opened the door, quietly observed the large bed that had unexpectedly occupied the room.

The bed stood alone without any other furniture. Of course, no one was lying on it.

Judging by the faint wavelength emanating from the bed, it was Seojun’s. Taebeom took one step at a time, his gaze fixed on the messy bed.

A strangely familiar energy could be felt from the bed. Mixed with Seojun’s shallow wavelength.

Approaching the bed, he pulled the bulging end of the blanket to spread it neatly. This revealed the person hidden behind the blanket.

A white lump was curled up at the edge of the bed against the wall. It was a cat.

“…”

The cat was sleeping with its head tilted back so much that the whites of its eyes were visible. Despite being wedged in the narrow space between the bed and the wall, it didn’t look uncomfortable at all.

Not only was it lying straight like a human, but it was also breathing heavily with its tongue out. Each time it exhaled and inhaled, its belly, covered in thick fur, rose and fell steadily.

Its belly was quite round, as if it had eaten a lot. Or maybe it just looked plump because of the long fur. Taebeom remembered how severely thin the guide’s body had been.

Nnngh…

The sleeping cat suddenly trembled its eyelids. Its mouth twitched and its paws moved. It looked like it was having a nightmare.

Taebeom silently watched the cat groaning in its sleep. He didn’t wake it or pat its heaving chest.

He just stood quietly beside it, waiting for the cat to escape the nightmare on its own. Without taking his eyes off it for a moment.

Soon, the calmed cat started breathing slowly again. With its cheek pressed against the wall, it moved its pink tongue slightly. Perhaps it was dreaming of eating.

The cat’s even breathing filled the room. It was such a drowsy sound that even Taebeom, who never slept, felt his eyelids grow heavy.

Slowly extending his left arm, Taebeom lifted the cat wedged between the wall and the bed. He touched the cat with his cold prosthetic hand, through which no guiding could be transmitted. If he had touched it with his right hand, the cat would have woken up immediately, instinctively sensing his wavelength.

For this was no ordinary cat, but a guide. A guide connected to Taebeom with a matching rate of 91%.

Mmm…

The cat squirmed slightly, seemingly disliking the cool touch. Taebeom immediately put the cat down in the center of the bed.

Sprawled out like wet laundry, the cat slept soundly with no sign of waking. It was sleeping as deeply as when it had been in the hospital bed. It seemed it wouldn’t hear even if someone made a noise. Seeing it asleep in animal form gave a sense of how exhausted it must be.

Just as Taebeom was about to withdraw his hand after laying the cat down properly, a white paw suddenly grabbed him. It was a cat with bad sleeping habits.

Taebeom looked down at the cat firmly holding his ring finger, his expression impassive. The white, round paw with retracted claws was pulling his finger with all its might.

“You need to let go for me to leave.”

It was a faint whisper. Taebeom muttered more quietly than the sleeping cat’s breathing.

The cat, its ears fluttering in its sleep, pulled his finger once more. Then it put the cold finger in its mouth and gently bit it. It seemed to be dreaming of eating again.

Taebeom silently watched the cat licking his finger. Even though he could easily pull away.

Seojun, who had fallen asleep sitting in the living room, opened his eyes wide at the leader’s voice.

“Wake up.”

Seojun quickly blinked his eyes and jumped up from the sofa. He hadn’t realized he had fallen asleep when he just closed his eyes for a moment. He must have slept for quite a while, as a dim light was filtering through the window. The sun was already rising.

“When did you arrive?”

Seojun was even more surprised to see Taebeom, who looked like he had just finished showering. It seemed he had showered in his room and come down, but Seojun hadn’t even noticed he was in the accommodation. He thought he would quickly sense any presence in the living room due to his keen hearing, but he was mistaken.

Seojun’s gaze immediately turned to the door behind the stairs. He was so startled his heart raced, as he hadn’t expected the leader to come.

“Um… that, leader…”

Although he hadn’t done anything wrong, Seojun quickly became nervous. Just doing something the leader hadn’t ordered was enough to make his mouth go dry. His body reacted before his mind.

“Today, we completed our matching rate test.”

“I know.”

Of course, you would have been informed. Seojun licked his lips and lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck. Even though there was no need to hide it anymore, he still couldn’t speak easily. He knew the leader would dislike this even more.

“Actually…”

Seojun forced his stiff tongue to move, biting it. He hadn’t been able to inform the secretary because he had fallen asleep, but he was going to tell him anyway. It wasn’t something worth hiding. It was common for dedicated guides to stay in the accommodation with guild members.

“On the way to take the guide to their accommodation today… they seemed uncomfortable, so I first—”

“Ha Seojun.”

Taebeom took a step towards Seojun and looked up at him.

Until last year, Seojun had been shorter than Taebeom, but now he had grown so tall that Taebeom had to look up at him. He had the largest build in the guild. He was still growing.

“Speak clearly without stuttering.”

Seojun swallowed dryly at Taebeom’s sharp command. He quickly followed Taebeom’s example, hardening his expression and artificially creating a calm face. The trembling in his clenched fists stopped. Fear had suppressed his nervousness.

“We decided to stay here together until we find accommodation for the guide. They’re in the empty room downstairs now.”

Why was it so difficult to say just this? Seojun lowered his head, internally self-deprecating.

“I’m sorry for making the decision without asking for permission first.”

“We’ll start training again from next week.”

Taebeom ignored Seojun and got to the point. This was the reason he had come to the accommodation.

“Friday, Training Room C.”

He said the time would be communicated through the secretary on the day. A shadow crossed Seojun’s face that he couldn’t hide.

The underground training room in Building C was a place only Seojun, Geonho, and Taebeom could enter. Taebeom had absolutely forbidden anyone else from setting foot there.

It was a very familiar place for Seojun and Geonho. It was a training room specially modified for them. They were only allowed to transform into beastkin there.

“Ha Seojun.”

“Yes.”

“Lift your head.”

Seojun immediately lifted his head and looked at Taebeom. Although he was larger than Taebeom and his body was growing to the point where he would soon have to look down at him, he couldn’t even breathe comfortably in front of Taebeom.

“Don’t forget what you are.”

This was a warning. Seojun’s hair stood on end at the leader’s chilling voice. It was enough to give him goosebumps on his arms.

“Yes, I understand.”

After observing Seojun closely, Taebeom turned around. As he headed towards the entrance hallway, he told Seojun not to tell the guide that he had come.

Seojun missed the chance to respond to this casually delivered order.

“Haa…”

He collapsed onto the sofa only after Taebeom had left the accommodation. His leg muscles were all sore from being too tense.

“Ah, this is so draining.”

He was about to sprawl out on the sofa but got up with a sigh. It would be better to go to his room and sleep properly.

As Seojun trudged up the long stairs, his gaze naturally turned behind the stairs. He double-checked that Siwoo’s room door was closed before entering his own room.

* * *

Siwoo, who had been sprawled out sleeping until noon, woke up to the smell of savory food. A delicious aroma that tickled his nose was seeping through the slightly open door.

Meow…

‘What’s that smell…’

As he got up from the bed, following the smell as if entranced, he was startled to see his own appearance. When did he change into an animal?

He quickly returned to human form and hurriedly put on clothes. It was difficult to find his underwear as it was hidden under the blanket.

“Are you dressed?”

At that moment, Jihan’s voice came through the door crack. What an annoying way to start the morning.

“You opened the door, didn’t you?!”

“I didn’t look. I swear.”

Jihan said he had only opened it very slightly to wake Siwoo up because he seemed to be sleeping too long. He firmly denied looking inside the room.

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

“I brought lunch.”

Siwoo’s nose automatically twitched in response. Judging by the smell, it seemed he had brought packaged porridge again.

“I have a gift too.”

“Leave it in front.”

“Come on, show some appreciation.”

Siwoo finally told him to come in for a moment. Somehow, he had naturally started acting like the owner of the room. Anyone watching would think he had been living in this room all along.

“What is it?”

“Porridge and a phone.”

Jihan smiled broadly, shaking the items in both hands. Judging by Siwoo’s expression, it seemed to pass. He put the porridge, which he had transferred to a bowl, on the bed and started opening the phone box himself.

“Eat. I’ll put the case on for you.”

“It looks expensive…”

“Just accept it as a gift. It’s a welcome gift for joining our guild.”

Siwoo glanced at the new phone Jihan took out of the box while eating the porridge. It looked even nicer with the colorful patterned case he had brought along. Though it wasn’t to Siwoo’s taste.

“How is it?”

“It looks expensive.”

“Do you like it?”

Siwoo shrugged and omitted an answer. Except for the case, he liked it. Honestly, quite a lot.

“It’s a couple case with mine.”

“Then I won’t use it.”

Jihan pretended to be dejected at the outright rejection. He refrained from mentioning that he had chosen the same model, fearing Siwoo might refuse the phone altogether.

“Seojun put a bed in here too. How thoughtful.”

Jihan looked around the empty room, changing the subject. He hadn’t been interested in the lower floor, so he didn’t even know this room was empty.

Who would have thought a dedicated guide would move in here? If he had known in advance, he would have decorated it nicely.

“What should I buy you? Tell me everything. It’s lonely with just a bed, right?”

“I’m leaving soon anyway. I don’t need anything.”

“You can come visit often. We’re family now.”

Jihan smiled brightly at the unresponsive Siwoo and looked out the window.

“Nice weather. Perfect for staying indoors.”

It was blazing hot outside. The August heat wave had begun, making one irritable even when standing still.

Siwoo, who had taken a big spoonful of porridge, glanced at the bright window and suddenly widened his eyes. He suddenly remembered what he had heard from Seojun. He was going to confront Jihan about it anyway, so this was perfect timing.

“That day, Kang Geonho caught my vomit, right?”

It wasn’t appropriate conversation while eating porridge, but Siwoo had a strong stomach.

“Ah, that. Yeah, that’s right.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

If he had been told, Siwoo would have felt less anxious. The fact that Geonho had caught his dirty vomit with his bare hands meant that hurting him must have truly been an accident.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jihan tilted his head slightly, receiving Siwoo’s resentful gaze.

“Did you ever ask me?”