Churu for the Angry Guide

52

“How can I ask if I don’t know!”

Siwoo clenched his fists in disbelief. Jihan mimicked Siwoo’s expression and shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly.

“Why should I tell you if you don’t ask?”

Siwoo, at a loss for words, glared at Jihan’s annoyingly bouncing shoulders. He wasn’t obligated to tell Siwoo anything. It was frustrating because it was true.

“Ouch.”

Jihan laughed lightly as his innocent shoulder got a smack. Siwoo ignored him and turned his attention to the still-warm porridge. What an insufferably slick bastard.

“You just cursed me in your head.”

“Of course I did.”

Siwoo retorted curtly while eating the hot porridge. Today, the portion seemed just right, so he thought he could finish it all. Somehow, it tasted even better than before.

Jihan silently watched Siwoo eat, his face almost buried in the porridge bowl. Then he casually asked,

“Did you suddenly turn into a cat while sleeping?”

He asked out of curiosity, but Siwoo frowned first.

“You said you only opened the door.”

“I knew from the smell. The smell. I didn’t actually go in.”

Jihan grinned, touching the tip of his nose. He hadn’t entered the room but had detected it by smell.

“…What kind of smell?”

Siwoo put down his spoon and suddenly became serious. Jihan, who had been grinning, suppressed his smile as he saw Siwoo’s expression harden.

He stared at Siwoo for a moment before his eyes curved again.

“A good smell.”

Siwoo narrowed his eyes in disbelief. Jihan lowered his voice and gazed steadily into Siwoo’s eyes, full of distrust.

“You know, that scent babies have.”

In fact, it was even better than that. The fragrance Siwoo emitted had a strange charm that induced laughter. If you kept smelling it, it tickled your chest and made you laugh unintentionally.

“I don’t know. I’ve never smelled it.”

Siwoo lowered his head and scraped up the remaining porridge. Jihan quietly waited until he finished his meal. He just smiled, knowing that telling him to eat slowly would fall on deaf ears.

“Rest for one more week. I’ll let Secretary Nam know.”

Jihan, who was clearing the empty bowl, said out of the blue. Siwoo tilted his head and asked why he needed to rest.

“You’re not fully recovered yet.”

The fact that you changed form while sleeping says it all. Even to Jihan, who wasn’t a beastkin, it was evident that Siwoo’s current physical condition was quite weakened.

“Rest comfortably. The hospital also said not to overexert yourself for a while.”

Siwoo couldn’t readily agree. Could a dedicated guide really not work for a whole week? Especially during the first week of the contract.

“Don’t you want to? Are you eager to guide us quickly?”

“No, I’ll rest.”

Siwoo quickly shook his head and accepted the proposal. There was no need to force himself if they were telling him to rest.

“Good thinking. Don’t worry about us and do whatever you want comfortably.”

Jihan picked up the empty bowl and took a leisurely step back. Looks like he’s about to leave now.

“Is it really okay not to work?”

Siwoo double-checked just in case. Jihan immediately confirmed that it was.

“Anyway, the youngest is managing with the guiding machine every day, and the leader takes care of himself well. And Geonho, well…”

Jihan trailed off and slowly walked towards the door. It was as if his feet had weights attached to them, his walking speed was so slow. He was taking his time since Siwoo wasn’t kicking him out.

“What about you?”

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. Siwoo’s unexpected question rooted Jihan’s legs to the spot.

“Are you receiving proper guiding?”

Siwoo asked anyway, knowing that Jihan would probably deflect playfully. It felt unsettling to let him go without asking.

Looking closely, Jihan’s eyes were slightly bloodshot. His skin was still smooth, but there were faint shadows under his eyes.

“Are you only using the small machine for guiding? Aren’t you taking any medication?”

Knowing that Jihan’s wavelength was quite tangled, he couldn’t just let it slide.

“What’s your wavelength reading?”

After all, he’s the Esper I’m in charge of. My first assigned Esper.

“I said, what’s your reading? Answer me!”

Siwoo got irritated when Jihan kept his mouth shut despite his concern. Just as he was about to clench his fist out of habit, Jihan suddenly disappeared.

Siwoo waited for a moment, wondering if he had really left like this. He naturally thought it was a joke.

“Huh… what a funny guy.”

However, after several minutes passed without him returning, it seemed he had really left. Even though no summons alert had rung.

Siwoo, who had been glaring at empty space for a while, eventually lay back down on the bed. He suddenly lifted his head to glare at the door, but there was no sign of it opening. Anyway.

“Weird bastard.”

* * *

As Jihan had said, Siwoo really didn’t work. Even after the weekend of just sleeping lazily ended, he continued to lounge on the bed without leaving the room.

Eating, sleeping, playing alone, and then eating again. These were the things Siwoo did best. He could also spend half a day blankly staring out the window.

Today too, he lay sprawled on the bed, intently observing a flock of birds flying beyond the window. He had been lying on the bed since eating the lunch box Secretary Nam had brought.

Even though Jihan had told him to rest, this seemed excessively lazy. Perhaps his mind had eased due to finding a job, but his body kept relaxing more and more. Sleep would overtake him at every opportunity.

“Are you leaving? Yeah, go on.”

Siwoo rested his chin on his hand as he wistfully watched the flock of birds fly away. Thanks to having the air conditioner on all day, the room was cool, and snacks were abundant.

“It would be perfect if there was a TV.”

Siwoo’s room still only had a bed. The secretary had told him to ask for anything he needed, but he had declined. He felt that putting in a TV would make it feel too much like his own home, even though he wasn’t planning to stay long.

He had intended to leave as soon as he found accommodation, but that plan had been postponed day by day. It wasn’t that Secretary Nam hadn’t found him a place. He had kept his promise to look for accommodation right away.

However, none of them met Siwoo’s standards. All the accommodations the secretary showed were spacious with sophisticated structures and interiors, but for some reason, Siwoo felt indifferent towards all of them.

As a result, he was still staying in the Baekya Guild’s dormitory even after a week had passed. Surprisingly, there were no inconveniences. Except for the bathroom being outside the room.

“Ah, so bothersome.”

Siwoo yawned widely and got up from the bed, walking unsteadily. He had intentionally held it in as long as possible because he didn’t want to leave the room to go to the bathroom. He wanted to roll there if he could. Even walking had become tiresome.

Having never rested without worrying about money like this in his entire life, he became even more inclined to do nothing. He didn’t want to miss this leisurely life of luxury. It would probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“…”

On his way back from the bathroom, his eyes suddenly drifted towards the living room. Siwoo quietly tiptoed out to the living room.

He was alone now. Everyone else was at the peak of their working hours.

Siwoo looked around the vast, silent living room before moving to the kitchen. He didn’t particularly need anything but loitered around the kitchen anyway.

After grabbing a few snacks he hadn’t seen before, he also took out a can of drink from the refrigerator. The secretary had said he could eat anything in the dormitory.

As he was sipping his drink, leaning against the kitchen table, he became interested in the sound of the front door opening. Seems like someone had arrived.

Judging by the heavy footsteps, it seemed to be the youngest, not the secretary. He always walked as if everything was a bother. Even though he walked energetically when with others.

Siwoo had no intention of greeting him but didn’t leave either. He continued drinking his cool beverage while focusing on the footsteps approaching the kitchen instead of the stairs.

Usually, he would go straight to his room, but for some reason, he came to the kitchen today. Siwoo sat down at the table and watched Seojun walking slowly towards him. He didn’t greet Siwoo either.

“Jihan hyung says to eat this.”

Siwoo raised one eyebrow as he took the bag Seojun held out.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, Seojun pointed to the picture on the bag. It showed a cat character holding an ice cream.

Siwoo licked his lips as he opened the cold bag. It was a high-end ice cream he had never bought with his own money. Not just one, but several different flavors were inside.

Siwoo’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the new, delicious-looking snack. Yoo Jihan must have been busy lately, as he hadn’t shown his face since that day. He only sent food through Seojun or the secretary like this.

It was nice to have some quiet because of this, but he was curious about what Jihan was up to.

“Aren’t you going to eat any?”

“No, please eat it all.”

Seojun showed no interest in the ice cream. His voice sounded strangely low on energy.

Siwoo was about to ask if he was okay but stopped himself. Having been ignored by Jihan once before, he deliberately didn’t ask. He figured Seojun would speak up if he needed guiding.

Siwoo first put the ice cream in the freezer. Since he had eaten a lot of snacks during the day, he decided to eat this for dinner. As he was about to grab some nuts and return to his room, Seojun suddenly spoke up.