DP Episode 6

Deep Pivot Episode 6

When oxygen is lacking, consciousness becomes blurred. Yeon-woo was currently lacking oxygen.

“If you feel uncomfortable with my touch, would you like to give it a try, Cha Yeon-woo?”

He couldn’t properly breathe at all. Beep, beep, beep, beep. The rapid sound of his own heartbeat emitted by the machine felt embarrassing, as if he would die of shame.

But he couldn’t calm down. Seo-joon was in front of him, sitting on top of him. If he had to press the emergency button, he had to press it now, when his heart was about to burst.

Already, he had tried to press it once, only to be stopped. He tightly shut his eyes, casting a lingering look at the button he had tried to press before.

“M-me?”

“I don’t itch.”

“What should I do…”

He felt a soft touch on the back of his hand. Yeon-woo, struggling to open his eyes, looked down at his hand held by Seo-joon. Soon, Seo-joon’s hand touched his waist.

Seo-joon, overlapping his hand on Yeon-woo’s back, slowly swept across his side, stomach, and chest.

“Just think of it as an object. Like… pottery.”

“Pottery?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you think of it as making pottery?”

Pottery. That’s the worst. He couldn’t understand how to think of it as pottery. It was so warm, firm, and alive…

He forced his eyes shut again. Without doing so, he felt he couldn’t bear it. But when his sight was blocked, the sensation in his hand became even more vivid. His trembling fingertips brushed over Seo-joon’s well-defined abdominal muscles, tracing his waist and brushing over his spine.

“Is this… alright?”

“Yes. You’re doing well.”

Seo-joon’s body heat pressed against his chest. Along with it, the faint thumping of his heartbeat was transmitted. With closed eyes, Yeon-woo tilted his head, following his scent. Yeon-woo’s lips met the nape of Seo-joon’s neck, where his pulse was racing.

Seo-joon checked Yeon-woo’s monitoring machine. The steep fluctuations gradually leveled out.

“Haah…”

“It’s okay. Just relax and close your eyes. Keep thinking about making pottery.”

“I don’t think about making pottery…”

“Well, okay then. Whatever works for you.”

Seo-joon felt a sense of intangible pressure lifting from him all at once. It was a sensation he could only briefly experience after enduring the torment of about ten faceless guides.

But with Cha Yeon-woo, even this brief contact had changed many things. He wanted to touch him a little more. He wanted to fill the emptiness that replaced the pain with Yeon-woo’s presence.

At that moment, Yeon-woo’s lips, which had grazed his neck, parted slightly. A gentle warmth touched just above his collarbone. Even that alone sent a thrilling sensation coursing through his spine. But it was fleeting. Startled, Yeon-woo quickly withdrew his lips and apologized.

“Ah… I-I’m sorry.”

It was just getting good. Seo-joon felt like this exhilarating guiding might drive him crazy.

“It’s fine, let’s continue, Cha Yeon-woo.”

“Haah… You liked that just now?”

Even as he pressed his lips against Yeon-woo’s trembling eyelids, Yeon-woo steadfastly refused to open his eyes. He just quietly leaned in again, seeking more.

“Can I do it again…?”

“Don’t ask for permission every time.”

“Do it more. Please.” Seo-joon whispered softly as he hugged him closer.

As long as there were guides, espers hardly needed medical assistance. This was because guides could heal not only injuries sustained during battles but also the pain that accumulated within the body from using their abilities.

One of the main reasons espers went berserk was pain. Pain could manifest in various forms depending on the ability the esper used, and its intensity often far exceeded the threshold of human endurance.

While the exact mechanism of guiding was still unknown, guides could alleviate the pain of espers with just physical contact. Guides were indispensable beings for espers.

And Cha Yeon-woo was diligently erasing Ji Seo-joon’s pain despite his stammering. Seo-joon, who had been pressing his lips against Yeon-woo’s eyelids and cheeks, gently brushed his lips with his thumb and asked,

“Now, do you want to try kissing?”

The monitor, which had just regained stability, began fluctuating again at that word. However, Seo-joon didn’t stop anymore. He was determined to push a little further.

“Take it slow, breathe.”

He gently pressed his lips against Yeon-woo’s slightly parted lips, which were already open from exhaling.

“Uh, mmm…”

His lips, barely touching, suddenly covered Yeon-woo’s lips. Seo-joon, who forced his way into the tightly closed lips in surprise, was completely engulfed by his breath.

His hand, gripping Yeon-woo’s jaw, tightened. While the heart rate kept rising on the monitoring machine, the hand that had been sweeping up and down Seo-joon’s back had clenched into a fist in the air. Amidst all this, Yeon-woo quietly opened his mouth and accepted him, making Seo-joon feel strangely proud.

Seo-joon tilted his head to deepen the kiss, enveloping Yeon-woo even more. It’s strange that despite being a highly compatible guide, his saliva didn’t taste sweet. It felt overwhelmingly dizzying.

“Haah…”

It felt like being wrapped in a warm, soft energy that resembled Cha Yeon-woo all over.

A matching rate of 98.8% doesn’t just happen. This is too good to be true.

“Um… Hold on, um, breath… Huff.”

Seo-joon, who had been solely focused on satisfying his own desires, momentarily paused as he continued to inhale Yeon-woo’s breath. Yeon-woo’s chest rose and fell rapidly. He clutched Seo-joon’s gown strap like a lifeline, tightly closed his eyes, and gasped for air.

Seo-joon gazed at Yeon-woo for a long moment before pressing their lips together again.

✽✽✽

-Monitoring complete. Well done.

Laughter tinged the voice emanating from the speaker. It seemed like Kang Hee-min’s face, smiling satisfactorily, could be seen just from hearing that voice.

Seo-joon, who was about to tie his open gown, paused. The end of the gown’s belt was still in Yeon-woo’s hand. He seemed flustered, his eyes darting around as he struggled to catch his breath.

He looked somewhat amusing, as if he wanted to tease.

“Did you eat candy before coming in?”

Seo-joon’s question made Yeon-woo’s eyes, sparkling like glass beads, lift up.

“Yes, I did.”

“Grape candy?”

“Yes… The nurse who was drawing blood gave it to me.”

“Who eats candy before kissing? You’re so adorable, Cha Yeon-woo.”

“I’m sorry…”

Seo-joon expertly suppressed the brief upward movement of his mouth. What’s there to be sorry about? He wasn’t sure if he should apologize for eating candy before kissing or for being adorable.

“Good job.”

“…Did I do well?”

There was a clash between wanting to tease a little more and wanting to praise honestly. But since Seo-joon didn’t have a hobby of making already nervous people uncomfortable, he ultimately chose the latter, closing his eyes and smiling.

“It was the best kiss I’ve had recently.”

Although he tried to compliment him, instead of being pleased, Cha Yeon-woo seemed to harden even more. His eyes, which had been wavering from side to side, soon dropped downward. His hand naturally reached toward the still-red area around his eyes.

Seo-joon stopped his hand just before it touched Yeon-woo’s eyes. Since the monitoring was over, unnecessary physical contact might give rise to unnecessary misunderstandings…

Then it happened. A drop of red blood fell onto Yeon-woo’s white gown. Seo-joon looked at Yeon-woo with a surprised expression. His fingers quickly covering his face, fresh red blood dripped down.

“Cha Yeon-woo…?”

“Ah.”

Yeon-woo’s nose suddenly started bleeding. Seo-joon hurriedly covered his nose with the sleeve of his gown and looked around.

-Tissues next to the head.

Hee-min, who was watching the scene through the monitor, seemed quite flustered. Seo-joon pulled out a tissue from the console and wiped Yeon-woo’s hand before gently wrapping his neck.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“I should be the one apologizing.”

The once-white tissue quickly turned red. Their eyes met over the tissue covering the nose. Yeon-woo’s gentle gaze shook slightly as he looked at Seo-joon.

“Was it difficult? Maybe I pushed you too hard.”

“N-No, it’s not that…”

Their gazes drifted apart again. Yeon-woo, with lowered eyes, spoke in a nasal voice.

“I think I’m just tired. It doesn’t usually happen. I’m really fine. It’s the first time it’s happened. I’m really healthy. I don’t usually nosebleed”

“Okay, just take a deep breath and speak.”

“Yes…”

Finally, Yeon-woo closed his mouth and took a slow deep breath. He’s really good at listening. Watching him take deep breaths obediently after being told to breathe, Seo-joon couldn’t help but smile.

However, Seo-joon didn’t want to mock someone for their nosebleed. So, he cleverly concealed his smile by showing concern and furrowing his brow.

Then Yeon-woo suddenly spoke up.

“…Please don’t cut me off.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve studied hard, and I’ll do better next time… So, if you could just forget about what happened today…”

The second hurdle came quickly. A joke about what he would study and how he would do it almost slipped out. Seo-joon quickly covered the raised corners of his mouth with his hand and nodded earnestly with a serious expression.

“You won’t get cut off for something like this, Yeon-woo. You’re healthy, right?”

“Yes… Thank you.”

An awkward silence ensued. Seo-joon couldn’t help but feel bewildered as he carefully wiped the nosebleed of a man he had only seen twice. Whether it was because of the satisfying feeling of almost laughing during the guiding or because of this absurd situation, he couldn’t tell.

✽✽✽

“Yeon-woo should be fine.”

Hee-min spoke as he watched the latest wave of guidance on the monitor.

“During guiding, adrenaline can surge rapidly, causing nasal blood vessels to expand enough for this to happen.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Seo-joon replied, and Hee-min responded with a somewhat slow tone as he recorded the data on the chart.

“Uh… Honestly, I’ve never seen it happen either. A guide whose nose bleeds while kissing, not even during pairing.”

“But there shouldn’t be any issues, right?”

“Yes, yes. There are no issues whatsoever. Yeon-woo is as fit as a fiddle. Even considering just his basic stamina, he’s a solid A-grade. With a little more training, he’ll easily move up to S-grade.”

Seo-joon nodded slightly with a sense of relief. Well, as long as nothing serious is happening. It’s understandable for a rookie to experience something like this due to unfamiliarity with guiding.

The initially disgruntled feeling upon their first meeting tilted slightly towards the positive side. That meant Yeon-woo’s guiding was effective.

“…I’m hungry.”

Hee-min looked at Seo-joon with surprised eyes as he uttered the words in dismay. Seo-joon wasn’t good at eating because of his peculiar ability. His weak stomach often caused him to vomit easily. Hee-min glanced back at the chart and remarked.

“Huh, seems like the guiding went well? You’re even saying you’re hungry now.”

Seo-joon chuckled and leaned back against the chair. What remained in the place of the usual queasiness was just hunger.

…But what he was hungry for, no one could tell.