FI CH 19

Chapter 19: Cohabitation (II)

One week later, Kurosawa was finally able to get out of bed, though he still couldn’t make any large movements, or else his wound would tear open again.

The two of them completed their discharge procedures together and then went to the Sentinel-Guide Association’s Liaison Office to… register their cohabitation.

According to regulations, an unbonded sentinel and guide living together required identity verification. This wasn’t to restrict their personal freedom, but because in the past, there had been incidents where rebels turned insiders and leaked sensitive intel. Ever since then, the residences of sentinels and guides had been strictly managed.

Later on, their derivative abilities were classified as top secret cases. To avoid complications, only the upper-levels of the associations and a few individuals under special contracts were made aware.

The liaison office didn’t have the clearance to know the details, so they were only informed that the two were applying for cohabitation.

The one receiving them was the same liaison from last time. When she learned of this, she treated it like a huge event. The moment she saw them walk in, she immediately picked up the phone like she wanted to broadcast it to the entire world.

Bai Hua swiftly reached over and pressed down the phone receiver. “Cut the nonsense and process it quickly.”

“Okay, I get it—you just can’t wait, right? Don’t worry, it won’t take long… I’ve already reserved the best apartment unit for you two.” The liaison was so excited she completely ignored Bai Hua’s threat and continued rambling, “You know what? It’s been ages since something this heart-fluttering happened. I knew you two would eventually march toward a beautiful future together—blah blah blah blah blah…”

Bai Hua could only resist the urge to facepalm.

Kurosawa, standing beside him, couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.

After much gawking from everyone around, they finally finished their cohabitation registration and received the access rights to their new home. Bai Hua quickly pulled Kurosawa away, but couldn’t help muttering on the way out, “Why are they so excited—as if they’re the ones moving in together.”

Kurosawa chuckled and said, “If you think of this as part of their performance metrics, it’s not that hard to understand.”

Helping people form a pairing while also earning some commission—when you looked at it that way, it really wasn’t that hard to understand.

Kurosawa seemed completely calm about all of this. That ambiguous attitude of neither admitting nor denying things still left Bai Hua feeling uncertain. But he had long since given up trying to dig into Kurosawa’s true intentions. Whatever Kurosawa was thinking, the fact remained—they were now officially bound together.

Originally, sentinels and guides each lived in guild-assigned single dormitories. After applying for cohabitation or bonding, sentinel-guide pairs would be reassigned to larger housing.

When the two of them arrived at their new residence, they were both taken aback. Instead of the cramped apartment dorms they had expected, what appeared before them was a luxurious detached house—completely different from what they were used to.

Bai Hua was momentarily speechless. “Is this some kind of pro-bonding incentive policy?”

Kurosawa smiled. “Wouldn’t be surprising if this was the doing of the Sentinel-Guide Association.”

He glanced around at the surroundings, guessing that some of the nearby “residents” were probably undercover personnel assigned to protect them.

After passing through the biometric recognition system at the entrance, they entered the house. The first floor contained the living room and kitchen; the second floor had the bedrooms; and the third floor was a storage area. Fortunately, the house was spacious enough to include two separate bedrooms. When Bai Hua discovered that, he inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

While they were exploring the second floor, He He happened to call. Bai Hua gestured for Kurosawa to continue looking around and went downstairs to take the call.

Before discharge, he had already informed both his guild leader and He He about the cohabitation. Bai Hua’s home base, the headquarters of the Sentinel Guild, was originally located up north. This time, he had to come down south to be with Kurosawa, far from familiar territory. Even though the move was only temporary, he couldn’t say that to outsiders. So, reluctantly, he made up a lie that “the two of us have mutual feelings for each other.”

Since both his guild leader and He He lacked the clearance level to know about the high-level arrangements, He He called not only to congratulate him but also to teasingly joke around. Bai Hua responded perfunctorily and quickly tried to change the subject. Just as he got off the call, his guild leader rang next.

These two were the people Bai Hua trusted most. Although it had been a top-down order, he still felt a twinge of guilt about keeping them in the dark.

When Kurosawa came downstairs, he saw Bai Hua holding his phone, seemingly dazed.

“What’s wrong?” Kurosawa asked.

Bai Hua had just ended the call. He looked up at Kurosawa and replied, “Nothing.”

In the past, it wasn’t unusual for Bai Hua to be paired with unfamiliar teammates and spend several days together on a mission. Compared to those situations, living with someone as easygoing as Kurosawa wasn’t particularly awkward. The only real challenge was dealing with the man’s pheromones.

When two people had a high compatibility rate, they could easily affect one another, potentially triggering an early onset of heat. Back in the rainforest, it had barely been suppressed, and there was no guarantee the next time wouldn’t come without warning. While still in the hospital, Bai Hua had asked the doctors to test his pheromone levels. With how often he would be around Kurosawa from now on, he needed to take a stronger dose of suppressants.

On their first day in the new home, they did nothing more than look around and tidy up. Kurosawa’s arm still wasn’t fully functional, so he could only manage light tasks. Fortunately, the place had already been thoroughly cleaned, so there wasn’t much to do anyway.

The only trouble came that evening during bath time. Kurosawa’s wound couldn’t get wet, and putting on and taking off clothes was also inconvenient.

So Bai Hua simply waited outside the bathroom, ready to step in and help whenever Kurosawa called.

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Kurosawa’s body—he’d helped him apply medicine in the rainforest before. But maybe because of all they’d been through together, and especially because of how Kurosawa had clearly shielded him in that critical moment, he found himself not as composed as he’d imagined. Still, he blamed his unusual thoughts on the effects of pheromones and deliberately ignored them.

Remembering he had never properly responded to what had happened back then, Bai Hua finally said, “Thank you.”

Kurosawa paused for a moment in confusion, then quickly understood. “It’s nothing.”

Why did you do that?

If it had been the old Bai Hua, he would’ve asked that question without hesitation. But now that he had a clearer understanding of things, he found himself unable to voice it.

Instead, Kurosawa was the one who spoke first. “If it were you, I think you would’ve done the same. I know sentinels don’t need protection, but that’s not the point. I just… wanted to do it.”

As Bai Hua heard those words, his hand—still holding a towel to wipe Kurosawa’s back—paused.

Kurosawa didn’t turn around. “It doesn’t need a reason. I don’t dislike you, Bai Hua.”

Bai Hua resumed wiping his back. After a long silence, he quietly replied, “…I know.”

(To be continued…)
T/L: The Liaison was such a mood LOL I love her!! .·°՞(˃ ᗜ ˂)՞°·.