FTE 024

“Wash up and meet me on the fourth floor.”

I took off my utility belt while washing, holding it in my hand as Chae Won-u stood there doing nothing.

“If you run away again this time, you really should prepare yourself.”

“Are you very angry…?”

“The fact that you’re asking if I’m angry shows that you know what you did.”

“Hyung.”

“Do you want to give a reason?”

“…No.”

“Then don’t bother.”

There was nothing more to say. I undid the buckle of my military vest.

“I won’t tell hyung because I thought you might break up with me.”

This was the common area before entering the private bathrooms. A naked hunter passing by glanced this way. The guide, who was half-undressed, also showed concern. I recalled the misunderstanding at Euljiro. It was exactly like that now.

“Let’s just wash.”

Any further response would only deepen the misunderstanding due to Chae Won-u’s incomprehensible manner of speaking. Ignoring him, I hit the open button with my palm. My uninjured hand seemed destined for bandages as well.

As I turned around inside the air shower room, I caught sight of Chae Won-u’s eyes through the gap just before it closed. I didn’t understand why he looked at me with such a gaze when he hadn’t done anything wrong.

***

I stood at the entrance to where I first shook hands with Chae Won-u while feeling slightly dizzy. My intuition told me this was the place responsible for managing him, despite its existence being unacknowledged.

There was something unique about Chae Won-u. He seemed like both a flower nurtured in a greenhouse and an innocent, naive troublemaker thrown too early into the world.

I spread out my fingers and examined my palms and back of my hands from different angles. Apart from the broken areas, there were other spots needing treatment, so I trimmed away rough patches with my nails. I also needed to visit the infirmary. It was hard adjusting to the persistent dull ache in my arm.

As I killed time by removing dead skin cells from my body, my mind started to calm down bit by bit. It meant that even if someone provoked me now, I wouldn’t immediately lash out with uncontrollable anger and words.

“Hyung.”

Chae Won-u had been calling me ‘hyung’ repeatedly throughout today. In fact, there were other things becoming worn out as well. I thought about my flushed lips and the narcotic painkillers for my painfully throbbing arm.

“Hunter Chae Won-u.”

I raised my head and leaned against the wall, staring at Chae Won-u in a thug-like posture. He stood stiffly, acting as if it mattered who was observing him.

“Who is your assigned researcher?”

“Chief  Researcher Seon Jiyeon.”

“As an external contractor, I don’t have a fixed assigned researcher.”

“I see.”

“In other words, let’s go see Chief Researcher Seon Jiyeon.”

“Why?”

“It is obvious that the hunter took a substitute drug to boost his guidance. It has to be one of two cases. Either I wasn’t good enough for him or he isn’t good enough for me.”

“…..”

“Let’s go then. We need to report this.”

I didn’t intend to mock him, so my tone was calm. However, even from my perspective, it sounded like I was trying to stimulate Chae Won-u’s conscience. Did he have a conscience? Chae Won-u was an unknown entity.

“Let’s go. In either case, I am responsible.”

I was tired. I wanted to quickly get treated at the infirmary and fall asleep. I raised my hand, pressing on the bridge of my nose between my eyebrows. There was no response from Chae Won-u. Why was there no answer? I looked up.

“…Hunter Chae?”

Chae Won-u couldn’t answer me. He bit his lip as tears dripped down his face like drops of dew. Were big eyes prone to producing more tears? The large teardrops fell without making any sound. His silent crying made him look even sadder.

In this situation, I should be the one feeling hurt and offended at my bruised self-esteem. Yet here he was, acting all indignant. There were so many things I wanted to say. No, there were ten things I could’ve said right now.

However, Chae Won-u was sobbing too pitifully. Even with his head bowed low, allowing tears to drip down, his face looked unexpectedly pretty despite the circumstances. My heart softened instantly.

“Excuse me… Hunter Chae Won-u…”

“Can’t I explain first?”

“S-Sure. Go ahead.”

When Chae Won-u raised his head, I could see his tangled eyelashes from tears. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand as if they were hard to open.

“Actually…”

Just then, I spotted some researchers behind Chae Won-u. They were deep in conversation about something, their heads bent over a shared chart. I had a feeling this wasn’t a scene I wanted to be caught in, so I pulled Chae Won-u towards the fire escape door just beside us. As the door closed behind us, their footsteps approached, then faded away. 

“…..”

“…..”

Chae Won-u was still bowed down with tears flowing, and I watched him blankly as he cried like a broken person. His hair seemed less dried out, with water droplets falling from the ends of his hair.

“Water is your ability…”

“…..”

“Are you extracting moisture from your whole body right now?”

This time, there was no mockery in my voice. Somehow, it felt draining. It also seemed futile. Chae Won-u wiped away his tears with the second joint of his index finger before raising his head.

“I did it because I thought I might kill hyung.”

His trembling voice conveyed sincerity. Even if not for that, I wouldn’t have thought he was lying. Although I hadn’t known Chae Won-u for long, everything I had seen so far indicated that he couldn’t lie convincingly. He was straightforward and instinctive. With pursed lips, I waited silently for him to continue.

“That drug suppresses your abilities forcibly to balance with your body… I only took it at night. Really. It was because I was worried about hurting you while asleep…”

He was clearly referring to the night we shared ramen. Chae Won-u still carried this incident that I had forgotten as just a minor mishap. He even went so far as taking medication for it. I sighed. Good intentions didn’t always lead to good outcomes. Leaning against the wall, a chill ran from my back up to my head. Tilting sideways, I lowered my gaze.

“When you take that pill, it conflicts with my guidance. The components of the drug itself have a similar effect to my guidance.”

“I didn’t know… I thought it was okay since I always ate them until now.”

“But you hid it because you thought I would be upset?”

Chae Won-u hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. See, he couldn’t lie.

“Just… I don’t want hyung to see me as a monster…”

“Who is seeing who as a monster? When I go home, I am seen as exactly the same monster. Especially by older people who aren’t familiar with this world.”

I let out a small laugh. Chae Won-u took a step closer. It was as if he was asking, ‘Are we okay enough now to be this close?’ I permitted it. 

“Once is enough for foolish actions like this. I’m not some monster. You lie to me with good intentions and expect me to just watch as we see how the medication plays out? Chae Won-u-ssi, your vitals are obviously poor, and your stabilization numbers must have plummeted. You know this could lead to me being deemed an unsuitable partner, right?”

“…Then you would break up with me?”

“Hunter Chae Won-u, you have such a way with words… I’ll let it slide, seeing as how you’re not wrong.” Chae Won-u approached further. Unlike me, who felt drained and didn’t want to lift a finger, he still seemed energetic. I checked my wrist. My fever persisted, and my heart rate remained rapid.

“Are you going to take more medication?”

“No.”

His response was swift. I removed my hand from his wrist and cupped Chae Won-u’s cheek. It might upset him, but I didn’t care. With thoughts of revenge, I gently tapped Chae Won-u’s cheek, producing soft smacking sounds. Then, I grabbed his short hair at the back of his head and pulled it slightly.

“Open your mouth,” I whispered as I leaned closer to him. Chae Won-u’s tear-stained lips parted, brushing against mine. It tickled, causing an involuntary laugh to escape deep within me.

Chae Won-u reached out and grasped my waist. His legs were stretched forward, leaning only his back against the wall, making him appear unusually shorter than usual. Chae Won-u bowed deeply. As our lips met, I exhaled softly.

“Gasp…”

Surprised, Chae Won-u tried to move his face away, but I giggled and held onto his hair even tighter. Then, turning my head slightly, I inserted my tongue into his open mouth. The soft tissues of our tongues gently brushed against each other inside. Given the intimate nature of this contact, its guiding effect would likely be amplified.

I draped one arm over Chae Won-u’s shoulder while releasing his hair with the other hand. With that freed hand, I checked the vitals on his neck. His fever had subsided, and the graph was slowly approaching stabilization, except for his heart rate, which remained alarmingly high—it seemed even faster than before.

Suddenly, Chae Won-u pushed me away.

“W-We’re kissing, aren’t we?” He scowled like a sulking child, panting heavily yet glaring at me. In response, I licked my wet lips and retorted:

“It wasn’t a kiss. It was a treatment.”

“Even if it was treatment… a doctor shouldn’t be looking at other places.”

“I’m not a doctor.”

“Doctor or not, I’m right.”

“Is that so?”

“Because, hyung, you’re my… my Guide. Legally.”

I wanted to correct him, to say our relationship was temporary, that Yang Baekgyeom wasn’t his to claim, that I wasn’t his Guide outside of this arrangement. But that would only make things more ridiculous. Right now, I was acting as his Guide, performing a treatment on Hunter Chae Won-u. The moment I denied it, I’d become Yang Baekgyeom, kissing him. 

Thus, at this moment, I had no choice but to accept Chae Won-u’s absurd and illogical insistence. For now, I belonged to Chae Won-u.

“Let’s assume that’s true.” I tightened my grip around Chae Won-u’s neck again.

“In just 1 minute and 27 seconds more, I’ll go treat your arm.”