SOG Ch 183

As Jae-chan continued talking to himself amidst the silence, he gave a sheepish smile. Woo-jin lowered his lips to that faintly upturned corner of Jae-chan’s mouth. Starting with a gentle kiss, Woo-jin showered Jae-chan with kisses from head to toe: the corners of his eyes, his brows, the small beauty mark on his cheek, the smooth hollow of his underarm, the sole of his foot that fit snugly in his hand, the chest beating hard with his heart, and even between his thighs, where Woo-jin had left his own marks. Woo-jin pressed himself close, almost frantically.

Although surprised by the kisses pouring down like a sudden rain, Jae-chan returned kisses to Woo-jin’s cheeks, crown, neck, and shoulders as best he could. Shivering at that ticklish sensation, Woo-jin almost mindlessly devoured him again but instead just pulled him into an embrace.

It was hard to hold himself back, almost impossible to control his strength as he hugged Jae-chan as close as he could. He covered and fondled the reddened, heated elbows and knees that had been supporting Jae-chan on the bed, then buried his face in Jae-chan’s chest where his startled heart was pounding. Hugging the warm body tightly, he recalled Jae-chan’s thoughts. I like being with you. I like you so much. Woo-jin liked Jae-chan very much too.

“I really like you too.”

Woo-jin confessed with a sigh as he grabbed Jae-chan’s wrist and pulled him up. “Oh… I like you too.” Seeing Jae-chan nod dazedly and start to blush brightly, Woo-jin wanted to pounce on him again and cursed the creator who invented the act of s3x. He randomly grabbed Jae-chan’s forearms and calves before forcibly letting go.

“Let’s go out.”

“…?”

“Let’s go see the spring flowers.”

He wiped Jae-chan with a large towel and brought his clothes. These were clothes he had to buy for medical appointments. Though they weren’t magical robes or anything, Jae-chan scratched his cheek awkwardly as Woo-jin handed him the outfit he’d hidden deep inside the house.

“Do we have to go?”

As he often did, his tone suggested he didn’t want to but would do it if Woo-jin really wanted. Woo-jin burst out laughing. As he was dressing Jae-chan, he rubbed their noses together and kissed him, causing Jae-chan to smile back in confusion. Pressing his forehead against Jae-chan’s warm one, Woo-jin shared what he had just realized.

“It’ll be good even outside if we’re together.”

Wherever, whatever we do, as long as it’s with you. Resisting the urge to immediately undress him again, Woo-jin whispered. He tightly intertwined just their fingers and made an effort to only briefly kiss Jae-chan’s cheek.

*

Surprisingly, Jae-chan still thought it was too cold outside and didn’t really want to go, so they stayed indoors for another day.

Instead, Woo-jin returned Jae-chan’s phone to him. Having received his clothes back even though it wasn’t a doctor’s visit day, Jae-chan first carefully checked all the messages he had received. He clutched his chest, feeling overwhelmed as he saw the texts Woo-jin had sent on the day of the shooting terror in District 5, then replied one by one to the many safety check messages from relatives and people from the Center. Replies came flooding back, things like, “You’re alive!” or “You made it!” or “You’re back!”

Next, he tried to deal with the rental car. Although the rental period wasn’t over, the company had left several missed calls, and he wanted to handle any potential compensation due to the terror incident.

“It’s already been taken care of?”

After talking with the company, Jae-chan received a surprising answer. After finishing the call, he turned to Woo-jin in disbelief, only to hear him explain.

“The company kept calling, so I took care of it. You’re going to return to District 1 anyway.”

District 1? Jae-chan blinked a couple of times before speaking.

“I should still be assigned to the District 5 center. Aren’t they operating a temporary center?”

Even when the entire central part of District 5 was closed due to the nuclear power plant explosion before the regression, a temporary center was operated instead of changing jurisdictions. So he should still belong there, and he couldn’t understand what was going on.

“I asked for you to be reassigned,” Woo-jin’s low voice continued.

“Do you really need to work in District 5? Your aunt is also taking a leave of absence for treatment and plans to stay in District 1.”

Woo-jin observed Jae-chan’s expression and spoke gently.

“I’m sorry for making arrangements without asking. I’ll reverse it if it’s not what you want.”

Woo-jin apologized, sincerely thinking it didn’t matter either way. If Jae-chan insisted on working in District 5, he could leave the military and transfer as an Esper assigned to District 5.

“No, you don’t have to be sorry.”

Jae-chan waved his hand dismissively, not wanting Woo-jin to apologize to him. Woo-jin’s lips curved smoothly in response.

“It seems your affiliation will change once you return—you might be reassigned to Guide Team 1.”

Jae-chan had expected that too. Even with Gyeong Hye-in’s cooperation, since he had moved to District 5 outside the regular personnel transfer period, Team Leader Hong Ye-deok had expressed concerns about his return. With all the Team 2 apprentices becoming official Guides and remaining in Team 2, and since he had stubbornly stayed in Team 2 last year when he was supposed to join Team 1, it seemed he had finally been bounced to Team 1.

The scheduled return date was a week later. It seemed like too long a break, but apparently many victims still hadn’t returned to normal life due to the unprecedented terror incident. Since Seon Jae-chan had been particularly severely injured, he eventually agreed to take one more week off as Woo-jin wished.

The next day, the destination for their first outing was the hospital.

Woo-jin had thoughtfully scheduled it to coincide with Jae-chan’s check-up and Gu Ji-eun’s regular examination. Bundled up in a warm long padded coat, Jae-chan left the officetel for the first time in twelve days since waking up and realized why the doctor had asked if he needed help.

“……”

There was something strange attached to the front door, which he hadn’t approached since he didn’t need to. It was a black locking device installed so that it couldn’t be opened from the inside without knowing the password.

‘Wow, this is awesome.’

Seon Jae-chan couldn’t hide his excitement as he turned to Woo-jin.

“I really wouldn’t mind staying here forever.”

Jae-chan said with a grin.

At that sparkling gaze, Woo-jin was at a loss for words before finally managing to reply after opening and closing his mouth a couple of times.

“…You’ll be in big trouble if you say things like that.”

“But I really like it!”

Seon Jae-chan said in an excited tone. Not knowing that Go Woo-jin wanted to immediately strip off the thick coat, shoes, socks, and underwear he had personally put on him and make him cry until he couldn’t anymore.

This won’t do. They need to leave quickly. Go Woo-jin felt an urgent need to get outside before they didn’t make it past the front door.

With his ears turning bright red, Woo-jin unlocked the device instead of Jae-chan’s clothes. Oblivious, Jae-chan kept muttering “Wow, that’s cool” beside him as Woo-jin hurriedly wrapped an arm around his shoulders and ushered him outside.

It wasn’t until they briefly stopped at a nearby hair salon before heading to Ross Clinic that Woo-jin barely managed to regain his normal thought process.

Since they only needed to trim Jae-chan’s hair to match the cut length, it didn’t take long. After the hair designer brushed his eyebrows with a soft sponge, Jae-chan finally faced the mirror and his jaw dropped.

“Don’t I look like… a runaway high schooler?”

As they were leaving after paying, Jae-chan, who had completed an alternative high school education thanks to the guide training program, asked while pointing to his hair. Though his fine hair prevented it from standing up like a hedgehog’s spines, he clearly looked young enough to be carded when buying beer at a convenience store.

However, Jae-chan, who had been secretly upset, soon felt better.

“It suits you well.”

It was thanks to Woo-jin smiling and saying that.

Back in the car, Jae-chan’s mood continued to improve. On the way to Ross Clinic, every time they stopped at a red light, large hands kept stroking his shortened hair. Having grown accustomed to Woo-jin touching his body as if it were his own over the past few days, Jae-chan quietly accepted the caresses. After a particularly long stroke, he asked if Woo-jin really liked his new haircut. Woo-jin, who had been running his palm over Jae-chan’s short hair and exposed nape, pondered for a moment before responding, “Yes, it’s like a very soft chestnut burr.”

It was the same when they arrived at Ross Clinic. While waiting in front of the examination room, Woo-jin kept stroking Jae-chan’s hair, earlobes, and pale nape as if fascinated. Jae-chan only reluctantly separated from Woo-jin’s side when the nurse called his name.

“Your progress is excellent. No double vision, and no need for occlusion therapy!”

The doctor, looking much brighter than when examining him at the officetel, said as she concluded the checkup.

Jae-chan’s eyesight was gradually returning. The prognosis was that there was a very high chance of full recovery, and he could now go without the eye patch.

That wasn’t the only good news. Moving down the connecting hallway to the Esper medical ward, Jae-chan also learned that his aunt’s condition was improving as well.

“See, I told you not to worry. You didn’t need to come, right?”

His aunt chided as they left the examination room together, but Jae-chan was overjoyed. He no longer had to see his aunt sick. His heart swelled with emotion.

Watching Jae-chan’s joy, Woo-jin also felt moved. Having heard about Jae-chan’s life before regression, he could well understand how the boy felt seeing his aunt healthy.

Gu Ji-eun, walking towards the connecting corridor, turned to look at her nephew.

“I’m going to visit Jung Hana. Do you want to come? Your mom is there. And Guide Park Yu-ram too.”

“I heard about it from Yu-ram already.”

Jae-chan nodded. After giving birth, Jung Hana had been transferred from District 5 Hospital due to poor health. Fortunately, she was receiving good treatment and recovering well.

Hearing her nephew’s ready agreement to join, Gu Ji-eun thought that the survivors from Research Building 2 had quite a strong bond. Even Gyeong Hye-in, who wasn’t here today, had sent Jung Hana a large bouquet of flowers, a tropical fruit set, and baby supplies.