Churu for the Angry Guide

58

“It’s nothing much.”

Just as Seojun was about to speak, the sound of a door opening came from upstairs. Siwoo, who reflexively straightened his back, dropped the bread on his plate.

Heavy footsteps passed through the long corridor and came down the stairs. Siwoo perked up his ears and focused on the sound of the footsteps.

It could be Yoo Jihan, not Kang Geonho. He had said he often used teleportation instead of the front door.

For a moment, Siwoo ridiculously hoped that the owner of the footsteps was Jihan. After waiting so much for Geonho, now that he thought he was coming down, Siwoo became so tense that his stomach churned.

“Drink this.”

At that moment, Seojun offered Siwoo a glass. It was cold water, neither milk nor coffee. Siwoo quickly took the glass and moistened his throat.

The slow footsteps entered the kitchen. Seojun stood up from his chair first and bowed his head.

“Geonho hyung, you’re here.”

Geonho ignored the youngest’s greeting and went straight to the refrigerator. Siwoo kept his head down and glanced at him, moving only his eyes.

Fortunately, he looked like he had slept well. There were faint pillow marks on his cheek where the swelling had gone down.

Has he been sleeping since yesterday? Judging by his messy hair, it really seemed so.

“Hyung, what about your meal? Aren’t you hungry?”

Seojun offered the bread left on the plate. There was still plenty left as they had been talking while eating.

“Mind your own business and just eat.”

Geonho said curtly without even looking at the table. He took out a pack of canned beer tucked away in a corner of the refrigerator and immediately left the kitchen.

Siwoo licked his lips, sticky with jam, while observing Geonho from the corner of his eye. If Geonho had taken some food, he wouldn’t have said anything, but since he only took alcohol, Siwoo couldn’t stay quiet.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

Geonho’s steps seemed to slow for a moment before returning to their original pace. The difference was so subtle that only Seojun noticed.

Siwoo chewed on his lip as he watched Geonho walk away without answering. Due to his clothes, he couldn’t see the state of his shoulder. Seeing that the wounds on his face were still there, it seemed he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Even knowing it couldn’t heal in just a day, Siwoo felt uneasy. The amazing recovery ability of Espers, where torn flesh would mend on its own without treatment, was proportional to their condition. When their wavelength became unstable due to lack of guiding, their recovery speed decreased accordingly.

Even after Geonho left, Siwoo showed no interest in the bread. Seojun looked up at Siwoo, who was getting up from his seat, while holding the lightened coffee cup.

“You’re not eating anymore?”

“I’m done.”

Siwoo, who was about to leave the kitchen, returned to the table and gathered the plates and cups he had used.

“Just leave them. I’ll clean up.”

Siwoo shook his head and put the plates and cups into the dishwasher.

“Thanks for the meal.”

Seojun just nodded faintly at the brief thank you.

Left alone in the kitchen, Seojun chewed the bread unappetizingly with an indifferent face. Perhaps because it had cooled, it tasted less flavorful.

Siwoo, passing by the stairs, lifted his head high. He even stood on his tiptoes to carefully look at the upper floor.

But soon he lowered his feet.

“…”

The chocolate bars and candies were still in front of Geonho’s room door. Untouched, without any sign of being moved.

Siwoo quickly ran up the long stairs and retrieved the snacks he had left. Then he threw them all into his stomach without leaving a single piece.

* * *

After Geonho entered the dormitory, it seemed like the days passed even faster. Just going back and forth between the living room and kitchen a few times, and soon the sun would set and deep night would arrive.

Siwoo, who had gone to bed early, tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep easily. No matter what position he lay in, he felt uncomfortable and moved around so much that his blanket became a mess.

Siwoo, who had been crouching at the foot of the bed, rolled his body over and pressed himself completely against the headboard. It was still uncomfortable.

“Haa—”

After letting out a weary sigh, he finally left the bed. No matter how he lay, the uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away. It was because the cause was in his mind, not his body. Naturally, it wouldn’t be resolved no matter how many times he changed his position.

Sitting on the floor with his back against the bed leg, he looked up at the window. A lukewarm breeze came in through the slightly open window.

“Is it going to rain?”

There was a smell of rain mixed in the wind. After days of good weather, it seemed it would become cloudy again.

Siwoo tilted his head back, feeling even more depressed. Thinking of the idiot sleeping upstairs, his sigh deepened. The thought that it would continue like this made him feel gloomy.

Even though he had already signed the contract, his confidence was dropping more and more. He was used to being hated and cursed by others, but that didn’t mean he had become immune to it. It always made him feel newly upset and angry. Regardless of the reason.

“If you were going to be like this, you should have opposed it…”

Negative feelings towards the idiot, who kept ignoring him and treating him coldly, started to sprout little by little. He wanted to ask why he didn’t prevent him from joining the guild in the first place if he was going to treat him as if he didn’t exist.

They would meet more often in the future. Just the thought of continuing tense and awkward situations made his body itch.

“This is annoying…”

Siwoo, who had been scratching his perfectly fine arm, suddenly stood up. He couldn’t go on like this anymore. The fact that Geonho wasn’t receiving guiding from him also remained a heavy burden.

As time passed, his heart would become more uncomfortable and his guilt would increase. He didn’t want to be in such a nerve-wracking situation.

“I can’t do it. I won’t do it.”

Muttering to himself, he stuffed his belongings into his backpack. After taking such intense action as if he was going to leave the guild right away, he felt a little calmer.

“You should ignore people in moderation.”

After putting the backpack, which had become even fuller than when he arrived due to adding snacks, in a corner, he rubbed his face vigorously. He now regretted hastily signing the contract. If he hadn’t written his name on the contract, he would have left immediately. Far away to a place where there were no people who disliked him.

His tired sky-blue eyes fixed on the window. The humid air was growing thicker. It seemed like it would rain before the sun rose.

“If you ignore me completely again, I won’t stay quiet.”

Siwoo firmly closed the open window and lay down on the bed again. Then he issued a warning to the idiot who wasn’t even there. While kicking his legs up towards the ceiling.

“At least answer me.”

His slender legs sliced weakly through the air. Not satisfied with just kicking, he even punched to vent his frustration.

“Don’t act all high and mighty when you used to talk so much.”

These were words he really wanted to say to his rough face. In his current mood, he felt like he could do it.

Siwoo wanted to talk to Geonho. Even if it was brief.

At the same time, Geonho was having a night just as tormented as Siwoo. Despite lying in bed for over five hours already, his eyelids remained light. Perhaps because he had taken sleeping pills as soon as he arrived at the dormitory and slept for a day straight, sleep wouldn’t come.

Usually, he could fall asleep immediately wherever he rested his head, but today was an exception.

“Wow, this is driving me crazy.”

He wanted to take more sleeping pills, but yesterday’s was the last one. He thought about asking the secretary to get him some medicine, but refrained when he saw the clock had passed 2 AM. He decided to ask for medicine as soon as the sun rose.

Geonho tossed and turned, rubbing his face hard where bruises had spread. He felt like he could sleep if he went out and ran to his heart’s content, but he couldn’t do that either.

After writhing in frustration, he lay spread-eagle and took a long deep breath. Even without checking the numbers, he could clearly feel that his wavelength had risen. If it rose even a little more from here, he was sure he would receive an order to receive guiding.

Geonho tried his best to calm himself through breathing. He also made efforts to empty his mind in his own way.

[Aren’t you going to eat?]

However, each time, a thin voice interrupted and disturbed him.

“Damn…”

As Siwoo’s pale face flashed before his eyes, his mind became noisy again. Thoughts were boiling to the point where he wanted to split open his head, take out his brain, and scrub it clean. All the thoughts were only about Siwoo.

“Just go away. Please.”

Only one face floated around in his complicated mind. The excessively white and distinct features and cold expression were firmly imprinted in his mind.

“With that nasty look too.”

After having a staring contest with Siwoo in his imagination, he threw his pillow. If the secretary had been beside him, he would have retorted that Geonho should think about his own expression first.

Geonho rubbed his chest and glared at the window. Even if he opened the window fully, he felt stifled. It had only been a day of confinement, but already all his limbs were aching.

As his body grew heavier, his thoughts only deepened. Feeling that this wouldn’t do at all, he left the room. He planned to stay in the living room for a while. Just for a very short time, without encountering anyone.

Geonho looked around as he trudged down the long stairs. The darkened living room was enveloped in heavy silence.

It was a familiar scene. Wherever Baekya Guild stayed was always quiet. The atmosphere of a guild always follows its leader.

Geonho approached the window of the high-ceilinged living room and stretched fully. It was certainly better than being in the room. Looking outside through the large glass window, his stuffy feeling was somewhat alleviated.

After looking at the starless sky, he blankly looked down at the ground full of artificial lighting. Although it was quiet due to being dawn, there were still some people moving about. He could see nocturnal beastkin wandering around aimlessly, becoming more active at night.

They must feel even more stifled since they can’t go to the gate site. Geonho exhaled through his nose, fully empathizing with their feelings.

“Can’t sleep?”

At that moment, a thin voice approached from behind Geonho. Startled, Geonho quickly turned his head to check who was approaching. His physical condition must have been worse than he thought, as he hadn’t even heard the sound of someone coming out of their room.

Siwoo, who hesitated upon seeing Geonho’s stiff expression, took one more step forward. Although there wasn’t much difference due to his small stride, he still narrowed the distance a little.

Geonho quietly stared at Siwoo, who stood as if blocking his path, then looked back at the window. It was a voice he had heard to the point of nausea while tossing and turning in bed. He didn’t want to hear it anymore.

“Hey.”

At that moment, Siwoo, who had placed his hand on the glass window Geonho was looking at, called out to him. Simultaneously, one of Geonho’s eyebrows wrinkled fiercely. Nevertheless, Siwoo didn’t back down.

“Want to go for a walk?”

The large body with its gaze fixed on the window didn’t budge at all. However, Siwoo witnessed Geonho’s pupils shake slightly at the word ‘walk’. It seemed like a reflexive reaction.

“I’ll get permission.”

Siwoo, not missing this, took just one more step towards him.

“Let’s go out now.”