Churu for the Angry Guide

59

What kind of walk in this weather.

Geonho frowned, quickly correcting his reflexively wavering gaze. Though it was just for a moment, he felt embarrassed for being tempted by the idea of a walk.

“Don’t you want to go out?”

Thinking Siwoo would leave if ignored, Geonho continued to not react. However, the tiny guy was unexpectedly persistent.

“Then… what do you want to eat?”

Geonho kept his mouth firmly shut this time too. He fixed his gaze on the window, trying not to look at Siwoo, but Siwoo’s reflection was visible in the transparent glass. His striking features made even his silhouette clear.

“There’s a lot to eat in the fridge. Or we have ramen too.”

His mumbling voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

There’s no need to forcibly try to get close when it wouldn’t affect his ability to earn money. Geonho wondered if Siwoo had made some deal with the secretary, making him feel even more twisted inside.

“Or, should I cook for you?”

At the offer to personally cook, Geonho’s pupils almost wavered again. He quickly rubbed his eyes, hiding his tempted feelings.

With each word Siwoo uttered, Geonho’s body kept reacting first. However, his stubborn heart, unable to easily accept Siwoo, gritted its teeth and rejected him.

To Geonho, Siwoo was an untrustworthy existence. He was sick of lies. Especially the feeling of betrayal from someone he had opened his heart to lasted a lifetime.

He pushed Siwoo away blindly, not wanting to be hurt again. It was Geonho’s way of protecting himself.

“You haven’t eaten anything. Eat something.”

Siwoo’s mumbling voice continued afterwards. Geonho pretended not to hear until the end. He deliberately stared into the distance to avoid seeing Siwoo’s reflection in the window.

How many minutes passed like that?

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound broke through the settled silence. It was the sound of someone slapping Geonho’s back.

Geonho was aware of the hand flying towards his back but couldn’t dodge it. It was that sudden of an attack.

“Stop ignoring me!”

The owner of the hand that made the crisp sound was Siwoo.

After slapping Geonho’s back, Siwoo immediately ran back to his room. By the time Geonho turned around, he was already far away. True to his cat beastkin nature, his legs were very fast.

“Huh…”

Left alone in the living room, Geonho had a dumbfounded expression.

Seeing Siwoo’s door firmly close, his blood pressure suddenly rose. The sight of him running away without looking back reminded him of that day.

Geonho gritted his teeth and returned to his room. He too, like Siwoo, walked looking only forward. He clenched his fist tightly to avoid glancing behind the stairs at all costs.

“Is he crazy or what!”

As soon as he closed the door, he unleashed his fiery anger. Even thinking about it again, he couldn’t believe he had been hit. It wasn’t just a light tap, but a full-force slap. The cracking sound that hit his back echoed throughout the living room.

“Damn it, hitting a patient?”

He seemed to be aware that he was a patient. Geonho paced around the spacious room, alternating between sitting on the bed and standing up. After fuming alone for a while, his gaze suddenly fell on the window.

With a sizzling sound, thin raindrops were falling.

Geonho stood blankly, staring at the rain coming in through the wide-open window. The raindrops quickly grew heavier. Just like that day.

Muttering a curse, Geonho kicked away the pillow that had fallen on the floor. He regretted going out to the living room. He had gone out to clear his stuffy mind, but instead only gained more anger.

“So irritating…”

About to lie down on the bed, he finally couldn’t contain his anger and flung open the door. Instead of using the stairs, he jumped straight down to the lower floor and rushed to Siwoo’s room.

“Hey, guide. Come out.”

He had planned to let it go, but he just couldn’t. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of his life if he didn’t at least curse at the guide who had slapped his back and left. At least tonight’s sleep was already a lost cause.

“I said come out!”

He finally raised his voice at the quiet door. Hearing this, Seojun hurriedly ran down the stairs.

“Brother, please calm down.”

Seojun blocked Geonho’s path, trying to calm him down gently. However, the moment he saw Seojun, the veins popping on Geonho’s face grew even thicker.

“Don’t interfere.”

He tried to grab Seojun’s collar but was blocked by a transparent reinforced wall. It was a barrier raised by Jihan.

“Geonho, it’s 3 AM. 3 AM.”

Jihan, who had just come down the stairs, stood between Geonho and Seojun. Judging by his pajamas, he seemed to have come out after sleeping in his room.

“You were fine earlier, why are you like this again?”

Jihan rubbed his temples and strengthened the barrier even more. Geonho just glared and struck the reinforced wall hard. Simultaneously, a crack appeared in the thick barrier.

“Feeling stuffy? Want to go for a walk?”

“Don’t treat me like a dog!”

Provoked by the talk of a walk, Geonho completely shattered Jihan’s barrier. Instead of raising a new reinforced wall, Jihan faced Geonho directly.

“Have you been drinking?”

“I haven’t!”

“Then why are you acting like this? Like a madman in the middle of the night.”

It was an uncharacteristically sharp voice from Jihan. Though he was smiling as usual, his nerves seemed clearly on edge.

“The guide is different from us. You can’t treat him carelessly.”

Jihan looked closely at the panting Geonho. His pupils weren’t dilated yet. It was a level he could handle on his own. He didn’t want to reach out to the leader if possible. If that happened, Geonho would be the one to bleed.

“Let’s go to the living room while we can still talk.”

He pointed to the living room with a gentle eye smile. Fortunately, Geonho didn’t raise his voice further. He knew it was a warning for his own sake.

“I have something to say, so tell him to come out.”

“It’s too late now. He’ll be sleeping.”

“Call him while I’m still asking nicely.”

Geonho threw Jihan’s words right back at him. His red eyes glinted frighteningly bright. Any other Esper would have fled the scene, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

Jihan, accustomed to the Kang brothers’ unique murderous aura, nodded while curling the corners of his mouth. When he told Geonho to wait in the living room instead, Geonho moved his feet reluctantly, still breathing heavily.

“You go up and sleep.”

Jihan told Seojun, who was standing guard at the door.

Seojun opened and closed his mouth for a moment before finally retreating with slow steps. There was no need for him to step in unnecessarily as Jihan would handle it. Still, he didn’t go upstairs but kept his position.

Jihan let out a light sigh and knocked first.

“Guide, can I open the door?”

This level of disturbance would have woken him up even if he had been sleeping. The Baekya Guild’s accommodation wasn’t soundproof. Usually, shared accommodations had soundproofing in the walls as standard, but they had omitted it. By the leader’s orders.

“It’ll just be for a moment.”

There was no answer. He shouldn’t be sleeping.

It was strange that there was only silence, as he was the type to refuse if he didn’t like something. The corners of Jihan’s mouth gradually flattened as he waited for a response.

“I’m opening the door.”

Jihan turned the doorknob without permission.

He had hoped it wasn’t the case, but the room was empty.

Jihan searched for traces of Siwoo, lifting the carelessly rolled-up blanket on the bed. The bag was there, but that was all. He was the type of person who might leave suddenly, abandoning just a small backpack.

“I think he just went out for a bit.”

At that moment, Seojun spoke with a confident tone.

Wondering what he had seen, they noticed that the mouse plushie Siwoo had hidden under the pillow was still there. Jihan also felt relieved seeing that plushie. It seemed he hadn’t left completely.

“He’s not here?”

Geonho, who had been in the living room, strode up to the door. His red eyes trembled as they quickly scanned the empty room devoid of furniture.

“This is your doing, Geonho.”

Jihan emphasized the empty room, extending his arm wide. As a brief silence fell, the sound of the thickening rain hitting the window grew louder. As the sound of rain intensified, the suppressed wavelengths of the three Espers became even more sensitive.

Quick-thinking Jihan was the first to go search for Siwoo using teleportation.

Geonho, who had been standing blankly, also rushed out of the accommodation. He ran without hesitation, knowing he would be scolded by his brother. Finding Guide Han Siwoo was the priority now.

* * *

Siwoo, with his round eyes turned upwards, glared at his yellow umbrella. He had grabbed any umbrella, but unfortunately chose the brightest colored one.

“What a taste.”

He trudged along, glancing at the umbrella decorated with a chick character that didn’t match the guild’s atmosphere at all. He had no destination. He just went where his feet took him.

The umbrella grew heavier as the rain became thicker. Every time he stepped on the ground, a wet sound came from the hastily worn slippers. He didn’t even know whose slippers they were. He had arbitrarily used an umbrella and slippers from the accommodation.

No wonder I get cursed at. Living like this, doing whatever I want and getting angry, how could I not be cursed at?

Siwoo lowered his gaze and gripped the cold umbrella handle tightly. His palm was still stinging.

It was bound to hurt after hitting the back of Geonho, who was famous for having the toughest body among Espers. If his wrist had been bent just a little more, the bone might have cracked.

Why did I hit him though?

As Siwoo was glaring at his own hand, he suddenly staggered.

“Ugh.”

The wet slipper got caught in a gap on the ground and came off. He almost fell.

Siwoo cursed at himself for not even being able to keep his balance properly as he put the slipper back on. His sole stung as if he had stepped on a stone in that short moment. It seemed he had scraped his foot on a stone when he briefly touched the ground barefoot.

“Just great.”

He looked around, letting out a laugh that sounded like a sigh. As he naturally walked towards less populated areas, he ended up in a familiar place.

It was a space with memories he didn’t want to recall. The walking path where his identity had been exposed to the Baekya Guild.

Arriving at the entrance of the path, Siwoo gripped the stiff umbrella handle. He was about to turn away but bit his lip hard and stepped onto the path.

The dense foliage shook violently in the rain. The raindrops were as thick as that day.

As Siwoo climbed the path, he listened to the sound of rain echoing from all around. Amidst the incessant pitter-patter of rain hitting the ground, the deep voice of that idiot intruded.

[Kang Shiro.]

He had said it was a name he chose after days of deliberation. It was idiotic to ponder for days over just a name.

[You’re our family. Shiro, you know that.]

The idiot Esper who poured out affection Siwoo had never received in his life. Because of that idiot, Siwoo had even considered living as a cat for good. And quite seriously at that.

It seems the idiot cells had transferred in just two weeks. And judging by the lingering attachment to that thought, it seemed some idiot cells still remained.

“Damn it, really!”

His slipper came off again. This time it got stuck deep in the mud. In a fit of anger, he kicked the slipper away barefoot. Not satisfied with just once, he repeatedly stomped his feet into the mud, shouting.

“Don’t be ridiculous! What family when we’re not even blood-related!”

He lost his balance again while kicking the mud. Giving up, Siwoo loosened his grip on the umbrella and was about to sit down on the ground. It was a slope. A perfect position to roll down.

It seemed better to break a bone and be hospitalized again at this point. That would probably be easier on his mind. No one would get angry at an injured patient. Unlike me.

“Are you crazy?!”

Just before Siwoo’s body hit the ground, a large hand suddenly appeared and supported his waist. Along with rough breathing, a piercing shout jolted Siwoo’s weakened mind awake.

“Why are you out in this weather!”