Churu for the Angry Guide

Chapter 62

Raindrops fell incessantly on the clean picture window of the Baekya Guild dormitory. As dawn approached, the steady rain grew even heavier.

“Where could they have gone in this weather…?”

The secretary of the Baekya Guild, standing close to the window, was once again filled with sighs today. He was guarding the dormitory in place of the guild members who had left.

After contacting Jihan to check on the whereabouts of the Espers who had suddenly left the dormitory at a time when everyone should have been asleep, he received shocking news.

[It seems they went out to cool off after having a big fight with Geonho.]

Jihan’s light voice was mixed with heavy breathing. He seemed to be running around busily, looking for the guide.

The secretary rushed to the dormitory as soon as he heard the situation. He wanted to go out and search too, but Jihan asked him to watch the dormitory. Someone needed to be there to contact if Siwoo returned.

“Sigh, what if they catch a cold or something?”

The secretary, who had been restlessly pacing around the window, suddenly rolled up his sleeve. He glared at the door of Geonho’s room with an angry expression. His gentle eyes, lacking double eyelids, twisted rather sharply.

“I was trying to be patient, but this won’t do.”

He had planned to wait and see for a while, considering the wounds Geonho had received, but at this rate, it seemed the guide might fall ill from stress. Or leave the guild.

What a precious guide they had met with such difficulty. The secretary was genuinely getting angry at Geonho for acting like a child.

Couldn’t he open his heart, even for the sake of his own brother? It was clear that if they lost Han Siwoo as a guide now, the leader would never receive proper guiding for the rest of his life.

It was a miracle that the leader had met Han Siwoo as a guide. Everyone acknowledged this. He was someone they absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

If the situation were reversed, the leader would have accepted the guide without hesitation. Even if it was someone who had betrayed him multiple times, if it was his younger brother’s lifeline, he would have gladly turned a blind eye. That’s the kind of person Kang Taebeom was.

Tick, tick, tick.

The secretary, who had been rolling up his sleeve to his forearm, widened his eyes at the sound of the door lock. As soon as he sensed movement, he rushed to the entrance. Hoping desperately that the person opening the front door would be Siwoo.

“Guide Han Siwoo!”

As if his earnest wish had reached the heavens, a pale face peeked through the slightly opened inner door.

“Secretary?”

Siwoo looked at the secretary running towards him with a surprised face. He seemed taken aback to see him at the dormitory at such an early hour.

“Where have you been!”

“You’ll burst my eardrums!”

The secretary, who was rushing towards Siwoo, was pushed back into the hallway, bound by telekinesis. Geonho flung the inner door wide open and yelled at the secretary.

“Why are you shouting! You scared him!”

“You’re being even louder.”

Siwoo jabbed Geonho’s side with his pointy elbow. It meant shut up.

Geonho immediately closed his mouth and stuck close behind Siwoo. He looked just like a pet dog guarding its owner.

“Y-You were together…?”

The secretary, pushed against the wall, looked back and forth between Siwoo and Geonho with a dazed expression. He never dreamed they would come in together. And in such an affectionate manner, no less. Could it be…

“Don’t stick so close! It’s hot.”

Siwoo frowned and shoved away Geonho, who was clinging so close their hips were touching. Geonho retreated without resistance, creating some distance. Not much, just a little.

“Did you come because of me?”

Siwoo glanced at Geonho and approached the secretary.

“Ah, yes. I heard you left the dormitory without saying anything in the middle of the night.”

The secretary answered while glancing at Geonho standing behind Siwoo. Due to their height difference, Geonho’s eyes appeared to be perched on top of Siwoo’s white hair.

Why were they standing so close together? The secretary’s eyes were filled with questions. It would be more comfortable to stand side by side.

“I just… went out for a bit.”

Siwoo muttered with an awkward expression. He seemed flustered for making the secretary come to the dormitory at the crack of dawn.

“Next time, please make sure to take your phone with you. And don’t go out alone late at night.”

The secretary added that it was dangerous, while looking intently at Geonho. The Esper who wouldn’t leave the guide’s back now seemed the most dangerous. Why was he acting like this?

“That’s enough, step back a bit.”

Siwoo, conscious of the secretary’s gaze, tugged on Geonho’s thick forearm. However, Geonho stubbornly held his ground, subtly resisting.

“Your tail is showing.”

Geonho whispered softly. Simultaneously, Siwoo’s face flushed hot.

“I said it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Ah, so he was covering the tail. The secretary, his question answered, observed the two with an even more surprised expression. Siwoo and Geonho were standing so close their noses were almost touching. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, the two seemed to be on very good terms.

“Or should I cover it with my clothes?”

“Just try taking your clothes off.”

“We’re at home, what’s the big deal?”

Geonho shrugged, but yielded under Siwoo’s sharp glare. Siwoo told him to go to his room and change clothes immediately. And to wash his dirty feet too.

“We’ll do it in your room.”

By the way, they had decided to do today’s guiding in Geonho’s room. Geonho just nodded slightly once in agreement.

“Go upstairs quickly.”

“You change clothes right away too. You’ll catch a cold.”

Even after going up the stairs, Geonho kept urging Siwoo to change clothes quickly. They both looked like drowned rats.

Despite wringing out their clothes outside, water droplets still fell to the floor. Siwoo wiped them with the sole of his foot and faced the secretary.

He was covering his mouth again. His lips, hidden behind his large palm, were as wide as his widely opened eyes.

Siwoo fiddled with his wet hair, giving the secretary enough time to be surprised. His expression was incomparably brighter than when he had left the dormitory. Of course he would be brighter after relieving the biggest burden on his mind.

“…”

The secretary, finally lowering the hand covering his lower face, opened and closed his mouth silently. His expression was filled with emotion as he tried to speak, stopped, and repeated this several times, until even his eyes reddened.

Why is he so moved?

Siwoo just blinked awkwardly at the secretary’s unexpectedly intense reaction.

“You’ve… reconciled, right?”

When the secretary asked with an overwhelmed face, Siwoo nodded vigorously as if he had been waiting for this. He had been planning to report this to the secretary right away. Siwoo was well aware of how worried he had been.

“Today, we’re going to—”

He was about to say they were going to have a guiding session, but before that, a loud noise came from upstairs. It sounded like furniture being overturned.

“Kang Geonho! What are you doing?!”

Startled, Siwoo quickly rushed to Geonho’s room. The door to Geonho’s room was open.

“Don’t come in.”

Geonho spoke first before Siwoo could cross the threshold of the room.

“The floor’s wet.”

He pointed at the mess on his room floor while waving his hands. The floor of his room was a mess of water.

“Did you leave the window open when you left?”

“Ah, I forgot.”

Geonho chuckled and shrugged one shoulder. The already large window had been left wide open, allowing rain to pour into the room. The walls were as soaked as the floor. However, the room’s owner seemed unconcerned.

Siwoo looked around Geonho’s spacious room with an incredulous expression.

He was surprised by the room’s size, which was larger than expected, and astounded by the fool’s ability to make such a nice room look like a pigsty.

Even without the rainwater, Geonho’s room was sufficiently messy. Empty snack bags and instant food containers were strewn everywhere, but that was secondary. Even the furniture arrangement was bizarre.

Centered around the large bed occupying the middle of the room, the wardrobe, sofa, chairs, and tea table were placed at odd angles. It looked like a unique scene where moving furniture had been paused midway.

“It might be better to do it in your room?”

Geonho approached Siwoo, naturally blocking his view with his large frame. He seemed aware that his room was a mess.

Siwoo narrowed his eyes, looking down at the empty energy bar box Geonho was standing on. Now that he looked closely, there was a large refrigerator in his room. Seeing the microwave sitting alone on the floor, Siwoo understood why Geonho only took beer from the kitchen.

This stupid guy. Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t been starving.

His room was overflowing with food. It looked like he had been eating well, contrary to Siwoo’s worries. Well, to maintain that ridiculous physique, an ordinary amount probably wouldn’t be enough.

“Hey, try living while cleaning your room once in a while.”

Siwoo raised his eyes in a reproachful tone. Although it wasn’t a particularly nice thing to say, the corners of Geonho’s mouth shot up towards the sky.

“I was going to clean up before you came.”

“I mean clean regularly, regularly.”

“Okay, I’ll clean every day.”

“Why is that like that?”

Siwoo pointed with his chin at the dresser in the corner. The dresser that had been near the window was overturned. That seemed to be what had made the loud noise when it fell.

“I was in a hurry to take something out.”

Geonho said, pointing to the object tucked under his arm. It looked like a book, judging from the square shape wrapped thickly in newspaper.

“I opened it too forcefully, and it suddenly tipped over. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Siwoo looked at the nodding Geonho and then lowered his eyes to the paper bundle. It seemed to be a cherished item.

“What is that?”

Geonho just grinned.

“My treasure.”

He didn’t seem inclined to explain in detail.

Instead of prying further, Siwoo just told him to make sure to clean the room. Geonho nodded vigorously and then abruptly touched Siwoo’s face.

“Are you still cold?”

He asked, touching Siwoo’s pale cheek without hesitation. Even his usually fruit-red lips had lost their color.

“You’re extremely pale right now.”

Even though he had held Siwoo close on the way back, the wind and rain must have been cold. Even his hot body temperature couldn’t ward off the chill.

“I’m not cold. I’m naturally pale.”

“You’ve gotten paler.”

“It’s because your room is dirty.”

Siwoo, who had made this strange excuse, quickly turned around.

“Just change your clothes and come.”

Then he swiftly went to the stairs. Geonho didn’t have a chance to stop him.

He wanted to ask again if they were really going to do the guiding today.