Chapter 10: Eyes That See Yet Are Blind
Zero silently adjusted his clothes. He knew that I often thought about Jae Hyo, the one who had now become the strongest Esper that no one could defeat.
"No one asked you to sacrifice everything for humanity. You don't need to compare yourself to Jae Hyo."
Zero smiled.
"Someone like Jae Hyo is the one who's truly strange, not really like a human at all."
"Is that so…"
I shrugged and quietly agreed with what Zero said.
"Bang!"
A strange sound rang out, as if someone had kicked the office door. I stepped out and opened it, only to be met with Jo Hyun's gloomy, unpleasant expression and a dent left in the door.
"What are you doing, Jo Hyun? If the office property gets damaged, I'll have to pay out of my own pocket to replace it. When that happens, it'll be deducted from your intern salary!"
I pinched Jo Hyun's ear and dragged him out into the office living area.
"Min Seok, why did you let this kid smash the office property like this? Do you want your salary deducted?"
Min Seok hurriedly stood up, flustered as he tried to defend himself.
"Hyung, at first Jo Hyun just said he wanted to wait outside for you to come out. I didn't know why he suddenly went crazy…"
"Hyung…"
All of a sudden, I felt a stiff hug wrap around my waist.
My waist was tightly locked by two muscular arms, and a warm chest pressed against my back, so hot that it made me shiver.
Damn it, this pile of muscles and this dinosaur-like body is really a high school student?
"Hyung, what were you doing inside the room with the captain?"
Jo Hyun's breath brushed against my ear, making my skin crawl. It felt like I was genuinely being harassed by a gigantic kid.
"Let go of me, Jo Hyun…"
I struggled, trying to pry his rock hard arms away, but it was completely useless.
Jo Hyun continued to hold me tightly, his demeanor dejected.
"Hyung, did you hug and kiss the captain? I heard that when Guiding, the Guide and the Esper hold hands, hug and kiss, and they even… even have sex!"
Jo Hyun's voice beside my ear trembled as if he was about to cry.
"Hyung… I was scared you'd do… do that with the captain, so I kicked the door. Hyung, don't be mad at me…"
I thought my face was probably burning red with embarrassment right now. In front of so many people on the team, Jo Hyun was saying such humiliating things.
"Ahem… Jo Hyun, actually…"
At this moment, Zero walked out calmly. He stared at Jo Hyun holding me tightly and let out a mocking chuckle.
I immediately shouted,
"Hey! What are you laughing at? Hurry up and explain it to Jo Hyun! We're completely innocent!"
But Jo Hyun clearly did not believe it. The proof was that his grip around my waist tightened even more. It hurts like hell, you brat.
"Do you think he's pitiful?"
Zero looked at me as if I were an idiot.
"What kind of look is that, Zero? Don't make me regret becoming friends with you!"
Zero nodded. He looked at Jo Hyun, then raised both hands with a solemn expression, as if swearing an oath.
"I'm just friends with your Hyung. And rest assured, I have no interest whatsoever in Kim Jun's lips. Just holding hands is enough to make me lose my appetite for dinner tonight. I have severe touch aversion."
This was something everyone in Team 7 knew. When his symptoms flared up seriously, Zero could even fall into an outburst due to shock.
"Just holding hands?"
Only then did Jo Hyun lift his head from my shoulder and look at me intently, his eyes sparkling like a puppy's.
"Really, Hyung?"
"Of course it's true!"
I led Jo Hyun aside to explain things to him properly. Not everyone conducted Guiding according to the process he had heard about.
It had been a long time since I became the Guide managing Team 7. I no longer performed mucosal Guiding through kissing or sex. This had also received approval from Director Jena.
"The new regulations allow Guides to choose the method of Guiding they want, without being subjected to coercion or abuse from any Esper."
This was also one of the things that comforted me somewhat. I no longer needed to endure deep contact Guiding with people I disliked. Maintaining Guiding through hand contact alone was enough.
"The Guides who approach you might sometimes try to seduce you into having sex with them. If you really don't like it, just ignore them."
I warned Jo Hyun.
There were Guides who were always very interested in powerful, underage Espers who had just awakened. They would use Guiding to control and manipulate psychologically fragile young Espers. I did not want Jo Hyun to get entangled in such trouble.
Losing one's first time before reaching adulthood was truly not a pleasant experience.
"I understand, Hyung."
Jo Hyun nodded obediently.
"I won't accept anyone except Hyung, so don't worry."
Wait… that's not what I meant!
…
Min Seok watched the two figures disappear down the hallway.
"Captain, Guide Kim Jun has eyes that see, yet are blind."
The look in Jo Hyun's eyes when he saw Kim Jun pulling Zero into the lounge for Guiding still gave Min Seok goosebumps.
Zero said, "Handsome like an angel, awakened before reaching adulthood, and obedient and well behaved on the surface. It would be strange if Kim Jun could see anything clearly."
Zero sneered, feeling only pity for a man who was born with eyes that could see the road, yet could not see people.
Lee Do Ha, who was organizing documents, also sighed softly.
Lee Do Ha said, "Just by looking, you can tell their compatibility is not low at all. A newly awakened Esper meeting a Guide like that, he'll definitely cling to Kim Jun Hyung until death without ever letting go."
Team 7 sank into a gloomy silence. They all understood that what happened today was only the beginning.