Chapter 58 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

The ​sudden ​claim ​was ​absurd. ​Yoon Ki-hyun faltered for ​a ​moment, caught off ​guard by the ​abrupt ​interrogation. ​He ​was ​mentally ​reviewing the few ​clauses ​in ​his contract.

He wondered ​if there was a ​clause stating ​that guiding ​must be ​performed while ​Jeong ​Si-jun ​was conscious, but ​he had ​never seen such a ​thing. To begin with, ​sleep guiding was not ​illegal.

“Well… it’s ​because ​Team Leader Jeong’s wavelength worsened while ​he was asleep?”

Jeong Si-jun ​didn’t ​respond ​further, ​merely ​pouting. It was ​impossible to ​tell ​what he found ​so ​dissatisfying.

‘The Center doesn’t actually do ​sleep guiding ​very ​often, though…’

There were ​only ​two ​cases ​where ​a Guide ​belonging ​to the ​Center would guide an Esper in a ​state of sleep.

Either ​when precursors to ​an outbreak were confirmed ​and they ​were forcibly put ​to ​sleep, or when ​they were in ​a coma ​due ​to severe ​injuries.

“It’s ​not illegal, ​so ​is it ​a ​problem?”

“No. ​It’s just…”

Jeong Si-jun ​trailed ​off.

‘I didn’t ​get ​to ​see ​you guiding me!’

Jeong Si-jun loved the look on Yoon Ki-hyun’s face when he was focused on guiding. To be precise, he found it incredibly erotic.

He lived for guiding sessions, making the sight of Yoon Ki-hyun’s tantalizing expression his sole pleasure.

And yet, he had missed it because he was passed out. It was a truth he could never reveal. Yoon Ki-hyun took great pride in his profession. He was incredibly protective of his dignity.

If he told him that he was dying of regret because he missed seeing how erotic he looked while guiding, the reaction was predictable.

Yoon Ki-hyun would narrow those pretty eyes and wear an expression that said, ‘What kind of crazy bastard is this?’

While he enjoyed Yoon Ki-hyun’s contemptuous looks, it was inevitable that it would leave a strange wound in his heart. How many people would actually enjoy the blatant expression of hatred from someone they liked?

“…What if I had performed reverse guiding in my sleep?”

That was the only excuse he could come up with.

“I have enough experience to handle that level of situation.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

“Then what is the problem?”

Jeong Si-jun decided to keep his mouth shut. He was painfully aware that speaking his mind would bring more harm than good.

“Anyway. It’s dangerous, so don’t guide me when I’m asleep from now on.”

“…Well, if you insist.”

Regardless, it was an instruction from his employer, so as long as there were no major issues, it was best to comply diligently. It wasn’t a difficult request; simply not doing sleep guiding because it could be dangerous.

‘Still, this guy is surprisingly thoughtful.’

Seeing him worry about reverse guiding or the dangers of sleep guiding, he realized the man wasn’t completely hopeless. Why would someone like this casually use nicknames like “public property”?

Indeed, people are complex.

While Yoon Ki-hyun continued guiding, calming his unsettled mind, Jeong Si-jun let out a small sigh and frowned.

‘Ah, why the hell did I sleep?’

He felt like he was going crazy with regret over missing the face of the man who guided him while he was oblivious.

To think he missed that face, which was practically his only joy these days.

‘I don’t have a reason to be called to the medical wing again, but I should stop taking naps at the Center.’

The day was drawing to a close, with both of them preoccupied by their own complex thoughts.

His condition had been the worst since morning. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d woken up to a splitting headache, but today it was exceptionally severe.

By the time Yoon Ki-hyun forced himself up, his body was already drenched in cold sweat. As chills ran through him, he became certain he had a severe cold.

‘Why am I getting sick now…’

It wasn’t as if the workload was particularly unauthorized copyintense [Read on Read BL Novels]like it used to be. Honestly, it was so relaxed it was almost boring.

And yet, a sudden illness.

Yoon Ki-hyun considered health management a part of professional competence. He didn’t know how to be lenient with himself.

He felt more at peace only when he pushed himself with standards far stricter than those he applied to others. This was because his starting line was different from most people who fell within the average category.

For the most part, his life was one where failure was not permitted. If there was a gap in his salary, next month’s rent and loan repayments would immediately fall behind. Thus, he couldn’t afford the luxury of long-term unemployment that others experienced at least once.

If he had a family home to lean on, it might have been different, but Yoon Ki-hyun always had to fend for himself.

Living a harsh life for so long had made him this way. He had become a dull human being who didn’t even know what proper rest was, and whose only “luxury” was a meager one.

“Haa…”

He exhaled a hot breath with a deep frown. Because his physical condition was worse than usual, his mood was utterly miserable.

He was already reminded daily of his incurable illness through frequent nosebleeds and headaches. Now that an unexpected cold was added to the mix, it felt like pure torture.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He didn’t even need to take his temperature to know he had a fever. There was still some time before he had to clock in. He had to somehow pull himself together and get to the Center.

In a half-conscious haze, he swallowed medicine on an empty stomach.

‘Fucking body. Seriously… stop acting up.’

He muttered these irritated thoughts, waiting for improvement, but as if betraying his expectations, dizziness hit him and bile began to surge up from his stomach.

Eventually, after vomiting the half-dissolved pills into the toilet, Yoon Ki-hyun leaned against the wall and slowly caught his breath.

Despite taking medicine that felt absurdly expensive, there was no dramatic change. Only the frequency of the headaches and nosebleeds had decreased slightly.

When he thought about the massive amount of money spent on medication and injections for such a small change, his heart felt like it was burning even in his sleep. He wondered if it was even working.

‘Fuck. Why… why did I end up like this?’

Like a sudden sneeze, there are moments when life feels so burdensome that he feels suffocated. It was bleak, not knowing if there was even an end to this lifestyle.

He closed his eyes and tried to compose his emotions, but his eyes felt hot.

It could be because of the headache pounding through his skull, or perhaps the depression he’d acquired thanks to his fucked-up life. Or maybe both.

He collapsed onto the floor, sprawling out as if melting.

Even without measuring, he knew he had a fever. Thinking back, it was impressive that he had managed to endure this long. Since he’d vomited the medicine, hoping for improvement was futile, and the time to go to work was cruelly approaching.

Left with no choice, Yoon Ki-hyun searched for Jeong Si-jun’s name among his few contacts.

He didn’t want to call for something like this, but there was no other way. He was in no condition to go to work right now. He could probably make it if he crawled.

He thought this was probably the first time he was initiating a call. Shortly after pressing the call button, Jeong Si-jun’s voice came through.

[Yoon Ki-hyun?]

“Yes. Team Leader Jeong. I’m sorry for calling so early. Do you have a moment to talk?”

[…Yes. Is something wrong?]

Jeong Si-jun’s voice sounded genuinely puzzled. It made sense, as they weren’t the [Read [Read [stolen content]on Read BL Novels]on Read BL Novels]kind of relationship where they called each other before work.

“I’m sorry, but I think I’ll have to come in after lunch today.”

[Why? Are you sick? Your voice sounds a bit strange.]

He had tried his best to steady his voice, but it seemed it had leaked through. Yoon Ki-hyun let out a small breath and replied.

“I think I’ve caught a cold. I’m going to go to the hospital as soon as I can move, and then head in.”

[If you’re sick, you should rest. Why come in for the afternoon? Just take the day off.]

He wondered if that was okay. Given how much he was paid, taking a whole day off felt like a significant loss.

He briefly calculated how much of a loss Jeong Si-jun would incur if the Guide hired to work missed a day, then shook his head.

[Do you have any fever reducers at home?]

“I think I have some.”

He wasn’t entirely sure. Since headaches and mild fevers were a daily occurrence, he bought them frequently, [unauthorized [visit our site]wm: visit our site -->copy]but they tended to run out quickly.

As the call dragged on, he could feel his voice becoming hoarse in real-time. Yoon Ki-hyun held the phone away from his face and let out a dry cough. He didn’t want to show that he was sick, but he couldn’t help it as he felt something about to surge up from his throat.

‘Ah. What is this now.’

Coughing, Yoon Ki-hyun frowned as he looked down at the blood-streaked saliva on his palm. Through his spinning vision, the phone screen came into view.

‘I’m still on the phone with Jeong Si-jun…’

[…Are you okay?]

Jeong Si-jun’s voice echoed from the phone. The voice asking if he was okay grew distant.

If he was okay? Not at all. He felt so terrible that he wished he could just drop dead right here.

Unable to hold onto his fading consciousness, Yoon Ki-hyun eventually closed his eyes. Until his memory cut off, he felt a sense of bleakness, unable to even fathom how he would clean up this mess.