Churu for the Angry Guide

29

Brown eyes filled with amusement fixed on Siwoo’s pale face.

Frozen in place, Siwoo couldn’t move as he saw the smiling face directed at him. He was too stiff to even think about running away.

In contrast, the expression of the person approaching Siwoo step by step was infinitely relaxed.

“Don’t worry and eat comfortably,” Jihan said with a smile, pointing to the sandwich.

“We have a lot to talk about.”

He sat down in a chair he had pulled out earlier with his telekinesis and leaned his arms on the desk. Jihan subtly leaned his upper body towards Siwoo, wearing a gentle smile. As if he had met a welcome colleague.

“I tried to come as quickly as possible, but I was in the middle of work, so I’m a bit late.”

Jihan slightly lowered his eyebrows, asking if Siwoo had waited long. Judging by his battle uniform worn at gate sites, he seemed to have really come from work. His clothes were covered in monster blood stains.

Siwoo didn’t notice any of that. He had no room to be surprised by the sticky green blood of monsters he had never seen in real life. Just breathing in was difficult at the moment.

“If you’re really uncomfortable, should I call the guide team leader?”

Jihan, scanning the excessively tense Siwoo, gestured towards the door. The guide team leader was waiting beyond that door.

He was paying extra attention due to the stinging guilt of deceiving Siwoo. Surely the famous Baekya Guild wouldn’t harm a guide. With that belief, he had contacted Yoo Jihan of the Baekya Guild first. He seemed the safest option.

“I don’t mind if we’re together,” Jihan said, shrugging his shoulders and looking back at Siwoo. Siwoo, his mouth just hanging open, barely managed to shake his head.

He absolutely didn’t want to have a conversation in front of the team leader. If that happened, the fact that he had pretended to be an animal and stayed with the Baekya Guild would all be revealed. There was nothing more embarrassing for a beastkin.

“You really don’t like it, huh.”

Jihan smirked, as if he had expected Siwoo to refuse. They say cat beastkin have strong pride, and it seems that’s really true.

Although he wasn’t one to believe rumors, this time he had to agree. Facing a cat beastkin directly in front of him, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the circulating rumors.

Was it said that they act as they please, relying on their outstanding appearance?

Jihan, carefully taking in Siwoo’s appearance, unconsciously nodded. With a face like that, well… it would be forgivable even if he caused a disturbance.

He thought he would be pretty… but he didn’t expect this level.

Jihan’s eyes curved even more roundly as he gazed intently at Siwoo’s straight nose. The more he examined each feature, the more it overlapped with the face of the white cat.

“Have you been well?”

As expected, there was no answer.

Jihan, resting his chin on his hand, broadened his smile while covering his lower face. It was fascinating how his features were even more delicate than when he was a cat. The sharply curved corners of his eyes and long eyelashes kept drawing his attention.

Even as Jihan spent a long time observing his face, Siwoo didn’t move his lips once. He gradually lowered his gaze and ended up glaring at the innocent desk.

To an outsider unaware of the situation, it might look like he was angry, but in reality, it was an expression of extreme fear.

“It’s been a week for us, hasn’t it?”

Jihan found Siwoo’s unresponsive reaction somewhat unexpected. He had anticipated him to be much more brazen. He naturally thought Siwoo would pretend not to know him or immediately try to run away. Like that day.

“Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

Despite the gentle tone of the question, Siwoo became increasingly frightened. His light sky-blue eyes trembled slightly.

Jihan leaned his upper body a bit more, wanting to see those eyes in more detail. He was intrigued by how they were the same clear color as when he was a cat.

He just meant to look, but when Jihan moved closer, the startled guide flinched.

It was an admission that he was indeed the person Jihan was looking for. He could have denied it at least once. It was an excessively conscientious attitude for someone who had cut ties and run away at once.

“That day. The day it rained heavily.”

Jihan, starting leisurely, slowly rubbed his cheek with the hand supporting his chin. He alternately gazed at the barely-eaten sandwich and Siwoo.

“I was out in that rain for five hours trying to find the cat.”

The rain had poured as if the sky had a hole in it, making umbrellas useless. Jihan had searched for the cat, pushing through that downpour.

The day had grown darker, and the raindrops only got thicker. No matter how much he searched through the bushes, not a single white hair appeared. His mind had started to give up, saying they should stop looking, but his body kept moving forward.

Because such a small, thin cat couldn’t withstand such rainy weather. He thought for sure it had fallen into a deep puddle or collapsed with its feet stuck in mud.

That’s why he couldn’t give up and kept searching. Not knowing that it had already completely run away.

“It’s not an exaggeration, I really searched non-stop for five hours.”

Jihan tilted his head sideways with a languid smile.

“Touching, isn’t it?”

He had endured all that rain, putting aside his work, combing through the wide walking paths. Because Jihan wouldn’t stop, Seojun had also followed him, searching for the cat among the wet bushes.

“Our secretary also had a hard time, taking care of the collapsed leader and Geonho.”

The secretary, who had joined later, had transported the leader to the infirmary and used a special anesthetic to calm down the agitated Geonho. There was no other way because Geonho was emitting wavelengths in a daze.

If not for that, the entire park would have been in chaos from his telekinesis. The ground would have split, and all the trees would have been uprooted.

Without the leader, it’s impossible to control Geonho.

“…”

Jihan, who had been chattering happily by himself, paused for a moment. It was because his eyes met Siwoo’s.

Siwoo, who had been avoiding eye contact all along, suddenly raised his head. He reacted as if he had been waiting for the exact moment Geonho’s name was mentioned.

At this, Jihan’s eyes softened a bit more.

“Geonho really had a hard time, you know.”

The more he talked about Geonho, the greater the cracks in the guide’s expression.

Although the guide seemed to have difficulty listening, he didn’t avoid eye contact. Thanks to this, Jihan could fully appreciate his eyes.

“He thought of the cat like family. You would know better, Guide-nim.”

True to his beastkin nature, his bright eyes sparkled every time he blinked.

“Of course, he’s still upset now.”

Beyond being upset, Geonho had been living with his rationality half gone. The number of colleagues who had suffered because of this was countless. If this continued, it was clear it would lead to an even bigger accident.

“I wish you would say something, anything.”

Jihan tapped the desk lightly with a gentle eye smile. Since entering the room, he had been the only one talking. He hadn’t even heard the guide’s voice yet.

Remembering the sharp meows of the cat made him more curious. What would the guide’s voice sound like?

“Cough…”

Siwoo, who finally opened his mouth after much deliberation, burst into a cough. Having swallowed air wrong, the coughing continued for a while.

As he frantically covered his mouth while coughing, an orange juice suddenly appeared in front of his face. It was offered by Jihan.

“Drink this.”

Siwoo took the juice to calm his cough first. The sound of him gulping down the liquid was unusually loud.

Distracted by the juice, Siwoo noticed the lukewarm body temperature touching his cheek a beat late.

“Do you have a cold?”

Jihan asked, touching Siwoo’s hot cheek. Siwoo just frowned, brushing off where Jihan’s hand had touched.

He almost cursed. If he hadn’t been aware of his situation, he would have hurled expletives at the esper for the unsolicited physical contact.

However, this wasn’t a situation where he could raise his voice, so he just cleared his throat. He thought about pretending not to know, but it didn’t seem like it would work anyway. That idiot might fall for it, but it seemed impossible to deceive this smooth talker.

“How… did you know?”

Jihan tilted his head with a languid smile. He seemed not to have heard properly.

“How did you know. That I… was that cat.”

The last words added quietly were faint. Fortunately, this time Jihan seemed to have heard well, as he smiled even more broadly. His eyes never left Siwoo’s face.

“You should ask when I knew.”

He slowly rolled the juice cap with his fingertip, locking eyes more firmly with Siwoo.

“I knew from the beginning.”

Large eyes blinked rapidly as if hit by a sandstorm. Jihan kindly added an explanation.

“That Guide-nim is a beastkin. I knew all along.”