Honey-Coated S-Class Guide — Chapter 4
“Great. Where should we eat, then?”
“Anywhere is fine with me.”
“In that case, shall we go to your place?”
“…Pardon?”
At the completely unexpected suggestion, Jin Hyoseop’s mouth fell open in a blank stare. He couldn’t begin to understand why the man had suggested his home as the place to have dinner.
Yet Ahn Dante spoke with a bright, innocent expression.
“You said you already made dinner at home. Why eat out when there’s food at your place? Right?”
However Jin Hyoseop looked at it, the logic behind those shameless words was strange.
How on earth had things ended up like this?
Even as Jin Hyoseop unlocked his door with Ahn Dante behind him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that things had taken a strange turn. All he had agreed to was eating together, yet somehow his home had become their destination.
Click.
The door opened, and before he knew it, he had been swept into the entryway with Ahn Dante.
His guild leader was more shameless—and cleverer—than he had expected.
“Please come in. It’s not much, but…”
“No, it certainly isn’t.”
Ahn Dante glanced around the studio apartment and nodded.
“Why do you live somewhere that looks like it’s crawling with cockroaches?”
Cockroaches…? I don’t think it’s that bad.
Jin Hyoseop looked around his home again. No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t that bad. Apparently, however, Ahn Dante disagreed.
“Hardly fitting for an S-class.”
“What does my rank have to do with it?”
“Why wouldn’t it? An S-class could afford to live in a hotel.”
“That only applies to people who can provide guiding properly. This is the best I can manage right now.”
“Something befitting 3.1 million won?”
“Yes.”
A subtle expression crossed Ahn Dante’s face, but he asked no further questions. The suspicion in his eyes faded as well, though that didn’t mean he seemed to understand Jin Hyoseop.
After removing his shoes, Ahn Dante walked inside as though he owned the place.
Everything about Jin Hyoseop’s home made it clear that exactly one person lived there. One chair, one set of bedding, one cup, and a table meant for one. He seemed to have no intention of ever receiving guests.
Or perhaps the thought simply hadn’t occurred to him.
Ahn Dante’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Meanwhile, Jin Hyoseop stood blankly, unsure what to do. He looked as awkward as someone receiving a guest for the first time in his life.
As that awkwardness lingered, Ahn Dante leisurely surveyed the room and spoke.
“You haven’t been living here long, have you?”
“How did you know?”
Jin Hyoseop’s eyes widened. The apartment was old, and everything he had bought was secondhand. It should have been difficult to tell that he had only recently moved in.
“It’s obvious if you look.”
With his long fingers, Ahn Dante pointed out the objects one by one, almost as though tracing a melody, and listed the reasons he had noticed.
“The apartment and furniture are shabby, but all the everyday supplies and little things are new. Your utensils, your trash can, your towels.”
“Oh…”
“And it looks like this is your first time living alone.”
A chill crept up the back of Jin Hyoseop’s neck. Merely letting the man see his apartment made him feel as though his inner thoughts had been exposed.
Suppressing an almost involuntary flinch, he forced himself to answer evenly.
“That’s just how things worked out.”
“Were you living with your parents before?”
“No. Just a friend…”
Thinking there was nothing to gain by saying more, Jin Hyoseop turned away, leaving his answer vague. He walked toward the refrigerator beside the entrance.
“Anyway, I’ll heat up the food now.”
“No, that’s all right.”
Ahn Dante smiled and tapped the apartment’s only chair.
“You said you only prepared enough dinner for one, anyway. And I see there’s only one chair. It would be difficult for both of us to eat here, so go ahead and eat by yourself.”
“What? But how could I eat without…”
“It’s fine. Espers can go a few days without food without any trouble.”
Jin Hyoseop stared at the single serving of fried rice covered in plastic wrap, then closed the refrigerator.
“Then I’ll eat later too.”
“I really don’t mind.”
“No. I wouldn’t feel right eating by myself.”
“Really? Haha. Our guide is such a sweetheart.”
Ahn Dante draped an arm over the chair and grinned. He had barely done anything since arriving, yet he already seemed immensely entertained.
“But what should I do? Now I feel terrible that you’re missing dinner because of me.”
“It’s all right.”
“No, it isn’t. I’ll just get going. You should eat as you planned.”
“…You’re just going to leave?”
“Yes.”
After practically insisting on eating at his home, the man had changed his mind within minutes of arriving.
Jin Hyoseop couldn’t help looking incredulous. If he was going to leave immediately, why had he come all this way?
It’s almost as though he only wanted to look around my apartment… Wait. Surely not.
Jin Hyoseop quietly addressed Ahn Dante, who was already standing by the entrance.
“Were you curious about my home?”
“You noticed?”
Ahn Dante paused while putting on his shoes and looked back.
“That’s right. I wanted to come and see how you live.”
So that was it.
“Then why didn’t you simply say so? I would have shown you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s hardly difficult.”
“That’s a bit of a problem.”
As Jin Hyoseop approached to see him off, Ahn Dante caught his arm and pulled him closer.
Before he could even gasp, Jin Hyoseop found himself standing almost flush against him. With the distance between them suddenly gone, the space felt suffocatingly small.
Jin Hyoseop swallowed and struggled to speak.
“…What are you doing all of a sudden?”
Hoping to escape the uncomfortable situation, he lightly pushed against Ahn Dante’s chest. The firmness beneath his palm made his fingertips twitch.
“Mr. Jin Hyoseop, didn’t anyone teach you as a child to stay away from strangers?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That you shouldn’t just say yes and bring someone home because they ask to see where you live.”
“But you’re someone I know, Guild Leader.”
“Does someone you’ve only known for a week count as someone you know? I’m very grateful you’d say that, of course…”
Ahn Dante smiled.
“But that’s a dangerous thing for a guide to say. No matter how much society accommodates guides, to an esper who’s lost his head, a guide is nothing more than a delicious piece of prey.”
“…”
“Letting someone in carelessly could get you into serious trouble. For example, suppose I wasn’t the kind guild leader you thought I was, but an unstable esper on the verge of going berserk—and a complete bastard with no sexual scruples. I could do this to you…”
A golden light shimmered in Ahn Dante’s eyes as he lightly brushed a finger beneath Jin Hyoseop’s chin.
He wasn’t quite touching the skin, but his finger grazed the fine hairs there, making it tingle. The tip of his index finger moved gently downward, stroking only those tiny hairs.
The motion sent goosebumps over Jin Hyoseop’s skin, making his hair seem to stand on end.
As Jin Hyoseop stood rigid, unable to move so much as a finger, Ahn Dante stared at him and continued.
“I could do something like this. Wouldn’t you be in trouble if I suddenly decided to devour you right here? You don’t even have a bondage partner.”
“…”
“Of course, they say some guides deliberately avoid getting a bondage partner because they like sleeping around with anyone and everyone.”
Only then did Jin Hyoseop understand why Ahn Dante had called him jaded during the interview.
But it was difficult to follow that thought when the spot near the pit of his stomach, where the man’s finger now hovered, tingled so intensely. That fingertip wasn’t even touching him, yet it felt as though it were wringing his lower abdomen tight.
Afraid that opening his mouth would reveal exactly how he was reacting, Jin Hyoseop said nothing and forced his expression to remain stiff.
Ahn Dante continued, unperturbed.
“But you don’t seem interested in fooling around with espers, so you need to be even more careful. Don’t you?”
“…”
“Mr. Jin Hyoseop?”
“…Yes.”
“You understand?”
“Yes. I’ll… be careful.”
When he finally managed an answer, Ahn Dante drew back, looking satisfied.
“I’m glad you understand. I’ll be off, then. See you tomorrow.”
He leisurely finished putting on his shoes and stepped outside.
Click.
Jin Hyoseop had remained rooted to the spot until the very end. The moment the front door closed, he released the breath he had been holding.
“Hah…”
Then he sank to the floor as though his body had given out.
His toes still tingled, and his breathing was ragged. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
I’d been feeling fine for a while. I thought I’d finally become a little less sensitive…
But nothing had changed.
Forcing his strengthless arms to move, Jin Hyoseop wrapped them around his legs. His body continued to tremble faintly.
He couldn’t tell whether the reaction came from fear or anticipation.
At his own body’s response, Jin Hyoseop’s expression crumpled.
Work started at nine and ended at five. Lunch was from noon to one. He always left on time and frequently got to leave early. His only task was killing time at the office.
A job that required no physical exertion, where all he had to do was sit around.
It sounded like the sort of position anyone would jump at.
Yet Jin Hyoseop thought there could be no job more difficult than this one.
ravanerk-nxqod 