How About I Guide Myself Right Into Your Heart? || Joongdok - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Dokja was beginning to pick up on a bewildering trend of things with Esper Yoo: at the barest inkling that the two of them were maybe taking a step forward, Joonghyuk would take two steps back.
It had already been a worryingly long time since he had seen the sour expression on the other's face, and he was willing to admit he missed it.
Well, he missed the surety of work above all else.
He had already had to speak to the company head about the odd predicament. Having to explain why Esper Yoo suddenly refused guiding was a difficult task– namely because Dokja was completely in the dark about why the Esper had been AWOL since his time in the dungeon.
So here he was, unable to enjoy the coffee he usually looked so forward to every shift.
"He's like a boulder." Han Sooyoung's sharp tone filled the lounge. The odd comparison succeeded in getting Dokja's attention away from his own spiraling thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Metaphorically, I mean." Dokja almost said something obvious in reply, but held his tongue. "Esper Yoo is the boulder, and you're poor Sisyphus, doomed for eternity."
Han Sooyoung sure had a way with words.
"The lesson here is that hard work doesn't always pay off." Though never offering proper advice, Dokja appreciated that Sooyoung was still willing to share break times with him, while most others were steering clear. The employee lounge had been mysteriously empty during his breaks with Dokja's return and subsequent recovery in the infirmary. She had her elbow propped up on the marble countertop Dokja had made his coffee at, her short dark hair perfectly framing the evil glint she often had in her eye.
Of course, even the distracting amusements of his coworker couldn't distract him enough to not loop back to a certain Esper.
"It just doesn't make any sense. . ." Dokja trailed off, annoyed because he truly thought that all his work building rapport with Yoo Joonghyuk was leading to a cushier employment endeavor.
He had learned from Sooyoung that everyone was staying clear after seeing Dokja personally carried in by the elusive Esper Yoo himself following the dungeon incident. The building almost had a code; the top Esper returning in full rage and on the verge of a rampage was ill-prepared for. It took a team of medical staff to sedate him before he calmed down.
"Yeah, it was actually kinda gross to see him so caring."
"Okay, thanks Sooyoung. I always appreciate your input on these things." Dokja throws his almost empty cup into the bin, not tasting anything by the end of their musings.
Esper Yoo avoiding him was starting to get on his nerves.
Sure, he was getting paid the typical fee for his time spent waiting, but it never compares to a guiding session where he could build his resistance.
He was finally able to handle low-level guiding sessions without feeling nauseous, and the other wanted to pull a stunt?
With a glaring look, Dokja stared at his wrist and at his blank watch. Just you wait, Esper Yoo, Dokja seethed. He was not jeopardizing his future prospects as a finally functioning guide. If Joonghyuk didn't want to receive any guiding, that's his prerogative. But Dokja wasn't going to risk his abilities regressing after how far he's come the last few months.
A few more overtime sessions, and Dokja would have enough saved to take a long break and catch up on all the errands he was losing track of.
Oh god, I forgot to file my taxes. . .
Once he was a more capable guide, he wouldn't have to worry about questionable pairings or losing work hours due to sickness following sessions. Of course, he would continue working at MinoGuild as long as he could, but seeing how most employees were avoiding him AND he wasn't even guiding anymore, the future looked bleak for his interpersonal relationships.
He waved to Han Sooyoung before stepping out of the room to walk the length to his guiding room. At the very least he could get a quick nap in. He couldn't be anxious if he was unconscious.
Another worrying trend he was picking up on was the likelihood of getting surprise guiding sessions on the treks back to his office. He could swear it happened too often to not be a deliberate ploy to give him a heart attack.
With raised eyebrows, he stopped walking and continued to read and reread the name on the screen of his watch.
[Lee Hyunsung]
It was a familiar name, but it was just as unexpected as it had been seeing Esper Yoo's name for the first time many months ago.
He didn't dwell on the spike in blood pressure at the thought of the other Esper, obviously in rage at the gall of the imposing man for ignoring him after the horrors he had gone through in the dungeon. Just you wait, Esper Yoo . . .
Shaking himself out of these thoughts, Dokja continued his walk to his office, turning down the final alley to see Esper Lee politely standing outside of the guiding room, hands clasped neatly in front of him and waiting patiently.
"Ehem." Dokja cleared his throat, gaining the strapping Esper's attention.
The other jumped, looking oddly nervous in his presence.
Hmm.
"Good morning, Guide Kim." The man bowed shortly, and Dokja returned it, slightly disoriented by how the day was going so suddenly. It was also well past noon by now, but Dokja ignored this.
"Hello, Esper Lee. Are you here for guiding?" Dokja asked, getting straight to the point. There was no possibility that this was the case, but if the name had appeared on his schedule and the aforementioned Esper was here at his door, surely it has to be the case.
The Esper continued looking around, as if he was scared something monstrous would pop out at any second.
It must be a side-effect of being an Esper and practically living in dungeons. Dokja could relate, since he took quite a bit of time getting used to using the stove burners in his house following his own dungeon excursion.
They stood there staring at each other for a second before Dokja took a step forward to open the door for the two of them.
"Of course, please come in."
Esper Lee was meek and it bothered Dokja, mostly because it was a large difference from other Esper's he's guided in the past. Ushering him to the seats, Dokja sat at the seat closest to the door, learning his lesson from guiding Esper Yoo and opting to be closest to the door.
Not that he thought he was in any danger considering his generally civil interactions with Lee Hyunsung, but it was a habit he was going to try and build. Also, the man in front of him did technically leave Dokja behind alone at the campsite, so he did have a bone to pick.
Now seated, Dokja offered a firm hand and the brown-haired man took it without a word.
As Dokja took in the streams of energy, he noted the mellow nature of this Esper's energy. He questioned if the other even needed a guiding seeing how well-tempered his energy waves seemed.
"Is–" Dokja wondered how to start, "Was there another reason you came here for?" He took a shot.
The other man avoided eye contact, but visibly puffed his chest in preparation.
"Yes," Dokja nodded, allowing him to continue, "I wanted to apologize." The other stared up now, eyes appearing sincere and worried. "I shouldn't have left you alone at the site, I didn't know it was your first day." The man looked quite regretful, and it made Dokja almost feel bad for him. "We can't always communicate effectively outside of the dungeon–not that I'm excusing my lack of responsibility!"
"I do appear quite the seasoned and capable guide, so I can understand the confusion." Dokja hummed, trying to lighten the mood. Esper Lee returned the smile with relief.
"I hope you could forgive me, but I didn't come here expecting your forgiveness. I just wanted to let you know that it was not my intention for you to get hurt." The other sat up even straighter, if that was even possible.
Dokja couldn't recall the last time he had received such a heartfelt apology, he wished he could get the words framed. He was reminded of a large, gentle dog with the way Esper Lee's eyes were sparkling with conviction.
With a laugh, Dokja was about to accept his apology, but Esper Lee continued,
"I had to pull some serious strings to get this session with you, Guide Kim." Esper Lee looked quite serious and Dokja wondered if it had something to do with his cursed timetable.
The guide couldn't help the smile on his face at the direct approach of such a large man.
"I'm not sure if you know, but–"
The man pulled his hand away from where Dokja had them clasped on the table, breaking the guiding abruptly. In the next second, Dokja could see the man standing, taking a step back.
With a smile still partly on his face, Dokja turned back to see Joonghyuk in the entryway.
The smile fell.
He could see the dark eyes of Esper Yoo trained on Dokja's hands, still loosely clasped on the table where he had been guiding moments ago.
"Esper Yoo?"
With a blank face, Joonghyuk immediately whipped his wrist up to expose a watch screen, tapping quickly on its surface.
Dokja's own watch went off the next instant:
[Yoo Joonghyuk]
Watching the now familiar name flash, Dokja looked up puzzled.
"I need guiding." The timber of Joonghyuk's voice filled the quiet space.
Dokja turned his head back to face the brown-haired Esper, only to see him leaving in a blur.
"We were just done." He took a break-neck bow, thanked Dokja, and left.
Blinking, Dokja tried to take in everything that was happening.
This truly was an odd direction the day took.
Staring off into space, Dokja almost forgot the foreboding presence of the S rank Esper in his space until the man closed the guiding room door and took a few steps in, sitting promptly down beside him.
Almost immediately, Dokja leaned back and away to take a look at the other, wondering if he was truly in the room.
". . ." This was too much for Dokja in one day, but he tried to speak, "Esper Yoo, if you don't mind, please take a seat on the other couch." Dokja was going to need more space than this if he was going to deal with the other with a clear mind.
"This is the side I've always sat on."
The other just stared forwards, having no intention of moving.
Fine. Dokja sighed, inching to the side a bit to give himself more space.
"Okay, let's start guiding." Dokja thought he had bones to pick with Esper Lee, but nothing compared to the issues he had with the Esper sitting beside him now. "Did you want low- or high-level guiding?" They had already done quite a bit back at the cave, so it didn't hurt to ask.
The Esper's eye twitched at the question, shooting a venomous look at the guide who sat innocently. Dokja threw in an eyelash flutter for good effect.
The man ultimately scoffed, turning to look straight ahead.
"Just the typical guiding is fine."
"If you say so." Dokja offered his hand, and Joonghyuk took it in his own.
Sitting side by side was marginally less embarrassing than sitting facing each other, but Dokja had often looked forward to ogling the sculpted features of the man secretly. His hair had even grown out again– perfect for peeking with. It did, however, make it harder for Dokja to bring up the topic at hand.
As the time ticked on, and Dokja continued to slowly allow the mildly turbulent energy to seep in, he kept dwelling on how to lay on into the other.
Now that the man was here, he somehow couldn't bring it up.
With an absent-minded squeeze, Dokja didn't realize he was nervously twiddling in thought. Thinking back to Esper Lee's puffed chest, Dokja took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders as well, turning to look at the Esper who had his eyes closed.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, the Esper retracted his hand.
"That's enough."
Just as the man got up to leave, Dokja shot up as well, grabbing a hold of the other's uniformed sleeve.
"Wait just a second," the guide couldn't let the opportunity pass, "why haven't you been receiving guiding?" My piggy bank! My personal resistance trainer!
The other tugged his sleeve out of Dokja's grasp, and Dokja didn't fight it, knowing full-well how much the other disliked physical touch. He sped over to the door to block the man's path.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm not." Came the quick reply.
"You aren't?"
"No."
Dokja huffed out a laugh at the scenario.
"Look," he hoped reason could make it through that thick skull. "If I don't guide, I'm going to lose the resistance I've built up until now."
"Just rest."
The other's short replies were getting infuriating.
"If I can't guide you, I'm not just going to wait around, Esper Yoo." He knew threatening the other wasn't the best idea, but a part of him wanted to rile the straight-faced man up a little.
Seeing the other reach into his pocket made Dokja regret his words and he immediately moved out of the way. A blue bottle of nausea medication was pushed into his stomach, and he recoiled with the sudden pressure and brought his hands up to grab a hold of it.
The other then left without a word, closing the door on a very confused Kim Dokja.
What in the stars is going on?