Dirty Sweet Baby Chapter 11

After staying up all night until morning to sort out his thoughts, Heeheon looked out the window at the magnificent sight of the red sunrise and smiled bitterly. In any case, what happened had happened, and dealing with it and moving forward was a different matter.

After spending enough time alone, Heeheon came out of the bedroom.

With silent, quiet steps, he stopped in front of Cha Moogyul’s door and, taking a slow, deep breath, raised his hand. It felt as if an eternity passed before he could knock on his door.

“Are you awake? I’m coming in.”

Heeheon stepped into his room. Today as well, Cha Moogyul was busy, with his desktop computer on, reviewing documents. His attire, a gown with the belt tied loosely, revealing his upper body, was the same as usual, and the way his hair was slightly sticking up at the back was also identical.

He was suffocatingly curious about what his sleeping habits were like to make only that part of his hair stand up, and a dangerous curiosity almost sprouted, but he desperately suppressed it.

Cha Moogyul, who had placed the documents on his desk, nonchalantly asked Heeheon the reason for his visit.

“Why?”

Baek Heeheon calmly brought up the topic of the guiding that had occurred last night.

“I was sorry about yesterday. It wasn’t your fault. Rather, I was the one who got a bit heated and lost my judgment.”

“……”

“You’re an Esper with no immunity to guiding, and you’re an S-rank… When a variable like that occurs, I, as the more experienced one, should have dealt with it more decisively from the start. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

Cha Moogyul stared at Heeheon with his dark, sunken pupils. A quiet composure resided in those eyes. Even though such a thing had happened last night, he did not seem particularly agitated.

Then again, Cha Moogyul had shown the same indifferent reaction on the day he had kissed Baek Heeheon.

“That’s unexpected. For hyung to come to me on your own accord and even apologize.”

“Because my responsibility is greater than yours. We have to be clear about what’s what.”

“Is that so?”

“…So, about that.”

Heeheon tensed his throat. In order to say it properly until the end.

“It seems I’m not enough for this. Just as I thought, the rank difference has caused a problem with the guiding. I think it’s right for me to quit as your dedicated guide as a matter of responsibility for this incident.”

“……”

“It was a bad choice from the beginning. How can I be your dedicated guide when the guiding isn’t being done properly.”

Although he suppressed it as much as possible, emotion bled into his sentences. He could only pray that Cha Moogyul would not notice.

“Let’s just stop here, Cha Moogyul.”

Cha Moogyul, who had been standing still and just listening to Heeheon’s words, turned back around and picked up the documents again. Then, he began to continue with the work he was doing, flipping through the A4-sized papers.

Then, he casually tossed a question at Heeheon.

“Are you done?”

“…What?”

Heeheon’s mouth puckered as he asked back. He had just informed him that he was quitting as his dedicated guide, yet Cha Moogyul remained consistently indifferent to that important news. He read the contents of the documents with his eyes while simultaneously criticizing Heeheon with his mouth.

“I asked if you’re finished with what you have to say. To barge in here since morning and for that to be the conclusion of your story. I guess I’ll have to take back what I said about it being unexpected.”

“……”

“It’s cliché, Baek Heeheon. You’re trying to run away again.”

He scribbled his signature of approval on the reviewed document and swept his hair back with a swoosh. His untidy black hair scattered beautifully. His straight forehead was revealed, and in its place, the tips of his ears were covered.

“Responsibility or whatever, you know this isn’t a situation you can easily back out of by saying you decline. How can you overturn a matter that was decided in conjunction with the new government when it hasn’t even been that long since the news broke?”

“Then, what am I supposed to do when the guiding is in that state.”

Baek Heeheon did not back down easily either. He had known that the Ministry of National Defense and the Musan Group would be brought up.

“Cha Moogyul. You, of all people, know what kind of disaster happens when an Esper lacks guiding. If you were to run amok, it would be a major catastrophe. You wouldn’t be the only one to die, everyone around you would be swept away too.”

“Run amok? That’s going too far. That won’t happen.”

“Don’t declare it like that when you’re not the one doing the guiding. We both experienced what happened yesterday.”

“I’m declaring it because the research and development officer judged that there would be no problem. And in reality, the guiding was completed safely.”

“What do you mean completed safely, it was a total mess.”

Cha Moogyul picked up the next document and let out a scoff. A strange, unreadable light flickered in his eyes and then quickly disappeared.

“The imbalance was resolved, and the levels returned to the normal range. The rank difference can be compensated for with guiding efficiency.”

“As if you know everything….”

“I do know. That mucous membrane contact guiding will solve it.”

He twisted his head and tapped his own lips with his index finger. His well-shaped lower lip parted slightly. The memory of the sensation of those lips came to mind, and Baek Heeheon found the fact that he knew it to be horrifying.

“All you have to do is let me put my finger in your mouth, hyung. I got a little excited last night and acted crudely, but next time, I’ll put it in gently and like a gentleman.”

Cha Moogyul pretended to put his index finger in his mouth. Baek Heeheon, disgusted, his face turning deathly white, immediately made his refusal clear.

“No. No way.”

“Why. There’s no problem.”

“There is a problem….”

Heeheon clenched his teeth. Was there truly no way out of this predicament? He had intended to use last night’s events as an excuse to quit being the dedicated guide, but as expected, Cha Moogyul was not an easy opponent. As he said, if they continued with mucous membrane contact guiding from now on, it was, for now, at a level that was somehow manageable.

His head dropped toward the ground. His eyes wandered, scanning the clean, dust-free floor. In the end, Heeheon mumbled, as if grasping at straws.

“It’s dirty.”

“Huh?”

“It’s unhygienic….”

Hearing that, Cha Moogyul’s shoulders shook with laughter as if he found it absurd.

“Then what, do you want to stick your finger in my mouth, hyung?”

“Th-that’s….”

“Do whichever you prefer. As if something like that is a big deal.”

“……”

He was at a loss for words.

Heeheon, rendered speechless by the unexpected proposal, blinked his eyes rapidly. He felt like Cha Moogyul was a madman. He did not know if the expression ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’ was appropriate for this situation.

‘I can’t let myself get roped into this.’

He was going crazy. To stick, st-stick his finger into Cha Moogyul’s mouth… he could not possibly agree to such a nonsensical thing. The opposite was true as well. No matter how much he thought about it, it was an impossible situation. A natural disaster. He would rather run amok than do that.

Heeheon’s lips moved weakly.

Just then, Cha Moogyul spoke monotonously in a subdued voice.

“Rather than that, make some time today.”

“Time…?”

“There’s a schedule to take care of at the Center. Hyung has to accompany me too. After all, you’re my dedicated guide right now.”

“……”

“Whether you’re not enough or whatever, let’s talk about quitting or not quitting later.”

Going to the Center….

Heeheon internally swallowed a long sigh. He knew that now was not a good time to persuade the stubborn Cha Moogyul. Still, he had expressed his intention to quit, so he decided to be satisfied with that for now and back down.

“Alright. In any case, think about this problem seriously. The guiding is already facing difficulties due to the rank difference, and it’s obvious that it will get worse later on… and then it’ll be really difficult and we won’t be able to do anything about it….”

“Well, I can consider it.”

“Do it seriously. Seriously.”

At that moment, a short melody rang from Cha Moogyul’s desk. It was the sound of a phone ringing. Cha Moogyul, who picked up his cell phone, checked the caller ID and muttered.

“Whatever, we’re leaving before 1 o’clock. If you’re done talking, get out. Don’t disturb me.”

Even with a person right in front of him, he answered the phone nonchalantly. It was no different from an overt order to leave, kicking him out. The way he worked competently, talking about successfully completing a merger and acquisition, establishing production and distribution lines, and spouting all sorts of technical terms, felt unfamiliar and difficult.

He was struck anew by the thought that he could not approach his world. It was like that in the past, but now even more so. Cha Moogyul was always so distant. And yet, he had no idea why he was so anxious about not being able to get further away from him. Heeheon turned and left.

*

Summer is a season of lush green. A time of activity and growth, the sun pours its golden rays upon the earth, and plants vigorously sprout vibrant green leaves. The sky, as blue as if ink had been dissolved in it, is dazzlingly vast, and the sight of fluffy white clouds leisurely drifting by is like a painting.

By the time it was past noon, the weather had become unsuitable for outdoor activities. Just standing still in a field would likely cause sweat to form on one’s forehead. Especially if one were dressed in a combat uniform like Baek Heeheon.

Heeheon, who was observing the scenery outside the car window, placed the side of his hand over his eyebrows to create shade. Very fortunately, the vehicle Heeheon was in had the air conditioner running, making it comfortable. Of course, this service was not for Baek Heeheon.

“We are entering the site. I will reduce to the regulation speed, Director.”

The driver skillfully stepped on the brake. The military vehicle passed through the central entrance gate surrounded by partition walls, and the view of the vast Center site unfolded.