Vicious Darling

Chapter 11. Craving

[67]

“Yuri.”

Chris strode toward him. But he had to stop as if frozen when Yuri’s gaze met his.

His mouth went dry.

His heart automatically tightened as he reflected on Yuri’s reaction.

It was like an instinct developed over years to read the mood, even though he hadn’t committed any particular wrong.

Unexpectedly, Yuri approached Chris. Standing beside him, Yuri turned his attention to Luka.

Perhaps because he was wearing an illusion, it was difficult to read Yuri’s expression.

It was too peculiar to be called welcome, yet too indifferent to be hostility.

“Hello. I’m Luka, head of the Guide Welfare Team at Northern Light.”

Luka, who seemed slightly nervous, greeted Yuri first.

“…So that was your name.”

Yuri responded meaningfully, extending his gloved hand to Luka. Their hands met.

Though it was just a handshake, Chris felt strange watching it.

From the moment he first saw Yuri at the doorway, he had felt an inexplicable anxiety.

This was because he had read sharp tension in Yuri’s eyes toward Luka.

In the end, the reaction was milder than Chris had anticipated.

‘What kind of delusion was I having?’

It’s not like Yuri would suddenly pick a fight with Luka.

“I didn’t expect a Guide from Northern Light to come all the way here.”

“There were certain circumstances.”

Luka answered with a gentle expression.

He seemed somewhat tense, though not as much as Chris.

“Working for an organization built fundamentally for Espers must be tiresome.”

After acknowledging his efforts in a plain tone, Yuri beckoned to Chris.

“Let’s go back.”

“Ah, we were in the middle of a conversation…”

Luka’s voice trailed off.

This was because he saw Yuri removing his glove and cradling Chris’s cheek with his hand.

With that momentary contact came a rush of guiding energy. It was almost excessive.

The greedy Esper absorbed the incoming guiding energy without restraint. Even though he already had sufficient guiding, it was nearly impossible to reject it.

Chris’s expression inevitably crumbled.

Lips slightly parted from the guiding, eyes hazy, and body swaying slightly as tension released.

Yuri skillfully supported his hound.

“As you can see, he hasn’t been up for long.”

Chris quickly stood on his own two feet, but Luka had witnessed his momentary staggering.

Being a Guide, Luka understood what Chris’s expression meant.

‘Could someone make such a face… during guiding?’

It was an unbelievable level of change compared to the always rigid new agent he remembered.

“That’s good.”

Luka smiled slightly.

“So he could receive proper guiding after all.”

Surprisingly, he was pleased to see Chris’s defenseless appearance.

“That’s really good.”

Luka repeated the same words, almost to himself this time.

While there was some bittersweet feeling, Luka was genuinely relieved.

He had been concerned about the rejection response Chris typically showed when receiving guiding as an Esper.

Though he had heard through the grapevine that Yuri Sobolev was his pair, seeing it with his own eyes felt different.

Purple eyes carefully examined Luka’s face.

Yuri muttered in a voice tinged with slight astonishment.

“…You’re sincere.”

He felt disgusted.

This wasn’t so much Chris or Luka’s fault as it was his own issue.

His insides twisted as if squeezed by an invisible hand.

Such pure, transparent goodwill was an emotion quite unfamiliar to Yuri.

“Let’s go back.”

Chris blurted out suddenly.

He had noticed ripples spreading in the purple eyes, the only part showing Yuri’s true appearance.

If Yuri was feeling uncomfortable that he couldn’t show, Chris wanted to help him escape this situation.

“As Yuri said, I haven’t been awake for long… I should go back and rest.”

Hearing Chris display uncharacteristic weakness, Yuri examined him carefully before nodding.

“Since Northern Light has agreed to handle things here anyway, getting plenty of rest won’t hurt.”

Muttering that their early involvement had paid off, Yuri stared at Luka.

“Well, until next time.”

“Yes, Mr. Sobolev.”

Yuri’s brow furrowed slightly.

“You can just call me by my name.”

“Oh, yes. Yuri.”

Luka corrected the form of address in a somewhat awkward voice.

He had thought Yuri would be intimidating due to his authoritative attitude, but face-to-face, Yuri had a calmer atmosphere than expected.

After practically dragging Chris outside, Yuri headed straight for the tent.

“Lie down.”

He pointed to the bed and disabled the illusion concealing his face.

Chris turned his head. Now he realized it was a mobile hospital bed.

‘I didn’t notice until I got up and came down.’

“I’m fine without lying down.”

At this brief refusal, Yuri raised one eyebrow.

“Didn’t you just say you wanted to go rest?”

“That was…”

“Forget it. I asked a stupid question.”

Chris was startled by Yuri’s words, delivered in a cold voice.

“What?”

“You wanted to leave to protect that Luka person.”

There was no expression to be found on Yuri’s face.

“You seem to have grown quite attached after just exchanging some guiding.”

Chris was simply dumbfounded.

“What are you saying?”

“You don’t need to pretend. I’m not planning to harm anyone just because you’ve received guiding from another Guide.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Chris shook his head.

“I didn’t suggest we go rest because I thought you would hurt Luka.”

“Then.”

The gaze looking at him deepened.

Somehow, it seemed tinged with concern.

“If you’re really in pain but enduring it, or something like that, get up there and lie down before I kick your behind.”

Yuri extended his hand and pushed Chris onto the bed.

Unable to resist, Chris plopped down on the mattress and licked his dry lips.

If he just lay down and pretended to sleep now, Yuri would not question today’s events further.

He just had an intuition about that.

But he didn’t want to end the conversation like this.

The words from Dahlia and Luka whom he had just met had stimulated Chris.

“…You looked uncomfortable.”

“Me?”

Yuri asked back.

“Your gaze toward Luka seemed complicated. That’s why I tried to get you away from there.”

“…You’re only perceptive at times like this.”

At that criticism-like remark, Chris flinched.

In other words, he was saying Chris was usually oblivious.

“And I was embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? About what?”

Yuri repeated what Chris had said, as if the statement was unfamiliar.

“Because I received guiding from another Guide, even if I had lost my memory.”

At those words, Yuri’s lips pressed into a straight line.

He didn’t seem angry. But his face didn’t look comfortable either.

“So I was tense from the moment you met Luka. I thought you might suddenly remember that fact…”

Chris lowered his eyes.

He was afraid that Yuri, who already despised Espers, would despise him upon realizing this anew.

There was a fear within him that Yuri might think Espers were promiscuous and liked any Guide.

“Nonsense.”

Yuri dismissed Chris’s concerns.

Extending his hand to grip Chris’s chin, the man whispered:

“You already belong to me.”

He wasn’t simply talking about a physical relationship.

As an Esper, Chris was essentially subordinated to Yuri. Having completely imprinted on Yuri’s guiding energy, Chris could no longer find satisfaction from other Guides.

Imprinting was a very special phenomenon. There was a popular belief that it occurred between Guides and Espers who had interacted for a long time, but nothing had been officially confirmed. This was because Rosenhauser had blocked all related research.

‘How terrible it must have sounded to him—Espers being subordinated to mere Guides.’

However, Yuri’s parents were researchers who studied the imprinting between Guides and Espers. Thanks to this, Yuri knew more about “imprinting” than ordinary people.

Unlike the prevalent rumors, the imprinting between Espers and Guides had nothing to do with how long they had known each other.

In the past, Yuri’s parents had hypothesized that matching rates were also irrelevant and had been conducting research accordingly. This was because when imprinting occurred, an Esper could only receive guiding from a specific Guide, but the efficiency would greatly increase even if the matching rate with the partner was low.

After their deaths, the very existence of imprinting was denied, so no one discovered what the conditions were.

But Yuri, who had imprinted with Chris the moment they first met, had some idea about the conditions for imprinting.

‘Need.’

Imprinting was neither fate nor love.

It was a more raw, desperate emotion.

“…Once more.”

Chris pulled up Yuri’s hand that was holding his chin. Pressing his cheek against it and covering Yuri’s hand with his own, Chris looked up at him.

There was desperation in the blue eyes directed at Yuri.

“Please say it once more.”

Besides, even without imprinting, what Guide other than Yuri could handle Chris?

“You are subordinated to me.”

Yuri sweetly whispered.

“As an Esper, you cannot escape this by any means other than death.”

Chris could not escape his Guide while alive.

But even after death, he would not leave.

Because Yuri wouldn’t let him go.

Chris felt slightly dazed.

It was strange.

Being an Esper, he had always felt guilty about extorting guiding from Yuri.

Yet now, the Yuri before him was speaking as if he, as a Guide, had bound Chris the Esper.

Perhaps for a very long time, their love had started from completely different places and was endlessly colliding toward each other.