Dulce Periculum

18. Barbecue

"We are absolutely sure now that you are a B-rank in the making."

"Really?" Yunho perked up when Yeosang sat by his side to show him the documents he gathered. It included Yunho's bloodwork, prior reports about his abilities, and a drone shot from the last time he visited the rift and was hit by the bullet. Though the video hurt to see, Yunho declined Yeosang's offer to skip it. Bora wasn't in it, thankfully.

"Mingi is good at recognising these things because he can feel how much power gets sucked up when he guides someone. I spoke to Jongho, and he is confident that your abilities can be trained and that only your skepticism holds you back right now."

Yunho rubbed his palms over his thighs. He was edgy again, burdened by this information. 

Yeosang's deep voice soothed him.

"There is no stress to reach that class, though. You develop at your pace. You mentioned you hold yourself back?"

Yunho nodded carefully. He heard less distaste in Yeosang's voice than from the staff of Auresce, so he trusted once again.

"My powers scare me. I am meant to get hurt a lot. Jongho started teaching me, but... I think it's a long way until I can overcome that fear."

That lingering pain. Getting shot was awful. Yunho wouldn't be surprised if he froze in fear at the next rift.

Yeosang crossed his legs and made some notes on his papers. 

"Auresce gave you a guide, I assume? But if they mis-ranked you, then you would suffer more than necessary. We cannot promise you never get hurt, but we can promise a guide to get you through it."

"Can't I just keep coming back here and fix myself with medication?"

Yeosang studied Yunho and the discomfort on his features.

"I would prefer you to get to know a more permanent guide. And to test your abilities out in the field. Slowly and with the backup of a team, of course. We can adjust our strategies to accommodate you and your new guide, but we are hesitant to put you or our people in danger without knowing you are taken care of. In your case, trust plays a huge role. So I recommend sticking with one guide and their fighting style instead of multiple people out on the field. Wooyoung can find a match for you."

Since he kept running into the same issue with expectations in this world, Yunho was getting frustrated with himself.

"I... I had issues with my prior guides," he stuttered, curling into himself under Yeosang's searching eyes. As if he could see right into Yunho and discover all his petty little concerns. In the role of a saviour and warrior, he shouldn't be afraid to accept help. Otherwise, he was no more, but cannon fodder, like Auresce decided for him.

But Yeosang didn't ridicule him. He lowered his pen to listen.

"Why? You won't find your ideal match right away, but you will get the proper rank this time. Do you prefer women or men?"

Yunho sunk further into himself. How embarrassing to explain this to a doctor who saved lives all day long. 

"I can't- I can't get used to guiding. I find it very foreign."

The corners of Yeosang's lips twitched with a thought. The twinkle in his eyes couldn't be from the sun falling through his blinds at an angle to trace lines over the white floors.

"Did Mingi do something to you?"

Yunho's mouth hung open.

"What? No! He helped me out!" Since his ears were hot already, he committed. "It felt good," he mumbled.