The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 123: Have We Met Before?

Chapter 123: Have We Met Before?

Lane’s heart seemed to have stopped for a moment. He had met Damien’s eyes countless times before, and the emotions he experienced each time varied, but... It was never as ’Lane Allen’. Right now he was supposed to be just a stranger, so he shouldn’t have any special reaction...

But it was so hard not to! Especially since the conversation they had a few days prior was still stuck at the back of his head!

Controlling his breathing so that it seemed as natural as possible, Lane blinked a few times, looked to the front, to the side, and then down. As if his eyes were just wandering around.

Good. First hurdle passed.

Now...

Suddenly noticing his own attire, Lane regretted not dressing up better. Since it was supposed to be a simple, short visit to the Association, he just threw on the first thing he grabbed. All of his clothes were still nice, clean, and from top brands, of course. But he could have looked better...

Lane’s hand straightening the hem of his hoodie paused. Why was he concerned about it in the first place? He was ’Lane Allen’ now. It didn’t matter how Damien saw him, there would never be anything between them when Lane was in his real body. Unless...

Unless Lane pretended to ’possess’ himself?

He almost laughed out loud at the idea. ’Possess himself’? And then what? He would never be able to switch identities in front of Damien again, unless he faked his own death...

Why would he even do that? To try to fuck Damien with his real body? I mean, it did sound appealing, but...

Lane dismissed all such ridiculous thoughts, shaking his head. Really, the man had him going insane.

He walked past Damien...

"One moment please." Just as they passed each other by, Damien suddenly stopped.

’Should I ignore it?’ A thought flashed through Lane’s head. In the end though, he decided that it might come off a bit weird, so he turned his head back. "Me?"

"Yes. I’m sorry, but have we met before?"

"Hm." Lane narrowed his eyes. "Most certainly not."

Damien wouldn’t give up so easily though. If anything, he appeared even more suspicious. "Are you sure? I truly think we did."

"No, I’m sorry Sir, but you must be mistaking me with someone," Lane shook his head with a light smile. "If we did, I’m sure I would have remembered. You’re a bit famous, you see, Team Leader Damien Lennox."

Perhaps referring to Damien as ’Team Leader’ wasn’t the best idea, because the man’s eyes flashed with even stronger suspicion, focusing intently on Lane.

There wasn’t anything weird about what Lane said, though. S-rankers had a celebrity status of sorts. Maybe not everyone could recognize them, especially not out on the streets, and someone like Damien, who liked to be low-key, could lead an ordinary life... But their names and photos were public on the internet. And, with Damien wearing his uniform with his badge, it wasn’t hard to guess his identity...

But maybe there was something about the way Lane pronounced the words, or the tone of his voice, or maybe some tiny signs in his mannerism that tipped Damien off? The man WAS really good at recognizing Lane, after all...

Either way, seeing the change in Damien’s expression, the alarm bells in Lane’s head all flared up. Still, it was essential he remained calm, so he fixed his mouth in a polite smile, and lightly bowed. "If there’s nothing else, then please excuse me. I have an appointment scheduled soon."

Having said that, he went on his way.

Luckily, Damien hasn’t tried to stop him. If he reached out and grabbed Lane’s hand...

Lane shuddered at the mere thought.

While it still wasn’t confirmed - damn, why wasn’t it confirmed? He should have questioned Damien about it back when he had him hypnotized! - there was a chance Damien might have a supporting ability that helped him distinguish wavelengths with excellent precision. If that was true, then what if he could sense Lane’s wavelengths just by touch?

Lane would be doomed, that’s what. How could he ever hope to explain himself out of that?

Damien, on the other hand... What was up with the man? Did he have some sort of Lane-love-radar? That made him spawn right where Lane was? The Association Headquarters were big, there were many employees, and visitors came every day. What are the odds that this one time a year when Lane stops by, they would end up running into each other?

Simply ridiculous!

And his intuition... Fucking terrifying! Lane would BET his arm... or, maybe just one of his lesser abilities, that the reason Damien stopped him was because he somehow sensed he was ’Jonathan’, or however he thought of him. Well, it also could be because Lane looked like Nyla, but for some reason, Lane thought the first option was more probable.

He could still feel Damien’s gaze on himself, burning his back, all the way until he finally took a turn and got out of his sight. Only once the tingling disappeared was Lane finally able to breathe right.

’Well, that was... unexpected,’ he thought to himself, as he rolled his shoulders and exhaled slowly, brushing his hair back. ’How is it that I always run into him...’

’Always’ was an exaggeration. Lane completely brushed aside the fact that many times, it was HIM that purposely got involved with the man. If there was any ’coincidence’, then that would be Xavier being assigned to Damien’s team, but even that was a bit of a stretch - if he had been paying more attention, he could have predicted this possibility.

Either way, it wasn’t important. Aside from his Routine Guiding, Lane had no business visiting the Association Headquarters. Such accidental meeting wouldn’t be able to happen again anytime soon.

Brushing it aside - or at least trying to - Lane carried on, entering the public guiding space in the Guiding Center, when a random Guide from the General Staff assigned to him for the day was already waiting in the cubicle.