Translated by Levia
[Chat/Chatter] Now that they’re living together, Choi Hanseo must be seriously itching to get married by now [4,576]
[Random Post] Don’t Moon Bora and Kwon Eunchae look unexpectedly good together in that two-shot? [1,075]
[Chat/Chatter] In the group shot of Baekho’s 1st raid team, isn’t Kwon Eunchae clinging way too close to Lee Eunseok? [3,125]
[Chat/Chatter] Dating → Living together → Marriage is the ultimate truth, no? So when are they getting married? [2,694]
[News] Did you hear? The Choi-Lee couple is living together! (Confirmed by a guild member) [7,405]
There really was no such thing as privacy anymore.
Eunseok stared at the couple fan café posts and sighed inwardly. Everyone in the guild already knew the two of them were living together in the penthouse. It was practically common knowledge at this point. But to see it plastered all over the internet like this… And now even a guild member had come forward to confirm it outright. He was at a loss for words.
When he reached the penthouse, he saw Choi Hanseo sitting on the couch, working on a tablet. He was still in his suit.
“You’re home?”
Choi Hanseo set the tablet down on the table and extended a hand, beckoning him over. As Eunseok approached, Hanseo wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him down to sit on his lap.
Ever since regaining his lost memories, Choi Hanseo had developed an intense fixation on physical closeness with Eunseok. As long as they were together, he needed constant contact to feel at ease. This was one of those habits born from that obsession. At first, Eunseok had hated it. But by now, he’d grown used to sitting on Hanseo’s lap. He barely felt any resistance to it anymore. If anything, he thought it was the perfect position for a hug.
Held in Hanseo’s embrace, Eunseok wrinkled his nose at the faint scent that drifted past his nose. There was the subtle trace of women’s perfume on Hanseo’s clothes.
Eunseok had a habit of subconsciously mapping out his surroundings, mentally noting things like terrain, people’s body types, and facial features. It didn’t take him long to recall exactly where he’d smelled that scent before.
Grade-A Guide, Choi Sunhee. That was unmistakably her perfume—the one he’d caught a whiff of when she brushed past him.
A sudden surge—rage. No, maybe it was just irritation.
Thwack!
Eunseok shoved Hanseo away and abruptly got to his feet. Hanseo looked up at him, puzzled.
“What’s wrong?” he asked nonchalantly.
“You smell,” Eunseok snapped, glaring at him before turning sharply on his heel.
Every step he took toward the kitchen was jagged with emotion, sharp and erratic. He was overwhelmed with annoyance. But at the same time, he was painfully aware of how utterly ridiculous this all was.
It wasn’t like Choi Hanseo had done anything outrageous with her. Maybe the scent had simply rubbed off during a close conversation. And yet, it irritated him so much he couldn’t stand it. What pissed him off even more was how pathetic he felt for letting it get to him.
“Eunseok.”
Hanseo followed after him, calling his name. But Eunseok didn’t want to see his face right now.
“Eunseok-ah.”
Hanseo called again, this time grabbing his shoulder and turning him around.
Eunseok avoided eye contact, unsure what kind of expression he had on his face at that moment. Hanseo cupped his chin and lifted it, studying him intently.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?” Hanseo stared at him and asked.
“…It’s nothing.”
“It’s obviously not nothing.”
“I’m not in the mood for word games.”
Eunseok snapped, irritated. Hanseo narrowed his eyes and stared him down in return. It felt ridiculous to keep avoiding his gaze now, so Eunseok met it head-on, glaring right back.
A brief silence passed. The two locked eyes, silently probing each other.
Then, after a moment…
“That guy—”
“That woman—”
They both spoke at the same time, only to stop mid-sentence. Then, nearly in sync, they each raised an eyebrow slightly.
“That woman?” Hanseo asked first. “What woman are you talking about?”
“What guy?” Eunseok shot back without backing down.
Silence settled between them again.
There’s some kind of misunderstanding here. The same thought crossed both their minds.
“…Looks like we need to talk.”
Hanseo said slowly. Eunseok nodded.
“Who should go first?”
Seated across from him, Hanseo loosened his tie just a little and asked. But before Eunseok could answer, Hanseo spoke again.
“I’ll go first. What exactly have you been talking about with that guy lately?”
It was a blunt, no-nonsense question. The directness stung a little, but Eunseok had questions of his own.
“What guy?”
“After work today, instead of coming straight home, you stayed behind in the Guiding Room with that guy. And it’s not the first time either. What are you two talking about so privately in there that you can’t say anywhere else?”
Eunseok wasn’t the least bit surprised that Hanseo had tracked his every move. It didn’t even bother him. What did irritate him was Hanseo’s use of the word ‘privately.’
“If I tried to explain, it’d take forever. And it wasn’t anything especially secretive.”
Talking about other Guides potentially joining gate raids wasn’t exactly a topic fit for long-winded explanations right now. But it seemed Hanseo took that as him dodging the question.
“Then go ahead—tell me the long version. I don’t mind.”
Eunseok could tell Hanseo was really bothered by the few times he’d been alone with Seo Beomgyu in the Guiding Room.
And yet, the man who’s worked up over that comes home reeking of someone else’s perfume? His irritation, which had finally begun to settle, flared right back up again.
“And you, Choi Hanseo—what exactly were you doing to come back with someone else’s perfume on you?”
He snapped instead of answering. Hanseo made a strange face. Eunseok tried to read the emotion behind the unfamiliar expression.
But before he could, Hanseo covered his mouth with a hand—then let out a soft huh, and laughed faintly.
“You’re seriously laughing right now?”
He asked, dumbfounded. The laughter in Hanseo’s eyes only deepened. He dropped his hand from his mouth and swept a hand through his hair.
“Don’t tell me… you’re jealous?”
Hanseo asked, his voice light, eyes and lips both wearing a smile heavy with amusement.
The words hit him so hard he couldn’t even breathe for a second. His throat tightened up.
“…Jealous? Don’t be ridiculous—!”
He fired back, one beat too late. And then Hanseo murmured, almost offhandedly:
“Well, I was jealous.”
“I waited for you all day, practically staring holes into the door, but you were off with that guy in the Guiding Room. Just the two of you. And not just once, either. You weren’t doing a real guiding session—he’s not a Hunter—so I couldn’t help wondering what you two were doing alone in there…I honestly debated barging in right then and there. But I figured you’d probably get mad if I did.”
The honesty in Hanseo’s words deflated the fight out of him. The anger that had surged just moments ago drained from his body, leaving his shoulders slack.
“So?” Hanseo asked again. “Were you jealous?”
“Not exactly jealous, I just…”
Eunseok murmured, rubbing his forehead. He felt strange, seeing himself get so worked up over something as trivial as watching Hanseo talk with another woman.
Hanseo silently watched him, waiting for him to go on. Sometimes the best way to fix a problem was just to tackle it head-on. Eunseok let out a faint sigh and forced himself to speak honestly, embarrassment be damned.
“I saw you talking with that female Guide a few times. You seemed… familiar with her. She’s an A-rank Guide, too. And I started wondering if maybe, before I came here, she was the one guiding you. That thought just…”
He trailed off, trying to choose his next words carefully. But nothing he came up with felt like it captured his feelings precisely.
“Just… what?” Hanseo pressed.
The way he was pushing for more was seriously annoying.
“It just made me feel weird, okay?”
Eunseok finished vaguely, his voice tight with discomfort.
“That does sound a lot like jealousy, though?”
Choi Hanseo pointed it out with a wide, spinning grin like he found the whole thing endlessly amusing. Eunseok shot him a fierce glare, then abruptly stood up.
“Eunseok.”
Hanseo grabbed his wrist and stood up as well, matching his gaze.
“That Guide came to me with a favor to ask. I tried turning her down, but she’s been annoyingly persistent the past few days—kept trailing after me. Looks like you caught a glimpse of that.”
“What kind of favor was it?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
