This isn’t right. Even if Cha Jae-woo had given permission, they should never be allowed into this house. No good would come of letting them in—only disaster.
Right now, those guys were out of their minds. Otherwise, they would never have even considered coming to Cha Jae-woo’s house. No matter that I was Cha Jae-woo’s Guide and living under his roof. Had they somehow grown emotionally closer to Cha Jae-woo because of me? What a joke. I hadn’t even gotten close to him yet—what did they think they were doing! In any case, the only logical conclusion was that those bastards must have been collectively high on something. I was determined to stop them from entering at all costs.
“Good evening! Nice to meet you for the first time!”
“Hello!”
“Good to see you again!”
Unfortunately, it all ended up just being wishful thinking.
No, to be fair, I did put in some effort. I immediately called them, trying to coax and dissuade them, and when that didn’t work, I even got angry, threatening them that I would absolutely not open the door. But Jo Ha-eon, who had answered the phone, was already in a taxi and showed no signs of backing down. The bastard sounded downright giddy. I would bet anything—he was already drunk.
Anyway, in that situation where my words held absolutely no weight, there was only one card left to play: Telling them that Cha Jae-woo himself didn’t want them to visit.
Even though I was currently living here, the true owner of the house was Cha Jae-woo. Even if they could ignore me, they would definitely think twice about ignoring him. It was the best move I had.
“I said it’s fine if they come.”
But then—out of nowhere—disaster struck. Cha Jae-woo deliberately, very deliberately, made sure to answer in a voice loud enough for Jo Ha-eon to hear over the phone, giving them permission himself.
It was like pouring gasoline onto a fire. Those bastards got incredibly excited, and from that moment on, they didn’t even pretend to listen to a word I said. They turned into complete bulldozers.
And so, having completely failed to block them, I was now standing awkwardly in a corner of the living room, bitterly watching them offer their bright, cheerful greetings. It was infuriating how they bowed their heads politely, not even sparing a glance in my direction, as if I were invisible, directing all their respect toward Cha Jae-woo.
“Yeah,”
Cha Jae-woo answered them lightly. Honestly, even though he had said they could come, I thought he’d just ignore them once they arrived. I felt bad thinking this way, but… well, that was the image of Cha Jae-woo I had in my mind.
Even that turned out to be wrong. Not only did he not ignore them, but he even answered them formally—using polite speech. It felt ridiculous to be so surprised about something so trivial, but objectively speaking, Cha Jae-woo wasn’t exactly known for his manners.
Sure, he used formal language sometimes. For instance, when speaking to someone like the Guide Association President, Jang Gijun. But even then, it didn’t sound polite. It was the kind of tone that somehow managed to sound subtly condescending, as if he were looking down on the other person. I didn’t know for sure, but Jang Gijun had probably lost his temper more than once because of Cha Jae-woo’s attitude.
Anyway, when Cha Jae-woo first met me, he had spoken informally without a second thought. In that sense, I felt a twinge of betrayal. He hadn’t even pretended to use polite speech with me. Now he was being this nice to them? Who was he kidding? When I first greeted him, he hadn’t even acknowledged me.
“We did our best to bring something with us, even if it’s not much.”
The injustice of it all was overwhelming. It wasn’t until I saw Jo Ha-eon shamelessly closing the distance between himself and Cha Jae-woo that I managed to shake off my petty resentment.
He hadn’t received proper Guiding for so long that he had been half out of his mind. Of course he didn’t have the luxury of caring about whether someone used formal speech or not. The fact that I was getting jealous over something so trivial just made me feel pathetic.
I decided to shift my focus to the plastic bag Jo Ha-eon was carrying, which had the bright logo of XX Mart—the one near his house—printed clearly on it. Inside were beers, soju, and a few bags of snacks.
“You didn’t have to bring anything.”
Cha Jae-woo glanced at the bag briefly before giving a casual reply. I studied his expression carefully, but he really didn’t seem bothered by any of this.
‘……Why is he okay with this?’
It was honestly starting to seem suspicious. Letting people into his house, accepting those tacky snacks—it all seemed like the kind of thing he would normally hate. Why was everything going so smoothly?
Ah, maybe he secretly wished to hang out with people his own age? The age gap between us wasn’t that big, so maybe he thought it was a good opportunity… No, wait, five years is actually quite a lot, isn’t it? Ugh, I have no idea.
If not that, then maybe Cha Jae-woo had just been really bored lately. He did go out sometimes, but it wasn’t very often. Well, of course. Spending most of his time alone at home, he might have gotten lonely.
Once that thought crossed my mind, I started to feel a little guilty about trying so hard to block the guys. But surely, after a little time passed, Cha Jae-woo would understand where I was coming from. Provided these idiots didn’t cause too much trouble, that is.
I could bet my life that they would cause at least one incident while they were here. The real question was when it would happen, and whether it would be something minor enough that Cha Jae-woo would just let it slide.
…Please, let it all pass without disaster. Since it was too late to kick them out now, I had no choice but to compromise with reality and hope for the best.
“Come upstairs. We don’t really use this floor.”
In the meantime, Cha Jae-woo had already moved. He was heading toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Well, at least thanks to these idiots, I got to hear him speak in that rare, gentle tone, I thought—
“Hey, why is he mad? Were we not supposed to come? He said we could! Said it was fine!”
Jo Ha-eon was suddenly whispering right next to me. I flinched and shook my ear out, quickly stepping away from him. Then, I nervously glanced at Cha Jae-woo. He must have heard everything.
Thankfully, Cha Jae-woo pretended not to hear a thing. I nearly explained to them right then and there that Cha Jae-woo had freakishly sharp hearing, but I held back.
“He’s just being super nice right now,” I answered Jo Ha-eon’s question briefly instead. Honestly, I didn’t expect all three of them to look at me like I’d just said something terrifying.
“Maybe Haeyul’s sick or something?”
Park Yeon-ho asked with a genuinely concerned tone. How could they be even more affectionate than this? Was I the one who was sick for thinking otherwise? Just what exactly did they think of Cha Jae-woo?
I thought about telling them not to look at him so weirdly, but ultimately decided to just ignore them. If Cha Jae-woo weren’t standing right there, maybe I’d have said something, but there was no way I was going to start gossiping with him listening.
Soon, we all made it up to the second floor. The guys, who had looked visibly unsettled at the empty first floor, seemed to breathe a little easier once they saw that the second floor actually looked lived in.
Seriously, if they were going to be this scared, why did they even barge in? Their brains needed to be taken out and studied under a microscope—there had to be something wrong with them.
“……”
Swearing silently that if such research ever became a thing, I would absolutely volunteer them, I followed closely behind Cha Jae-woo. Where were we headed, though? The kitchen?
Well, it made sense. No matter how relaxed he might seem right now, I couldn’t imagine Cha Jae-woo letting a bunch of people get drunk on the living room floor. The dining table in the kitchen was huge anyway—easily big enough for everyone.
“Uh…”
“Ah. You’re here? It’s all ready, have a seat.”
But my assumption was way off.
No, to be fair, how could I have even imagined this? How was I supposed to guess that the housekeeper—who usually only showed up around mealtimes—would be here now, at this hour, in the kitchen, with the dining table absolutely piled with food?!
Spread before us were dishes far too exquisite to be considered mere drinking snacks. There were even bottles of expensive-looking wine and whiskey lined up, making the soju and beer Jo Ha-eon had brought seem utterly pathetic. There were so many different types of food and drink that my jaw practically hit the floor.
The guys looked stunned too, but definitely not as much as I did. It felt like I’d gotten my nose cut off right in front of my eyes.
How had they prepared all this while we were in the house without me noticing a thing? And when exactly did Cha Jae-woo tell the housekeeper to do this? Was she an Esper too? Maybe she had some sort of ability to hear everything happening in the house—or maybe she had some kind of cooking-related power.
Otherwise, there was no way she could’ve prepared all this in such a short time. That was the only reasonable conclusion. Of course, anyone else would probably call me crazy for thinking that.
“Wow, amazing…”
“When did you prepare all this…?”
“It’s my job. It didn’t take long. Enjoy yourselves.”
With those words, the housekeeper placed a plate of sashimi that looked so fresh it seemed like it had just been sliced, right in the middle of the table, then quietly left.
My mouth hung open. At this rate, it wouldn’t have been surprising if my jaw actually dislocated.
“Our Tto-yul… eats like this every day, huh?”
“……”
“Talk about a rags-to-riches story. If I’d known he was living this well, I would’ve just kicked back and relaxed a long time ago.”
But thanks to Jo Ha-eon, I didn’t get to stay stunned for long. He started messing around, scratching my jaw like I was some pet.
I shoved him away forcefully and backed off a few steps. Sure, I was used to them treating me like this, but I didn’t want Cha Jae-woo to see it.
No matter what, I couldn’t let that happen in front of him. It was too embarrassing. Even if no one else thought much of it, I wanted Cha Jae-woo to see me as a responsible, capable Guide. I couldn’t have him seeing me as a total kid.
“By the way, you look way better in person.”
“Ah.”
“The camera just doesn’t do you justice… Technology’s still got a long way to go, huh…”
“……”
Amidst my unnecessarily determined thoughts, Park Yeon-ho’s dazed voice cut through. Despite barging in uninvited and now showing full-body signs of discomfort, he must have decided to just roll with it, because he started spouting nonsense too.
Meanwhile, Kim Geon-ung was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious he was wandering around, snooping through the house without even asking the owner for permission. Knowing him, it wasn’t surprising—he always started by exploring people’s homes wherever he went. A complete and utter disaster.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do with these idiots?’
My face was turning bright red. I was dying of secondhand embarrassment. Why was I the only one feeling ashamed? Did those bastards even have functioning brains?
“Sit down.”
At least Cha Jae-woo’s face hadn’t hardened. Seeing his calm expression, I let out a small sigh.
But the relief didn’t last long. A subtle but undeniable feeling of irritation started creeping in. Why the hell was he being so nice? He wouldn’t even properly answer me most of the time!
Ridiculously enough, here I was—jealous again. I let out a hollow laugh. At this point, I was losing my mind over nothing.
Still, I felt it was understandable. Back when I couldn’t even guide him properly, Cha Jae-woo had never been kind to me. He barely even responded when I talked to him.
Was it because I looked too young, and he didn’t think he needed to show me any respect? No, that would just be unfair. Was he saying these guys somehow looked more mature than me?
A million stupid thoughts ran through my head. In an effort to shut them up, I dragged Jo Ha-eon and Park Yeon-ho to chairs and forced them to sit down. And just in time, I also grabbed Kim Geon-ung, who had been leisurely wandering back after apparently finishing his grand tour.
I was breathing heavily—not because I was angry, but because shoving around these big guys was exhausting!
“Feel free to speak casually! You talk casually to Haeyul too!”
Hearing Kim Geon-ung’s comment made me pout.
‘Do you think you’re the same as me?’
You’re strangers to him—of course he keeps some distance. I was his Guide from the beginning, so he treated me differently.
The feeling of being envious of Cha Jae-woo’s kind, polite tone toward them faded away. I comforted myself by thinking I was receiving special treatment in my own way.
‘Yeah, that’s it. That’s why—’
“Alright then.”
“…….”
“Why?”
“No reason.”
But the little effort I put into justifying his behavior crumbled instantly. Cha Jae-woo dropped the formal speech with absurd ease. As usual, everything difficult only seemed to apply to me.
The intruders quickly settled into place. Feeling more welcomed than expected, the bastards got even more excited. The plastic bag Jo Ha-eon had been carrying had long since been abandoned. With expensive booze and luxurious snacks spread out in front of them, there was no reason to bother with it anymore.
Cha Jae-woo told them they could eat and drink as much as they liked, effectively unleashing them without a care. Naturally, they didn’t hesitate.
I wasn’t much different. Even as my insides burned with anxiety and growing jealousy, I kept drinking. The liquor I chugged down, something I’d never even seen before, was ridiculously strong but oddly sweet. It didn’t seem like a good sign, but I decided not to worry about it. I was sure everyone else felt the same.
And after a while—
“Y-you’re a really… nice guy. Honestly, I-I was a little scared, you know?”
Jo Ha-eon, mixing drinks left and right, started slurring and clinging to Cha Jae-woo, looking ready to nuzzle his face into Cha Jae-woo’s shoulder at any moment. Given his personality, Cha Jae-woo should’ve shoved him away immediately, but for some reason, today he was letting it slide, as if he had sworn to keep his temper in check.
“Hey, why the hell do you look like such a bastard on TV? You seem totally normal in person.”
Meanwhile, across from me, Park Yeon-ho was throwing out what sounded like an insult disguised as a compliment about Cha Jae-woo.
He could definitely hear all this. Should I say something now?
As I debated silently, my eyes met Cha Jae-woo’s. …Damn it. I regretted not briefing them on how to act around Espers beforehand.
“…….”
At least the one causing the least trouble was Kim Geon-ung. Normally, he would drink like a lunatic and pass out early—basically human alcohol waste. But today, he was practically worshipping his one drink like it was a religious ceremony. Despite that, his eyes were burning with intensity, and I had no idea what he was thinking.
If he could just stay sober, that would be great, but something about it didn’t sit right with me. I decided I needed to keep an eye on Kim Geon-ung too.
God, there were just too many idiots to manage. The drinking session had barely even started, and I already wanted it to be over.
“Ah…”
But the one I kept worrying about most was still Cha Jae-woo. He was just quietly observing everything. The others might not have noticed, but I could tell. Cha Jae-woo was starting to get bored of the whole situation.
No wonder—while everyone else was getting drunk, he was perfectly sober. Even I was starting to lose my mind in this chaos. Was his alcohol tolerance just insane? He’d definitely drunk quite a bit. Then again, he did seem like the type to handle his liquor well.
Still, I couldn’t help but worry. I watched nervously as Cha Jae-woo took another straight shot of vodka, neat, without even ice, and slowly spoke up.
“Are you sure you should be drinking like that?”
I tried my best to speak clearly, but thanks to the alcohol, my words came out slower and a bit slurred. Today of all days, the alcohol tasted dangerously good, and I had definitely drunk more than usual.
Rolling my heavy tongue, I stared at Cha Jae-woo. He didn’t answer immediately, just looked straight at the amount I was drinking.
“It’s fine.”
The answer that came from him sounded perfectly composed. But the moment he downed another glass, a fresh wave of unease rose in my chest.
“You’re drinking, like, waaay—no, way too much, I think?”
“I’m not drunk, though.”
“But still, you sh-shouldn’t drink this much… I think… yeah…”
Why the hell was my pronunciation getting worse and worse? Anyone would think it was me who needed worrying about, not him.
“……This isn’t blood.”
Maybe that’s why. Cha Jae-woo gave a strange answer, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smirk.
I blanked out for a moment, confused, before suddenly remembering—not long ago, Cha Jae-woo had gone off the rails after drinking Feleil’s blood. He must have thought I was worried a similar incident might happen again tonight.
“Who said anything about that?!”
As soon as I realized what he meant, my voice shot up in protest. Embarrassingly enough, my face flared up red too. I had almost managed to forget about that disaster, but the moment he brought it up, it all came rushing back, vivid as if it had just happened.
And with alcohol clouding my brain, I couldn’t even control my expression or reactions. Damn it, I shouldn’t have drunk anything… Too late for regrets now.
“Were you worried about that?”
“……”
As if! I wanted to snap back at him immediately, but I forced my mouth shut. With my face practically about to explode, anything I said now would just sound ridiculous.
I quickly tore my gaze away from Cha Jae-woo. Nope. Not talking. He can do whatever he wants. I firmly decided that.
“……?”
But the moment I looked away, I noticed something strange. It was way too quiet. When I glanced around, I found all the others staring straight at us.
“What. What is it.”
“This vibe’s weird…”
Jo Ha-eon narrowed his eyes suspiciously. What was weird? Did my side effects show up or something? That brief thought made me nervously glance around again—
Whack! Park Yeon-ho suddenly smacked Jo Ha-eon on the shoulder.
“Ow! Why’d you hit me!”
“Checking if you’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk!”
“I meant me, dumbass. Though, judging by how loud you still are, you’re probably not that wasted yet.”
It sounded weird to outsiders, but for me, it was business as usual. Whenever Park Yeon-ho got properly drunk, he’d laugh at literally everything Jo Ha-eon said—even just random yelling would have him cracking up. Since he was still complaining instead of laughing like an idiot, it meant he was still relatively sober.
‘Hey, friends, wouldn’t it be a good idea to go home while you’re still this sober?’
I bit my tongue to stop myself from throwing that comment into their nonsense conversation. Meanwhile, I made sure to put a little more distance between myself and Cha Jae-woo. Part of me worried that being too close to him might’ve looked strange to the others.
“But seriously, I still can’t believe it.”
As I moved away from Cha Jae-woo, I ended up closer to Kim Geon-ung, who was sitting across from me. And of course, he opened his mouth, trying to act all serious—which did not suit him one bit. My eyes instinctively narrowed in suspicion.
When he glanced sideways at me, my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t know what he was about to say, but I was suddenly overcome with the urgent, desperate need to shut him up.
“Our good ol’ Confucian-boy Tto-yul… is now a Guide…”
Ah. So that’s why! No wonder I wanted to sew his mouth shut the moment he started talking. I could already feel a storm coming.
“Hey!”
“The same kid who used to cry and scream that even brushing fingers meant you had to get married—our precious Tto-yul—”
“Shut up! That was ages ago!”
“A Guide, he says! A Guide! The kid who guarded the sanctity of his hands like a holy relic, now handing it out like candy!”
“HEY!!”
God, should I just kill him right now…? It might actually be justified.
Because the moment he started talking, the boredom that had been slowly creeping over Cha Jae-woo’s face completely vanished. His eyes actually lit up.
At this point, it was practically my duty to shut Kim Geon-ung’s damn mouth.
