His stomach twisted even harder, the nausea rising like a wave. The examination room felt like it was closing in on him. Eun-jo stumbled back, hand clamped over his mouth, until his back hit the cold wall.
Get it together.
It’s better than letting everyone die. Shutting his eyes tight, Eun-jo crouched down on the floor. He could feel the staff watching him, but at this point, it didn’t matter anymore.
Beep. Beep.
The monitor’s beeping slowed. The results were coming in. Breathing felt like drowning—thick, heavy, impossible. Gasping for air, Eun-jo brought both hands to his lips, trying to steady himself.
Then—BANG! The door to the exam room slammed open.
“Yeo Eun-jo.”
Park Se-yul stormed in, long strides cutting across the room. His eyes locked on Eun-jo immediately. Without hesitation, he grabbed the collar of Eun-jo’s shirt and hauled him to his feet, like he was pulling someone up from the depths.
Eun-jo’s face was a wreck. His eyes were red, like he was holding back tears, and his plush lips were curled inward. The moment Park Se-yul saw him like that, something snapped in his eyes.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“…What are you talking about…”
“Do you even realize what you’re doing right now?”
He’d rushed down here straight after hearing what happened in the meeting with Director Park Joo-hee. And when the alert came through his pager—a team guide compatibility test in progress—his anger exploded. He didn’t even remember running here.
The words burned at the back of his throat, ready to explode—but when he saw Eun-jo’s pale, bloodless face, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t throw it all at him. Not when he wasn’t even sure he could handle the consequences. Forcing down the fury, Park Se-yul spoke through clenched teeth.
“I told you to wait.”
“I just… I just wanted to check.”
“Check what?”
Eun-jo inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself.
“If you can receive Guiding from someone else.”
Every word made the veins in Se-yul’s forehead bulge. His face twisted in real time—more frightening than Eun-jo had ever imagined. Instinctively, he dropped his gaze to the floor and mumbled.
“I’m not saying you’re going to… just wanted to see if you could…”
“That’s—”
A large hand gripped Eun-jo’s cheek, holding him in place, forcing him to meet his eyes. Park Se-yul’s voice dropped, grinding out every word like it physically pained him.
“Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
His eyes were filled with disappointment and fury, burning with intensity. And beneath that—like an echo—flashed the memory of that dream. The one where his place vanished the moment he stopped trying.
He had to do something before it was too late. He was still the team’s Guide. If there was even the slightest chance of saving them, then he had to try everything—no matter how much it suffocated him. Slowly, Eun-jo nodded.
“…I know.”
The second the words left his mouth, Park Se-yul grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the examination room. A staff member called out behind them, but Se-yul didn’t stop. He stormed across the hall, straight into the restroom.
The moment they stepped inside, he shoved Eun-jo into a stall. The door slammed shut behind them.
The space was tight with both of them crammed in. Se-yul pushed Eun-jo up against the door and caged him in with his arms. His eyes bore down on him like a storm.
“You know?”
Eun-jo panted, meeting his gaze. Seeing the exhaustion on his face made something in Se-yul snap.
“And you still say shit like that?”
Before Eun-jo could even react, Se-yul yanked off his shirt. His belt came undone, pants dropped—everything happened in seconds. Cold fingers slid in, making Eun-jo suck in a breath.
Se-yul grabbed his cock, rough and unrelenting, dragging his hand from base to tip. A strained moan slipped from Eun-jo’s lips.
“Ugh…”
It wasn’t a caress—it was punishment. And yet, his body responded anyway, swelling in Se-yul’s grip. Blood rushed south; he bit down hard, eyes squeezed shut.
“You really think this—this—is something I can do with another man?”
Se-yul’s fingers pressed against the slit, circling, pushing just enough to sting. Sharp pain shot through him.
But the pleasure came, too. Liquid welled at the tip, slicking Se-yul’s hand. He stared at it like it disgusted him, then spat his words.
“Leaking already, and you still think it’s okay?”
“Ah…!”
“You can’t even hold it in. Doesn’t matter where or when—soon as it builds up, you have to release it. You think anyone else is gonna take care of that for you?”
“Ugh…!”
“I imprinted on you, Eun-jo. I can’t receive Guiding from anyone else.”
Se-yul pressed down, hard, like he was going to break him. Eun-jo’s eyes flew wide open.
“Haa… Team Leader…!”
His breath hitched as that strange, tingling pleasure surged through him. He flailed, but Se-yul caught both wrists and pinned them above his head.
Se-yul’s hand moved faster now, stroking from root to tip with ruthless precision. Pressure built fast—too fast. When Eun-jo’s thighs clamped shut, Se-yul shoved a leg between them, forcing them apart.
“Answer me properly.”
His voice dropped low, dangerous.
“Yeo Eun-jo.”
The demand was sharp. Eun-jo bit down on his lip, hard. On another day, he might’ve played along—might’ve said something easier. But after the Imprint, after everything… if he were in Se-yul’s place and heard his Guide say they wanted out?
Yeah, he’d lose his mind too.
Whether it was because of the dream at dawn or the relentless anxiety gnawing at him, his eyes burned.
“Sh…”
Eun-jo lifted his head, blinking rapidly. His eyelids stung, hot and raw.
“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”
As tears welled up and spilled over, Park Se-yul’s hand came to a halt. That damn bastard. Eun-jo shot him a glare and muttered under his breath.
“Think carefully.”
“I did think. Over and over!”
Gasping as he fought against his bound wrists, Eun-jo trembled.
“What if Tae-seok starts overloading?”
Jung Tae-seok’s pained expression clung to his mind like a curse. Every time he shut his eyes, Tae-seok’s face appeared, overlapping with others—Park Se-yul, Jin Mu-seong, Lee Sang-heon. Eun-jo screamed as if his heart were being ripped apart.
“What if Team Leader, Jin Mu-seong, and even our poor puppy all end up bedridden?!”
Tear after tear streamed down his face. Though unsteady on his feet, Eun-jo’s glare never wavered. At last, Park Se-yul released his wrist.
“So…”
He gently held Eun-jo’s cheek in one hand.
“You’ll have me assign someone else to Team A?”
“If I have to.”
Eun-jo turned his face away as he answered. Even through the tears, it was clear he had no intention of backing down.
Maybe I should just kill him. The image of the man lying unconscious in the examination room flashed through Park Se-yul’s mind. A savage laugh escaped him. Even if he destroyed everything now, Yeo Eun-jo would crawl back, dragging in another Guide like a man chasing hope.
“Do whatever you want. I’ll do the same.”
In one fluid motion, he flipped Eun-jo over. Pinning him down so he couldn’t move an inch, Se-yul slid his hand lower.
His fingers pried between the firm buttocks. Eun-jo twisted, struggling.
“Don’t! Don’t—!”
Without mercy, he pushed two fingers into the tightly clenched entrance. As he pressed in deep, rough and unrelenting, Eun-jo cried out, “Aheuk!”
The entrance, dry and unprepared, should’ve been eased with saliva, but Se-yul rammed his fingers in anyway, swelling the tight rim. The friction turned everything red, and sharp cries spilled from Eun-jo’s mouth. No matter how much he tried to push him away, Se-yul didn’t let up. With nowhere else to go, Eun-jo dropped his head against the door.
The real problem was his own body—so helplessly responsive. As if searching inside with precision, Park Se-yul pressed against the most sensitive spot.
“Huh, ah…!”
His legs lost strength, his cock rising uncontrollably as heat pooled in his gut. Se-yul buried his fingers even deeper, leaving imprints on the soft flesh, then bit gently into Eun-jo’s neck.
Like a wild beast, his breath came hot and ragged. Their bodies tangled, heat rising as muscle met muscle. Remembering the sex they’d had before, Eun-jo’s body loosened, softening as it welcomed his fingers.
“Haa, ah…! Aheueut…!”
Pleasure surged, unrelenting. Before he even realized it, he was grinding down, desperate to take more. His back arched. Every time his vision whited out and then dimmed, Eun-jo’s toes curled tight. He cried as if overwhelmed—by pleasure, by pain, by grief.
“Stop, heuk…! Ah…!”
As the edge of climax loomed, Eun-jo writhed beneath him.
“Aheu, please…! Ah, heuk! Team Leader…!”
Park Se-yul curled his fingers like a hook, fiercely teasing that spot inside. Every time he hit it, Eun-jo’s entire body spasmed. Sliding his leg between Eun-jo’s shaking thighs, Se-yul moved his hand faster.
“Ah, ah…!”
Suddenly, his inner walls clenched tight. At that exact moment, a hot spurt of white fluid burst from Eun-jo’s lower body, spilling across the floor.
