What the hell is even going on right now?
Watching someone jerking off on my bed—that was enough to shake even my usually unshakable nerves.
White hair. Crimson eyes. From the looks of it, there was no doubt—it was Baek Beom.
If he’d turned back into a human, he should’ve been scrambling to get away. So why the hell was he doing that?
Did his body change back, but his mind stay the same? If this was some instinctive behavior left over from when he was a beast…
…No. Still doesn’t make sense. And seriously, of all places—my bed?
I tried to rationalize it, but irritation bubbled up, twisting my expression into a scowl. What the hell was that bastard thinking, getting off in someone else’s bed?
“Hey.”
Baek Beom called out to me.
“What’re you staring at?”
He had the nerve to frown, like I was the one being rude. Like I had walked in on him at the wrong time. That shameless attitude…
My clenched fists were shaking from the fury building up inside me. And that disgusting thing he was proudly putting on display—it was making my eye twitch.
“…Get in there.”
“Huh?”
Maybe he didn’t get what I meant, but the moment he stood up and tried walking toward me, I snapped.
“Get your ass in the bathroom! Now!”
“W-What?!”
He must’ve finally noticed the way my fist was trembling, because he bolted for the bathroom without another word.
“I’m in! I’m in already!”
“Take a damn shower. And when you come out, you’d better be covered. If I so much as see that filthy thing again, I’ll cut it off—got it?”
I heard him muttering something under his breath from inside.
When the hell did he even turn back into a human?
Letting out a sigh, I looked around the room. There was a wallet I didn’t recognize and some flyers scattered across the bed.
As I was tidying up, a knock came at the door—knock knock. Great. My head was already spinning thanks to Baek Beom. Now who the hell was it?
“Delivery! Sullungtang!”
“Ha… haha… hahahaha…”
He ordered food, too? Of course he did. I couldn’t even be mad anymore—it was just absurd.
“…Huh? You’re someone new today.”
When I opened the door, the delivery guy tilted his head, confused.
Just how often had this guy been ordering food here for the delivery guy to remember his face?
Gritting my teeth, I tossed the food onto the table.
“…Unbelievable. Seriously.”
I thought he was a sweet, obedient puppy. Turns out, he’s just a horny mutt trashing my place.
Should’ve dealt with this sooner.
Maybe I still can. But then… what about the dog?
Guess I’ll wait. I’ll ask when exactly he changed back, then decide.
I swallowed down my rising frustration and waited for Baek Beom to come out.
***
“Damn, this place is good!”
I just sat there on the couch, blankly staring at Baek Beom as he slurped down sullungtang like nothing had happened.
Even now, scarfing down soup like everything was fine—it made all the anger I’d just buried surge back up.
The second he came out of the bathroom, he made a beeline for the table. He didn’t even acknowledge me—just grabbed a seat and started tearing into the packaging, still dripping wet, towel barely hanging off his hips like some wild animal.
Water was already pooling on the floor, and his hair kept dripping like a damn faucet.
Goddammit.
The towel barely covering him couldn’t handle the way he was moving around to eat, and it slipped loose—just slid right off, leaving nothing to the imagination.
That was it.
I got up, grabbed a clean towel, and hurled it straight into his face.
“Mmph! What the hell? I’m trying to eat here!”
He shouted, pissed that I’d interrupted his precious mealtime.
“…Cover yourself.”
“Huh?”
“Just cover. That.”
I couldn’t even look at him as I spoke, turning my gaze away in disgust.
“Why? What’s the big deal? You saw my junk all the time when I was a wolf, didn’t you? Doesn’t it hit you? Seeing that tiny little thing grow this much?”
As a human, Baek Beom was an even bigger pain in the ass.
That smug, annoying tone pushed me over the edge. I slammed my fist down on the desk—BANG. Baek Beom flinched, glancing between the desk and my face.
Realizing I was dead serious, he quickly yanked the towel back up to cover himself.
Good. Should’ve listened when I gave you the chance.
“If only he wasn’t so damn pretty… All that stupid strength on top of it…”
Baek Beom kept grumbling, but that didn’t stop him from shoveling food into his mouth like a man possessed.
The way he kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye was almost laughable. Just a second ago he was acting all smug and sassy, but turns out, he was way more skittish than expected.
He was scarfing down food like someone was chasing him, lips smeared with broth and rice. Without thinking, I reached out with a napkin. Baek Beom flinched hard at the gesture.
“What! I’ve been behaving!”
“…You’ve got something on your face.”
“Ugh…!”
Instead of taking the napkin, he just stuck out his tongue and started licking around his mouth. The way he wriggled and whimpered reminded me of how he used to act when he begged for Guiding. Without meaning to, I leaned in and dabbed at his mouth myself.
He froze like a statue but let me clean him up. As soon as my hand pulled away, he dove right back into his food like nothing happened.
He eats like a machine…
I rested my chin in my hand, watching him go at it. Strangely, the irritation I’d felt earlier eased a bit. Maybe it was because he reminded me of the little pup he used to be.
At this rate, anyone would think I’d starved him. I was sure I’d left plenty of food behind… I glanced at the empty food bowl off to the side. Sparkling clean. Guess he’s just got a big appetite.
“Looks like you’re done. Can we talk now?”
“…Still eating.”
He was clearly stalling, lazily stirring the soup with his spoon to drag out the moment.
Enough of that.
I stood and started clearing the dishes. Baek Beom shot me a glare, his signature smug expression written all over his face. He didn’t even bother hiding how annoyed he was that I dared to move his food.
“So. When exactly did you turn back into a human? Actually—who even are you?”
I already knew the answer, but asking outright would make him suspicious. Better to pretend I didn’t know and let him talk.
“…Why the hell should I tell you that?”
He crossed his legs and lifted his chin with a smirk, trying hard to look cocky.
…Amazing how fast he forgot how scared he was five minutes ago.
Clearly, he wasn’t planning on answering anytime soon. Which meant I needed to shut that smug mouth of his before he could keep running it.
I slowly stood up and clenched my fist.
“W-Wait, are you gonna hit me?!”
What even was that?
Baek Beom practically quoted some old cartoon animal, instantly uncrossing his legs and watching me like I was a ticking time bomb.
For someone with a massive build, the way he shrank back and peeked at me like a scared puppy… weirdly suited him. Annoying as hell, yeah, but it made me remember how cute he’d been as a dog.
Watching him hunch his shoulders and shrink in on himself… it made me feel like I was the bad guy here. Like I was bullying some poor helpless animal.
He’s the one who screwed up, so why am I the one feeling guilty?
Just like that, all my will to hit him disappeared. I sighed and dropped back into my seat. They say it’s dangerous to get attached—guess they weren’t kidding. After living together for over a week, I’d grown way too soft on him.
“Just answer the damn question.”
“……”
Baek Beom glanced at me, then finally opened his mouth.
“…Baek Beom. I’m an S-Rank Esper. My ability is werewolf-type. I was low on Guiding, so I went looking for a Guide and heard there was an S-Rank one out there.”
“And?”
“So, I figured I’d kidnap the S-Rank Guide and force them to give me Guiding… but I didn’t get any. And I kinda lost my mind…”
“Couldn’t you have just gone to the Guide Center like a normal person?”
“Are you kidding me?! They’d lock me up and use me like some kind of weapon! There’s no way they’d just let an S-Rank like me walk free!”
He put extra emphasis on S-Rank, clearly hoping to impress me. Too bad for him—I already had two S-Ranks around. One more wasn’t going to faze me. I stayed stone-faced, and Baek Beom’s excitement deflated like a balloon.
“…Anyway, I lost it and charged in here. You knocked me out, I ran off, and I guess I passed out somewhere. Then I transformed into a wolf ‘cause I was still low on Guiding.”
“A wolf? Not a puppy?”
“A wolf!”
He was so tiny and cute, I genuinely thought he’d been a puppy. Guess I was wrong.
“Fine, whatever. Keep talking.”
“At first, I wasn’t even conscious. But after you patched me up and gave me some Guiding, I started coming back to myself…”
Wait.
“So basically… you were already back to your senses from the moment you woke up here?”
“…Yeah, pretty much?”
“So, while you were eating, sleeping, and even doing that… you were totally conscious the whole time?”
“Y-Yeah… I guess?”
That shameless reply made my jaw clench so hard my teeth ground together with a crack. Baek Beom jumped to his feet and quickly backed away.
“I was gonna tell you, I swear!”
“You were?”
“I was gonna say something once I was fully healed…”
At the word healed, I instinctively glanced down to check his leg—then quickly looked away.
I’d seriously screwed up.
Should’ve tossed him some clothes first…
The towel Baek Beom had been using to cover himself slipped off the moment he stood, dropping to the floor. Which meant his—everything—was now completely exposed.
And worse… he was hard.
I was too stunned to hide my reaction.
What part of our conversation just now was supposed to be arousing?
We didn’t even do anything—why is it standing up?! Is this some weird werewolf thing where he’s constantly in heat or something?!
I couldn’t handle it anymore. I turned and made a beeline for the wardrobe. Forget talking—my eyes kept drifting down there and my brain was short-circuiting.
“What the hell? Where are you going? Hey!”
I heard him shouting behind me, but I didn’t turn around. I had zero interest in looking at that thing—standing proud with no shame at all, like it had a mind of its own.
I yanked open the wardrobe and grabbed the biggest black t-shirt and pair of pants I could find.
These should be big enough… probably.
And then—
“Hey!”
I felt him move in behind me. A hand reached out—and without thinking, I grabbed it, spun, and flipped him over.
“Ack!”
The throw landed clean. Baek Beom hit the floor with a solid thud.
“…Shit. Sorry. Reflex.”
I hadn’t meant to do it. He snuck up on me, and my body reacted on instinct. I looked down at him sprawled out and groaning in pain—and though I apologized, I couldn’t stop the corner of my lips from twitching upward.
I’d wanted to deck him earlier. Didn’t think it’d happen like this, but… satisfying, honestly.
“Y-You…!”
His face burned red as he scrambled up, grabbed my arm, and yanked me down with him.
“I didn’t mean to—I just—wait, what—?”
I didn’t even get to finish. The next thing I knew, he’d pulled me on top of him, or rather, beneath him—legs straddling my hips.
I considered struggling… but held back.
Baek Beom hovered over me with that smug-ass grin, looking way too pleased with himself.
“…What the hell is this supposed to be?”
“You attacked me first. I’m just responding in kind.”
The way he said it—completely shameless—made my blood pressure spike again. But I gritted my teeth and held back. I had been the one to attack first, even if it wasn’t intentional.
“…That was a reflex. Muscle memory. So don’t sneak up behind me again. If you need to grab me, do it from the front.”
“You beat the crap out of me in your sleep, too, by the way. You really need to fix that. If I’d been some random guy, I’d be in a full-body cast by now.”
I hit him in my sleep? No way.
I frowned, confused.
“I don’t hit unless someone hits first.”
“Yeah? That’s not what it felt like…”
Baek Beom muttered under his breath and looked away, as if he’d said too much.
“Anyway, get off me.”
“Nah—ugh!”
I braced my elbow against the floor and tried to sit up. As I did, my knee lifted—and landed right where it shouldn’t.
Right into Baek Beom’s junk.
“Ghh! Y-You bastard…!”
His face turned beet red, eyes watering as he stared daggers at me. Judging from that expression, I’d nailed him hard.
But somehow… he was still hard.
“…Sorry. I’ll move. Just go to the bathroom and—wait, what the hell are you doing now?”
Baek Beom pressed himself against my thigh. And started grinding.
“…This is your fault.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s your fault… so take responsibility.”
