Who else but a goddamn mutt—panting like a beast and grinding up against me like it was instinct—Baek Beom looked completely out of his mind.
“Haa… Feels so good… Can’t you give me some Guiding? Please?”
“…Get off me. Now!”
The fuck is wrong with this guy…
I’d barely held it together when he jerked himself off on my bed. And now, instead of apologizing, he was getting all handsy? My blood was boiling.
“…Why not? Don’t you want it too? We could… do it together…”
“Baek Beom. This is your last warning—cut it out!”
His hand slid down to my crotch, fingers fiddling with my buckle like he was trying to undo it. I blocked him with my hand, but he just smirked, lips curling into a smug grin.
Then, without hesitation, he ducked his head between my legs. When I looked down, he had his face right up against my groin, tongue out, licking the back of my hand like some perverted dog.
Fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do with this bastard?
“…Let’s feel good together. Yeah?”
“……”
They say if you write ‘patience’ three times in your heart, you can keep yourself from committing murder. Yeah, well—I’m not that noble. All I could think about was ending this freak right here and now.
I grabbed a fistful of Baek Beom’s hair—his tongue still on my hand—and yanked him up without a second thought.
His eyes went wide with surprise, and for a moment, I hesitated. Just a moment. Then I threw a punch straight at his face—or at least I thought I did.
“You bastard—!”
“Whimper…”
Too bad the coward transformed into a damn puppy right before it landed.
Shrunken down in an instant, Baek Beom slipped from my grip, scrambling away. Un-fucking-believable. Did he really shapeshift just to dodge a punch? Really? Did he think I wouldn’t hit him just because he turned into a dog?
“Woof! Woof! Whimper…”
I expected him to run far, but no—he stayed close, circling near me and whining like a kicked pup. Even knowing it was still Baek Beom inside, I couldn’t help feeling a tiny pang of concern. What if he actually got hurt?
But then he did that, and any shred of sympathy I had evaporated.
He sat there, licking his own half-exposed pink lower half, whining like he was in pain.
“……”
And those eyes—big and pitiful—weren’t innocent or pure. They were full of blatant, shameless lust. That was no helpless animal. That was a man looking up at me with nothing but twisted desire.
Yeah, no. That wasn’t a puppy. That was still Baek Beom. I couldn’t let myself forget that.
Don’t be fooled by the cute act.
Sure, he looked adorable, but inside he was still the same depraved bastard, overflowing with sick fantasies.
I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
“Whi—whimper?”
He dangled in the air, legs flailing, and I stared at him hard.
When I first brought him back, I figured I’d deal with him once he snapped out of it. Now that he clearly had, I should’ve taken care of it. But I just… couldn’t move.
Fuck. I got attached.
I thought I’d be able to end it cleanly once he came to his senses. A dangerous, useless liability like him—it was better to eliminate the threat early. I really believed I’d have no hesitation when the time came.
But turns out, I’d grown more attached than I thought.
Especially when he looked like this—soft fur, big eyes. It made it harder to do what needed to be done.
Too late to kill him now. But I couldn’t pretend nothing was wrong and keep him around either. If it had come to this, then it was better to kick him out. And if he ever tried to go after Kim Yong-ha again, I wouldn’t hesitate next time.
With my mind made up, I opened the front door.
“…Hey!”
Just as I was about to toss him out, Baek Beom turned back into a human, slipped out of my grip, and slammed the door shut behind him. Then he glared at me, chest heaving.
“What the hell’s your problem?”
“You heartless bastard… How could you even think about kicking out an adorable little wolf like me, huh?”
Adorable…?
I stared at him, completely dumbfounded. While I stood there trying to process the bullshit he just said, Baek Beom tried to slip past me and back inside.
I grabbed him by the collar and shoved him right back out.
“Ack! That hurt!”
He yelped as he tumbled out the door. Unbelievable. I hadn’t even used full strength—just a shove, out of some lingering sentiment. But of course, he didn’t appreciate the mercy.
“Get. Out.”
“Hey! HEY!”
I turned to close the door without another word.
“I have the Book of Wishes!”
I froze.
The Book of Wishes? Did I just hear that right?
I cracked the door open just a sliver. Baek Beom was still outside, huffing and glaring daggers at me. Honestly, I wanted to slam it shut again—but his words were still ringing in my ears.
“The Book… of Wishes?”
“Yeah. The Book of Wishes. You said you wanted it, right?”
Standing there all smug like he hadn’t just gotten tossed out, Baek Beom tilted his chin up, arrogance practically dripping off him.
The Book of Wishes…
Yeah, I was curious about it. I’d definitely been interested. But how the hell did he know that?
I walked straight up to him and grabbed a fistful of his hair.
“Oww—what the hell! Let go of me!”
“Shut it and get inside. Before I change my mind.”
“Ugh…!”
He must’ve really wanted back in, because even with me dragging him by the hair, he followed without a fight.
I sat him down on the couch. Baek Beom pouted like a kicked puppy and glared at me, arms crossed.
“So? You’re telling me you have it? And how exactly do you know I want it?”
“You said it.”
“Me?”
That can’t be right.
Baek Beom looked genuinely offended at my disbelief.
“You said it in your sleep! All night, over and over—‘Book of Wishes, Book of Wishes…’ It was nonstop. Drove me crazy.”
He stuck a pinky in his ear and scratched like the memory irritated him. I had to fight to stay calm.
“I said that?”
“You totally did. And when I asked if you really wanted it, you even nodded in your sleep.”
I had no idea I talked in my sleep, much less about that. First I’d ever heard of it.
So now I knew how he found out. The bigger question was—
“Why the hell do you have it?”
At that, Baek Beom smirked and once again lifted his chin like he was hot shit.
“…I found it while digging through some trash. It had ‘Book of Wishes’ written right on the cover.”
…Trash? Not a dungeon?
I squinted at him, suspicious, but he didn’t seem like he was lying. Not outwardly, at least.
Just because something says “Book of Wishes” doesn’t mean it’s the Book of Wishes. It could be anything—a knockoff, a joke, whatever.
…But what if it’s real?
If what he found was the real deal, I had no reason to say no. I was dying to know why the government and the Villains were both hellbent on finding it. And why it suddenly appeared when it wasn’t even in the original story.
Not to mention, I was curious if it really could grant wishes.
Even if it turned out to be nothing, it wouldn’t hurt to check.
“And you’re just giving it to me?”
“Yeah. I can’t read any of it—it’s full of weird symbols. But! There’s a catch.”
“…A catch?”
“Yup. I get to live with you. And you have to Guide me every day. I might add more stuff later too. So? Not a bad deal, right?”
…I swear, I’m going to punch him. Just once. One good hit.
I looked down at my clenched fist. Baek Beom followed my gaze, and when he saw the tremble in my hand, his face crumpled in panic.
“W-Wait! That’s not too much, right? I mean, it’s the Book of Wishes! My most precious possession! You should be willing to do at least that much!”
It was obvious he was just using the book as an excuse to cling to me. The lie was so transparent it pissed me off—but to be honest, the offer wasn’t half bad.
Keeping Baek Beom close was way better than booting him out and hoping he wouldn’t go after Kim Yong-ha again. With him here, I could keep him in check. And if I got the book out of it, then all the better.
But then the images from earlier came rushing back—Baek Beom, naked on my bed, doing that to himself…
Nope. Not going there. Not again.
“Fine. But I’ve got my own conditions.”
“What? Conditions?”
He lit up the moment I said “fine,” but the word “conditions” wiped the smile right off his face.
I left him sulking and went to grab a pen and some paper. I wrote “CONTRACT” in big letters at the top, then started listing rules beneath it.
“Wait, what’s this? A contract?”
“……”
“No jerking off in bed?! Then how am I supposed to—! And no ordering food when I’m home alone?! What is this?!”
The more he read, the darker his face got—pale at first, then turning practically black with despair.
Trying to pull a power move, huh? Not happening.
Sure, I wanted the book—but Baek Beom needed a roof and daily Guiding. For an Esper, Guiding wasn’t optional. If anything, I had the upper hand.
He looked like he wanted to argue, but when I tightened my fist again, he shut up fast.
And that was how Baek Beom and I ended up drafting a list of rules that were completely, unapologetically one-sided.
***
I blinked a few times as I lay in bed, then reached out toward the familiar lump that should’ve been curled up beside me.
“Hey… Puppy?”
Instead of warm fur, my hand met cold sheets. I glanced around, still half-asleep, then slowly remembered what happened last night.
After reading through the contract, Baek Beom had signed it with a face as pale as a corpse. Then he said he’d go retrieve the book and left the hotel.
That was last night. He still wasn’t back.
I sat up slowly. I was so used to waking up with that fuzzball next to me, it felt… weird not to have him there.
Habits really are terrifying things.
…Guess I should get ready for work.
***
As soon as I got to the Guide Center, it was chaos.
It was like the universe wanted payback for every second I slacked off yesterday. I got slammed with double the usual Esper assignments.
If I’d known, I would’ve just stayed and worked late after the inspection.
I spent the entire morning Guiding nonstop. When I finally got a short break before the next Esper arrived, I grabbed some coffee and pulled out my phone to check the news.
Monster appearances, dungeon raids, Espers overwhelmed by lack of Guiding… The usual headlines.
I was reading an article about the worsening Guide shortage and sipping my coffee when a gust of wind suddenly blew in through the open window I’d cracked for ventilation.
“Shit…”
Papers on my desk scattered everywhere. I jumped up, slammed the window shut, then crouched down to pick everything up.
“Huh?”
Just as I reached for the last two sheets, I froze when I saw the names.
“Kim Seong-gyeong… Kang Biso?”
I’d expected Kang Biso. After his re-evaluation yesterday, it made sense he’d come find me.
But Kim Seong-gyeong?
Why the hell would the main character have any reason to see me now…?
