“……”
Lee Tae-rim bit down on his lip. Honestly, he preferred it when Seon Juho just took the lead—but sometimes, like now, Seon Juho would pout and beg for a kiss first. Feeling his face heat up, Tae-rim cupped Seon Juho’s cheeks and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“Hyung…”
Grinning, Seon Juho parted his lips and pulled Tae-rim into his arms. Tae-rim had no choice but to close his eyes when he met the intense look in Seon Juho’s gaze. Every time they kissed, his eyes changed—like he was ready to devour Tae-rim whole. Embarrassment was one thing, but the way Seon Juho looked at him always overwhelmed him.
The wet sound of their lips meeting echoed through the room. Whatever drama was playing on the TV had long since faded into background noise. The way Seon Juho’s tongue twisted inside his mouth was too hot, too intense—Tae-rim had no idea what to do with himself.
“Ah…”
True to his nature as an Esper, Seon Juho’s hands were fast. When his hand slipped under Tae-rim’s shirt and grabbed his chest, Tae-rim couldn’t help letting out a low moan. Just moments ago, he had been sitting up—but now, he was already lying down.
Each time their lips parted, warm breaths spilled between them. As if even that was too precious to waste, Seon Juho devoured his mouth again. A deep heat coiled in Tae-rim’s stomach.
“Hyuuung…”
Seon Juho’s voice had dropped, rougher than usual. Tae-rim clung to his neck, kissing him more deeply as he felt the burning heat of Seon Juho’s arousal pressed against him. His legs spread on their own. The warmth radiating from Seon Juho’s cock—still separated by their clothes—had Tae-rim wrapping his legs around the younger man’s waist, pulling him closer. A strained groan escaped from Seon Juho’s throat.
“Hyung… Hyung…”
“Aah…”
The friction of Seon Juho grinding against him felt natural—like this was exactly how it was supposed to be. In that moment, Tae-rim was sharply reminded of his nature as an Omega. There was nothing strange about spreading his legs for an Alpha. In fact, the way Seon Juho tilted his head to kiss him even deeper only made him want more. God, it was unbearable.
“Haa…”
Seon Juho’s lips pulled away for a moment. Tae-rim slowly opened his eyes, meeting his gaze. The corners of Seon Juho’s eyes were flushed red. Tae-rim felt like he was face-to-face with the most dangerous beast in the world. And yet, the heat of his breath on his lips felt so good. Despite the danger, Tae-rim welcomed it—wanted it.
Omegas instinctively enjoy an Alpha’s obsession. Maybe it’s because pheromones reduced them both to instinct, but Omegas were drawn to the sight of reddened eyes filled with lust. Savoring the way an Alpha unraveled over them—Tae-rim could feel it in his spine, a pleasure so sharp it ached.
He kissed the corner of Seon Juho’s eye. He knew where those eyes would take him—straight into euphoria. Tae-rim pulled him close again, surrendering as Seon Juho resumed kissing him like he might consume him whole.
“Mm…”
Even through their clothes, Seon Juho’s hips moved instinctively. The slow grind made Tae-rim squirm with need.
“More… pheromones…”
At Tae-rim’s breathy request, Seon Juho released an even stronger wave of sweet, intoxicating pheromones. Tae-rim felt his mind go hazy, completely intoxicated by the scent. He’d never felt this good before. Usually, being sensitive to pheromones meant he got headaches from the sharp, overwhelming scent of most Alphas—but Seon Juho was different.
It felt like he’d inhaled some bliss-inducing drug. Tae-rim had never imagined he’d find an Alpha’s pheromones so sweet. He felt like he was floating, high on the scent that seeped into him through their kiss. God, it felt so good.
Seon Juho hadn’t even fully matured yet—and his pheromones were already this potent. What would it be like when he was fully grown, fully developed? Just the thought of it made heat bloom low in Tae-rim’s belly. That place no longer existed—but somehow, it still ached like it was there.
“Haa, hyung… Can’t we?”
The words slipped out like a sigh, lips still brushing against his. Tae-rim opened his eyes and met Seon Juho’s desperate gaze. A soft smile played on his lips.
“Not yet.”
Seon Juho let out a frustrated groan and rubbed against him again, practically trembling.
“Hyuuuung…”
Smooch, smooch. He trailed kisses along Tae-rim’s lips and eyes, looking so pitiful it almost hurt to watch. But when Tae-rim felt the size of what was pressing against him, his reason snapped back. Everything was fine—except that. That was the problem. Could his current body, no longer an Omega, really take something like that?
“Just give me a little more time, okay? Be good.”
“Hngh…”
Ever the obedient one, Seon Juho gave in again—kissing Tae-rim endlessly, as if that alone would be enough. You little brat. You think I’m letting you touch my chest for free? Tae-rim had no choice but to hold him close, caught between bliss and worry, as he endured the all-consuming obsession of a love-starved puppy.
***
“It was worse than I thought.”
“Yeah.”
As usual, the trio lounged in Lee Tae-rim’s private Guiding room, sipping coffee from a popular café and chatting away. At this point, the room had basically turned into their own personal hangout.
“The people guiding Esper Choi Dong-ha right now? They all already have partners. The only ones left are people who don’t care about fooling around a little.”
“Are they… cheating?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Some of them still flirt with other Espers even while dating someone.”
“Wow…”
“There are plenty of people like that—Espers and Guides alike.”
“I… don’t really have the option to flirt.”
“Of course not. Esper Seon Juho already claimed you.”
Tae-rim let out a dry chuckle. He did like Seon Juho, but… he still wanted to date—have a real relationship. The problem was, after spending so much time with Seon Juho, his standards had shot through the roof. And even if he wanted to date someone else, the pool of potential partners was extremely limited.
Matching Rate supposedly influenced attraction, too. So the only ones he could realistically imagine forming romantic feelings for were S-rank Espers with high compatibility. When he first heard about the connection between Matching Rate and attraction, it struck him as something even worse than the Alpha-Omega dynamic.
To have your feelings dictated by a number—how could that even be called “attraction”?
But apparently, even without the test, people instinctively felt drawn to those they matched well with. In the end, everything came back to that number. That damned Matching Rate.
Then again, Alphas and Omegas were also driven by pheromones. If you thought of pheromones as a kind of Matching Rate, it wasn’t so different. It just felt more blatant when it showed up as a number. Either way, both systems were built on instinct.
What was strange, though, was that as an Omega, Tae-rim had always been picky about pheromones. Even a hint of a strong Alpha scent would give him splitting headaches. He basically lived on painkillers because of it.
But as a Guide, his compatibility range was unusually broad. The picky Omega and the flexible Guide—polar opposites in one body. If he ever really wanted to try dating, he could probably have a long line of suitors. Maybe even from other districts.
Still, he doubted any of them would go over 90%. That level of Matching Rate was considered an unbreakable wall.
“…You’re not thinking about trying to date someone else, are you? With Esper Seon Juho right there?”
Damn it. Yoon Ye-rin’s instincts were way too sharp. Tae-rim gave a tight smile and shook his head.
“No.”
“Liar. It’s written all over your face.”
“……”
“Is Esper Seon Juho not enough for you?”
“…I’m not sure.”
You had to be extra careful around Ye-rin. Blink once and she had your whole life story out of you. Tae-rim gave her a vague smile.
“Well… I mean, he does act like a happy-go-lucky puppy around you. Not exactly overflowing with manly charm. But I told you, didn’t I? One day, when he calls you ‘hyung’—it’s gonna hit different.”
“Yeah…”
“…Wait, what’s with that half-assed answer? Don’t tell me—it already happened? You heard him say it and it did hit different?”
“No.”
“Oh my god, you just went deadpan.”
“Pffft! So something did happen while you were missing! Acting all innocent this whole time…”
“…Seriously.”
“Seriously what?”
“Please just… don’t spread rumors.”
Tae-rim raised both hands in surrender. How are they so good at this? He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his face with both hands.
“I knew you’d cave eventually. No Guide could resist a face like that.”
“So? What was it like? That different-sounding ‘hyung’?”
“…Please don’t ask.”
“Ugh, I seriously can’t picture it. I’ve heard he completely ignores any Guides who aren’t us, but he’s always super sweet around us. I’ve never seen him expressionless—not once. But I guess ‘expressionless’ and ‘something different’ are totally separate things.”
“A sexy country puppy…”
“All I can picture is either a happy puppy or a sad puppy…”
Tae-rim sighed again, thinking of the face Seon Juho had shown him last night. Different? It was insanely different. But there was no way he could admit that here, so he tried hard to keep his face neutral. Too bad that wouldn’t work on Yoon Ye-rin.
“There’s definitely something going on that you can’t explain. Your pupils just shook.”
I’m going to lose my mind. There was nothing he could hide from them. Tae-rim let out another deep sigh.
“You should seriously be a detective, noona.”
“Everyone says that. No one can hide a thing from Ye-rin.”
“She’s scary…”
“Terrifying.”
Tae-rim chugged the rest of his iced Americano, packed to the brim with ice. His throat was dry.
