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Paired with My Childhood Friend 13

Our Tae-oh Has Changed (?)

Why had Hyun Tae-oh even let Min Yu-hyun into his house when they weren’t anything to each other? The thought gnawed at him—that there’s no smoke without fire, that perhaps the scandal had erupted simply because there had been something worth scandalizing.

In the end, every line of reasoning circled back to the same place: blaming Hyun Tae-oh for so casually bringing Min Yu-hyun home. And yet, beneath that resentment lingered a restless curiosity about Tae-oh’s true feelings, especially when he suddenly began doing things to Chi-yu that he hadn’t done once in over a decade.

Still, Kang Chi-yu couldn’t bring himself to ask directly about Tae-oh and Min Yu-hyun. When it came to Tae-oh, his pride always seemed to shrink.

Ever since he’d fallen for him, Chi-yu’s entire world had revolved around Hyun Tae-oh. It wasn’t Tae-oh who couldn’t live without him—it was Chi-yu who couldn’t imagine life without Tae-oh.

His life had become nothing but Tae-oh, and if someone else were to take a place beside him, the one who wouldn’t survive it wasn’t Tae-oh, but Chi-yu himself.

That fear had driven him to run away, vowing to put an end to his one-sided love and return to the simplicity of being just friends. But only two weeks later, here he was again—back at the same point, or worse, in an even more tangled mess. And the weight of it all felt crushing.

 

***

 

While his thoughts kept swinging from negative to positive and back to negative again, the bath ended before he even realized it.

Chi-yu wiped himself down roughly with a large bath towel and stepped into the powder room attached to the bathroom.

The place was too big. With bathrooms not just in the master bedroom but also beside the living room and inside the guest rooms, he often wondered if the whole building hadn’t been poorly designed.

Then again, most of the residents here were well-known, successful people who lived alone without Imprints or Pairs. That explained the excess.

Not that the building was to blame. In truth, the reason people like that had gathered here was all thanks to Hyun Tae-oh.

Right after graduating from the Esper Academy and joining the Central Bureau, Tae-oh had chosen this building at first sight.

He’d said he liked it because there weren’t any unnecessary attachments nearby. And it was true—the eight-story structure stood tall and solitary in the middle of a wide open clearing.

Considering how severe his obsessive cleanliness was, it made sense. For the same reason, Chi-yu had taken the apartment right next door.

His parents were Ability Users as well, so money wasn’t an issue. Still, if not for Tae-oh, he would’ve chosen a villa near the Bureau like most of his peers.

It wasn’t until a year later that Chi-yu learned someone had originally lived in his place. And only later did he discover that Tae-oh had used his own influence and money to drive that person out.

According to the building manager, Tae-oh had practically strong-armed the neighbor into leaving, offering a new home, money, and compensation until the place was empty.

But Chi-yu never thought, Just how much money does he have to waste for something like that?

From the time he was young, Tae-oh had hated people hanging around nearby, hated physical contact even more, and wouldn’t set foot in an elevator just because of the shared air.

So to him, it was better to keep the place empty—or give it to Chi-yu, someone he could at least stand—than to watch a stranger walk out of the apartment across from his front door.

And yet, that same Tae-oh, who’d always been so absurdly fastidious, had gone so far as to cross that line with him… Chi-yu still couldn’t understand it.

At any rate, the only real downside to this overly spacious apartment was how far it was from the Central Bureau. That one flaw was enough to be a constant bother.

Of course, Espers could teleport, so the distance hardly mattered for them. But as a Guide, Chi-yu had to prepare for the chance that Tae-oh might not be around, which meant finding another way to commute. That was why he’d learned to drive and bought a car.

In the end, he’d had to move anyway.

After applying the ointment from the hospital to his injured cheek and covering it with silicone gel, Chi-yu dried his hair with a blow-dryer. A long sigh escaped him as he stared into the mirror.

He tilted his head to check the wound, tousled his messy hair lightly with his fingers, then stepped past the powder room into the dressing room.

Pulling a comfortable T-shirt from the section of Tae-oh’s closet where his clothes were stored, he slipped it over his head.

Since they’d be filming A Pair is Born and living together for a week, he’d already packed clothes and daily necessities separately. But in truth, he already had a good amount of his belongings here.

He couldn’t even remember how it had happened.

Commuting together every day, and with Tae-oh often skipping dinner unless Chi-yu stayed over, he had naturally ended up living here most evenings anyway.

Still… once filming is over, I’ll pack everything up and take it all back, Chi-yu thought as he stepped out of the dressing room.

“Why’d you take so long in the shower?”

Hyun Tae-oh was standing right in front of him, asking as soon as he came out. His damp hair clung to his forehead, making his face look unusually youthful.

“I told you to dry your hair afterward. Is that so hard?”

Even Ability Users could catch colds easily, so walking around with wet hair after bathing was a habit worth breaking. He hadn’t meant to nag, but with Tae-oh, it always came out that way.

“It’s a hassle.”

“Do it anyway. What if you get sick?”

“I won’t.”

“Confident, aren’t you?”

“It’s still a hassle.”

“It’s not even that much trou—”

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind burst from Tae-oh’s body. Before Chi-yu could even flinch, the wind whipped through, lifting his damp hair upward and drying it completely in an instant.

That wasn’t what he’d meant by “dry your hair.” It was ridiculous.

Every time Chi-yu nagged him about using a dryer, Tae-oh would brush him off, saying it was a waste of energy. Turns out he’d never once considered actually using it.

He could solve nearly everything with his abilities and had no need for appliances, but it still irritated Chi-yu to see him dismiss tools of daily life as if they were worthless.

“There. Happy?”

Running his hand through his neatly dried hair, Tae-oh shook it twice. For some reason, that only made Chi-yu more annoyed.

Frowning, he snapped, “It’s called a hair dryer. A convenient, efficient human invention. You really had to waste your powers on this?”

“I don’t like hot air.”

Tae-oh stepped closer, and instinctively, Chi-yu backed away.

“There’s a cold air setting, you know.”

But Tae-oh ignored him, leaning down to press his nose to Chi-yu’s neck, sniffing like a dog.

“You smell good.”

“W-what are you—”

“I need Guiding.”

Straightening, Tae-oh took a step back.

“…Ah.”

Chi-yu gave a small nod and reached out his hand.

“Standing here feels awkward. Should we sit on the sofa?”

But Tae-oh grabbed his hand tightly and pulled him toward the bedroom.

“No. The bed.”

As he was dragged along, Chi-yu thought, Wait… we’ve already done this today.

And then it struck him—it hadn’t changed at all.

Lying back under Tae-oh’s shadow, Chi-yu stared up at him.

“You said you needed Guiding…”

His throat tightened as he forced the words out.

Tae-oh smiled, mischievous as ever.

“Yeah. Level 2.”

“Wha—Hyun Tae-oh! Hey!”

Chi-yu twisted in panic, but Tae-oh’s hands pinned his arms firmly in place, leaving him unable to move.

“H-hey… Tae-oh…”

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Grinning like a playful kid, Tae-oh’s bright smile somehow sent a chilling, electric shiver down Chi-yu’s spine.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

“You said Guiding…”

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

“Like this—ugh, how… how am I supposed to…”

Overwhelmed by Tae-oh’s relentless teasing, Chi-yu shook his head helplessly.

“Want to try Stage 3?”

“…What?”

“Let’s just do Stage 3, hmm?”

“What are you—”

“Stage 2 isn’t enough.”

“No, we’re… ngh, we’re friends, how could we possibly… Stage 3…”

Heat flared across his face despite himself.

The fierce glint in Tae-oh’s eyes made Chi-yu’s heart race.

“What would make it less scary for you?”

“Hhh…”

“Should we start with a kiss?”

Pointing at his own lips, Tae-oh’s long finger rested there as he asked. Chi-yu’s blurred vision snapped sharply back into focus.

A kiss again.

With a sigh, he muttered, “Are you even sane?”

“Yeah. Luckily, I haven’t lost control yet.”

A serious question, met only with teasing.

Chi-yu shoved hard against his chest. “Why are you even doing this? Don’t tell me you just discovered kissing at your age?”

Tae-oh paused as if considering, then slowly nodded twice, shrugging lightly.

“Maybe so.”

Chi-yu almost snapped, And why the hell would you test it on me? But he bit his tongue. Saying it aloud felt too dangerous.

Because the truth was, he couldn’t bear the thought of Tae-oh doing this with anyone else. Even imagining it hurt.

As if reading his silence, Tae-oh looked down at him and said, “I think it’s because you ran off and left me.”

“…What?”

“So now you have to take responsibility.”

What the…

Where’s the logic in that, you bastard?!

“Call it Stage 3 Guiding, call it whatever you want—it doesn’t matter.”

“…What the hell are you even saying…”

Chi-yu’s voice trembled.

Levia
Author: Levia

Paired with My Childhood Friend

Paired with My Childhood Friend

Status: Ongoing Author:

[World-renowned SS-rank Esper Hyun Tae-oh appears on A Pair is Born!]

The hit reality show A Pair is Born throws Espers and Guides into temporary pairings selected by viewer votes, broadcasting every raw moment of their shared daily lives.

To everyone's surprise, the temporary partner for Hyun Tae-oh—one of only three SS-rank Espers in existence—is none other than his childhood friend, Kang Chi-yu, a B-rank Guide.

Kang Chi-yu, who had recently decided to give up his long-standing unrequited love for Tae-oh, had been actively avoiding him. But Hyun Tae-oh flatly refused to join the show with anyone else.

“If you’re suddenly up for doing this, then do it with some other Guide. Why me?!”

“Who else would I do it with, if not you?”

***

“You. So why did you run away?”

“Run away from what?”

“Stop pretending you didn’t. Just tell me why.”

What’s the point of putting distance between us before we even grow old—when we’re just friends?

Hyun Tae-oh does everything, crosses every line, and still insists they’re just friends.

Once again, Kang Chi-yu steels his heart. He swore to bury this pathetic, tender longing he’d kept hidden all these years— and go back to being just soft, harmless friends.

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