“It would’ve been easier to just let Hyun Tae-oh collect it, so why bother….”
Kang Chi-yu muttered under his breath as he tapped his pen against the tablet, pushing the screen upward. The next instant, with a sharp whoosh, Hyun Tae-oh teleported right in front of him.
Both Chi-yu and Yoon Do-jae widened their eyes in surprise.
“Why’d you grab a different ball?”
That was the very first thing out of Tae-oh’s mouth. He didn’t even greet them, just demanded an answer. Chi-yu regarded him for a moment, then calmly shut his eyes and opened them again before replying.
“Just because.”
“Just because?”
“Yeah. No particular reason.”
“It’s yellow.”
“……”
“You like yellow.”
“…Nobody ever said I had to choose the color I like.”
“What the hell does that—”
“So you like yellow, then.”
Do-jae cut in, sounding as if he’d just discovered something new. Chi-yu gave him a sheepish smile and replied,
“Well, I like other colors too.”
Do-jae nodded faintly.
Tae-oh’s expression twisted in an instant. What the hell were these two doing? It was so absurd he almost laughed.
“Kang Chi—”
Just as he was about to call out, Chi-yu beat him to it, speaking with a hard, deliberate expression.
“Tae-oh. We’re filming right now. Where’s your partner? Go to your station and film your part.”
“Filming is what you care about right now?”
“Let’s move.”
Chi-yu gathered up his tablet and stood, speaking to Do-jae. Tae-oh immediately grabbed his wrist.
Chi-yu lifted his head to meet Tae-oh’s stare. Tae-oh didn’t back down—his eyes locked firmly on Chi-yu’s. The tension between them was palpable.
Do-jae, unable to stand it, carefully took hold of Chi-yu’s other arm.
“Excuse me.”
“Don’t you dare—!”
Before Tae-oh could finish, Do-jae tore Chi-yu’s wrist free from his grip and teleported away with him.
In the blink of an eye, they were in P-03 Subzone. Do-jae released Chi-yu’s arm, stepped back, and bowed slightly in apology.
“Sorry. It looked like you were uncomfortable.”
Chi-yu steadied the tablet in his hands and answered,
“No, thank you. But what about the camera crew….”
“They’ll be here soon enough once they’ve confirmed the location. The drones are already on site.”
Do-jae pointed with his chin at the drone hovering above them.
“Ah, I see. Then we should start with the ten beasts—”
He didn’t finish.
With a sudden flash, Tae-oh appeared again and grabbed Do-jae by the collar.
Do-jae instinctively tried to block with his wind, but Tae-oh’s strength overpowered him and his throat was seized in a chokehold.
“Khk!”
“Hyun Tae-oh!”
Startled, Chi-yu grabbed Tae-oh’s arm and shouted his name. But Tae-oh, his face dark with fury, used Shadow Control to fling Chi-yu far away.
Even then, the shadows wrapped around Chi-yu’s body with ridiculous care, as if afraid of hurting him.
With Chi-yu restrained, Tae-oh swung a fist at Do-jae. Do-jae blocked with wind, staggering back several steps.
Normally Tae-oh avoided using his ability, but once Do-jae brought his ability out, he retaliated with his shadows in earnest.
This wasn’t some harmless scuffle anymore. Their blows were dangerous enough to cause serious harm.
Their movements blurred too fast to follow. The difference in power quickly showed as Do-jae began to lose ground.
Chi-yu, realizing this could end badly, fought against the shadows binding him, but they wouldn’t loosen. Desperate, he shouted,
“Stop it, you crazy bastard!!”
“What? Crazy bastard?”
Tae-oh’s brow furrowed at the insult.
“Let me out! Now! And stop attacking him! Why the hell are you going after someone innocent?! Are you some kind of thug?!”
“The fuck—are you seriously taking his side?!”
“Shut up and release me first!”
Chi-yu thrashed, struggling against the shadows binding his arms, waist, and legs.
At his yelling, Tae-oh dismissed them. Chi-yu bolted free, sprinting toward him.
Before Tae-oh could even yell for him to stay back, Do-jae reflexively countered with a sharp gust while blocking Tae-oh’s strike.
Realizing too late, Do-jae twisted the wind off course. Tae-oh teleported instantly, blocking in front of Chi-yu.
But Chi-yu, seeing the razor wind headed their way, shoved Tae-oh aside with all his strength and crossed his arms in front of him.
Tae-oh deflected quickly, but the redirected strike still grazed Chi-yu’s forearm, slicing it open.
Blood spilled. Both Tae-oh and Do-jae shouted in alarm.
“Are you okay?!”
“Are you alright?!”
Tae-oh grabbed his arm, checking the wound. Do-jae rushed forward.
Conscious of the drone camera hovering closer, Chi-yu pulled his arm away from Tae-oh and said firmly,
“I’m fine.”
“The hell you are. You need a hospital.”
“What hospital….”
“Come with me.”
Do-jae cut in sharply.
Tae-oh glared at him.
“Why the fuck you?”
“Because he’s hurt because of me. And because he’s my partner.”
“Partner, my ass.”
“We can go after the mission’s done. It’s just a cut.”
“A cut? You’re bleeding like that.”
“Why don’t you back off? Where’s your partner anyway, and what are you even doing here?”
“You’re going to the hospital.”
“Yeah, with me. He’s my partner.”
Do-jae interjected again.
“What?”
“Yeah. We’ll handle it. You should go.”
“We?”
“Don’t you still have filming to do? Why are you—”
“We? The fuck do you mean we? You and that bastard, how the hell does that make we?”
“…We’re teamed up for this filming, so of course—”
“You and that bastard, how the fuck is that we?”
“We’re filming, can you please—”
“We’re one team for the week, so yeah, we’re ‘we.’”
Do-jae cut him off again.
Tae-oh scowled deeply. His gaze flicked to Chi-yu’s arm—still bleeding heavily despite his insistence.
“It’d be better to head to the hospital first.”
“No, really—”
“Come with me.”
Tae-oh held out his hand.
But Do-jae stepped in front of him.
“I’ll take him.”
“Fuck, move.”
“He’s my partner right now.”
“He’s my friend.”
“Exactly. But even as a friend, this is too much.”
“What?”
Tae-oh arched an eyebrow at him.
“…Unless….”
Do-jae flicked his wind to power off the drone above them. The red recording light blinked out.
He turned back to Chi-yu.
“Are you two secretly dating?”
Chi-yu froze. “Huh?”
Before he could respond, Tae-oh snapped, voice sharp as a blade.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
The harsh denial stung Chi-yu, though he didn’t let it show.
“No? Really just friends?”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘really’? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I just need to be sure. I was honestly confused just now.”
“Confused about what?”
“So you’re just friends, right?”
“Of course.”
The answer came without hesitation. Do-jae felt both relieved and faintly puzzled.
He’d half suspected, watching the special broadcast, that the two might be secretly involved. Editing could exaggerate, sure, but the way they looked at each other had felt different.
As for Tae-oh, he’d been infamous since entering the Central Bureau for never treating anyone but Chi-yu as human. That wasn’t surprising. But Chi-yu’s reactions to him had been suspicious.
For a moment, Do-jae wondered if he’d misread everything. If they really were that way, teleporting Chi-yu earlier would’ve been completely inappropriate. Best to be clear.
Now that he had an answer, Tae-oh’s behavior needed to be called out.
“Then you’re crossing the line.”
“What?”
“If you’re just friends, you’ve got no reason to lose your temper just because I teleported him.”
“The fuck—you think I wouldn’t get mad when you dragged Kang Chi-yu off right in front of me?”
“Exactly. You shouldn’t.”
“What?”
“Guide Kang Chi-yu isn’t your lover.”
“The hell are you saying?”
“That’s the kind of reaction only a lover would have the right to show.”
Tae-oh’s face hardened, rigid as stone.
“The fuck did you just—”
“If you’re friends, don’t cross into territory that belongs to lovers.”
Tae-oh’s eyes widened, inch by inch.
“There’s a line between friends and lovers. A matter of respect, isn’t there?”
Do-jae turned to Chi-yu.
“Am I wrong?”
Chi-yu, caught off guard, stumbled over his words, then awkwardly shook his head.
“N-no. You’re right… friends and lovers are definitely different.”
“Exactly. Esper Hyun Tae-oh and Guide Kang Chi-yu are just friends.”
“…Yeah. Friends.”
“Then, since you’re just friends, you should come with me.”
Do-jae suddenly extended his hand. Confused, Chi-yu hesitated, then carefully placed his hand in his.
“The fuck are you doing?!”
Tae-oh erupted, but Do-jae tightened his grip on Chi-yu’s hand and said,
“You’re just his friend. I’m his current partner—and I happen to be interested in him. That makes me the one who should take him to the hospital.”
“……!”
“This time, don’t follow. Respect the line, Hyun Tae-oh.”
Then he vanished with Chi-yu in another teleport.
Tae-oh stood frozen, face pale, as if struck by something heavy. He didn’t even think to chase after them—he just stood there.
Friend. Boundaries. Interest.
Those words tangled in his head, twisting into a storm.
