By the time the long, drawn-out session of guiding came to an end, it was already deep into the night.
Seo Won had returned to his usual immaculate and composed appearance. As he fastened the cuff buttons he had earlier undone, he noticed something—Black Vein had receded all the way up to the elbow. Before today’s guiding, it had extended about five centimeters below that point.
A faint smile curved Seo Won’s lips at the sight.
At this rate, it might disappear even faster than I thought.
He lifted his gaze toward Han-gyeom, who lay asleep on the sofa. Draped only in a thin blanket over his bare body, he was completely out.
Normally, when Black Vein spreads this extensively, it’s practically beyond saving. Even with daily, uninterrupted high-efficiency guiding, there’s barely any progress—maybe one or two centimeters a week at best.
And yet, in Han-gyeom’s case—perhaps due to the imprint, or maybe because his guiding sense was just exceptionally good—the results were outstanding. No, beyond outstanding. Of course, it couldn’t be ignored that the dual guiding system, made possible by the guiding control device, had absorbed an enormous amount of GP (Guiding Potential). But even that was only viable thanks to Han-gyeom’s unusually high GP capacity.
The more their bodies intertwined, the more clearly he realized it.
Without a doubt, Cha Han-gyeom was the ultimate guide.
He might even be an S-rank like himself.
That thought made a possessive hunger rise even more fiercely within him. Whether it was just the artificial sensation from the imprinted bond or something else, it didn’t matter—Cha Han-gyeom’s guiding held extraordinary value either way. Anyone who experienced it would fall head over heels, hopelessly addicted. Now he understood why the Guiding District had so many clients clamoring to see him.
Not that I’ll ever let that happen again!
Seo Won gently picked up the sleeping Han-gyeom, careful not to wake him. Wrapping the blanket snugly around him and resting his head against his shoulder, he felt the other stir faintly, his face hazy with sleep as his eyes half-opened.
“….”
Han-gyeom let out a soft moan, dazedly staring up at Seo Won.
“Want me to put you down…?”
“…”
“Forget it. If you collapse on the way, that’s even more of a hassle.”
“Mm…”
Though Seo Won spoke irritably, Han-gyeom nonchalantly let his head rest on his shoulder again. His innocent, childlike expression made Seo Won chuckle softly as he turned toward the door.
Outside, not only Jung Ah-young but also Lim Du-hyuk was waiting. Du-hyuk, the bodyguard with the intimidating face, was the one originally assigned to stand guard in front of Han-gyeom’s room.
As Seo Won approached, Du-hyuk gave a respectful bow and stretched out both arms as if to take Han-gyeom from him. But instead of handing him over, Seo Won tightened his hold.
“Just clean up. I’m taking him myself.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
As Seo Won carried Han-gyeom down the dark hallway, the two bodyguards gave a deep bow to his retreating back.
“He’s probably headed to Director Seo’s room again tonight, huh?”
“Most likely.”
The two, now standing straight again, watched Seo Won disappearing down the end of the hallway before stepping into the office. As expected, the heavy stench of semen filled the room.
Wrinkling her nose, Ah-young picked up Han-gyeom’s clothes that had been carelessly tossed onto the sofa.
“Director Seo’s really changed lately.”
“Not seems changed—he has changed.”
Du-hyuk replied as he walked toward the desk. Even as he looked at the semen splattered across the desk, floor, chairs, and surrounding area, he didn’t so much as flinch.
“Didn’t he used to prefer more… straightforward guiding sessions?”
Ah-young thought back to a year ago, when the mansion was practically overflowing with personal guides. Back then, Seo Won still received daily sessions, but deep guiding—especially sex-guiding—had been exceedingly rare. There were even times when the guides would quietly ask Ah-young if Seo Won might be impotent.
After that, he mostly switched to rotating through professional guiding contractors, and even then, the most intense sessions rarely went beyond some petting, handjobs, or maybe the occasional blowjob.
“But ever since Han-gyeom showed up, it’s just been getting more intense by the day. And he ejaculates so many times that the smell’s started getting stronger, too.”
As Du-hyuk wiped the desk clean with a wet tissue, he stared at her blankly. She really had no filter, and the words just rolled right off her tongue without a hint of shame.
“Just don’t say shit like that in front of Han-gyeom. You’ll scare the guy.”
“Obviously. I’m playing the shy and innocent girl around him, don’t worry.”
Giggling, Ah-young folded Han-gyeom’s clothes neatly and hugged them to her chest. Then her expression suddenly sobered.
“But sometimes… Han-gyeom gives me this strange feeling. Like he might be dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?”
Du-hyuk asked while now moving on to clean the chair after finishing the desk. Ah-young flopped down onto the sofa, deep in thought.
“I don’t know. One moment he seems totally harmless, almost gentle. But then there’s this split second where he looks really scary. I don’t get it.”
“Who knows. I don’t see scary—I see fragile. He looks like he could break any second.”
“You mean because he’s always sick?”
She’d already heard from the security team stationed outside Seo Won’s room that Han-gyeom had frequent seizures, practically every other day. Sometimes even multiple times in a single day.
“Poor Han-gyeom… This is all because Director Seo’s always pushing him too hard. Every time I hear it from outside, I keep thinking he’s about to die in there.”
“No one dies that easily. And it’s not just his physical condition…”
Du-hyuk trailed off for a moment.
Ah-young, waiting for the rest, opened her mouth to prod him into finishing, but before she could speak, Du-hyuk suddenly leaned across the desk, his rough face looming toward her as he tossed her a tub of wet tissues. It flew at her with a fair bit of force, but Ah-young didn’t even blink—she caught it one-handed with ease.
“You gonna clean or what?”
“Not my job, y’know.”
“Wanna die?”
“Alright, alright—I’m going~”
Ah-young pouted as she got to her feet. The spot where she had been sitting now held Han-gyeom’s neatly folded clothes, placed with care.
When Han-gyeom arrived in Seo Won’s room, he slowly opened his eyes to the plush feel of the mattress beneath him. His eyes were dry and sore from crying so much, and it took him a while—several blinks—to bring anything into focus.
“If you’re awake, go wash up.”
Seo Won, who had come over to the bed, grabbed Han-gyeom’s arm roughly and tugged him upright. He was already freshly showered and dressed in a high-quality bathrobe. In contrast, Han-gyeom was still wrapped in a blanket, his bare body a mess, covered in traces of their earlier sex.
Using Seo Won’s hand for balance, Han-gyeom slid off the bed. His back ached, and he nearly stumbled, but he managed to stand.
Seo Won silently watched his back as he shuffled toward the bathroom. Han-gyeom’s skin was covered with red and purple marks—bites and bruises, scattered everywhere. The sight pleased him. Every mark was his, after all.
While Seo Won leisurely dried his damp hair, the sound of running water flowed from the bathroom.
A few minutes later—
“Cough, cough! Guhk!”
Han-gyeom’s coughing echoed from within. Seo Won immediately recognized the onset of a seizure, but his reaction was calm, unhurried. He dabbed at his hair a few more times before finally making his way to the bathroom.
Ssssshhh—
Cold water was pouring down like rain from the showerhead. Under it, Han-gyeom was crouched and trembling, his whole body soaked by the icy stream.
“Guhk—ack!”
He finally coughed up blood.
Seo Won stood in the doorway and silently watched.
Struggling through his fit of coughing and spitting blood, Han-gyeom eventually noticed him standing there. His tear-blurred eyes looked up at Seo Won with a desperate, pleading gaze.
Only then did Seo Won move.
He stepped into the bathroom, turned off the cold water, then untied his bathrobe and wrapped his bare chest around Han-gyeom’s soaked body.
“Now you have seizures just from cold water?”
“Cough, cough! Hic… hngh…”
The relentless coughing that had made him look like he might die quickly began to subside once he was enveloped in Seo Won’s warmth. The violent trembling that had racked his body settled just as quickly, soothed by the heat of bare skin and the soft folds of the bathrobe.
Far from being annoyed, Seo Won looked almost content, his eyes softened as if this pleased him.
Once Han-gyeom was stabilized, Seo Won turned the shower back on and adjusted the water to a warm temperature. Even though it meant washing up a second time, he didn’t hesitate. He carried Han-gyeom into the shower himself and began gently rinsing him off.
He claimed it was because he didn’t want to sleep next to someone in that filthy condition—but that clearly wasn’t the only reason.
After washing Han-gyeom clean, Seo Won tossed him a towel with a casual flick and climbed into bed first. Han-gyeom looked like he could barely stand on his own—worn down by the intense deep guiding and the seizure that followed—but he didn’t let out a single word of complaint as he made his way to the bed.
Once he was on the mattress, Han-gyeom nestled into Seo Won’s arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Good night.”
A short, simple goodnight.
Seo Won liked the plainness of it. If someone asked him why, he wouldn’t be able to say exactly.
It’s strange—just doesn’t rub me the wrong way.
As he watched Han-gyeom, who had already drifted off to sleep in his embrace, Seo Won fell deep into thought.
Ever since the day he destroyed the last remnants of the previous Imprinter right in front of Cha Han-gyeom’s eyes, things had changed.
Just one day.
That was all it took.
One day for Cha Han-gyeom to process everything—his emotions, his thoughts—and put himself back together.
After that, he never turned away from Seo Won again.
He looked at him more directly, more sincerely, than anyone else.
