1) Happy Valentine’s Day
Notification message received.
Dear customer Yeo Eun-jo, Korea Express has completed delivery of your precious package.
Product name: Valentine Secret Lingerie Gift Se—
The moment the notification sound rang, Eun-jo shot up from his seat. As soon as he ran out of the Guiding Room, he spotted the large box.
“Valentine Secret.”
At the hideous phrase he’d never seen in his life, Eun-jo grabbed at his own hair.
“Ah, shit.”
Afraid someone might see, he hurriedly hugged the box to his chest. It was something he’d completely forgotten he’d ordered.
This is why people shouldn’t shop at dawn…
Eun-jo dragged a hand over his face. The beginning of the problem had been last night. Unable to sleep, he’d been absentmindedly scrolling through his phone when a Valentine’s Day event banner caught his eye.
From handmade chocolate kits to chocolate cakes, it was packed with things for couples. The place where Eun-jo’s gaze stopped was the adult category—the section you needed identity verification to enter.
And once he crossed into that section, it was an entirely different world, enough to wake him up completely.
Whips made of soft fur, jeweled plugs, bars for restraining legs… Eun-jo’s eyes sparkled at the sight of things he’d never seen before in his life.
Would he like it…?
Their rule was to alternate anniversaries. Eun-jo only had one body, and the five Espers weren’t exactly fond of sharing. Thinking of Jin Mu-seong, the one he’d decided to spend this Valentine’s Day with, Eun-jo let out a snort of laughter.
There’s no way that pervert would hate it.
Like a Korean giving up kimchi…
The problem was that after looking at all those dangerous-looking tools, lingerie no longer seemed like a big deal. And so Eun-jo ended up buying underwear he normally would’ve recoiled from.
Clutching the box, Eun-jo quickly scanned his surroundings like a meerkat before dashing back into the Guiding Room. Then he carefully opened the box in the corner.
“I’m insane. Seriously.”
Lifting the lingerie with his fingertips, Eun-jo sighed.
Maybe the concept had been “pure white bride,” because the entire thing was covered in white lace. Thanks to that, it looked like skin would show through every opening. Some educated pervert had definitely designed it.
“Am I seriously supposed to… wear this?”
It was ridiculous to buy it and not wear it, but wearing it was…
“Did they use way too little fabric or what?”
He couldn’t even figure out how to put it on. Fiddling with panties that were basically nothing but strings, Eun-jo agonized over it for quite a while.
Click. Click.
The doorknob rattled.
After confirming the door was locked, the person outside knocked.
“Baby?”
It was Jin Mu-seong.
Like a thief caught in the act, Eun-jo panicked and looked around wildly. No—if he hid it for no reason and one of the others found it later, things might get even worse.
Fuck!
Hurriedly stripping off his clothes, Eun-jo scrambled to put the lingerie on.
“Wait a second!”
Since it was lace fabric, it didn’t stretch much. He shoved the bralette over his chest and tugged at the strings to squeeze his thighs through.
Is this even right?
His entire face burned at the sensation of his lower half barely being covered.
At this point, there was no helping it.
Pretending ignorance, Eun-jo shut his eyes and hurriedly pulled his clothes back on. By then, Jin Mu-seong’s patience had clearly run dry, and he let out a low sigh.
“…Is this some kind of patience test?”
“It’s our Guiding Room! If I want to lock my own room, I can!”
“And it never crossed your mind that I’m included in that ‘our’?”
Rattle rattle!
The knob shook so violently it seemed ready to come off. He could easily break it down, yet he was only twisting it—that was clearly a warning directed at him.
“Baby.”
The low voice rang out again.
This time, amusement laced it.
Sensing he was running out of patience, Eun-jo hurriedly pulled on his pants.
“I’m coming out, hold on!”
“I’ll only break it a little. Hmm?”
“Are you insane?”
“You just need to replace the doorknob. I’ll install a new one right away.”
“Just try breaking it! Seriously!”
Hurriedly zipping up his pants, Eun-jo quickly unlocked the door.
The moment it opened, a shadow fell over him.
A man as large as the door itself looked down at Eun-jo. His gaze stuck to Eun-jo’s heaving shoulders from his ragged breathing, then to the bright red flush on his face.
It was the obsessive stare of someone surveilling a cheating spouse returning home.
Tense to the point of rigidity, Eun-jo blurted out without thinking,
“I-I wasn’t cheating.”
Anyone would find that suspicious as hell.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Jin Mu-seong shut the door behind him. Then, in an instant, he grabbed Eun-jo’s cheeks in one hand.
“Coming out looking like this… are you asking me to do you in the hallway?”
“…Someone threatened to break the door.”
“Who did?”
he asked in an amused voice.
“Guess my hearing’s bad. I didn’t catch that.”
What a shameless bastard.
Eun-jo shot him a glare.
Ignoring the sharp look, Jin Mu-seong wrapped an arm around Eun-jo’s waist and guided him into the Guiding Room as if it were his own home.
“Come here.”
He lifted Eun-jo up and sat him on the table. Then he bent down and grabbed the collar of Eun-jo’s shirt.
His hands were as thick and large as the rest of him.
With rough fingers, he slowly undid the buttons one by one. Looking down, Eun-jo saw they’d been fastened crookedly.
“Ah…”
He must’ve buttoned them wrong in his rush. Thankfully the T-shirt underneath hid the lingerie, but still feeling guilty, Eun-jo started rambling excuses.
“I-I spilled coffee, so I had to change again… I was in a hurry.”
“And you locked the door for that?”
“The staff could’ve walked in.”
Without taking his eyes off the shirt, Jin Mu-seong asked,
“What about me?”
“……”
“Am I on the same level as the staff?”
“Mmm.”
Letting out a lazy hum, he tilted Eun-jo’s chin up.
“Really?”
The moment their eyes met, Eun-jo knew he couldn’t lie anymore.
Unlike his smiling face, Jin Mu-seong’s eyes were dark and sunken low. He was giving him one last chance.
His instincts were annoyingly sharp.
At times like this, it was better to mix truth with lies.
Giving up quickly, Eun-jo lowered his gaze. Then he placed his hand over the one holding his face.
Letting guiding energy flow into him, he bit his lower lip.
Jin Mu-seong’s gaze instantly shifted to his lips.
“I was trying on different things.”
Looking at him the same way he did between his legs, Eun-jo watched Jin Mu-seong’s expression visibly soften.
“Since it’s Valentine’s Day…”
“You wanted to dress up pretty?”
Pretending to hesitate, Eun-jo slowly nodded.
“Jin Mu-seong-ssi always shows up dressed so well. I couldn’t exactly throw on just anything.”
Today too, he was in a suit. Maybe it was custom-made, because the navy shirt fit perfectly against his body, and his hair slicked back with pomade suited him absurdly well. Beneath that, his dress pants stretched taut along the line of his legs.
The hard shape beneath the fabric made it obvious whose Esper he was.
Sensing the stolen glances, Jin Mu-seong laughed. Turning his hand over, he interlaced their fingers.
“Hng!”
When he suddenly yanked Eun-jo toward him, Eun-jo’s body followed helplessly.
“You still don’t know me.”
Pulling Eun-jo fully into his arms, Jin Mu-seong pressed a brief kiss to the eyes looking up at him.
“What I like most is when you’re wearing nothing at all.”
Kisses landed on his cheeks, on his lips.
Pinned against the table beneath the larger body covering him, Eun-jo frantically shook his head.
“W-wait!”
“I made a mistake undoing those buttons.”
The moment his shirt was lifted, Eun-jo’s mind snapped awake.
If things continued like this, the lingerie underneath would definitely be exposed here.
No way.
With all his strength, Eun-jo smacked at Jin Mu-seong’s chest.
“You said we were going on a date! We can do this tomorrow or the day after here!”
Only after Eun-jo hurriedly added that did Jin Mu-seong finally stop moving.
“Do we really have to?”
“Of course! Why do you think I even changed clothes?”
With a sigh, Jin Mu-seong stepped back. Then he helped Eun-jo sit up and straightened his thoroughly disheveled shirt.
“Just for today.”
Muttering shortly, he held out a hand to Eun-jo.
It had become such a natural gesture now.
Suddenly shy, Eun-jo only offered the tip of his index finger.
“You’re cute.”
The corner of Jin Mu-seong’s mouth twisted upward. Before Eun-jo could stop him, he grabbed the offered finger and brought it to his lips.
“Ah!”
Only after covering it in bite marks did Jin Mu-seong finally let go.
That personality of his was seriously awful.
In the end, Eun-jo had no choice but to keep giving him his hand all the way there.
***
The place they arrived at was a hotel.
The same place where he’d spent the night with Jin Mu-seong, and where Park Se-yul had kidnapped him.
Sitting in the hotel restaurant, Eun-jo gazed out the window. The lobby that had once been shattered to pieces had been restored perfectly.
At the center stood heart-shaped decorations and displays overflowing with chocolates.
Lee Sang-heon would lose his mind over this.
No wonder people compared him to a puppy. Lee Sang-heon loved tiny, sparkly things. Last Christmas, he’d practically bounced around nonstop. Thinking of the tail that had wagged hard enough to send him flying, Eun-jo laughed quietly.
“My heart isn’t that generous.”
Across from him, Jin Mu-seong poked Eun-jo’s cheek.
“Today’s my turn, so pay attention.”
Scooping up a huge bite of chocolate cake, he held it out to Eun-jo. The moment Eun-jo accepted it like a baby bird, a sweetness intense enough to send shivers through his whole body spread across his tongue.
“How do you always know?”
“How you’re thinking about another guy?”
“Yeah.”
At the shameless answer, Jin Mu-seong let out a disbelieving laugh. He cupped Eun-jo’s cheek, then rubbed at the chocolate smeared on his lips with a napkin.
“You don’t make this face when you’re thinking about me.”
His lips squished prettily beneath the pressure. Jin Mu-seong’s gaze stuck heavily to the lips growing redder with every rub.
“More than this…”
Pressing a thumb against Eun-jo’s lower lip, he forced the lips apart. Then, pretending it was an accident, he slipped a finger into the hot space inside.
In an instant, both of Eun-jo’s cheeks burned crimson.
“You make a lewd face.”
His heart pounded violently.
When Eun-jo stared at him blankly, Jin Mu-seong calmly withdrew his hand as if his business there was finished. Then, acting as though nothing had happened, he resumed eating.
What the hell?
Eun-jo had thought he was going to kiss him at least. But Jin Mu-seong didn’t come any closer after that.
The only thing left was Eun-jo’s confusion.
Whether he understood his thoughts or not, Jin Mu-seong lifted another forkful of cake for him. This time he carefully added the chocolate plaque that read Happy Valentine’s Day before holding it out.
“Eat.”
As Eun-jo accepted the cake, he furrowed his brows.
Honestly, ever since they’d entered the hotel, all he’d been able to think about was rolling around in bed with him. Naturally, he’d assumed they’d check in first, but instead Jin Mu-seong had led him straight to the first-floor restaurant.
Even though they’d come to this hotel together multiple times, they’d never once visited the restaurant.
They leisurely ate through a reserved course meal, cake, and dessert.
Normally, by now they’d already have gone a round and be starting the second. Only after finishing would they lazily order room service.
His throat felt dry.
Lifting his wine glass, Eun-jo hurriedly swallowed the wine.
Cute.
He looked exactly like an overheated hamster.
Watching Eun-jo’s puffed-up cheeks from stuffing himself with chocolate cake, Jin Mu-seong held back a laugh.
What awful tastes he had.
His embarrassed reactions were lovable, sure, but this irritated side of him was even cuter. Pouting slightly, Eun-jo narrowed his eyes and interrogated him.
“You’re definitely thinking something right now.”
“Who knows…hurry up and guess.”
His cheeks puffed out further.
Unable to resist, Jin Mu-seong reached for Eun-jo’s cheek.
At that moment, Eun-jo dodged his hand and grabbed his wine glass instead. Then he poured the remaining wine down his throat.
“Forget it. I don’t care anymore.”
After downing even Jin Mu-seong’s glass in one shot, Eun-jo abruptly stood up. Then he grabbed his hand and tugged.
“Let’s go. I’ll pay.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Jin Mu-seong burst into loud laughter. It rang out enough for the surrounding guests to turn and stare.
Even knowing he was laughing at him, Eun-jo didn’t look back once. He simply strode toward the lobby at nearly a run.
Watching the back of Eun-jo’s head bristling with irritation, Jin Mu-seong clenched his free hand.
He wanted to pull him into his arms immediately.
They’d already been together for over a year, yet Yeo Eun-jo was always something new. Just when he seemed understandable, he’d slip farther away. He constantly defied expectations.
In Jin Mu-seong’s entire life, there had only ever been one thing like Yeo Eun-jo.
Spotting the front desk staff, Eun-jo headed toward them quickly. At this rate, he looked ready to pay for the room himself too.
“Baby.”
“Who are you calling baby?”
Ignoring the grumpy reply, Jin Mu-seong placed something into Eun-jo’s hand.
Eun-jo stopped dead in his tracks.
