With the closing remarks finished, they had more than enough footage for the Guide promotional video. Leaving out Kim Han-seul, who still had a field assignment, the three of them headed to the same chicken place from before and enjoyed a fun, long-overdue chat.
After dinner, Ho-eun returned to Do In-ho’s dorm. As he opened the door, In-ho, who’d been sitting on the sofa reading a book, set it down and greeted him warmly.
Taking off his shoes, Ho-eun walked over and asked if he’d eaten, but he fell silent as Do In-ho wrapped his arms around him without a word.
Do In-ho’s ongoing clinginess was something Ho-eun had grown used to, yet moments like this still caught him off guard. Patting In-ho’s back gently, Ho-eun asked sweetly if he’d been waiting.
“Just a little.”
“If I’d known you’d be off early, I would’ve called you.”
“But, hyung…”
Do In-ho slowly lifted his head from where he’d buried it in Ho-eun’s neck.
“Why do you smell like someone else?”
His glowing yellow eyes were pure predator. A shiver ran up Ho-eun’s spine as he instinctively flinched.
Sniff, sniff. In-ho leaned in like a beast, nuzzling his nose against Ho-eun’s neck and chest.
“Oh, uh… guess I should wash up. Wanna wait while reading?”
Ho-eun cupped In-ho’s cheeks with both hands, like he was trying to calm down a sulky child. With a sensitive expression, In-ho nodded.
“Then let’s wash up together. Until the smell’s all gone.”
Ho-eun rubbed his forehead. Was this what people meant when they said innocence could be terrifying? Did he really not understand the implications of what he just said?
He was about to explain again that grown men wash up alone—when Do In-ho picked him up and slung him over his shoulder, cutting him off with a yelp.
Ugh—Espers aren’t supposed to use their strength like this…!
The bathroom lights felt overly bright today, as if intentionally blocking any chance of escape.
Right. It’s not weird for two guys to bathe together…
Nothing strange about that. After all, Ho-eun had visited saunas with male friends plenty of times. But this was different.
Before being two men, they were a Guide and an Esper. That relationship could lead to things happening in a bathroom.
Between two men, there were things that weren’t even imaginable—yet with an Esper and Guide, those very things were.
Ever since last night and especially after meeting with Hosoo today, Ho-eun had been haunted by one thing: the intensity of direct guiding.
It was as if the heavens themselves were saying, “Only a fool would turn this down.”
Ho-eun wasn’t religious, but in this moment, he cursed the gods. Why now, of all times?!
“Want me to help you undress?”
While Ho-eun hesitated, tangled in thought, Do In-ho remained completely unfazed.
At some point, he’d taken off his shirt, revealing tightly sculpted muscles—not excessive, but the kind earned through fieldwork.
Maybe that’s why Ho-eun couldn’t help but swallow at the sight.
He forgot all about their situation and slowly took in the view of In-ho’s body.
There were faint scars along his ribs and spine. But Espers were supposed to heal themselves, weren’t they? Ho-eun reached out toward the scars.
“Healing didn’t finish properly, huh.”
“If you’re injured by an Esper ability, sometimes it leaves a scar.”
As he slowly undid the buttons of Ho-eun’s still-intact dress shirt, Do In-ho’s eyes lingered on the skin being revealed.
Compared to him, Ho-eun’s body bore more scars. In-ho’s rough hands carefully brushed over them, like he was tracing a drawing.
“Oh. I just got these messing around as a kid.”
In-ho’s unusually serious expression made Ho-eun burst into a wide grin. His shirt fell to the floor, and as he looked at himself in the mirror, he began recounting how each scar happened.
Do In-ho, who’d been concerned about Ho-eun’s nervousness since they stepped into the bathroom, felt the jealousy simmering deep within him begin to fade as he listened to Ho-eun ramble on about his childhood.
Turning on the shower and adjusting the water temperature, the two washed each other in a perfectly natural rhythm, as if that strange tension from earlier had never existed.
The bathroom was twice the size of a typical one and had a tub large enough for two adult men to soak in.
After finishing their shower, they filled the tub with hot water and climbed in together. The warm soak melted away the tension, and a contented sigh escaped them both.
“It’d be nice if we had some bath bombs. My mom used to love them, so I used them a lot too.”
“I’ll buy some.”
Despite both of them being over 180cm tall, the tub wasn’t quite enough to stretch out completely, so they awkwardly folded their legs, sitting face to face.
The position wasn’t exactly comfortable, but Do In-ho didn’t seem to mind. Being physically close like this made their emotional distance feel closer too.
Even with his usual deadpan face, Ho-eun could tell In-ho was enjoying the bath. That little change in mood gave him the courage to ask something he’d been agonizing over all day.
“Hey. I’ve been wondering about something…”
“?”
Unable to meet In-ho’s drowsy gaze, Ho-eun finally asked the question, voice growing smaller by the second.
“How far have you gone with guiding…?”
As a brand-new Guide, Ho-eun didn’t even know how to bring up questions like this. Was it rude? Was he even allowed to ask? But without knowing, he couldn’t make any decisions.
“I’ve never received direct guiding beyond just holding hands.”
“Beyond holding hands? Why…?”
“They said it’d be weird to touch me since they’d known me since I was a kid… but I don’t really get what that means.”
“Oh… Right, your former Guide was Assistant Manager Hosoo.”
At least Hosoo hadn’t been some pervert messing with a child. Or… was that even a good thing?
The damp bathroom suddenly felt suffocating. Watching Do In-ho speak so casually made Ho-eun gulp.
Maybe it was from being in the bath too long, but his head started to spin.
“Then… have you ever wanted to go further with guiding?”
“No, not really…”
“Hm… I’m not sure myself, but… doesn’t it feel good for Espers when their guiding gets more stable? Like, the act itself…”
Do In-ho nodded, disinterested. His whole vibe said this doesn’t concern me.
“In-ho. Don’t tell me… you’ve never even… you know, done it by yourself?”
“…?”
“I mean, do I really have to say this? You know… masturbated.”
“Is that something I’m supposed to do?”
“What? N-no, it’s not a requirement, but guys usually… I mean, you just touch down there and—”
Steam might as well have been rising from Ho-eun’s head.
Do In-ho just tilted his head like Ho-eun was speaking in some alien language.
Eyes spinning, he wanted to bury his head in the tub and drown in embarrassment.
Eventually, Ho-eun couldn’t take it and used his hand to mime the act, asking if he’d ever done it.
“No, I haven’t.”
“…Seriously?”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes.
Dear God. Should I finally pick a religion?
Faced with this unbelievable reality, all he could do was pray.
Ho-eun rubbed his aching temples.
What kind of life had Do In-ho even lived?
Sure, Ho-eun had once been clueless about sex too.
But even then, he’d still touched himself without knowing what it was.
It felt good, and that eventually led to wet dreams and self-discovery.
Sex ed only came later to explain what he’d already figured out through experience.
It’s something everyone goes through. But this guy—an adult—had never even experienced it.
Even if it were for guiding, how could Ho-eun bring himself to touch someone like this?
“You don’t know anything… I don’t even know what to do now.”
Do In-ho looked at Ho-eun and took his hand.
Something felt off about Ho-eun today.
What was he thinking about in that little head of his?
Though the way he worried alone was kind of cute, In-ho still preferred him smiling carefree the most.
“You can do whatever you want. I’ll accept anything you give me.”
“You little…”
Veins popped on the back of Ho-eun’s hand.
The audacity of saying something so suggestive with that innocent face—he knew nothing.
And yet, the desire to teach him stirred dangerously inside.
“What I just showed you was masturbation—touching yourself down there for sexual pleasure. But… high-level guiding gives even more pleasure than that. Way more than just touching there.”
At first, the idea of physical contact with another man had made Ho-eun recoil.
But with Do In-ho, he’d never felt that resistance.
Maybe it was the pretty face.
Whatever the reason, holding hands, kissing his cheek, even making out—none of it had felt wrong.
And now, blood was rushing downstairs.
Wait… am I really getting hard for a guy?
Biting his lip, Ho-eun had no excuse.
He was being aroused by Do In-ho—this clueless guy.
He wanted to touch him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Do In-ho pulled Ho-eun into his lap.
“You know Espers have sharper senses than normal people, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Your heart’s been racing like crazy since earlier.”
“….”
“It’s like it’s gonna burst.”
Do In-ho pressed his ear to Ho-eun’s chest.
“In-ho, that’s not where you should be listening.”
Ho-eun took his hand and guided it lower.
“I’ll show you how it works. If you want to stop at any point, just tell me.”
***
Changed into pajamas, Ho-eun crawled into bed, blinking slowly in exhaustion.
Do In-ho, fresh from another rinse, dried his damp hair with a towel as he joined him.
The matching body wash scent made him feel content, and he nuzzled into the crook of Ho-eun’s neck, inhaling deeply.
“Want stew for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Mm… porridge’s good too…”
Half-asleep, Ho-eun mumbled drowsily, his voice endearingly soft.
In-ho pulled him into his arms.
“Did you have fun meeting the others?”
“Mhm… filming’s all done… What about you?”
“I’ve got a field schedule. I think I’ll head out for filming tomorrow.”
“….”
When there was no reply, In-ho gently tilted Ho-eun’s chin upward.
Fast asleep—his eyelids tightly shut.
Tonight, the sky was especially black, as if the clouds were hiding the moon.
In-ho stroked Ho-eun’s lips with his thumb.
The skin was slightly chapped, the corners a little cracked.
“There it goes again.”
He furrowed his brows at the pressure building in his groin.
Before, it had been a sensation boiling up from his gut.
But now, it was rising from below.
Ho-eun had said that kind of thing was meant to be done alone. But In-ho didn’t like that.
This wasn’t about what he wanted.
Just thinking about what Ho-eun had done earlier made his body react like this.
So why did he have to take care of it himself? He’d always held back and taken responsibility in everything. But this—he didn’t want to take responsibility for this.
Just remembering the look on Ho-eun’s face in the bathroom made his mouth go dry.
The way his lips parted was too beautiful to capture with just his eyes.
But a photo—that might work.
If anyone heard that, they’d be horrified. But the thought took root.
In-ho had believed just kissing would be enough.
He knew how far guiding could go between a Guide and Esper… but never dared want more with Ho-eun.
Just being near him had felt like enough.
But now…
Like Adam and Eve discovering the taste of the forbidden fruit—
He could no longer remember how he thought before today.
f making Ho-eun look like that required going further… then he wanted to go further. Whatever it took to see that face again.
“…Ho-eun hyung.”
Calling out to the sleeping man, In-ho took Ho-eun’s hand and guided it down between his legs.
No guilt.
His desire had long since overpowered any shame.
“Haah… Ho-eun hyung.”
“……”
He nibbled on Ho-eun’s earlobe, voice thick with lust.
The rustling sheets finally stilled.
Beep.
A sound came from Ho-eun’s guide watch, freshly recharged after their shower. In the dark room, the white 70% on the screen stood out clearly.
Looking at it, In-ho grabbed a pack of wet tissues from the nightstand and wiped his hand clean.
Fwoosh—
Using his ability, he incinerated the used tissue until there was nothing left.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he gathered Ho-eun back into his arms and closed his eyes.
