“Were you asleep?”
Instead of answering, Do In-ho wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him closer. As Do In-ho shifted on the bed, his hair tickled Ho-eun’s thigh.
“I waited for you… Must’ve passed out from using too much ability.”
Hearing him mumble as he closed his eyes again, Ho-eun bit down on his tongue to keep himself from cursing.
So damn cute…
Do In-ho’s hair slipped softly between Ho-eun’s fingers—it felt good. After about five minutes of gently combing through it, Do In-ho looked up at him with sleepy, half-lidded eyes, now fully awake.
“You used your ability?”
At Ho-eun’s gentle question, Do In-ho nodded.
“I’m infusing my ability.”
“Because of the Ability Product?”
“That, and… other things.”
Propping himself up with one arm, Do In-ho stared directly at Ho-eun. If stares could pierce, Ho-eun’s face would’ve had holes punched clean through.
Ho-eun was the one who broke eye contact first.
Do In-ho gently cupped the back of his small head and kissed him, changing the subject without a word.
His warm, soft lips rubbed against Ho-eun’s like he was pleading. He didn’t try to take anything further—just kept brushing their lips together, as if to say he wouldn’t push for more until Ho-eun gave permission.
Eventually, Ho-eun closed his eyes and slowly parted his lips. Maybe because he’d taken too long to respond, Do In-ho playfully bit down on his lower lip.
“Mm…”
Wet, sticky sounds echoed faintly through the room. Their lips clung and separated over and over, their heated breaths mingling as they kissed deeply again and again. At some point, Ho-eun ended up lying back on the bed, with Do In-ho on top of him, the two now simply staring into each other’s eyes.
Do In-ho slowly licked his glistening lips—slick from saliva—and his golden eyes gleamed with hungry desire.
“I wanted to do this with you, hyung.”
His voice whispered right against Ho-eun’s ear made his throat go dry. It was like suffering from a thirst he couldn’t quench—maddening and unbearable. Ho-eun reached up and hooked his arms around Do In-ho’s neck.
“Yeah? Then how about we call this a guiding session from here on out.”
He pulled Do In-ho down toward him, swallowing hard. Flushed with excitement, his entire body burning hot, Ho-eun was the one to initiate the next kiss.
***
Lulled by something warm brushing against his cheek, Ho-eun slowly opened his heavy eyelids. He thought he was holding onto something—and realized it was silk pajamas. The same set he and Do In-ho had picked out together during their last shopping trip.
“Mmm…”
Blinking groggily, Ho-eun rubbed his eyes again, and the next thing he saw was skin.
With the comforting sound of a heartbeat in his ears, he was just thinking he could drift back to sleep when his eyes shot open.
He’d been yanking on the collar of Do In-ho’s pajama shirt like some pervert, burying his face against his bare chest.
“The alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”
Do In-ho’s voice came from above, like he’d been awake for a while. Ho-eun quickly pulled away.
“G-guess I was tired. Must’ve been a weird sleeping habit.”
Flustered, he buttoned up the front of In-ho’s shirt, which had come undone.
“But it felt nice and cool.”
His usual expressionless face betrayed a trace of teasing mischief, making Ho-eun’s embarrassment double.
Even though they still had about thirty more minutes to sleep, Ho-eun stood up to escape the awkward moment and started getting ready for work.
After showering, he put on the outfit Do In-ho had picked out for him and began preparing cereal and salad.
“Morning meeting’s at 9, right?”
“Yeah.”
While Do In-ho was frying eggs and bacon, he plated them and set the dish on the table. Ho-eun stabbed a bite of salad and bacon together with his fork and chewed slowly.
“In-ho. Since you said you want to work on Ability Products, I won’t stop you.”
Do In-ho paused mid-apple-peeling and looked at Ho-eun.
“But don’t push yourself too hard.”
Before Ho-eun could react, Do In-ho had already sliced the apple into neat bite-sized pieces and popped one into his mouth. His cheek puffed up like a squirrel as he chewed, making Do In-ho finally speak again.
“I won’t do anything you hate, hyung. Well—except for last night.”
At that, Ho-eun suddenly coughed, like something had gone down the wrong pipe.
“Seriously, you…”
He gulped down water and barely managed to catch his breath. Seeing Do In-ho watching him with that perfectly innocent face, he couldn’t bring himself to scold him.
***
When they arrived at the PR Department meeting room with coffee in hand, the dark, unlit space greeted them. Bae Yeon-woo and Nam Woon-soo weren’t there yet, so Ho-eun turned on the lights and opened a window to let some fresh air in.
“You’re early.”
Just as they were sipping their coffee, the door opened, and the two others walked in. Bae Yeon-woo greeted them and took his seat.
The atmosphere between the two seemed normal, which was a relief.
“Starting today, we’re officially supporting the HR field ops. For this week, Kwon Ho-eun and Do In-ho, you two are assigned to monitor Han Yeo-ul.”
Bae Yeon-woo pulled up a PowerPoint slide.
“This is Han Yeo-ul’s schedule from HR. Aside from her time at school and tutoring, you’ll need to find natural opportunities to cross paths.”
He eyed the two and shook his head.
“If you show up like this, you’re gonna get reported as creeps—if you’re lucky.”
“What’s wrong with us?!”
Ho-eun opened his mouth to protest—then imagined what he and Do In-ho would look like standing outside an elementary school. Two guys over 180cm tall… Yeah, anyone would find that sketchy.
“So, uh… how does the Special Monitoring Subject system normally work?”
Instead of arguing, Ho-eun shifted the topic.
“By law, Espers are required to be affiliated with the Esper Corporation, as part of the national registry.”
Spinning his pen once, Bae Yeon-woo continued.
“So what does it mean to be a legal Esper? It means you’re someone with a verified ability. And to prove that, you have to actually demonstrate it.”
“You mean they have to show it?”
“Exactly. Either they get reported, self-report, or the HR department catches them in the act.”
“So then our job is…”
“To stop the anti-government from ambushing the subject the moment they activate their ability.”
Bae Yeon-woo advanced the slide, revealing profiles of three missing Special Monitoring Subjects.
“HR’s never seen any of these three use their abilities. So they’re not classified as Espers—just Esper suspects. But now they’ve vanished. That means the anti-government confirmed they’re the real deal.”
“They were taken.”
“Exactly. That’s why HR asked us to collaborate. They confirm the ability; we catch the anti-government.”
At the word collaborate, Nam Woon-soo, who’d been listening quietly, grew visibly gloomier. Noticing this, Ho-eun hesitated, then raised his hand.
“Then… Team Lead Nam Woon-soo and Assistant Manager Bae Yeon-woo will be in charge of Park Ki-hyun?”
A flicker of curiosity crossed Nam Woon-soo’s face too. Even though he was the team lead, it seemed like Bae Yeon-woo had received all the information directly from HR.
“Yeah. It’s me and him handling Park Ki-hyun.”
The moment Bae Yeon-woo said it, Nam Woon-soo’s face lit up noticeably.
“Team Leader Eom Seong-chan’s also assigned to Park Ki-hyun, right?”
“Yep.”
But it didn’t even take a minute for the color to drain from Nam Woon-soo’s face again.
“I’ll share Han Yeo-ul’s schedule with you—review it carefully, and try not to expose your faces. You two are already recognizable, so just stay undercover and wait until anti-government shows up. HR will be on-site, so we’ll head straight there too.”
As the meeting began to wrap up, Ho-eun answered with a loud “Got it!”
After Bae Yeon-woo and Nam Woon-soo left, Ho-eun reviewed the PowerPoint again. It included detailed notes on Han Yeo-ul’s relationships, likes, dislikes, and more.
“She’s only ten, and she’s going to five different tutoring academies?”
“Is that a lot?”
Do In-ho tilted his head.
“For a ten-year-old, yeah. She doesn’t get home until 9pm.”
Ho-eun tried to brainstorm how to approach her, but his head was already full of other thoughts.
“Hey, In-ho.”
Ho-eun finally groaned and yanked at his own hair.
“Team Lead Nam Woon-soo and Assistant Manager Bae Yeon-woo… what happened to them in HR?”
Nam Woon-soo had always been a bit wary around Bae Yeon-woo, but ever since they returned from HQ, it had gotten worse.
“I don’t know the details either.”
Do In-ho grabbed Ho-eun’s hand—the one trying to rip his own hair out—and set it on the table.
“But one thing’s for sure. Assistant Manager Bae Yeon-woo doesn’t have good feelings toward HR.”
Ho-eun’s pupils widened. He leaned forward, intrigued.
“Field Guides tend to get promoted faster than other guides. If a team doesn’t have a Team Leader, you can take the promotion exam regardless of your tenure.”
That reminded Ho-eun of how young Team Leader Kim Mi-young in the Civil Complaints Division was—he nodded.
“But about four years ago, when Bae Yeon-woo took the HR promotion exam, there were rumors his advancement was postponed due to conduct issues. They kicked him out of HR entirely.”
“Conduct issues?”
“No idea what exactly. But he didn’t get promoted and was reassigned to the Special Division.”
“Huh…”
Ho-eun recalled how anxious Bae Yeon-woo looked when they first arrived at HQ. He had seemed more nervous than usual—like he was on edge.
Back in HR, he’d been glancing around like someone being watched. But after returning, when Nam Woon-soo’s behavior reverted, Ho-eun had almost forgotten about it.
Now, something about it all left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Should we really be working with a department like that?”
At Ho-eun’s words, Do In-ho fell silent.
The previous night, while Ho-eun was out visiting Kim Se-hee, Do In-ho had been injecting ability into an Ability Product. The process required intense focus and stamina, and if he didn’t rest properly, it could drain too much guiding—so he’d taken a short break.
That was when he got a call from someone he’d never expect to hear from at that hour: Bae Yeon-woo.
After a brief pause, Do In-ho answered—and was met with a surprising proposal.
Park Ki-hyun was technically supposed to be Do In-ho’s assignment.
Because Nam Woon-soo’s ability was a better match for Han Yeo-ul, they assumed he’d handle her instead.
“Knowing Kwon Ho-eun, he’s probably gonna ask you about me and HR tomorrow. Just tell him this much, and don’t say anything else. If you do, I’ll make sure you and Ho-eun get assigned to Han Yeo-ul together.”
Bae Yeon-woo’s proposal was simple: share only part of the rumor with Ho-eun.
Do In-ho had never cared about gossip, nor about what had gone down between Bae Yeon-woo and HR.
But despite that, Bae Yeon-woo had given him a piece of the story—practically demanding he pass it on.
As if he were trying to steer Ho-eun toward some kind of action.
The whole thing felt off.
But even with the bad gut feeling, Do In-ho chose to go along with it—because it meant he’d be able to work in the field alongside Ho-eun.
