# Chapter 33
Jinwoo was positioned between Hajin’s legs, and as if that wasn’t enough, he lifted Hajin’s waist and pulled him closer.
Both Hajin and Jinwoo understood well what that movement meant.
Though Jinwoo’s eyes glinted like he might devour Hajin at any moment, he clung to his last shred of reason and asked:
“Even now, if you say the word, I can stop here.”
The veins protruding on the back of his hand as he gripped the blanket showed how much he was restraining himself. Seeing this, Hajin couldn’t help but deliberate.
If Jinwoo had simply continued, carried away by the atmosphere, perhaps Hajin would have made an easier decision.
But he seemed to dislike that approach, seeking Hajin’s permission instead. This forced Hajin to consider the matter seriously.
Without the excuse of being swept up in the moment, would he be able to face himself after having relations purely because he wanted to?
While the heat that had been warming Hajin’s body was gradually subsiding, Jinwoo showed no signs of cooling down, still enduring his desire.
Yet with just one word from Hajin, he would withdraw without showing the slightest disappointment.
‘Why is he going this far for me?’
Hajin knew what a Guide meant to an Esper. But knowing and understanding were different things.
Hajin knew he was an incredibly important existence to them, but he would never fully understand it until his dying day.
Unless, of course, he suddenly awakened as an Esper himself.
Hajin shifted his gaze from Jinwoo to the blank ceiling. Then he finally answered:
“What if I say I don’t dislike it?”
He still didn’t understand why they were so obsessed with him. But that wasn’t what Hajin needed to think about right now.
That wasn’t what mattered. He just needed to consider whether he would regret crossing this line. That was all.
It wasn’t simply because his body was heated that he made this decision. Though he couldn’t say that wasn’t part of it. But thinking about it, unless the team changed, Hajin would have to be with these men for years to come.
Who could guarantee that situations like this wouldn’t arise again?
Hajin honestly admitted to himself that he was weak to pleasure.
And he was also aware that such contact was beneficial for Espers too. So wouldn’t it be better to catch two birds with one stone?
Of course, just because he’d made up his mind didn’t mean he would immediately give himself over, but at least with Jinwoo as his partner right now, it seemed okay.
“What happens if I say that?”
As Hajin’s gaze shifted from the ceiling to look directly at him, Jinwoo’s eyes darkened even further.
“…Then I won’t stop.”
Though the voice flowed out gently, somehow it felt like a hungry beast growling low in its throat.
‘Huh? Did I make the wrong choice?’
Doyoon was too young, and with Jaan and Seungho, he’d already witnessed how they couldn’t stop with just a kiss.
That’s why he thought Jinwoo would be alright—someone who restrained his emotions to the limit while respecting Hajin’s choices.
It felt like something was off.
But choices couldn’t be undone. The moment words that amounted to permission fell from Hajin’s lips, Jinwoo’s hands began to move.
Fingers invaded beneath Hajin’s neatly buttoned shirt, caressing his chest and stomach.
Hajin’s waist trembled at the touch that seemed intent on memorizing every contour of his body.
It would have been less embarrassing if Jinwoo had simply undressed him, but with his clothes still on while being touched and gazed at this way, his face grew even hotter.
“Hah…!”
When Jinwoo’s fingertips traced down the center of his stomach, brushing his navel, Hajin inhaled sharply.
‘Damn…’
It was humiliating, yet his heart raced, goosebumps rose on his back, and his body jerked wherever Jinwoo’s fingers touched.
Hajin seriously questioned whether he had always been this sensitive.
But no matter how he thought about it, he concluded it wasn’t his problem, but theirs.
Hajin rationalized that with someone looking at him with such devouring eyes and touching him so erotically, it would be stranger not to be affected by this atmosphere.
“Ah, hng…”
As Jinwoo looked down at him with gleaming eyes, almost like observing experimental results while his hands explored every corner of Hajin’s body, Hajin’s lower half also began to respond.
Yet Jinwoo’s hands persistently lingered on his upper body, as if saying he hadn’t fully tasted this area yet. Or perhaps he was being considerate to Hajin, for whom this might be his first such experience.
But from Hajin’s perspective, it felt different. The heat he sensed from their pressed lower bodies made him burn hotter, yet Jinwoo kept touching everywhere but there, which was rather tantalizing.
Above all, he disliked how his own waist kept twitching at each touch, as if wanting more.
Just do it already. With that thought, he found himself reaching out first. Pulling out the hand that had invaded his shirt, he felt Jinwoo’s arm stiffen, clearly misinterpreting.
“If you dislike it…”
“That’s not it, hah…”
Though he’d thought it, actually saying it out loud was embarrassing. After his lips moved wordlessly a few times, feeling the heat rising to his face, Hajin covered it slightly and said:
“…Just, just do it.”
Dare I say, there had never been a more provocative moment in Jinwoo’s life.
Did this man know what he was saying? He was encouraging a monster who was restraining itself to avoid hurting him.
Gritting his teeth, Jinwoo reached for the drawer beside the bed. Now, even if Hajin said no, he didn’t think he could stop.
* * *
Quite fortunately for Hajin, Doyoon, who had gone to the Association, returned only after two more days passed—apparently the matter had grown larger than expected—which meant what had happened between Hajin and Jinwoo remained undiscovered.
“…You and the team leader seem to have gotten closer?”
However, they couldn’t hide the change in atmosphere that came after crossing that line. Having personally experienced how difficult relationships with Espers could be, Hajin had to pretend everything was normal.
“Well, we’re similar in age, and we both appreciate the quiet.”
While Hajin answered nonchalantly, Jinwoo merely raised the corners of his mouth slowly, like a satisfied predator.
Doyoon couldn’t shake his suspicions that something had happened, but ultimately, he never discovered what had occurred between them.
The thoroughly soaked sheets had been laundered long ago.
Hajin’s hoarse voice and stiff body had mostly returned to normal during Doyoon’s absence, thanks to Jinwoo’s care.
The atmosphere inevitably turned suggestive during back massages, but Jinwoo kept his word until the end—he wouldn’t touch Hajin unless Hajin wanted it.
In any case, what happened that day remained a secret between the two of them.
Having shaken off even the lingering stiffness, Hajin put on his workout clothes.
‘I need to build my stamina.’
After his encounter with Jinwoo, Hajin had become more aware of the importance of physical fitness.
Of course, he wasn’t trying to increase his stamina for future encounters. He had already been planning to resume exercise, but now he understood its importance even more deeply.
“I’ll be going to the training center.”
“Why?”
Doyoon, who had raised his head the moment Hajin emerged from his room, quickly ran over to his side.
“I heard there’s a fitness room, so I thought I’d work out.”
“Indeed… I was thinking your stamina could use some improvement.”
Hajin had thought only Doyoon was in the living room, but Jinwoo emerged from the kitchen and added this suggestive comment.
While Doyoon didn’t understand the implication, Hajin, reminded of that time, glared slightly at Jinwoo. However, the more experienced man merely smiled, his eyes crinkling.
‘I’d rather die than suffer this.’
In the end, it was Hajin who averted his gaze first. Unlike Jinwoo, who seemed completely unbothered, Hajin’s face reddened with embarrassment at the memory—a battle with a clear winner to any observer.
Hajin couldn’t imagine that his encounter with Jinwoo might have been Jinwoo’s first time too.
“Anyway, I’ll be going now.”
“Want me to take you there?”
“…I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
Seeing Doyoon’s eyes sparkle with eagerness, Hajin couldn’t refuse.
Somehow, after deciding to keep his relationship with Jinwoo secret, Hajin had grown weaker to Doyoon’s requests.
“Yes! Team leader, don’t come!”
Even as he practically ran to his room to change clothes, Doyoon warned off Jinwoo. Jinwoo nodded casually, as if amused by the futile defense. But as soon as Doyoon disappeared into his room, he reached out to Hajin’s neck.
“Here, this is turned inside out.”
His fingers brushed Hajin’s nape as he fixed the collar and withdrew, as if he had no intention to touch him otherwise. Hajin’s shoulders jerked in response.
Seeing Hajin’s sensitive reaction, Jinwoo chuckled softly.
“Looking at you like this makes me want to kiss you. May I?”
“Would that be appropriate?”
Despite Hajin’s sharp retort, Jinwoo just shrugged casually. His usual stoic face had never seemed so irritating.
Meanwhile, Doyoon emerged, having changed his clothes.
“…You know we’re just going to the training center together, right?”
Seeing Doyoon dressed as if for a date, Hajin asked glumly, to which Doyoon frowned.
He hadn’t expected Hajin to blush, but he thought he’d at least receive a compliment on how well he looked. The response was too harsh.
“I know that! Is that all you have to say?”
“You look handsome.”
“Uh, wha- well, of course I do.”
Wasn’t this the answer he wanted?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
