Laying the half-conscious Eun-jo down flat, Jung Tae-seok held him tightly for a long while.
The sofa was too narrow for two people to lie side by side, so he ended up cradling Eun-jo right on top of him.
As Eun-jo struggled to catch his breath, Tae-seok pressed a kiss to his forehead and muttered,
“If you die, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“……”
How the hell are you gonna kill me if I’m already dead? Eun-jo wanted to snap back, but he didn’t even have the strength to move his lips.
“If you ever try finding another Guide again…”
His cold, razor-sharp gaze dropped to Eun-jo’s lower body.
“I swear I’ll seal that fucking hole of yours shut for good.”
The low, serious threat sent a chill racing down Eun-jo’s spine. And judging by the fact that Tae-seok still hadn’t let go of his crotch, the bastard wasn’t bluffing—he really would go through with it.
Trying to ignore him, Eun-jo let out a weak groan and shut his eyes.
“Yeo Eun-jo, don’t pretend you’re asleep.”
Apparently annoyed by the way Eun-jo’s head was turned away, Tae-seok reached out and tilted his face back toward him.
“Yeo Eun-jo.”
“…Hyung. Eun-jo hyung.”
Sometimes it was just “Yeo Eun-jo,” sometimes it was “Hyung.” With his eyes still closed, Eun-jo corrected him out of habit. Tae-seok opened his mouth again.
“Eun-jo-ya.”
“It’s not Eun-jo-ya, it’s Eun-jo hyuung…”
Without meaning to, Eun-jo’s words trailed off into a yawn. He’d spent the entire night tearing his room apart without a wink of sleep, only to be dragged here after. Whether he was “Hyung” or “Eun-jo,” his brain was already short-circuiting, the fuse about to blow.
Once he finally drifted off, Tae-seok gently lifted him in his arms. With extra care to keep him steady, he carried Eun-jo over to the bed tucked in the back of the Guiding Room.
He tucked him in with meticulous care, even straightening the pillow and blanket. Then he turned back toward the sofa.
Picking up the communicator from where it had been tossed on the floor, he was met with a flood of blinking notifications.
Among them, one name stood out.
He tapped it. A moment later, the call connected.
It was Team A’s leader, Park Se-yul.
As soon as the signal went through, a voice blasted out from the other end, sharp and agitated.
— “Jung Tae-seok, what the hell are you doing—?!”
“Team Leader.”
With a grim face, Tae-seok looked down at the sleeping Eun-jo and said,
“Yeo Eun-jo is going to die.”
A single sentence—like a spell strong enough to call Team A back from a mission on the spot.
***
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a solid chest.
Whoever it belonged to, it was thick and well-defined—whoever this person was, life with him probably wouldn’t be so bad.
No way that chest came from just a few days at the gym.
Seriously, how long’s it even been since I got possessed, and now I’m ogling people…?
Chuckling softly at the absurd thought, Eun-jo tilted his head up a little.
The chest belonged to Jung Tae-seok.
His thick arm was wrapped tightly around Eun-jo’s waist like a seatbelt, and he was fast asleep.
A far cry from the beast who’d mounted him and pounded away with his cock—his face now looked peaceful, almost gentle.
With his mouth shut and lying still like this, he actually looked… kind of cute.
“What, sold your clothes again or something…?”
Eun-jo glanced down from the bare torso. His lower half was hidden under the blanket, but something told him—he probably wasn’t wearing pants either.
“…No way.”
No way, right?
That’s when it hit him—they hadn’t even locked the door to the Guiding Room before going at it.
Sure, no one would normally barge into a Team Guide’s room, but you could never be too careful. He still didn’t know all the ins and outs of how things worked around here.
The thought that someone might walk in made Eun-jo fidget uncomfortably.
As he squirmed, Tae-seok furrowed his brows and pulled him in tighter.
“Mmmph—Tae-seok, seriously…!”
This psycho’s gonna rupture something—!
Eun-jo smacked Tae-seok’s thick forearm a few times until the grip finally loosened.
He slipped free and took a deep breath, finally catching a moment of peace.
“Espers get physical enhancements, but Guides? What the hell do we get?”
The energy Tae-seok had been radiating earlier wasn’t normal either. So why the hell don’t Guides get some kind of boost—strength, speed, anything?
Eun-jo glanced between Tae-seok’s massive, pumpkin-sized build and his own slender, zucchini-like frame and sank into a quiet depression.
“Guides should at least come with a bonus stat or two…”
Muttering to himself, he stepped out of the bedroom area—only to be greeted by clothes scattered all over the floor.
Then he saw the dried semen on the couch.
A sigh escaped his lips.
Apparently, Tae-seok had the presence of mind to clean him up, heal him, and even dress him in one of his own shirts… but cleaning the room? Total afterthought.
Well, at least he didn’t chuck a box of tissues at me this time.
Compared to their first night, this was practically a miracle.
Eun-jo gathered the clothes off the floor and tossed a blanket over the stained sofa.
Later, he’d have to ask one of the staff where to send the couch for cleaning.
“Oh, right. I meant to lock the door…”
Just as he turned toward it—
Knock knock—!
Before he could even respond, the door swung wide open.
Like debt collectors kicking down the door, a group of Training Center staff marched straight into the Guiding Room.
Their eyes landed on Eun-jo, standing barefoot in nothing but a white T-shirt—and their stares were ice-cold.
“Is Esper Jung Tae-seok here?”
Their expressions looked like they’d just walked in on an affair.
Even though he was Tae-seok’s assigned team Guide, and this was literally his job.
Feeling something was off, Eun-jo casually shifted his stance to block the view of the bed.
“…What’s going on?”
“There’s a committee meeting. You’re required to attend.”
“…Committee? What committee?”
Committee…?
The unfamiliar word triggered something—he tried to recall if that had ever come up in the original plot.
“It’s regarding the disciplinary case involving Guide Kim Min-jae. You’re expected to attend immediately.”
Boom.
A bomb dropped right in his lap.
***
Jung Tae-seok had been awake long before Eun-jo stirred.
He lay still, holding the sleeping Guide in his arms, eyes fixed on the peaceful rise and fall of his chest.
With his delicate features and faint frown, Eun-jo looked… heartbreakingly adorable.
Hyung, huh?
Honestly, Eun-jo looked way younger.
Unlike the thick, muscled Espers Tae-seok usually worked with, Eun-jo had a long, lean frame—and skin so smooth and pale it practically begged to be touched.
He found his hands drifting without even realizing it.
He regretted every time he left Eun-jo right after Guiding.
If he’d known how nice it was to fall asleep with him in his arms, he would’ve done it from the start.
“Mmm… Tae-seok…”
Eun-jo stirred, his eyes blinking open.
After struggling a bit under the weight of Tae-seok’s arm, he eventually squirmed his way backward off the bed like a startled crab.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he started grumbling to himself— Complaining about how Guides get the short end of the stick, how only Espers get upgraded—and all while cleaning the Guiding Room.
“Pfft…”
Tae-seok held back a laugh.
He was so damn cute.
Tae-seok watched silently, lips twitching every time his T-shirt slipped down Eun-jo’s shoulder.
After tossing a blanket over the stained couch, Eun-jo glanced toward the bed.
Sensing Tae-seok watching, he looked away quickly—but his voice came out in a quiet, indignant mutter.
“I’m the one who did all the Guiding, so why is he the one who got to sleep…?”
Tae-seok barely held back a snort.
But just as he was about to indulge in the moment—
Knock knock.
And just like that, his peaceful Eun-jo-watching time came to an abrupt end.
Thanks to the Training Center staff, his mood took a nosedive.
They couldn’t even bother waking me up first?
Seeing Eun-jo standing protectively at the door, shielding the bed from view like he was guarding him, only made the knot in Tae-seok’s chest tighten.
“…What the hell?”
Still shirtless beneath his loosely buttoned shirt, Tae-seok stepped out of bed and walked straight over.
He grabbed Eun-jo’s wrist and pulled him close, shielding him behind his own body.
Eun-jo looked up at him in surprise.
“…Are you serious right now?”
“What?”
“You seriously hit Guide Kim Min-jae?”
Tae-seok’s eyes narrowed, as if to say, Are you really asking me that?
Eun-jo caught the chill in his gaze and hesitated before speaking.
“…As long as you didn’t, that’s all I needed to hear.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”
Handle it, my ass. That definitely meant he’d done something.
It wasn’t like Eun-jo had planned to just let Kim Min-jae slide, but this? This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
There was a time, a process, a plan.
What am I supposed to do with this disaster of a man… Eun-jo let out a long sigh.
“You get to worry about me, but I’m not allowed to worry about you?” Eun-jo asked, frowning.
Tae-seok shrugged. “And what exactly would you do, even if you did? The moment a Gate opens, Team A is the first to deploy.”
“…So that’s what you’re relying on?”
“Yup.”
“……”
He was so shameless it actually shut Eun-jo up.
The nearby staff member, who’d overheard everything, twisted their face like they weren’t sure how to react.
Just as Eun-jo opened his mouth to explain, Tae-seok muttered,
“Worst case, I take a pay cut.”
“Pay… pay cut?”
That one word made Eun-jo snap.
A pay cut? First they short me on my own pay, and now they’re docking his too?
Technically, the deduction was from Tae-seok’s salary—not his—but that wasn’t the point.
Not after Eun-jo had already seen what a mess his own bank balance was.
Meanwhile, Tae-seok was already slipping in among the staff like this was no big deal.
“Stay in the Guiding Room until I get back. Don’t go wandering off.”
At that, Eun-jo immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Even without much force, Tae-seok let himself be drawn in. Eun-jo stepped in front of him, almost protectively.
“Guide Yeo Eun-jo, they’re waiting. We need to go now.”
The staff member sounded irritated.
“I’m going. I’m the one who started this anyway.”
“…What?”
“The incident with Guide Kim Min-jae—it started because of me.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
This time, it was Tae-seok.
He’d been keeping a straight face in front of the staff, but now his expression cracked as he grabbed Eun-jo’s hand. Eun-jo calmly turned his wrist and laced their fingers together, locking them tight.
Guiding energy surged between them.
“You think I’m just gonna let you go by yourself?”
“I’m not a kid, you know.”
Not a kid? What kind of “kid” goes around pounding people like a damn beast? Eun-jo bit back the retort, keeping it to himself.
Instead of saying it, he gave a soft smile and patted the back of Tae-seok’s hand gently.
“I’m your Guide.”
“……”
“You’re the one who told me not to find another.”
Tae-seok stared at him for a long moment before finally exhaling a resigned sigh.
“…Fine.”
He grabbed his jacket from beside the sofa.
Then he draped it over Eun-jo’s shoulders, making sure the name tag—Jung Tae-seok—was clearly visible. It felt less like a warm gesture and more like staking a claim.
“Let’s go.”
Still holding Tae-seok’s hand tightly, Eun-jo took a step forward.
This time, there’s no way they’re getting a single won.
