My head was spinning. Everything felt chaotic. What am I even doing right now? What’s going on? My back kept arching against my will. The more I pulled away, the more he crashed into me like he was going to devour me. His lips swallowed mine completely. My hand twisted tightly into Baek Tae-beom’s clothes.
“Wait, wai—”
Without thinking, I grabbed his arm. I couldn’t breathe. Gasping, I let out ragged breaths. His solid thigh pressed up against me. Baek Tae-beom gently rubbed my earlobe. As I flinched and opened my mouth wider, he shoved himself deeper without hesitation.
The <Constellation Communication Net> flashed and rang out—like it was about to explode.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!]
And just like that, my senses came rushing back.
I shoved Baek Tae-beom away in a panic. He stepped back obediently, just a couple of paces, and stared down at me in the dark. All I could do was look up at him in stunned silence, wiping the saliva-slicked sheen from my lips with the back of my hand.
My heart was pounding like crazy.
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction,’ is synchronizing with the Holy Vessel.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Right now.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What the hell did I just witness.]
[The Constellation, ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun,’ collapses clutching his neck.]
[The Constellation, ‘Free Wind,’ whistles at you.]
[The Constellation, ‘Horseback Herald,’ peeks shyly from behind a shell-shaped hat.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: That was intense.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Didn’t expect things to go that way…]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Ga-hyeon, your face is a mess right now.]
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Guides the Dead,’ has sponsored you with 5,000 Coins.]
[Remaining Coins: 7,000]
Enough. Just stop. Please.
I was grateful this room was dark. If it wasn’t, Baek Tae-beom would’ve definitely seen how red my face was. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. My lips were so sore from all the kissing, they actually hurt.
In the silence, I barely managed to swallow. The heat flooding my body left even my throat stinging.
Right.
Think.
This was a mistake.
Baek Tae-beom clearly misunderstood what I’d said. I told him to pretend to kiss me, and he must’ve taken it to mean actually kiss me. That had to be it. How else could I explain this situation? I forced myself to calm down.
“Hey, Tae-beom…”
“……”
“You misunderstood, right? You don’t need to explain. I’m sorry. I should’ve been clearer—”
“No.”
Baek Tae-beom answered, voice firm and flat.
“I kissed you because I wanted to.”
What the hell am I supposed to do with you?
I almost said that out loud. I barely managed to stifle the groan pushing up my throat, covering my mouth. He said he kissed me because he wanted to?
Me?
Why?
Like he… actually likes me or something.
‘Likes me? Baek Tae-beom, liking me?’
Not a chance in hell. No way Baek Tae-beom liked me. I scrambled to come up with some other explanation. My thoughts were a frantic mess.
…He kissed me because he wanted to? What the hell does that even mean?
Didn’t Baek Tae-beom like women? I remembered asking him that once. He said yes. So how could he feel that way about me?
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction,’ is synchronizing with the Holy Vessel.]
It just didn’t add up.
‘Maybe he was just curious?’
That seemed more plausible. The shiny title of S-Rank Hunter aside, Baek Tae-beom was still young. Maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing—some impulsive urge.
That made me feel a little better. Of course. Who the hell would like someone like me?
I nodded slowly.
“Okay. Got it.”
“……”
“……”
“…That’s it?”
“…Huh?”
Baek Tae-beom looked at me, completely dumbfounded. I stared up at him, eyes wide. I hadn’t even noticed him coming closer, but now he was right in front of me again in this darkness.
“I told you, I kissed you because I wanted to.”
“I heard you.”
“……”
“Why?”
“Are you toying with me?”
“Toying with you?”
I blurted out the conclusion I’d convinced myself of.
“You just wanted to try it once, didn’t you?”
That was the mistake.
Before I knew it, he’d grabbed me roughly and slammed me against the wall. In the dark, those golden eyes gleamed like a beast’s, drawing near. Twisted with burning intensity, like he might devour me whole. The overwhelming pressure was suffocating. My fingertips flinched.
“Tae-beom…?”
“You…”
Baek Tae-beom spat the words out, like he couldn’t stand to say them.
“You think I kissed you just to try it out, for fun? What the fuck?”
In that moment, my mind went completely blank.
The world tilted.
I couldn’t say anything. All I could do was stare at Baek Tae-beom. He, too, just stared at me without saying a word. I almost wished he would—anything to fill the silence—but all I could do was gaze into his eyes, as if entranced.
My lips moved several times before I finally managed to get my trembling voice out. It came out low and thick, stuck deep in my throat.
“You…”
The possibility I had denied again and again.
“You… don’t tell me you…”
“……”
“…really like me?”
Baek Tae-beom slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, as if choking on something. Up close, his face looked pale. I could feel someone’s heartbeat—maybe his, maybe mine—racing out of control, erratic and wild.
[Your Contractor expresses overwhelming affection toward you.]
The rhythm of our pulses aligned.
“Yes.”
Baek Tae-beom whispered, voice heavy.
“I like you, hyung.”
Suddenly, all those uncanny feelings I’d sensed from Baek Tae-beom over time came crashing down on me. The affection far too deep to be explained by a simple Contract—his emotional growth that felt like a rapid bloom—his whispered words, the repeated confessions.
My shoulders suddenly felt heavy.
I couldn’t breathe.
Fear crept into the space between us. Was it fear? I didn’t know. The system kept throwing up notifications about synchronization, but nothing was changing. My mouth hung open, unable to form words. Finally, I forced one out.
“…Sorry.”
I lowered my head and gently pushed Baek Tae-beom’s shoulder away.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to answer now, hyung.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’m not asking for an answer… I just want you to know.”
“I…”
“Fuck, can you just listen to me for once, hyung? Choi Ga-hyeon.”
Baek Tae-beom grabbed my arms.
“I like you. That’s all. Just know that. I don’t care if you say anything back. Just stop with that fucked-up ‘sorry’ already.”
“But—”
“No ‘but.’ Just listen to me. Or pretend you never heard any of it. That’s fine too. Just please…”
He reached up and covered my eyes.
“Don’t cry. Please.”
“……”
“It’s all my fault anyway.”
A crushing guilt pressed down on me. Was it penance for all the time I’d spent treating Baek Tae-beom like a fictional character in a book? The curse of having believed he was just a role in a story? Or maybe—
Maybe it was the realization of that shameless, unspoken feeling I hadn’t let myself recognize until now?
In the dark that had settled around me, I closed my eyes. I felt tears slip down from beneath my lashes.
I was so unbelievably stupid.
How could I ever fall for someone again?
After everything I’ve been through. After surviving all those days. How could I even think about loving someone again?
“I won’t touch you again, hyung.”
“……”
“So just… one more time. Just once.”
With my eyes still covered, Baek Tae-beom leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. He licked away the wetness on my lips left by my tears, and kissed me again and again with the lightest, birdlike touches. It tickled—so soft it almost made me shiver.
Our lips met again. Every point of contact felt like fire. His tongue slid in smoothly, wrapping and rubbing against mine like it was trying to burrow into me.
Baek Tae-beom lowered the hand covering my eyes and wiped my tears. I still hadn’t opened my eyes as I received his kiss. That fierce, hungry force he’d shown earlier had melted away completely. It felt like swallowing fruit—so ripe, it burst with juice.
“Open your eyes, hyung.”
At that soft whisper, I found myself opening them without thinking.
Through the blurred haze of my vision, I saw Baek Tae-beom smiling sweetly at me.
“You’re beautiful.”
“What is…”
“You, hyung.”
“……”
“Seriously beautiful.”
Fucking bastard.
“You can keep denying me. As much as you want—that’s fine…”
Baek Tae-beom brushed beneath my eyes again. They were probably bright red by now.
“Just let me stay by your side.”
“……”
“That’s all I need. Really.”
“That’s all you need?”
“Yes.”
He kept caressing my cheek for a moment longer before letting his hand drop. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“What the hell is that even supposed to mean?”
“Then how do you feel about me, hyung?”
“……”
“Sorry? And what else? Don’t you have anything more to say to me?”
I opened my mouth to respond.
But just then, my phone rang.
I hesitated, and Baek Tae-beom gave me a look urging me to pick up. I answered. The caller was Lee Myung-won.
I cleared my throat quickly to shake off the lingering tremor in my voice, then spoke.
“Hello?”
– Choi Ga-hyeon. Is Baek Tae-beom with you?
“Yes, actually. We think we found the entrance…”
– You both need to return immediately.
“…What?”
Lee Myung-won’s voice was grave.
– A dungeon rupture. At least A-rank or higher.
“But why so suddenly…?”
– Thirty-two of them. All at once. All concentrated in Seoul.
I inhaled sharply.
“No way…”
– Get back as fast as possible, Choi Ga-hyeon. Baek Tae-beom. The lab is no longer the priority.
Lee Myung-won continued.
– If we’re not careful, Seoul could be wiped out in an instant.
