Bang—
The door slammed open.
Min Yu-hyun and Kang Chi-yu jerked in surprise, snapping their heads toward the sound. Standing there was Hyun Tae-oh, face drained of color, his eyes burning as he glared straight at Yu-hyun.
“Oh—Tae-oh.”
Chi-yu jumped up with a relieved smile, calling his name. But Tae-oh didn’t look at him. His gaze stayed locked on Yu-hyun as he spoke in a voice cold enough to freeze the air.
“The fuck is going on…?”
That tone made Chi-yu realize instantly: Tae-oh had completely misunderstood. He hurried to explain.
“Ah, wait—it’s not what you think—”
“Not what I think? How the fuck is that bullshit I just heard supposed to be a misunderstanding?”
“No, listen, what I meant was—”
“You said your feelings wouldn’t change? You asked him to date you? You’re already dating me. Aren’t you?”
“Tae-oh—”
“And we’re already a Pair. What, so just because he’s a Guide, it doesn’t matter?”
“Hey, Hyun Tae-oh.”
Yu-hyun finally cut in, but Tae-oh’s voice dropped even lower, sharp enough to cut.
“Shut the fuck up before I rip your mouth apart.”
Yu-hyun flinched, shoulders tightening.
He’d never seen Tae-oh this furious. It was frightening. All it would take was one word—“misunderstanding”—but the suffocating chill in the room left him speechless.
“Since when? Since when did that bastard catch your eye? Don’t tell me back when we filmed PairBorn—did he hit on you at the dorms?”
“Tae-oh.”
“Or were you two-timing me? Sneaking around behind my back?”
He stopped, exhaled deeply, visibly struggling to rein himself in.
“Since when?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Answer me. I won’t kill him.”
“…”
“I swear, right now I want to crush his throat. But you’d be heartbroken, and I can’t stand that. So no—I won’t kill him. But I need to know. Since when did it start? Since when was it him sitting in your heart instead of me?”
Tae-oh jabbed a finger against Chi-yu’s chest.
Yu-hyun looked stunned. Chi-yu shut his eyes against the pounding in his head, then forced them open again.
“Were you planning to confess today and sneak behind my back? Or dump me and go to him? Answer me. Are you going to throw me away?”
The longer Chi-yu stayed silent, the more Tae-oh’s imagination spiraled. Chi-yu shook his head violently.
“No. That’s not it. Just calm down.”
“Calm down? I heard you confessing to him with my own ears! How the fuck am I supposed to calm down after that?!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! What kind of lunatic talks about Guides dating each other? You’re out of your goddamn mind!”
Yu-hyun finally exploded.
He’d stayed quiet out of embarrassment, not wanting to admit that he’d been practicing a confession to Yoon Do-jae with Chi-yu’s help. But Tae-oh’s antics had gone too far. And at this point, he was worried about his own neck.
“I was going to confess to Yoon Do-jae. Chi-yu was just helping me with the lines.”
“So since when have you—wait.”
Tae-oh suddenly cut himself off, blinking like even he realized what he just said made no sense. After a moment’s thought, he whipped his head toward Chi-yu.
“He’s confessing to Yoon Do-jae?”
“Watch your mouth, brat. I’m older than you. Think you can crawl all over me just because I didn’t say anything?”
Yu-hyun snapped irritably. But Tae-oh didn’t even look at him. His eyes stayed glued to Chi-yu.
Chi-yu nodded.
“Yeah. Yu-hyun-hyung said he was going to confess to Yoon Do-jae, so we were just practicing. That’s what you overheard.”
The moment he realized it had all been a misunderstanding, relief spread across Tae-oh’s face.
“Really?”
Yu-hyun pouted at the whiplash shift in his attitude.
“Still, why the hell are you asking Chi-yu to help with that? Figure it out yourself.”
“Only you figure stuff out on your own—you’ve got no friends. Anyway, since he’s here now, I’ll head out.”
“Oh, okay. Let’s talk again later with Jun-hyung around.”
Yu-hyun nodded.
“…By the way, I saw him buying a ring.”
At Tae-oh’s offhand comment, Yu-hyun froze mid-step. He spun back, sharp.
“What do you mean?”
“I went with Chi-yu to reinforce my Pair Ring at the Ability Condensation Chamber. Do-jae was there—buying a ring.”
“A ring? For who? Don’t tell me for himself?”
“It was a Couple Ring.”
“A Couple Ring? Does that mean he’s seeing someone?”
“Don’t know. One was definitely his, but the other looked like it was meant for someone else.”
“When was this?” Yu-hyun pressed.
“Last Saturday,” Tae-oh said.
***
“I really thought you and Yu-hyun had something going on….”
Late that night.
Tae-oh sat plastered against Chi-yu on the couch, claiming he was “relieving battle stress” while his hands wandered over Chi-yu’s body.
Chi-yu let him, knowing this was how Tae-oh found comfort.
“But seriously, who is it? Didn’t think he’d be seeing someone.”
Chi-yu stroked Tae-oh’s hair where it rested against his chest.
“What, Yoon Do-jae?”
“Mm.” Tae-oh’s voice was rough with fatigue.
“Yeah. I thought he and Yu-hyun-hyung had a thing.”
“Then that ring must’ve been for him.”
“…What?”
Startled, Chi-yu looked down. Tae-oh lifted his head and sat upright.
“They were flirting, weren’t they? So the Couple Ring must’ve been for Yu-hyun.”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense.”
“With Do-jae’s personality, there’s no way he’d be seeing two people at once.”
Something about that made Chi-yu look at him with a touched expression.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?” Tae-oh asked, breaking off.
“No, just… you’ve gotten to know Yoon Do-jae so well. You’ve really changed, Tae-oh.”
A quiet laugh slipped from his lips. He pulled Chi-yu into a tighter embrace and let out a sigh.
“Just thinking about earlier—my heart nearly stopped.”
“You really thought I confessed to Yu-hyun-hyung?”
“That’s why I lost it.”
“Wow. You don’t trust me? You think I’d leave you—”
“I do trust you. That’s why it hit so hard. Hearing it with my own ears… I’m lucky I didn’t lose my mind. Honestly, Hyun Tae-oh keeping his sanity through that—your boyfriend’s incredible, right?”
Muttering, he hugged Chi-yu tighter.
“Anyway, don’t hang out with Yu-hyun alone. Bring Lee Jun-hyung along.”
“…You’re ridiculous.”
Chi-yu chuckled.
“What about Catdog and Hayangi?” He glanced toward the bedroom.
“They’re asleep. Knocked out right after Ol-bae and Cheese left.”
“Ah. So we’re in the small room again tonight?”
Since Hayangi the alpaca was twice Catdog’s size, when both beasts sprawled across the bed, there wasn’t enough room left for the two of them. So whenever the animals took over, they naturally moved to the smaller bed.
But of course, Tae-oh twisted it.
“You asking me to hold you? I’m always ready for that.”
Chi-yu gave him a flat, exasperated look.
***
After bringing Ol-bae and Cheese home, Yu-hyun still couldn’t shake the sour taste of Tae-oh’s words about Yoon Do-jae’s Couple Ring.
Every weekend, Do-jae spent time with him. On weekdays, he’d use Ol-bae as an excuse to visit Yu-hyun’s place—or drag Yu-hyun over to his.
So when had he found time to start dating someone else? Yu-hyun couldn’t understand it. But the truth was undeniable: they weren’t dating. Which meant Do-jae was free to date whoever he wanted, to exchange Couple Rings with anyone he chose. Yu-hyun had no right to complain.
Still, his chest ached.
He sat on the sofa, stroking Ol-bae and Cheese as they cuddled on his lap. By the time Yoon Do-jae teleported into the living room, the sky outside had already turned black.
Yu-hyun squinted up, eyes stinging at the sudden light Do-jae switched on.
“You’re just sitting here in the dark—what happened? Something wrong?”
“…”
“Yu-hyun.”
When had it started—liking the way his name sounded when Do-jae said it?
He didn’t know. But right now, with Do-jae calling him so gently while supposedly having someone else to exchange rings with—it felt cruel. Too cruel.
Yes, Yoon Do-jae was being cruel to him.
“What happened?”
“Nothing. Take Cheese.”
Yu-hyun stood, scooping both beasts up before handing Cheese toward him.
Usually, when they were like this, it ended with dinner together. So when Yu-hyun dismissed him coldly, Do-jae faltered.
“…Did you eat?”
“Not hungry.”
“Tell me what’s wrong. I can’t know unless you say it.”
“Why should you know?”
“What?”
“Forget it. Just go home.”
Yu-hyun turned his back.
Startled by the sudden chill, Do-jae teleported himself and Cheese away.Â
But when he vanished without even a goodbye, Yu-hyun bit his lip hard, hurt prickling through him.
He hugged Ol-bae tightly, burying his face in its feathers.
And then—
“I need to know.”
Do-jae’s voice rang out again.
Yu-hyun jolted. The man who’d just left was back, Cheese still in his arms, having teleported straight back.
“Jesus, don’t scare me like that!”
Startled, Yu-hyun looked up. Ol-bae and Cheese slipped free, scampering off into the bedroom and leaving just the two of them.
“I said—I need to know.”
“…Know what…?”
“Why you’re so angry right now.”
“….”
“Did something happen? Did someone mess with you? Is it Antis?”
Everyone thought of Do-jae as the quiet type. But once you got close, he wasn’t. In fact, he could talk almost as much as Beom Do-il. Not in the same flighty way, but still—far from the taciturn image people imagined.
“What does it matter?”
“It matters. So tell me. Why are you like this?”
The word matters made Yu-hyun’s throat sting.
“Why does it matter to you?”
Eyes wet, he stared at him.
“Why does it matter to you—when you’ve already bought a Couple Ring?”
Do-jae’s eyes widened in shock.
“…What?”
“You’ve already got someone else. So why should it matter to you how I feel?”
“…How did you know…?”
“How doesn’t matter. What difference does it make?”
“Was it Hyun Tae-oh who told you?”
Do-jae’s brows furrowed sharply.
“I said it doesn’t matter who—”
“It’s for you.”
“…What…?”
Yu-hyun froze.
If he wasn’t hearing things, if he wasn’t imagining it—he’d just heard Yoon Do-jae say: It’s for you.
Stunned, he stared up at him. And Do-jae repeated, clear and certain, the words Yu-hyun had secretly longed to hear.
“The Couple Ring—it’s for you and me.”
