The moment the door shut, Tae-oh’s lips crashed into Chi-yu’s. Startled, Chi-yu squeezed his eyes shut, his body locking up stiff as stone.
By now, he should’ve been used to Stage 2 Guiding. But like an ingrained reflex, his body still froze, helpless to respond.
With their mouths still pressed together, Tae-oh murmured against his lips.
“Time to Guide, Chi-yu.”
Already uneasy from being shirtless and vulnerable to all kinds of distracting thoughts, Chi-yu felt a sharp tremor ripple through his lower belly at the sound of Hyun Tae-oh’s voice.
Forcing down the heat rising in him, Chi-yu steadied his breathing and connected his energy to Tae-oh’s wavelength, beginning the Guiding. The second he touched it, he realized just how tangled and chaotic it was—enough to understand exactly what Tae-oh had meant when he’d said, “I feel like I’ll die.”
Without suppressants, it was only going to get harder for him. That thought stirred a wave of sympathy in Chi-yu, and he tried to focus. But Tae-oh kept turning the Guiding into kisses, and his concentration unraveled each time.
He should’ve been used to this by now. But the pleasure was still overwhelming—far too much for him to handle.
Tae-oh’s kisses were tender yet insistent, skillful yet rough. Every time they did saliva-contact Guiding, those same gestures made Chi-yu’s desire roar to life.
Stage 2 Guiding, these kisses disguised as Guiding—Tae-oh was simply too good at them. Chi-yu found himself begrudgingly impressed, all over again.
After the special broadcast, there had been plenty of controversy about Stage 2 Guiding.
It was always a hot topic whenever the cast lineup changed—boiling over like a pot with its lid blown off, only to cool just as quickly. But Hyun Tae-oh’s saliva-contact Guiding had pushed things even further.
The most repeated complaint? Hyun Tae-oh kissed far too deeply. On that point, Chi-yu couldn’t deny it—he agreed wholeheartedly.
How could a man who had never even kissed lightly manage to kiss so densely, so wetly? It was still a mystery to him.
What scared him most was realizing just how accustomed he was becoming to everything about Hyun Tae-oh. The thought chilled him to the bone.
It was fine now, before recording began. But once the cameras rolled, if Tae-oh pulled stunts like this again, scandal was inevitable.
And worse—soon he wouldn’t be the only Guide. Tae-oh would be rotating between three Guides every week. If he kissed someone else like this… Chi-yu’s chest tore apart just imagining it.
This was nothing but bad news for him.
He’d joined the program hoping, maybe, if he was lucky, he might find a new Pair. But with Tae-oh here again, all those resolutions were crumbling.
Irritation, resentment, even a sense of betrayal swirled inside him. The idea of Tae-oh kissing another Guide like this—it was unbearable.
Frustration boiling over, he shoved Tae-oh hard in the chest.
Panting, lips glossy with spit, Hyun Tae-oh looked down at him.
Chi-yu wiped his own damp lips with the back of his hand and snapped,
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Guiding.”
“This isn’t Guiding. And thanks to you, the connection broke.”
“Really? Then I guess it was Guiding that turned into a kiss.”
Expressionless, Tae-oh tossed out that maddening line, lips still wet.
With a sigh, Chi-yu grabbed tissues from the side table and roughly wiped his mouth.
“It’s already a pain asking the director to cut things out. Just keep it reasonable when we start filming.”
“That’s their job. Why feel guilty? They’re the ones who told us to relax under the privacy clause.”
“Relaxing doesn’t mean this. And you call this relaxing?”
“What? The kiss?”
“Yeah. This embarrassing excuse for a kiss—”
“A kiss is a kiss. What’s so embarrassing about it? Didn’t you like it?”
“You think anyone would?”
“Seriously? You didn’t? What part didn’t you like? Was it because I went too deep?”
He fired off questions one after another, like an endlessly curious child.
Chi-yu stared at him with exasperation, then sighed again.
“Would you like it if, during Guiding, someone kissed you in such a weird way it made you think of… that?”
The words caught in his throat. Too embarrassed to say it outright, he pressed his lips together before forcing it out.
“Kisses that make you think of that kind of thing. How could that be pleasant?”
“That kind of thing? Think of what? What came to mind?”
Tae-oh leaned in, face bright with amusement. That’s when Chi-yu realized he was being half-mocked and clamped his mouth shut.
Ignore bad jokes. Don’t react. That’s the only way. He repeated it in his head, determined not to respond.
“Hmm?”
But ignoring him was impossible—every word out of his mouth was another grenade.
“Just—shut up already.”
“So I did grind against you a little like that, didn’t I?”
“If you know, then stop doing it.”
“You’re not giving me what I need. That’s why.”
“Hey, watch your words. When did I ever refuse you?”
“You did. You said we couldn’t do Stage 3 more than three times a week.”
“That’s because it’s too much. That doesn’t mean I won’t. It just means it’s hard for me. And besides, our Temporary Pair is already over—I don’t have any obligation to keep Guiding you.”
“Then who will?”
Tae-oh looked down at him, eyes suddenly serious.
“…”
“If you don’t, who’s going to Guide me, Chi-yu?”
“…Didn’t you hear the program rules? You pick one of the three Guides. And then—”
“Exactly. If it’s not you, then who?”
“…”
“You really want me to be Guided by someone else?”
“Of course—”
“Don’t give me that bullshit about of course. The moment you said you came here to find a Pair, I used up every last ounce of patience I had, Chi-yu.”
The threatening edge in his tone made Chi-yu’s lips curl inward.
And then it hit him.
All of this—Hyun Tae-oh’s words, his actions—it was nothing but toxic stringing along.
He called him “friend” with his mouth, but never let him stay just a friend. And yet, he demanded more than friendship all the same.
In the end, Hyun Tae-oh was just… Hyun Tae-oh.
Chi-yu decided it was better not to keep Guiding him like before. But neither could he abandon him, not when he couldn’t take suppressants.
And yet the thought of watching him kiss another Guide all month long was unbearable. He didn’t have that kind of strength. Not yet.
Besides, with their rank gap, he needed constant Guiding.
What Tae-oh needed was steady support. And what Chi-yu couldn’t stand was the thought of him doing Stage 2—or worse—with someone else.
He hesitated, then an idea struck—the cleanest solution under the circumstances.
“Tae-oh. Why don’t you get Radiant Guiding from Guide Min Yu-hyun?”
At that sudden suggestion, Tae-oh’s brows drew tight as he glared down at him.
Radiant Guiding didn’t involve touching, so it seemed safe enough to Chi-yu.
With suppressants out of the question, Tae-oh’s need for Guiding would only grow. And Min Yu-hyun was already eager—he might even push for it. Better to ask for Radiant Guiding and avoid all the dangerous scenarios.
After the program ended, if they wanted to Pair up or fool around, that was their problem.
Right now was what mattered.
And since Min Yu-hyun had even asked him for help in Pairing with Tae-oh, there were bound to be moments hard to stomach. Better to sweep away as many of those landmines as possible.
And the biggest landmine was Guiding.
“You’re going to need Guiding constantly.”
“Not if you’re the one doing it.”
But the bastard shot down his perfectly reasonable idea without hesitation. He didn’t even realize how hard Chi-yu was trying to keep Min Yu-hyun from touching him.
“Try taking me seriously for once.”
“If you do it five times a week, I’ll take you seriously.”
“God, just shut that mouth already.”
Annoyed, Chi-yu scowled at him. Tae-oh only bit his lip like a chastised kid, looking down obediently.
“You hate touching people, right? So stick to Stage 2 with me. Let Min Yu-hyun handle Radiant Guiding. We’ll be stuck together for a month—having that support helps. He’s S-rank, so his Guiding will be clean, efficient. Honestly, much better than mine, a B-rank.”
“What the hell makes him better than you?”
“Just the rank difference—”
“My matching rate with you is higher. And we were already a Temporary Pair.”
“That’s over. It doesn’t matter anymore. And matching rate isn’t everything. The real issue is the huge rank gap.”
“I told you not to waste theory class screwing around with idiots.”
“…What?”
“At the Academy, during lectures, you were always joking with those dumbasses instead of memorizing theory. That’s why you’re spouting nonsense now.”
“What are you even—who? Lee Jun-hyung and Beom Do-il?”
“Point is, rank doesn’t matter to me.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why do you think ranks exist? Why do Espers prefer Guides of similar rank?”
“Because in theory, the Guiding effect is maximized when ranks are close. That’s all.”
“Exactly, that’s what I—”
“But we’re already paired. So what does rank matter anymore? Not at all.”
“That was just a Temporary Pair. Why do you keep—”
“Our matching rate is sky-high, and we even signed a Pair contract. That alone makes your Guiding the best for me. You’re the only one who can make it feel good. Rank doesn’t mean a damn thing.”
“…That’s just how you feel. I’m talking about theory.”
“Yeah. And the theory is simple—the best Guiding is the one that feels right to the person receiving it.”
“…Unbelievable.”
A sigh slipped past Chi-yu’s lips.
Tae-oh squinted one eye at him mischievously.
“Of course, the fastest and most efficient way to get Guiding would be through Imprint. But…”
“…”
“My one and only precious Kang Chi-yu refuses to Imprint with me, so I guess I’ll just have to live without the highest-quality Guiding.”
What the hell is he even saying?
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll stay like this forever. Someday, I’ll Imprint with you. Just… not now, since you said no.”
“…”
“If you don’t want it, I can endure. I am enduring, Chi-yu. A lot.”
“…”
“Of course, since I could Rampage at any time, don’t forget—you’ll still need to give me Stage 3 sometimes. Keep that in mind.”
Chi-yu had no idea how a simple suggestion about Min Yu-hyun’s Radiant Guiding had somehow turned into Tae-oh declaring that Stage 3 was inevitable.
