Chi-yu’s house had become a sea of fire, but it was quickly extinguished by Tae-oh’s water-attribute ability.
Even so, most of the living room was charred, and large parts of the bedroom and dressing room furniture were scorched. The entire place was left in ruins, covered in soot and ash.
Still dazed and shocked, Chi-yu was promptly teleported to Tae-oh’s place.
After carefully setting him down on the sofa, Tae-oh brought out a first-aid kit and gently applied burn ointment to Chi-yu’s reddened wrist.
Chi-yu sat crouched on the sofa with one knee down, blankly watching as Tae-oh, kneeling beside him, treated his injury.
“Does it hurt?”
Tae-oh looked up at him and asked. His eyes glimmered a deep, golden yellow.
That’s when it hit Chi-yu—Hyun Tae-oh wasn’t supposed to be using his ability for an entire week.
He’d removed the gloves that sealed part of his power and fought. That meant he’d likely pushed himself to the brink of Rampage.
Even if he’d received emergency Guiding afterward, the energy waves inside him would be a tangled mess.
One Esper had once described it as feeling like being pierced cell by cell—not by a regular needle, but a searing-hot, razor-sharp one.
Tae-oh had used both water and ice powers—on top of teleporting. His body had to be wrecked.
“Are you okay?”
Instead of answering, Chi-yu asked in return. Tae-oh just stared at him, golden eyes unblinking.
“You’re really asking that right now?”
“You’re not supposed to use your ability. The Bureau even issued a ban—”
“It was a recommendation, not an order. And I’ve recovered enough. I’m fine.”
“I heard using your power in this state is excruciating.”
Tae-oh’s eyebrows instantly shot up.
“Who the hell told you that?”
Chi-yu narrowed his eyes at the annoyed expression on Tae-oh’s face.
“Who said it doesn’t matter right now.”
“Well, it matters to me.”
“Just answer me. Are you really okay?”
Chi-yu pressed him firmly, silently demanding an honest answer. Tae-oh gave a reluctant nod.
“It’s bearable.”
“You looked awful after we teleported. I saw your face.”
“I’m bearing it. That’s what matters.”
“Your eyes… they’re darker than before.”
“Makes me look sexier, doesn’t it?”
“…Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I am okay,” Tae-oh said, voice firm, trying to reassure him.
Chi-yu nodded, relieved.
He didn’t want Tae-oh getting hurt because of him—especially when he couldn’t take the pain in his place.
“What about you?” Tae-oh asked as he continued applying ointment to Chi-yu’s wrist. “Are you okay?”
“…Yeah.”
“Alright.”
Tae-oh didn’t press. He could tell Chi-yu was barely holding it together.
Even though Chi-yu spoke calmly, he was still trembling. His voice was shaky, and his wrist was unsteady.
That’s why Tae-oh didn’t ask about what happened. Why Chi-yu hadn’t told him earlier about the strange incidents. Why he had to hear it from Lee Jun-hyung instead.
If he hadn’t heard from Jun-hyung and teleported over immediately… If he’d waited even a few minutes, Chi-yu might’ve been seriously hurt—or worse.
Just thinking about it made him sick. He had to swallow the curses rising in his throat.
“How’d you get to me?” Chi-yu asked. “I called your name when things got really bad… but there’s no way you actually heard me, right?”
The fact that Chi-yu had called for him in that moment—when things were most dire—
It made Tae-oh’s heart pound.
Chi-yu had relied on him. That thought alone filled him with a quiet joy.
He bit down on the smile that threatened to surface. He couldn’t grin like an idiot while Chi-yu was still scared and shaking.
“…Does Marking let you hear voices too?”
Or was it something like telepathy?
Chi-yu tilted his head slightly as he mumbled the question, and to Tae-oh, he looked impossibly cute.
“Lee Jun-hyung told me. As soon as I heard what happened, I just knew something was wrong and came to you. That was right when things went south for you.”
“…Oh.”
“Maybe it is telepathy. I feel it in my gut when you’re in danger.”
Chi-yu opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He kept trying and failing to speak, until eventually he looked straight at Tae-oh and finally voiced it.
“There were words… written in flames on the living room wall.”
Tae-oh, who had been looking at him so gently, suddenly froze.
“How dare a mere B-rank Guide come between Min Yu-hyun and Hyun Tae-oh?”
“…Fucking hell,” Tae-oh muttered under his breath.
“It was an Esper, right?” Chi-yu asked.
It had to be a Fire-attribute Esper. No one else could’ve done it. Probably one of Min Yu-hyun’s fans.
There were plenty who still wanted Min Yu-hyun and Tae-oh to Pair again for Season 2 of A Pair is Born.
“Were they… trying to kill me?”
“Who the hell would dare?”
Tae-oh’s voice trembled with rage.
“This wasn’t just a warning. I ran into the dressing room for my teleport necklace, and the fire followed me. It wasn’t a scare tactic. They really meant to kill me.”
Chi-yu’s voice started to shake again. Tae-oh pulled him into a tight embrace and slowly patted his back.
“Don’t talk about it. Don’t even think about it.”
“What did I do wrong to deserve this kind of hatred… from someone I don’t even know?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. Not a single thing.”
“Then why? Why would someone…”
“It’s not your fault. Don’t think about it.”
“……”
“It’s mine. I’m the one who said on live TV that I was going to seduce you. This is because of me. No—fuck—that bastard. But not you, Chi-yu. None of this is your fault.”
Tae-oh tightened his arms around him, and Chi-yu held on just as hard.
When Tae-oh pressed his lips gently into Chi-yu’s hair, the trembling finally began to subside.
“I’ll take care of everything. I’ll fix this. So don’t worry. You’re safe now.”
That one sentence brought a rush of relief.
When Hyun Tae-oh said everything would be okay—it really felt like it would be.
No, it already felt like it was.
Chi-yu had never been someone easily scared. But being hated—attacked—by someone he didn’t even know… It terrified him.
The fact that someone knew him, and he didn’t know them, felt like an invisible threat hanging over him. The idea that, somewhere in the world, someone hated him enough to want him dead…
It was far scarier than he ever imagined.
“You’re okay.”
And just like that, Tae-oh’s words dragged him out of that fear.
He was okay—because Tae-oh was with him. The strongest Esper in the world was on his side. There could be no better protector.
He’d be okay.
Chi-yu closed his eyes in Tae-oh’s arms and gave a small nod.
“…Yeah.”
***
All Tae-oh had meant to do was calm him down and get him to sleep.
Until Chi-yu decided to Guide—and pressed their lips together.
Tae-oh just blinked, completely lost.
Chi-yu had noticed Tae-oh’s deepening eye color and, without warning, initiated saliva-contact Guiding. Tae-oh had told him to rest, that Guiding could wait. But instead, Chi-yu wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him.
It was the first time Chi-yu had ever initiated contact like this, so he was awkward about it.
And Tae-oh? Completely flustered. As he sat there stunned, their energy began to flow. The tangled mess of waves cooled even Chi-yu’s body.
The kiss went on until Chi-yu’s jaw ached—
Interrupted only because Lee Jun-hyung had blown up both their phones with nonstop calls.
Neither of them had answered. Jun-hyung must’ve been worried sick. He wasn’t usually this persistent.
The moment their lips parted, Chi-yu picked up his phone and saw dozens of missed calls.
He quickly called Jun-hyung back, but Tae-oh’s phone rang first.
“Yeah.”
– What the fuck, man?! Why weren’t you answering?! Did you find Chi-yu?!
More shocking than Jun-hyung’s casual tone, was how casually Tae-oh answered. Maybe they’d gotten closer after that one-week partnership?
The thought made Chi-yu feel weirdly happy… and a little uneasy.
Selfishly, he didn’t like it.
He wanted Tae-oh to stay just the way he was, cold and closed-off to everyone but him.
It was petty. He knew it. But he couldn’t help it.
“Yeah. He’s at my place.”
– Thank fucking god…
“What?”
– What do you mean, ‘what’? I saw his house on fire and couldn’t reach either of you. Is Chi-yu okay? His place looked like hell.
“He’s fine. Hanging up.”
Tae-oh ended the call before Jun-hyung could say another word.
It was both exasperating and oddly reassuring.
“Get some sleep. You’re exhausted.”
“I’m not.”
“You are. Sleep.”
“…What about Guiding?”
“We just did it.”
“That was forever ago.”
“It was enough. Sleep now.”
Tae-oh gently laid Chi-yu down on the bed and tucked the blanket over him.
“What about you?”
“I’ll stay here. Don’t worry. Your eyelids are heavy as bricks.”
Tae-oh gently brushed Chi-yu’s eyelids with his thumb.
Chi-yu let out a soft laugh.
He hadn’t experienced this kind of tenderness in over twenty years. At some point, the Hyun Tae-oh he once knew had disappeared. But when had that happened?
As his eyes slowly closed, Chi-yu tried to remember—
But sleep pulled him under before he could finish the thought.
***
Once Chi-yu had drifted off, breathing softly beside him, Tae-oh quietly stood.
He stepped out of the room as silently as possible, walked to the balcony, and called Beom Do-il. Without any explanation, he told Do-il to come to his place and watch over Chi-yu.
Do-il was clearly caught off guard.
– What? Right now?!
“I’ll open a coordinate. Just teleport here.”
– Dude, it’s the middle of the night—
“Bring Guide Lee Jun-hyung with you.”
– Coordinate incoming, sir!
Tae-oh had realized during filming that Do-il liked Jun-hyung. Normally, he didn’t care about other people’s romantic lives. He only realized Do-il’s feelings after they became partners and Do-il’s behavior changed.
Do-il had always been the only Esper who stuck around Chi-yu besides Tae-oh. And Tae-oh had always found him annoying. But after learning Do-il liked Jun-hyung, not Chi-yu—
That annoyance shifted into something… like camaraderie.
Jun-hyung, who had confided in him about Chi-yu—
Do-il, who liked Jun-hyung and was therefore no threat—
For the first time in his life, Hyun Tae-oh had people he could call comrades.
After hanging up, Tae-oh let out a long sigh.
The Fire-attribute Esper who attacked Chi-yu wasn’t low-ranked. They’d evaded his ability too easily. The Light-attribute traces left behind had vanished only hours later.
This was an S-rank, without a doubt.
Which meant… if Tae-oh went after them himself, Chi-yu could be left vulnerable. And if there was more than one attacker, Do-il alone wouldn’t be enough.
Tae-oh sighed again and clicked his tongue.
He’d thought it over and over again—
But the only real option… was Yoon Do-jae.
He knew Yoon Do-jae had feelings for Chi-yu. That was exactly why he’d sworn never to involve him.
But at the same time—
Because Do-jae loved him, he’d protect Chi-yu without hesitation, even at the cost of his own life. It was the best option.
Tae-oh picked up his phone and scrolled to Yoon Do-jae’s number.
