Tae-oh waited patiently for Chi-yu to speak.
After a long sigh, Chi-yu finally murmured,
“So, um… right now, I still feel a little embarrassed about going on a trip with just the two of us. Honestly, I don’t think I’d even be able to relax—I’d be too caught up worrying about you.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. And besides, since we only just started dating, wouldn’t it make more sense to go on a trip together once things between us feel a little more settled? I think it’ll be more fun then. And also…”
“Oh? Also what?”
“You know how we both get that one-year vacation, right? You got one too, after doing the special broadcast?”
Chi-yu glanced at him as he asked, and Tae-oh gave a small nod.
Because they were leaning against each other, their faces were unusually close. Flustered, Chi-yu quickly turned away before going on.
“So… wouldn’t it be better if we saved our trip for then? By that time, us dating, the sudden change in our relationship—it’ll probably all feel more natural. …You probably don’t get what I’m saying, do you?”
Chi-yu smiled awkwardly. Even he didn’t fully understand what he was trying to explain, so how could Tae-oh?
But Tae-oh shook his head, rubbing Chi-yu’s collarbone with the hand resting on his shoulder.
“I get it. I know what you mean.”
“You do?”
When Chi-yu looked up with doubt, Tae-oh tilted his chin up with his thumb and kissed him.
Smack—their lips brushed lightly before parting.
“Yeah. But… does dating me feel awkward?”
“…It’s not that it’s awkward, it’s just… we’ve been friends for so long. And, well, actually being in a relationship feels really different from just having feelings for you.”
“I see.”
Tae-oh nodded like it was the first time hearing it. Then he pressed another light kiss to Chi-yu’s lips.
“So it is awkward.”
“No, not that you’re awkward, it’s just—”
“Mm. I know.”
Smack. Another kiss.
Sitting side by side on the sofa, Tae-oh kept pecking him like a bird snatching crumbs, making Chi-yu’s heart race.
“Alright, I’ll let you have your way this time.”
“Really?”
“But next trip, you’ll let me decide.”
“……”
“I’ll do whatever I want. Promise me right now.”
Chi-yu didn’t know what Tae-oh was planning that required such a firm promise, but he nodded anyway.
After all, this was their first trip as a couple after being childhood friends for more than twenty years—it was only natural for it to feel a little awkward.
If Lee Jun-hyung and Beom Do-il tagged along, it’d just feel like a casual group outing.
And in the end, on the day of the trip, it wasn’t just Jun-hyung and Do-il. Min Yu-hyun and Yoon Do-jae came too, turning it into a full-blown group trip.
Since filming for A Pair is Born would resume Monday, and Chi-yu had drawn massive attention after the Black Gate broadcast, Yu-hyun and Do-jae came wanting to talk. When they heard about the trip, they asked to join.
With Jun-hyung and Do-il already tagging along, Tae-oh figured two more wouldn’t make any difference. He just shrugged and told them to do whatever they wanted.
And so, six members of A Pair is Born set out together.
***
“Q-Zone? Must be nice for them.”
With his phone pressed to his ear, Sung Ji-yeol smirked crookedly.
He was tracking Kang Chi-yu’s movements to stage a “chance” encounter.
When he heard that the A Pair is Born cast was heading to a newly reopened resort, bitterness twisted in his gut.
A mere B-rank Guide, lucky enough to be childhood friends with Hyun Tae-oh—someone with near-pathological cleanliness issues—and now he’d even become his lover.
The kind of guy who managed to thrive without ever lifting a finger.
Ji-yeol despised people like that most of all.
Born into a family where every member was S-rank, he had manifested somewhere between A and S. Determined to become an S-rank Guide, he’d bled and sweated for it.
Luck never existed for him.
During manifestation, he trained relentlessly at wave stabilization to awaken as S-rank. After finally reaching it, he pushed himself even harder to join the Central Bureau’s 1st Division.
But because his energy output was closer to A-rank, he was rejected in the final interview.
After all that effort, he’d tasted bitter failure. Something inside him twisted, and in the Association, that bitterness found its outlet—
Running the Anti Club.
So far, he’d reigned as its king, manipulating fools with ease. But now, even that was becoming difficult.
All because of one lucky B-rank Guide.
Ji-yeol ended the call and bit hard into his lower lip. The more he thought about Kang Chi-yu, the more he loathed him.
Even when recalling the Black Gate incident—Chi-yu stepping up without hesitation to Guide a rampaging beast—Ji-yeol sneered. Clearly, he only acted because he knew SS-rank Espers would protect him. That kind of sly calculation made Ji-yeol sick.
But he had to get close.
He hated Kang Chi-yu, but befriending him could bring huge rewards.
If played right, maybe even Hyun Tae-oh could be drawn in.
He’d built the Anti Club by pulling people to his side. If he worked at it long enough, he was sure even Hyun Tae-oh could be lured.
Quickly packing his bags, Ji-yeol set out for Q-Zone.
***
Q-Zone, once a monster habitat off-limits to humans, was pristine.
Fragments of Ridune still lingered, making the coastline shimmer mysteriously.
As soon as they unpacked, Beom Do-il, Lee Jun-hyung, and Kang Chi-yu ran down to the beach to splash in the waves.
Min Yu-hyun refused to leave the room, saying he didn’t want to get sunburned.
When Do-il grumbled about why he’d even come, Yu-hyun snapped back that it was for the “eye candy.”
Hyun Tae-oh and Yoon Do-jae stayed out of the water too.
They sat beneath separate parasols—thanks to Tae-oh’s obsession with cleanliness—watching as Jun-hyung and Do-il drenched each other while Chi-yu laughed.
Neither man could take his eyes off that smile.
When Tae-oh noticed Do-jae staring too intently, his brow twitched, and he snapped,
“Don’t look at Kang Chi-yu. Wanna die?”
Such a childish provocation.
“My eyes, my choice.”
Do-jae shot back without hesitation. Tae-oh blinked, surprised he’d actually said it out loud.
Then Tae-oh smirked.
“He’s my boyfriend.”
Even with that juvenile declaration, Do-jae didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded twice.
“Annoying, but… yeah. That’s a fact. I’ll admit it.”
“What? Annoying?”
“But still…”
Do-jae turned to look at Tae-oh.
“I didn’t think you’d even let me come.”
“……”
“Feels like something I should be grateful for.”
“Cut the crap. No need to thank me. I only said yes because with those two leeches already tagging along, adding two more wouldn’t change anything.”
“Haha.”
“Though yeah, it did bother me, since you’ve got feelings for Chi-yu.”
“……”
“But whatever. Doesn’t matter. Chi-yu’s crazy about me.”
The message was clear: someone like you could never sway him.
Lacing his fingers behind his head, Tae-oh bit his lip lightly as he gazed at Chi-yu, his eyes full of affection.
Do-jae, watching that, turned back to look at Chi-yu.
Soaked like a drowned rat, grinning like a child—he looked radiant. Cute. Beautiful. Lovely.
But that smile wasn’t his.
He couldn’t be the one to protect it either.
Kang Chi-yu loved Hyun Tae-oh.
That was the conclusion of his one-sided love.
The Guide he’d liked for so long now belonged to someone else. Still, since he’d confessed, that was enough.
Even so, if he ever got the chance, he selfishly wanted to protect that smile at all costs. But in truth, he knew it was impossible.
Those two had gone from childhood friends of over twenty years to lovers. Their bond might be unusual, maybe even abnormal, but there was no space for anyone else.
No cracks. No gaps.
They were bound tightly, as if by fate.
“…Yeah. I’ll admit that too,” Do-jae murmured.
***
Sung Ji-yeol showed up while they were dining in the resort’s restaurant.
Being a newly developed site, every building gleamed with modern polish.
The restaurant on the eleventh floor was no exception.
Powered by Ridune energy, the building glowed with living shards that shone brighter and more beautifully than man-made lights.
“This place is nice,” Min Yu-hyun said, wiping his hands with a wet towel.
Chi-yu nodded, and Jun-hyung looked around approvingly.
“Feels great to be on a trip again, huh? We should do this more often.”
Do-il asked Jun-hyung, who nodded.
“Yeah. With a group like this, it’s fun. Especially since this is actually the first time Chi-yu’s come along, thanks to that obsessive freak over there.”
At that, Tae-oh scowled instantly, while Chi-yu chuckled softly.
“Having fun?”
Tapping the table with his fingers, Tae-oh asked Chi-yu, still glaring at Jun-hyung.
Chi-yu nodded, smiling.
“Yeah. Do-il’s hilarious.”
Earlier, while splashing around, Do-il had been bombarded with attacks from Jun-hyung and Chi-yu. In retaliation, he shaped water into dragons, bears, lions—keeping them laughing for ages.
It had been so much fun that Chi-yu almost forgot about the Anti incident or the house fire.
“As long as you’re enjoying yourself,” Do-il said smugly, puffing up.
“Fuck you,” Tae-oh shot back instantly.
“Comrade. Kang Chi-yu’s comrade,” Do-il corrected himself right away.
At least when it came to Hyun Tae-oh, Beom Do-il knew how to survive.
