Even in kissing, the one obsessed with Kang Chi-yu was utterly mad.
He’d kissed countless times before, but tonight was different—so different his heart raced like it was his very first kiss. It was dizzying, embarrassing, thrilling, the kind of kiss that made him think, so this is what a first kiss is supposed to feel like.
In that sense, his longtime friend, now turned lover, Hyun Tae-oh, was incredible. He’d never tolerated people, never let anyone close, never dated, never kissed anyone like this—and yet somehow, he was astonishingly good at it.
When their lips finally broke apart, the sudden rush of air left Chi-yu panting. Tae-oh was staring straight at him.
That beautiful face, filling his vision, made Chi-yu’s heart skip. Truly, it was the kind of face that could ensnare someone completely. Maybe it had bewitched him from the very first moment they met.
Chi-yu shifted his gaze, studying him more intently. Tae-oh, his own breath uneven, was drinking him in as well.
His lips, glistening with shared saliva, moved slowly.
“I like you.”
The deep, resonant voice carried through Chi-yu’s ears and down to his chest. His heart trembled.
For some reason, his nose stung, and his eyes burned red. Tae-oh faltered slightly at the sight of tears welling in Chi-yu’s eyes, but when Chi-yu’s husky reply slipped out, Tae-oh’s gaze softened into a quiet smile.
“I really like you too.”
“I know.”
Tae-oh’s lips claimed his once more.
The kiss started again, deeper, longer—endless. The kind of kiss that could easily last until morning, with no sign of stopping.
That relentless, consuming kiss was finally broken—by the cry of the small creature that had woken from its nap.
[Kuueeeeng— kuueeeng—]
Catdog spotted them kissing and immediately darted over, circling frantically around their heads.
Chi-yu looked up at the creature spinning above him.
[Kuueeeng— kuueeeng—]
It looked like a cat, yet cried like a pig, buzzing wildly overhead.
“What’s wrong? Hungry?”
Chi-yu wiped his lips with the back of his hand and asked. The little thing squealed insistently, inching closer, as if asking to be picked up.
Chi-yu stretched out his arms, but Tae-oh caught his wrist, pulled it back, and pressed his lips to Chi-yu’s again, his hand gripping the back of his neck.
That’s when it happened.
[Kuueeeng! Kuueeeng! Ku-kuueeeng!]
The creature shrieked furiously, clamped its teeth onto Tae-oh’s head, and yanked.
“Ah.”
It didn’t exactly hurt, but it tore his lips away from Chi-yu’s.
[Kuueeeng! Kuueeeng!]
It squealed with narrowed brows as if warning him off Chi-yu’s lips.
Tae-oh stared at it in disbelief, but the creature immediately burrowed into Chi-yu’s arms, glaring up at him like a guard dog.
“Hah. This little bastard…” Tae-oh muttered.
Chi-yu bent his head, smiling lazily at the sight.
“Haha. Maybe it thinks you’re trying to devour me.”
Still holding Chi-yu’s nape, Tae-oh stroked him gently. Their eyes met, and without needing a cue, their lips found each other again.
[Kuueeeng! Kuueeeng! Ku-kuueeeng!]
Catdog butted against Tae-oh’s chin, forcing them apart for a second—enough to make Chi-yu chuckle—but not enough to stop them.
Tae-oh kissed him harder, one hand pushing at the stubborn beast’s head.
The creature scrambled out of Chi-yu’s arms to push at Tae-oh’s hand with its head, but its effort was more pitiful than threatening, almost cute.
Still, the squealing, shoving nuisance made things impossible. So Tae-oh decided: for the sake of the night ahead, the creature would be locked in another room.
Chi-yu picked the room—Yoon Do-jae’s.
Because Do-jae had fed the creature during dinner, his name came up naturally. Tae-oh, still gripping the wriggling beast, stormed to Do-jae’s room and dumped it in his bewildered arms.
“Keep it until morning. Don’t let it out.”
Do-jae blinked after Tae-oh’s retreating back, then looked down at the creature squealing in his arms.
The little thing definitely hated Hyun Tae-oh.
It clung obsessively to Chi-yu, resentful that Tae-oh stole away the attention that should’ve been its own. But strangely, it seemed fond of Yoon Do-jae.
Maybe that was only because Tae-oh had shoved it at him in order to spend the night with Chi-yu—but Do-jae’s quiet, understated way of caring had clearly won it over.
The proof came at breakfast the next morning.
As soon as Chi-yu sat down, the creature tugged on Do-jae’s sleeve and pulled him into the empty seat beside him. Then it plopped down right between them, staring up at Do-jae like a referee.
Everyone’s eyes went straight to the odd little beast.
Even the cameras caught the moment—this strange, unscripted scene—which later aired and sparked rumors that the creature was trying to pair up Yoon Do-jae and Kang Chi-yu.
Everyone thought it was adorable. Everyone except Hyun Tae-oh.
He loathed the thought of this meddling beast bolstering Do-jae, who already had his eyes on Chi-yu. So he picked fights with the creature constantly. The creature, for its part, hissed at him on sight.
Beom Do-il laughed, declaring that proved it was truly a cat. Lee Jun-hyung and Min Yu-hyun howled, saying even animals could tell Hyun Tae-oh was an asshole and hated him for it.
***
“You’re not coming. We’re going to hunt a beast—you think it makes sense for a beast to tag along?”
As they prepared to leave for work, Tae-oh snapped at the creature circling Chi-yu’s feet, eager to follow.
[Kuueeeng— kuueeeng—]
As if it understood, the little thing squinted and squealed furiously at him.
Chi-yu stroked its head with a worried look.
“Yeah, maybe it’s better you don’t see this. I’ll be back soon—stay here.”
[Kuueeeng— kuueeeng—]
“If you don’t like it, tough. Be reborn.”
[Kuueeng! Hissss! Kuueeng!]
The creature hissed, fangs bared. Tae-oh’s brow twitched as he snatched it by the scruff and lifted it.
“Stop it.”
Chi-yu quickly grabbed his wrist, shaking his head, but Tae-oh only scolded the beast, shaking it side to side.
“You little brat. Do you even know who I am? If you want to stick by Kang Chi-yu, you treat me right. I’m his number one—not that useless Yoon Do-jae you keep sucking up to.”
[Kuueeng! Kuueeeng! Hissss!]
“Exactly. So if you want to bare your teeth, do it at Do-jae, not me.”
“Enough, you’ll make it dizzy.”
Chi-yu tugged hard, and Tae-oh finally let it go.
The moment it was free, the creature lunged and bit his nose.
“Argh!”
“Ah!”
It didn’t really hurt, but it was unpleasant enough. Tae-oh yanked it back by the scruff again, and it flailed desperately, tiny claws reaching for his nose.
“You little—”
“Are you okay? Let me see.”
Chi-yu leaned in, worried.
“There’s no mark…”
Smack.
Tae-oh suddenly pressed his lips against Chi-yu’s.
The creature flailed again, pawing furiously, but couldn’t get close, dangling helplessly in the air.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
He kissed him over and over, changing angles, stamping his lips like seals.
“I don’t want to go to work.”
His husky whisper spilled like temptation.
Chi-yu blushed red, gave a small laugh, then rose on his toes to kiss him back—because just brushing lips wasn’t enough.
[Kuueeeng— kuueeeng—]
At some point, Tae-oh had let the creature go. His hands cupped Chi-yu’s cheeks, deepening the kiss. One hand slid down to the nape of his neck, stroking the soft line of his throat.
The creature shrieked noisily, but Tae-oh and Chi-yu were already too far gone, losing themselves in a kiss that had started that morning.
“W-we… have to go to work.”
Chi-yu panted, struggling to breathe.
Tae-oh, unwilling to let go, murmured low, rough, intoxicating,
“Yeah, we do.”
His huskiness was unbearably sexy.
“Fuck, maybe we should just skip today.”
“Hhh, d-don’t joke….”
Tae-oh buried his lips in Chi-yu’s shoulder, letting out a long sigh.
Chi-yu stroked his hair softly.
“Let’s finish quickly and do it when you come back.”
At those words, Tae-oh’s head snapped up.
“After I come back?” he asked, needing to be sure.
“…Y-yeah. We’ll need to do Guiding anyway….”
“Let’s go.”
He straightened Chi-yu’s collar in haste.
Even as the creature squealed, Tae-oh flicked a finger at it, then wrapped an arm around Chi-yu’s waist.
“You stay here and play.”
In an instant, they were gone.
Around the creature’s neck hung a collar made of shadow. It wasn’t tethered, so it could wander the house freely—but it couldn’t teleport to Chi-yu, who had been Marked.
It tried again and again, straining to teleport to him, but failed. Eventually, it let out a defeated whimper and slumped onto the bed.
Alone in the room, it whimpered pitifully, then finally curled up, closing its eyes in weary resignation.
