“Hey, hey! Over there—wipe it again. There’s still dust.”
That smug voice was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl, oozing arrogance with every word. Lee Han-seo nearly hurled the duster he was holding. Ever since this started, he’d been watching Kim Joon-young lounge on the couch, pointing with lazy fingers, and repeating to himself over and over: Patience. Be patient, Han-seo. If you kill him, Woo-jun will just end up with more work…
“Tch. This is why coddled brats are useless. No grit. No backbone.”
“That’s it! I’m done! Not doing this anymore!”
He’d put up with more than enough. There’s only so much criticism a man can take before it grinds into his skull. For two days straight, he’d been playing Cinderella for no damn reason, swallowing snide remarks like bitter pills.
With a loud thwack, Han-seo slammed the duster to the floor and stomped toward the sofa, footsteps thunderous. He looked ready to grab Joon-young by the collar—but, of course, that was impossible.
In the blink of an eye, Joon-young had vanished from the couch and reappeared on the far side of the room, shivering his shoulders dramatically like a man escaping death. “How’s anyone supposed to live with you?!”
Every time Han-seo looked at this man, he couldn’t help but admire—again and again—Lee Jung-hyuk’s endurance. Seriously, how had he stayed Bonded with this stress-inducing menace for so long without ending up in the ER?
Han-seo flopped face-first onto the couch in defeat, only to jerk upright again, eyes ablaze, when Joon-young suddenly floated into the air. That ever-smug face now showed the first hints of panic.
“Baby, I’m home!”
“Woo-jun!”
“Hey! Lee Han-seo! This is low, even for you! Park Woo-jun, can we talk after you put me down?!”
“Sorry, sunbae-nim. But you know I only listen to Han-seo.”
Hehe. That familiar sheepish chuckle came with a soft, innocent smile as Park Woo-jun strolled leisurely into the living room. Without missing a beat, he went straight to the couch and helped Han-seo up like it was the most natural thing in the world.
One glance at the spotless room and the discarded duster on the floor was all it took to piece together what had happened.
“Didn’t Han-seo volunteer to help? How’d this turn into my punishment? Can someone explain that?”
Joon-young dangled midair, mumbling in disbelief. So much for raising a junior right. Sure, teasing Han-seo had been fun—watching him get all riled up and shout back was a great stress relief—but this? Lifting your beloved sunbae into the air like a sack of rice? Where’s the respect?!
“I’ve held it in long enough. You brought this on yourself.”
The moment backup arrived, Han-seo’s demeanor did a complete 180. The guy who’d been fuming with rage just minutes ago was now grinning mischievously, even crinkling his nose like a smug little brat. And right beside him was Park Woo-jun, nodding along like a loyal puppy. “Han-seo’s always right!”
For the past few weeks, while Woo-jun had been emotionally unstable, Joon-young had stepped in as Acting Chief of Espers, working around the clock to keep operations running smoothly.
Not that it was hard—he could do the job in his sleep. But he’d played it up, milked the situation for all it was worth, just to rope Han-seo into doing him a favor. And Han-seo, well aware of the act, had played along.
His only request in return? A deep clean of the dorm—with Han-seo helping. Only Han-seo.
Neither he nor Lee Jung-hyuk were particularly messy, so “deep cleaning” was a generous term. It was more like nitpicking for the sake of dragging Han-seo around. But it seemed the fun was coming to an end.
Dropping the act, Joon-young tried to free himself—only to flinch. Normally, a little push would’ve broken Woo-jun’s hold. But the pressure locking down his limbs was heavier than expected. Now that he thought about it, even the speed he’d been lifted earlier was faster than usual.
Physical enhancement Espers had denser muscle mass than not just regular people, but even other Espers. Despite his slim appearance, Joon-young was surprisingly heavy.
Yet Woo-jun had hoisted him like a feather in seconds. That speed? Faster than most telekinetics. Joon-young was genuinely impressed, though he kept his tone casual.
“What’s up with you, Park Woo-jun? Your control’s gotten a lot sharper.”
“Ah. You noticed, huh? It’s all thanks to Han-seo!”
Wait, what? Had they stumbled on some new training method? Their Matching Rate was already maxed out. Joon-young waited, puzzled. Even Han-seo looked confused.
“Thanks to me…? What did I do…? I didn’t do anything…”
“Well, not directly. You’ve been so tired lately, you just crash after showers without drying your hair, right? So I started challenging myself—see if I could dry your hair without waking you up. It was tough since even a little wind wakes you, but I finally did it!”
“Whaaa…? Seriously…?”
Han-seo stared at him, mouth agape and eyes squinting in disbelief. Woo-jun, meanwhile, looked proud, cheeks tinged pink as he smiled sweetly.
Joon-young, on the other hand, was left speechless. This guy—who could stir up a typhoon on a whim—had been using his powers to play human hair dryer? Sure, the improvement in control was great. As someone who’d mentored Woo-jun since his rookie days, it was worth celebrating. But still…
“Wow. I’m speechless. What’s next? You gonna be an air conditioner this summer?”
“I’d love to, but I haven’t figured out how to adjust the temperature yet. I can control airflow, but the wind still comes out warm… I tried a few times last summer and just got scolded for making it hotter.”
Woo-jun’s broad shoulders slumped, his handsome brows furrowed in a rare pout. He genuinely looked disappointed about not being able to blow a cool breeze for Han-seo. Honestly, he was single handedly dragging down the reputation of all S-Class Espers. Then again, Han-seo getting mad over that, and Woo-jun just standing there quietly getting scolded—neither of them seemed entirely sane.
If Kim Joon-young was from Mars, then Han-seo and Woo-jun were somewhere between Venus and Mercury. From an Earthling’s perspective, none of them were thinking straight—but blissfully unaware, Joon-young just clicked his tongue.
“Anyway, shouldn’t we at least talk about putting me down now?”
“Baby, what do you think?”
“Hmm, just letting him down feels too generous.”
Trapped between a couple clearly in their own world, Joon-young silently swallowed a sigh. His Guide had stepped out to grab Ryu Ho-yeon and still hadn’t returned, and suddenly, he missed that face more than ever. That’s when the door lock beeped—beep beep beep beep—and the front door swung open.
“Oh? Hyung, what took so long?”
“Ho-yeon was looking for something. Good to see you, Woo-jun.”
“Jung-hyuk, haven’t even said hi to your poor hyung yet?”
Jung-hyuk walked in with Ryu Ho-yeon and Choi Jae-won in tow. He took one look at the still-floating Joon-young, sighed like it was nothing, and plopped down on the sofa. “Told you to stop teasing Han-seo,” he muttered.
So much for sympathy.
Watching Joon-young sulk in defeat, Han-seo finally cracked a smile. Only then did Woo-jun release his hold.
With a tired sigh, Joon-young motioned for them to follow him upstairs. “Let’s talk in the study.”
He hadn’t called all three Pairs together for no reason. There was something only the S-Class Espers could decide.
Kim Joon-young, Park Woo-jun, and Ryu Ho-yeon. It was rare to catch all three off duty at the same time. Technically, Ho-yeon had joined earlier than the others, but in terms of actual field experience, he was the junior. And judging by the dazed way he shuffled into the study and squeezed himself onto the sofa, he had no idea what was coming.
“You’re officially registered now, Ho-yeon. I figured it’s time you took on a title,” Joon-young said, his tone weighty.
Woo-jun, who’d been sneaking glances at Ho-yeon, quickly straightened and nodded. Ho-yeon didn’t know what title they were talking about, but he could tell from their expressions that it probably wasn’t something good. If it were, these two would’ve fought to take it themselves.
“Ho-yeon takes the role of S-Class team lead. Woo-jun keeps his position as Chief. Everyone clear?”
Even at the A-Class level, there were enough members to rotate annoying duties. But with S-Class numbers so small, Joon-young and Woo-jun had been taking turns handling the team lead role.
Now, finally, they had someone else to share the burden.
As a government-run organization, they still had mandatory reports, meeting transcripts, and endless paperwork to submit by grade level. Everyone hated it. No one wanted to be stuck with it.
That’s why Joon-young had been waiting for this moment ever since Ho-yeon went public in that press conference. Who knew when the next chance to gather would come?
“Team lead isn’t hard. You can handle it, right, Ho-yeon?”
“Sure. And if it gets annoying, I’ll just pawn it off on someone else.”
Despite Joon-young’s radiant, blinding smile, Ho-yeon didn’t even flinch. He just nodded like it was nothing. He might not have known exactly what he was signing up for, but he trusted his Guide. That was enough.
“Hyung. Can you give me a minute with Woo-jun? Just the two of us.”
“You’re not gonna fight in here, are you? If you wreck our place, I swear—I’m not cleaning it up.”
“We won’t. Just go already.”
Finally, it was just the two of them.
Ho-yeon looked like he was about to speak right away—but instead, he opened his bag and pulled out a thick envelope. He didn’t hand it over right away. He just sat there, fingers fidgeting, like he couldn’t decide whether or not to give it.
“…I haven’t looked through all of it yet.”
“Just hand it over.”
“Woo-jun.”
“What?”
“Once you read this… are you sure you won’t regret it?”
