“Wait, stop….”
Seo Eui-woo pulled his tongue away. A transparent string of saliva stretched between their lips before snapping. He licked it up sensually with his tongue, swallowing it down. His lips glistened, just like his gray eyes.
“Don’t stop. Again, your lips.”
“No, that’s enough now.”
“Jae-jin. I can’t.”
Seo Eui-woo called Kwon Jae-jin firmly, his arm wrapping tightly around Jae-jin’s waist. His slightly heated hand slipped under the hem of Jae-jin’s T-shirt, creeping inside.
“I need guiding.”
“……?”
“Guiding.”
For a moment, Jae-jin’s mind went blank.
“……Right now?”
“When else?”
Seo Eui-woo was staring at him, his expression utterly devoid of humor.
“I’ve already released so much ability energy. On top of that, I have to go knock some sense into those high-ranking officers. There’s no way I can unleash my powers on that scale again without getting guided first.”
“…….”
“I have to protect you. I do.”
“…….”
“I’m going to change your fate. I am… Seo Eui-woo.”
His piercing gaze was serious. It burned like white-hot metal, so intense that Jae-jin almost thought he could see heatwaves shimmering around his eyes.
In that moment of hesitation, Seo Eui-woo pressed their lips together once more. His hand, which had snuck inside Jae-jin’s shirt, slid up his side, brushing against his chest before cupping it. And as if that weren’t enough, he pushed his thigh between Jae-jin’s legs, pressing against his front. Seo Eui-woo’s pants were already heavy with arousal. The thick, long outline was clearly visible.
Eui-woo was always getting worked up at the worst times, but even so, Jae-jin hadn’t expected this—here, in this situation. He needed time to react.
“W-wait. Seo Eui-woo. Just a second.”
If it’s guiding… just how far does he plan to go?
Was he seriously planning to put his cock in right now?
Kissing was one thing, but the way Seo Eui-woo was clinging to him felt off—something was different. Jae-jin couldn’t predict what he was about to do. His face had gone pale as he hurried to stop him.
“I said wait. Stop.”
He pushed against Eui-woo’s shoulders with both hands, twisting his body away. A displeased wrinkle formed on Eui-woo’s nose. He looked as if Jae-jin’s rejection was more painful than death. His sharp eyes flashed dangerously.
“Why? Did… did I do something wrong?”
“That’s not it. It’s not that.”
“I didn’t kill anyone. Not even Mateo. I just crushed that bastard’s bones, but I left him breathing. I held back. I left them all alive. So why…?”
“……”
Jae-jin was at a loss for words and shut his mouth in a straight line.
To be fair, Eui-woo was right. Espers craved guiding every time they used their abilities. Eui-woo had just gone berserk, unleashing his powers in every direction. He had expended an immense amount of energy—it made sense that he needed guiding now. And if he truly had to use his mental abilities again, like he said, then it had to be now.
But still, no matter what… right now?
Out here, in the middle of the open sea?
Jae-jin’s dark brows furrowed. He glanced around, his expression troubled. No matter where he looked, there was nothing but wide, open space.
Meanwhile, Eui-woo clung to him, completely oblivious to why Jae-jin was hesitating. He grabbed the hands pushing him away and wrapped them around his own shoulders before pressing relentless kisses onto Jae-jin’s cheeks and eyelids.
“Listen, Jae-jin.”
His whisper tickled against Jae-jin’s skin as his tongue flicked over his eyelid. Every word sent tiny tremors into his eyes.
“Until now, guiding was only ever for me. A way to fix my imbalance. Something meant for me alone.”
“What…? Ngh, what are you saying?”
“But now I understand. That’s not it… Guiding isn’t just for me. It’s for both of us, for you and me.”
“What are you—out of nowhere…?”
“No, it’s not out of nowhere. It’s always been this way. I just didn’t realize it before.”
“……”
“We decided to live properly, together. To turn everything upside down. And that’s when I finally understood—my abilities exist for this moment.”
“……”
“Guiding, too. It’s not just for me. It’s for both of us. Without you, it means nothing.”
“……”
“The reason I was born an Esper… the reason my abilities exist… it’s Kwon Jae-jin.”
Jae-jin’s eyes widened in shock at those words.
Jae-jin blinked once, then reacted as if he had been caught off guard.
Guiding… wasn’t for Seo Eui-woo?
It was for both of them…?
Guiding, for the two of them…?
He had never even considered that. It was a shock. The words Eui-woo had spoken wouldn’t leave his mind, circling over and over.
“Guiding…”
<“A Guide isn’t just supposed to loosen up this tiny inside until they adjust… They have to keep guiding with me until they do.”>
<“It hurts, take it out… It hurts!”>
<“It hurts for me too. Guiding usually does.”>
<“I’ll let you go. You can run out there and get executed. Or, I can hide you, and you can live in my arms as Seo Eui-woo’s personal Guide.”>
“Guiding…”
Not once. Not even once. He had never thought of guiding as something he did for himself.
It was forced. It was coerced. It was inevitable. Because Seo Eui-woo wanted it. Because he was an Esper. Because he was born this way.
Even now, after coming to terms with it all, after growing used to it, there had always been a part of him that did it begrudgingly.
And yet…
“……”
Jae-jin couldn’t finish his sentence. He ended up closing his mouth again. He wanted to say something—something that made sense—but his mind was blank, as if wiped clean. All he could do was be stunned, his heart pounding. A tingling vibration spread through his chest, down to his fingertips.
If Kwon Jae-jin had chosen to run away with Seo Eui-woo, he never would have realized this.
Had they left together, Eui-woo’s overwhelming power would have been buried somewhere in the mountains of the Sixth Residential District. Esper or Guide, none of it would have mattered. They would have lived a simple life, quietly, until the end.
But Jae-jin hadn’t run. He couldn’t run. Instead, he convinced Seo Eui-woo to stay. And in doing so, Eui-woo had returned as a blade that could cut the sky.
He had torn off his leash, disgusted by the awakened society that had sought to control him. He was no longer a weapon for the state, for the military, or for humanity. His abilities existed to overturn Jae-jin’s fate, to give both of them the power to live properly.
And guiding was the same.
If Jae-jin guided Seo Eui-woo, it would be for them both. Until now, guiding had always been something pushed onto him, something he provided unwillingly. Or, it had been something so entwined with sex that the line between the two blurred into meaninglessness.
But today, that distinction had become clear.
Guiding was something else. Now, if Kwon Jae-jin was to guide Seo Eui-woo… it would mean something entirely different.
For himself.
To rewrite the fate he had been born into as a mutation.
To overturn the world and fight against it.
“Jae-jin,” Seo Eui-woo whispered. “Guide me.”
Seo Eui-woo’s voice trembled through Jae-jin’s heart.
“Guide me.”
“……Alright.”
Jae-jin nodded without resistance.
“Just… let’s change locations first.”
“Location? Where to?”
“The… the mansion.”
“We can’t. The Center’s already exposed it.”
Exposed was an understatement. The walls had been destroyed, the place was a disaster, and the outside was littered with unconscious Awakeners. Returning there was out of the question.
“……Then, I guess just, haah.”
Jae-jin let out a reluctant sigh. His ears burned with embarrassment.
“It’s just… I’ve never thought about, you know, doing it… outdoors….”
“……”
“If we could at least find somewhere covered… like behind a tree or something.”
“……A tree?”
“…….”
“A tree?”
At that, Seo Eui-woo let out a short, incredulous laugh. His face, which had been hardened with tension from the sudden attack, finally softened.
“A tree’s good enough? That’s all you need?”
“……Maybe. I don’t know. I have no idea.”
“Alright. A tree.”
The next moment, a brilliant white light flashed, and the scenery shifted.
Thankfully, they had landed on solid ground, surrounded by several trees with wide-spreading branches. Eui-woo leaned Jae-jin against the thick trunk of one, a smirk tugging at his lips. Then, as if he couldn’t hold it in, he started chuckling, his laughter bubbling over into a quiet snicker.
“Jae-jin, you’ve never done it outside before, have you? It’s your first time, right?”
“……Obviously.”
“Well, yeah, you were locked up in that mansion for four years. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“You already know that, so why keep saying it?”
“So, outside… it’s your first time with me?”
“…….”
“It’s another first with Eui-woo, huh? Hm?”
“……”
At some point, Seo Eui-woo’s cheeks had flushed with his color. For some reason, that was reassuring. His tension eased. Up until a moment ago, Eui-woo had been so cold and fierce that Jae-jin had instinctively been treading carefully around him. It was unsettling, like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Letting out a deep sigh, Jae-jin shook his head.
“Haa… Seo Eui-woo, don’t get too excited again.”
“I’m not trying to. You’re the one making me excited.”
Seo Eui-woo’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he lowered them. Without a second of hesitation, he crushed their lips together. His mouth was forceful, desperate, tongue prying between Jae-jin’s lips without pretense. His already wet inner mouth was drenched even further as Eui-woo sucked him in, deep and open-mouthed, drinking him in with blatant hunger. His hands, meanwhile, fumbled impatiently with Jae-jin’s waistband, desperate to strip him down.
“I really, really love you, Jae-jin.”
