Kwon Jae-jin clenched the fist resting on his knee.
The tea in front of him and Seo Eui-woo was still steaming, fragrant and untouched.
“You two are young, and I’m an old man. Sometimes my vision blurs, my ears ring. My fire is fading.”
Commander Choi Yul slurped his tea, muttering, Bitter as hell, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
But for someone claiming to be fading, he didn’t look ready to burn out anytime soon.
If anything, he was like sun-dried salt—rough, but still full of use when ground down.
Unlike the other officers, at least Choi Yul still had a purpose.
“Well, now that I’m done rambling, let’s get to the point. I’m proposing a new deal. Will you board the same ship as me?”
Choi Yul smiled, sly as a serpent.
Without the distortion of a blue hologram, seeing him in person, he looked like he could go on leading for decades.
Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin exchanged glances before turning back to him, already expecting this.
“Our conditions are strict,” Kwon Jae-jin said.
“Look at you. The young ones already learned politics. Well, I suppose they would be.”
“Free travel between the Special Residential Zone and the General Residential Zones. Can you allow that?”
“We already deploy Special Operations Units to the General Residential Zones, so I wouldn’t say movement is completely restricted.”
“I mean outside of missions. For personal visits—like leave.”
“Oh? So you want to take a little vacation? Planning to visit family, are you? Well, I suppose implementing reward leave based on service could be an option. But right now, it’s premature.”
“Mutant-born Awakeners will be enlisted soon enough. Once they become part of the Special Residential Zone, integration will happen naturally.”
“That’s not the same as large-scale movement. The Awakeners aren’t ready for the outside world yet. Education comes first. No need to rush.”
Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin exchanged looks again.
Seo Eui-woo curled his lips into a smirk and shook his head slightly.
Kwon Jae-jin sighed before adding,
“We can travel through coordinates anytime we want—with or without official procedures and permissions. The Center’s cooperation isn’t exactly necessary.”
“Ah, so this is a threat now? Tch. Do me a favor and don’t give me a headache.”
“Then hurry. Seo Eui-woo’s been pestering me nonstop about visiting Residential Zone 6.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll work something out. But give this old man a break, will you?”
Commander Choi clicked his tongue in irritation.
Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin were already too well-known—if they entered the General Residential Zones, they’d be recognized immediately.
Unless they covered their faces completely, someone would report them within minutes.
“Jae-jin, let’s go. We’re done here.”
“What about the tea? You won’t even take a sip before leaving? This is Jakseol—made from tender, young leaves that sprout in spring after a long winter. It’s named after sparrow tongues.”
“Ah, no thanks… I think I’ll pass. Who knows what you put in that?”
Commander Choi Yul gave them both a Seriously? kind of look, but Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin simply stood up and teleported away.
“Well then, until next time.”
The spacious office momentarily flared with brilliant light before settling into stillness once more.
Seo Eui-woo, now carrying the abilities of both his first timeline and second timeline selves, along with the effects of a perfectly completed guiding session, was incomparably stronger than before.
Any trace of instability had vanished entirely.
The three deeply ingrained imbalances that had plagued him for years were now completely cured.
The first—insomnia.
The second—an inability to eat.
The third—crippling anxiety.
A lifetime of conditioning had forced Seo Eui-woo to live with an innate fear of losing control.
But now, there was no longer any need to be afraid.
His abilities were pure, balanced.
And they always would be.
***
“Look, I’m officially on long-term leave, so what the hell is this? It feels like I’ve been at the Center every damn day.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Wrapping things up properly is the most important part of any job. If you botch the follow-up, it’s as bad as not doing it at all.”
“Jae-jin… were you born this way?”
“What?”
Kwon Jae-jin glanced over his shoulder at Seo Eui-woo.
They had just gotten home, and he was standing at the bathroom sink, washing his hands.
“Your personality.”
Seo Eui-woo strolled in lazily, coming up behind him.
Stretching his arms around Kwon Jae-jin’s waist, he reached out to wash his hands in the same sink.
“Was little Jae-jin like this too? I want to know what you were like as a kid.”
Bubbles foamed over the backs of their hands.
Seo Eui-woo didn’t just wash his own hands—he scrubbed Jae-jin’s as well, thoroughly, before turning off the tap.
Kwon Jae-jin sighed and answered indifferently,
“I told you, stop pestering me about it…”
“But I want to know. It’s not my fault I’m impatient.”
“Just take your time adjusting first. Then we can talk. Alright?”
“I am adjusted. I feel completely fine.”
Seo Eui-woo leaned in, pressing soft lips to Kwon Jae-jin’s ear. Then he kissed him there. And as if that wasn’t enough, he wrapped his arms tighter around his waist. His damp hands left faint wet marks on Kwon Jae-jin’s clothes.
“Seo Eui-woo…”
“I mean it. I really am fine. It’s just my memories and abilities from the past four years returning—nothing more.”
Seo Eui-woo pulled him in even closer, molding their bodies together. His whisper was low, intimate, sending an electric shiver down Jae-jin’s spine. His voice, dripping with warmth and something deeper, something sultry, was utterly hypnotic.
“I’ve always been desperate to know what you’ve been doing these past four years, Jae-jin. I even obsessed over trying to read your memories. Honestly, it feels good to finally know everything about our past.”
Seo Eui-woo slid his hand under Kwon Jae-jin’s shirt, his damp, soap-scented palm gliding over his waist.
“As you can see, my memories are fine. So let me give yours back, too.”
Kwon Jae-jin shook his head.
“No. Not until things are more stable.”
“Why not?”
“You just gained memories you didn’t have before. If I regain mine at the same time, both of us will be a complete mess. We need to take turns adjusting.”
“But I can finally return what I took from you, Jae-jin. And now you’re telling me I have to wait again…?”
Not only had Seo Eui-woo regained his past memories and abilities, but he had also received stable guiding.
At this point, he was fully capable of restoring Kwon Jae-jin’s stolen memories.
Psychic abilities were complex, and memory restoration was especially dangerous, but with his current level of power, Seo Eui-woo could do it.
“I said no.”
Kwon Jae-jin firmly stopped him. Not long ago, Seo Eui-woo had been the one demanding everything—his family, his memories, his entire life. He had thrown a fit, insisting he wanted to have it all. And now, here he was, desperate to give it all back.
“I don’t think we have to be this cautious. But fine, if that’s what you want, I’ll wait.”
Seo Eui-woo’s hand, still inside Kwon Jae-jin’s shirt, began to move again.
His fingers traced over the ridges of his abs before sliding up to squeeze his chest.
“Guess we’ll just have to keep living like this for now.”
“Ugh.”
“What do you think? Should we take this to the bed?”
The Seo Eui-woo reflected in the mirror grinned darkly, his voice dropping to a sultry whisper. His lips, teasing against Kwon Jae-jin’s ear, trailed upward—toward his eyes.
Kwon Jae-jin blinked.
Seo Eui-woo pressed a soft kiss to his eyelid before dragging his tongue across it. A sharp, rough friction burned against his eyeball, leaving an odd mix of sting and wet heat behind. From the slick, sucking noises, it was obvious he was enjoying himself.
A shiver ran down Kwon Jae-jin’s spine.
“Jae-jin…”
Why the fuck was this turning him on?
Something heavy pressed against his ass.
Seo Eui-woo, now fully hard, ground his thick length against him, rubbing against the curve of his flesh. Kwon Jae-jin swallowed a sigh and tilted his head, searching for Seo Eui-woo’s lips.
“Do whatever you want.”
The moment he kissed him, Seo Eui-woo latched on hungrily. Biting down on his lower lip, he slipped his tongue inside, curling it around Jae-jin’s. He licked insistently at the ridges of his palate, driving a shudder through him.
“Ngh…”
“Hah… Fuck, that feels good.”
“…….”
Kwon Jae-jin instinctively swallowed his words. He didn’t respond right away.
But at some point, a realization struck him, and with some difficulty, he parted his lips to speak.
“…I… too.”
Why was it so hard to say?
“The roof of my mouth… that feels… good…”
His nape flushed red. Even though he had finally decided to express himself, it wasn’t easy. And yet, just those few words—just the mention of his palate—had Seo Eui-woo’s cock straining painfully hard.
Already half-erect, he stiffened fully, pressing against the curve of Kwon Jae-jin’s ass.
Kwon Jae-jin’s dark eyes flickered, struggling to focus.
Watching them tremble, Seo Eui-woo’s lips curled into a blissful, almost worshipful smile. His gaze, intense and radiant, burned through him.
Seo Eui-woo felt like something crafted with utmost devotion, shaped by tenderness, painted over with unrelenting love. Like sunlight—impossible to block out, impossible to ignore.
“The roof of your mouth… this part?”
Seo Eui-woo pushed Kwon Jae-jin against the sink and kissed him again.
His tongue dragged firmly along the sensitive mucosa inside his mouth, slow and deliberate, making Jae-jin’s throat bob with a shaky gulp.
“Ngh—uh…!”
Jae-jin jerked back, trying to escape, but Seo Eui-woo grabbed the back of his head, pulling him in, refusing to let him run. Rolling his tongue in lazy circles, he pressed deeper, again and again, until Jae-jin’s thoughts blurred into static.
Finally, Seo Eui-woo pulled away, staring at him through half-lidded eyes, pupils blown wide.
“More?”
He asked softly.
Kwon Jae-jin shook his head.
But Seo Eui-woo only let out a quiet chuckle before closing the distance between them once more.
“This time, I just want to do it.”
