“Hey!”
As soon as I stepped into the room, Baek Beom jumped up from the sofa like he’d been waiting all day. He’d been lounging there, watching TV, but the second he saw me, he dashed over.
“What the hell took you so long? If you send me on an errand, you’re supposed to come right back!”
“…Something came up. Anyway, what about the book?”
“You seriously walk in and ask about the book first?”
“You did bring it safely, right?”
Baek Beom pouted dramatically but still reached behind him and grabbed the book off the sofa, holding it up in front of me. Just as I reached for it, he yanked it back and hid it behind his back.
I frowned at the sudden move, narrowing my eyes. Baek Beom grinned smugly.
“Not so fast. We’ve still got something to settle.”
“…Settle what?”
“The Guiding, obviously. You promised you’d guide me if I left the book at the hotel.”
Right. I had said that. I’d just blurted it out in the moment, thinking I needed to move the book before anyone caught on. I didn’t think he’d actually take it seriously. Would’ve been better if he just forgot.
“Let me check the book first. I’ll guide you after.”
“Nope! Guiding comes first! I’ll give you the book after you’re done. So start guiding me already.”
His voice was firm, head shaking in defiance, and my face instinctively twisted in annoyance. But of course, he wasn’t done yet.
“And this time, I’m getting guided like this—as I am now.”
“Why? You agreed to be in dog form for Guiding.”
“That was for official stuff! This isn’t some formal session! I don’t wanna be some mangy mutt!”
“Still, the rule was you stay in your puppy form during Guiding.”
“Don’t care! I’m a human being! Guide me like this! If you don’t, you’re not getting the book!”
Unbelievable…
He was acting like a spoiled little brat. Honestly, he wasn’t seven, but he sure was throwing a tantrum like one. I let out a heavy sigh. The guy just did not know how to listen.
Arguing was a waste of time. I was dying to read the next part of the Book of Wishes, and every second spent dealing with this was a delay. But Baek Beom wasn’t budging, and it didn’t look like he planned to. In the end, I had no choice but to give in.
“…Fine. I’ll guide you now. Happy? But you better hand over the book afterward.”
“Of course. Once we’re done, I’ll even turn into the little mutt you love so much and personally deliver it. So quit worrying.”
He grinned like none of the previous drama ever happened. Seriously, this guy was as simple as they come.
I sighed again and dragged myself over to sit beside him. He flopped down next to me—right on top of the book. He was literally sitting on it. The pettiness was almost impressive.
I gave him a look, but whatever. Might as well just get this over with and read the damn thing.
I reached out, and Baek Beom immediately took my hand, gently brushing his fingers down mine before interlocking them.
“…?”
Did we really need to lace fingers like this? A regular grip would’ve worked just fine…
I’d always guided him when he was in his dog form. Doing it while he looked like this—human—felt way too awkward. Especially after everything that had happened between us.
I glanced at him, wondering what kind of stunt he was trying to pull this time, but he just leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder, perfectly calm.
“What’re you waiting for? Come on.”
“Uh… right…”
The way he said it, like it was the most natural thing in the world, left me with no room to argue. Reluctantly, I started the Guiding—though my posture was anything but comfortable.
Thankfully, he didn’t need much. Maybe because I’d done it so often before, back when he used to beg for Guiding in dog form. He’d been cute then, so I didn’t mind. But now? Now it was just plain annoying.
And having to do this in human form, with him clinging to me like this…
“Haa… this feels so good…”
I didn’t even have to look at him—I could feel the expression he was making, and it made my skin crawl. If he were a dog, I’d be smiling right now.
“Mmm… yeah, this feeling… it’s perfect…”
I pretended I didn’t hear the damp, breathy voice whispering beside me and tried to focus on the Guiding. But then—
A warm breath brushed against the back of my neck.
“Haa… Hwang Seol-bin…”
I stayed completely still. He had a track record, after all. If I responded, he’d definitely push further.
I had no idea whether he noticed how stiff my face had gotten, but he deliberately raised his head and exhaled right into my ear, hot and moist.
I wanted to claw my ear off.
This was way, way too close.
I shifted to push him off my shoulder, and Baek Beom, now with half-lidded eyes, murmured lazily,
“Hwang Seol-bin… you know something…?”
He turned his face toward mine again. One more inch and we’d be kissing.
I snapped my head forward, trying to create distance, but Baek Beom didn’t give a damn. He leaned in, lips nearly brushing my ear, and whispered again, breath heavy and damp.
“You… the look on your face right now is so fucking sexy—ugh!”
That was the last straw.
I shoved his hand away and shot to my feet. Baek Beom just sat there, stunned, blinking up at me.
Serves him right. Who told him to mess around like that?
I rubbed my ear furiously with my hand, trying to erase the lingering heat of his breath.
“That’s enough Guiding. Now hand over the damn book.”
“What? You barely did anything!”
“Whatever. Just give me the book.”
Baek Beom stayed put, pouting like a child throwing a tantrum, but I didn’t flinch. I held out my hand, firm and unrelenting.
“The book. Now.”
When he saw how serious my face was, he finally seemed to get it. Grumbling under his breath, he scrambled to pull out the book from beneath him and shoved it into my hand, making it clear just how annoyed he was.
So much for turning into a dog and handing it over like he promised…
Well, I had it now. That was enough. A little disappointing, sure, but not enough to care.
I got up with the book in hand and headed toward my room.
“I’m gonna read and crash. Don’t bother me.”
“…You’re so cold.”
“Next time, I’ll guide you again. When you’re in dog form.”
Whatever Baek Beom mumbled after that, I didn’t stick around to hear. I shut the door behind me. Right now, the only thing that mattered was the book in my hands.
I sat on the edge of the bed without even changing clothes. The moment it was in my grip, every other thought vanished.
[Book of Wishes]
I carefully opened the cover. Just like last time, the first page held the same explanation. No doubt about it—this was another Book of Wishes.
The last book had shown everything up to the moment Kang Biso kidnapped me. So what about this one? How far ahead would it go? Would it show the future too…? And if it did, what kind of future?
The new volume picked up exactly where the last had ended.
[Recently, a dungeon yielded a rare item known as the Book of Wishes.]
From the moment of my rank re-evaluation, to infiltrating ZEC and learning about the book…
[Ahh! Hwang Seol-bin… Hwang Seol—]
Discovering that the dog was actually Baek Beom, and getting my hands on the first Book of Wishes…
…Huh? This part’s new.
[“Do you know how stressed out he makes me?! And all you care about is how pretty he is!”]
[“Okay, okay. My bad. Sounds like Yi-hyeon’s got a lot bottled up. I’ll come over next week and beat the crap out of that so-called S-Rank or whatever. That make you feel better?”
[“…It’s not just him. There’s this guy named Hwang Seol-bin. He’s a D-Rank, but…”]
Wait a second. This is about Yoon Yi-hyeon?
Even I didn’t know about this part. I never imagined the book would include something like this too.
“…So it really was Yi-hyeon pulling the strings, huh?”
I’d been unsure before, but it turned out Kim Yong-ha hadn’t grabbed the wrong guy after all.
The scene after that was—
“Shit…”
I stopped reading and bowed my head.
Of all things… it was that day. The day Kang Biso asked me out.
The memory alone made my face burn. The fact that it was written here in black and white… I couldn’t take it. Embarrassed, I quickly flipped through the pages.
This is seriously messed up.
Every now and then, snippets of dialogue popped out at me—reminders of moments I’d rather forget. I started flipping faster, trying to get through it, but before I knew it, I was on the last page.
That was it.
The second Book of Wishes ended there.
But now, there was no doubt in my mind—this book wasn’t following the original story.
It was following me.
There’s no way to deny it now.
Thoughts and emotions I’d never shared with anyone were written right here. The book wasn’t just unusual—it was otherworldly.
If I can collect them all, I can return to reality.
I remembered the promise I made to myself when I first found the book.
I still didn’t know why something like this existed, but it was the best chance I had.
But once I leave… what happens to this world? Will it go back to how the original story was supposed to play out?
…What about Kang Biso?
The thought came suddenly, and I shook my head, trying to clear it. I didn’t have time to get sentimental.
I needed to track down the copy of the book the government had supposedly been researching. Enough time had passed—they might’ve already found something. And if any of it was connected to me, I could be in serious danger.
If I was going to dig for answers… I’d need to talk to Kim Seong-gyeong. As an S-Rank Esper, he was probably my best shot at finding out more—
Rrring!
My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Hello?”
[Ah, Hwang Seol-bin.]
A familiar voice came through the speaker.
“Oh, Team Leader. Did you make it back alright?”
[“Sorry for calling so late. It’s been hectic, and I’ve been reaching out to everyone one by one. Took me a while to get to you.”]
“No, it’s totally fine.”
[“The Center should be fully restored in about a week.”]
“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
[“You must be worn out after everything that happened in the dungeon. While the Center’s under repair, just take it easy and rest. This was your second dungeon already, right? Ah—speaking of which, where are you staying now? I don’t think you’ve applied for the Guide dorms yet, even though you mentioned them last time…”]
“Ah… I’ve been a little all over the place lately, so I haven’t gotten around to it.”
[“Why not take this chance to apply? It’s definitely better than staying in a hotel, don’t you think?”]
“That’s true, but…”
For a split second, I pictured Baek Beom fast asleep on the living room sofa, probably snoring with his mouth open.
“Are pets allowed in the dorms?”
[“…Oh, you’ve got a pet? That’s fine. Technically it’s called a dorm, but everyone gets their own private room, and they’re well soundproofed too. As long as it doesn’t bark nonstop or attack people, there’s no issue.”]
Well… he didn’t bark that much, but he definitely could be loud. And yeah, there was that one time he attacked someone. But I couldn’t exactly say that, so I played it safe and told him the pet was generally calm and well-behaved.
That seemed to satisfy him. He told me to go ahead and apply tomorrow and even listed out the basic supplies I’d need for dorm life.
“Yes. Thank you, Team Leader.”
[“Alright. See you in a week. Rest up until then. I’ll let you go now.”]
After the call ended, I tossed the phone aside and collapsed back onto the bed.
Guide dorms, huh…
It’d definitely be more convenient than how I was living now. Still, with Baek Beom around, things could easily spiral into chaos. I’d have to stay on my toes…
I lay there, thinking through different possibilities, until my eyes started to grow heavy. I hadn’t realized how tired I was. The weight in my body slowly took over, and before I knew it, sleep pulled me under.
NOOO He should’ve read his date with Kang Biso💔💔