“Guide Bae Jieun has a few close Guide friends, but Guide Lee Yeong-jun… I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with anyone else.”
“Isn’t it just that Guide Lee Yeong-jun prefers being alone? He hardly ever leaves his private Guiding room, right? Most people would go crazy from boredom, but not him.”
That much was true. Even Lee Tae-rim had ended up going outside to exercise just to fight off the boredom. Being cooped up in the Guiding room all day had nearly driven him up the wall.
“Maybe he has friends outside the Center? He does go out pretty often on weekends. Could be family too.”
Whatever the case, he seemed to be doing just fine, so that lifestyle must suit him. Tae-rim, on the other hand, was the kind of person who couldn’t stand being alone for long. Spending an entire day by himself was something he couldn’t even imagine.
“By the way, did Hyo-il die during training or something? Why isn’t he back yet?”
“Why? Did you send him out for ice cream or something?”
“Yup.”
“Ugh, make sure he doesn’t get me any!”
“No can do. I refuse to be the only one getting fat.”
“You devil!”
Lee Jae-hwa hurriedly sent a message to Kim Hyo-il, but he was already too late. A reply came back almost instantly.
“We’re screwed… He says he’s already paid…”
“Ooh~ My ice cream! It’s finally coming!”
Lee Jae-hwa mournfully poked at the fat on his stomach, muttering about how he really didn’t feel like working out…
“You’re lucky, Tae-rim. You never gain weight.”
“If I stop working out, I gain weight too.”
“Oh yeah, come to think of it, aren’t you skipping training today, Tae-rim?”
“Yeah. Just didn’t feel like it.”
Luckily, Tae-rim was known to skip workouts whenever he felt lazy, so no one found it suspicious. He gave a casual smile and answered with a breezy, “Just didn’t feel like it.”
“This has nothing to do with Esper Seon Juho’s glow-up or anything?”
But then Yoon Ye-rin suddenly launched a sneak attack with an all-too-sweet smile. Caught off guard, Tae-rim froze and shut his mouth instinctively.
“You really don’t check the Guide bulletin board at all, do you? People were losing their minds this morning when they saw Esper Seon Juho walk in. They were all like, ‘How the hell is he even hotter now?!’“
No matter how much mental training Tae-rim had done over the weekend, there was no way to defend against an ambush like that. He gave an awkward laugh.
“Juho’s always been good-looking…”
“Your birthday night must’ve been blazing hot, huh?”
“…….”
So this is how it ends. Tae-rim gave a hollow chuckle. Of course. These people would never let it go.
When Tae-rim gave a resigned laugh, Lee Jae-hwa looked at him with a pitying expression.
“This is why everyone avoids dating inside the same Center. There’s no way to keep anything under wraps.”
He was right. There really was no hiding anything. No matter how much effort Tae-rim put in, there was no way to stop the radiant glow beaming off Seon Juho’s face.
“Ice cream’s here~!”
Just then, the door opened and Kim Hyo-il appeared, pulling pint-sized tubs of ice cream out of a paper bag and placing them in front of Lee Jae-hwa and Yoon Ye-rin.
“…….”
And then he plopped a half-gallon tub down in front of Lee Tae-rim. With a subtle smile, Kim Hyo-il said,
“This one’s a celebratory ice cream, Tae-rim.”
Waaah~! The other three clapped enthusiastically.
Tae-rim just smiled, recalling that age-old wisdom—“Acceptance is peace.”
***
He’d gotten way too used to Seon Juho’s face. Lee Tae-rim let out a long sigh.
Maybe it was because he’d seen that mind-numbing expression of Seon Juho’s at climax far too many times. Tae-rim hadn’t even realized that his glow had somehow upgraded. Compared to that face, his usual one was just…
The moment he recalled Seon Juho looking like a beast in heat, his face began to flush all over again. That face should be illegal. The soft and squishy puppy had vanished, and in his place was one dangerously sexy animal.
Looking at Seon Juho now—smiling at him with his usual harmless, sweet expression—Tae-rim sighed again. It just felt unfair somehow.
He had expected Alphas to have a high sex drive, but he hadn’t realized it would be this intense. Sure, great stamina was to be expected, but… Seon Juho was also an Esper. He had a body that transcended normal human limits.
“…Haaah.”
Seriously. That kind of sex drive and that kind of stamina? That’s cheating. For an average person like Lee Tae-rim, it was practically a death sentence. He sighed again, deeply.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
Noticing the repeated sighs, Seon Juho looked at him with concern, wearing that dejected puppy-dog face that immediately tugged at Tae-rim’s heartstrings. Tae-rim smacked himself mentally. Get it together, Tae-rim!
“It’s nothing.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Seon Juho’s lips jutted out in a pout. His adorably sulky puppy face made Tae-rim feel like he was about to fall head over heels all over again. He knew this too was just one of Juho’s many sides, but damn it, it still felt like he was being played. He couldn’t help but feel just a little pissed.
“Can’t you dial down that glow on your face or something?”
“Huh?”
Seon Juho tilted his head, clearly not getting what Tae-rim meant. Of course he’s not aware of it… Tae-rim sighed again, even deeper this time. Seon Juho looked even more downcast now, clearly gauging Tae-rim’s mood.
“Did I… do something wrong?”
If he were being picky, yes—Seon Juho’s face was the problem. But it’s not like he was doing it on purpose. Tae-rim could only let out a laugh. This was just something he had to deal with.
“No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then?”
“It’s just… You’re too damn good-looking, that’s all.”
“Uh…?”
“It’s a thing.”
“Oh… okay…”
It was supposed to be a compliment, but from Tae-rim’s expression, it definitely didn’t look like one. Juho hesitated, clearly confused. How can someone be this aware of people’s moods and still act so damn selfish in bed? Tae-rim thought bitterly, remembering the heroic sacrifice of his lower body. His laugh came out hollow.
But he shook his head, trying to shake off the thoughts too. No point in overthinking it. Juho had just acted on instinct. And considering he hadn’t grown up in a “normal” environment, it wasn’t fair to blame him for being a little too primal. Acting on instinct wasn’t a crime.
And if you compared it to being in Heat or Rut—when someone was running on pure animal instinct—Juho had still been relatively tame. If either of them had been in Heat or Rut that night, they probably would’ve gone all the way. No question. And 100%, he’d have ended up pregnant… if that were biologically possible. That’s what it meant to be fully consumed by instinct.
Of course, Tae-rim didn’t have a body capable of pregnancy, so that wasn’t going to happen. Still, the point remained: Juho hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t like he was jumping anyone else—he only acted that way with Tae-rim, someone he liked. So how could that possibly be considered bad?
If there was a “fault” to be found, it was that ridiculous libido paired with an inhuman level of stamina. And Seon Juho just happened to possess both. Tae-rim had simply fallen for a man like that.
After dinner, Tae-rim sat on the couch, blankly staring at the TV. The drama he was watching, “Tearing Down the In-Laws”, had reached its climax. The mother-in-law, who had acted like an angel in front of others but showed her true devilish side only to her daughter-in-law, had finally been exposed in front of the whole family.
“Finally. I thought I was going to explode.”
The mother-in-law’s mask had been so perfect until now, it’d driven everyone insane. Especially Juho, who had no tolerance for trashy dramas—this one was way too much for him.
“Think she’s getting divorced next week? She did get caught cheating…”
Juho hated cheaters. He’d always go on and on about how people who cheat need to be punished, and it was so cute that Tae-rim couldn’t help but laugh every time.
“Hyung. Let’s do the Imprint.”
Mid-ramble, Juho suddenly turned serious and blurted it out. Tae-rim laughed.
“Why? Worried I’ll cheat on you?”
“Nooo… It’s not like that…”
“You don’t trust me?”
“No, that’s not it! It’s just… Hyung’s so popular…”
“Me?”
Juho nodded, completely serious. Tae-rim burst out laughing, and Juho started shaking him insistently, saying he meant it.
“I hate cheaters too, okay? So don’t worry.”
“You don’t get it, Hyung! Even that guy earlier—!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Ah, Hyyyuuuuung!”
Juho whined as he wrapped himself around Tae-rim, rubbing up against him. He insisted that they had to do the Imprint if he wanted to protect him. Tae-rim grabbed Juho’s soft cheeks and stretched them out.
What a squishy, glutinous rice cake of a puppy…
“As long as you stay the hottest one around, there’s no problem.”
“Hyung… Don’t tell me… you only like my face…?”
“…….”
“Hyuuuuung…!”
“Ahaha. Don’t you know Guides are total face-chasers?”
“…….”
Juho fell into a deadly serious silence, then muttered under his breath.
“Can Espers get plastic surgery…?”
Tae-rim gasped.
“Hey!”
He immediately grabbed Juho’s cheeks and yanked them again. Juho started whining, pretending it hurt even though it obviously didn’t.
“Don’t even think about putting a knife to that gorgeous face! I’ll seriously get mad!”
“But I have to keep looking good…”
His pout said he was completely sincere. Tae-rim narrowed his eyes and tugged on Juho’s cheeks again with extra force.
“Hyung doesn’t like artificially pretty boys!”
