“Y-Yeah, I got it.”
Lee Tae-rim’s speech slurred as Seon Juho tugged on his cheeks forcefully. Even with his cheek being pulled, looking at Seon Juho’s ridiculously handsome face made him think of the rumor about Espers being like peacocks. What does this guy even eat to look this good? Seriously, that face was something else. No wonder the Guides were constantly fawning over him.
“But how do Espers take care of their skin? Regular products don’t work on you guys, right?”
“Yeah… But wait, does that mean I can’t take care of my skin at all? I can’t even do face masks? What if I get wrinkles?”
Seon Juho’s expression turned grave. Tae-rim was dumbfounded.
“Getting wrinkles as you age is normal.”
“Still… I wanna keep looking good for you, hyung…”
“Then just age gracefully. Some people look great even with wrinkles.”
“Really?”
Tae-rim nodded. That much was true. He’d seen it with his own two eyes—those Espers who retired because of Molt but returned during external expeditions. True, silver-fox legends walked among them.
“Ah. Come to think of it, the external expeditions will start again soon…”
Tae-rim suddenly felt gloomy. This blissful time would soon end because the retired Espers had only agreed to take over expeditions temporarily until the remnants of Molt were cleaned up. No official date had been set, but it felt like it was coming soon.
“Should I bring it up at the next regular meeting?”
“Huh?”
“A-rank Guides are being sent to Districts 3 and 4, right? Even if Jung Jae-heon sunbae can’t go due to the danger, the other districts seem to be handling things fine. I’ll push for it.”
“……”
Honestly, he was tempted. It was impossible not to be. Tae-rim cleared his throat.
“A lot of people seem to be jealous of you, hyung. Let’s just send them instead.”
Tae-rim’s mouth dropped open at the words that came out of Seon Juho’s mouth. He even sounded a little pissed off.
“They’ll be thrilled. Right?”
So he had heard everything after all. There was no way someone with Esper-level hearing wouldn’t catch the Guides whispering.
“Or we could move instead?”
Tae-rim’s eyes widened. This was Seon Juho—who always shot down that idea cold, saying it was too hard for him to handle. He never expected those words to come out of his mouth.
“Even if I don’t want to hear it, I do. That’s why I hate people who say nasty things about you.”
“Juho…”
“What do you think, hyung?”
Tae-rim smiled softly at Seon Juho’s question. It wasn’t something he even needed to think about anymore.
“Nah. I’m good. I hate exhausting stuff more than anything.”
He had no interest in Districts 3 or 4, where people basically lived out in the field. From what he’d heard, the other districts barely had one or two S-rank Guides. Most were all packed into 3 and 4. And honestly, Tae-rim didn’t want to be bored and alone again with no friends around.
“Then I’ll suggest letting A-rank Guides be sent instead.”
“T-That’d be great…”
Tae-rim’s lips twitched with barely concealed joy. But then, he suddenly remembered that Seon Juho was the youngest among all the S-rank Espers. Which made him a little worried.
“But won’t you get on someone’s bad side for suggesting something like that?”
“Whose?”
“The higher-ups…?”
“Pfft. It’s fine. I’m the strongest.”
“……”
Strength didn’t solve everything… But Tae-rim just smiled. He decided not to expect too much.
“Oh yeah, hyung. I ordered a ton of expensive liquor. Like, all kinds.”
“Huh?”
“I asked an expert to send over the top-selling stuff first. If you tell me your taste, they said they can send stuff tailored to it too.”
“Juho…”
Tae-rim was at a loss. He felt touched… but also like he wanted to scold this brat. The conflicting emotions ping-ponged in his head. He had a pretty good idea why Seon Juho had suddenly ordered all that alcohol. It made him a little mad, but the booze itself? Very, very welcome. Even as he smiled, his pupils shook slightly.
“You really…”
Should he scold him or praise him? He was honestly torn. But for now, he decided to go with praise. He just needed to be careful not to drink too much. As long as he didn’t get as wasted as that night, it’d be fine. Excuses aside, Tae-rim simply couldn’t give up alcohol.
“Sigh… I’m gonna drink in moderation. That mess the other day won’t happen again.”
“…I-I just thought, since you like drinking…”
“You’re so transparent, you little punk.”
“……”
Seon Juho rolled his eyes dramatically. Tae-rim reached over and thoroughly tousled his hair. God, he was just too damn cute.
“Still, thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yup!”
Seon Juho grinned and cuddled up to him again. As he clung to Tae-rim and sniffed around his neck for pheromones, Tae-rim opened his smartphone and started searching. This was his chance—he was gonna try all those expensive side dishes he’d never bought before to save money. Heh heh heh. Unknowingly, a smile crept onto Tae-rim’s face.
***
Seon Juho, ever thoughtful, even ordered a wine cellar.
When Tae-rim came home the next day after work and saw the wine cellar fully stocked with bottles and rows of whiskeys neatly lined up in the display cabinet, a shiver of thrill ran through his whole body. For the first time, he genuinely thought, Possessing this body might’ve actually been worth it.
His heart wanted to try a sip of every single one, but the last time he drank, he’d caused a mess—and it wasn’t even that long ago. So, Tae-rim restrained himself and poured just one glass of the whiskey that caught his eye the most. It was pure bliss. Expensive drinks really did taste better for a reason. Damn right they do.
For the past few nights, he’d been living the dream—nursing a glass of alcohol while watching dramas. But now… Tae-rim let out a deep sigh in his mind. Kwon Hae-beom had come to see him again.
The training period for Lee Hae-il was nearly over, and it looked like Kwon Hae-beom really had no intention of receiving Guiding from him. Tae-rim debated whether he should say something. He was worried that if he pushed it, Hae-beom might dig his heels in even further and refuse to be Guided by anyone at all—especially not by Tae-rim.
Come on, no way. He was an adult, not a child. Surely he wouldn’t be that petty. But even thinking that, the words wouldn’t come out. There’s a saying—assume nothing, or you’ll be the one who gets hurt. Tae-rim decided once again to stay out of it. It wasn’t something he could solve anyway.
Still, he’d lost a lot of weight. Enough that he genuinely looked unwell. Tae-rim knew he probably had no appetite with everything going on, but it was still frustrating to watch. He sighed quietly.
“Please remember to eat.”
As the Guiding session ended and Kwon Hae-beom stood to leave, Tae-rim finally managed to say something. He doubted the words would do any good, but Hae-beom’s condition was so bad that he couldn’t help but worry at least a little. Hae-beom just stared at him in silence… then left without saying a word.
God, that damn mule. Tae-rim clicked his tongue and shook his head.
It’s not that he didn’t understand. He did understand… but still. Tae-rim sighed again, long and heavy.
Because Kwon Hae-beom had barged in that morning, Tae-rim hadn’t been able to work out like he planned. After leaving the Guiding Room, he made his way to the training hall. After several days of rest due to severe muscle soreness and a certain other injury in a sensitive area, his body was already feeling sluggish again. Even if he didn’t get dispatched on expeditions anymore, there was no way he could stop exercising altogether.
“Hey, you’re here?”
Of course, Kim Hyo-il was already there. Unlike Tae-rim, whose training days were all over the place, Kim Hyo-il exercised with clockwork consistency. Naturally, he had a better physique than Tae-rim. He looked lean, but if you touched him, you’d find hard, solid muscle beneath.
As always, the instructor was looking at him with that same wistful expression. With that body and skillset—what a waste of talent. The instructor clearly felt it was a tragedy that Kim Hyo-il wasn’t being put to good use.
“Getting more love calls today?”
“Sigh… They’re so persistent.”
Tae-rim let out a dry chuckle and started his usual warm-up with a run. After about an hour, Kim Hyo-il had disappeared—probably off to the shooting range.
Tae-rim’s typical workout involved starting with cardio, then moving on to various machines for strength, and depending on his mood, either Pilates or kickboxing. He felt like doing kickboxing today, but considering he still needed to preserve his body for a while, he chose Pilates instead.
Moving through the poses with the instructor’s guidance, Tae-rim found his mind wandering to a thought.
Seon Juho had mentioned he was going to propose that even A-rank Guides be sent to districts like 3 and 4 for external expeditions. Did that suggestion go anywhere? If it did, wouldn’t Kim Hyo-il be the first to get recruited? Considering how the instructor was always eyeing him like a hawk, the odds were pretty high. Tae-rim suddenly felt a little bad for him.
Should I warn him ahead of time…? But then again, it was just a proposal. It might not even go through. It had never been approved before, so odds were it wouldn’t now either.
Besides, the real reason Guides weren’t included in external expeditions probably came down to Jung Jae-heon. He’d called them “dead weight.” Tae-rim agreed with that to some extent. If you brought along a Guide who couldn’t even manage themselves, the Espers would have to babysit them, dragging down their efficiency.
But someone like Kim Hyo-il? Even as an A-rank, he was the kind of talent the instructors were dying to put to use. And there were likely other high-caliber Guides out there, even among those already participating in internal expeditions. Tae-rim decided he’d suggest that to Seon Juho—if Jung Jae-heon pushed back, they should hit back with that point.
