When Kwon Hae-beom returned from his expedition and Choi Jiwoon completed his retraining, Lee Tae-rim was on his way to his private Guiding room after finishing training—just like any other day.
But then, out of nowhere, Choi Jiwoon appeared at the end of the hallway, stormed up to him with long, purposeful strides, and without a word, slapped him across the face.
Tae-rim froze, stunned, his face going stiff with shock.
Jiwoon had hit him hard—hard enough that Tae-rim’s lower lip split open, blood trickling down. Still trying to process what had just happened, Tae-rim stared blankly as Jiwoon stood there, visibly shaking, eyes brimming with tears.
“You told me to have a happy relationship! You said you wouldn’t get involved anymore!”
Tae-rim blinked at him, dumbfounded—then a thought came to mind. If this had anything to do with Kwon Hae-beom, there was only one thing it could be: the recent Guiding session. The one he’d done under direct orders from above, with no say in the matter. That was it. But… was that really something to get this worked up over? Enough to slap someone in the face?
The sound of the slap had echoed down the hallway, drawing a crowd. Tae-rim made an effort to stay composed.
“I didn’t have a choice—”
“Why do you keep making me feel so pathetic? It wasn’t enough to make me feel useless, now you’re taking Hae-beom hyung’s Guiding away from me too? Was I asking for too much? All I ever wanted was him—just him! But you keep trying to take him from me! You said there wouldn’t be any more ties! Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t go near him again?!”
“……”
Tae-rim had nothing to say. The fact that he’d Guided Kwon Hae-beom was supposed to be classified. He couldn’t exactly come out and say, I only did it because I was ordered to.
“…Ha.”
He exhaled sharply, more out of disbelief than anything.
“Seriously? You slapped someone over one Guiding session? Without even knowing what the situation was?”
Pushing through the growing crowd, Yoon Ye-rin appeared. She gave Jiwoon a slow once-over, eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“Did you even ask Esper Kwon Hae-beom why he accepted the Guiding? You do realize it’s not something you can do alone, right? If he agreed to it, he must’ve had his reasons.”
Her words were clear and deliberate. Jiwoon’s wide eyes started to well up again, but when his gaze met Tae-rim’s, his fury flared right back up.
“I wasn’t talking to you. Who even are you to butt in?”
“Me? I’m someone close to Tae-rim. That’s why I’m backing him up. Got a problem with that?”
Jiwoon faltered for a moment, caught off guard by her boldness, but quickly gathered himself again.
“If you’re not involved, stay out of it! I was speaking to Lee Tae-rim!”
“Tae-rim. He wants an answer. I know this is ridiculous, but if you stay silent, everyone’s going to think you’ve got something to hide.”
Ye-rin had a point. Still, Tae-rim couldn’t speak here—not out in the open like this. He let out a breath, half-sigh, half-composure.
“Let’s talk somewhere private.”
“No! I want to hear it now—right here!”
“…Guide Choi. Who told you about this?”
“Hae-beom hyung did! So don’t even think about denying it!”
God, this guy. Tae-rim pressed a hand to his forehead. Even if Hae-boem was feeling guilty toward his lover, he shouldn’t have said anything. This was supposed to be a covert operation. What was he thinking, just spilling everything like that?
“Did Esper Kwon Hae-beom tell you to come confront me about it?”
“Of course not! He’d never say something like that! Do you know how—how kind he is… ugh.”
Kind or not, that wasn’t Tae-rim’s concern. What mattered was that this entire conversation needed to happen somewhere else—but Jiwoon clearly wasn’t going to let that happen. Tae-rim knew better than to sigh again, but it slipped out anyway.
“Guide Choi, do you really have to hear it here?”
“Yes!”
“Tae-rim, why are you dragging this out? Wait… don’t tell me…”
“I have no romantic feelings for Esper Kwon Hae-beom.”
“Then why? Did someone force you to—”
Ye-rin quickly covered her mouth, cutting herself off. Jiwoon either didn’t catch the slip or chose to ignore it. He just kept glaring at Tae-rim like he wanted to burn a hole through him. Tae-rim raised both hands in mock surrender. Everyone else here had probably already figured it out—everyone except Jiwoon.
“I have nothing to say. If you want answers, ask Esper Kwon Hae-beom.”
“Don’t run away from me!”
“Hey!”
“Let me go!”
Jiwoon tried to chase after him, but Ye-rin grabbed his arm to hold him back. Thanks to that, Tae-rim made it safely to his private Guiding room. He dropped into a chair and let out a long, weary sigh. It hadn’t lasted more than a few minutes, but it left him completely drained.
He tried not to sigh again. He really did. But it kept coming.
All of this had created exactly the kind of situation he’d wanted to avoid.
A complete shift in atmosphere.
Lee Tae-rim didn’t care if Choi Jiwoon looked pathetic—what mattered was that he didn’t want to look that way.
Being an Omega came with a certain kind of look. Poor thing. It must be hard. What a shame.
Sure, back in the day, Omegas probably struggled without proper medication. But now? The world had changed. You could get pheromone suppressants at any convenience store, and practically everything else at a pharmacy.
Yes, taking meds regularly could be a hassle, but that didn’t make him pitiful. Still, the older generation never seemed to catch up with the times. The moment they heard someone was an Omega, it always slipped out of their mouths like a reflex:
“That’s unfortunate.”
Tae-rim hated it. He didn’t want to be someone people felt sorry for. Just because he took a few extra pills didn’t mean he was weak or sad. It wasn’t like he had a terminal illness. That kind of sympathy only made him feel smaller. He never wanted to be seen as some sad, helpless figure. That kind of attention? He wanted no part of it.
A soft knock sounded, followed by the door creaking open.
“Hyung.”
Peeking in with a playful grin was Seon Juho. He was clearly trying to be cute, but the moment he saw Tae-rim’s face, his expression froze.
“Hyung! You’re hurt?!”
Only then did Tae-rim remember he’d been slapped by Choi Jiwoon. Juho rushed over and started inspecting his face, eyes wide with alarm.
“It’s just a split lip.”
“Liar. Come on, say ‘ah,’ hyung.”
“I’m fine.”
“Then at least let me put some ointment on it, yeah? Where’s your first aid kit?”
In the end, Tae-rim had no choice but to let Seon Juho tend to the wound. Juho busied himself with the supplies, fuming all the while.
“Who did this?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?! You got hit hard enough to bleed!”
“These things happen sometimes. It’s just part of life.”
“…This pisses me off, seriously.”
Tae-rim gently patted him on the back, trying to calm him down. Juho just hugged him tightly and stayed silent for a long moment.
Then Tae-rim’s phone buzzed.
– Yoon Ye-rin: Choi Jiwoon is seriously on another level. Esper Kwon Hae-beom had to show up to calm him down—he was making a whole scene. The guy just couldn’t take the hint and kept insisting on seeing you, but Kwon Hae-beom held him back. You know what he said? That he never liked you to begin with. Then he accused you of faking your memory loss. It was a complete mess. The whole vibe is seriously off, Tae-rim. Stick close to Esper Seon Juho for a while. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Kim Hyo-il and Lee Jae-hwa had always said Yoon Ye-rin had a sixth sense for this kind of thing. She could smell trouble before it even started.
Tae-rim stared at the message, brows furrowed, then closed the screen with a sigh.
“Was it that Choi Jiwoon guy who hit you, hyung?”
Sharp eyes. He must’ve seen just a glimpse, but he’d already pieced it together. Juho’s gaze lit up with fire.
“I knew I didn’t like that guy! I knew from the moment he kept acting all chummy out of nowhere!”
“Chummy?”
“Yeah! I kept ignoring him, but he wouldn’t stop saying hi. Always trailing after me, rambling on like we were close!”
Tae-rim rubbed his forehead. What was done was done, but it still gave him a headache.
“Still, if someone greets you, you should at least say hi back.”
“Why?”
“Huh? You’re gonna keep seeing each other around—it’s better than having things be awkward.”
“Even so, I don’t like him. I hate the way he looks at people—pretending to be all nice. It gives me the creeps.”
Tae-rim was genuinely impressed at how well Seon Juho had seen through Choi Jiwoon. Then again, it wasn’t like Juho would ever need to receive Guiding from him. They barely had a reason to cross paths anyway.
And the thing about his amnesia—he’d had it confirmed by a mental-type Esper, yet Jiwoon still refused to believe it? What kind of rumors were even going around?
Then his phone buzzed again.
– Yoon Ye-rin: Oh, and I told him your memory loss was officially confirmed by a mental-type Esper. He shut up real fast after that. So satisfying, honestly.
If Ye-rin hadn’t held Jiwoon back, Tae-rim might’ve been stuck in that disaster zone until Kwon Hae-beom showed up.
It really did feel nice, having someone on his side. Tae-rim sent Ye-rin a quick thank-you message.
I’d for real lose my mind and slap that ho right back if I was in his situation. Like, you can be mad someone else had to do your job that you couldn’t do because you messed up by sucking at it? Wouldn’t be surprised if Jiwoon was somehow involved with Molt by the end of the story.
That b guide is seriously sus. His jealousy is out of order.