The Villainous Guide’s New Life Side Story 24

Now that he thought about it, the doctor’s response to Lee Tae-rim’s condition had seemed far too practiced—almost too smooth. Even the medication was something developed in-house by Central, and they’d specifically requested it not be leaked to outsiders. If they’d gone so far as to develop a separate drug for it, then clearly the matter was being taken seriously at the highest level.

“But it’s not just the men. Women can be Espers too, after all.”

“Exactly. You can’t ever let your guard down. They’re still Espers.”

“Tae-rim doesn’t need to worry though, right? He’s gonna be with Esper Seon Juho forever.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

“Idiot. He should be more careful around Esper Seon Juho.”

“Well, can’t be helped. Either Tae-rim builds more stamina, or… something.”

If more stamina were enough to fix the problem, he would’ve done it already. Lee Tae-rim wanted to sigh but held it back. He wasn’t keen on revealing just how much stamina Seon Juho actually had—not unless it became absolutely necessary, which, unfortunately, he’d soon have to report to Dr. Oh.

“Anyway, I really wanna see Guide Won Hwa-jun in person already.”

“This is my first time seeing a celeb up close!”

“Same here.”

Won Hwa-jun, of course, would only start official guiding duties after receiving proper training. That’s why Bae Jieun was preparing to leave for work—he was about to begin his training under her. Rumor had it, she’d been looking noticeably more lively lately.

“How’s Esper Jung Jae-heon doing? You think he’ll go along with fate so easily?”

Naturally, Jung Jae-heon had been assigned as Won Hwa-jun’s practice Esper. The best match for an S-rank Guide’s training was, of course, an S-rank Esper. While they’d obviously have him try guiding lower-ranked Espers too, the bulk of his work would be with S-ranks, so it made the most sense to start there. Not like how it had gone for Lee Tae-rim.

The reason Tae-rim hadn’t had the luxury of learning to guide at his own pace like Won Hwa-jun was simple—there hadn’t been an S-rank Guide available to fill in for him. So he’d had to barrel through training in record time, and as a bonus, he’d earned the delightful experience of being sexually harassed. Thinking back on that time, all Tae-rim could do was let out a hollow laugh.

“Still, Esper Jung Jae-heon would never do something like Esper Kwon Hae-beom did, right?”

It was Jung Jae-heon, after all. There was this odd, unshakable belief that he’d never go off the rails. He was someone who had always carried out his responsibilities to the letter, and his sense of duty was impressively strong. Tae-rim nodded.

“I explained things and got him to agree not to avoid it, so it should be fine.”

“Espers always listen best to their Guides.”

“Except Esper Kwon Hae-beom.”

“Pfft, true. That man’s got stubbornness down to an art form…”

“‘Stubborn’ is way too kind for him. Kwon Hae-beom’s just pigheaded.”

“Is Esper Kwon Hae-beom doing any better these days?”

“No idea.”

“I heard he started refusing Guiding again.”

“What?”

“Again?”

“He’s not doing anything anyway, so refusing Guiding doesn’t exactly hurt anyone. Still, he’s supposed to be off tranquilizers by now. That’s why we were keeping up the Guiding—to keep him stable—but for whatever reason, he’s suddenly flipped out again.”

“Guide Lee Hae-il must be going through hell…”

“There’s talk it might be the research team’s fault this time. Apparently, they wanted to run all kinds of tests to see how a 99% Matching Rate affects an Esper.”

“Well, 99% is a world first, so yeah… that kind of obsession makes sense.”

The three of them exchanged looks of pity as they continued.

“Esper Kwon Hae-beom used to be the definition of a cold, silent city guy, you know?”

“And don’t get me started on those muscles. That man had a body.”

“Muscles can come back fast. Look at Juho.”

“That’s true. Still, it’s just… he used to be the most popular guy at Central. Seeing him like this now—it just hurts.”

“I keep telling myself time will fix it, but still…”

They all knew Choi Jiwoon had died. But beyond that, nobody really knew what had happened. Presumably, it was Kwon Hae-beom who’d handled the funeral… maybe Jiwoon’s ashes were resting in a columbarium somewhere.

Still, he had been the protagonist of the story, and his ending felt far too tragic and pathetic. Twenty-five was still so young. At that age, Choi Jiwoon had lived most of his life in confinement, and only just started to experience the world. Only just started to fall in love. It must’ve been a love like no other—so powerful, he’d even chosen to Imprint.

It had been a love that burned like fire.

But if the story had followed its original course—if Jiwoon had successfully Imprinted with Kwon Hae-beom—then nothing good would’ve come after. With Jiwoon dependent on medication to even perform Guiding, Molt could’ve easily taken him hostage and manipulated Kwon Hae-beom however they wanted. And Jiwoon… he would’ve had no choice but to watch helplessly as Kwon Hae-beom fell apart because of him.

Choi Jiwoon’s death had saved Kwon Hae-beom’s life, but it had shattered his heart. In the end, he was still broken—but thanks to Jiwoon’s sacrifice, Hae-beom had been given the chance to write his own future. As if the heavens themselves wished for his happiness, he even met a Guide with a Matching Rate of 99%—a connection that felt like pure fate.

What he did with that future was entirely up to him. Lee Tae-rim sincerely hoped Kwon Hae-beom would find happiness with Lee Hae-il. Surely, even Choi Jiwoon wouldn’t want Hae-beom to suffer.

If only the bastard would let go of that damn stubbornness… Tae-rim clicked his tongue in frustration, silently.

When lunchtime rolled around, Seon Juho came to see him. The moment he spotted Tae-rim, he pulled him into a hug and nuzzled against him like always, whispering that he’d missed him. Seon Juho was just as sweet as any main character in a romance novel.

“You remember everything we talked about, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Whew… You’re not the problem. I’m the problem. What if I say the wrong thing?”

What Tae-rim was really worried about were Dr. Oh’s questions. There was no doubt this phenomenon would become the subject of intense global interest as the first of its kind, and Dr. Oh was highly likely to unleash a barrage of questions.

The problem with knowing too much was that words could slip out without even realizing it. Tae-rim was afraid that he might end up saying something that made it sound like he knew a lot about Alphas and Omegas.

He would’ve liked to hand everything over to Seon Juho and let him do all the talking, but he couldn’t avoid the personal questions. Steadying the pounding in his chest, Tae-rim braced himself.

“If you get really nervous, how about a kiss?” Juho offered.

“What?”

“It’s the best remedy for calming down.”

“What the—hnn.”

Before he could finish protesting, Seon Juho’s face was suddenly right in front of his. Tae-rim shivered as heat pressed against his lips. Juho effortlessly lifted him up and settled him on his lap, parting his lips and sucking gently on Tae-rim’s mouth.

The sensation of Juho’s warmth invading his mouth immediately made Tae-rim feel lighter. Okay, fine—his nerves were calming down. It wasn’t so much relaxation as it was getting overwhelmed by pleasure.

Seon Juho kissed as if he were drinking Tae-rim in, brushing and sucking with his tongue. He looked dazed, like he couldn’t stand how sweet Tae-rim was, unable to resist savoring every inch.

“Can I have you for lunch today instead?” he whispered, lips still brushing against Tae-rim’s.

Tae-rim cupped both of Juho’s cheeks and stretched them wide.

“No, you pervert.”

“Waaah.”

Juho responded with playful pecks. Tae-rim held him close, breathing in the more mature scent of the Alpha’s pheromones that now clung to Juho. His pounding chest began to calm. Juho’s pheromones always made his heart flutter, but they also soothed him.

“I love you, Juho.”

“Mm. I love you too, hyung. So, so much.”

Tae-rim chuckled.

He was so glad he’d saved Seon Juho back then. If he hadn’t, this moment wouldn’t exist. He would’ve never seen this adorable puppy-like side of him—or the captivating beast he could become.

“Should we go eat now?”

“Hmm… Just a little longer…”

Tae-rim leaned in and kissed Juho’s whining lips. Juho’s eyes went wide, then he beamed and kissed him right back. It felt like he could actually see his tail and ears wagging wildly in delight. Tae-rim laughed.

He remembered the saying: happiness isn’t far away. He pulled that happiness right in front of him into his arms. The May sunshine wrapped gently around them both. Today was full of joy. Tomorrow would be, too. As long as Seon Juho was by his side, every single day of Lee Tae-rim’s life would be filled with nothing but happiness.

[End of Side Story]

Author: Levia