The price of letting his guard down crashed over him like a wave. Once the energy left his hands, it was no longer under control. Dissatisfied with the sluggish pace at which it was being absorbed into the Esper’s body, the energy thrashed wildly on its own.
After all, a Guide’s energy was created to subdue an Esper’s rampage. It had been optimized to rapidly calm the swollen organs of an Esper, easing their burden with swift, potent efficiency.
And that meant it violently sharpened Seo-ha’s five senses.
“Ah—! Wait. Wait a sec…”
The one suffering from this suddenly enthusiastic energy was none other than its owner, Baek Seo-ha. Even just Han Ju-oh’s touch now sent sparks tingling up his spine. It wasn’t the first time they’d made contact, but his sensitivity felt doubled—he was about to fall apart.
Seo-ha struggled to escape from beneath Han Ju-oh. The front of his pants, already painfully tight, was now starting to grow damp.
“I can’t… This is nothing like usual…”
Panting, Seo-ha managed to speak. He was barely clinging to rationality, unsure of how much longer he could hold on.
“It has to be now.”
But Han Ju-oh didn’t share the same concern.
“This could change our compatibility rate.”
Realizing Seo-ha was too overwhelmed by fear to think clearly, Han Ju-oh cut straight to the point. This might very well be the stepping stone to the next level, he insisted, gently gripping Seo-ha’s ankle to keep him from pulling away.
Then, as if to prevent any further retreat, he reached for the waistband of Seo-ha’s pants.
“Just think of this as something good for both of us.”
“Good…?”
“Yeah. I won’t say it’s just lust making you react like this anymore.”
Han Ju-oh’s voice was calm as he tried to soothe Seo-ha.
Staring up at the ceiling, Seo-ha inhaled deeply, filling his chest with air. Then he exhaled so completely that his lungs ached. With that, his thoughts seemed to clear a little more than before. Unfortunately, the more clarity he gained, the more he concluded that he had to go through with this.
Now that Han Ju-oh had paused, the stimulation that had felt so overwhelming moments ago suddenly left him wanting. That was another thing he couldn’t ignore.
“It’s not that I’m being overrun by desire…”
Feeling a sense of injustice at how this was starting, Seo-ha spoke with a deep frown.
“This is all for us—for you to reduce the strain on your body through Guiding, and for me to improve our matching rate. You know that, right? This is partly my sacrifice too. It’s not like I’m in love with you or anything, but it’s not like I hate you either. I just hope we can work well as colleagues and… y’know, it’s also for the peace of our country and people—”
Before he could finish, Han Ju-oh silenced him with a kiss.
Seo-ha squinted his eyes, trying to send his message with just a look—I’m accepting this with an open heart, but don’t read too much into it.
The only problem was, the person meant to see that look had his eyes closed.
“Nn… mm…”
Han Ju-oh’s thick tongue swept into his mouth, forcing Seo-ha’s jaw wide open. That still wasn’t enough for him, apparently, because he tilted his head to dive in deeper. Their lips, slick with saliva, kept slipping apart, unable to lock together properly.
The overflow of spit was matched only by the energy surging between them. It was overwhelming, awe-inspiring—and made Seo-ha wrap his arms even tighter around Han Ju-oh. He’d made up his mind, and he wasn’t going to shrink back anymore. He opened his mouth willingly, wanting to remove the stifling pants too… though he was still a little too embarrassed to act on that urge just yet.
“Haah… haah… I can’t believe this is actually working as Guiding. This is crazy…”
Seo-ha murmured as their eyes met.
“I’m looking forward to it too.”
Han Ju-oh’s lips curled into a slanted smile, and Seo-ha had to admit—just this once, he was using his face properly. Sure, he’d always known the guy was handsome, but usually he looked like an arrogant jerk. Right now, though, he actually looked good.
Those deep eyes, that sharp nose, even his glistening lips—it was all too much.
“…Can you tell me what kind of look I’m giving you right now?”
He asked absently, eyes still locked onto Han Ju-oh’s face. Han Ju-oh trembled slightly, as if amused, then narrowed his eyes like he was trying to read every last detail in Seo-ha’s gaze.
“It’s the look of someone falling for me.”
“What? No way.”
“No, seriously. You’ve totally fallen. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before you confess you like me.”
Realizing how wildly Han Ju-oh was misinterpreting things, Seo-ha lifted a hand to stop him.
“It’s not that deep. I just thought, ‘Oh, so Han Ju-oh is a good-looking guy after all.’ That’s literally it.”
He was about to say “So don’t get carried away”, but Han Ju-oh’s smile only deepened. His eyes curved into gentle arcs, and now Seo-ha was the one feeling flustered.
“I’m glad I managed to impress you.”
“That’s not—”
Seo-ha’s reply was cut off by the sound of his zipper being undone. He sucked in a breath as Han Ju-oh’s hand slipped to his waistband. For a moment, he froze in shock—and that was all the time Han Ju-oh needed to tug his pants down.
They weren’t fully off yet, but just freeing the swollen front was enough to feel like a small release.
“…Hoo.”
His body went slack as a breath slipped out on its own. He couldn’t even tell what he was doing anymore—everything was a blur. One moment they were kissing under the guise of Guiding, the next they were talking, then heating up, babbling about how good-looking Han Ju-oh was, and now his pants were off.
It didn’t make any sense, but the stimulation he’d received up to this point had been intense, and with everything still in motion, the arousal wouldn’t die down. Han Ju-oh’s hand was gripping the waistband of his briefs, and Seo-ha was too overwhelmed to even think of stopping him. A few of Ju-oh’s fingers had already slipped underneath.
He didn’t have to look to know exactly where those fingertips were pressing against his skin.
“Hey.”
“If you’re hesitating now, after coming this far, I won’t let it slide.”
Han Ju-oh’s threat came before Seo-ha could even get his words out.
“Can you at least let me finish what I was trying to say? All I got out was ‘hey.’”
“With you, I never know what kind of dumb shit’s going to come next.”
“Well, yeah, but don’t you think there could still be a valid reason I said ‘hey’?”
“……”
Han Ju-oh’s face was starting to look like he’d hit his limit, so Seo-ha quickly spoke up.
“Would it be okay… if I did it too?”
Han Ju-oh’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“I mean, I think I can, but at this rate I won’t get a chance.”
“And that’s something you tell me now? You could’ve brought it up midway.”
“Yeah, but…”
It was hard to get a word out when Ju-oh’s hand was slowly sliding deeper into his underwear. It was strange enough that his fingers were brushing through the hair down there—just one more knuckle in, and they’d be touching the base. Since the briefs were still on, everything was angled downward, so he’d probably end up brushing that first before anything else.
“I mean, hey…”
He kept saying the same thing, not out of some desire to tease, but because he couldn’t help it.
“I’ve never tried Guiding… with that before.”
Sure, he’d sent energy flowing out of parts of his body that were already in contact. But that? That particular part? He hadn’t done that.
“I mean, I’ve imagined it before, sure, but still—doesn’t it seem kinda… weird?”
He’d only ever used it to pee. The idea of emitting something else through there felt… he didn’t even know how to put it.
He shyly clasped his hands together, then stretched them out again.
“It’s not like it’s designed to release energy, you know… heuh.”
“Okay yeah, that’s definitely dumb shit.”
Han Ju-oh grabbed Seo-ha’s wrists and pinned them above his head. Then, to shut him up for good, he pressed a hand over his mouth.
It was the kind of aggression that said, I gave you more than enough time—so don’t complain now.
“Ah—mmph… ngh…”
Seo-ha winced as he bit down on his lower lip, but his body quickly melted into the hand roaming below. His pants had vanished at some point without him noticing, and now his bare legs, hindered only by briefs caught around his knees, were spread awkwardly apart.
It wasn’t just anywhere being touched—it was right there, directly. The unfamiliar sensation made Seo-ha’s entire body twitch. But amid the haze, his fragile grip on rationality landed on the concept of Guiding.
Unfamiliar as it was… he had to do this. No matter what, he had to. Right…?
‘This is weird.’
It wasn’t like something was actually being expelled from that part of him—but his whole body felt captured, surrounded.
“You…”
Han Ju-oh looked down at him with a strange gleam in his eye, clearly reacting to the way Seo-ha kept squirming.
“You look like a fish caught in a net.”
“……”
The truly strange thing was that even a dumb comment like that didn’t kill his arousal.
“Do I… flop around that much?”
So Seo-ha didn’t bother avoiding the subject. Han Ju-oh just chuckled.
“Now that’s the Baek Seo-ha I know.”
“What the hell? What’d I even do?”
Seo-ha pouted as he spoke, but Han Ju-oh wasn’t paying attention in the slightest.