He calmed his unsettled mind and focused on guiding Han Ju-oh. His eyes quickly scanned Han Ju-oh’s body, checking for any wounds on his neck and exposed arms. As he gently ran his hands over Ju-oh’s body, he made sure not to touch any areas that were injured.
After pushing the skin-to-skin guiding as far as it could go, he grabbed the waistband of Han Ju-oh’s pants.
‘How far can I go here?’
If he tried penetrative guiding inside the half-collapsed tent, it would definitely leave a mark. While debating, Seo-ha unfastened Han Ju-oh’s waistband and slipped his hand inside.
As he pulled down the briefs—damp with either sweat or blood—a wave of trapped heat met his palm.
Combat always stirred arousal. After drawing on every last ember of power during a monster fight, that burning energy often morphed into sexual desire by the time guiding was needed. That’s why Han Ju-oh, who had pushed himself to the limit battling a boss-class creature, now reacted to Seo-ha’s touch.
“I’ll help you release it as best I can.”
If guiding happened in tandem with relieving that desire, wouldn’t it have even more of an effect?
He gripped the hardened cock and slowly stroked down along the shaft. The prominent veins bulging against the taut skin made it clear how aroused he was.
Listening to Han Ju-oh’s roughening breath from above, Seo-ha followed the veins downward. He knew he’d reached the base when he felt the softness of Ju-oh’s balls.
Since the briefs weren’t completely removed, he relied mostly on the feel of things through his hand—but still, Seo-ha’s eyes gleamed.
‘Now.’
As soon as he resumed guiding, the stagnant energy started to flow again. He’d suspected it might work since their compatibility rate always rose during penetrative guiding—and thankfully, it had.
Hoping to ease Han Ju-oh’s strain even a little, he applied more pressure with his hand. Stroking upward from the base to the tip, he then rubbed the sensitive spot just beneath the glans.
His hand, now thoroughly infected with Han Ju-oh’s heat, began to feel hot too.
“Ju-oh.”
He wasn’t sure if Han Ju-oh had replied, because the warm breath brushing his ear seemed to burn it.
“Lean on me.”
Maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say, straddling his thigh while touching him like this, but he said it anyway.
It was because he could feel Han Ju-oh twitching inside his briefs, just about ready to climax.
“When this is all over, close your eyes and sleep.”
Whispering in a near inaudible murmur, Seo-ha raised the stimulation. As he heard Han Ju-oh’s throat rasp and felt hot fluid spill over the back of his hand, he sped up his movements.
By the time he’d wrung out every last drop, Seo-ha felt oddly drained himself.
Wanting to lean against Han Ju-oh, he instead braced his core and pulled the man into his arms. As he felt Han Ju-oh’s face press into his neck, Seo-ha let out a few steady breaths.
When he realized that Han Ju-oh had begun breathing evenly, Seo-ha looked down at him. Baek Jong-hoon’s face—looking for his Guide Jang Jin-young—overlapped over Han Ju-oh’s features. The aching tenderness and sorrow from back then returned, sinking into his chest like a heavy stone.
Blinking to shake off the afterimage, Seo-ha gently caressed Han Ju-oh’s face.
“Get some real sleep.”
The dungeon still wasn’t cleared. They needed to rest while they could.
***
Han Ju-oh opened his eyes and quietly stared up at the beige ceiling. The color looked familiar. The tent, which had seemed like it could collapse at any moment, had been properly propped up.
He could tell someone had fixed it. Realizing this apparent change, Han Ju-oh slowly sat up. His body still felt heavy from the battle’s aftermath—but not as bad as he’d expected.
When he raised his arm to pull back the curtain at the entrance, he noticed the bandages. They were wrapped thoroughly. His clothes had also been changed.
And then…
Just as Han Ju-oh reached for his waistband to undo it, sunlight filtered in.
“You’re awake?”
The familiar voice made the corners of Han Ju-oh’s mouth twitch. Just like always, hearing that voice instantly lifted his mood. Even if this place were hell instead of a dungeon, he was sure he’d still smile hearing Seo-ha’s voice.
“When did you wake up?”
“Just now.”
“Figured as much. How’s your body?”
Seo-ha came in, leaned down, and examined him closely.
“I guided you again while you were asleep. A couple more times, and you’ll probably be good.”
Seo-ha seemed to be looking at the scratch on Han Ju-oh’s neck as he offered a faint, subtle smile.
“But… why were you about to take off your pants?”
Seeing Han Ju-oh still holding onto his waistband, Seo-ha lightly nudged his hand aside.
“Did you wake up all worked up or something?”
Seo-ha’s eyes sparkled with mischief, his smile brimming with playful teasing. Han Ju-oh couldn’t help but grin along with him.
“If that’s the case, you should’ve called me. I could’ve taken care of it.”
When Seo-ha lowered his voice and deliberately spoke in a sly, suggestive tone, Han Ju-oh didn’t bother stopping him and let his hand fall to the side. Seo-ha looked down at Han Ju-oh’s hand, then met his eyes.
“You really want me to do it? Alright, then.”
Seo-ha undid the buckle on Han Ju-oh’s pants. The combat uniform wasn’t easy to remove, but Han Ju-oh leaned back to help him.
As the briefs came into view, Han Ju-oh let out a soft chuckle.
“You even changed me into fresh underwear.”
“That’s what you were checking?”
Noticing that he hadn’t gotten hard enough to push through the fabric, Seo-ha looked a bit deflated. His tongue even flicked across his lips as if he genuinely meant to go through with it, which made Han Ju-oh laugh at how absurdly mismatched that was to the situation.
“Of course, I changed everything. How would you fight like that otherwise, all sticky and gross?”
Seo-ha refastened the buckle properly and smoothed out Han Ju-oh’s disheveled clothes.
“You’re my partner—what’s so hard about changing your clothes for you?”
After telling him to rest, he’d wiped down Han Ju-oh’s entire body while he slept and dressed him in clean clothes. He even fixed up the tent.
Seo-ha came over and handed Han Ju-oh a bottle of water.
“Drink this and snap out of it. Honestly, I wanted to feed you too, but I figured you might not have an appetite right after waking up.”
He even opened the bottle cap for him. When Han Ju-oh just held it without drinking, Seo-ha tapped the bottom of the bottle and told him to hurry up and drink.
“What about you?”
Han Ju-oh asked.
“What about me? What, are you planning a memorial ritual with that water or something? Why are you just holding it?”
“I mean you. You’re taking such good care of me—but how are you doing?”
“Drink your water first.”
Seo-ha brought the mouth of the bottle to Han Ju-oh’s lips himself. He tilted it gently so the water would flow in. It was a lot of effort just to get someone to drink, but Seo-ha did it all with careful attention.
Maybe it was the refreshing cold, but Han Ju-oh tilted the bottle far back, his throat visibly bobbing as he gulped. Watching this, Seo-ha casually muttered:
“While I was taking care of you, I looked after myself too.”
When Han Ju-oh lowered the empty bottle and looked over at him, Seo-ha scratched at his forehead. The blood that had once stained his hand was gone now.
“When I changed your clothes, I had my hand on your chest more than a few times. Every time I felt your heart beating, that gnawing worry of mine started to fade. Now it’s gone.”
Seo-ha even smiled—an expression that made it clear all his earlier teasing hadn’t been for show.
“That’s a relief.”
Han Ju-oh showed a hint of ease in his expression and stood up from his seat.
“Eh? Why’re you getting up? You should rest a bit more.”
“I’m awake, so I should head out.”
“No, don’t. There are people standing guard out there. You should rest while you can—you never know when we’ll have to fight again.”
Seo-ha held his arm and shoulder to stop him.
“Since you’re up, how about eating something? I can bring you food.”
“That’s not necessary.”
Han Ju-oh declined, saying Seo-ha had already done more than enough.
“No, you’re a key combat asset. That’s exactly why you should rest. You need to recover while you’ve got the chance.”
Seo-ha insisted again.
“Are you feeling cooped up? Well, yeah, I guess it’s kind of stuffy in here with no ventilation. I’ll open a window or something—just stay put, alright?”
“I don’t think this is about resting. Feels more like you’re trying to keep me in here.”
Han Ju-oh narrowed his eyes. Seo-ha flinched. His attempt to casually keep him inside had clearly failed, and the calm expression he wore crumbled.
“There’s no sign of any monster attack out there.”
If that were the case, they’d be calling Han Ju-oh to join the fight—but no one had.
“So what is going on, I wonder?”
“There’s nothing…”
Seo-ha’s reply was so quiet it barely registered. Murmuring “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out,” he trailed off as Han Ju-oh stepped outside.
And immediately, all eyes turned toward him.
His brow lifted slightly as he realized most of those stares were coming from Espers.
Just then, Baek Jong-hoon hesitantly approached him, coughing awkwardly all the while. It was written all over his face—he looked completely guilty.
“I tried to cover it up.”
He frantically waved his hands as if to say, it wasn’t me, and hurried off like he was escaping.
“…What the hell is this?”
“I told you to rest, didn’t I?”
Seo-ha came outside and muttered in frustration, clearly exasperated.
