#110
Eunseok returned to the penthouse and ate dinner alone. Even after he finished exercising and showering, Choi Hanseo hadn’t returned. He was probably still busy with the aftermath of recent events.
After unpacking and customizing all the delivered equipment to his liking, Eunseok found himself with nothing to do. It was only 9 o’clock. He didn’t have hobbies like watching TV or listening to music. He didn’t particularly enjoy reading books either, so all he had left were his laptop and phone.
Lying on the bed and idly fiddling with his phone, Eunseok hesitated for a while before finally entering the fan cafe he had briefly looked at earlier.
In those few hours, the number of members had increased even more. Joining was easy. All he had to do was enter a nickname and check a few boxes. After much deliberation, Eunseok chose “Handsome v Hanseo” as his nickname, which seemed to fit the cafe’s atmosphere. Thus, Eunseok became the 10,853rd member of his and Choi Hanseo’s couple fan cafe.
Joining wasn’t the end of the process. There was a procedure to become an official member.
Eunseok read the registration process and followed it faithfully. He commented on ten new members’ greeting posts and briefly posted his own greeting. This automatically upgraded his status. There were higher-ranked members, but that system couldn’t be climbed in a short period.
Unlike the photos available on regular search sites, the fan cafe’s photos were high-quality and focused on the individuals. There weren’t many photos of Eunseok, probably because he hadn’t made many public appearances yet. Instead, there were plenty of photos of Choi Hanseo to browse. Some even included Hanseo’s childhood and student photos. This unexpected discovery made Eunseok’s fingers move faster as he flipped through the photos. He found himself engrossed in viewing Hanseo’s pictures. It struck him anew how frustratingly handsome the man was.
At first, he only looked at photos, but later he started clicking on noticeable posts. They were mostly various information and rumors about Choi Hanseo. Eunseok picked out and read posts about Hanseo’s childhood or past. Although it was unclear whether the writings were true, exaggerated, or false, it was fun to imagine Hanseo’s past while reading the posts. He felt joining the fan cafe was a good decision. It felt like he had discovered a gold mine.
While deeply engrossed in reading Hanseo’s photos and rumors, suddenly Hanseo’s name appeared in the middle of the screen as the phone started ringing. As the saying goes, speak of the devil. Eunseok felt a pang of guilt and quickly closed the cafe window before answering the phone.
“Hello.”
“What were you doing?”
“Just resting. What are you up to, Choi Hanseo-ssi?”
“Ah. I’ve just finished business at the Ability Management Bureau and I’m on my way back to the guild.”
“You must be tired.”
“Listening to whining is indeed tiring work.”
Hanseo chuckled softly.
“Can you come to the treatment room for a moment?”
“The treatment room?”
“Yes, the treatment room.”
Eunseok wondered why he was suddenly being called to the treatment room, but he had no reason to refuse.
“Alright. I’ll come now.”
“Okay. See you in a bit.”
After ending the call, Eunseok got off the bed. He headed straight to the treatment room via the elevator.
When the elevator opened, Choi Hanseo was waiting in front of it.
“You smell nice.”
Hanseo leaned down and whispered slightly in Eunseok’s ear. Before Eunseok could say anything, Hanseo placed his hand on Eunseok’s waist, escorting him to the treatment room.
Inside the treatment room, two people in white gowns were waiting.
“Welcome, Guide Lee.”
A familiar nurse greeted Eunseok with a gentle smile.
“Please sit here.”
The nurse pointed to a patient bed. Wondering what was going on, Eunseok looked at Choi Hanseo.
“We’re going to implant a location tracking chip. It will sting a little.”
Hanseo finally explained in response to Eunseok’s gaze.
“A chip?”
Eunseok slightly furrowed his brow. The idea of having a chip implanted in his body wasn’t exactly welcome.
“If you really don’t want to, it’s okay. But I’d appreciate it if you could bear with it. It’s because I’m too anxious.”
Hanseo said, gently tucking Eunseok’s hair behind his ear.
Eunseok tried to think rationally. Indeed, he had been kidnapped twice in a short period. No matter how careful he was in the future, there might be more attempts. He could fully understand Hanseo’s desire for a safety measure.
Eunseok silently sat on the patient bed. The gowned doctor approached. The nurse handed the doctor a metal tray. On the tray were a scalpel, disinfectant alcohol, and a thick syringe for chip insertion.
“Where should we insert it?”
The doctor asked. Hanseo’s gaze fixed on the nape of Eunseok’s neck, which he was particularly obsessed with. But that was only for a moment. His eyes moved to Eunseok’s forearm.
“Here. The forearm would be good.”
Hanseo pointed to Eunseok’s forearm. Eunseok obediently rolled up his sleeve to his shoulder.
The chip insertion was simple. After disinfection, the doctor made a small incision of just a few millimeters with the scalpel and inserted the chip under the skin using an instrument. The incision site was sealed with bio-bond and covered with a bandage.
“Are you okay?”
Hanseo asked gently.
“I’m fine.”
Eunseok answered nonchalantly as he rolled down his sleeve.
“Have you had dinner?”
Hanseo asked as they entered the penthouse side by side. Hanseo nodded. Then he immediately pushed Eunseok against the hallway wall. With his arms propped on either side of Eunseok’s head, his eyes quickly darkened. Hanseo’s face slowly drew closer.
“I missed you.”
Hanseo whispered just before their lips met. And soon the kiss began. It didn’t take long for the light kiss to deepen, and for the deepened kiss to lead to more intimate contact. Clinging to each other, they headed to the bedroom, dropping pieces of clothing one by one as if by agreement.
***
“Good. That’s perfect. Keep it natural like that.”
The photographer kept repeating the same words. Seated opposite each other in the guild building’s first-floor cafeteria, Eunseok ignored the constant flashing lights and engaged in trivial conversation with Choi Hanseo. This was due to the magazine’s request to capture their daily life.
Guild members had gathered around the cafeteria to watch the photoshoot.
“Now, let’s try looking at each other and smiling naturally, shall we?”
The photographer instructed. Eunseok, holding a coffee cup, met Hanseo’s gaze. He was about to force a smile, but as their eyes met, a faint smile naturally appeared. Just looking at Hanseo made him smile. Hanseo was also smiling with his eyes.
“Great! That’s perfect!”
The photographer’s voice grew even more excited.
“Okay! That’s a wrap!”
The photographer declared the end of the shoot. Eunseok finally put the straw in his mouth and sucked down the rest of his iced Americano.
The photoshoot locations included all areas within the guild building.
Eunseok had to quickly set up his quarters, which had been cleared for the photoshoot, and pretend to wake up there. Scenes of exercising in the gym, leaving for work, holding Hanseo’s hand while guiding in the guiding room, and having meals together in the cafeteria – they had to recreate their entire daily life, albeit slightly staged. The long four-hour shoot finally came to an end.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t capture scenes of sleeping and waking up together.”
Hanseo leaned in and whispered in Eunseok’s ear. Eunseok shot him a quick glare. Hanseo smiled faintly.
Click-.
The sound of a camera shutter rang out. Turning his head, Eunseok saw the photographer grinning.
“This is how you get the best shots.”
The photographer gave a satisfied thumbs up. Eunseok worried that an overly intimate moment had just been captured. He wanted to rush over and delete the photo, but he held himself back.
“You knew we’d be photographed, didn’t you?”
Eunseok glared slightly at Hanseo as he questioned him. Hanseo nodded with a subtle smile.
After the shoot, Eunseok immediately went to wash off the thick makeup plastered on his face. Hanseo did the same.
“It’s almost time for the interview.”
Hanseo said, checking his watch as he came out of the bathroom. Eunseok checked the time. The photoshoot had taken longer than expected, leaving only about twenty minutes until the interview.
“Let’s go right away.”
Hanseo said, approaching Eunseok. Eunseok silently looked down at his clothes. He was dressed casually as requested by the magazine.
“Shouldn’t we change clothes for such an important interview?”
Eunseok said, lifting his shirt.
Today was the day for the final interview to hire a new healing hunter for the 1st Combat Team. Hanseo had all members of the 1st Combat Team participate in the interview, reasoning that they would be entrusting their lives to each other in the future. Naturally, Eunseok was included.
“Everyone will be dressed comfortably. They won’t care about attire.”
Hearing Hanseo say this, Eunseok nodded in agreement. Indeed, he wasn’t from the HR department, just a guide. It might seem odd to suddenly be sitting there in formal attire.
When they arrived at the pre-notified location, the conference room had been transformed into an interview room. Being a large guild comparable to a big corporation, the setup of the interview room looked quite professional.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
