Suhyeon had only spoken quietly throughout the exchange.
If anything, Lee Jaeram’s persistent, beaming smile felt more like a sneer.
It was Jaeram who had initiated the problematic remarks, yet Suhyeon couldn’t fathom why he had suddenly approached him like this.
He already had enough on his mind; he had no desire for a pointless scuffle with an ill-fated connection from his past.
-Gate cleared.
Just as Suhyeon felt a mix of irritation, bewilderment, and exhaustion, the announcement came that the Espers had completed their task. It was time for the Guides.
“……Suhyeon, shall we head out? Haha, everyone, let’s get up.”
“Right. Let’s get ready!”
Ryu Jihun, who had been anxiously watching Suhyeon, stood up abruptly as if seizing the chance to escape the tension.
Oliver Rodillac, also sensing the chilly atmosphere, acted even more boisterous than usual to back Ryu Jihun’s suggestion.
Suhyeon stared into Lee Jaeram’s still-curved eyes for a moment before obediently standing up as Ryu Jihun pulled him away by the shoulder.
“At least there were no casualties.”
“Yeah…….”
Approaching the other Team 1 Guides as they chatted amongst themselves, Suhyeon stole a glance back.
He saw Lee Jaeram sitting alone for a moment before being helped up by someone who appeared to be a Team 2 Guide.
Since the Association had taken the lead in preventing the leak of information regarding Suhyeon and the fluffball’s abilities, he wasn’t particularly worried about Jaeram blabbing elsewhere.
Still, given their mutual dislike, they could have just ignored each other.
He couldn’t understand why Jaeram went out of his way to needle him.
Had the man developed some new malice in the time they hadn’t met?
There was no reason for it.
—It seems the gate has brought you some unexpected luck.
He had thought Jaeram was a wicked man even back then, but the reason for this renewed targeting remained a mystery.
Suhyeon took one last look at Lee Jaeram among the Team 2 Guides and let out a small sigh.
‘Forget it.’
Oliver Rodillac didn’t seem to have understood anyway.
His life was already complicated enough; there was no use adding more things to worry about.
“Guide Kim Yun-seo!”
“Han Jiyul…….”
The lingering discomfort he was trying to push away vanished on its own as the tent flaps opened and the weary Espers entered, calling for their Guides.
The increased manpower seemed to have worked, as there were no injuries like last time.
However, the Espers looked just as exhausted.
Drained of energy, they entered the tent calling desperately for their Guides and were soon paired up, bodies entwining.
Suhyeon sat still, watching the entrance as a flood of Espers poured in.
When the most prominent man among them entered, Suhyeon stood up.
“Suhyeon.”
Hajin pulled him into a fierce embrace with his strong arms.
As Suhyeon buried his face in Hajin’s chest, the fading irritation finally cleared away completely.
Suhyeon stayed like that for a moment before pulling back and looking up.
Though no words were exchanged, Hajin lowered his face as if he had been waiting, and Suhyeon gladly accepted the approaching lips.
As Hajin’s tongue pressed against his, Suhyeon released a soft wave of his power.
Feeling it, the tension in Hajin’s tongue relaxed for a split second—but only for a moment.
Soon, he began to move his tongue even more hungrily.
“Hngh, mmm……”
Suhyeon’s soft moans were lost in the air, becoming just another part of the lewd sounds filling the tent.
Every time their pressed lips found a gap, hot breath escaped between them.
Perhaps having used a lot of his power, Hajin was devouring him mindlessly.
Feeling overwhelmed, Suhyeon squeezed his eyes shut.
Between the forceful movement of Hajin’s mouth and the hands stroking his back, moisture threatened to gather at the corners of his eyes.
Lately, he had been sharing his guiding waves with the fluffball more often than with Hajin, so this direct guiding felt particularly intense.
“Mmm, ah—ha!”
It was a long while before their lips finally parted.
The intense kissing increased the efficiency of the guiding, but it easily sapped Suhyeon’s physical strength. He clung to Hajin’s chest, panting for breath.
“Haa…….”
Hajin was also breathing heavily, which was rare for him.
Looking down at Suhyeon with a face far clearer and more refreshed than when he first entered the tent, he left light kisses on Suhyeon’s forehead and neck.
Suhyeon leaned entirely against Hajin, catching his breath.
“Nothing happened, right?”
Suhyeon nodded weakly at the question that always came like a habit whenever they were apart.
He looked down at his feet.
“Suuu-hyeon…….”
Slumped at Suhyeon’s feet was Asher, who had trudged in with Hajin earlier.
Lying there without giving even a single glance toward the Team 2 Guides, Asher looked up at Suhyeon pitifully.
Seeing him made Suhyeon reflectively think of Lee Jaeram again.
He recalled what Ryu Jihun had said—that even though Jaeram was in Team 2, he absolutely refused to guide Asher.
“Suhyeon.”
Hajin called him with dissatisfaction, noticing where his gaze had drifted, but Suhyeon lowered his hand despite his deep fatigue.
Asher had been hovering around Suhyeon lately, being helpful.
He didn’t cross lines or act uncomfortably.
Suhyeon couldn’t bring himself to reject someone who was concerned for his safety.
Realizing Suhyeon was willing to guide him, Asher’s face lit up instantly as he snatched Suhyeon’s hand.
Then, noticing Suhyeon’s slight frown, he flinched and gently placed the hand on his own shoulder instead.
As Suhyeon endured the fatigue to guide Asher, he felt a gaze from somewhere and looked up.
……It was Lee Jaeram again.
Leaning languidly against the shoulder of a man who appeared to be an Esper—likely having just finished guiding him—Jaeram was staring at Suhyeon, Asher, and Hajin with a blank expression.
When their eyes met, he curled his lips into a round smile.
A small prickle of unpleasantness tickled the soles of Suhyeon’s feet.
-Where should we meet?
-38th floor.
-Got it. I’ll be waiting, little brother ^^.
-(Puppy emoticon holding a red heart)
Lee Jaeram turned off his phone after reading the message from his brother.
His face, wearing a picture-perfect smile, was reflected in the black screen.
On the way back to the Association after wrapping up the gate site, Jaeram slowly looked away from his phone and stared intently at the back of Asher Delveron’s head in the front seat of the multi-passenger van.
The image of that man—who had been nothing but arrogant to him until the very end—fawning at Chae Suhyeon’s feet like a dog flashed before his eyes.
He was already irritated to the limit; seeing Chae Suhyeon with both Shin Hajin and Asher Delveron on either side had pushed him to the brink.
“Mr. Jaeram, the guiding today was wonderful.”
“Yeah, for me too.”
When the van finally arrived at the Association building, Lee Jaeram purposefully used an even more melodic voice as he left a light kiss on the Esper’s mouth.
Whether the stupid Esper’s face turned beet red or not was of no concern to him.
He stepped out of the van, feeling at least somewhat satisfied that there was still a gaze piercing his back.
Though there was a slight difference between the gaze Jaeram imagined and the one Asher Delveron was actually sending him, Jaeram didn’t look back to find out.
Lee Jaeram skillfully avoided the swarm of reporters camped out at the Association and entered the building. 38th floor.
He pressed the elevator button and leaned against the cold glass wall.
Closing his eyes, he felt as though the chill from the glass was slowly seeping into his body.
Just as the irritation that had been surging like a flame began to subside slightly in this unsatisfactory situation, the elevator stopped with a clear chime.
“……Oh.”
At the familiar voice, Lee Jaeram snapped his eyes open.
29th floor.
Lee Kyujin stood there as if he had been about to board, looking at him with a hesitant pause.
“Little brother, the 38th floor is under construction. I was going to wait for you since you didn’t check your messages, but come here.”
However, Lee Kyujin soon gave a wide grin, held the door-open button, and gently grabbed Jaeram’s wrist.
Jaeram’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Construction?”
“Yeah. Let’s go to the office and talk.”
Lee Kyujin shrugged and pulled Jaeram out of the elevator.
The hallway was quiet, and since it was just the two of them, Jaeram let his face twist freely and let out a sharp breath.
Even this trivial situation provoked him.
It was so annoying when things weren’t under his control.
On top of that, the scene he had witnessed earlier dyed his mind again.
Shin Hajin, who never gave his body to anyone, embracing Chae Suhyeon in a deep kiss, and Asher Delveron crawling beneath them…….
That was the place where he should have been.
It wasn’t a spot for someone like Chae Suhyeon, who had suddenly appeared and hadn’t even been a Guide for a year.
Ultimately, Jaeram couldn’t contain his irritation and came to a dead stop in the hallway.
Lee Kyujin paused and looked back.
“Little brother?”
The sight of Lee Kyujin looking at him with a tilted head and a puzzled expression only fueled Jaeram’s annoyance.
—You’re a Guide, but you have the chance to be pushed out to the field like an Esper, right?
If he had spoken so confidently, shouldn’t he have followed through?
“……You said it would be solved if you just sent him out to the gates.”
Lee Kyujin reflexively scanned the hallway.
Fortunately, it was the weekend and there was no one around.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Lee Jaeram looked up and glared at his brother.
‘The little one is angry to the top of his head.’
Seeing Jaeram having lost even his usual pretty smile, Lee Kyujin let out a sigh.
