* * *
“G-Go down on—what now?”
“Blowjob. I’m talking about blowjob. Don’t tell me you don’t know what that is.”
‘Even if I do, who says that in a place like this?!’
Who just drops that kind of talk in a public space?
Thank God no one else was around.
Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stay calm.
So, Elgran was asking for advice about some trouble with their sex life.
That much was clear.
What wasn’t clear was: why talk about it with him?
“Okay, but… why are you telling me? I don’t think I’m the right person to give advice on this.”
“Why not? You said you’ve kissed Haimar before, right?”
“And what’s that got to do with this?”
Seriously—what is this guy thinking?
He’d suddenly asked earlier if Ben had kissed Haima, and now he was saying that was somehow relevant?
Elgran, clearly frustrated by Ben’s reaction, frowned.
“Of course it’s related! Haimar’s probably a really good kisser, right? I won’t ask about anything beyond that, but at least tell me what kind of kissing he does. Teach me!”
“What are you even—?!”
Ben was stunned into silence by Elgran’s serious expression.
He’d braced himself to have a mature, sensitive talk—but this?
“Try explaining it to me, or just… show me. Tell me what I’m doing wrong. I really want to be good enough to satisfy Lus.”
“What the hell are you saying?! Try looking up a video or asking Lusna directly!”
“Hey! This is really important to me, okay? If I was gonna tell Lus, I wouldn’t be agonizing over this like an idiot!”
At least he knows it is an idiotic thing to worry about—small mercy.
Ben could appreciate Elgran’s heartfelt sincerity in trying to help his Guide, but that didn’t change the fact that he had zero intention of giving in to this stubbornness.
Elgran’s logic was basically, “I’ll use you as a stepping stone for my relationship and call it selfless.”
And who in their right mind would just sit there and go along with that?
“Don’t even try to convince me. I’m rejecting this without question or debate. And before anything else, it’s incredibly disrespectful to Haimarr.”
“What is that, your last shred of conscience? I don’t think Haimar would care if we kissed once. It’s not like you two are dating.”
True, him and Haimar weren’t dating.
And maybe, as Elgran said, Haimar wouldn’t care.
Their relationship was best defined as Esper and Guide, nothing more, nothing less.
Just that.
But still, within that, there were things like trust—and other indescribable things tangled up between them.
But honestly, regardless of reason, Ben simply didn’t want to.
Did he need any other reason?
And besides, whether an Esper and Guide are lovers or not, a proposal like this was downright rude.
That Elgran would make such a rude request was… well, very Elgran.
“For whatever reason, I’m saying no. And this whole assumption that Haimar is some amazing kisser? That’s your first mistake.”
“No way. The guy’s basically a monster who seduces people with just his face. How could he not be good at kissing? Haima can’t kiss?”
Ugh.
Ben was momentarily speechless.
He’d tried logic to stop this runaway train, but Elgran apparently had more conviction than expected.
Watching Ben go silent, Elgran smirked triumphantly and shrugged like he’d predicted this all along.
“See? He’s not bad at it.”
‘No, Ben Plaskun. Don’t you dare agree.’
Ben bit his lip to avoid getting swept into Elgran’s pace.
It would be a lie to say Haimar was bad—he was actually… very good—but admitting that would give Elgran exactly what he wanted.
Maybe trying to argue logically with someone who barely thinks things through was a mistake.
‘Eye for an eye. Irrationality for irrationality.’
“No! He sucks at it! Absolutely terrible! End of story!”
“Oh, come on! Who’s gonna believe that?! Don’t lie!”
“How would you know, Elgran?! You’ve never kissed him! So how can you be sure if he’s good or not?!”
Ben’s strike wiped the grin off Elgran’s face, who instantly flared up with anger.
He clenched his fists, trembling with frustration, but had nothing to say in return—clearly about to blow his top.
He probably did believe Haimar would be good, but couldn’t exactly say that to his face, so he unloaded it all on Ben instead.
If the whole problem was the assumption that Haima was some master kisser, then removing that assumption ended it.
Why had this dragged on for so long when the fix was so simple?
“You’re so selfish! What’s wrong with sharing a bit of greatness?! Can’t you help a guy out in his love life?!”
“I can’t even handle my own love life, why would I help someone else’s?!”
Ben groaned and rubbed his forehead.
He’d gotten too heated, and now his head throbbed.
The hard chair was killing his back, cold sweat was beading on his skin, and his stomach growled from hours without food.
Across from him, Elgran pouted like a duck, clearly wanting to keep arguing—but Ben had already won, and that made all the difference.
“So that’s how it’s gonna be? You’re really saying Haimar’s bad at kissing?”
“Yeah. Horrible. Terribly.”
Now Ben answered with ease.
His whole attitude screamed “What are you gonna do about it?”—the very same vibe Elgran often gave off.
Seeing the fire in Elgran’s eyes from being backed into a corner did make Ben feel a bit guilty, but he still wasn’t about to back down.
But then, Elgran chewed on his lip for a moment, smirked slyly, and suddenly fired back:
“Alright. But if you end up regretting all that trash you just talked, don’t come crying to me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only ever speak the truth.”
“Riiight. Then riddle me this: are you better than Haimar?”
“Of course I am. Way better. But I have no intention of proving that to you. First, I need to teach Haimar, since he’s just so terrible.”
“You really, really swear that’s the truth?”
“Yes. No question about it. Haima is a horrible kisser. Terrible.”
Elgran dragged out his words for emphasis, but Ben shot them right back at him just as clearly, not missing a beat.
Elgran hated losing, but the result of this argument was already obvious.
Yet, despite how furious he’d been earlier, Elgran fell oddly silent after Ben’s declaration.
And that silence made Ben nervous.
Given how Elgran normally was, that quiet felt like a sign of something sinister brewing.
“So that’s how it is, huh? Got it.”
Before Ben could even fully register his unease, Elgran suddenly raised his head—and instead of arguing more, he looked behind Ben with a sly smile.
That smile was not good.
Ben instinctively started to turn around, but Elgran raised his hand in the air with glee, as if waiting for this exact moment.
“Lus! Over here!”
As Elgran waved cheerfully to someone in the distance, a cold sweat broke down Ben’s back.
He felt like he’d just stepped into a trap Elgran had been digging all along.
‘No way. He didn’t hear that, right?’
He couldn’t have.
He better not have.
Ben stayed frozen, unable to turn around, trying to read the look in Elgran’s eyes.
Those gleaming, devilishly amused eyes were telling him: “You’re so screwed.”
No, the distance was too far.
There’s no way he heard. No way.
Ben now felt like Elgran’s smug grin was a direct act of revenge.
Moments ago he’d been winning, but now things were going downhill fast.
Still, he forced himself to stay cool.
He wouldn’t know for sure until Haima said something.
“Well, well. There you are. Did the conversation go well?”
“Not at all. It was a total bust.”
Lus and Haimar approached, drinks in hand.
Elgran jumped up, grabbed one, and latched onto his Guide like a koala.
“Welcome back~.”
Haimar handed a drink to Ben, who took it and put the straw in his mouth—but couldn’t tell if the liquid was going into his mouth or nose.
Haimar’s expression looked as neutral as ever, but Ben, with guilt gnawing at him, just swallowed the drink without tasting a thing.
‘Don’t look away. No guilt. You did nothing wrong.’
Ben forced himself to act innocent, like he hadn’t just been talking mad trash.
He wasn’t sure if Haimar had heard or not—but he wasn’t about to let himself get caught by looking guilty.
‘When I think about it, it’s not even that big of a crime! It’s all Elgran’s fault, so why am I the one having to stress over it?’
If anything, Ben could’ve just come clean to Lus right then and there about Elgran’s issues, and Elgran wouldn’t have had a word to say in his defense.
But no—damn conscience or whatever.
In the end, Ben didn’t say a thing. Instead, he just lifted his limp arm to press a hand against his pounding forehead.
* * *
