Hajin was clearly disturbed by the fact that the man named Asher Delveron had approached Suhyeon.
Throughout that day, he held onto Suhyeon and refused to let go.
Suhyeon, caught in the shimmering heat of the moment, almost lost himself, but he tried to maintain his focus to finish replenishing the guiding levels.
However, that only seemed to fuel Hajin further, and he lunged at Suhyeon once more.
“Ngh…….”
As a result, it was inevitable that Suhyeon would wake up the next morning with his lower abdomen not just aching, but throbbing.
Hajin’s obsession—forcing Suhyeon to call out his name until his voice went hoarse throughout the night—was quite terrifying.
By the middle of it all, Suhyeon had personally realized that his lover’s jealousy was severe enough to make him feel somewhat wronged.
But then again, the man who had suddenly left such a deep kiss on the back of his hand upon their first meeting was strange too.
Recalling the flamboyant man who had left a strong impression despite the brief encounter, Suhyeon let out a small sigh.
His overworked stomach throbbed again.
If they were to encounter that man again, it felt like Hajin might truly melt him down and swallow him whole.
Getting into the car with Hajin for reporting and training, Suhyeon slumped into the embrace of Hajin, who was looking at him with a clear face.
Fiddling with the arm wrapped possessively around his waist, Suhyeon closed his eyes.
‘Surely, I won’t run into him again.’
Suhyeon only visited the Association for training, and since he did most of Hajin’s guiding at home, there should be no reason to cross paths.
Suhyeon pushed the memory aside and began to doze off in Hajin’s arms.
It was a naive thought born from not knowing the character of Asher Delveron.
At that time, Suhyeon had no idea what was about to happen.
“Hello, Suhyeon?”
“…….”
After soothing Ian—who had sent constant texts and calls before rushing out to scream “Suhyeon!!!!!!” and check for injuries—and after going to the President’s office to watch Hajin report, and then finishing his own brief report to wrap up the gate incident… Asher Delveron appeared brightly in front of Suhyeon and Hajin as they were leaving.
Suhyeon stared blankly at the man.
Just like the last time, the earring hanging from Asher’s ear sparkled brilliantly.
Asher smiled radiantly.
“It’s been a day, hasn’t it?”
“What is your business?”
Before Suhyeon could respond to the bright greeting, Hajin blocked his line of sight.
Ignoring the cold and icy question from Hajin, who had openly shielded Suhyeon, Asher hummed a tune and let his eyes crinkle.
“Actually, I’m not particularly interested in you. I have business with Suhyeon.”
Hajin turned his back instantly, acting as if Asher wasn’t worth dealing with, while maintaining his position between Suhyeon and the other man.
“Let’s go, Suhyeon. I’ll take you. Be on your way, Delveron.”
Suhyeon blinked and eventually nodded.
In any case, Suhyeon had come to the Association for gate response training after his report.
Having been a civilian with trauma until now, the Association President had cautiously recommended that Suhyeon get more accustomed to gates after completing basic training, and Suhyeon had accepted.
Step, step.
Step—
The footsteps of three people echoed through the quiet, empty hallway.
Wrapped in Hajin’s arm, Suhyeon glanced back.
The flamboyant blonde man was boldly following behind them with a smile on his lips as if nothing were wrong.
If he were just following normally, it would be one thing, but the persistent gaze felt from behind was quite unnerving.
This continued until they arrived in front of the massive training hall in the Association basement, where the faint sound of gunfire echoed.
The presence that didn’t disappear even when they reached the access pad seemed to irritate Hajin significantly.
Hajin slowly turned his head.
“Get lost.”
Suhyeon blinked at the curse word that immediately spilled from his mouth.
It was rare for harsh words to come from Hajin.
He obviously never used them toward Suhyeon, and at most, Suhyeon might have heard them faintly back when he was collapsing frequently.
However, the flamboyant man just curled his lip as if amused.
“Now, what to do about this?”
The man, who had only been following from behind until now, stepped forward with a smirk as if mocking Hajin.
Suhyeon obediently leaned into Hajin’s embrace as he pulled him away, shielding him from the approaching Asher.
Hajin’s face was crumpled, showing how much he truly disliked this situation.
“This happens to be my destination, too.”
A white hand, typical of Westerners, playfully pulled a card out of his pocket.
It was an access card issued to someone who had reserved a training room.
Somehow, Suhyeon had a bad feeling.
He wasn’t the only one who felt it; another fine crack appeared on Hajin’s already furrowed brow.
Only Asher was smiling with total confidence.
Asher walked leisurely into the training grounds and stopped in front of the specific training room where Suhyeon was supposed to be taught.
The Esper who had been consistently training Suhyeon was nowhere to be seen.
Sensing Suhyeon’s blank stare, Asher stood boldly in front of him and grinned.
“The Esper who used to train you is a close colleague of mine. He won’t be able to make it from now on, so I’ve taken over for him.”
His crinkled green eyes locked onto Suhyeon, who was still tucked away in Hajin’s arms.
“As I said before, my name is Asher Delveron. Since I’m S-class, I can teach you much better than the friend who originally handled it. I’m happy we get to spend time together.”
Leaving words that could be interpreted in many ways, Asher curved his green eyes gracefully as if trying to seduce him.
“Suhyeon, I will help with the training.”
It was then that a low bass voice, twice as deep as usual, descended.
Unsure of how to judge the situation, Suhyeon, who had been standing dazed in Hajin’s arms, flinched and looked up.
Hajin’s gaze wavered darkly.
It felt as if flames were burning within his blue eyes.
“Oh, really?”
Regardless of what was happening, Suhyeon thought it best to refuse Asher.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, Asher’s question, full of mirth, struck Hajin first.
Hajin’s eyebrow twitched.
“Didn’t you skip all your training at first? Do you even remember the curriculum? You probably don’t have the time, either.”
Grrrrnd.
Suhyeon trembled again at the fierce sound.
Could the sound of teeth grinding really be that loud?
“I’ll do it even if I don’t know it. I’ll do better than you.”
“Hmm, you do realize you’ve never once beaten me in a fight, right?”
“Is that so? Conversely, you’ve never beaten me either, have you? It might not be a bad idea to have a match. Did you think I didn’t know you always faced me with your guiding levels at maximum capacity?”
“Hmm, well, sure. How about this: the one who wins the fight becomes Suhyeon’s Esper?”
“You crazy bastard…….”
“Ah, I mean the training Esper. You didn’t misunderstand, did you? I’d be even more grateful if you did.”
Seeing the man continue to provoke Hajin, Suhyeon quietly slipped out of Hajin’s arms.
He wanted to protect Hajin, but based on the words being exchanged, it seemed like Asher and Hajin knew each other quite well, and a physical altercation seemed imminent.
The blue gaze wavered momentarily as Hajin saw Suhyeon slipping away, but Suhyeon simply moved behind Hajin to hide.
The blue gaze turned sharp again as he glared at Asher.
Asher chuckled, but as he stepped closer, his fierce gaze began to show—a stark contrast to when Suhyeon was right in front of him.
Whoosh—
Zzzap—.
Just as blue flames and purple flashes were about to manifest in the air…
Thud!
“Hmm, I thought this might happen.”
The two men, who were about to clash, froze.
The one who had entered the training room was the Association President.
He had been wearing clothes when he gave the report earlier, but now, as usual, he had entered shirtless, his middle-aged S-class Esper abs glistening.
Taking in the stares of the three people, the President stepped right between Asher and Hajin.
The explosive atmosphere settled slightly.
Suhyeon, who had been watching with a racing heart, let out a breath of relief.
“Ah, welcome, Master.”
“……What is going on.”
Asher smiled brightly as if he had never bared his teeth, while Hajin asked coldly.
“Ahem, Hajin, calm down first. Suhyeon?”
The President, having stopped the fight, scratched his head and cleared his throat a few times before calling Suhyeon.
Seeing that things had calmed down thanks to the President’s presence, Suhyeon, who had retreated quite a distance, cautiously returned to Hajin’s side.
“I’m sorry for changing the training Esper without notice. I asked Asher to do it.”
‘Well, it’s more like we both agreed on it—’
Trailing off, the President glanced at Hajin, who was standing by Suhyeon.
“……What?”
Suhyeon blinked, and almost simultaneously, a boiling voice flowed from Hajin’s mouth.
“No, Hajin. Um, if I were to make an excuse, wouldn’t Suhyeon be able to progress much faster if an S-class was teaching him? It’s not like this will be all the time, of course. Asher will only come when he has free time. The original training Esper will handle the rest.”
As if there was something guilty he didn’t want Suhyeon to know, the President finished his words quickly with a hollow laugh.
“I always have time for Suhyeon.”
Before Suhyeon could even think about whether his gate training was really important enough to warrant such a thing…
“Kim. Gyu. Han.”
Hajin, who always maintained a level of respect toward the President despite his bluntness, seemed to have realized something.
He spoke the words slowly in a voice so low it gave Suhyeon goosebumps.
Suhyeon realized belatedly that it was the President’s name.
“Ah, okay, I get it. I’ll be leaving now. I’m sorry!!! Asher, I’m counting on you!”
Sweating profusely under that gaze, the President fled the scene as quickly as he had arrived.
“That’s how it is, Hajin. Now, would you step aside?”
Asher smiled broadly, adding fuel to Hajin’s rage.
It was the prelude to war.
