Quite a bit of time had passed since Suhyeon began his training with Asher.
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang!
Kreeeeee—
The massive monster’s form blurred and dissolved.
Suhyeon exhaled a sharp, heavy breath.
He had cleared a fairly high-difficulty simulation.
Though he was drenched in sweat and it had been taxing, a win was a win.
Since he started training under Asher, Suhyeon’s aiming skills and reflexes had grown steadily sharper and more sensitive.
—Oh, I wouldn’t even recognize you now!
A while ago, the Association President—who had appeared tentatively, likely expecting another clash between Hajin and Asher—spent a long time praising Suhyeon, saying his skills were unbelievable for someone who had been a Guide for barely half a year.
Even Hajin would take Suhyeon home with a look of quiet satisfaction.
Suhyeon himself could feel how much he had improved, so that was saying something.
He felt grateful to Asher.
The wariness he had felt in the beginning had long since faded.
It helped that Asher hadn’t been overly touchy for quite a while, and his constant whining for guiding had become something Suhyeon could just listen to with one ear and let out the other.
Compared to their first meeting, it was a staggering amount of progress.
The training had been that helpful.
Although it was fake, facing gates and monsters every day—whether he liked it or not—had toughened Suhyeon’s mental state, which used to feel nauseous just at the mention of them.
Now, he could handle news about gates with relative indifference, as if it were just another mundane fact.
Suhyeon checked the training schedule on his phone.
His training with Asher was finally nearing its end.
Suhyeon didn’t actually need the level of training given to combat personnel, and since this was an elective course recommended by the President, it naturally had a set conclusion.
“It’s over soon, right?”
Back at home after training, Hajin sat on the sofa and pulled Suhyeon into his lap as he asked.
Suhyeon blinked and looked up.
The slight curve in Hajin’s eyes suggested he was looking forward to the official opportunity to separate Suhyeon from Asher.
He looked secretly pleased.
“That’s right.”
‘Look at him.’
As soon as Suhyeon confirmed it, the corners of Hajin’s mouth twitched as if fighting back a smile.
Suhyeon had realized it during their first encounter, but throughout the duration of the training, he truly felt—physically and mentally—just how incredibly jealous his lover could be.
Asher, who had calmed down after Suhyeon firmly drew the line weeks ago, still occasionally pulled some fox-like stunts.
Whenever that happened, Hajin would wait with flames flickering in his blue eyes before whisking Suhyeon away to bed.
Spending one night, then two… it had become very natural.
……Not that Suhyeon disliked it.
In bed, Hajin would act spoiled with eyes dripping with honey, as if trying to prove to himself that Suhyeon was his.
Yet, while making those eyes, he would push into Suhyeon so roughly that Suhyeon couldn’t even think of refusing.
To think this was the same man who had run away in a panic when his arousal first made an appearance; he was getting better at it by the day.
Ultimately, Suhyeon knew that Hajin’s jealousy was a reflection of the depth of his affection.
Thus, Suhyeon always gave in, even if it meant crying in Hajin’s arms and being exhausted the next day.
It got to the point where even Ian, who was passing by, teased him, asking if he was more of a zombie than Ian himself.
For a man who practically lived on all-nighters to say that was a bit of a shock.
“Suhyeon.”
Suhyeon, who had been purring contentedly in Hajin’s arms while lost in thought, flinched as he looked up.
The good mood from earlier had vanished.
Hajin was looking down at him with deep, unreadable eyes.
“Yes?”
“Does Asher Delveron look handsome to you?”
The question came out of nowhere.
Suhyeon’s mouth hung open as he blinked.
Then, a memory of leaving the training hall earlier flashed through his mind.
—Goodbye, Suhyeon.
Whether it was because he was annoyed that Hajin was carrying Suhyeon out again or for some other reason, Asher Delveron had suddenly popped his face right in front of Suhyeon’s, smiling brightly as he said goodbye.
A flamboyant face. A flamboyant taste in accessories to match.
His shimmering, smiling image seemed to be a deliberate display of his looks.
Suhyeon stared blankly up at Hajin.
It felt like the person with beauty that surpassed even that flamboyant face was standing right here. Suhyeon felt a wave of disbelief wash over him.
Objectively speaking, yes, Asher Delveron had the kind of looks that could rival a celebrity.
He was definitely handsome.
Suhyeon looked at Hajin without a word.
Blue eyes stared back intently.
When Suhyeon didn’t answer for a long time, the corners of those blue eyes began to droop piteously.
Suhyeon let out a small sigh.
He could guess the train of thought that led Hajin to ask this, and despite being a victim of Hajin’s jealousy, a spark of satisfaction flickered in his chest.
“You’re more handsome, Hajin.”
Suhyeon’s ears turned slightly red.
“You’re… more my type.”
Hajin’s blue gaze was always fixed on Suhyeon.
Setting aside the fact that he was so handsome he sometimes looked more like a masterfully carved statue than a human, Suhyeon simply liked him more.
And…….
When they were intimate, the way Hajin looked down at him with a flushed, intense gaze made Suhyeon’s heart pound harder than anything Asher Delveron or anyone else could ever do.
“Me too… the one I like is you, Hajin…….”
His thoughts wandering for a moment, Suhyeon murmured with a blush on his cheeks.
Hajin stared at him with a dazed expression, but Suhyeon, looking down, didn’t see it.
Soon, Hajin’s eyes crinkled with warmth as he gently cupped Suhyeon’s chin.
Suhyeon followed the touch and realized Hajin’s face was inches away—
“Ah……!”
His lips were surrendered in an instant.
Hajin very, very much disliked the golden “bird of prey” hovering around Suhyeon.
In the beginning, when the man didn’t even try to hide his dark intentions, Hajin had nearly exploded.
Even now, the way Asher acted like he’d lost interest just because Suhyeon had drawn a line was utterly loathsome and hypocritical.
‘No interest? Please.’
Every time Suhyeon trained with that golden fox, Hajin—watching with sharpened senses—could see it clearly.
The moment Suhyeon looked away, those green eyes would instantly fill with greed.
There were moments Hajin truly wanted to gouge them out.
This was exactly why he had kept the secret so strictly.
He knew people like this would crawl out of the woodwork.
—Haha, what can we do now that it’s out? There isn’t much time left anyway, so just leave Asher there for now. He’s a good teacher for Suhyeon, isn’t he!
Hajin wanted to kick him out immediately, but the President’s resolve was stronger than expected.
Suhyeon himself didn’t want to become famous, and the fewer people who knew about an S-class Guide, the better.
The President’s intention was obvious: despite promising to keep it a secret, he had attached that fox to them.
He likely wanted to see the efficiency of an S-class Esper’s guiding, or perhaps he wanted to tighten the leash on the unpredictable Asher Delveron.
It was a well-known fact that Asher was extremely sensitive when it came to guiding.
While it was a logical move for a President, the problem was that the target he placed next to Asher was Suhyeon.
Even after Hajin expressed his fury several times, the President ignored him with a smile.
Recalling that golden head that stayed close to Suhyeon under the guise of “training,” Hajin’s cold expression finally cracked.
Suhyeon wasn’t just charming and beautiful to him; he was someone who triggered an impulse to swallow them whole.
Add to that the status of an S-class Guide and that ecstatic guiding… Hajin knew this, but seeing Asher Delveron covet him made that reality sting all the more.
And then, thoughts like these would creep in:
Right now, Suhyeon seemed perfectly satisfied with life by Hajin’s side, and he accepted all of Hajin’s savage insecurities and whining.
But what if he eventually got swayed by Asher Delveron, who was constantly wagging his tail around him?
What if Suhyeon grew tired of him?
“Kieeeeeee—!”
Crack!
The moment Hajin’s brow twitched at the unpleasant thought, the monster in front of him—which he had momentarily forgotten—roared and swung its tail.
The shield Hajin had instinctively raised shattered, and his powers surged violently.
A small cut opened on Hajin’s cheek, and blood began to seep out.
“H-He… Team Leader!”
Hajin never got hurt on the field.
Far from being injured, he was the type of man who loathed even getting a drop of blood on his clothes. And yet, he had allowed an attack to land.
As the Team 1 Espers behind him gasped in shock, Hajin’s forehead contorted into a hideous scowl.
Blue flames flickered and rose ferociously throughout the air.
Hajin, who usually only showed a cold demeanor, was now thoroughly enraged.
The savagery hidden within him broke through the surface.
The Espers, who had noticed Hajin’s mood trending downward lately, quickly and quietly backed away.
The only things left in front of Hajin were the monsters and the gate.
“Kyack? Kieek?”
The monsters, momentarily confused by the sudden disappearance of their prey, felt an instinctive threat to their lives and tried to flee, but it was their end.
The blue flames attacked the monsters all at once, snuffed out their lives in an instant.
Even though the gate had only just begun to open, it seemed to realize the situation and withered away as every monster that emerged was killed.
—G-gate… Clear… Confirmed.
Regardless of whether the observers were stuttering into their comms in shock, Hajin simply crooked a finger at Lee Jeonghyeon.
