* * *
Wonho remembered when Haebom used to secretly do general guiding.
The image of some esper eyeing Haebom with a greasy grin came back to him, and his jaw clenched.
But that wasn’t even the real problem right now.
The issue was: Haebom wasn’t at the center.
He hadn’t wanted Haebom leaving the house today either, but with regular training scheduled, he had no choice but to go in.
And once Haebom heard he was headed to the center, he’d followed along like a puppy.
How could he say no when Haebom looked up at him with those clear, innocent eyes…?
Even before they became a couple, it was hard to turn him down.
After getting together?
Impossible.
He had specifically told him to stay inside the center.
But now? Haebom wasn’t inside.
“A bar?”
Wonho pulled out his phone and searched the location from Haebom’s GPS—it brought up some sketchy-sounding bar.
‘He better not be drinking.’
A wave of unease washed over him.
Without hesitation, he tapped Haebom’s number and hit call.
Ring… ring…
No answer.
— The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable…
A familiar female voice came on the line instead.
Snap.
Something cracked audibly in Wonho’s grip.
If Haebom had heard it, he would’ve jumped.
But Haebom wasn’t picking up—just confirmed to be in some weird bar.
Wonho turned on his heel and left the training building.
His original plan—to shower, pick up Haebom, and head home—was completely out the window.
He could only hope this wasn’t turning into the disaster he was imagining.
“Sooo that’s wh-hy… hic, Guide Jihyun is…!”
“Didn’t I tell you to call me noona? We’re siblings now, remember? Haebom’s big sister.”
“Riiight, that’s true. Jihyun noona…!”
Lee Taeyoung sighed deeply at the scene in front of him.
At the BBQ place, Haebom had seemed fine.
But ever since they moved to this second round, he’d completely lost it.
He drank without even flinching, so Taeyoung assumed he could handle his liquor.
By the time he realized Haebom was already drunk, it was too late.
“Stop drinking.”
“Hey now! Who dares take away my glass?! Strike that man down!”
When Taeyoung reached for the glass in Kim Jihyun’s hand, she shouted like a general on a battlefield, pointing at him dramatically.
Right on cue, Yoon Geonwoo—who’d been dozing off beside her—suddenly jerked upright with a sharp “Yes, ma’am!” and started smacking Taeyoung’s shoulders with loud thuds.
Haebom, watching Geonwoo, almost joined in, but quickly shook his head in disapproval.
‘You’re not supposed to hit people.’
“Are you… rejecting your noona’s request?”
Jihyun’s words weren’t even a real request, but she said them with such heartache that Haebom looked like he was about to cry.
Seeing his expression, she quickly added he could refuse if he wanted, and that being cute made everything okay, then reached out to pat his head.
Well, she tried to.
Her hand would’ve landed right on Haebom’s soft hair—sure to feel warm and fluffy—if someone hadn’t smacked it away.
Jihyun turned with a glare toward the offender.
“Wasn’t me.”
Of course, she looked at Taeyoung.
He was sitting across from Haebom, and to Haebom’s left, but not close enough to swat her hand like that.
He raised both hands in protest—it definitely wasn’t him.
“Then who… oh! Haebom’s boyfriend!”
Jihyun turned around and spotted someone towering like a utility pole—Wonho.
She pointed at him excitedly.
Wonho frowned when she called out Haebom’s name so familiarly.
But at the word “boyfriend,” his face clearly softened.
Taeyoung, who was the least drunk among them, was the only one who noticed.
“Whoa… Did you see that? His whole expression changed. He really likes him, huh.”
He was drunk too—just not as drunk—and in his tipsy state, he muttered out loud something he’d normally only think.
“Hmm? Haebom’s boyfriend? Oh! Right, Haebom’s boyfriend is Wonho. But Wonho isn’t here right now… wait, he smells like Wonho! What’s going on…? Is my nose broken…?”
Haebom, who had been waiting to get his head patted, suddenly blinked back into reality like someone released from a freeze tag.
He nodded to himself, remembering his boyfriend Wonho.
Even if he was slurring nonsense and referring to himself in third person, the others found it all heartwarming—except for Geonwoo, who had gone back to sleep after smacking Taeyoung.
Wonho did too.
He didn’t love that Haebom had drunk himself into this state, but… well, cute was cute.
The way Haebom sniffed the air looking for his scent made his heart melt.
He had only come to take Haebom home, but now it seemed he might need to show some mercy to the others too.
Wonho reached out toward Taeyoung, who looked the most coherent.
“…What do you want? I don’t have anything. Booze?”
“Your phone.”
“Huh? My phone? Uh, here. What do you need it for…?”
Wonho didn’t answer.
He took the phone, unlocked it using Taeyoung’s own fingerprint like it was no big deal, opened the call history, and pressed the contact with three black hearts beside it.
Taeyoung just stared in disbelief at how casually Wonho handled it all.
When someone picked up, Wonho spoke into the phone like it was his own.
“I’m sending you the address. Come pick up your guide.”
A startled voice came through the speaker, but Wonho didn’t care.
“How long will it take?”
— Oh! I can be there in five minutes!
“…Understood.”
Wonho ended the call and considered just carrying Haebom out immediately.
But he decided to wait for Taeyoung’s pair to arrive.
The other two?
They’d figure it out somehow.
He’d never joined them for drinks before, but he’d seen the aftermath enough to know exactly how these nights ended—even if unintentionally.
Taeyoung’s partner showed up faster than usual and gave Wonho a quick thank-you.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? Go? Where? There’s still… ahh!!”
Haebom was mid-sentence when he suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground and shrieked.
Yoon Geonwoo, briefly awakened by the scream, instinctively reached out to “rescue” Haebom—until he saw it was Wonho.
Then he slumped back into his seat and lazily waved his hand in farewell.
Kim Jihyun waved happily as the couple left the bar together, wearing a satisfied smile.
The task of cleaning up the remaining drunkards fell to Taeyoung’s unfortunate partner.
“Hey.”
“‘Hey’ nothing. It’s Haebom.”
“Right, Haebom. Who told you to drink this much? No—who told you to drink without saying anything?”
Frustrated, Wonho called him the way he used to, and the fact that Haebom immediately corrected him made it clear just how drunk he was.
If this were any other time, instead of outright complaining, he’d have pouted and let his whole face show his displeasure.
But when he called him Haebom, he finally nodded.
Wonho tried slinging him over his shoulder, but worried it’d hurt him, so he carefully cradled him instead as they walked, giving him a full view of his expression.
His pale face was flushed red—just like when he got excited in bed.
His dazed eyes, too.
It was ridiculous to have thoughts like this about someone drunk, but I couldn’t help it.
Just looking at Haebom made me lose my mind…
“Mmm, Noona said congrats on gettin’ a boyfriend… She said days like this call for celebratin’ with drinks~”
Just hearing his voice, I could practically smell the alcohol.
Haebom’s words were drawn-out and slurred as he eagerly answered Wonho.
“Noona? Who’s this noona?”
Out of the three of them, there was only one woman, so he didn’t need to ask who he was calling noona.
What mattered was how they’d gotten close enough for that.
Just this morning, even if he dropped formalities, he was still calling her Guide.
But after one drinking session, they were suddenly on noona terms?
Yeah, sobriety was clearly the only answer for Haebom.
“Jihyun Noonaaa… No, noona said I match well with Wonho~ But why do you smell like Wonho? Hmm?”
Wonho was about to get mad at him calling Kim Jihyun noona, but the “we match well” part made his anger fizzle out.
Still, this idiot—his guide and lover—seemed completely unaware that the person carrying him right now was his own boyfriend.
What, was he just sniffing around like a dog?
He wasn’t one, for God’s sake…
* * *
