* * *
Choi Yoonseo seemed to believe that everyone liked her, but that wasn’t true.
He had followers, sure, but there were plenty who found him uncomfortable.
He only got away with it because he had S-Class Espers by his side and wasn’t outright causing trouble.
Just because he guided an S-Class Esper didn’t mean he was an S-Class Guide.
No matter what he said, the current guide for S-Class Esper Wonho was Haebom—and Haebom was, in fact, an S-Class Guide.
“Yeah, I’m not really into that type. Let’s be friends from now on, Guide Haebom.”
Kim Jihyun beamed and extended her hand toward him.
Haebom blinked, caught off guard by the sudden gesture.
Then, before he could react, she grabbed his hand and shook it up and down enthusiastically.
His arm flailed wildly until Yoon Geonwoo stepped in to stop her.
“Don’t be so overbearing,” he said, trying to rein her in, but it was clearly a lost cause.
All Haebom could do was smile awkwardly and nod.
He hadn’t planned on expanding his social circle beyond Wonho and Jin Seyoung.
Even during training, he hadn’t made an effort to befriend Lee Taeyoung.
He just wasn’t the sociable type.
He’d only grown close to Jin Seyoung because they had spent so much time together.
In a world where he had known no one, Jin Seyoung had been the only person he could open up to.
Back then, Wonho had been avoiding him entirely, which only made it worse.
Now, he was starting to worry—if he built more connections here, would it make leaving harder when he finally found a way back?
He already knew that, thanks to Wonho, part of him would regret leaving.
He just tried to ignore it.
And so, with a handful of unwanted new connections, he somehow made it through the quarterly Guide gathering.
It had been an exhausting day in every way.
“Mmm… That tickles.”
Half-asleep, Haebom felt something tickling his cheek and instinctively reached for his face.
He was about to scratch it when something suddenly grabbed his hand tightly.
The unexpected grip made Haebom furrow his brows slightly.
He tried to pull his hand away, but it wouldn’t budge.
“What the…”
His words were more of a muffled mumble than a proper sentence, but neither the speaker nor the listener seemed to mind.
Haebom focused on freeing his trapped hand, while the other person was determined not to let go.
Eventually, Haebom’s eyes shot open.
His vision was blurry from suddenly waking up, so he blinked a few times.
During those moments, Wonho simply stared at him, not even blinking once.
“…Wonho?”
“Yeah. Why are you sleeping in my room?”
Still groggy, Haebom blinked several more times, this time out of confusion rather than sleepiness.
The thing that confused him most was why Wonho was standing right in front of him.
Wonho had definitely gone into the Gate.
Haebom usually received a call when Wonho was about to return, but there had been no message this time.
Or had there?
Had he missed it in his sleep?
Haebom’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to recall.
“Yoon Haebom, why are you sleeping in my room?”
Ah. Haebom let out a quiet sigh.
The second reason for his embarrassment was exactly that—he was indeed in Wonho’s room, sleeping in his bed.
Which meant he had snuck into an empty room and made himself comfortable.
To be fair, he hadn’t been sleeping here from the start.
After Wonho entered the Gate, Haebom had stayed in the guest room Wonho had assigned him.
That was only natural.
But the reason he ended up in Wonho’s bed was all because of Choi Yoonseo.
Ever since Choi Yoonseo had visited his office, Haebom had missed Wonho terribly and ended up crawling into his bed.
Well, if he was honest, he had already been missing him before that.
He just hadn’t realized it.
Regardless, that was how he ended up here.
But there was no way he could tell Wonho, the very person he had been longing for, that he had slept in his bed for that reason.
“Uh…? Your room is big and… your bed was empty?”
“What?”
Even to himself, the excuse sounded ridiculous.
But the words slipped out before he could stop them, probably because he was still half-asleep.
Unfortunately, he had no better excuse.
Haebom’s room wasn’t exactly small—it had a bed and even a couch from the living room.
It wasn’t cramped at all.
And sure, Wonho’s bed was bigger, but Haebom’s wasn’t that small either.
Big enough for the two of them to sleep in together, actually.
Even so, this was the only excuse he could come up with.
How was he supposed to admit that he missed Wonho so much he wanted to sleep in his bed just to catch his lingering scent?
As Haebom’s eyes darted around in distress, Wonho frowned slightly.
The moment Wonho had arrived home, he had gone straight to Haebom’s room, only to find it empty.
That had sent his heart racing in panic. It was 3 AM.
What kind of idiot wandered around at this hour?
He had stormed out, only to hear soft breathing sounds from his own room.
Following the sound, he had rushed inside and found Haebom curled up in his bed, hugging the blanket tightly.
Seeing Haebom’s peaceful sleeping face had left him feeling both relieved and exasperated.
Out of sheer mischief, he had pressed a finger into Haebom’s cheek, which had led to this whole scene unfolding.
And now, after all that, Haebom’s excuse was… this?
“What do you mean ‘what’?! Can’t I sleep here? You let me before…”
For someone who had essentially snuck into another person’s bed—well, he hadn’t exactly snuck in, he had walked in openly, but still—Haebom was acting surprisingly defensive.
His voice started off loud but gradually grew quieter, and his shoulders shrank.
He glanced up at Wonho cautiously.
“I didn’t steal anything… I just slept here, that’s all.”
Was Wonho worried he had taken something?
Haebom quickly added that clarification.
But instead of relaxing, Wonho’s eyebrows knit together even more.
There was nothing in this house that Haebom could steal that would be of any real concern.
If anything, the only thing Haebom could possibly take was himself—which, obviously, made no sense.
As the silence stretched, Haebom, feeling awkward, pushed aside the blanket he had been hugging and tried to climb out of bed.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
If Wonho hadn’t grabbed him, Haebom would have already been on his way back to his room.
He pouted, irritated. Wonho had already scolded him, so why was he stopping him now?
Though, to be fair, Wonho hadn’t actually scolded him.
He had only asked why he was there.
It was Haebom who had spiraled into overthinking.
He felt a wave of frustration—no, something much heavier than that.
Lately, thanks to Wonho’s obvious affection for Choi Yoonseo, Haebom had been struggling with his emotions.
And now, Wonho was completely oblivious to the turmoil he was causing.
It wasn’t his fault, but still… Half-asleep, Haebom found his emotions running wild.
“You told me to leave.”
“…When did I say that? I just asked why you were here. I never told you to get out, and I certainly didn’t think you were stealing anything.”
With that, Wonho easily pushed Haebom back down onto the bed.
Haebom struggled, but no matter how gently Wonho handled him, the difference in their strength was clear.
Eventually, Haebom gave up, shooting a glare at Wonho.
* * *
Honey is jealous.