* * *
“You asked why I was in your room.”
“I went to check the first-floor room as soon as I got home and didn’t see you there, so I asked. That’s all. Why are you overthinking things with that tiny brain of yours? You’re better off being your usual, clueless self.”
“What the hell…”
Was Wonho calling him an airhead?
Haebom narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
Normally, Wonho’s room was pitch-black at night, but Haebom had brought his mood lamp upstairs.
As a result, he could clearly see Wonho smirking at him.
If he had just come out of the Gate, he should be sleeping in his own bed, not barging into someone else’s.
Haebom muttered under his breath, completely forgetting that he was the one who had invaded Wonho’s space first.
Then, suddenly, the realization hit him.
Wonho was back from the Gate.
With a jolt, Haebom sat up.
Wonho, who had been about to lie down beside him, frowned, thinking he was trying to escape again.
“Just go to sleep. I only just got out of the Gate.”
“Exactly! Why didn’t I know? You always get my call when you’re coming back. No matter how deeply I sleep, I would’ve heard my Gear alert.”
Haebom pressed his Gear screen—or tried to.
Wonho blocked his hand before he could.
“I disabled alerts for non-emergency situations when I return at night. You don’t need to check.”
Wonho gently pushed Haebom back onto the bed with his usual composed expression and tone.
He was about to lie down next to him when he suddenly remembered he was still in his uniform.
Though he had taken a shower at the center and changed into a clean set, it still didn’t feel right to just get into bed like this.
If he were alone, he wouldn’t have thought twice about stripping down and lying there as he was.
But the one occupying his bed right now was Haebom, with that clear, innocent face.
So, Wonho turned around to change.
Just then, he felt a tug at the back of his uniform.
Turning back, he saw Haebom staring up at him with wide eyes, gripping the hem of his jacket with an anxious expression.
“…Where are you going?”
It was the same question Wonho had asked earlier when Haebom tried to leave, but this time, the tone was completely different.
Haebom had expected him to get into bed, but when he saw Wonho turning away instead, he looked visibly flustered.
Something about that reaction satisfied Wonho.
He stopped moving, reconsidering his decision.
Was there really a need to change?
He might as well just sleep like this.
“I’m not going anywhere. Lie down.”
Wonho pressed down on Haebom’s shoulder, making him lie back down.
Then, with little care, he shrugged off his uniform jacket and got into bed.
It wasn’t the most comfortable thing to sleep in, but that hardly mattered.
Haebom blinked in confusion but flinched when Wonho suddenly wrapped an arm around his waist.
“Sleep, Yoon Haebom.”
A deep voice rumbled above his head, making him flinch again.
Wonho mistook it for a shiver from the cold and pulled him in even closer.
It didn’t occur to him that Haebom was actually reacting to him.
After a few more involuntary twitches, Haebom finally gave in, closing his eyes as he melted into Wonho’s arms.
He briefly thought that maybe he should be guiding him since Wonho had just returned from a gate.
But exhaustion quickly swallowed him before he could dwell on it.
Wonho, meanwhile, smirked as he listened to Haebom’s breathing slow down.
Watching him struggle to stay awake with those big, round eyes had been amusing.
Eventually, with the soft sound of Haebom’s steady breaths filling the room, Wonho also closed his eyes.
The next morning, Haebom arrived at the Guide Office and darted his eyes around warily.
His brows furrowed in frustration—what was with these people today?
He had wanted to guide Wonho first thing in the morning, but he had been told that once started, guiding couldn’t be stopped halfway, so they had agreed to do it in the evening instead.
It bothered him that Wonho’s usually pitch-black energy had lightened slightly, but there had been no other choice—he needed to report what had happened inside the gate.
He had tried to casually ask what exactly had happened in there, but all he got was a “I’ll tell you after the report,” leaving him no choice but to nod along.
He had other things to worry about, like why this man was standing in front of him now.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
The man—Na Hyunjoon—flashed him an easygoing smile.
Haebom wanted to yell, ‘Of course I am!’ but he bit his tongue.
Barely.
But his discomfort was obvious to anyone.
Not that Na Hyunjoon seemed to care—if anything, he looked entertained.
“Did you know—”
“…Let’s start the guiding. Give me your hand.”
There was only one way to get Na Hyunjoon out of his office: finishing the job.
Since he had entered on a guiding request, that was the only way to send him off.
Haebom should have checked his name before approving the request.
But his mind had been too preoccupied with Wonho and Choi Yoonseo, and he had just absentmindedly clicked “accept,” leading to this mess.
Just a few days ago, Yoonseo had been sitting in that very spot.
Now, it was her lover, Na Hyunjoon, smirking at him instead.
Frankly, Haebom didn’t want to guide him.
He didn’t particularly like Choi Yoonseo either, but he couldn’t blame her for not seeing Wonho as a man.
What he could blame her for, though, was stringing him along—offering him life-saving guiding only to yank it away at the last moment like some cruel game.
Na Hyunjoon, however, was a different story.
Even if he was the novel’s male lead, Haebom just couldn’t bring himself to see him in a good light.
The novel had been written from Yoonseo’s perspective, so Na Hyunjoon’s true thoughts were never fully revealed.
To her, he had simply been the dazzling male lead.
But to Haebom, he didn’t seem like such a great guy.
Yes, Espers were known for their possessiveness over their Guides.
But surely, he could spare just a fraction of his guiding for someone younger, someone who needed it more.
Did he really have to push Wonho to the edge like that?
“If you’re not going to take the guiding, please leave.”
Haebom held out his hand, but Na Hyunjoon made no move to take it.
He had deliberately avoided looking at him, fearing his expression might twist in irritation.
But eventually, he couldn’t help himself and glanced up.
Na Hyunjoon grinned in satisfaction before finally taking his hand.
Haebom couldn’t understand why Na Hyunjoon had requested guiding from him instead of staying with Yoonseo.
“You’re wondering why I came to you instead of staying with Yoonseo, aren’t you?”
“I’m not.”
Actually, he was. But he had no desire to engage in conversation.
Na Hyunjoon’s affairs were none of his business.
At his immediate response, Na Hyunjoon let out a hearty laugh—the kind fitting for a male lead.
But instead of being impressed, Haebom only found it grating. His expression darkened.
“Yoonseo’s sleeping at home. She overdid it yesterday,” Na Hyunjoon explained.
“Our matching rate is high enough to be considered a Pair, but it’s still not as good as a high-level Guide.”
Normally, when an Esper received guiding from someone other than their Pair, simple hand-holding was enough.
But as Na Hyunjoon spoke, he intertwined his fingers with Haebom’s pale, slender ones.
* * *
