“Wonho! Where are you going?!”
“…The office.”
Seyoung asked where he was going right after telling him to leave, and Wonho replied with clear irritation in his voice.
He didn’t want to be guided by Choi Yoonseo.
No—this wasn’t just about Choi Yoonseo.
If it wasn’t Haebom, he didn’t want to be guided by anyone.
But right now, there were no other options.
If Seyoung really decided to enforce this with the authorities, it wouldn’t stop at mere physical contact guiding.
They could drug him up with guiding enhancers, drag in Yoonseo or whoever they wanted, and who knew what they’d force to happen.
It was better to go willingly.
So he headed not to Haebom’s familiar office, but to Choi Yoonseo’s.
Every step felt like sinking deeper into a swamp—one that stank of rot, filth, and the absence of Haebom.
Outside Yoonseo’s office, the screen displayed Wonho’s name and appointment time.
Seeing his name next to Choi Yoonseo’s irritated him to no end.
Grinding his teeth, he reminded himself this was all to get Haebom back.
He touched the screen and scanned his Esper ID; with a click, the door unlocked.
But even then, he stood there for a while, glaring at the doorknob, unwilling to go inside.
Before he could make a move, the door opened from the inside.
Unsurprisingly, the person standing there was the office’s owner.
“Hoya…!”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Ah… Sorry, no—my apologies, Esper Wonho. Please, come in.”
Wonho frowned at Choi Yoonseo’s openly delighted expression, visible the moment their eyes met.
It was annoying enough that Haebom had vanished from the world, but now Yoonseo dared to use the name that only Haebom was allowed to call him.
His mood soured even further.
Wonho had zero desire to be guided by Yoonseo, but to endure until he could find Haebom, he had to calm his wavelengths—even if it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He left the visibly hurt Yoonseo behind and stepped into the office.
Whether Yoonseo was hurt or not, it didn’t concern him in the slightest.
“So…”
The moment he collapsed into the nearest chair, Yoonseo spoke in a low voice.
But the words didn’t continue, and after a long pause, Wonho tilted his head and shot a crooked glare at him.
Honestly, there was no point dwelling on the past.
But it was ridiculous that back when Wonho wanted guiding, Yoonseo had come up with excuse after excuse to refuse him, yet now here he was, practically waiting eagerly to guide him.
Of course, the main reason Yoonseo hadn’t guided him back then was Na Hyunjoon’s disapproval.
As a fellow Esper, he should’ve known the pain…
It had been infuriating at the time, but now that he thought about it, Haebom had hated guiding other Espers too.
If there was another Esper with the same symptoms as him, and only Haebom’s guiding could help them…
‘Fuck this.’
Even thinking about it made him boil with rage.
But still, Haebom would’ve allowed it, unlike him.
Haebom had a soft heart—he would’ve worried endlessly.
He would’ve set conditions so the guiding only happened in his presence, ensuring the other Esper couldn’t touch a single piece of Haebom beyond that.
While Wonho glared, lost in those dark thoughts, his expression turned so hostile that Yoonseo flinched.
It was a side of Wonho he’d never seen before.
Wonho had shown all kinds of sides to Haebom, but never to Yoonseo—so it shocked him. Not that Wonho cared.
“You had something to say, didn’t you? Say it now, then guide me. If you’re not going to, I’ll leave. I’d appreciate it if you report that Choi Yoonseo refused to guide me.”
“Ah! No, that’s not it. I just wanted to ask how you wanted to do the guiding…”
Yoonseo’s gaze briefly flicked toward the bed set up in the corner of the office.
Wonho’s expression instantly twisted with disgust.
Whether Yoonseo thought of it himself or was following orders from above, it was all equally revolting.
As if dealing with Haebom’s disappearance wasn’t hellish enough, now they were pulling this pathetic stunt.
“We’ll do radiation guiding. I’m not accepting anything else.”
“Ah…”
Yoonseo let out a small sigh.
For non-paired guides, options were limited—contact through clothes, or close-range proximity.
But in special cases like this, higher-ups had authorized a more intimate form of guiding on the bed, though it supposedly stopped short of actual intercourse.
Yoonseo himself hadn’t agreed with that directive.
Even when the head of guiding insisted, he couldn’t shake his discomfort.
He knew it was shameless to act like this.
He’d ignored Wonho’s suffering to prioritize his own love.
But when had he really started seeing Wonho clearly?
What changed?
“Let’s hurry this up. I don’t have time.”
“Ah, yeah… okay. I’ll start.”
Even with radiation guiding, it was more effective at close range, so Yoonseo seated himself across from Wonho.
His earlier doubts evaporated as the guiding began.
Determined to ease Wonho’s pain, Yoonseo focused all his guiding energy on him.
The energy could be spread broadly to cover multiple people, but concentrated entirely on one person, its effect amplified.
Still, direct physical contact worked far better.
He shut his eyes and tuned in to Wonho’s wavelength—but something felt off.
“…Fuck.”
The moment Yoonseo sensed the oddity in Wonho’s wavelength, Wonho, absorbing the guiding energy, cursed under his breath.
It wasn’t his first time receiving Yoonseo’s guiding before Haebom—though not frequent, he was familiar enough with Yoonseo’s energy to recognize it.
But now, Yoonseo’s guiding energy felt no different than any other guide’s.
“Kgh… Choi Yoonseo. Stop. S-stop… haah… Stop guiding. Now.”
“…Huh?”
Startled by Wonho’s strained, agonized voice, Yoonseo’s eyes snapped open.
Beneath his snow-white hair, Wonho’s face had gone even paler.
The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, veins visible, and dark red blood dripped steadily from beneath his sharp nose.
Shocked, Yoonseo immediately withdrew his guiding energy.
At that moment, Wonho, who had been struggling so much he could barely breathe, let out a ragged gasp.
It was the desperate, rough gasp of someone who had barely broken the surface after nearly drowning.
“…Hoya? What, what’s wrong? What is this….”
“Shut up. Your voice is echoing. Fuck… haah….”
The murderous energy radiating from Wonho, sharp enough to blow up the entire office at any moment, made Choi Yoonseo tremble uncontrollably.
It was the first time Yoonseo had ever felt such raw hostility from Wonho.
Ever since meeting him, Yoonseo had never once thought of him as frightening—until now.
“Get out… Right now…!”
Startled by Wonho’s rough, almost animalistic voice, Yoonseo shot to his feet.
But just as Wonho said, leaving immediately wasn’t that easy.
Not because this space belonged to him, but because the one spitting venomous curses, demanding he get lost, was Wonho.
Yet, realizing that his presence wasn’t helping Wonho at all—worse, that it was only causing him more pain—Yoonseo forced his feet to move, though they felt rooted to the ground.
“Get the fuck out….”
Wonho, eyes wild and bloodshot, glared at Yoonseo who was still lingering, his voice breaking into a near-scream.
To Yoonseo, it sounded less like rage and more like Wonho was crying out in agony.
Leaving behind what felt like Wonho’s desperate scream, Yoonseo finally stepped out of his guide office.
Inside, Wonho was left alone, struggling to suppress the uncontrollable waves pulsing through him.
It was the first time he’d ever experienced this.
At first, Wonho had thought it was just another one of those painful guiding sessions he’d been forced to endure.
But it wasn’t.
This was something completely different.
Something unlike anything he’d ever gone through in his life.
Wonho was in total panic.
The only thin thread of reason keeping him from losing control entirely was the knowledge that if he let himself go berserk here, he would never see Haebom again.
