The issue was that Haebom and Wonho were pressed together in an intimate embrace.
While Haebom had firm control over the guiding, his control over his own body had completely slipped away.
Beneath him, he could feel Wonho’s hardness—heavy and hot—growing more prominent with each passing second.
And in response, Haebom’s body was reacting on its own.
Without realizing it, his hips began to shift, drawing ragged, pained breaths from between Wonho’s clenched teeth.
If it weren’t for the fact that they were in broad daylight, in the middle of the center’s parking lot, Haebom would have already stripped Wonho bare.
Guiding him was important, but with his lover finally in his arms, lips locked in a feverish kiss, holding onto reason was nearly impossible.
“Fuck… Yoon Haebom, stop… Damn it. Who the hell parks like this…?!”
Wonho, who had been thoroughly exploring Haebom’s mouth and sucking on his tongue hard enough to leave it tingling, suddenly tore his lips away.
He buried his face in Haebom’s shoulder, panting harshly against his skin.
The sensation made Haebom shiver, his body jerking involuntarily—which only earned him another frustrated curse from Wonho.
Just as Haebom was about to ask why he stopped, he caught sight of a group approaching through the passenger-side window.
Wonho’s car was parked right in the middle of the lot, making it all too easy for anyone outside to see exactly what was happening inside.
Haebom exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down.
“Stay still. You’re driving me insane.”
“Hah… It’s your fault for moving like that. You stay still.”
Clearly annoyed by Haebom’s restless shifting, Wonho pressed his sharp chin into Haebom’s shoulder, his breath scorching against his skin.
Haebom felt wronged—how could he not move when he could feel Wonho’s hardness twitching beneath him?
The problem was entirely Wonho’s fault.
And if they stayed like this, Wonho wasn’t going to calm down at all.
If anything, he’d only get more worked up.
So, reluctantly, he released Haebom and pushed him back into the passenger seat.
It was disappointing, but they couldn’t do anything more right now.
Wonho still needed to check on Haebom’s condition.
The moment he received Haebom’s guiding, he had realized something—the imprint was unmistakable.
Honestly, even though he had told Jin Seyoung that Haebom was his guide, a part of him had still doubted.
And when that so-called administrator claimed he had given Haebom a new body, Wonho had been skeptical.
But there was a theory that the bond between an esper and their guide was an imprint on the soul—and if that was true, then Haebom was undeniably Wonho’s.
His soul belonged to Haebom.
“What did you do?”
Haebom looked up at Wonho with wide eyes.
As they stepped out of the car and headed back to the Busan branch, Haebom demanded a proper explanation for why Wonho hadn’t received his guiding earlier.
Wonho hesitated, carefully choosing his words before finally confessing.
“I imprinted on you, Yoon Haebom. You must’ve noticed something different, right? Any changes in your body…?”
“Ah…! So that’s what it was?”
“What? Spit it out. Are you hurt or something…?”
Wonho scrutinized Haebom’s expression, turning his body to check for any signs of pain.
Of course, he couldn’t actually see any injuries, but he still inspected him carefully.
Imprinting wasn’t one-sided—it affected both the esper and the guide.
That was why Wonho had asked Jin Seyoung about the potential side effects on the guide rather than himself.
Unlike espers, who could only receive guiding from their imprinted guide, guides could still guide other espers even after imprinting.
The mechanics behind how that worked were still under study—though, given how rare imprinted pairs were, there weren’t many researchers looking into it.
As a result, very little was known about the process or the reasons behind imprinting.
Aside from its impact on guiding, even the center had no further information.
That was why Wonho was even more worried about Haebom’s condition.
“No, it’s not pain. Before, my compatibility with other espers used to go over 70%, you know? But now, hardly any of them even reach 50%. That’s why I’ve been able to stay unpaired even after registering as a guide. Honestly, when I signed up, I was worried they’d force me to pair with someone else before I could meet you… Guess I worried for nothing.”
Haebom laughed brightly, looking at Wonho’s concerned expression.
He had never expected another esper with higher compatibility to appear.
After all, the reason he had crossed into this world and become a guide was because he had chosen to save Wonho.
Even the administrator had said Haebom was the one who made the choice.
The problem was that pairing only required 70% compatibility.
Even at less than 50%, Haebom was constantly hounded by people just because he was an S-rank guide.
If his compatibility had still been over 70%… Ugh.
Haebom shook his head violently, not even wanting to think about it.
At his words, Wonho’s tense expression softened slightly.
It was better that Haebom couldn’t guide other espers—though he still didn’t understand why imprinting had to be so imperfect.
“Huh? Why’re you making that face?”
Haebom stumbled as he shook his head, and Wonho quickly steadied him.
When Haebom looked up, he saw that Wonho’s earlier worry had been replaced with a sulky expression.
Was he… pouting?
The sight was so unexpectedly cute that Haebom felt like he was in trouble.
That face, which had once only irritated him…
“It would’ve been better if you couldn’t guide other espers at all.”
“Hmm, maybe. But isn’t it a good thing that no one’s compatible enough to pair with me anyway?”
Though his expression remained petulant, Wonho nodded at Haebom’s words.
They resumed their walk toward the main building of the Busan branch.
“Esper Wonho!”
The moment they stepped into the lobby, someone called out to him.
Both Haebom and Wonho turned toward the voice.
Haebom didn’t recognize the woman, but Wonho did—he had seen her a few times before.
“We heard you were coming, but you didn’t check in, so we were worried. By any chance… did you meet Esper Cha Minjun in the elevator?”
As the head of the Busan branch’s esper division, she had already checked the CCTV footage.
But since she couldn’t outright interrogate the most famous and powerful S-rank esper in the country, she phrased her question carefully.
Then her gaze flicked briefly to Haebom beside him.
She had also confirmed Haebom’s presence through the cameras.
She knew he was an S-rank guide registered under the Busan branch—as the esper division head, she was naturally aware of his existence.
She had heard that Cha Minjun, Busan’s only A-rank esper, was obsessed with him, but since his compatibility never exceeded 50%, she hadn’t paid it much mind.
Lower-ranked guides usually remained at the branch where they awakened, even if no esper had high enough matching rates to pair with them.
But S-rank guides were different—they were bound to be transferred elsewhere eventually.
When she heard that Wonho had left the gate and was heading to the Busan branch, she had thought, So it’s finally happening.
A Seoul branch employee had informed her, but even after the expected arrival time had long passed, Wonho hadn’t shown up.
She had been waiting in the lobby, checking the commotion, until he finally appeared.
“Is there a problem?”
“Hmm… It’s because the ice freezing Esper Cha Minjun won’t melt. Perhaps if Esper Wonho…?”
Upon seeing Cha Minjun turned into an ice statue, the Esper Division Head immediately summoned a flame-wielding Esper, but there was no way the ice frozen by an S-rank Esper would thaw.
Nothing could melt it.
