Huiyeong sat there in complete bewilderment while Shinyul kept pestering him for another kiss. Having no idea what had just happened, Huiyeong looked around in confusion.
"W-What... what the hell did you just...?"
"I killed the monster. You said if I caught one for you, you'd kiss me."
He had absolutely never said it like that, but Huiyeong was still too stunned by the horrifying screech he'd just heard to argue. Seriously? He really killed it? Without taking a single step from here?
His jaw dropped as he stared at Shinyul.
Meeting those dark eyes that were finally focused on him again, Shinyul's smile widened with delight. He reached out and lightly tickled Huiyeong's cheek with a finger.
"Mmm? Did my baby get scared?"
Scared?
He was damn terrified.
Not only because this lunatic could kill some unknown creature without even getting up, but because he acted so casually afterward, as if he'd merely swatted a fly.
The two of them stared silently at one another, each overwhelmed by completely different emotions, until the hesitant footsteps of the approaching team members finally pulled their attention away. Judging by the confusion on their faces, they had been startled by the monster's sudden scream as well.
"Team Leader, have you already started clearing the area around base camp? Should we head out right away? Since you're here, the cleanup should go much faster. It might be better to send only part of the team ahead first..."
At Jeong Min's suggestion—the former team leader—Shinyul slowly nodded.
His heightened S-rank senses had already detected several monsters nearby. He had disposed of the closest one, but the rest would have to be eliminated sooner or later anyway. Better to finish them off quickly.
Having made up his mind, Shinyul effortlessly scooped Huiyeong into his arms and gently patted his back.
"I'll go get rid of all the monsters that are scaring my princess. When I come back, give me a kiss. Deal?"
Smack.
He lightly kissed Huiyeong's cheek, set him down on a folding chair inside the tent, selected several team members, and departed at once.
Huiyeong remained frozen in place, blankly watching their backs disappear into the distance.
"Huiyeong, how are you feeling?"
Haram approached with a bottle of cold water.
Still trying to recover from the shock, Huiyeong accepted it without refusing and drained it in one breath. Swallowing heavily, he turned his still deathly pale face toward Haram.
"Whew... Hey, uh... teach. Listen."
"Y-Yes? Of course."
"Can Espers... normally kill monsters just by sitting there?"
"Hmm..."
Haram gave an awkward smile.
Of course not every Esper could do something like that. Even among telekinetic Espers, what had just happened was only possible because Han Shinyul was an S-rank.
Afraid Huiyeong might develop the wrong impression, Haram carefully explained.
"Not at all. Ordinary Espers can't do that. Esper Han Shinyul is an S-rank, so both his physical abilities and his supernatural powers are exceptional."
"So basically... he's a fucking psycho."
"...Exceptionally capable," Haram corrected with an awkward laugh.
Well...
Most Espers—especially S-ranks—were a little crazy in one way or another.
But that wasn't exactly something he could bluntly tell a paired Guide.
Just as Haram was about to continue, thunderous crashes echoed from somewhere in the distance, almost like landslides, accompanied by horrifying shrieks that sounded capable of tearing a person's ears apart.
The other team members around camp looked around in alarm as enormous objects toppled over somewhere beyond sight, clouds of dust rising in every direction.
Beep! Beep!
A shrill alarm suddenly rang from Huiyeong's watch.
It was warning him that Shinyul's Guiding value was dropping rapidly.
The moment Huiyeong looked at the display, all the color drained from his face.
From everything Haram had told him, Shinyul—regardless of how completely insane he was—possessed overwhelming combat power.
Which meant...
He didn't know about the other Espers, but as long as Han Shinyul was alive, Huiyeong could genuinely expect to survive without the slightest doubt.
The ability to strangle enemies he couldn't even see...
It was unbelievable.
The weak part of his heart raised its head again.
He couldn't stop the hope welling up inside him.
He was already under enormous stress. His current body was the complete opposite of his original one, and the world he'd been thrown into was even more dangerous than the body itself.
"If you've decided to do it, then just do it."
He had kept telling himself that.
But after being tossed around by circumstances completely beyond his control, unable to find any way out...
Now he'd witnessed absolute power.
And for the first time, hope appeared.
Relying on someone else with your life was usually the dumbest thing imaginable.
But...
Maybe someone who could kill monsters without lifting a finger was different.
Watching the numbers on his watch plummet, Huiyeong shot to his feet and began pacing anxiously.
"Fuck! What do I do?"
"Huh? W-What?"
"It's already sixty-nine percent! Shit!"
He bit down hard on his lip.
He didn't know what Shinyul's Guiding value had been before, so he couldn't judge whether this rate of decline was normal.
His pathetic physical condition had already driven him into despair once.
Now that he'd finally found a sliver of hope, panic completely took over his mind.
No matter what...
If he just gave Shinyul enough Guiding, surely everything would work out.
He remembered how weak and half-dead Shinyul had looked even when he was in the fifties.
Panic surged through him.
If something happened to Shinyul too...
There would be no hope left.
"H-Huiyeong! About Guiding values..."
"Wait. Where's the pair tent again?"
"...Huh? Why?"
"What, you expect us to kiss in front of everybody? We've gotta do Guiding, don't we? It's already sixty-nine... sixty-eight now! Fuck!"
Faced with Huiyeong's blazing stare, Haram instinctively pointed toward one of the tents still being assembled.
The tents, built from dungeon materials, automatically unfolded once placed. Judging from the ones already completed, they were spacious and sturdy enough to qualify as temporary housing.
Even in his panic, Huiyeong stubbornly refused to kiss Shinyul in front of everyone.
Dragging his heavy body into a run—
Thud!
He sprawled face-first onto the ground.
"H-Huiyeong!"
Before the startled Haram could even reach him, Huiyeong had already scrambled back to his feet. He stomped toward the tent still assembling itself, grabbed the nearest team member by the arm, and started barking at him.
"How the hell do you use this thing?!"
...Huiyeong.
Sixty-eight percent is actually perfectly normal...
Could it be...
Did Huiyeong simply care that much about his paired Esper?
Some Guides became extremely anxious whenever their partner's Guiding value dropped below seventy percent.
But that didn't quite fit either.
Huiyeong had been openly negative about Guiding, and even while struggling to walk all day, he'd never once leaned on Shinyul.
After hesitating for a moment, Haram decided he should explain what each Guiding percentage actually meant.
But before he could approach—
Shinyul suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
No one knew where he'd left the rest of the team.
He leisurely walked straight toward Huiyeong.
The instant Huiyeong spotted him, he grabbed Shinyul by the wrist and immediately dragged him into the freshly completed tent.
Haram shut his eyes.
He couldn't understand any of this.
Clutching his head, he desperately tried to make sense of Huiyeong's behavior.
No matter how hard he thought...
Nothing made sense.
His shoulders sagged as he collapsed onto a folding chair.
"...Fuck it..."
The other Guides nearby all stared at him in disbelief.
Jeong Haram?
The gentle, refined instructor everyone admired?
He'd actually sworn.
...Guide Yu Huiyeong really was something else.
The misunderstanding only grew deeper.
***
Despite Huiyeong's feeble strength, Shinyul allowed himself to be dragged along without resistance.
He smiled brightly as he looked at the round crown of Huiyeong's head.
The instant they entered the tent, however, his expression changed completely.
He began panting weakly, looking utterly exhausted.
"...Mister..."
"Y-Yeah? Does it hurt? You... you feel like you're dying?"
"...Yeah."
Huiyeong had been staring blankly around the interior.
Not only had some strange box magically inflated into a tent, but inside was practically an eight-pyeong studio apartment, complete with a spacious bed, lights, a bathroom, and even a shower.
Shinyul's strained voice snapped him back to reality.
Startled, Huiyeong grabbed Shinyul's face firmly with both hands and examined him.
He looked perfectly fine.
Yet Shinyul lowered his brows pitifully, looked up at Huiyeong with trembling eyelashes, and wore such a miserable expression that Huiyeong began fidgeting anxiously.
"...Kiss me."
"O-Okay."
Huiyeong nodded hurriedly and squeezed his eyes shut.
He'd done it once.
Could doing it twice really be that much harder?
Survival came first.
Watching Huiyeong obediently stand there with his eyes tightly closed, waiting just inches away, Shinyul couldn't help smiling.
"My princess has to do it."
"...What?"
Huiyeong's eyes flew open.
He wanted me to kiss him first?
No...
That was a bit...
Seeing the troubled look on Huiyeong's face, Shinyul suddenly scooped him into his arms, buried his face against Huiyeong's neck, and rubbed against him like a spoiled puppy.
Still hugging him, Shinyul sat down heavily on the bed.
"You promised you'd kiss me. I killed lots of monsters. My princess was scared, so even though I was tired, I killed lots of them. Hmm? I'm tired..."
Well...
That part was true.
After a moment of hesitation—
Ah, fuck it!
If a man says he'll do something, then he does it!
That's what Guiding is supposed to be!
Scolding himself, Huiyeong grabbed a fistful of Shinyul's hair and yanked hard.
Shinyul's head snapped upward.
His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Open your mouth."
At Huiyeong's command, Shinyul obediently parted his lips.
Huiyeong's eyelids trembled.
Then he shut his eyes tightly and leaned in.
His lips met Shinyul's.
He slipped his small tongue into Shinyul's mouth, their warm breaths mingling.
Once again, the energy inside his body surged violently before pouring into Shinyul.
Frequent physical contact had made him fairly accustomed to the sensation of Guiding.
But Guiding through their mucous membranes still made something inside him boil and left his head spinning.
Overwhelmed by the intense flood of sensation, Huiyeong lost himself, hungrily exploring Shinyul's lips.
Shinyul's face grew hot as powerful Guiding flooded through him along with the movement of Huiyeong's tongue.
Unable to endure any longer, he gently pushed Huiyeong back onto the bed.
He teased and caressed Huiyeong's tongue inside his own mouth before pressing even deeper, continuing the fierce kiss.
Shinyul could roughly guess why Huiyeong had suddenly become so proactive.
Like most Guides, Huiyeong had witnessed an Esper's overwhelming strength and decided to guide him more willingly for the sake of his own survival.
Some people criticized Guides for thinking that way.
Shinyul didn't care.
Even if Huiyeong only saw him as a means of survival...
That was fine.
Because eventually Huiyeong would realize there was no one else he could rely on.
Just as Huiyeong was his only choice...
He wanted to become Huiyeong's only choice as well.
That had been the entire reason he'd deliberately brought Huiyeong into the dungeon.
Most Espers wanted their Guides to acknowledge their strength.
A partner witnessing their overwhelming ability in a dangerous dungeon was the fastest path to earning a Guide's affection.
Shinyul bit down hard on Huiyeong's lower lip.
"Hngh..."
A painful whimper escaped Huiyeong.
Blood welled up as his lips reddened and swelled.
Shinyul slowly licked over them before biting again, almost swallowing Huiyeong's soft lips as the kiss continued.
Even after being hurt, the smaller man offered his lips back without resistance.
Shinyul loved that.
***
"...Sigh..."
"So, according to the latest research, the dungeon ecosystem... Huiyeong? You're paying attention, aren't you?"
Haram tapped the thick textbook with a stern expression.
Huiyeong, who had been staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes, finally looked at him.
His lips were swollen, bruised, and covered with tiny scabs.
Anyone could tell they were the unmistakable marks of an intense kiss.
Both Huiyeong and Haram found the sight unbearably awkward.
Perhaps because of that...
Among all the Espers who had returned from the first monster-clearing operation, Shinyul alone looked positively radiant.
He kept insisting he would never kiss him...
Haram couldn't shake the growing sense of betrayal.
Eventually he simply decided that Huiyeong must actually enjoy Guiding.
Meanwhile, Huiyeong was dying inside as he remembered how he'd been the one to initiate the kiss...
And how he'd even ended up panting and enjoying it.
Now there was no escaping it.
He was an accomplice.
He couldn't even make the excuse that he'd hated it and Shinyul had started everything.
"...Sigh..."
"Huiyeong, instead of sighing all the time..."
Just as Haram was about to scold him again—
Something suddenly shot toward them at incredible speed from the bushes.
Thud.
A sickening sound rang out.