TTOA Chapter 12

The atmosphere vibrated greatly.

The power that Seo Eui-woo unintentionally emitted tore through the air and spread throughout the bedroom. It felt as if an invisible gravity had been added. My body felt crushed under the oppressive force, and a primal fear arose.

Like rats or birds sensing an impending disaster and fleeing in droves, Kwon Jae-jin also felt the urge to escape this place.

However, Kwon Jae-jin did not back down.

“Ugh, eugh. The Guiding that Seo Eui-woo wants from me is mucous membrane contact, right? Licking tongues and sticking dicks in… ordinary people can’t just do those things… you have to like it.”

Seo Eui-woo stared intently at Jae-jin, gripping his shackled wrist tightly. His dry, ashen eyes were darkly sunken, revealing his abyss.

“I understand. I know you don’t like it. So, you’re trying to hold me back by force right now. I need Jae-jin, and Guiding too…”

An Esper, starved for twenty years, was too focused on satisfying his immediate hunger, his judgment clouded and reason lost. His instincts loudly screamed for him to bind Kwon Jae-jin in chains and ravish him. Only after touching Kwon Jae-jin’s skin, mucous membranes, and licking every inch of his body would he finally regain his sanity.

However, it is the sun, not the wind, that removes the traveler’s coat.

Kwon Jae-jin slapped Seo Eui-woo’s forehead with his trembling hand, making a ‘thwack’ sound. He considered sucking his tongue as a favor, but decided against it. Instead, he pulled Seo Eui-woo by the waist and laid him down on the bed.

“So, if you need it, try to make me like Seo Eui-woo a little.”

He climbed on top of him, looking down coldly.

“Try to seduce me.”

*

It’s a somewhat obvious point, but Seo Eui-woo also goes to work.

He regularly goes to the Center, a government agency that manages, supervises, trains, and dispatches Espers, for training.

Only twice a week, though.

As an S-rank Esper, he doesn’t need to coordinate with lower-ranked Espers, so he doesn’t dedicate himself to group training. Instead, he had to respond to emergency calls that rang in critical situations.

For example, if a group of creatures appeared on the defensive wall, or if a Gate occurred in a frontier district, Seo Eui-woo had to teleport there immediately.

This meant he had to be on standby for disasters that could erupt at any time, 24 hours a day, like an emergency room doctor, firefighter, or police officer.

Sometimes, no calls would come for over two weeks, and other times, he would receive calls three or four times a day.

And this week was a very busy week for Seo Eui-woo.

‘Is it fortunate, in a way?’

The house without Seo Eui-woo becomes Kwon Jae-jin’s paradise.

Jae-jin first picked out the food ingredients that had been flown in by special delivery and moved them to the kitchen. Other parcels were piled up, but food ingredients would spoil if left at room temperature.

He unpacked the deliveries, removed the ice packs, and neatly stored the fresh food in the refrigerator. The short ribs looked to be of excellent quality.

‘Should I make braised short ribs? With large chunks of potatoes.’

Jae-jin used his favorite kitchen knife to slice mushrooms, potatoes, onions, and carrots while draining the blood from the meat. He first blanched only the meat in a large pot, removed the impurities, and then threw in all the remaining ingredients. He seasoned it with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar, and cooking wine, and then boiled it.

He was in the middle of cooking when a white light flashed in the distance, like a camera flash. It disappeared, leaving behind small droplets of light. A trace of instantaneous teleportation. It seemed Seo Eui-woo had returned already.

“Another food smell. Jae-jin is always in the kitchen.”

As soon as he came out of the Sterile Transfer Room, Seo Eui-woo strode toward Kwon Jae-jin.

I don’t know if I should describe this as a puppy following its owner, or a puppy coming to steal a hidden treat. It’s probably the latter. Kwon Jae-jin is just Seo Eui-woo’s tasty bone right now.

Seo Eui-woo wrapped his arms around Kwon Jae-jin’s waist and licked the back of his neck. A shiver ran down his spine, and his body tensed from his toes to his lower back, but Jae-jin didn’t show it and focused on cooking.

“Don’t touch me in front of the fire. Can’t you see I have a knife in my hand right now?”

“I see it. I see it well.”

“With this, I could… never mind. You came at just the right time, so taste the braised short ribs and see if the seasoning is right.”

Jae-jin used tongs to take a piece of well-cooked short rib meat and held it in front of Seo Eui-woo’s mouth. Seo Eui-woo didn’t react, only curving his eyes languidly and smiling. His glossy grey eyes showed no sign of appetite whatsoever.

“Ah. Not yet, I guess.”

Jae-jin muttered and turned the tongs around. He put the meat in his own mouth and chewed it, finding it perfectly cooked. It seemed like it just needed to be boiled a little longer to let the seasoning soak in.

“Yet? What time?”

“The time for Seo Eui-woo to eat.”

“I don’t have a time like that. I don’t eat often.”

“Yeah, so it’s not yet.”

He says he doesn’t eat. Seo Eui-woo smiled and bit Jae-jin’s ear. He chewed gently and mumbled, “I’ll eat this,” in a slurred voice. Jae-jin shook his ear as if annoyed.

“Get lost. Let’s cook.”

“Later. Let’s do Guiding first. I thought of a good method.”

“I don’t know if Seo Eui-woo likes starving, but I need to eat. I’ll die if I keep starving.”

“You can use Healing Factor…”

“I was wondering when you’d say that. I don’t want to, so just wait quietly. If you have nothing to do while waiting, there are piles of parcels in the entryway, so you can carry those to the second floor. To my room.”

“The second floor?”

“You know, the central room that has the best sunlight and is the largest. I’m going to use that as my room. Please move the luggage.”

“Ah… yeah, well, I don’t mind…”

Seo Eui-woo grabbed Jae-jin’s chin and kissed his lips. He deeply interlocked his tongue, languidly sucking on the wet flesh. After a while, the braised short rib pot made a loud noise as if it would boil over at any moment.

Kwon Jae-jin poked Seo Eui-woo’s chest with the tip of his favorite kitchen knife. Seo Eui-woo didn’t avoid it and let the tip of the knife stab his body. His body, layered with a protective shield made of his ability, wasn’t scratched at all.

“Luggage. I said move it.”

“Okay, I’m moving it all now. But what’s this?”

Suddenly, the sound of a box being unwrapped came from the middle of the living room. Kwon Jae-jin and Seo Eui-woo were both in the kitchen, but the sound came from the living room, as if Seo Eui-woo had used his telekinesis to move the parcels and then torn open one of the boxes.

“A motorcycle?”

Seo Eui-woo lowered his eyes quietly and looked down at Jae-jin.

The braised short rib pot was still making a loud boiling-over sound.

“Are you going somewhere on this?”

“Where would I be going?”

“Because you hate me, are you trying to run away from me, far away?”

Kwon Jae-jin reached out to turn off the gas. He couldn’t reach it. Seo Eui-woo was hugging him tightly, making it impossible to shift his center of gravity.

“It’s for decoration. I bought it because I liked the design. It doesn’t even have fuel, so it can’t start in the first place.”

“It had fuel, though? Gasoline.”

“Ah, is that so? I don’t remember ordering it separately. Is it a component…”

“…”

Seo Eui-woo’s eyes gradually narrowed until they eventually became slits.

This time, the sound from the living room wasn’t the sound of a box tearing, but the sound of a steel plate buckling. Jae-jin grumbled as if annoyed.

“Don’t break my things. I’m not going out. I said I’m not going outside.”

“Really? So I don’t need to put the handcuffs on you? I can overlook it once, but I can’t let it happen twice.”

“No, would someone who’s going to run away be calmly cooking? And buying so many things? Look at me before you get suspicious.”

“Hmm…”

“Open your eyes properly, too. Do you think you look cute when you look at me like that?”

Actually, he does look a bit cute.

With his harmonious features and fair, handsome face, it was quite amusing. I guess if you’re handsome, everything you do is amusing.

“…So, Jae-jin, do you like cooking and shopping?”

“Huh?”

“You told me to seduce you, Jae-jin. I know what Kwon Jae-jin hates, but I still don’t know what you like.”

“Ah… yeah, well.”

“Did I guess wrong…? Is there anything you like?”

“If you look closely, there is. I’m human too, you know.”

“…”

Seo Eui-woo pouted his lips like a bird’s beak. Then, the gas turned off on its own. Seo Eui-woo must have turned it off.

Seo Eui-woo kissed Kwon Jae-jin’s cheek, the tip of his nose, and then his eyelids in succession. A single strand of Kwon Jae-jin’s black eyelashes stuck to his lower lip. Seo Eui-woo blew air like a whistle, shaking off the eyelash, and then suddenly asked.

“Say, ‘Eui-woo.'”

“What?”

“Tell me to call you that.”

Kwon Jae-jin was dumbfounded and let out a puff of air.

Knowing it was a useless threat, he poked Seo Eui-woo’s chest here and there with his favorite kitchen knife.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but if you’ve moved all the luggage, get out of the way. I’m going to eat.”

“You know, Jae-jin, you’re really strange.”