“I heard you became Song Taejoon’s dedicated Guide . Is it hard? He’s the kind who holds back until just before he loses control, so he must’ve tormented you pretty badly.”

“And he doesn’t even touch you unless it’s that time, right? What do you do normally? Can one person really satisfy you?”

“…”

Was this the punishment for not caring what kind of treatment he received? Seoh swallowed hard and slowly got to his feet.

“Song Taejoon looked pretty good today. That means you won’t get to do it again for a while, huh?”

“Should we help you? Might as well do some guiding too. The match rate doesn’t seem that high, but your guiding still feels pretty damn good.”

“Yeah, right. It’s like, soft? Anyway, it’s nice. And honestly, we didn’t even finish to the end last time. The situation was the situation, so we were in a hurry.”

“Huh? You too? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who did it properly all the way through.”

“There must be someone somewhere. And today we’ll count too. It’s not as urgent as before, so we have time. Glad the meeting dragged on, right?”

“Right. And this is the first time a Guide has even offered himself first, so I’ve been thinking about it. We’ll make it fun for you. Have you ever done it with two people?”

The Espers laughed and reached out to Seoh. But Seoh avoided them and took a step back.

“…I’m sorry. I’ve become a dedicated Guide now, so I can’t do that anymore.”

“Ah, once you become dedicated, you’re only supposed to do it with each other? But you weren’t someone who cared about that sort of thing, were you? You’re not exactly afraid of punishment.”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say you’ve fallen for Song Taejoon? That excuse won’t work.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Or are you going to say you’re no longer interested in sex?”

The two large men blocked his path and slowly pressured him back. Seoh, retreating in panic, was driven up against the wall.

Up until now, Espers had not been something Seoh feared. On the contrary, they were the people he needed enough to seek them out. It had been a relationship for his own sake, yes, but it had also been one where he could freely give Espers what they wanted. There had been no reason to be afraid.

But the positions and the relationship built that way were completely overturned by a single refusal. Seoh’s face turned pale as he saw it with his own eyes.

Among Espers and among Guides alike, he was just a male prostitute. He had known that, but he hadn’t cared. Only now did he realize how terribly wrong that had been. He had personally thrown his own value into the gutter. Just to escape pain. It was a filthy status he had created all by himself, with no one else to blame.

“Let’s just do what feels good. You just have to give us your body like usual while guiding. Honestly, your body can’t be satisfied with just one person, can it?”

“Song Taejoon won’t care anyway.”

The first was not true, but the second was impossible to refute. Even if he refused to guide here and protected his body, Song Taejoon wouldn’t care. But even so, that was Song Taejoon’s business. It didn’t matter if he ignored Seoh, didn’t care about him. Seoh had made that vow on his own that day, and it had been entirely his own choice.

“It has nothing to do with that person. It’s just… I just don’t want to do it with anyone else. Not guiding, not… anything else.”

“Wow… That’s cruel, really. I thought you’d be different from the Guide Center, but I guess not. What’s the difference between this and using someone up and throwing them away? So now you only want to spread your legs for Song Taejoon? Hah, that’s completely… selfish of you. You know taking it back after giving it is even nastier, right?”

“…Still, I can’t help it. I…! Ghk!”

“No, whatever. Fine, keep your nonexistent purity. We won’t stop you. But can’t you do that next time? We’re kind of in a hurry.”

“It’s not just the guiding, either. I haven’t been able to use this for a while, so I’m a little desperate. Can’t you see I’m already fully ready?”

The Esper with yellow eyes pointed at his crotch and grinned. Seoh couldn’t bear to look there and turned his eyes away. At the same time, he peeked behind the two Espers blocking him. He was looking for some route to escape. If that didn’t work, then he had to buy enough time to call for help.

Espers had bodies stronger than ordinary people. Aside from loosening the tangled strength of them, a Guide who was otherwise little different from a regular person should be considered unable to run away from Espers.

Seoh’s eyes darted around anxiously. When they stepped one pace closer, he felt he couldn’t hold on any longer and screamed. For help. To save him.

“He-!”

But even that never made it out of his mouth, blocked in an instant by the hand of one of them.

Cold sweat poured down his back. At this rate, he was really going to be taken by the two of them. This was a dark, secluded place where people rarely passed, so no one would come even if something happened to him.

Seoh thrashed with all his strength and tried to scream as loudly as he could, hoping someone would hear even the sound coming from his throat.

“Mmmph!! Mmph!”

“Ah. Why are you doing this? That’s hurtful.”

His resisting motions were desperate. The man, irritated by that, clamped a hand around Yoon Seoh’s thin neck as well. The sound was crushed and no longer came through clearly. The other man, satisfied, clicked his tongue and said with a snicker, “Nice. Since you’re covering his mouth, I’ll go first.”

“Ah, shit… You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“What can I do if your hand’s faster than mine?”

The remaining one, the yellow-eyed Esper, shrugged as if there was nothing to be done. For all that, his eyes were curved with amusement.

“Hurry up and finish.”

“Okay, got it.”

He waved a hand as if to tell him not to worry, and approached Seoh. Even though breathing was difficult with his mouth and throat blocked, Seoh’s resistance was fierce. Kissing didn’t seem likely… then I guess I’ll just have to shove it in right away. Thinking that, the man lifted both of Seoh’s legs. But just then,

“Wasn’t there some professor who said Espers were potential criminals? Looking at this, it doesn’t seem like a lie.”

At the sudden, leisurely voice, not only Seoh but the two men stiffened.

The man holding Seoh’s mouth and throat spotted a black silhouette standing at the entrance to the passage. Since when had he been there…? As an Esper specialized in stealth and keen to the slightest presence, he had not sensed this person at all. Which meant he was stronger than him. Of course he had to be tense.

“…”

“Or is this some kind of role-play you enjoy? I hope I didn’t show up at a bad time.”

The voice was full of laughter, but even an idiot could hear the mockery beneath it. The man swallowed dryly.

“Why don’t you keep going? Having an audience might make it even more thrilling. How about opening yourself up to a new taste?”

Despite the absurd request, the men remained silent. Seoh, who finally understood who had appeared here, struggled even harder.

“Mmph! Mmph mmph!!”

“The one being pinned down looks more professional, honestly.”

That familiar voice, that familiar scent. To make sure with his own eyes, Seoh twisted his body as much as he could, and over the shoulder of the man holding his legs, he could see that figure.

Just the black silhouette alone brought a strange sense of relief. The person who had made him realize he was living a foolish life. My dedicated Esper, Song Taejoon.

“I told you to keep going, so why have you all gone so stiff?”

At the very least, Seoh could tell these words were no longer mockery but a threat. He could feel that the hands holding him were trembling, that their faces had gone pale.

“…”

“Ha, seriously…”

Song Taejoon smiled thinly and walked forward. When his face, hidden in the dark, came into view, the two men’s hands unconsciously loosened. Seoh fell to the ground. A thud rang out, followed by a groan.

“Ghk!”

The impact was worse than expected, perhaps because the drop had been higher than it looked. As Seoh struggled to get his bearings, Song Taejoon glared at the two still-frozen men and walked toward them. His face was blooming with a smile.

“Seems I’ve been too well-behaved lately. Even low-rank Espers I don’t even know think they can look down on me like this. Right?”

“…”

“…”

Song Taejoon placed a hand on each of their shoulders, then looked back and forth between their faces.

“Come to think of it, you should be careful today. This operation is dangerous, after all. So instead of thinking about getting your dicks sucked, maybe you should think first about how to finish the job and come back alive.”

“…”

“Still, if you die during the mission, I’ll find your body for you. Since I’ve seen your faces, if your heads are still attached, I should be able to find you somehow. Don’t worry too much.”

At the chilling words, the two men faltered and took a step back. The warning in his voice made their spines go cold.

“Ah… right. I was just told to gather up. Want me to tell you, if it’s inconvenient?”

“No, no.”

“Why? Didn’t you say you had something very important and urgent to do with Guide Yoon Seoh?”

“That is, well…”

Song Taejoon stared at the Esper with the yellow eyes, then slowly lowered his gaze. For something he had said with sexual implications toward Seoh, the lower half of his body was surprisingly calm. Whether it was because he had been intimidated or because this was the best he could do, Song Taejoon let out a soft laugh and lightly patted his shoulder.

The man’s pride was wounded, and his face reddened. Whatever excuse he gave here, the result would obviously be bad. He could only clench his fists and endure.

No matter how experienced he was, if an S-rank Esper really decided to, he could be handled quietly. He wasn’t ignorant enough not to understand that the threat just now had carried exactly that meaning. Provoking him any further would be a bad idea.

“We’ll… be going now.”

In the end, the man tucked his tail and backed away.

He didn’t need to experience Song Taejoon’s personality firsthand to know it wasn’t good.

“Sure, whatever. Do as you please.”

Fortunately, Song Taejoon let them go without holding them back. He had pressed hard on their shoulders once, but they quietly left, knowing that had been the last warning.

Still, what kind of change of heart had the guy who hated Guides so much gone through?