WTSG 3

The Beginning of Temptation (3)

“So, about the house. Should I move in or not?” Tae Ijae asked, unfazed by Kang Junwoo’s blatant stare, and just went on saying what he wanted to say. Kang Junwoo let out a short sigh before answering Tae Ijae’s question. Since he had already agreed, and because assignments that required them to work as a pair could come in even in the middle of the night, it was more efficient for them to stay together 24/7.

“Move in.” As soon as Kang Junwoo finished speaking, Tae Ijae stood up and checked his watch. “Should I come here after finishing up my assigned area? Or will you give me your home address?”

“What time do you think you’ll be done?”

“Around six, maybe? It could be earlier.”

“Then, you can come here.”

“Okay. See you in the afternoon then.” Tae Ijae, who had been mixing informal and formal speech all along, suddenly switched to polite speech as if nothing had happened and walked out.

Left alone, Kang Junwoo sat blankly on the sofa, blinking his eyes.

The guide room, now silent, seemed just as it always did, as if Tae Ijae had never been there. If not for the cup of coffee left where Tae Ijae had been sitting, Kang Junwoo might have thought he had dreamt the whole encounter. Taking a deep breath, Kang Junwoo rose from the sofa.

Pairing with Tae Ijae… The resolve he had made to never pair or be exclusively assigned to anyone until he resigned crumbled so easily that it seemed insignificant. Perhaps it was the thrill of being chosen by Tae Ijae, who had never accepted guidance from anyone before. Or maybe it was the contract clause that stated he wouldn’t be responsible for guiding.

Kang Junwoo was curious to feel how unstable Tae Ijae’s energy waves were, but if their pairing led to a fallout and a cold war, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t repeat past mistakes. His tendency to treat others as invisible when angry was something he couldn’t change, no matter what. Therefore, the clause that absolved him of responsibility for guiding was enough to ease his mind a little.

He wasn’t incapable of learning, but since no one could predict human affairs, being cautious wouldn’t hurt.

***

Tae Ijae arrived at the guiding room just before seven. His body bore the marks of battle, with monster blood and dust smeared here and there, and his eyes glowed a faint golden hue. As someone with light-based abilities, Tae Ijae’s eyes would shine gold as he neared a berserk state. Kang Junwoo recalled a time when he had seen Tae Ijae’s eyes turn a deep gold, a sight so eerily fitting with his appearance that it left him staring in awe. It was unprofessional for a guide to be so captivated by the precarious appearance of an Esper on the brink of losing control, but back then, Tae Ijae had drawn the attention of all guides and Espers alike. It was all because of Tae Ijae’s exceptional presence. 

He seemed on edge back then too, and now he looked slightly unstable again, which was concerning Kang Junwoo. “Are you alright?” he asked. 

The news of his pairing with Tae Ijae had spread quickly, and every Esper who came for guidance today had asked if it was true, leaving Kang Junwoo more exhausted than usual. As he massaged his shoulder with one hand, Tae Ijae, who had helped himself to a coffee from the fridge without permission, looked at him and asked back, “Are you alright?”

It seemed this brat hadn’t learned how to properly distinguish between informal and formal speech.

“Is it tough because of all the guiding requests? I heard you only do level one, so why do you look so tired already?”

“It’s because it’s almost time to leave work. And today was a bit…”

“A bit?”

“I got a lot of questions because of us being paired.”

At Kang Junwoo’s words, Tae Ijae nodded once with an “Ah” and took another sip of his coffee. Kang Junwoo, sitting on the sofa and looking over the paperwork he needed to finish before leaving, glanced sideways at Tae Ijae, who was absorbed in his phone. The way Tae Ijae held the straw of his cup of coffee in his mouth while focusing on his phone was oddly sensual and decadent.

No, it was ridiculous and embarrassing to feel this way just from watching him, but he was undeniably sexy. Seeing Tae Ijae with a straw in his mouth made Kang Junwoo wonder if this was a side effect of not having dated for too long or if it was simply because that guy’s face was excessively alluring.

“So, what kind of questions?”

“…Pardon…?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Kang Junwoo paused his typing and looked at Tae Ijae. Even as he asked the question, Tae Ijae hadn’t taken his eyes off his phone, but now he slowly lifted his head to meet Kang Junwoo’s gaze.

“What kind of questions did you get that made you look so tired?”

His golden eyes shone with an eerie intensity. Kang Junwoo, feeling a tingling sensation at his fingertips for reasons he couldn’t fathom, swallowed dryly and turned his gaze back to the monitor.

“Just, you know, why did Tae Ijae Esper, request to pair with me? An Esper who used to shudder at the thought of a guide—what wind blew him to choose a guide? Are they perhaps dating or something… like that?” Kang Junwoo muttered to himself as if reporting to Tae Ijae, his hands constantly moving over the keyboard.

Tae Ijae’s gaze remained fixed on Kang Junwoo.

“So, what did you say?”

“I said I don’t know. I have no idea why you requested the pairing. I have no clue what wind blew you to choose me. As for dating, absolutely not. Today was the first time I talked with Tae Ijae Esper.”

“…That’s not true.”

“…Pardon?”

Kang Junwoo’s hands stopped their frantic typing on the keyboard due to Tae Ijae’s sudden denial.

“We’ve talked before. It’s not our first time today.”

“…Have we talked before?”

“Is your memory bad, or is your brain just not working?”

“…Pardon?”

“We talked on the anniversary day.”

“…Pardon?” Kang Junwoo asked again, causing Tae Ijae’s eyebrows to rise in irritation. Even that expression looked impeccably handsome, and Kang Junwoo couldn’t help but click his tongue inward. 

Unnecessarily handsome, unnecessarily.

He had always been told he was handsome or beautiful himself, but Tae Ijae seemed to be on a completely different level, making him feel a bitter taste in his mouth. He had never felt inferior about his looks before, but for the first time, he felt a twinge of inferiority.

‘But, did we really talk before…? ‘

“Are you saying we talked on the center’s anniversary day?”

He remembered the center’s anniversary day. Tae Ijae, wearing a perfectly fitting suit, shone even more than usual. Most of the guides were either admiring or envying Tae Ijae’s appearance, and Kang Junwoo was no exception.

If they had talked then, there was no way he wouldn’t remember. He would have been too excited to sleep, replaying the conversation over and over in his mind every night.

“Intercom.”

“…Intercom?”

“I used the intercom, remember? I said the third-floor terrace door was locked. You were the one who answered.”

“…Ah…!”

Kang Junwoo finally remembered. He was about to leave the dull anniversary party when Tae Ijae, who had been the eye candy of the event, suddenly disappeared. He thought he might as well finish his drink before heading out, so he went to the terrace tucked away in the left corner. As he looked down at the dark garden, sipping his drink, the intercom next to the terrace door rang, and he answered it without thinking.

“That voice was Tae Ijae Esper’s?”

He hadn’t known at all. It was just a man saying that the third-floor terrace was locked and asking him to press the blue button below the intercom. The tone was quite commanding, and he thought it was rude at the time, but now he understood why it had seemed so.

“But how did you know it was me?”

Kang Junwoo tilted his head in confusion, not knowing that it was Tae Ijae Esper. Tae Ijae replied with a remarkably calm expression.

“I’ve heard it a few times since then.”

Kang Junwoo looked at Tae Ijae.

“Or rather, I overheard it.”

“……”

“I quite like your voice, Kang Junwoo guide.”

In that moment, Kang Junwoo’s heart thumped loudly.

—

**Esther’s Fund**

“But don’t you need to bring your stuff?”

Kang Junwoo asked as they walked towards his home, which was in the building right next door, after work. In truth, walking side by side with Tae Ijae was so suffocatingly uncomfortable and nerve-wracking that he blurted out the question.

“Oh.”

Tae Ijae suddenly stopped in his tracks, as if just realizing he had nothing with him.

“I didn’t think about it.”

Kang Junwoo stared intently at Tae Ijae, who muttered while running his hand through his hair in frustration.

Feeling awkward, he offered a suggestion, noticing how tired he looked. It seemed unreasonable to ask him to travel such a long distance at this hour. “If you’re tired, you can borrow my clothes for tonight.”

At this suggestion, Tae Ijae smirked and snorted. “Do you think your clothes would even fit me?”

Now that he thought about it, there was no way his clothes would fit someone much larger like Tae Ijae. He wasn’t small himself, but he hadn’t considered that detail.

“What about dinner?” Tae Ijae suddenly changed the subject.

“…Pardon?”

“We need to eat dinner. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Ah… I was just going to have something simple at home…”

“Oh, do you cook?”

“Not often.”

“…Well, I’m curious about your cooking, but since we’re both tired today, let’s just order in. Just order whatever you want. I’ll be back soon.”

Without waiting for Kang Junwoo’s response, Tae Ijae vanished in an instant. Despite saying he disliked teleporting so much that they should live together, he did it so casually that Kang Junwoo couldn’t help but chuckle incredulously.

“Why does that guy keep switching between formal and informal speech?” he muttered to himself, bewildered, as he walked towards his home.

It wasn’t until he reached his front door and opened it that he realized Tae Ijae didn’t know his address. Assuming Tae Ijae would call, he took his phone into the bathroom, waiting for the call while he showered.

‘What should I order for dinner? I don’t know what he likes, so I can’t just order anything. But why hasn’t he called yet? Does he not even know my phone number? ‘ 

And it dawned on him that they hadn’t exchanged contact information.

With wet hands, Kang Junwoo picked up the phone from the bathroom shelf. He hadn’t saved Tae Ijae’s number either. 

“Huh.” 

He was at a loss for words.