Buy Low, Seduce High

Eun-chan watched the two of them with a lopsided smirk. Seo-ah, seemingly unaware that she'd still been holding his hand, quietly let go of Woo-jin's only then.

"What are you doing here again?"

"Why? You're asking me why I'm here?"

When he shot the question back at her with an incredulous look, she nodded with her chin held high.

"Yeah, exactly. Why *are* you here?"

Eun-chan swept his hair back. The gesture dripped with irritation. Wait, did he just call that guy Woo-jin-ssi?

Nothing like the messy-haired loser with the glasses from before. The whole vibe had completely changed.

Oh, shit. So that's what that was. Buying the dip or whatever. He must have been silently freaking out over his successful trade.

"Looks like somebody's celebrating a successful low-buy."

"……I have no idea what you're talking about."

Seo-ah shot him a glance that said *knock it off*, but Eun-chan had zero intention of letting it go.

So that's it. She dumps me on another guide and goes running to her shiny new esper.

His anger curdled into something close to contempt.

"Esper Shin Woo-jin?"

"Hello, Esper Kang Eun-chan. We met briefly last time, but I suppose we're meeting again like this. Nice to see you."

They were hardly in a position to be exchanging pleasantries, but the courtesy was so airtight there wasn't a single obvious crack to pick at.

Eun-chan suppressed the fire climbing up his throat and turned to Seo-ah.

"We need to talk."

"Come back later. I have a guest."

"Ah, right. Since you passed me off to another guide, I don't even exist to you anymore, huh?"

"That's not what this is."

Woo-jin watched the two of them bicker in silence. Looking at Kang Eun-chan, visibly furious, and at Seo-ah, who acted annoyed but absorbed every word he threw at her—he felt a pang of envy.

I want to be close to her like that too.

They were so comfortable with each other that there didn't seem to be any gap for him to slip into.

"Barging in out of nowhere—what is wrong with you?"

"You're what's wrong with me. You said you were fine. You definitely did. I fucking remember."

Seo-ah looked away, whistling past the graveyard. Eun-chan, reading the guilty look on her face, stepped closer.

"Come with me right now, before I tell that clueless bastard over there exactly what kind of person you are."

"Wow, that's so low."

"Yep. I'm low and unreasonable. That's me."

Eun-chan shot a warning look at Woo-jin, and Seo-ah let out a long, defeated sigh.

"Woo-jin-ssi, I'm sorry. It sounds like Eun-chan has something he needs to say."

It was a dismissal. Woo-jin glanced between the two of them, then managed a smile that said it was fine.

"That's, fine. But if anything dangerous happens, please tell me. I'll be waiting, right outside."

"How long do you think we'll be talking, exactly? Just head back to the research building for today."

"That's not for Esper Kang Eun-chan to decide. You seem very upset, and if things escalate, Seo-ah-ssi could be in danger."

Unlike when he spoke to Seo-ah, Woo-jin didn't stutter or stammer a single word—no shyness, no hesitation, just clear, measured speech.

The gap in his demeanor made Eun-chan click his tongue.

"She's my guide too. So don't waste your breath on pointless worry and get out."

Woo-jin looked at Seo-ah, searching her face for confirmation.

"I'm fine. And besides, he can't even lay a finger on me. We've been friends way too long—if anything happened to me, his parents would kill him."

So their families know each other too. Woo-jin left the private room looking even more deflated than before.

His feet refused to carry him away, but if Seo-ah didn't want him there, there was nothing he could do.

Maybe I should have just used my ability.

But that would have been too underhanded. It might genuinely be something important. He couldn't be sure, but from what he'd gathered, it sounded like Seo-ah had told Eun-chan he was free to match with other guides.

Would she ever say that about me?

He hated the thought. Seo-ah was all Woo-jin needed. Any guide besides her was unnecessary.

He had no interest in other women, no desire to be guided by them. He wanted to give his first time—everything—to Seo-ah and no one else.

If it ever came to that, he would just have to use his ability, however reluctantly, to prevent the misfortune before it happened.

Seo-ah handed Eun-chan a glass of water.

"So this is a drink-some-water-and-get-a-grip situation, huh?"

"That's exactly what it is."

Eun-chan took the glass and downed it in gulps, still scratching at his head like the anger hadn't burned off yet. Watching him, Seo-ah pulled the blinds all the way down.

"You could've just asked me to step outside. Why do you always have to be so damn unreasonable?"

"Listen to you, talking like this is some place I'm not allowed to be."

"It's not, but. The whole barging-in thing was a bad look."

"Hey. You liked what we did, didn't you?"

"The guiding?"

"No. The sex."

Seo-ah's brow furrowed. Thank god the door was closed and the blinds were down—otherwise the entire floor would have heard that.

"What we did was guiding. A duty and responsibility carried out between an esper and his guide. That's it."

"Nope. It was sex. You came in here because you wanted it."

"……I did not?"

"You hesitated for three whole seconds."

Unable to bring herself to flat-out lie, Seo-ah hadn't answered right away—and Eun-chan, apparently having counted that split second, flashed a triumphant grin.

"I asked if you liked it. No answer, huh?"

Seo-ah pressed her lips shut. If she told the truth, that insufferable ego of his would inflate to even more catastrophic heights.

She was the only one who remembered their relationship, so unless she told him, Kang Eun-chan would go to his grave never knowing. But the man had an athlete's stubbornness about him.

He was absolutely going to keep pestering her until she cracked.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Tell me no."

"Tell you no to *what*?"

"Tell me, out of your own mouth, that you don't want me matched with other guides."

Only now did Seo-ah understand why he'd been throwing this whole tantrum. Seriously? Where was all this devotion when he was out dating every woman in sight? He dragged himself all the way here over *that*?

"I figured you'd be happy about it."

"Me? What exactly do you take me for?"

I know exactly what you take me for. Very well, actually.

Eun-chan's face twisted, and he closed the distance by a step. His eyes, looking down at her, were burning.

Why is his competitive streak flaring up again?

Looking straight into those eyes, Seo-ah's instincts screamed that something had gone very wrong.

"Do it again."

"……Do what?"

"The guiding. Do it over. I don't remember any of it, so this time it counts—clean slate."

He was dead serious. Once they did it again, he figured, she'd change her mind. Too precious to hand off to some other woman, huh?

"I don't need any other guide. So I'm going to guide you again—until my guide is completely satisfied."

"What is wrong with you, getting competitive over *that*?"

"You're the one who made it a competition. Lee Seo-ah."

Eun-chan's hands found her waist.

"Or we could just do it here."

"What? Are you insane?"

"You're into this kind of thing. Don't pretend otherwise."

That matter-of-fact certainty made Seo-ah belatedly try to deny it, but Eun-chan was already pulling her against him, erasing what little space remained.

"Can't exactly say no now, can you."

"Yes I can. No."

"Too late. Again."

"That's already late too!"

"I said I'd correct it, didn't I?"

Seo-ah gave him a small, protesting push, feigning indignation. If this went on any longer, they really would end up doing it right here. With his personality, it was more than possible.

I mean, I have been curious what it'd feel like to do it while everyone's still out there……

But not now. The place was crawling with guides who hadn't clocked out yet, and after Woo-jin and Eun-chan's double act, every eye in the building was trained on this room.

The soundproofing wasn't even perfect, and however curious she might be, she wasn't crazy enough to have sex in an office full of people in broad daylight.

"Fine, then. What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Do it again."

"……So I just have to do it again?"

"Yeah. Guide me again. Properly this time."

"And if I say no?"

"Then we do it here. Whatever way you like, Lee Seo-ah. Your kinks, your rules."

Ugh, that damn kink database!

Seo-ah deeply regretted ever entrusting Eun-chan with her library of webnovels. It was a painfully belated regret, but what was done was done.

"Fine. We'll do it again."

"When."

"……How do you live your life scheduling everything down to the minute like this?"

Seo-ah stared at him, dumbfounded. Looking down at her, Eun-chan snorted a laugh.

"Guess you never noticed. I have lived my whole fucking life detailed and meticulous. Down to the decimal."

That, astonishingly, she genuinely hadn't known. She'd always assumed he just drifted through life on pure vibes. Since when, exactly?