Chapter 8: Legion and Teasing

Lee Chae hadn’t known a place like this existed in the middle of the ash-gray city.

The building was sleek, luxurious; just looking at it made him feel small before he even stepped inside.

He stared blankly at the sign.

<Legion>

An organization founded by A-class and above espers to resist unfair school demands and maximize hunting efficiency.

Entry was restricted to high-ranks only, and they cared about nothing but their own profit.

Lee Chae didn’t know much about it, and didn’t want to.

“Rich kids’ club, basically?”

He muttered and shook his head, not out of inferiority, but because the whole thing was ridiculous.

Ranking people by abilities they woke up with one day, then acting like nobles while doing zero noble things; he hated all of it.

“Sigh… should’ve just taken his phone number instead…”

He paced in front of the entrance, stalling, then finally walked in.

The building wasn’t entirely Legion’s; each floor had shops and offices.

Legion occupied the very top.

The elevator ride up felt like being sealed in a coffin.

Ding.

The doors opened.

Lee Chae stepped forward, and froze.

Cha Haejin was standing right there.

Like a ghost who’d been waiting.

“How—”

“Hey. Jung Lee Chae. I was wondering when you’d show up. Been watching the camera.”

Lee Chae was so dumbfounded he just stared.

Haejin grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

“You came all this way and you’re just gonna stand there?”

“I’m here for my book. Give it back and I’m gone.”

Haejin snorted.

“I spent three days glued to the monitor waiting for you, and you want to grab the book and leave?”

“I never asked you to wait. If it wasn’t exam period I wouldn’t even have come.”

“Come in and take it, or stand there all night. I don’t really care either way.”

Haejin backed away, smirking provocatively.

Lee Chae sighed. He didn’t have time for this.

He glanced at the clock over Haejin’s shoulder.

Time was money, literally.

Every minute wasted here was food off his family’s table.

He glared one last time, then stepped inside.

He hadn’t meant to gawk, but the interior forced him to.

One whole wall was floor-to-ceiling glass with a panoramic view.

The living area had a massive monitor and plush sofas.

A hallway led to several rooms.

Lee Chae was looking around when his eyes met Haejin’s.

The bastard gave a sleazy grin and opened his mouth.

“Wow… the second you step into my place you give me that look? I’m not mentally prepared yet…”

“Cut the crazy bullsh*t and give me my book. I don’t have time to play rich-boy games with you.”

Haejin’s face hardened instantly.

He strode over, closing the distance fast.

All the “don’t shake” prep went out the window; Lee Chae’s heart pounded like crazy.

“You really don’t understand nice words, do you? Sit down and wait like a good boy. Unless you want trouble getting your book.”

Lee Chae had survived 21 years as a discriminated D-class.

He was a master at pissing people off with words.

Time to unleash.

“You pathetic piece of sht. Everyone kisses your ass because you’re S-class, so you think the world revolves around you. Newsflash: I don’t give a single fck if you’re S-class or whatever. Give me my book before I file an official complaint with headquarters. Last warning.”

He spat it all out in one breath and felt instantly refreshed.

Haejin smacked his lips, staring like Lee Chae was an angry puppy barking “don’t come near me.”

‘…Cute.’

Standing this close, he suddenly felt starving.

But the guy had tried so hard to provoke him; basic courtesy required at least pretending to be mad.

So Haejin lightly pressed down on Lee Chae’s shoulders, just enough to watch him struggle to stay upright.

He knew he was insane for enjoying it.

“Let go!”

Lee Chae squirmed.

Haejin ignored him, scooped him up like he weighed nothing, and sat him on his lap, arms caging him in.

Just contact, yet sensations exploded through him.

‘Holy sh*t. Is he a doll?’

Come to think of it, he did look like a doll.

The doll was cursing with its tiny lips, but Haejin couldn’t hear a word; probably speaking a different language.

‘What the hell is this guy? Why is he so soft?’

Now he kind of understood why other espers drooled at the sight of guides.

“Last warning received loud and clear. But Lee Chae…”

Haejin whispered right against his ear, lips brushing skin.

Their matching rate was sky-high; it had to tickle him just as bad, right?

Curious, he blew gently.

Lee Chae’s shoulders jumped adorably.

“I’m not the type to use people and throw them away.”

“What kind of nonsense—”

“You took my first time, then act this cold? My pride’s hurt.”

“…First time.”

Lee Chae repeated it in pure disbelief.

He knew it meant first contact guiding, not the other thing.

But Cha Haejin claiming contact guiding was his first?

Bullsh*t needed limits to be believable.

“An esper who’s never had contact guiding? Even if it’s your first, what the hell does that have to do with me? Seriously, the crap that comes out of your mouth…”

He was fuming, yet the lunatic just grinned wider.

Lee Chae glared harder; Haejin bounced his thigh, like saying, “Look at you sitting nicely on the liar’s lap.”

It made Lee Chae’s mood worse.

He hated it. Hated it so much.

Yet strangely, the moment their bodies separated, cold emptiness hit.

Not because he liked it; some physical force seemed to glue them together.

Maybe because he still remembered how painful it had been when guiding ended the first time.

Lee Chae shot up and moved away.

Thankfully Haejin let him.

The second they separated, chills ran down his spine.

He had no idea what was happening to his body.

He’d studied theory diligently; these symptoms weren’t in any textbook.

Their eyes met again.

Haejin smiled like a cat and barked.

“Woof!”

Lee Chae’s jaw dropped.

How insane do you have to be to do that?

More nonsense followed.

“I’ve been guided before, sure. But never contact. I have guide-phobia, you see. Usually just take suppressants.”

Everyone knew Cha Haejin had no exclusive guide.

But never once contact in his life?

That explained the insane thirst Lee Chae had felt that day.

And Lee Chae hated that he now understood this lunatic.

He shook his head violently to shake off the empathy.

“Contact, non-contact, whatever; I didn’t do it because I wanted to. You forced it. What does that have to do with me?”

He tried to leave again. Pointless.

“I also get nauseous around espers, so let’s never see each other again. Just give me the book and I’ll leave you alone.”

He said it calmly.

Haejin didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Hmm… I don’t really feel like handing it over that easily…”

Lee Chae’s hands shook with rage.

His personality screamed to storm out, but grades mattered.

He needed that damn book.

“What do you want?”

“Now we’re talking. Wait here a sec.”

Haejin disappeared into a room and came back holding the textbook.

The second Lee Chae saw it, he reached out excitedly.

The book shot up over Haejin’s head, out of reach.

Lee Chae barely suppressed the urge to punch him.

Reason wouldn’t work on a lunatic.

So he decided to go full lunatic too.

This was all or nothing.

“Stop acting like a damn child and just say it like a man: you want to sleep with me.”