I possessed the villain, who is torn limb from limb by the protagonist in a fit of inferiority complex.... more>>

This was a consequence of killing his brother, so I did my best to keep him alive.

It was a bonus to get out of the job safely.

But how did it happen?

“Kulk, kulk…!”

“Mr Han, I’ll take care of everything.”

The protagonist has completely turned around. He couldn’t let go of me, his lifelong benefactor.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

No, I’m fine, so please let me leave. <<less

Lee Su-hyeon is judged to be a Dual Awakened, even rarer than S-class Awakened, possessing both Esper and Guide abilities. However, due to his low rank, he's quickly overlooked by the public. Living quietly like a background extra, one day an unimaginable, dream-like opportunity comes his way. His guiding compatibility rate with Song Ji-hyeok, a newly recruited S-class Esper at the guild, turns out to be over 80 percent.... more>>

But life isn't so simple. Song Ji-hyeok openly ignores Su-hyeon due to his low rank...

"Let me say this again, I have absolutely no intention of pairing up with you. So stop wasting your energy like this."

His expression was emotionless and calm. If he had sneered or acted arrogant, it might have sparked some defiance, but his matter-of-fact delivery made the impact even greater.

After maintaining silence for a moment, Su-hyeon barely moved his lips.

"But you heard what Manager Park said. The higher the matching rate, the more efficient the guiding..."

"I said I don't want to."

The sharp interjection made Su-hyeon's mouth shut automatically. Song Ji-hyeok let out a sigh and stared directly into his eyes again.

"You look like you don't understand, so I'll be frank. To me, a guide partner's rank is far more important than matching rate. Honestly, how dare a C-rank try to match with an S-rank? Have some self-awareness."

"......"

"I'll fulfill the period the manager mentioned, but that's it. Persuasion won't work, so you should give up."

It was perfect defense. He had somewhat expected this, but if the rejection was truly because of rank, there was nothing he could do about it.

'...Nothing. There's nothing.'

But still! He couldn't just quietly let go of this opportunity that had come his way. Throwing away unnecessary discouragements, he looked at Song Ji-hyeok with eyes full of determination.

"Since I'm your junior by both experience and age, I'll speak casually. While I can't change my innate rank, I'll do my absolute best. I'll make sure you won't be satisfied with anyone's guiding but mine, so be prepared."

Despite the bold declaration of war, the guy wasn't intimidated. Instead, he just sneered as if Su-hyeon wasn't even worth dealing with. <<less

The only one who ever reached out to him had died—... more>>

Even though Jiho had used up all his guiding energy for him.

‘If I’d stayed by his side from the start, maybe things would’ve turned out differently…’

Drowning in regret and self-loathing, Jiho collapsed.

When he finally came to, he found himself standing in the middle of the hallway of the illegal guiding facility where he had been confined until three years ago.

“Wh-what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

And at the end of the hallway—he was there.

Baek Dojin, wearing the same tight-fitting combat uniform as he had that day three years ago.

‘Baek Dojin died. I must be dreaming.’

Maybe this was the last time he would ever see Baek Dojin in a dream.

So Jiho clung to him desperately.

The warmth of the hand patting his shoulder was so comforting that Jiho wished he’d never wake up from the dream.

“Mm… huh…?”

But something felt off.

“I won’t do anything you don’t like. So don’t be afraid.”

Why… why wasn’t he waking up from the dream? <<less

Georg Hackenschmidt, a former soldier who once lived a wild life, is a man who easily gives his body but guards his heart closely. While on vacation in Marrakech, he meets Rose, a man whose face perfectly matches his ideal type. The problem? Only his face fit the bill.... more>>

“Truly a beautiful creature… but I just can’t do it.”

Despite his strong heteros*xual leanings, Georg gives up on s*x after seeing Rose’s naked body. The thought of embracing a man with something larger than his own was too much. The one-night stand, attempted with half-hearted enthusiasm, ends in failure.

Yet, for some reason, Rose keeps contacting him…

[I left Marrakech yesterday. Sorry for not letting you know earlier. Been swamped with work.]

With that message, Georg assumes he’ll never see Rose again and blocks him.

Or so he thought.

“Didn’t you say you left Marrakech?”

“As you can see, I’m still here.”

“Shameless, aren’t you?”

By chance, Georg crosses paths with Rose again. The complication? Georg’s new date, Pamela, happens to be Rose’s acquaintance. In the midst of this tangled love triangle, Rose makes an unexpected proposal.

“How about the three of us?”

Intrigued, Georg entertains the bold suggestion, unaware of what’s to come.

“Did you think I’d say no?”

“…”

“I’m into that kind of thing.” <<less

An A-class Esper, Renault had been living a quiet life, avoiding unnecessary attention—until the arrival of Raven, an S-class Guide. Raven, who had never recorded a matching rate above 10% with any Esper, astonishingly demonstrated a 98.7% match with Renault, becoming his dedicated Guide.... more>>

Though Renault found Raven difficult to deal with, he set out on a routine B-class monster subjugation mission, only to face an unforeseen crisis that left him gravely injured. As Renault was on verge of going berserk, Raven whispered something strange. It was then that Renault finally realized—the boy he had once saved in the past was none other than Raven, and he was far from ordinary.

***

"You really don’t remember a thing, do you?"

Raven murmured, his voice laced with curiosity. For a brief moment, Renault’s pale face went utterly blank.

"...What do you mean?"

His voice trembled slightly as he asked. It felt as if Raven had seen right through the unshakable sense of déjà vu, the creeping unease Renault himself couldn’t quite place. As if he had just heard something he wasn’t supposed to.

"See? I remember everything about you—every last detail—but you? You forgot it all. Ah, how unfair."

"What are you talking about…? Forgot?"

"I'm starting to feel a little hurt, you know? What should I do about that?"

The way he grinned while claiming to be upset made it impossible to understand him.

He forgot about this brat? That’s impossible. There was no way he wouldn’t remember someone with such a striking appearance, those jewel-like eyes impossible to forget.

So why was this brat acting so sure? And why did Renault feel this inexplicable sense of discomfort?

"Oh well. Guess I have no choice but to remind you—piece by piece, until you remember everything."

.

"Cry for me—just like back then. I'll swallow it all whole." <<less

I reincarnated as the youngest son of a conglomerate’s chairman. In a strange world where there are Espers this, and Guides that—whatever. I was planning to live a carefree life as a wealthy slacker, but then a quest popped up.... more>>

[Let’s protect the peace of the country!

There are Espers in dire need of your guiding. If they run wild, South Korea will be wiped off the map. Please guide them and protect the country so that it is safe.

Success: Survival

Failure: Death]

No, f*ck... I have no choice but to do it to live.

But the moment I saw the list of soon-to-go-berserk Espers that the system kindly provided, my thoughts changed positively.

They’re all exactly my type.

* * *

Leaning both hands on the desk, I tilted toward hyung.

"They say... espers feel the best when they are being guided."

Our eyes met, barely a breath's distance apart. Our exhales tangled in the space between us.

I turned my head and placed a kiss on his cheek with an audible smooch.

"It's only good when there's contact, right?"

"......"

His firm chest swelled, then sank with a breath.

A flicker of flame sparkled in his obsidian eyes. <<less

The Leopold Team, composed of A-rank Espers from Sector 4, was led by Baek Eu-jin, an 11-year veteran healer-type Esper.... more>>

That is until an accident involving his team’s Guide changed everything.

An unprecedented event occurred: both an A-rank Esper and an A-rank Guide lost their abilities. The shocking incident sent Sector 4 into chaos, but Baek Eu-jin secretly celebrated, looking forward to a peaceful retirement.

But then…

“Choi Ran’s ability came back! And it’s a healing power! The same type as yours, Captain!”

Baek Eu-jin, who had been dreaming of a carefree, unemployed life, suddenly finds himself reawakening—not as an Esper, but as a Guide. To make things stranger, his and the Guide’s abilities seem to have switched.

Although disheartened at first, Eu-jin quickly adjusts to the comforts of a desk job as a Guide—one far easier than his days as an Esper.

He might have even been able to enjoy this peaceful office life, if not for Kwon Su-ho.

* * *

“Do you really like desk jobs that much?”

“Between the steady paycheck, safe work environment, and fixed hours, I’d say there’s no comparison.”

“… Fair enough.”

The man, surprisingly, agreed without much resistance. His quick acceptance made Eu-jin uneasy, and that unease was validated when Kwon Su-ho added something unexpected.

“In that case, I just need to make your job harder.”

“What?”

Rising from his seat, Su-ho tousled his hair messily, pressing his knuckles hard against his lips. His flesh turned red and swelled slightly under the pressure.

Satisfied, Su-ho ran his thumb over his reddened lips, then tugged at the black turtleneck he wore, as if regretting his choice of attire.

“I shouldn’t have worn this. If I’d gone with a shirt, I could’ve ripped a few buttons off.”

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to make things difficult for you, Baek Eu-jin.”

Su-ho’s deliberately disheveled appearance gave off the impression of a man who had just been through a heated make-out session.

With clear intent, he took long strides toward the Guiding Room door, leaving Eu-jin no time to stop him.

“Wait, no! Stop!”

Despite Eu-jin’s desperate plea, the doorknob turned, and the door swung open. The noise from outside flooded in as Su-ho stepped out and looked back at Eu-jin with a sly smile.

“I really enjoyed today, Guide.”

With an unmistakably suggestive glance, Su-ho shut the door behind him.

The Guiding Room fell silent once more. Eu-jin, stunned, muttered under his breath.

“That crazy bastard.”

Just as Eu-jin feared, the rumor spread like wildfire. <<less

“I was taught that giving my life for my master’s honor is my duty.” ... more>>

Leandro Heather, the empire’s greatest knight.

It was Jaynie who had taken the s*ave boy Leandro and made him a knight.

Jaynie, captivated at first sight by the arrogant yet naive boy, had fallen for him completely.

And so, he gave everything to support him. He gave his all, and yet...

Jaynie’s body fell limply onto the sofa, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

He stared upward, his eyes wide open. Leandro stood above him, looking down. Those hands that had let him go—those strong, knightly hands.

Jaynie had always loved those hands.

“There truly wasn’t any significant conversation. But there was one thing His Highness Isota Elma said that stuck with me.”

“……”

“His Highness feared that Master Jaynie might kill him.”

‘Poison?’

Jaynie’s throat and nose felt numb. Something wet was rising from within him. If it wasn’t heat, then what was it?

“How could I stand by while someone I love trembles in fear? Surely, Master Jaynie, you would understand. After all, you’re the one who taught me that love makes people foolish, driving them to commit even the most selfish acts.”

Leandro’s voice seemed distant.

* * *

Jaynie was killed by his knight, Leandro.

And then, he returned to the past.

To the moment when he had first taken in Leandro. <<less

“I don’t need your hand, so f**k off, you son of a b***h.”... more>>

After tasting a bitter defeat in the Champions League final for the second time in his career, Jerim rejects the hand of the opposing team’s striker and previous teammate in the youth academy, Aaron, causing rumors of discord to swirl again.

In truth, their relationship wasn’t good, so it wasn’t just rumors—it really was discord. Since they were in different leagues anyway, he had never been particularly concerned about it.

“Let’s try to get along again, Jerim.”

…Until a month later, when Aaron came to the same club as him via free transfer*.

It was already infuriating enough to be on the same team with the guy who had humiliated him in the recent final, but to make matters worse, that guy happened to be his ex from way back.

And they had broken up in the most terrible way possible.

*Free transfer when a player’s contract has ended and they move to a new club without paying a transfer fee

***

[Benefits for Aaron Reyes if he naturalizes as a Korean]

– Ban Jerim

– Guaranteed number 9 shirt on the national team

– Free penthouse with views to the Han River in a residential complex (excluding management fee)

– Direct delivery of the day’s freshest seafood from Noryangjin Fish Market (once a week, king crab/snow crab once a month)

– Free entry to Lotto World (includes one companion, once a month)

– Free use of public bikes for life

⤷Hmm, isn’t using the bikes for free a bit too much??

⤷Damn, they’re even throwing Jerim in? If I were Aaron, I’d never pass up this opportunity. <<less