Ghost Apple

The principal shall not disclose anything about the imprint to ‘Song Jae-woo’. If this clause is violated, the second party reserves the right to nullify the contract and unilaterally terminate it.

Seo Won silently watched as Han-gyeom wrote out the seemingly airtight clause on the contract.

It didn’t sit well with him that Song Jae-woo’s name kept popping up in every newly added condition.

All the more so because he had a good idea of why Cha Han-gyeom was including such terms.

“Annoying.”

The strange surge of possessiveness bubbling in his chest was far from pleasant.

He wasn’t reacting this way because he felt some deep, personal connection to Han-gyeom after only meeting him twice.

What really bothered him was the sense that these emotions were being forcibly stirred up by the imprint.

“If you’re dead, you should’ve stayed quietly dead.”

If his heart had arms, it would’ve torn open his chest and leapt out already—rushing straight at that expressionless Cha Han-gyeom.

That’s how violently his heart had been pounding from the moment they came face-to-face. It was downright troublesome.

Even though Han-gyeom was now completely his, it still felt disgustingly like he was sharing his heart with the deceased.

The silver nib of Han-gyeom’s fountain pen moved toward another clause. At this point, even Seo Won was starting to grow irritated.

“How much more are you going to rewrite?”

“I’m adding the most important part.”

The pen’s elegant strokes scratched smoothly across the paper, producing a pleasant sound.

If a method to replace the second party’s guiding is discovered, either party may unilaterally terminate the contract.

“There’s no such thing as a replacement once the imprint is made.”

Just as Seo Won said, it’s widely accepted that once an Esper is imprinted, they cannot receive guiding from anyone other than the imprinted Guide.

No alternative guiding method has been discovered to this day.

Typically, an imprinted Guide also cannot guide others, though Han-gyeom was the one exception.

Seo Won, who had received guiding from hundreds of Guides since receiving his heart transplant, could vouch for that with certainty.

And of course, everyone already knew there was no way to break the imprint. It didn’t even need to be said.

“Well, you never know.”

Even though it was a universally acknowledged truth among Espers, Han-gyeom didn’t hesitate to put a period at the end of the sentence.

Only after modifying and adding three clauses did he finally set down the pen.

The silver nib, soaked in ink, left a graceful signature next to the name marked as ‘Second Party’—Cha Han-gyeom.

Then, he flipped the contract around and slid it across the table to Seo Won, along with the fountain pen.

“If you agree, then sign it too.”

Even though it was Seo Won who had initially presented the contract, it now felt like Cha Han-gyeom was the one making the offer.

Seo Won slowly read through the lines Han-gyeom had added.

Normally, he would’ve typed up a clean copy before signing. Seo Won preferred things to be neat, and under usual circumstances, Han-gyeom’s handwriting wouldn’t have suited his tastes. But for once, he didn’t mind it.

Perhaps it was because the refined, delicate script seemed to reflect Han-gyeom himself.

So without bothering to type up a fresh version, Seo Won picked up the fountain pen and signed it without hesitation.

Next to his name, a striking, flamboyant signature marked the page.

Immediately after, Seo Won pulled something out—a strap of black leather.

Han-gyeom, having encountered one before, felt his body stiffen instinctively.

“Give me your hand.”

Han-gyeom hesitated for a moment but obediently extended his right hand at Seo Won’s command.

Five years after being freed, the same shackle was once again fastened around his wrist.

The strap wrapped around his wrist reacted instantly, shrinking to fit him perfectly.

A guiding control device registered solely to Seo Won—that’s what it was, and it latched onto Han-gyeom like a personal restraint.

Once he confirmed the device had snugly sealed around the wrist, Seo Won didn’t wait any longer.

“Ugh!”

A fierce grip seized Han-gyeom’s wrist as if intending to crush it.

A sharp response surged from within the device, and the dormant red energy deep in Han-gyeom’s body stirred.

The red energy, forcibly pulled from his wrist, surged straight into Seo Won’s body.

“Ah…!”

Han-gyeom felt like the air had been sucked right out of his lungs.

This was nothing like the well-crafted projections he’d encountered before.

Never in his life had he experienced a passageway this chaotic.

The flow of energy was so violently twisted and tangled that it was impossible to tell where it was going. The red current began to fragment and break apart as it entered.

A delicate lump of crimson flesh was thrown helplessly into a starving pack of wolves, torn apart mercilessly again and again.

It felt like he’d stepped into a pitch-black abyss, as if he were being devoured alive by countless snarling jaws.

The overwhelming violence of the red energy being consumed made every nerve in Han-gyeom’s body snap to high alert.

Had it been a consensual guiding, they would’ve taken their time—carefully refining the entrance, adjusting the pace gradually.

But in this uncontrollable, one-sided extraction, he could do nothing but endure as his energy was shattered and devoured.

All he could do was listen helplessly to the silent screams of his own power being torn apart.

His vision spun, dizziness and nausea closing in, while Seo Won’s hand around his wrist began to tremble violently.

“…Haa…”

A low, heated moan slipped out, closer than before.

Han-gyeom looked at Seo Won through eyes now tinged red from the guiding.

Perhaps suffocating from the heat, Seo Won had undone the buttons of his shirt down to his chest, gasping for breath.

He was there.

The man who’d always been so cold now looked as if he’d been plunged into a scalding bath—his face flushed a deep crimson.

His blue eyes, dazed and unfocused as though intoxicated, trembled without direction.

Seo Won felt like he was on the verge of blacking out from the electric thrill of guiding surging through his grip.

The red current that entered through Han-gyeom’s wrist was too sweet—intoxicatingly so.

It sent shivers down his entire body like he was tasting the most exquisite delicacy, and the heat radiating from every point of contact was almost maddening in its sweetness.

It had been a year since he last tasted proper guiding, but there were many reasons why this sensation surpassed even that.

The sole Guide of the Fourth Ability Analysis Lab.

It was said that there were nearly thirty unregistered Espers held there as test subjects.

That lone Guide had to lead them all—each with wildly different abilities, wave frequencies, and internal passage structures—and bring them to optimal stability.

Even after caring for so many, he still possessed enough red energy—GP—to guide again the next day. That alone bordered on miraculous.

An exceptional guiding sense.

A flexible wavelength capable of adapting to anyone and delivering peak-level guiding.

And an abundant, almost excessive, reserve of GP that left nothing to be desired.

That alone should’ve been enough—but on top of that, he was imprinted.

Addictive.

He’d heard that guiding from an imprinted Guide offered overwhelming pleasure and comfort—something nearing ecstasy.

Back then, he’d dismissed it as nothing more than “pleasant guiding.” Even the projections had only ever reached that level.

But now that he was experiencing it directly, skin to skin—it was a rapture beyond words.

Even though the man before him was the lowest of the low among Guides, someone he found utterly repulsive—Why was his guiding so divinely exquisite?

It’s not enough.

He devoured every drop of red energy flowing from Han-gyeom.

The black passage that should’ve calmly received it instead flared up with fury, lashing out aggressively.

The hand that had been reaching for the mind twisted direction, now lunging with hunger toward the crimson flesh.

More… More…

Seo Won suddenly grabbed Han-gyeom’s collar with his free hand, his fingers twisting tightly in the fabric.

Yanking him forward, Han-gyeom’s pale face was pulled close in an instant.

He just wanted—needed—more contact, even a little.

Like a black serpent devouring live flesh, an uncontrollable desire surged within him to swallow Cha Han-gyeom whole.

“Mmph—!”

By the time Seo Won came to his senses, he had already claimed Han-gyeom’s lips in a deep kiss.

As Han-gyeom’s mouth fell open in shock, Seo Won forced his now feverish tongue inside, plunging in without restraint.

“Hhup—! Ngh—!”

Even while his consciousness scattered from the ruthless extraction of red energy, Han-gyeom still tried to pull away.

But Seo Won had him by the collar with such unrelenting force, it was impossible to escape.

“Ugh, what are you—! Mmph, nn…!”

The kiss was so violent, so suffocating, he couldn’t even speak—barely even breathe.

The tongue that forced its way into his mouth roamed recklessly, as if beyond control.

At first, it moved quickly and meticulously, as if mapping out every detail of Han-gyeom’s mouth.

It slid along his even row of teeth before slipping further in, tapping against each sensitive spot. Every time, the corners of Han-gyeom’s eyes twitched in response.

Seo Won wrapped his tongue tightly around Han-gyeom’s, grinding and twisting until he had it locked.

Then he sucked, as if trying to pull it all into his own mouth, drawing a soft moan from deep in Han-gyeom’s throat.

He then spread his tongue wide, licking across the roof of Han-gyeom’s mouth until the sounds spilling out grew breathy and sweet.

He’d never cared for anyone’s moans before—not women’s, not men’s.

But this time, the sound was so damn arousing, he couldn’t help himself.