Taming the Obsessive Attachment

“Are you out of your mind? Have you completely lost it on purpose? What the hell are you singing right now?”

Seo Eui-woo, this bastard, has his brain rotted or something? It’s not even the sweltering summer—winter is coming—so why the hell has he lost it?

Even as Kwon Jae-jin stared at him in utter shock, Seo Eui-woo just curved his elegant eyes into a smile. He leisurely ran his hand through his wet hair, which was soaked from the water splashed on him. Droplets clung to his long, fine eyelashes like tiny ornaments.

“What’s the matter? I’m not joking. I’m not teasing, either. Kwon Jae-jin, your skin is really soft and chewy.”

“What… the actual… fucking… lunatic…”

“Here, touch it.”

Seo Eui-woo grabbed Jae-jin’s wrist and pulled it toward his own forearm. It felt like touching warm stone.

On the surface, he looked like a peach, but inside, he was a rock.

‘Seo Eui-woo is a hard peach.’

That aside, Jae-jin already knew well that Seo Eui-woo’s body was not just firm but outright hard. They had lived together for years—he didn’t need to touch him to know.

“See? Awakeners go through combat training from a young age, constantly getting injured and healing over and over. Naturally, their skin and bones toughen. They’re nothing like you, Jae-jin, all soft.”

I know. I fucking know.

‘Does he not realize that’s not the point here?’

As someone who had lived his whole life as an ordinary person, no matter how much Jae-jin enjoyed working out or rock climbing, no matter how muscular he was, to Seo Eui-woo, his body was just soft.

Awakeners lived in designated special zones, with little to no interaction with ordinary people. So, Jae-jin, born as a normal human, must have seemed fascinating to Seo Eui-woo. That part, he could understand. But whether it was back then or now, all this baby talk and nonsense still made his skin crawl.

“Then just compare it to something else that’s soft. Stop dragging babies into this. What did those poor kids ever do to deserve this? Don’t you feel bad for them?”

“But Jae-jin, you’re just that cute… all soft and squishy…”

“Shut up. Shut your damn mouth.”

“I love it so much.”

“And what the fuck do you want me to do about that?! Get your damn hands off me. I’ll wash myself, so don’t you dare touch me.”

“Ah, okay, okay, I won’t anymore. Are you mad, Jae-jin? I won’t do it, really, I swear.”

A sudden scuffle broke out.

Kwon Jae-jin shoved Seo Eui-woo away with enough force to keep him from touching him, but Seo Eui-woo just grabbed him with a smile and pulled him into an embrace. He tightened his arms around him, even shifting his full weight to lock him in place. Jae-jin had no choice but to be held still.

‘Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I should’ve learned boxing or jiu-jitsu.’

Not that knowing martial arts would let him beat Seo Eui-woo anyway. The guy could just restrain him with psychokinesis and crush him on the spot. Still, he might’ve at least put up more of a fight than this. The whole situation was pissing him off.

“Listen. I clearly told you, didn’t I? That you are the real child here, Seo Eui-woo.”

“Mm, yeah, you did. I remember perfectly.”

“Then what the hell is this? You know that, so why are you still acting like a brat? Are you giving up on trying to win my favor now?”

“Of course not. I’m doing everything you tell me to, aren’t I? Just say the word. Eui-woo will do whatever you want.”

“Anything… everything…?”

“Yep. Next time we do a guiding session, I’ll lick you even more. I’ll take my time, be extra careful, make it real slow… Mm? Sounds good, right?”

Seo Eui-woo rubbed his lips against Jae-jin’s cheek, then his jaw. All the while, he kept lifting Jae-jin’s arms one by one, scrubbing him down. When he lathered soap under his arms, he lingered on a particular spot, moving way too deliberately.

Jae-jin twitched his toes beneath the water, struggling to endure the ticklish sensation. It felt like Seo Eui-woo was crawling over his skin.

“Ah, right… Speaking of calling me ‘Eui-woo,’ isn’t it about time you told me what’s going on?”

Seo Eui-woo had Jae-jin seated on his lap, cleaning his chest. His firm, well-defined pecs had semen stuck between them—it needed to be washed thoroughly. When he lifted the crease beneath his chest, the underside was still sticky.

Seo Eui-woo kneaded Jae-jin’s chest a bit as he pressed him for answers.

“Tell me. How do you know me? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember anything that makes sense. So how exactly did I become your Eui-woo…?”

He leaned in, murmuring in Jae-jin’s ear. Droplets from his wet hair dripped down, rolling over Jae-jin’s shoulder. Seo Eui-woo followed the trail of water with his gaze.

“Could it have been in some urgent combat situation? That’s the only time I ever meet civilians. When a Gate opens or a creature invades, during rescue operations, we might’ve crossed paths in passing.”

The number of civilians Seo Eui-woo had saved over the years had to be close to ten million. Maybe Jae-jin was just one of them, lost in the countless faces he had encountered. Seo Eui-woo narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. His long, monolid gaze thinned even further before he shook his head.

“Hm, no. That’s definitely not it.”

A sharp, glass-like certainty cut through Seo Eui-woo’s thoughts.

If their encounter had been nothing more than a fleeting moment in a rescue, there was no way he would be Jae-jin’s Eui-woo.

“That’s not the kind of person you are, Jae-jin. You’re stubborn and picky. If I had just saved your life once, there’s no way you’d act all familiar, calling me Eui-woo and whining about me not remembering you.”

For someone who hadn’t known Jae-jin for long, Seo Eui-woo was oddly confident in that assertion.

From his perspective, Jae-jin was an incredibly particular person—unyielding, unwavering. Someone who refused to tolerate anything that strayed from his personal standards.

“Always saying ‘I hate this, I hate that,’ fussing like a baby… Ah, whoops. My bad. But still, all of that is just because you have a set answer in your head. And if I guess the right answer, you don’t actually hate it. I figured that out for sure this time.”

So, the fact that Kwon Jae-jin knew Seo Eui-woo must mean there had been a solid, undeniable bond between them.

“…I’m right, aren’t I?”

Seo Eui-woo’s sleek gray eyes locked onto Jae-jin, scanning him with relentless focus.

He took in every detail, from the foamy lather on Jae-jin’s chest to his well-defined muscles and ribcage, the dip of his navel, the faint hair around his groin, and his lower body submerged in the water. His gaze roamed over pale thighs, bruised knees, and the sharp jut of his ankle bone before stopping at the top of his foot, only to trail back up again.

It felt like his eyes alone could melt skin.

Jae-jin had kept his mouth shut the entire time, but now he exhaled a warm breath and lowered his gaze.

“…A house.”

His quiet voice echoed through the steam-filled bathroom.

As if he had just solved a difficult puzzle after deep contemplation, he repeated himself.

“A house would be nice. A newly built one.”

“…Huh? A house?”

“Just now. You told me to say whatever I wanted. That you’d do anything. I want a new house.”

Jae-jin’s voice was composed, his words slipping out naturally as if they were having a casual conversation.

That was because Seo Eui-woo’s question was something Jae-jin couldn’t answer yet. To respond honestly, he would have to reveal that he had returned to the past. And now was not the time for that.

‘It’s too soon.’

Of course, Jae-jin fully intended to tell the truth someday.

That he had died and come back. That in his first life, he and Seo Eui-woo had been lovers.

It wasn’t something he planned to hide forever. Not that keeping secrets from Seo Eui-woo would even work.

No matter what lies he tried to tell, they wouldn’t hold up in the end. Seo Eui-woo saw through everything. So when the time was right, Jae-jin would come clean and ask for his cooperation.

That time, however, was not now.

‘Even if he did believe me, it wouldn’t be in my favor. I already have enough trouble dealing with him as it is. If he found out about my regression, he’d definitely become even harder to handle.’

Jae-jin could already see the future playing out before him.

“Jae-jin, you were my Guide for four whole years? If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have gone easy on you from the start! You must already be really used to using your healing factor, huh? Right?!”

And he’d say all that with a bright, excited smile—before absolutely wrecking him.

No way in hell.

For now, Jae-jin would keep this secret as long as he could.

Holding onto at least one hidden card was necessary for his own sanity.

‘Maybe after I’ve fixed all three of Seo Eui-woo’s deeply rooted imbalances… then it might be safe to tell him. But who knows when that’ll be.’

Having sorted through his thoughts in an instant, Jae-jin continued his act.

Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face. His voice remained steady, flowing smoothly without the slightest tremor.

He was good at this.

“Think about it, Seo Eui-woo. I have to spend the rest of my life in hiding. If I step outside, I’ll be executed on sight. So at the very least, shouldn’t I be allowed to have some greed when it comes to the place I’ll be trapped in for years?”

“…Ah. When you put it that way, that makes sense.”

Seo Eui-woo leaned back against the tub, stretching out his body in a lazy sprawl.