Taming the Obsessive Attachment

“Are you hungry? Why are you eating so fast?”

Seo Eui-woo lightly tapped Kwon Jae-jin’s puffed-out cheek with his fingertip. Jae-jin frowned, glaring at him before picking up a piece of rolled omelet with his chopsticks.

The golden-brown omelet was absolutely delicious. The layers of soft, fluffy egg wrapped around the salty burst of pollock roe created an exquisite texture. Jae-jin picked up another piece and popped it into his mouth.

Seo Eui-woo pulled his chair closer, sitting right next to Jae-jin. The proximity was almost uncomfortably close. Resting his chin on his hand, he stared intently at Jae-jin’s profile, his gaze so blatant that its meaning was impossible to miss.

‘…I’ll let it slide. Tsk.’

Jae-jin let out a silent sigh and casually extended his left hand. His right hand was busy using the utensils, so this was all he could offer. Seo Eui-woo’s eyes widened like a puppy receiving a surprise treat.

“Oh.”

“This is what you came for, isn’t it? I can spare at least one hand.”

After hesitating for a few seconds, Eui-woo slowly took Jae-jin’s outstretched hand. He clasped their palms together, intertwining their fingers tightly. As if that wasn’t enough, he even pressed his face against the back of Jae-jin’s hand.

It was as if Jae-jin’s left hand had been locked inside a box.

The bottom was blocked by Eui-woo’s palm, the sides were held firm by their interlaced fingers, and the top was pressed against his face.

“Jae-jin… you really eat well, don’t you…?”

Seo Eui-woo pressed a kiss to the back of Jae-jin’s hand, then slowly dragged his tongue over it.

“Turns out it’s not the food, but the act of eating that you like…?”

Jae-jin took a sip of stew broth to cleanse his palate before grabbing a piece of butter-grilled abalone. It was chewy, rich, and downright amazing. The cooking wine had completely erased any fishy smell. Unable to shake off old habits, Jae-jin picked up a piece of abalone and held it out to Eui-woo.

But instead of taking the food, Eui-woo simply flicked his gray eyes upward, gazing at Jae-jin. He looked a thousand times more interested in licking the back of Jae-jin’s hand than eating the plump abalone.

“Not hungry?”

“I don’t want it.”

Seeing the same clear, empty eyes that showed not even a hint of appetite, Jae-jin put down his chopsticks.

Seo Eui-woo’s imbalance could be summed up in three major issues.

The first imbalance: Insomnia.

The second imbalance was disordered eating—specifically, a lack of appetite.

As evident, Seo Eui-woo didn’t eat. No matter what food was placed before him, he showed little interest, frequently skipped meals, and yet drank himself numb while barely sustaining himself on combat rations and dried food, kept alive only by his healing factor. But soon enough, that way of living would become nothing more than a distant memory.

People were meant to eat their fill and sleep somewhere warm. Even a beast could be tamed if it was well-fed and given a proper place to rest. The only reason he was so twisted was because he wasn’t eating or sleeping properly. If those needs were met, he’d fall into place easily.

Lately, thanks to curling up beside Kwon Jae-jin at night, he seemed to be getting some sleep, at least. But who knew when he’d finally start eating properly?

“You don’t eat, you don’t sleep… How the hell have you been surviving all this time?”

“By pretending to be fine.”

Muttering softly, Seo Eui-woo pressed a deep kiss to the back of Jae-jin’s hand. His lips trailed along the blue veins, fingertips tracing over the protruding bones as he kissed each knuckle in turn, as if savoring the taste.

“Fortunately, I was quick to adapt. Even back in the Center, I pretended to be okay. Pretended to eat and sleep like everyone else… If I hadn’t, I would’ve been discarded long ago.”

“Even though you were the first Esper to receive an S-rank classification?”

“Because I was the first S-rank Esper. All the more reason.”

Dangerous, isn’t it?

Seo Eui-woo’s muffled voice was slurred against Jae-jin’s skin.

He was an Esper with an overwhelmingly powerful ability, one so immense that unless an S-rank Guide to match him emerged, his risk of going berserk remained significantly high.

A being too powerful, too unstable.

“When I was young and stupid, I used to hope that my Guide would be born soon. But at some point, I gave up. Instead of waiting around, I had to prove myself.”

“…Prove yourself?”

“That Seo Eui-woo could fight without proper Guiding. That any deficiencies could be compensated for with medication. That Seo Eui-woo was useful. If I hadn’t deceived everyone around me and convinced those in charge, I would’ve been dead.”

“That… isn’t that just wrong?”

“What is?”

Seo Eui-woo, who had been completely absorbed in worshiping Jae-jin’s left hand, slowly lifted his head.

His darkened gaze gleamed, his breath coming a little harsher now.

“That there wasn’t a single person to help you.”

“Even if there had been, it wouldn’t have mattered. The only one who can truly help an Esper is their matching Guide.”

“…”

“I didn’t have a Guide back then. But now, I have you, Jae-jin. And that’s enough.”

“…”

“So… these days, all I think about is Guiding. When I can’t see you, I get anxious, restless. Every minute, every second, I want to know what you’re doing, where you are. I want to see you, touch you, lick you, fuck you—”

Seo Eui-woo whispered with a voice laced with unrestrained intensity.

At some point, the dishes on the table had begun to tremble.

The neatly arranged setup had become slightly disordered, and a side dish bowl teetered precariously on the table’s edge. Just as it was about to slip off, Jae-jin calmly reached out and caught it.

“I keep salivating because I want to suck on your tongue, Jae-jin… I keep getting hard out of nowhere, and it’s a constant struggle to get it back down… Honestly, I just want to spread your thighs right now and shove mine deep inside. What do I do…?”

Placing the side dish back in a safe spot, Jae-jin resumed his meal with composed indifference, even as the table shook as if in an earthquake.

He split a perfectly cooked, fluffy new potato in half and ate it. Then, scooping up the last grains of rice from his bowl, he put them neatly into his mouth.

“No, actually… I want to keep myself inside you, twenty-four hours a day. Would that be so bad? That night, maybe I really should’ve just cuffed you no matter what… I kind of regret holding back. Then again, I think I did well to restrain myself… Ah, whatever. I don’t know. I feel like I’ve gone insane.”

Left unchecked, the clattering of dishes grew worse.

Water sloshed over the rim of a glass, side dishes were jostled out of place. At this point, it was no longer a situation conducive to eating.

Jae-jin put down his utensils and pressed his fingers to his forehead. His left hand was still trapped in Seo Eui-woo’s grasp, rendering it immobile.

“Seo Eui-woo. Please. Calm the hell down.”

Guiding, guiding—he kept going on about guiding!

Jae-jin shuddered in exasperation before snapping.

“Fine. Yes, guiding. Let’s do it. I’ll fucking do it.”

His glare practically threw daggers. But even under the sharpness of Jae-jin’s gaze, Seo Eui-woo simply smiled, utterly unbothered.

“Really? Right now?”

“Not now. I need to finish my meal first, so wait an hour.”

“An hour…”

“What’s with that face? What, you can’t wait?”

“An hour is too long. Does it really take that long just to eat…?”

“Because eating isn’t the only thing. I have to clear the table, wash the dishes, and brush my teeth. That’ll take about an hour.”

“Then if I clear the table, if I do the dishes, if I even brush your teeth for you—then it won’t take an hour, right?”

“What… No, wait, what?”

Jae-jin shot him a baffled look.

“Setting the rest aside, why the hell would you brush my teeth?”

But Seo Eui-woo was relentless.

At some point, a toothbrush from the bathroom had floated into his grasp as if summoned. The toothpaste cap twisted open by itself, squeezing out the perfect amount onto the bristles. A cool minty scent filled the air.

“I want to do it myself.”

“…”

“Huh? Jae-jin. Let me do it for you.”

“Ha…”

If he refused, Seo Eui-woo might just flip the entire table. No, worse—he might snap from impatience and pin him down on the spot. Rather than dealing with someone who had completely lost control…

Jae-jin swallowed a sigh and gave a small nod.

His pitch-black eyes carried a quiet resignation.

“…Well. If I had to choose between getting my mouth stuffed with a cock while eating and getting my teeth brushed while eating, the latter is the better option.”

Was this… progress?

Could he consider this an improvement compared to last time?

He had already eaten his fill of braised short ribs anyway. Overeating would only make his stomach uncomfortable, so perhaps stopping here was for the best.

“Seo Eui-woo, you really are a fucking bastard. Just so you know.”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go with ‘fucking bastard.'”

“I didn’t mean you should go with it. I meant you are one.”

“But you like me, don’t you?”

“What?”

The question shot out before he could stop it, and Seo Eui-woo responded with a soft smile, his gentle eyes curving playfully. His flawless cheeks were once again flushed, like ripened peaches.

“You’re only doing this guiding thing now because you do like me. You said you wouldn’t do it by force.”

“…”

“I hit the mark, didn’t I?”

“…Don’t fool yourself. You’ve got a long way to go before I actually start liking you.”

As always, Seo Eui-woo’s hair was parted to the left.

Jae-jin yanked his trapped hand free and reached out, sweeping Seo Eui-woo’s hair in the opposite direction. He pressed down on the roots, smoothing it over repeatedly so it wouldn’t fall back to its original parting.