Taming the Obsessive Attachment

As the alcohol wore off, his mind cleared. The moment Kwon Jae-jin saw his bound arms, he realized what had happened and let out a sigh.

‘…I fucked up.’

Both his wrists were shackled.

The handcuffs were lined with lambskin to prevent injury, and a long chain of pure silver extended from them. The chain snaked across the bed and ran all the way to the bedroom wall. A solidly driven bolt secured the cuffs in place. When he pulled on them, they clinked with a sharp rattling sound.

‘Ha. He even gagged me.’

His restraints didn’t stop at his hands. His mouth was also blocked—probably to keep him from biting his tongue. A rod was wedged between his upper and lower teeth, fastened in place by a leather strap wrapped tightly around his head.

‘If I’m going to clear up the misunderstanding, I need to talk… but I can’t say a damn word like this. Fuck.’

He had told Seo Eui-woo that he had something important to say, that he would explain everything, yet Eui-woo hadn’t listened. He had just tied him up. It felt unfair. But looking at it from Eui-woo’s perspective, Jae-jin had set a fire out of nowhere and then protested against erasing his memory. Not to mention, he had almost thrown himself off the rooftop… It made sense that Eui-woo was shaken.

‘Even so, could he not at least hear me out? Does he really think I did all that without a reason? Besides, so what if I set a fire? We were moving out anyway. What’s a little burning…?’

Would he believe it if Jae-jin said he did it in a drunken fit of rage?

At the time, for some reason, he’d felt like everything would be solved the moment he saw Seo Eui-woo’s face. He hadn’t cared about the circumstances—he just wanted to call him out, face him directly, and talk.

Maybe, in the end, he had simply missed him.

Eui-woo hadn’t come home in six whole days. Jae-jin had been anxious. He couldn’t bring himself to sit alone in that vast house and wait until Eui-woo finished his mission and returned.

‘And now, I’m back in handcuffs in the second life too…’

The only consolation was that his memory was still intact. Though that could change at any moment if Eui-woo decided otherwise. He had to convince him before things went south.

‘Ha… How did things get so twisted? I thought my second life would be easy mode, but it’s just as much of a hard mode as before. What the hell happened to the difficulty settings?’

Jae-jin let out an exhausted sigh and slumped his shoulders. Releasing all tension from his body, he lay still on the bed.

This moment felt crucial. How he reacted when Seo Eui-woo returned would determine his entire future.

Jae-jin ran through various possible scenarios in his head as he waited. He stared blankly at the ceiling before lowering his gaze to his own body—his clothes were scorched from the fire and soaked with water.

A chill crept over him.

He hadn’t noticed it when he was flushed with alcohol, but now that he was sober, the cold was seeping into his bones. Not only had he been drenched, but he’d also stood in the autumn sea breeze. It wouldn’t be surprising if he ended up catching a cold.

‘Unbelievable…’

Jae-jin let out a small, breathy laugh and shook his bound wrists. The silver chains clinked against each other with a crisp sound. Some time later, a flicker of light rippled through the air. A presence approached—Seo Eui-woo had emerged from the sterile transfer chamber and was heading straight for the room. Without hesitation, he swung the bedroom door open.

“It took longer than I expected. Did you wait patiently?”

Eui-woo looked utterly wrecked. There must have been a lot to take care of. Now that Jae-jin saw him up close, his clothes were in rough shape. His combat uniform had a deep tear across the chest, and his back was tattered, full of gaping holes.

Through his disheveled collar, the elegant line of Eui-woo’s neck was visible. From his neck to his ear, a severe wound stretched across his skin. It was large enough that his ear could have been completely severed. However, he must have injected a healing factor—new flesh was slowly forming, knitting the wound together.

He let out a dry chuckle and perched himself on the edge of the bed. His long thighs spread slightly as he settled into place, taking deep, measured breaths. It seemed like he needed a moment to rest. He must have been exhausted.

“I was in such a rush that I forgot to hook up a catheter before leaving. Did you need to use the bathroom?”

Jae-jin slowly shook his head.

“That’s a relief. Then let’s get these clothes off you first.”

Since they were soaked through.

Eui-woo bit down on the leather glove he had been wearing and pulled it off, then reached toward Jae-jin. The damp fabric clung to Jae-jin’s body, outlining the shape of his muscles. Eui-woo unfastened the buckle on his pants with unhurried fingers and slid down the zipper. Gripping both the pants and briefs together, he peeled them down, rolling them neatly as he pulled them off.

He did the same with the shirt, rolling it up, but the cuffs caught on the chains, making it impossible to remove completely. Without hesitation, Eui-woo tore the T-shirt apart. The white fabric split cleanly along the seams and shredded in two.

“It’s cold from being wet. Are you freezing?”

This time, Jae-jin gave a slight nod.

Eui-woo placed his hands on Jae-jin’s body to check his temperature—touching the nape of his neck, then his cheek. As his palm moved to press against Jae-jin’s forehead, Jae-jin flinched and instinctively turned his head away.

Eui-woo blinked. A sharp glint flickered in his gray eyes.

“…You’re being a little too obvious.”

Gripping Jae-jin’s head, he threaded his fingers through his hair, locking them in place. Then, with deliberate intent, he pressed his palm against Jae-jin’s forehead. After a brief pause, he let go.

“I told you, I won’t erase it.”

“……”

“No, wait. Is it because you don’t trust me? Well, I suppose that makes sense. You wouldn’t believe me now.”

“……”

“But still, Jae-jin… Don’t hate me too much.”

Jae-jin hesitated before slowly nodding.

Seeing that, Eui-woo let out a hollow chuckle.

“What’s this now? This isn’t like you, Jae-jin.”

“……”

“Are you regretting it now that you’re tied up? Do you want me to let it slide again? Pretend like nothing happened, set you free, and just… go back to trying to win you over like before? Is that what you want?”

Jae-jin lowered his gaze, as if deep in thought.

Then, he shook his head.

Eui-woo let out another hollow laugh.

“You’re impossible. I really have no idea what’s going through that head of yours. Sometimes, I just want to crack it open and take a look inside. …It’d be nice if I had telepathy.”

Eui-woo gathered the damp clothes and replaced the sheets and blankets with fresh ones. While he tidied up the bed, Jae-jin hovered slightly in the air, suspended by Eui-woo’s ability. Once everything was set, he gently lowered him back down.

“Now, spread your legs. I’m putting in the catheter.”

Jae-jin didn’t move. He simply stared at Eui-woo, expression blank. When he remained uncooperative, Eui-woo placed his hands on Jae-jin’s knees and pushed them apart. Jae-jin scowled, making no effort to hide his displeasure.

So he really was going through with it.

Of course, all Awakened were trained in basic medical knowledge and procedures, in case they found themselves in battle without healing factors. Once inside a Gate, they had to survive with limited supplies until they could destroy the Gate Core and escape. Treating injuries, performing emergency care, and even nursing unconscious teammates were crucial survival skills.

It wasn’t surprising that Eui-woo knew how to handle a sterile catheter. What was shocking was how disturbingly proficient he was at it. Still, no matter how skilled he was, the idea of having a silicone tube shoved into his dick was beyond unpleasant.

Guiding was different—Eui-woo would always be the one getting excited, practically vibrating with joy, which somehow made it easier for Jae-jin to stay calm. But this… This was nothing like that.

This time, Jae-jin was the only one affected. Eui-woo remained composed while Jae-jin was the one reacting. That imbalance pissed him off.

Fuck. Just—fuck this shit…

Jae-jin gritted his teeth and shook his head furiously. The tips of his ears burned red.

Eui-woo, who had been pulling on a pair of sterile disposable gloves, glanced up at him. As he slipped his hands into the gloves, he asked in a flat tone,

“You don’t want this? Should I stop?”

Jae-jin nodded.

“Of course. I know you wouldn’t enjoy this… I get it.”

Still positioned between Jae-jin’s legs, Eui-woo abruptly tore open the sterile catheter packaging and popped the cap off a saline bottle. His movements were slightly rougher than before.

“Alright. I’ll ask one last time.”

With one hand, he grasped Jae-jin’s length, pulling back the soft skin with his thumb to fully expose the urethral opening. If this were Guiding, he would’ve touched him barehanded—but with the thin latex of the gloves, the sensation felt different.

He aligned the tip of the catheter with the small slit. The soft, transparent silicone tube lightly tapped against the sensitive flesh, making Jae-jin flinch and tense his abdomen.

“…Why don’t we just erase your memories and go back to how things were?”

Jae-jin violently shook his head.

“Why not? We were happy, weren’t we? Just this once, let me erase it.”

Jae-jin kept shaking his head.

“…Ha.”

Eui-woo let out a breathy, almost defeated sigh. His voice lowered into a whisper.

“Jae-jin… What the hell do you even think I am to you?”

Jae-jin stilled.

Eui-woo’s lips barely moved as he murmured,

“I’m your Esper. The only thing I ever want is to touch you. Do you even realize that…? Is that such an impossible desire to understand?”

“……”