“Argh!”

Dull sounds of flesh tearing and screams echoed through the smoke, indicating the attack had been successful.

The agency had planted someone in AGT, and that person had leaked information. They had planned their operation based on that information. But the fact that they still encountered them meant there was someone in the agency passing information to AGT.

‘Perhaps we ran into each other this time due to some confusion.’

If the opponent had come prepared for a fight, they wouldn’t have been caught off guard like this.

Bang!

Black smoke instantly filled the dungeon. Though the smoke stung their eyes, they couldn’t afford to let their guard down, maintaining tension even as their eyes reddened.

No one moved carelessly until the smoke cleared. When visibility was somewhat restored, Ju-eon first looked for Myung-hwon. Myung-hwon’s condition, leaning against the wall, looked concerning. Ju-eon ran over without even thinking about checking his surroundings.

“Huff… huff….”

The smell of burning intensified with each rough breath.

“Myung-hwon!”

“Woo Ju-eon, don’t move recklessly!”

He couldn’t stop despite No-hun’s words. Seeing Ju-eon like this, No-hun rubbed his forehead. Even to him, Myung-hwon’s condition looked concerning. He grabbed Myung-hwon’s wrist. His pulse was beating irregularly.

As if resigned to the fact that Ju-eon had already gone, No-hun turned to give orders to the other team members.

“Search quickly.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Compared to Myung-hwon, Ju-eon’s guiding was one class lower. They say S-class guides can guide just by holding hands, but not Ju-eon. Especially when Myung-hwon suddenly used too much power and was about to go berserk. There was no choice then. He had to use the most efficient method.

“Myung-hwon.”

Ju-eon stood on his tiptoes and grabbed the back of Myung-hwon’s neck to guide him. Though his hand felt like it would burn from touching the hot skin, Ju-eon didn’t stop.

Myung-hwon moved obediently like a tamed beast, following Ju-eon’s lead. As Myung-hwon’s head lowered and his scent pierced Ju-eon’s nose, their lips met.

Tch.

A moist flesh parted between heat-soaked lips. When Ju-eon’s tongue traced the inside of Myung-hwon’s cheek, Myung-hwon’s hands grabbed Ju-eon’s waist, pulling their bodies together. As their bodies locked together without any gap, Myung-hwon began to ravage Ju-eon’s mouth. The refreshing energy he tasted after long deprivation was enough to make Myung-hwon lose his reason.

“Hnng…”

Ju-eon endured. Though the aftermath of his ability stung his skin, he bore it.

Myung-hwon’s other hand traced Ju-eon’s back. His fingers ran up along the spine. The intense pleasure and heat made his mind blur to the point of forgetting where they were.

That’s when it happened.

“Ugh.”

Ju-eon let out a low moan at the sudden chest pain.

Ju-eon tensed his body and swallowed the pain. But the sound, clearly different from his natural moans, instantly brought focus back to Myung-hwon’s hazy eyes. Myung-hwon grabbed both of Ju-eon’s shoulders and pushed him away.

“Myung-hwon. You’re still not okay.”

Myung-hwon stared at Ju-eon for a moment. His lips moved as if wanting to say something, but only briefly.

“What’s the situation?”

Myung-hwon turned to ask No-hun, who was commanding the situation.

“No bodies found.”

Meaning they hadn’t killed them. Myung-hwon frowned and let out a sigh. Ju-eon grabbed the hem of Myung-hwon’s clothes.

“Should we leave first?”

Myung-hwon hated showing weakness in front of others. Though he had calmed enough to regain his senses, he wasn’t completely stable yet. At Ju-eon’s suggestion, Myung-hwon whispered quietly enough for only Ju-eon to hear.

“Don’t step forward to guide anymore.”

“…What?”

When Myung-hwon glanced to the side, Ho-yun, who had been watching them nearby, came running over.

“I should have come faster, I’m sorry.”

Ju-eon wanted to ask more about what Myung-hwon meant but couldn’t. Ho-yun apologized while taking Myung-hwon’s hand as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“This kind of thing doesn’t usually happen. And Myung-hwon sometimes takes medicine…”

“Yes.”

His tone suggested that Ju-eon had done Ho-yun’s job for him. A clear line was drawn in front of Ju-eon.

“Let’s go for now. We need to decide what to do here.”

Myung-hwon, who had instantly regained his normal complexion thanks to Ju-eon’s guiding, brushed past Ju-eon.

**

Kang No-hun chose safety over greed. Their greatest power had nearly gone berserk. He had used excessive force in response to the sudden situation. The risk was too high to aim for clearing from here. If Ho-yun had been a more experienced guide, it might have been different, but withdrawal was the best option for now.

The agency agreed with Attack Team 1’s judgment and decided to take a grace period. The dungeon they had visited today was pushed down the priority list as they needed to investigate how the AGT team had arrived at the dungeon so quickly and how they had entered while avoiding the collection team’s eyes.

“Team Leader.”

“It gives me the creeps when you call me that. What?”

“Shouldn’t we have a team dinner today?”

Only after returning to the office could everyone finally relax. No-hun frowned at Ji-woo’s question, who seemed to have completely let go of his tension.

“Is team dinner all you think about?”

“We almost died just now, what dinner?”

When Yun-jin chimed in, Ji-woo cried out as if wronged.

“That’s why we should live each day without regrets!”

“This crazy bastard. Not thinking about more training.”

“We were in real danger. I heard there were about four of them tracking us.”

Ju-eon took a sip of water while watching the office become noisy.

‘Oh.’

Against his will, the hand holding the cup trembled uncontrollably. He clenched his fist to hide the trembling, but it wouldn’t calm easily.

Bang!

The office door burst open. Attack Team 1, already on edge from their ordeal, showed their displeasure openly at the person who roughly opened the door.

“Woo Ju-eon!”

But the person called out Ju-eon’s name loudly, as if none of that mattered.

“Yun-jae?”

As Ju-eon’s eyes widened, Yun-jae strode over to stand in front of him, showing clear anger.

“You… ha….”

“What’s wrong?”

“You call that a question? What’s wrong?”

His voice rose, unlike the Yun-jae that Ju-eon knew. His chest heaved up and down as if he had run here in a hurry.

“…Ah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“…Let’s talk outside.”

Ju-eon finally realized what Yun-jae wanted to talk about. There was only one thing he could be reproached for not telling. Though he didn’t know how Yun-jae had found out so quickly, the fortunate thing was that Yun-jae, not Myung-hwon, had found out first.

‘I thought the agency wouldn’t receive any information during the confidentiality period….’

It seemed the hospital had already passed Ju-eon’s information to the agency. That would explain why Yun-jae had accessed the information first. Kang Yun-jae, who worked in research, must have had some reason to view his information. Kang Yun-jae was one of the agency’s key researchers. There was almost no information classified too high for him to access.

“What are you talking about?”

Myung-hwon stepped between Yun-jae and Ju-eon. Though Yun-jae was initially Ju-eon’s friend, he was now Myung-hwon’s friend too. It was natural since the two shared everything in their lives.

Myung-hwon also sensed that Yun-jae was uncharacteristically agitated. Kang Yun-jae’s face crumpled mercilessly at Myung-hwon’s calm attitude. Ju-eon looked at Yun-jae with desperate eyes and shook his head.

“Ha… never mind. Let’s talk outside.”

Yun-jae roughly ran his hand through his hair. His gaze at Ju-eon was sharp, apparently quite frustrated.

“Myung-hwon. It’s nothing. We just had a small argument on the phone. That day when you were busy. Right, Yun-jae?”

“……”

“I missed the timing to apologize.”

“…Yeah.”

“Team Leader. I’m sorry. I’ll be away for a moment.”

When Ju-eon bowed politely, Kang No-hun, who had been watching the sudden situation, awkwardly said, “Uh, sure.”

“Let’s talk outside.”

“You… really…”

“Please.”

Though he wanted to be angry at the person who had caused a scene in someone else’s office, the other party was a researcher who had the agency’s full support. A talented individual already on a smooth path despite his young age.

“Senior. I have something I want to ask.”

As Myung-hwon turned toward the door, Ho-yun approached him affectionately and stopped him.

“Later.”

Myung-hwon roughly knocked away Ho-yun’s hand as it tried to grab his clothes, as if annoyed.

“Shouldn’t you pay more attention to me since I’ll be the one working with you on the same team from now on?”

Ho-yun smiled slightly. There was no way Myung-hwon wouldn’t understand the hidden meaning in these words. And how effective they would be on him.

Myung-hwon’s steps toward the door stopped.

**

Throughout following Yun-jae, people they met in the corridor greeted him warmly.

“Aren’t you going to greet them? You’re quite popular.”

“……”

“I heard rumors that you might be the next research director.”