---
The silence stretched like a wire about to snap.
I opened my mouth. Closed it and opened it again.
Nothing.
"Cat got your tongue?" Taehyun's smirk widened, fixing the shattered windows casually with the wave of his hand.
He stepped closer.
'Ground swallow me now'
[Even the ground can't save you from this one, Host]
'I'll delete you!'
[You can't dummy]
Idesperately tried to connect the dots in my newly transferred memories.
'No shit..'
The Esper-Guide Co-habitation Act of 2024. >
Because of Taehyun's dangerously unstable S-class status and our freakishly high matching rate, the government had literally forced us under the same roof. I was legally contracted to be his live-in punching bag and rechargeable battery.
Taehyun stopped right in front of me, his shadow completely towered over my slender frame.
He reached out, his cool fingers pinching my chin, forcing my wide eyes up to meet his mismatched ones.
"You've been begging to move into this penthouse for six months, Hanseong," he murmured, his thumb brushing over my lips. The same lips that had just aggressively attacked his a minute ago.
"You finally get your clearance, you unpack your bags, and the first thing you do is kiss me and tell me to get out of my own house?"
His eyes darkened with deep suspicion. "What kind of game are you playing now?"
I slapped his hand away, glaring at him.
"First things first, don't touch me without my permission unless it's a guiding emergency"
[Wow, a job well done host]
'Why thank you'
[Look at him you idiot]
Taehyun's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
I crossed my arms, trying to hold my ground.
"It means, unless you're on the verge of becoming insane. You cannot and will not be allowed to touch me"
"Hanseong..." his voice dropped to a low whisper it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
[Only your neck hairs? Very interesting host.]
'Shut it!'
"Y-yes?"
"Did the organisation send you?"
"What organisation?"
He snapped.
The warmth disappeared from his face instantly.
"Don't play dumb with me." His large hand closed around my neck, lifting me off the ground before my brain could process what happened.
[I think host might be involved in a misunderstanding]
'YOU THINK?!'
My hands flew to his wrist, but his S-class skin felt iron-clad beneath my fingers. The dark energy he emitted crushed the air from my lungs.
He wasn't just suspicious, he was ready to snap my neck at any moment.
"For six months you clung to me" His grip tightened.
I clawed at his wrist, trying to kick him away.
*BZZZT*
Taehyun stilled. His phone vibrated violently in his pocket.
His face hardened.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket.
Park Hae-rin written in bold.
*beep*
He answered the call without putting me down.
"Get your ass over here now Lee Taehyun!"
"Why?"
His grip on my neck loosened slightly allowing me to breathe better.
A small explosion echoed from the other side of the phone.
[Well, looks like South Korea is having a normal Tuesday]
'Now is not the time...'
"An S-class gate opened right here on Jeju island, I need you now!"
"Got it, I'll be there in one minute"
Taehyun ended the call, his attention returned to me.
"You're coming with me"
[DING!]
[New Quest unlocked: survive host...]
[ Please survive]
"Absolutely not—"
***
A wave of nausea hit me as we appeared on the once beautiful but now ruined Island. The sleek walls of the multi-million-dollar penthouse vanished in a flash of blinding, distorted light, replaced instantly by a freezing, violent gust of wind that smelled heavily of sulfur, smoke.
My bare feet hit the uneven rocky ground.
My knees buckled immediately. I tumbled into the dirt.
"Ugh... Fuck" I groaned as I rubbed my bruised neck.
I blinked through the ash and my jaw dropped.
A massive vortex of uneven black energy hung in the sky. Alarms were blaring in the distance, overshadowed by the deafening, monstrous roars echoing from inside the rift.
Searchlights swept across fields of jagged rocks, illuminating military blockades and heavily armored figures scrambling into defensive positions.
Jeju island. An active S-class gate.
[DING!]
[Location Synced: Jeju Island Sector 4 — S-class Catastrophe Zone.]
[Host's Survival Probability: 7.2%]
[Providing suitable protective measures for host against the violent radiation rays]
'Alright, cool'
[ERROR!]
[PROTECTION FAILED]
'Noo'
[Retrying protection measures]
A small protective bubble appeared around me and I sighed in relief.
'Thanks'
[Umm... That wasn't me Host]
'Then who was it?!'
[Esper Lee Taehyun]
My eyes snapped to the figure standing a few feet ahead of me.
Taehyun stood still as the violent gust of wind hit him, his gorgeous jet Black hair whipped across his face. His mismatched eyes stared up at the vortex with a maniacal smile. His suffocating pressure was suddenly vibrating at a very high frequency responding to the chaos of the gate.
"Lee Taehyun you're late!" A sharp booming voice cut through all the noise.
A woman with a high-tech bow slung across her back and glowing silver armor stepped over the debris. Her sharp eyes scanned the area before they landed on me.
Park Hae-rin, The top ranked S-class Archer Esper.
Her brows furrowed in confusion followed by disgust.
"Why the hell did you bring your stalker to an active S-class battlefield?!'
[*gasp* she did not!]
'Oh she did'
"Mind your business Hae-rin" Taehyun answered not turning his back.
Hae-rin blinked once.
Then she pointed at me dramatically.
"Taehyun, be serious."
Her voice dropped lower
"Did you kidnap him?"
I froze. My eyes met hers.
Taehyun remained silent.
Hae-rin's eyes widened.
"...YOU DID?!"
---