Ghost Apple

There exists something in Espers’ bodies called the E-Neuron (ESP Neuron). These are unique nerve cells found only in Espers, forming invisible pathways that can’t be seen with the naked eye.

A Guide’s guiding ability travels along these unseen neurons. Each of the Esper’s cells and their brain receives this flow as a mix of chemical and electrical signals. The result is a pleasurable stimulation, and the previously tense pathways begin to relax and grow languid. At this moment, the red energy known as GP—capable of uniquely penetrating the E-Neurons—gently soothes the passageways and restores them to their original form. This process is called Guiding.

However, Seo Won sensed that there was something subtly different about Han-gyeom’s Guiding compared to the ones he had received frequently before getting his heart transplant. It wasn’t just the power of the Imprint—it was something more fundamental. The structure of E-Neurons varies from one Esper to another, but Han-gyeom was able to intuit the correct paths with astonishing clarity after just a single pass through them. He gently smoothed over Seo Won’s Black Veins, reshaping them to their proper, original form.

Ordinary Guiding merely sends red energy coursing down each pathway. But Han-gyeom’s handling of GP was on a completely different level—it was impossibly delicate, far beyond what others could imitate.

Seo Won shuddered as if his entire body was being caressed. He couldn’t keep his hands still. The black pathways, intoxicated by the blissful haze, clamored for more intense stimulation. As much as the gentle and meticulous Guiding was pleasurable, it wasn’t enough. He craved something fiercer—beyond the tingling ecstasy, he wanted a pleasure so overwhelming it felt like an addiction.

Seo Won’s arms wrapped around Han-gyeom’s waist. Their chests and stomachs pressed together perfectly, and at the same time, Seo Won’s intense desire for deeper Guiding locked Han-gyeom in place, holding him so tightly he couldn’t move an inch.

The delicate red energy that had been flowing steadily was suddenly sucked violently into Seo Won’s body. At that moment, the previously dormant black energy surged forward as if to attack. Han-gyeom threw his head back, once again feeling the unsettling sensation of his GP being devoured.

“Ah! Wait, just—!”

He was swept away, his mind going blank for a moment. The red energy tracing the pathways was crushed, unable to resist. It couldn’t escape—it was consumed entirely. And even after devouring it all so mercilessly, it still wasn’t enough. The black pathways howled, demanding more.

Han-gyeom’s hand, which had been resting on Seo Won’s shoulder, trembled. It wasn’t there for Guiding anymore—he needed it just to stay upright, or he’d collapse. Maybe it was because there was more skin contact than the day before, but it felt like a much larger amount of energy was being sucked out. Seo Won’s body radiated heat from it.

Just as Han-gyeom had done earlier, this time Seo Won’s lips touched the curve of his neck.

“Keep going.”

“H-Hold on, how am I supposed to like this—ah…”

Han-gyeom’s body jolted hard. It felt like a needle had been stabbed into his neck—sharp and sudden. To Han-gyeom, it was nothing more than a jolt of pain, but for Seo Won, it was clearly something else entirely. Seo Won’s now burning tongue traced over the teeth marks with greedy strokes.

Not just the spot where he’d been bitten—every place their bodies touched flared up with forced red energy. That rising energy was immediately and mercilessly drawn into Seo Won’s body. The overwhelming sensation of his stamina being drained without any means of control made Han-gyeom feel like every inch of him was buzzing endlessly. He had to endure it.

“Haa… Cha Han-gyeom…”

Seo Won lifted his head and looked up at him. Watching Han-gyeom flinch and struggle to breathe reminded him of yesterday’s Guiding. Even just holding his wrist had felt good, but the kiss—that had been particularly euphoric. Guiding efficiency naturally increases with the Esper and Guide’s shared positive emotions and arousal.

But truthfully, Seo Won didn’t give a damn about positive emotions. He didn’t have the time, interest, or need to care about fostering that kind of sentiment. Above all, the idea of slowly building an emotional connection like he was studying for a test was laughable.

Because there was a faster, far more efficient method.

Seo Won slipped his hand under Han-gyeom’s shirt.

“What the—! Mmph!”

Seo Won propped up Han-gyeom’s back with one hand and shoved the lifted hem of his shirt into Han-gyeom’s mouth with the other. Caught completely off guard by the roughness—zero gentleness or warning—Han-gyeom was forced to swallow both his words and his breath, staring at Seo Won in stunned silence. Seo Won’s skin, usually pale enough to resemble a Westerner’s, was now flushed deep red like he’d come down with a fever.

Han-gyeom was just about to spit out the shirt and ask what the hell that was—but Seo Won gripped both of his arms tightly, preventing him from moving at all.

“Keep it in your mouth.”

The growl was low, but the threat behind it echoed with eerie weight.

“If you drop it, I’ll suck you dry without a break until sunrise. So keep that in mind.”

Without thinking, Han-gyeom bit down hard on the fabric stuffed in his mouth. He already felt dizzy from this much—If Seo Won kept draining his GP like this until dawn, he really would feel like he was dying for days.

An Esper in a near-berserk state, completely overtaken by violent Black Veins, was dangerous in every way. No matter how level-headed someone might be, when the black energy surged like this, it was nearly impossible to hold onto rationality. That’s why the usually composed Seo Won now seemed even more terrifying.

In the end, Han-gyeom could only lower his eyes and nod shakily.

Only then did Seo Won’s gaze drift downward. As the shirt rose, Han-gyeom’s torso was fully exposed—and, just as expected, he was quite lean. A pale body where even the shape of his ribs faintly showed through, smooth skin without a single blemish, a thin stomach that caved slightly with every ragged breath, a waistline with elegant curves that begged to be touched, and jutting hips barely held by low-slung jeans.

Now Seo Won understood why Director Shin had mentioned nutrient deficiency and being underweight.

Even so, aside from the frailty that made it seem like he couldn’t lift a thing, Han-gyeom’s lines were beautiful—perhaps that’s why he was so arresting to look at. Was it because Seo Won was drunk on Han-gyeom’s Guiding, too?

Before the heart transplant, he had brought in countless unregistered Guides to the mansion, receiving ample Guiding whenever needed. Sometimes, he indulged in excessive Guiding the way one might drink too much, letting himself be submerged in a languid, heavy bliss.

Back then, he hadn’t cared one bit about the Guide’s mood or arousal. He was paying an obscene amount of money, after all—so things like that were the Guide’s responsibility, not his.

In fact, most Guides took it upon themselves to heighten their own arousal in order to properly care for him. But not once had any of them managed to stir Seo Won’s own sexual desire. Even when they kissed or rubbed their bodies together, it was purely physical contact for the sake of Guiding—nothing more. He had never felt the slightest interest in their bodies.

But now, this felt different.

Just as Seo Won’s breath, thick with arousal, grew heavier, his lips brushed against a soft-hued nipple.

“Mmph!”

Han-gyeom jolted in shock at the ticklish sensation blooming in his chest and glanced down. He couldn’t see clearly because the shirt bunched in his mouth distorted his view, but there was no mistaking the heat of Seo Won’s mouth against his chest.

“Ugh, mmph!”

Even as Han-gyeom twisted his hips and squirmed in protest, Seo Won clamped his mouth around the small nipple, forcefully rubbing his tongue against it. The soft, jelly-like bud gradually stiffened as he licked and teased it.

He sucked hard, drawing in the nipple and areola like he was trying to swallow them whole. The bud, now jutting out stiff and prominent, was tapped and flicked by the tip of Seo Won’s tongue.

“Hrrgh, uh…”

Han-gyeom’s chest visibly trembled, and in tandem, the flow of energy being pulled into Seo Won thickened. Even though it was the same amount as before, it now felt far heavier—and that much sweeter.

The realization made Seo Won’s eyes glint sharply.

“Mmh, ngh! Hnn!”

He made music out of the muffled moans caught in Han-gyeom’s shirt-bound mouth, torturing his chest even more obsessively. He tormented the now fully hardened nipple, lashing it left and right like a punishment, then pressed the tip of his tongue into the center as if trying to drill into it. When he bit down and chewed on it, Han-gyeom’s moan slipped right into Seo Won’s ear.

By the time he moved on to the other side, ravaging it like he meant to tear it off, Han-gyeom’s entire exposed upper body had flushed with a deep red hue. His skin was so thin and pale that even this level of stimulation seemed to send heat spreading across it instantly.

After a long while of nibbling and playing with Han-gyeom’s nipples, Seo Won finally raised his head, licking his saliva-slick lips. Han-gyeom’s face was flushed redder than it had been the previous day—so red, it was practically mouthwatering. His eyes, damp and glassy, looked utterly overwhelmed by the sudden surge of arousal, filled with a dazed, frightened confusion.

If he was a Guiding prostitute, he’s probably done worse than this. Is he just pretending?

Seo Won’s arousal-soaked blue eyes still looked down at Han-gyeom like he was nothing more than a cheap plaything.