Zero Point

#027

Thwack-!

The hook connected solidly. The tongue that had been gliding over his lips detached, and a faint breath tickled Eunseok’s face. Not missing the opportunity, Eunseok skillfully twisted his wrist to free his trapped hand and then struck Choi Hanseo’s side of the neck with a knife hand.

With a thud, the knife hand struck with enough force to shatter human neck bones. It was the most basic attack of special combat techniques designed solely for killing. But Eunseok didn’t hesitate to move on to the next attack. His opponent was not an ordinary person, but an S-rank Hunter with a transcendent body and supernatural abilities. He judged there was no need to check if the attack had been effective enough to kill.

Pak-!

As expected, the thrown punch was lightly blocked by Choi Hanseo’s hand. Using that rebound, Eunseok leapt backwards off the sofa, spinning his body to strike Choi Hanseo’s head with his heel.

Pak-!

Again, it was simply blocked by a palm. There was a heavy rebound, as if he had struck a large old tree. Eunseok raised his blocked foot and brought it down on Choi Hanseo’s head.

Thud-!

Ordinary attacks weren’t effective. But instead of giving up, Eunseok changed tactics and began to rain down attacks.

Pak-! Tat-! Pat-!

Knife hands, elbows, knees, and fists flew in quick succession, but were easily blocked as if their paths had been read. The cruel attacking techniques aimed solely at killing the enemy were thwarted completely.

After more than ten consecutive attacks proved futile, Eunseok’s frustration rose sharply. But contrary to that, his killing intent and anger began to subside slightly. He had to admit it. With physical strength, power, and speed alone, he couldn’t inflict even the slightest damage on the man before him. But he didn’t want to lose no matter what. In the end, only one method came to mind.

Eunseok rushed at the man still sitting comfortably on the sofa with his legs crossed, as if to tackle him. Without any hint of attack, he simply used his body weight to pin down Choi Hanseo’s upper body. Finally, one of Choi Hanseo’s eyebrows raised slightly. Eunseok grabbed Choi Hanseo’s hands with both of his own and pressed his lips against him. In his fiercely raised field of vision, he saw Choi Hanseo’s eyes widen slightly. A thrilling sense of satisfaction surged at the thought of finally eliciting a meaningful reaction from him.

Eunseok immediately unleashed a kiss that was almost like devouring. And he poured the maximum amount of guiding energy through their connected hands and lips.

“……!”

A faint moan sounded from deep in Choi Hanseo’s throat. Eunseok bit and sucked on Choi Hanseo’s lips. Then he pushed his tongue between the slightly parted lips and entangled it deeply. With the deep contact and friction of the mucous membranes, Choi Hanseo’s hard body beneath Eunseok stiffened even more.

He was being ‘guided.’

As Moon Bora had described, Eunseok forcefully guided Choi Hanseo as if violating him. He saw Choi Hanseo’s eyes distort slightly. His pupils were gradually dilating from the forcibly induced pleasure response. As expected, while he couldn’t match him physically, with guiding energy of the same S-rank, he could fight this man.

Beep beep beep-. Beep beep beep-. Beep beep beep-.

The alarm signaling the end of guiding time ended their silent battle.

Eunseok lifted his body off Choi Hanseo without hesitation. He grabbed Choi Hanseo’s wrist to check his watch. The number that had been deep orange had changed to light green.

Eunseok dropped Choi Hanseo’s wrist as if throwing it and wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand. Then he scanned Choi Hanseo’s disheveled appearance, which still bore traces of being grabbed by the collar and pinned down. It was quite a sight to see the usually well-groomed man in such a state.

“…Ha-.”

Suddenly, Choi Hanseo let out a small, hollow laugh.

If you’re annoyed, try coming at me again.

Eunseok stared at Choi Hanseo with challenging eyes.

Choi Hanseo slowly got up. The man’s lips, as he approached unhurriedly, were red and swollen, wet with saliva.

“Mr. Lee Eunseok, you really can’t stand losing, can you?”

Choi Hanseo said, as if dumbfounded. Then he wiped his lips with his thumb and tasted the saliva on his finger with his tongue.

“This is a first for me. I mean… the feeling of being on the receiving end.”

Choi Hanseo’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Eunseok. Although he admitted to being on the receiving end, he showed no trace of defeat or shame.

“You’re good. At kissing.”

Choi Hanseo said casually as he brushed past.

Click-.

The sound of the guiding room door closing was heard.

“…Fuck.”

Only then did Eunseok mutter a small curse, rubbing his lips vigorously with the back of his hand.

#4

‘Mr. Lee Eunseok, you really can’t stand losing, can you?’

‘This is a first for me. I mean… the feeling of being on the receiving end.’

‘You’re good. At kissing.’

Choi Hanseo’s words echoed in his mind. It was as if they were being whispered directly into his ear, making it tingle.

Eunseok put down the dumbbell with a thud and fidgeted with his earlobe unnecessarily.

He didn’t regret rushing in to try to win in that way since he couldn’t match up physically. After all, it had been effective. However, he couldn’t help feeling a bit conflicted as he recalled the method.

Fighting with another man by mashing their mouths together….

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

“What’s wrong? You keep zoning out while working out. It’s unusual for you today.”

Moon Bora, who was doing dumbbell exercises next to him, asked. Eunseok shook his head and put on a nonchalant face.

“No, I just have something on my mind.”

“Hmm….”

Moon Bora looked at Eunseok with narrowed eyes for a moment, then started lifting her dumbbells again.

“How was the recent gate?”

When Eunseok asked, Moon Bora, who had just finished a set, put down her dumbbells and sat on the equipment. The pumped arm muscles visible under her sleeveless top looked impressive.

“Well, it was just an A-rank gate.”

Moon Bora said, as if unable to find the right words to explain.

“For an A-rank, how long does it usually take to clear?”

“Oh, that varies widely depending on the gate. The C-rank we entered together last time had a short clearing time, but not all C-ranks are like that. It can take more or less time depending on the internal geography of the gate, the types and number of monsters. Yesterday’s A-rank took about seven hours.”

Seven hours.

Eunseok filed the time in his mind. It was necessary to have a rough idea of the clearing time to properly allocate physical strength and maintain the appropriate concentration of guiding.

“In the past, it would have taken 10 hours. Thanks to you, Eunseok, we were able to cut down the time significantly.”

Moon Bora said, tapping her watch. It meant they could use their power freely without worrying about guiding.

“What are you talking about without me?”

Ji Taeuk, who had been exercising a little distance away, approached with unsteady steps. Eunseok could see Ji Taeuk’s legs trembling, having just completed the lower body strengthening set Eunseok had taught him.

Perhaps inspired by Eunseok, Ji Taeuk had also started early morning workouts. As Moon Bora had criticized, Ji Taeuk’s stamina was poor for a Hunter. And Eunseok was used to training new recruits. Fortunately, Ji Taeuk was trying his best to follow Eunseok’s guidance.

“We were talking about the gate.”

Moon Bora, having rested enough, started lifting her dumbbells again. Ji Taeuk plopped down next to Eunseok, almost collapsing, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.

“Is it manageable?”

Eunseok asked, closely observing Ji Taeuk’s condition. Since Ji Taeuk was also an Esper, he had set the intensity slightly higher than for ordinary people. Fortunately, as he wasn’t having seizures or vomiting, it seemed okay to increase it slightly more.

“No. I feel like I’m dying.”

Ji Taeuk, unaware of Eunseok’s thoughts, made a pitiful face.

“Physical stuff really isn’t for me.”

“It’ll get better once you get used to it. As your stamina improves, your mental strength will naturally follow, so it’ll help with your work too, Ji Taeuk hyung.”

“Yeah. I’m a Hunter after all, so it would be embarrassing if my stamina is worse than yours. I really need to work hard.”

Ji Taeuk said, clenching his towel as if making a resolution.

“Alright then, now go do the upper body set.”

Eunseok patted Ji Taeuk’s shoulder.

“Ugh….”

Ji Taeuk made a face of disgust. But true to his word, he walked away towards the exercise equipment, his legs still trembling.

“He wouldn’t even pretend to listen before, but thanks to you, Eunseok, even that guy is having days like this.”

Moon Bora said, glancing at the retreating Ji Taeuk.

“Well, the right motivation is important for everything.”

Eunseok said briefly, then looked around for a moment before asking in a lowered voice.

“By the way, where does the Guild Master exercise?”

“Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

Moon Bora looked puzzled.

“I’ve never seen him working out.”

Eunseok answered with a straight face.

A muscular body like Choi Hanseo’s doesn’t just happen naturally. Just look at Ji Taeuk. Hunters don’t automatically have robust physiques. Of course, they seem to have superior bodies and reflexes compared to ordinary people, but looking at Moon Bora, it was clear that training was necessary.

“That guy doesn’t come here. He probably has a separate exercise room in his house.”

“Ah.”

Eunseok nodded, quickly understanding. Since he must be incredibly wealthy, it wasn’t strange for him to have a personal training room.