Ghost Apple

Yoon Jeong-ho gave a meaningful smile, then clapped his hands loudly as if trying to shift the mood.

“More importantly, I’ve got some good news.”

Jeong-ho took a sip of his black tea, continuing in an excited voice.

“At the product demo event happening in two weeks, a number of high-ranking officials from ability user associations around the world are expected to attend.”

In two weeks, there was going to be a major demonstration showcasing a joint project between J-Cell, the electronics manufacturer led by Yoon Jeong-ho, and Prism Bio Battery, a company under Seo Won. Both were flagship subsidiaries of the Kangsan Group, so the event naturally attracted significant public attention.

It was already known that the domestic ability user association would attend—they had a separate agreement beyond the secondary battery technology.

However, for executives from associations in other countries to go so far as to personally attend was highly unusual—and suspicious.

They might have caught on to another potential application of the secondary battery technology.

Unlike Seo Won, who wore a serious expression, Jeong-ho looked practically giddy, grinning with uncontained excitement.

“The fact that people on par with each country’s top brass are scrambling to attend must mean the expectations for our product are sky-high, don’t you think? I bet we’ll start getting offers early.”

Seo Won lifted his teacup and brought the softly glowing reddish-black tea to his lips.

Even so, in the end, that guy’s the one who’ll get it first.

In his mind, Seo Won recalled a specific figure from the Korean Ability User Association—someone he had personally signed a contract with. As the warmth of the red liquid glided down his throat, soothing his chilled thoughts, he couldn’t help but think of Cha Han-gyeom’s guiding touch.

Before they knew it, both of their teacups were completely empty.

Jeong-ho stood up from his seat, stretched out both arms, and let out a long yawn.

“Ugh, coming straight from overseas like that really wore me out.”

“You should’ve just taken a plane.”

Jeong-ho wagged his index finger at Seo Won with a tsk tsk as if he didn’t understand a thing.

“It’s way better to just teleport over quickly and crash right away. Whether it’s shopping or gaming, anything’s better than just zoning out in the sky for hours. Might as well get here and actually do something.”

As he lightly stretched his stiff body, Jeong-ho glanced at the time on his absurdly expensive wristwatch.

“Mind if I nap here a bit?”

“Go sleep at your place.”

“Nah. By now, Noona’s probably back in the country too. She’ll nag me to death, guaranteed.”

Even though he had attendants, aides, and even a secretary he called “Noona,” Jeong-ho had chosen to teleport alone. Just imagining the incoming flood of scolding made him visibly shudder. For now, he just wanted a moment’s peace like this.

If I just hide out for a bit, she’ll cool down on her own.

As soon as the conversation ended, Jeong-ho looked over at Seo Won, who had already gone back to poring over documents, and let out a tired sigh.

That guy seriously never puts work down.

Maybe that’s why Grandfather acknowledges him.

Jeong-ho stared at Seo Won for a moment before walking out of the office with a smile on his face once again.

Standing by the door, Jung Ah-young greeted Yoon Jeong-ho with a bright expression.

“Shall I have the car brought around?”

Jeong-ho smiled back just as brightly and replied,

“Nah, I’ll just crash here. Don’t worry about it.”

“Then… shall I prepare a room for you to rest in?”

As Ah-young mentally ran through the list of available rooms in the mansion, her vision suddenly cleared—and she jumped in surprise.

The man she’d just been speaking with, Yoon Jeong-ho, had vanished in the blink of an eye.

***

Jeong-ho remembered the room he’d used the last time he’d stayed in this mansion, and without bothering to walk through the complicated corridors, he used his ability right away.

As soon as he shut his eyes, Ah-young’s voice cut off. When he opened them again, a calm and serene room spread out before him.

The room was fairly dim since the lights were off, but thanks to the slanted rays of sunset filtering through the closed windows, he could still make out everything clearly. In fact, the atmosphere felt more peaceful and charming this way.

Stretching again, Jeong-ho headed toward the bed—then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

What the hell? I thought this room wasn’t being used?

He’d always used this one without a second thought, assuming it was left empty, but now someone was lying in the bed.

Feeling a bit awkward, he debated leaving—but then something about the sleeping figure’s outfit struck him as oddly familiar.

A man was lying there, wearing a loosely buttoned white dress shirt and jeans without a belt. No one else in this mansion would be wandering around in that kind of getup—except for that guide he’d run into earlier.

Jeong-ho’s eyes lit up.

I actually needed guiding anyway. This works out perfectly.

With a sly grin, he sat down on the edge of the bed. The guy must have been fast asleep, because even with someone sitting right next to him, he continued breathing softly, completely undisturbed.

In the dim lighting, it was hard to see the guide’s face clearly, so Jeong-ho reached out toward him. He gently brushed the messy bangs aside, and the man let out a faint groan as he turned his head—just enough for the sunset light to fall across his features, revealing them more clearly.

Jeong-ho’s fingertips slowly moved downward from the tousled hair. He brushed past a well-proportioned forehead, traced the elegant bridge of the nose, slid off to the side and down the curve of a high cheekbone, then glided along the soft cheek. His fingers followed the sculpted jawline all the way to the tip of the chin—and then pressed firmly against the man’s red lips.

This should be more than enough for a full deep guiding session.

Normally, he wasn’t fond of receiving guiding from male guides—but this one in front of him… with this guy, a kiss—no, going even further than that—seemed entirely possible.

I really want that guiding. Now.

In elite families with unregistered Espers, it was customary to keep several dedicated guides stationed at home. Usually, just one or two were enough for regular maintenance, but for high-ranking Espers or those who frequently used their powers, that number often fell short. Up until about a year ago, Seo Won also kept over ten guides in this very mansion.

Yoon Jeong-ho was no exception.

However, when selecting guides, he always chose those who perfectly matched his tastes. His personal rule was that guiding must be done via deep guiding to ensure maximum efficiency. He had no patience for time-wasting methods that yielded minimal results.

Jeong-ho’s hand reached for Han-gyeom’s shirt. Clearly exhausted, Han-gyeom didn’t even stir as the buttons were undone one by one.

“…Wow.”

Seeing the now-exposed upper body, Jeong-ho let out a dry laugh, a mix of surprise and disbelief. Spotted barely covered it—bite marks and suction bruises were scattered all over his skin. And not ones made in a single night. These had clearly built up over the course of several days.

Seo Won’s not the type to obsess over someone’s body like this…

Compared to Yoon Jeong-ho—who practically radiated raw libido—Seo Won had always seemed completely disconnected from such desires. He’d been teased more than once for looking like the type to jerk off while reviewing documents, given how little sexual drive he showed.

That’s why, whenever Jeong-ho would swing by the mansion and drop in for a guiding session with one of Seo Won’s people, the guides were always clean—untouched.

Not that Seo Won avoided deep guiding altogether. But when he did, it seemed like the guides did everything themselves, half-heartedly stroking and thrusting while Seo Won barely reacted.

That’s why Jeong-ho had assumed he must be impotent.

But now? This—this was something else. Turns out Seo Won did know how to bite and suck someone senseless.

As Jeong-ho lightly rested his hand on Han-gyeom’s pale, smooth chest, his eyes caught sight of something wrapped around the man’s right wrist—a black band.

“Well, well… what do we have here?”

He instantly recognized it for what it was: a guiding control device.

That’s not something you just pick up easily… and he actually strapped one on him?

Jeong-ho abruptly stopped moving.

The only guide Seo Won has kept in this mansion… and he’s fitted with a guiding control device…

His expression twisted slightly—then curved into something eerie, like a man on the verge of uncovering a delicious secret.

“Hmm. I see.”

A strange anticipation crept into Jeong-ho’s grin.

He hadn’t even touched him yet, but already, the pressure below was building. The stacked-up anticipation had already dragged his arousal right up to the edge.

This might be my one and only chance to get a taste!

With a wide, wolfish smile, dark energy began to swirl behind Jeong-ho’s eyes. Without hesitation, he grabbed Han-gyeom’s wrist—right where the guiding control device was secured.

Instantly, the device activated, responding to the Esper’s contact.

The dormant red energy inside Han-gyeom’s body began to surge—then rapidly drain straight into Jeong-ho.

“Hhk?!”

Han-gyeom’s eyes snapped open as he felt the sharp, invasive sensation of his GP being forcibly drained from his body.

“What… the hell…?”

He had assumed it was Seo Won, of course—but something felt off. Very off.

When Seo Won drew out his GP, it always felt as if his entire body was being torn into fragments—brutally, viciously, with no mercy. But this was different. This time, it felt like someone had grabbed the red energy by the roots and was yanking it out with a fistful of hair.

Either way, it was equally awful.

Han-gyeom twisted his body violently, glaring up at the dark figure straddling him.

“Who the hell are you?! Get off!”

But the man had a larger build and was pressing down hard from above, making it impossible for Han-gyeom to use his legs to kick him off. He tried pushing with his arms, but the guy didn’t budge an inch.

“Haha…”

A shiver-tinged laugh escaped from the man on top.

“You’re incredible.”

It was only then that Han-gyeom recognized the man straddling him—the guy in the white suit he’d seen earlier in the office.