Guide Me If You Dare-Chapter 35: SHAMELESS

TO BE fair, it wasn’t like Ki Gayoon’s address was a secret.

Everyone in Korea knows Ahjuhyung lives in the richest neighborhood in Seoul.

However...

"How did you get in here, Jeemin-ssi?" Yuno asked, confused and curious. "I thought the security here was tight since the residents are afraid of Ahjuhyung."

"My aunt lives here," Kim Jeemin said. "I visited her."

Aigoo.

"You’re brave, Jeemin-ssi," Yuno said while nodding. "You voluntarily entered the monster den just to stalk me. FYI, the rumors about Esper Ki Gayoon-ssi are true— he’s really a scary old bastard."

"Are you talking ill behind my back again, you little rusty shit?"

"When did I talk shit behind your back, Ahjuhyung?" Yuno complained when the grumpy old man stood next to him. "I always talk shit in front of you."

"Right," Ki Gayoon said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from the inside pocket of his suit while looking at Kim Jeemin coldly. "So, what do you need from this punk?"

As expected, Ki Gayoon’s overwhelming aura made Kim Jeemin lower her head.

She’s shaking... in fear.

It also looked like an invisible force was forcing the poor woman to bow.

Aigoo.

Thank goodness I’m an Awakened Person.

"Ahjuhyung, enough."

Ki Gayoon scoffed while pulling out a stick of cigarette from the pack. "I haven’t done anything yet."

Fortunately, the grumpy old man stopped oozing his bloodlust.

Only then did Kim Jeemin stop shaking.

But she still can’t raise her head.

"Ahjuhyung, I’ll talk to Kim Jeemin-ssi," Yuno said, turning to the Esper. "I’ll be gone for one hour."

Ki Gayoon knitted his eyebrows while lighting his cigarette. "Why don’t you just talk at my house?"

To be honest, as a lazy person, Yuno was tempted by Ki Gayoon’s offer.

But when he turned to Kim Jeemin and saw the woman’s disgusting look on her face— eyes sparkling while looking back and forth between Yuno and Ki Gayoon, almost drooling— he instantly changed his mind.

Kim Jeemin is probably ’shipping’ me with Ahjuhyung because she’s the type of woman who ships two men even if they just happen to stand next to each other.

In short, this woman was dangerous.

"We’re just going to have coffee in the nearest café here," Yuno said, waving his hand at Ki Gayoon. "Shall we, Jeemin-ssi?"

Kim Jeemin’s face beamed while nodding eagerly.

"Take my car," Ki Gayoon said, puffing smoke out of his mouth while looking at Yuno with an unfathomable emotion in his eyes. "My driver is a B-Class Esper— if you need to kill someone, just tell him."

Aigoo.

***

OUR-COFFEE-IS-GOOD CAFÉ.

Yuno thought the name of the café was lazy yet fun.

In fairness, the entire place was cozy.

And, yes, their iced coffee is good. It’s cold, sweet, and nutty with a strong coffee flavor. Ahjuhyung likes iced coffee in the morning, so I should recommend this... oh, wait. Why am I thinking of Ahjuhyung?

"Yuno-ssi, are you still listening?"

"Yes," Yuno lied with a straight face. Luckily, he knew Kim Jeemin well enough to know what she wanted from him. "I believe I already formally turned down the offer to be the artist of the webcomic adaptation of your new novel."

Yuno was an artist for SolaToon— a webcomics platform famous for its boys’ love (BL) content.

He made his debut on the platform four years ago with a short webcomic.

It was a beautiful tragic story between an Esper and a Guide.

’Soulmates’ only had fifty episodes with 10 side stories, and it ran for one year.

It was short, but it was a hit.

In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Soulmates put SolaToon on the map.

But the story was so sad that the readers begged him to stop writing if he would only break their hearts again.

So, Yuno really stopped writing.

But that didn’t mean he stopped being an artist.

During my break, my producer asked me if I wanted to draw for another writer. And that’s how I ended up being a webcomic artist for the webcomic adaptation of two short novels for the past two years.

"It’s unfair that you’re working with Writer Youngji again when you already worked with her first novel," Kim Jeemin complained. "Why do you only accept Writer Youngji’s works when there are other writers, apart from me, who want to work with you?"

"Writer Youngji is the only writer whose work doesn’t have the male lead raping the main character."

"What?"

"Writer Youngji is the only writer whose work doesn’t have the male lead raping the main character," Yuno repeated bluntly. "Writer Youngji’s novel just has the right amount of smut written tastefully. There’s no rape, no dub-con, and no violent sex scenes. I wouldn’t say that the characters have a normal healthy relationship, but the toxic part of their relationship is just enough to make the story spicy and not revolting."

Kim Jeemin looked shocked. "My story—"

"I’m already done reading the novel you want me to draw," Yuno said, sighing. "The main character is an eight-year-old boy that a young mafia boss adopted when he was twenty-five years old. Ten years later, the main character wanted to bone his own adoptive father."

"The male lead never adopted the main character legally. He just raised him!" Kim Jeemin insisted, slamming her hands on the table. "They’re not blood-related! And there’s no rape scene!"

Thank goodness Yuno chose to sit at the table far from the counter. There were only a few customers there, and the tables around them were empty.

Hence, the staff and the other customers lining up to order just ignored them.

"Keep your voice down, Jeemin-ssi."

Kim Jeemin covered her mouth with her hands.

"And what do you mean there’s no rape scene?" Yuno asked, sighing. "Your male character sucked his adoptive father’s dick while he was high on painkillers."

"The male lead wanted it—"

"You can’t give consent when you’re under the influence," Yuno insisted. "Plus, even if they’re not related by blood, it’s still icky because of their huge age gap. The ML practically raised the main character since he was a child. I don’t want to draw a minor having sex with a man old enough to be his father."

"This is only fiction, Yuno-ssi. My readers can separate reality from fiction."

"Jeemin-ssi, do you know what they call me?"

"The Godly Blueprint of BL Men?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"And why do they call me that?"

"Because you draw the most handsome and sexiest male characters in the manhwa world at the moment," Kim Jeemin said, a bit excited, as she gently slammed her hands on the table. "Yuno-ssi also draws the hottest smut scenes out there."

"Right? That’s me, and that’s exactly why I don’t want to share my godly ability with you, Jeemin-ssi," Yuno said firmly. "I don’t want those kinds of readers to hype up rapists just because I drew them hot."

"Yuno-ssi, be professional. As I said earlier, this is just fiction. It seems like you’re the one who can’t separate fiction from reality."

"No, I just don’t want to be an instrument in romanticizing rape in BL."

"That’s what sells in this genre, Yuno-ssi."

"Jeemin-ssi, if you can’t write a BL story without rape to make it "exciting," then maybe you’re not as good of a writer as you think."

Kim Jeemin looked shocked by Yuno’s bluntness.

"I know that there’s a market for dark romance— but I’m afraid I’m not cut out for it, Jeemin-ssi. You might think I’m acting holier-than-thou, but I’m standing on my ground," Yuno said, bowing towards the famous writer. "So please stop bothering my producer and following me around when I already declined your offer."

***

"AHJUHYUNG, what are you doing here?"

Ki Gayoon raised his hand with a cigarette between his hands. "Smoke break."

His driver called him a few minutes ago saying that Noh Yuno was on his way back home.

So, he decided to smoke in the garden while waiting for this punk.

He’s my Guide now. What’s wrong with checking if he made it home in one piece after having coffee with his stalker?

"Ahjuhyung, does being an S-Class Esper protect you from having lung damage? You smoke too much."

"Are you worried about me?"

"I’m worried about myself because secondhand smoke is bad for my health."

This little rusty shit...

"Here," Noh Yuno said while handing him a cup of iced coffee. "They have good iced coffee at the café I went to."

Gayoon accepted the coffee, but he raised an eyebrow. "You bought this for me?"

"I also bought one for Mr. Shin."

It was the name of Gayoon’s driver.

Tsk.

"So, how was your meeting with your stalker?"

"So-so," Noh Yuno said, shrugging. "Ahjuhyung, do I act holier-than-thou?"

"You just realized that now?"

"Oh, I see. Maybe I was being narrow-minded all this time."

Huh?

Gayoon didn’t like seeing Noh Yuno acting meek and timid all of a sudden. "What’s wrong with acting holier-than-thou? That’s who you are."

"But what if I can’t practice what I preach?"

"Then that will make you a hypocrite."

"Ahjuhyung, I’m being serious here."

"And so am I," Gayoon said sternly. "People change all the time. It’s called growing. You can’t be the same person as you were yesterday."

"Ahjuhyung, for the first time ever, you sound like your age."

This little rusty shit...

"There. That’s the Noh Yuno I know— brazen, unapologetic, and doesn’t give a fuck," Gayoon said, gently flicking Noh Yuno’s forehead with his fingers. Of course, he controlled his strength. "That’s what makes you fun."

"Am I your toy?"

"A little rusty shit is just a little rusty shit to me."

"Pfft."

Ah, there it is again.

Noh Yuno chuckled, showing off that darn pretty smile of his.

The smile that could make Gayoon’s heart race.

Fucking hell.

Gayoon finished the iced coffee in one gulp.

Yep, it’s just the iced coffee again.

***

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