His entire body trembled uncontrollably. Cold sweat continued to seep out from the tension. He had to work tirelessly to keep a straight face until Kim Geon-ung, whom he had summoned under the pretense of studying together, arrived at the café.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Of course, even after Kim Geon-ung arrived, Lim Haeyul’s condition did not improve. He forced a smile, pulling the corners of his lips upward.
“What do you mean? Wow, honestly, I thought you wouldn’t even show up.”
“Why?”
“You don’t study.”
The truth was, ever since Kim Geon-ung had gotten seriously angry over Lim Haeyul’s sudden disappearance, things between them had been a bit awkward. Lim Haeyul had a rough idea of Kim Geon-ung’s feelings toward him. That was why he felt guilty for using him like this—but he had no other choice.
“I’m going to study today.”
Seeing the lingering concern on Kim Geon-ung’s face only made Haeyul’s guilt deepen. Still, there was no alternative. He needed to get in touch with Kim Sol, and Kim Geon-ung knew his number.
“What games are you playing these days?”
“Games? Why are you suddenly asking about games?”
“…You’re always playing something. Always glued to your phone.”
In the end, the real reason Lim Haeyul had called Kim Geon-ung to the café was to get Kim Sol’s number. Technically, he could’ve just asked directly using the new phone he had been given. But he felt uneasy. Maybe it was just paranoia, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the phone Cha Jae-woo had handed him was somehow reporting his every move.
Tracking, wiretapping—he vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that if someone cloned your phone, they could monitor all your messages and call logs. There was no guarantee that Cha Jae-woo hadn’t done something like that.
He wasn’t sure exactly how far Cha Jae-woo could sense him, but considering he had shown up unerringly even when Haeyul had once gone to the beach on a whim, it didn’t seem like such a ridiculous suspicion.
Back then, he hadn’t thought much of it. But now, with nothing left but suspicion, it felt like Cha Jae-woo was capable of anything.
“Why? You wanna play too?”
Even though Lim Haeyul was trying to act natural, it must’ve shown, because Kim Geon-ung still looked at him suspiciously. Nevertheless, he remained cooperative. It was impossible not to notice that Kim Geon-ung was closely observing him.
‘I’m really sorry for using you like this.’
Lim Haeyul silently apologized to Kim Geon-ung, who now seemed certain in his feelings for him, and gave a slight nod.
“What kind of game? Tycoon or something?”
“Who even plays Tycoon anymore?”
“Isn’t there some kind of puzzle game? I don’t want anything complicated. Studying’s already killing me… Just give me your phone.”
“You could just play on your own phone, you know.”
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart kept hammering in his chest, but thankfully, his voice didn’t shake. Caught up in this desperate situation, he was pulling off a performance that would’ve been impossible for him under normal circumstances. He swallowed dryly and smiled.
“You know me. Once I download a game, I get obsessed all day. I just want to play for a little bit. Take a break.”
Kim Geon-ung furrowed his brows, scrutinizing Haeyul from head to toe.
“You barely studied anyway. You didn’t even finish one page.”
“…T-That’s why. I can’t focus, so let me just play a little.”
Kim Geon-ung let out a heavy sigh, as if he couldn’t believe this, but eventually handed over his phone. He even went as far as opening up a game he thought Haeyul might actually play.
“You said you wanted to study.”
“I will, after just one game.”
Kim Geon-ung shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
“Do you want me to show you how to play?”
“Isn’t it just matching pieces?”
“Yeah, basically.”
“I can manage that much on my own.”
Bickering for no real reason, Lim Haeyul glanced over at his own phone. Even though it looked perfectly normal on the outside, the creeping suspicion that this very conversation might be transmitted straight to Cha Jae-woo made it feel almost sinister.
“…….”
Feigning nonchalance, he set Kim Geon-ung’s phone down on the table and distracted himself by fitting the barely visible puzzle pieces together. His heart was racing, but he forced himself to move slowly. He knew that the moment he aroused suspicion, it would all be over—a chilling thought that only tightened his nerves.
While a few rounds of the game passed by, Kim Geon-ung seemed to actually focus on studying. Watching him out of the corner of his eye, Haeyul gripped the phone tightly in his hand.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
Kim Geon-ung responded without even lifting his head. Thanks to that, it was easier than expected for Haeyul to slip Kim Geon-ung’s phone into his bag and head to the restroom. He left his own phone and textbooks on the table to avoid raising suspicion.
The moment he entered the bathroom, he quickly changed clothes. Hat and mask in place—it hadn’t even taken a full minute. Afterward, he easily found Kim Sol’s number stored inside Kim Geon-ung’s phone. Now he just had to sneak out through the café’s back door—one of the reasons he had specifically chosen this place.
‘I’m really sorry. I’ll just borrow it for a moment and return it.’
Haeyul silently apologized to Kim Geon-ung, who was being used without knowing it, and dashed out of the restroom. Without looking back, he sprinted out of the café, dialing Kim Sol’s number as he ran, desperate to put as much distance between himself and the café as possible.
The ringtone dragged on and on while he ran, until finally—
─Hello, this is Kim Sol’s phone.
“Ah…”
Instead of a flat, automated message, a familiar voice spoke through the receiver.
─Is this Guide Lim Haeyul?
It was Lee Jae-hoon.
***
Cha Jae-woo’s face was twisted into a grim, almost feral scowl. The agent in charge of monitoring Lim Haeyul stood frozen in panic.
“I’m sorry.”
“……Ha.”
Cha Jae-woo ran a thoroughly irritated hand through his hair. He had let his guard down. No—this wasn’t a matter of carelessness anymore. Something had gone seriously wrong.
Lim Haeyul had vanished.
Cha Jae-woo suspected it was to find Kim Sol—but he couldn’t be sure. After all, he had definitely used his mental abilities on Haeyul. He had planted the memory that Kim Sol was safe, that the missing phone was just an accident. He had made sure Haeyul would remember it that way.
And yet, Haeyul had disappeared. Meaning, the ability Cha Jae-woo had implanted hadn’t worked.
“Find him. Now.”
It was absurd. He had tried to dismiss it, thinking his assumptions must have been wrong. But absurd things had happened over and over again when it came to Lim Haeyul. It was entirely plausible that Haeyul was extraordinary even in this regard.
It was something so unlikely that he hadn’t even considered it possible—because it had simply never happened before.
[You’re no different from them.]
Cha Jae-woo tapped his finger against the letters neatly written on the book Haeyul had left behind. No different from them? Them—as in Jang Gijun and Jo Gyeong-hoon?
“Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped him. Lim Haeyul knew nothing. In the world of Espers, altruistic feelings had no value whatsoever.
Cha Jae-woo had grown up alone, surrounded by darkness. No one had ever reached out a hand to him. In this world, that was simply the natural order of things.
Only those strong enough to endure it survived. Those who couldn’t endure it had no worth at all.
“…….”
Cha Jae-woo’s face turned cold and rigid. If things continued like this, he would lose Lim Haeyul. Worse, he might lose him completely.
And Jo Gyeong-hoon surely knew that there was nothing Cha Jae-woo wouldn’t do to get Haeyul back.
Yes—he would disappear completely. Issues like whether mental abilities failed, or whether Haeyul walked away of his own volition, or whether he stupidly worried about others—none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was that Lim Haeyul was in danger. Cha Jae-woo needed to find him and bring him back—immediately.
He strode quickly toward the door, gripping the phone Lim Haeyul had left behind. The phone, left so conspicuously on the table, was now tightly clutched in his hand.
Ah. He should have implanted a tracker inside Haeyul’s body after all.
Cha Jae-woo sped up his pace, determined that the moment he found Lim Haeyul, he would do exactly that—implant a tracker and lock him up inside the house if necessary. Whatever it took—he had to find him.
