The first to regain his senses was Lee Haru. He stepped in front of Ji Yeon-woo, who was frozen like a wax figure.
He was terrified—so much that he wanted to faint on the spot—but even in that moment, the thought that he had to protect Ji Yeon-woo surged through him. What he had suffered at the hands of Black was horrifying, but Ji Yeon-woo had been abused by him for far longer.
He did not need to see it to know just how violent the memories flooding Ji Yeon-woo’s mind must be.
“…Run.”
His voice cracked painfully, crushed by fear. Both of them were no more significant than ants to Zero. A simple flick of the wrist from that man could be fatal.
If they were both going to die anyway, it would be better for at least one of them to escape.
“Nngh, no, don’t…”
Ji Yeon-woo, realizing Lee Haru intended to sacrifice himself in his place, shook his head. He could barely breathe.
He needed to do something—anything—but it was like his body wasn’t his own. He couldn’t take a single step.
“…Ji Yeon-woo.”
That was when Zero’s eyes gleamed. Lee Haru immediately turned and wrapped Ji Yeon-woo in his arms.
But then a massive hand clamped around his throat, and a wave of pain crashed through his entire body. Before he could react, Zero had seized his neck and hurled him toward the wall.
The pain from the previous accident, the one he’d suffered before coming here, surged back to life. Just like then, the agony of shattering bones made it impossible to stay conscious.
The only difference now was that back then, he’d passed out from the pain, but this time he was desperately clinging to consciousness.
If he lost consciousness now, there was no telling what would happen. He clenched his fist so hard that the bones in the back of his hand stood out.
“Khuk, cough, cough…”
Ragged coughs erupted from his throat. A tearing pain surged through his lungs. In his blurry, jumbled vision, he saw drops of blood splattering across the floor.
Debris rained down on him, kicking up clouds of dust. The coughing wouldn’t stop. Still, Lee Haru leaned on the wall and forced himself upright, hacking dryly all the while.
At that moment, something trickled down his forehead. He reflexively raised his hand to wipe it and felt a sticky liquid smear across his fingers.
A sharp, searing pain exploded from his brow. He could vaguely sense how deep the gash was—too afraid to even check.
But even more than the wound, what filled his dim vision made him bite down hard on a curse.
“That bastard…”
Zero was straddling Ji Yeon-woo’s body, who couldn’t even resist. Ji Yeon-woo’s clothes had been torn to shreds, the pieces scattered in every direction.
Limping, Lee Haru made his way toward Zero. His instincts screamed at him to run, consumed by terror—but he couldn’t leave Ji Yeon-woo in that monster’s grasp.
“Hnngh, ah…”
Over Zero’s shoulder, Ji Yeon-woo’s tear-soaked pale face came into view. His lips, bitten until they bled, betrayed how terrified he was.
Tears poured endlessly from his tightly shut eyes.
Sparks exploded before Lee Haru’s eyes. Rage swallowed his fear. Zero seemed so absorbed in pinning Ji Yeon-woo down that he had completely forgotten Lee Haru’s existence.
Or perhaps, like a buzzing fly flitting nearby, he had never cared in the first place.
Whatever the case, it gave Lee Haru the chance to get within arm’s reach. Zero’s shirt was off, his face still hidden beneath a mask that revealed only his eyes.
Those deranged pupils were locked solely onto Ji Yeon-woo.
The veins bulging grotesquely across his skin were even more pronounced than last time, a disturbing network that suggested his condition had worsened. Lee Haru didn’t hesitate—he placed his hand directly on Zero’s exposed skin.
The moment he touched him, every ounce of strength drained from his body. Finally, those pitch-black eyes turned away from Ji Yeon-woo.
Relief struck him—followed instantly by a suffocating wave of murderous intent. It felt as though not only his Guiding energy but even his blood was being sucked dry.
Like hundreds of leeches latched onto him, the sensation was so revolting that his eyelids trembled uncontrollably, unable even to close.
“Not enough… It’s not enough…”
Zero mumbled like a man half-mad as he slowly rose from on top of Ji Yeon-woo. As Lee Haru’s hand naturally fell away, Zero reached out again.
Lee Haru squeezed his eyes shut. A familiar pain erupted from his throat and radiated across his entire body.
“Ghh…”
Through his flickering vision, he saw Ji Yeon-woo crying out. He wanted to tell him not to cry—but only a metallic rasp came from his mouth.
What kind of pain could even describe this? His entire being felt drained of life.
It was a torment he could never grow used to, and his mind teetered on the brink. Thoughts of Kang Min and Yu Je-hyun flooded in, desperate and urgent.
Only those two could save him. Hong Seong-jun’s face briefly flashed through his mind—but he pushed it away.
Even that bastard wouldn’t let him die like this… but what came after was the problem. That man might really whisk him away to some place no one could ever find.
“Haru hyung…!”
Ji Yeon-woo tried to rise and come closer. He wanted to scream at him not to. Zero was clearly obsessed with Ji Yeon-woo.
Just as if to prove he was the story’s most central villain.
The sound of something snapping in his neck rang out—then an earth-shattering boom thundered nearby.
Then a gust of wind swept through, and the crushing grip on his throat vanished. Lee Haru’s body collapsed limply to the ground.
“Hrk… Hyung… What do I do, please, just wake up…”
Crawling over to him to avoid the chaos, Ji Yeon-woo examined Lee Haru’s body. The moment he saw the skin, dark and lifeless, his mind went blank.
Lee Haru’s face, eyes already closed, was so pale it had taken on a faint bluish hue.
He was too scared to even bring his hand under his nose to check for breath. To stay conscious, Ji Yeon-woo kept pinching his own thigh again and again.
His own body was a wreck. Marks from where Zero had manhandled him, ignoring any restraint, were scattered all over him.
“Guide Ji Yeon-woo! Take this!”
The self-destructive flurry stopped the moment a healing potion wrapped in a red cord appeared before his eyes. Ji Yeon-woo reflexively caught the potion in his hand.
The cold touch jolted his mind into clarity. He opened the bottle. His hands trembled so much that some of the potion spilled outside.
“Hyung… Just hold on… please…”
Ji Yeon-woo tilted the potion bottle over Lee Haru’s body. Wherever the liquid touched, the color of his skin began to return to normal.
Once the wounds healed, the rest of the potion was carefully poured into Lee Haru’s mouth, trickling past his lips as faint traces of color returned.
Thankfully, Lee Haru’s throat moved, and he drank down every drop that entered his mouth.
His tightly shut eyelids quivered. Ji Yeon-woo held his breath at the slight tremble of those lashes.
Finally, those jet-black eyes fluttered open. Ji Yeon-woo immediately collapsed onto him and wrapped his arms around Lee Haru’s body.
“Thank god… I thought something had happened to you…”
Lee Haru gently patted Ji Yeon-woo’s back as he sobbed too hard to even speak, all while scanning the current situation.
If it weren’t for that healing potion, things might’ve turned out really bad.
He felt like he owed the potion’s inventor a bow on both knees. These potions had saved his life more than once.
And today, if it had been even a moment later, his neck might’ve really snapped and he would have been killed.
Ji Yeon-woo’s trembling body made his own body shake along with it. Maybe it was the aftereffects of a near-death experience, but his temples throbbed sharply—still, he had enough clarity to understand what was going on in front of him.
Esper Kang Min? What about Yu Je-hyun… why isn’t he here?
The red energy radiating from Kang Min surged as though it were about to devour the entire space. Its sheer intensity sent chills down his spine, yet even so, Kang Min was slowly being pushed back by Zero.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—each time they clashed, it sounded like a bomb exploding, shaking the whole area.
Just knowing Kang Min was the one who saved him filled him with a strange blend of relief and disappointment.
He rolled his eyes around, scanning the surroundings just in case, but couldn’t find a single trace of those silver locks.
Did they split up?
But if that were the case, Ji Yeon-woo still had the tracker inside his body. That meant both of their destinations had to be here.
No way something happened to Yu Je-hyun… right?
He had no idea where this confidence came from, but otherwise, it made no sense that Yu Je-hyun wasn’t here. Maybe deep down, he had truly believed Yu Je-hyun would be the one to come save him.
Lee Haru was so lost in thought that he didn’t even realize his hand had stopped patting Ji Yeon-woo’s back.
Let them meet each other already T^T my babiess