Yu Je-hyun didn’t miss his chance—he slipped a metal ring behind Black’s leader and Hong Seong-jun.
His vision blurred as he forced his mana to circulate, the bleeding still unchecked. But if he stayed idle now, he would be forced to take both of them on alone.
“Khhk…”
Just as he was about to strike, a sharp deterioration swept through his body. It wasn’t just the injuries. The unsettling smirk on Black’s leader’s face told him everything—he had done something, just as he had with Hong Seong-jun.
It had to be his signature pheromone attack.
Yu Je-hyun scrambled to counter with more mana, but the wound from Hong Seong-jun had already drained him. His legs gave out.
He no longer had the strength to suppress the bleeding in his abdomen. He had never once imagined dying such a pathetic, meaningless death.
Black’s leader must have thought he’d die on his own, because he disappeared with only Hong Seong-jun in tow. The metal ring that had been meant for them dropped to the floor, rolling weakly to his feet.
His eyes fluttered shut. The last thing that filled his fading mind was Haru, who had taken over his heart completely—like he owned it.
After that, only darkness.
He vaguely heard someone calling his name. Lost in the void, when he finally came to, it was to Lee Haru kissing him.
“…So Hong Seong-jun was moving around with my face.”
When Yu Je-hyun finished speaking, Kang Min’s expression tightened with a mix of frustration and regret. It was a serious misstep. He should’ve realized sooner that Hong Seong-jun had such an ability.
“You promised me…”
“Why won’t you kiss me today?”
“You said last time… we’d eat together today…”
That somber, almost pitiful voice echoed in his ears. Kang Min’s eyes shifted to Lee Haru’s sleeping face.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of Haru’s odd comments. He had simply assumed he was a little unbalanced.
It was common knowledge that Lee Haru was obsessed with S-rank Espers—himself included.
He would act like a long-time lover one day, then be sexually Guiding Yu Je-hyun or Hong Seong-jun the next.
Even for Guiding, sexual Guiding was something both Espers and Guides generally avoided unless they were in a committed relationship.
Kang Min had never been able to understand him. Sometimes it felt like Haru genuinely liked him, but seeing him act the same with others made it clear—he probably just needed a warm body at his side.
Maybe he was after the prestige of being a Guide exclusively for S-rank Espers. He never showed any interest in anyone else.
That only made Kang Min want to distance himself further.
Was it Hong Seong-jun, disguised as me, who approached Lee Haru all this time?
Even sharp-eyed Yu Je-hyun hadn’t realized the truth until Hong Seong-jun attacked him.
Espers could usually sense each other. Their energies were all slightly different due to the nature of their abilities.
S-rank Espers were especially attuned to this. No matter how perfectly Hong Seong-jun imitated him, Yu-Je-hyun should’ve noticed something was off.
If even Yu Je-hyun had been fooled, then it was no stretch to believe that Lee Haru—a Guide—had truly believed the impersonator was him.
Only now did the strange things Haru had said and done finally start to make sense.
Kang Min’s grip tightened unconsciously on the steering wheel. The plastic creaked as it bent under his strength.
“You’re still driving properly, right? If not, I’ll just get out and walk.”
Yu Je-hyun shifted nervously in his seat at the sight of the warped steering wheel. Understandably so—finding out someone had been impersonating him would push anyone over the edge.
Just looking at the mangled wheel, he could feel how furious Kang Min had become.
“We’re almost there.”
Kang Min forced himself to calm down, reminded that Lee Haru was still in the car with them.
The Association headquarters came into view beyond the windshield. At their current speed, they’d be through the gate in a few minutes.
The steering wheel rattled under his hands, but the car continued to move steadily. After stopping briefly for inspection, they made it into the parking lot without a hitch. Yu Je-hyun was quietly impressed.
If it had been him, he would’ve torn the steering wheel right off in a rage. But Kang Min had managed to drive safely all the way to the Association.
The engine cut off. A heavy silence settled in the car.
Yu Je-hyun ran his fingers through Lee Haru’s hair, twirling the strands before glancing at Kang Min.
“What are we going to do about Hong Seong-jun? We don’t have any proof. It’s just my word—what I saw and heard.”
Hong Seong-jun had played them too well. Even he and Kang Min—his own teammates—had no idea what his abilities really were.
If they reported this without evidence, they might end up being accused of lying. Worse, Yu Je-hyun was well known for having a bad relationship with Hong Seong-jun, so his testimony would carry little weight.
“We’ll have to catch him ourselves. He needs to answer for everything he’s done.”
With that, Kang Min got out of the car first. Yu Je-hyun followed a moment later, brushing past him.
“Then I’ll leave that to you, Team Leader. I’ll stay with Lee Haru. We lost Black’s leader too—someone needs to be with him 24/7.”
He couldn’t trust anyone else with him now. Yu Je-hyun silently vowed he wouldn’t leave Lee Haru’s side until the leader of Black was dead.
“…Alright. Ask Guide Ji Yeon-woo to help too. The Association President clearly doesn’t intend to protect either of them properly.”
Sure, they had used Ji Yeon-woo as bait to lure Black’s leader in order to find Lee Haru, but the holes in their security were undeniable.
Even when Haru’s life or death was uncertain, the President was more interested in using Ji Yeon-woo as a tool than in actively searching for Haru himself.
An S-rank Esper can only be stopped by another of equal rank. With growing suspicion that Hong Seong-jun was working with Black’s leader, the best course for both Kang Min and Yu Je-hyun was to stay close to the Guides.
“Be careful, Team Leader. That bastard—Black’s leader—he’s not someone you can take lightly. If Hong Seong-jun joins forces with him and they come at you together, you could end up like me. You’ve already had one near-death experience, remember?”
Yu Je-hyun had gone after Black’s leader alone precisely because Kang Min had been too badly injured to fight.
The memory made him hesitate to send Kang Min off on his own again, but right now, the most important person to Yu Je-hyun was Lee Haru.
“Don’t worry about me. Just do what you need to do.”
Kang Min’s gaze lingered on Lee Haru’s unconscious face, his expression heavy with unspoken regret. Yu Je-hyun stepped back, sensing it.
“Well then, I’ll get going.”
As if wanting to escape the weight of that gaze, Yu Je-hyun turned and disappeared quickly. Kang Min remained where he was, staring blankly until their silhouettes vanished inside the hospital.
***
My face itches.
It felt like something soft—a feather maybe—was brushing lightly against his skin. The ticklish sensation made him want to open his eyes, but his eyelids barely fluttered.
They felt sealed shut, like they’d been glued. He tried to lift a hand instead.
“You awake?”
A familiar voice echoed softly in his ears. Haru’s trembling lashes froze. Yu Je-hyun let out a dry laugh as he looked down at Lee Haru, who still wasn’t even breathing.
“How long are you planning to hold your breath? If you don’t breathe, I’m going to kiss you.”
“Hhk—”
Just moments ago, opening his eyes had felt impossible. But those shocking words startled him awake in an instant.
As soon as his eyes opened, he met Yu Je-hyun’s gaze—and his cheeks began to turn pink.
“Why so shy all of a sudden? Between us, isn’t a kiss basically just a greeting by now?”
He wanted to ask when exactly they had become that kind of “us,” but instead, his lips just pressed together tightly.
There was something unfamiliar in Yu Je-hyun’s affectionate gaze. Haru quietly turned his head away.
The sharp scent of disinfectant tickled his nose. The plain, patternless white walls told him this was a hospital room.
He’d woken up in this kind of place countless times before. What felt different now was the person sitting beside him, staring like he was something precious.
“Let me see your face. While you were asleep, I was losing my mind wanting to look into your eyes.”
Yu Je-hyun’s fingers gently brushed through his hair. Even Haru’s upper lip began to feel warm. He wondered if it was normal for your breath to get hot when you were embarrassed.
“Or… are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor? They said your body was fine, but you’re acting strange.”
Flustered by how hot his face had gotten, Haru stubbornly kept his eyes fixed on the wall. Yu Je-hyun’s tone shifted—soft, filled with concern.
The tenderness in his voice finally made Haru turn his head back toward him.
“…I’m fine. My body’s okay. I just… feel a little warm, that’s all.”
His voice came out small and hesitant. And the reason he couldn’t meet Yu Je-hyun’s eyes was simple—every time their eyes met, he was reminded of what happened right before he passed out.
