It was the day before they were scheduled to move to the projected U-Class dungeon gate site. Or rather, since it was already past midnight, a few hours ago might be more accurate.
Just hours earlier, Lee Han-seo had been locked in a grueling standoff with aging Alliance executives, engaged in a tedious back-and-forth over negotiation terms. Now, rubbing his tired eyes, he stood in front of the isolation room where Julian was being held.
“Guide-nim. Would you like to go in now?”
“Yes. Please open the door.”
The A-Class Esper tasked with guarding—or perhaps monitoring—the isolation room checked Han-seo’s credentials and promptly unlocked the door. Whether they were guarding Julian from others or others from Julian wasn’t entirely clear.
The moment the door opened, a thick stench of blood assaulted his senses.
Julian lay unconscious, shackled at the wrists, arms still bearing the raw, dried evidence of his futile struggle to break free. Crusted blood traced angry lines down his forearms, never cleaned. His face was ghostly pale, with dark, tacky smears staining his lips and beneath his nose.
Two days ago, Simon had carried him in slung over his shoulder, and he hadn’t left since—barely hanging on with sparse Radiation Guiding and substitute treatments.
For someone who’d racked up so many accolades, Julian’s condition was painfully pitiful. His shallow breathing looked like it might stop at any moment, and he was slumped over like discarded trash.
Even to a complete stranger, the scene would stir pity. For Han-seo, who’d actually spoken with Julian a few times, it was even harder to stomach.
He had clung to the belief that none of this was his fault. But looking at Julian now—so utterly broken outside of a dungeon, possibly worse than he’d ever seen—Han-seo couldn’t help but feel a flicker of guilt. A part of him wondered if, in some small way, he had contributed to this.
“……”
“Guide-nim? Are you all right? You don’t look well…”
As Han-seo stood frozen in silence, the manager at the door cautiously spoke up. His voice was laced with concern, but the eyes scanning Han-seo’s face were razor sharp, as if determined to catch even the slightest crack.
Han-seo instantly picked up on it. The manager wasn’t just worried—he was analyzing him.
Taking a quiet breath, Han-seo pushed aside the flicker of unease stirring inside him and composed his expression.
“Thank you for the concern. I’m just tired, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”
It was fine to waver on the inside—but he couldn’t show it. Every twitch of his expression would be reported, passed through too many eyes and ears, and eventually reach the upper ranks. Not just this manager, but others, too.
So, Han-seo stepped into the room with the calm, steady gait of someone completely unfazed. He gave a subtle nod toward the group of Guides following him.
At the signal, they surged into the room and surrounded the unconscious Julian Moore, pouring out Guiding in a flood.
These Guides hadn’t been chosen for their purity levels, only for the sheer volume of Guiding they could emit. Purity didn’t matter—not when Han-seo could refine and convert even the muddiest energy into something usable. That’s why so many of them were B- and C-Class.
As the withered body was doused with an overwhelming surge of Guiding, Julian—who had looked like he might pass out completely—suddenly stirred.
But even this much energy couldn’t fix a body as damaged as his in an instant. A low Matching Rate, poor purity—he’d been through this routine far too many times.
Julian blinked slowly, unphased. If they were going to keep throwing meaningless energy at him like this, he’d honestly prefer to be sedated and unconscious.
Life had always been painful. Sometimes dull, mostly agonizing. Ever since his Esper manifestation, that had been his reality. That was why he craved Han-seo’s Guiding so desperately. And yet… someone else had already claimed the spot at Han-seo’s side. He needed to break through somehow, but there was no opening. No way in. And still, giving up wasn’t an option. Not now.
If he was never going to be mine, then he never should’ve shown himself in the first place.
If you weren’t going to take me, then why—why did you save me at all?
That desire, so raw and consuming, felt less like longing and more like despair—like rage barely held back.
He clenched his teeth, jaw tight with frustration—
“…Ha, Han-seo?”
At the edge of his blurring vision, a familiar silhouette flickered into focus. Julian’s eyes flew open, wide with disbelief. Maybe he’d imagined it. Maybe… maybe if he blinked, it would vanish like a mirage, shattered into nothing.
Even the simple act of breathing felt too risky. As if exhaling would make the illusion disappear.
But it didn’t fade.
The figure across the room—Lee Han-seo—remained clear, unwavering. As Julian’s vision sharpened and his mind came back into focus, Han-seo’s presence only grew more vivid.
It’s really him. It’s really Lee Han-seo. He came… He came to see me.
The moment that realization hit, Julian found strength he didn’t know he still had. Limbs trembling, he twisted and struggled against his restraints, desperate to move—even just an inch closer to Han-seo, who stood quietly by the far wall.
He wanted to get up. To run to him. But the chains anchoring him to the bed only allowed for a few short steps. Damn it. If his body were in any kind of decent shape, he’d have ripped them off long ago.
But no matter how fiercely his will surged ahead, Julian’s body was nowhere near ready to follow. The moment his feet touched the floor, his knees buckled beneath him like paper. He collapsed helplessly, arms flailing above his head, wrists still bound in chains. The barely healed scabs on his arms tore open in unison, and fresh blood began to ooze out, raw and red.
The Guides surrounding the bed, all mid-Guiding, jolted in shock at Julian’s sudden collapse. The Guiding stopped immediately. They exchanged panicked glances, unsure of what to do. In the end, unable to decide on a course of action, they turned as one to look to Han-seo, anxiety etched into their faces.
“…You’ve done enough. You can all leave now.”
After a moment of silence, Han-seo’s calm, decisive order sent the Guides hurrying out of the room. Not all of them were A-Class—some were probably seeing a powerful Esper like Julian this close for the very first time. The accumulated Guiding in Julian’s body should be enough for now. There was no need to keep them any longer, especially not when they were visibly shaken.
“H-How did you get here? Where’s the Blader? Why are you alone? You really came alone, didn’t you? You’re here to guide me, right? That’s why you came alone, isn’t it? Han-seo, please, answer me. Tell me I’m right…!”
Still slumped on the floor, Julian didn’t even try to get back onto the bed. His wild, burning eyes gleamed as he stammered out question after question, one emotion crashing over the next. It wasn’t coherent speech so much as instinctive desperation, his words spilling out faster than he could think them.
And when Han-seo took a single step closer without answering, Julian began to tremble—violently, visibly. But not from fear or dread.
It was joy.
The kind that burned hot and bright, overwhelming in its purity.
“You’re right, Julian. I came to guide you.”
“H-Han-seo…! Han-seo!”
“I’m not going to waste time sugarcoating it, so I’ll just be blunt.”
Though the other Guides had already exited, the room wasn’t empty. The so-called manager—more of a warden than anything—was still stationed at the side, watching everything. Han-seo kept his tone icy, clinical, detached.
“As of this moment, I’ll be managing your Guiding until a compatible Bonded Pair is found. But it’s strictly temporary. Don’t misunderstand. Don’t get any ideas. My Esper will always be my first priority.”
It was a merciless declaration. A warning.
You will never be mine.
But Julian didn’t care. Just being guided by Han-seo—just having this—was enough to make him feel like he could fly. The rest of it? The conditions? The coldness? He didn’t care. He could ignore all of it.
“Let me make one more thing clear. In return for managing your Guiding, the Alliance agreed to give me the compensation I requested. This is nothing more than a transaction. The paperwork will be sent to you soon, so make sure you review the terms in advance.”
“Fine. Whatever. The point is—you’re guiding me. That’s all that matters. So quit talking and just start Guid—!!”
In the middle of his outburst, Julian abruptly stopped.
Froze.
Like someone had pulled the plug on him completely.
Han-seo had suddenly closed the distance—and without warning, he grabbed Julian by the nape of the neck and pulled him into a hard, unrelenting embrace.
