The sensation Tae Yishin felt being Guided by Nabin was on a completely different level from anything he’d experienced with other Guides. Until now, every one of them had been too resistant—their touch would ignite his body with heat for a moment, only to leave him mired in disgust by the end.
At times, he’d even thought the cold, impersonal Guiding machine was preferable. Receiving Guiding from a living Guide had become something he associated with discomfort and loathing.
But Nabin was different. His pace was unhurried, almost snail-like, yet the wild mana raging inside Tae Yishin slowly began to calm.
His Outbreak Risk Index was 55. Even though that was the lowest among the three Espers, it was still dangerously high. Once the number had passed 50, the splitting headaches had never left him.
S-rank Espers developed a natural resistance to pain, but the agony caused by a rising risk index wasn’t the same as any physical injury.
It was something deeper. A primal, bodily warning, as though his very cells knew that any higher would mean death, and so they screamed at him without pause.
Yet now, just for a fleeting moment, his head cleared—like it had been rinsed clean with a bracing, sharp wind. The heavy, stabbing pain returned soon after, but that instant of release was enough to draw a faint, satisfied smile to his lips.
That satisfaction turned into raw hunger. He stopped stroking Nabin’s hair and gave in to instinct.
Even as Nabin gagged and struggled for breath, Tae Yishin didn’t relent. Eventually, Nabin’s eyes rolled back. His mouth, already stretched past its limit, had long since flushed crimson.
He used Nabin’s limp body like a tool, refusing to stop until he was fully satisfied. Even unconscious, Nabin’s body twitched sporadically, small spasms rippling through him.
“Haah… that’s good.”
Only then did Tae Yishin ease his grip on the smaller man’s head. Nabin’s body collapsed limply onto the floor.
The sight of those wide, glassy eyes with barely any pupil showing, and the faint rise and fall of his frail chest, made Tae Yishin’s fingers twitch. For a moment, he thought about going again—but he had already drained every last bit of Guiding mana from him. Anything more would be pointless.
Straightening his clothes, he rose and looked down. Nabin’s wrecked state was pitiful enough that Tae Yishin considered putting him on the bed—but the bed was even filthier. He left him on the floor and walked out.
As the sun set, a crimson glow filled the room. Only the faint, uneven tremors of the frail body on the floor marked that he was still alive.
***
“Hey. Dinner’s ready.”
When evening came, Han Jigang knocked on Nabin’s door. Getting no response, he threw it open.
“That bastard Tae Yishin—said he wasn’t gonna take Guiding, then left him looking like a rag.”
Jigang had conveniently forgotten that he himself had treated Nabin far worse.
He stepped inside, nudging the dazed boy with the tip of his foot. When Nabin gave no response, he clicked his tongue.
The Healing Potion he’d given earlier sat untouched on the nightstand. He’d told him not to be stingy with it, but the bottle was nearly full.
“Idiot.”
Jigang uncapped it and poured the potion into Nabin’s mouth. He spread the liquid over the torn corners of his lips, the raw skin around his eyes, and the shallow cuts on his hands. The bottle emptied quickly.
He slipped the empty bottle into his pocket and set a fresh one on the nightstand.
Color slowly returned to Nabin’s once-ashen face. Jigang thought of putting him on the bed, but the filthy sheets made him hesitate.
“If there aren’t any sheets, he should’ve said something. Dumb kid.”
The stains from his own earlier use were still visible. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and ordered a stack of disposable sheets.
His eyes drifted around the room, seeing things he hadn’t noticed before. Back when he’d first handed the space over, he hadn’t cared enough to look.
Now he saw it clearly: aside from the bed, none of the furniture was usable. He made another call, ordering more supplies. For the time being, he stripped the soiled sheets off and laid Nabin directly on the bare mattress.
From the sound of his ragged but steady breathing, his health wasn’t in danger. Nabin had always been too terrified to meet his gaze; this was the first time Jigang had really looked at his face. Asleep, he seemed far more at ease.
“Better than I thought.”
He stared for a while before his phone buzzed. The items he’d paid extra to rush had already arrived.
While Nabin slept, Jigang quickly began transforming the storage-like room. Despite the noise, Nabin never stirred.
The once-barren space turned into something livable. Fresh sheets replaced the soiled ones, and a warm quilt covered the boy’s body.
After a brief hesitation, Jigang’s hand brushed lightly through his hair—then retreated.
Click.
The door shut. Not long after, Nabin’s eyelids quivered.
“Mm…”
He was lost in nightmares, tangled memories of his time at the brothel pulling him under. He had no sense of how long he’d been trapped there.
Then, the faint sound of a door closing pulled him slowly back. His eyelids fluttered, his pale eyes regaining focus.
For a moment, he couldn’t place where he was. The dream had been so vivid, reality itself felt uncertain. The ceilings at the brothel had always been stained, mottled like dirty maps.
But now, the ceiling above him was pure white, spotless as snow. Moonlight spilled gently through the window, keeping the room from darkness even though the sun had set.
“…The mansion.”
At the sight of the tall window, memory returned. This was the mansion where he had signed a Dedicated Guide contract with three S-rank Espers.
He raised a hand to his lips. He had expected torn flesh, but what he felt was smooth. His throat, which should have been so swollen that swallowing hurt, was intact.
Slowly, he sat up and looked around. The room had changed so much he doubted it was the one Jigang had given him.
To be sure, he pinched his cheek hard—hard enough to leave a red mark on his pale skin.
“…That hurts.”
But nothing changed.
The piles of dusty boxes were gone. In their place stood a small wooden table and an ivory-colored sofa.
A matching carpet beneath it added warmth to what had once been a cold, empty space.
On the sofa sat a massive brown teddy bear, bigger than his torso, staring right at him.
Sheer white curtains hung over the window. The blanket covering him was different, too—soft and plush, making his fingers curl nervously.
Until now, Nabin had slept without a blanket. The only thing in the closet had been a thin sheet, and he’d made do because the mansion itself was warm.
He lifted the blanket carefully. The sheets beneath were new, pure white. Spotless. The sight filled him with a strange unease.
The transformation was so dramatic, it was like someone had worked magic while he slept. Stunned, he simply sat there, staring.
“…Am I still dreaming?”
But the room didn’t change. Unless he’d gone mad and was hallucinating, someone had come in while he slept and done all this.
But who?
Han Jigang? Tae Yishin? Gong Min? Or perhaps their still-unseen Guide?
Whoever it was, Nabin couldn’t feel grateful. It might not even be kindness. The Espers he had known were not people capable of such care.
Even someone as ignorant and naïve as him could sense that much.
Then… it must be for them.
His eyes, which had brightened for a fleeting moment with memories of rare childhood warmth, dulled again. Though moonlight bathed the room, his gaze was empty, hollow of all light.
Even if this space was better than the brothel, the essence was the same. They hadn’t wanted the place where they received Guiding from him to be shabby.
They lived in a mansion grand enough to take his breath away. Compared to that, his tiny, pitiful room must have been an eyesore.
This wasn’t for him. It was for them. And that thought… was probably the truth.
