“Let’s head out too.”
“…Huh? Cough, cough!”
Han Jigang, who had been quietly listening to Tae Yishin and Ryu Somin talk, suddenly spoke up to Nabin. Startled, Nabin choked mid-reply on the risotto Jigang kept feeding him—food he’d been swallowing without chewing properly because he felt so self-conscious.
His pale face flushed red as he coughed violently. Jigang gently patted his back, careful not to hurt him.
“Why are you eating like you’re being chased? No one’s going to take it from you.”
Though he scolded lightly, Jigang’s hand was tender as he handed over a cup of lukewarm water. His behavior made Nabin feel even more uneasy, like sitting on a bed of thorns.
What made it worse was the silence that had fallen, and the way Yishin and Somin were now staring straight at him and Jigang.
“You’re going out too?”
“Yeah.”
“With the Guide?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why?”
Jigang kept tending to Nabin as if he hadn’t noticed their stares, but when Yishin’s sharp questioning showed no sign of stopping, he finally lifted his gaze to meet his.
Their eyes locked—opposite colors clashing like sparks. The air in the kitchen grew charged with their dueling auras.
The invisible pressure prickled their skin, making both Nabin and Somin shudder at the same time. Realizing this, both men pulled back their force, but the hostility smoldering in their eyes only deepened.
“What business is it of yours? Whether I take him out or do something else with him—what does it matter to you?”
“…What?”
Yishin’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that response. They’d fought countless times while living together, but it had always been about matters between them—never because of someone else.
Even when it came to Ryu Somin, they’d only ever disagreed mildly, never fought in earnest. But now… Jigang was bristling at Yishin over the Guide who had barged into their home uninvited.
“And for the next week, don’t lay a finger on Kim Nabin. If you need Guiding, go to the Center and use the machines. At least pretend to reflect on what you did yesterday.”
Nabin, who had been grateful enough just for one day of rest, looked up at Jigang with trembling eyes. Nestled in his arms, he couldn’t see his face clearly, but the coldness in the way he stared at Yishin carried not a trace of warmth. It was painful just to witness.
It felt like they were fighting because of him, but he couldn’t step in to stop it. All Nabin could do was fidget nervously, picking at a hangnail until it bled, praying desperately for this moment to pass.
“What, do you own him or something? He’s public property. Just like a toilet we all take turns using when we need Guiding.”
At those words, Nabin’s hand froze.
He already knew his worth didn’t even measure up to an ordinary person. Since meeting Kim Minsu, the number of people who had treated him like a human being could be counted on one hand. Most looked at him with contempt, spitting cruel words without hesitation.
And no matter how often he heard them, it didn’t mean they stopped hurting. If only they had made him stronger. Instead, Yishin’s words now drove into him like a blade.
…A public toilet.
Even he couldn’t deny that the phrase suited him. His eyes burned red before he could stop it. He bit his lip hard enough to sting, trying to hold back the sobs, but like tears, the trembling of his body couldn’t be hidden.
“…Tae Yishin. I’ve let you off enough.”
“You think you’re letting me off…?”
Jigang pulled Nabin’s tear-stained face against his chest, shielding it, and glared at Yishin with deadly eyes. The scorn in that stare snapped Yishin’s composure.
Before Jigang could stop him, Yishin invaded Nabin’s mind. Locking eyes was the most effective way to use his ability, but with a Guide, it was easy enough regardless.
Nabin’s mental defenses were fragile. Normally, Guides had stronger willpower than average people, but Nabin’s psyche—perhaps because of his battered life—was riddled with holes Yishin could easily exploit.
Like plunging a knife into tofu, he slipped inside effortlessly. Nabin’s mental walls were as pitiful as his outward state. Even a B-rank Esper could have broken through.
You’re trash. Not a person. Nothing but a Guiding machine, here only to serve us whenever we want.
Yishin whispered cruel truths into Nabin’s mind. Even if he covered his ears, the voice echoed like thunder inside his skull.
His ability allowed him to invade and rewrite minds, bending them to his will. He could force actions—or, as now, reshape thoughts themselves.
Against monsters, he made them attack their own kind or kill themselves. Against spies, he rewired their cognition until they could only speak the truth.
This time, he intended to snuff out Nabin’s sense of self completely. If Nabin came to accept mistreatment as natural—unable to cry or laugh—then Jigang would never again fight him over a Guide.
Maybe it was better if a Guide had no ego. Without thoughts, there would be no pain, no tears.
“Tae Yishin…!”
Nabin’s pupils lost focus, his mouth slack as drool spilled down. Realizing what was happening, Jigang summoned a blazing sword and swung at Yishin.
The strike came with no restraint. Yishin had no choice but to sever his link with Nabin and leap back. His clothes caught fire, scorched black burns streaking across his upper body.
To properly control someone—or implant a lasting command—he had to repeat it at least three times. He had managed only one. The unanchored words faded like mist under sunlight.
“Hahh… hhh…”
Nabin gasped, face pale and blue, his body shaking with chills. His teeth clattered uncontrollably.
“Ughh…”
His breathing faltered, stopping and starting as though he’d forgotten how. Sweat drenched his face, the bluish tint deepening. Alarmed, Jigang cupped his hands around Nabin’s nose and mouth.
“Kim Nabin, don’t forget to breathe. It’s over now—just breathe, please.”
His hands trembled just like Nabin’s as he coaxed him to breathe. Jigang didn’t pull away until Nabin’s breaths steadied again. His face was like ice, his red eyes burning with fury so intense it turned cold.
Nabin, finally breathing again, closed his eyes weakly and slumped unconscious in Jigang’s arms. Holding him close, Jigang rose to his feet and glared at Yishin, his words cutting like stone.
“Don’t think for a second you’ll walk away from this. Using your ability on a Guide—outside of duty, and not even on another Esper? That’s grounds for heavy punishment, and you damn well know it. When the Center sends people, hold out your hands and let them cuff you. Rot in a cell and think long and hard about what you just did. And don’t even dream of Guiding with Kim Nabin again.”
Among Esper powers, Yishin’s was especially dangerous. Whether monster or human, mental manipulation left almost no outward trace. Because of that, the Center enforced stricter standards on Espers with psychic abilities.
What he had done today was undeniably punishable. Even being thrown into an Esper-only prison, locked in solitary confinement with his powers suppressed for a week until he couldn’t even stand properly—he’d have no excuse.
He hated confined spaces more than anything, so maybe time in prison would force him to come to his senses. And if it didn’t… Jigang was ready to break his habits for good this time.
Because Yishin had already crossed the line.
Whether or not he hated Nabin didn’t matter—what he had done was unforgivable. He had abandoned both the ethics of an Esper and the decency of a human being.
