Nabin no longer knew whether it was day or night. He couldn’t even feel the most basic urges of being alive. He didn’t eat, didn’t sleep—just trembled endlessly in a haze of dread.
Only when Han Jigang forced sleeping pills down his throat did he fall into a shallow sleep. Only when his mouth was pried open and food shoved inside did he swallow. The routine repeated again and again.
As Nabin’s condition worsened, Ryu Somin’s slowly improved. Though he had drunk enough Pasquinum tea to nearly fall into a coma, it had been sheer luck that Tae Yishin discovered him early.
A Healing Potion had been administered before it was too late, and a poison specialist had treated him. His life was no longer in danger, though he had yet to wake.
Even after Ryu Somin’s condition stabilized, Tae Yishin kept coming to see Nabin. If not for Gong Min and Han Jigang taking turns standing guard and explaining the situation, Tae Yishin looked ready to do something reckless.
No matter what Han Jigang said about Nabin’s broken Artifact, Tae Yishin refused to listen. He had already convinced himself that Nabin had tried to kill Ryu Somin and wouldn’t hear a word otherwise.
When Ryu Soh-an died, no one had been more shattered than Tae Yishin. That loss was why he was so fiercely protective of Ryu Somin now.
The thought that he had nearly lost Ryu Somin too left him in shock, unwilling to even consider Han Jigang’s words. Even when Han Jigang told him that someone had destroyed Nabin’s pendant—and that Ryu Somin was the prime suspect—Tae Yishin only heard what he wanted.
“Crazy bastard.”
Instead, he hurled accusations, insisting Han Jigang was the one who had lost his mind over Nabin. Eventually, Han Jigang gave up trying to reason with him.
“Step aside, Han Jigang.”
“……”
It had become a daily ritual since Ryu Somin’s collapse. Han Jigang and Gong Min guarded Nabin’s door, while Tae Yishin tried to force his way in.
Even as Ryu Somin recovered, Tae Yishin seethed, desperate for an outlet for his rage. At times like these, it was obvious he was the youngest of the three. The age gap was small—barely a year or two—but he let anger rule him like a child throwing a tantrum.
He had already nearly killed Nabin once. If Han Jigang had been even a heartbeat slower pushing him away, Nabin’s neck would have snapped like a twig. Whenever Han Jigang remembered that moment, even his own vision would turn red, his grip on reason slipping.
“…So you really want to see this through?”
The air around Tae Yishin began to twist. The fragile restraint that had barely held him back finally broke. He was gathering mana, ready to unleash his power on Han Jigang for real.
“Um… Esper Han Jigang, Esper Tae Yishin…”
The staff member in charge of Nabin’s care called to them in a trembling, pleading voice. Gong Min stood at his side. But the sharp tension crackling between the two Espers only thickened, pressing down on the mansion like a suffocating weight.
“Gong Min, why’d you bring him in here?”
Han Jigang didn’t take his eyes off Tae Yishin as he asked. Gong Min knew exactly how dangerous the situation inside the mansion was—he wouldn’t have brought staff inside without a serious reason.
Instead of answering, Gong Min tapped the man’s shoulder. His unusually grim face said enough—the matter wasn’t ordinary.
Shaking under the oppressive atmosphere, the staffer jolted like a man struck and blurted his message in a desperate shout, just to be done with it.
“G-Guide Kim Nabin’s mother passed away this morning!”
“…What?”
Even Tae Yishin, who had been seconds from striking, froze and turned. With three Espers’ gazes fixed on him, the staffer went pale, his vision washing out in shock.
He clenched his fists and forced himself to continue. Unless he was imagining it, his skin had actually split open, a trickle of blood running down his face. The murderous aura that had been locked between Han Jigang and Tae Yishin had cut into him too.
“She was found by her nurse… i-it appears to be suicide!”
“Ha, fuck…”
“Eek…!”
Han Jigang cursed, biting down on the words. Disaster piled upon disaster. The world seemed determined to crush Nabin. His Artifact, which had anchored his sanity, was already gone.
Nabin was still so far gone he could barely stay conscious. And when he did stir, he clawed his own skin raw, writhing in pain with strange, self-destructive spasms.
If he learned now that his mother had died… no one could say how much further he would fall. And suicide, of all things…
“Before the body is prepared, we thought Guide Kim Nabin needed to be told… The Center Director ordered the funeral to be held at one of the Center’s halls!”
The staffer forced out the words, trembling so badly he nearly wet himself. He twisted his legs together, holding it in with sheer will. If he failed to speak properly now, he’d pay for it later. Better to get it over with than risk coming back to this cursed mansion again.
“…Fine. Go.”
“Yes, sir! Good day!”
At Han Jigang’s dismissal, the staffer bolted like a bird with its tail on fire, desperate to escape. The suffocating energy from Espers on the verge of fighting had nearly paralyzed him; he had never run so fast in his life.
Silence hung in the space he left behind. Even Tae Yishin held still, his fury cooled in the face of Nabin’s new tragedy.
Han Jigang exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair. He didn’t know where to start, but the most important thing was making sure Nabin could see his mother off.
“…Don’t tell him it was suicide. I’ll take him to the funeral myself.”
To Han Jigang, Nabin’s mother had always seemed like a parasite, feeding off her own son. Looking back, she was at the root of much of his suffering.
But ironically, it was because of her that he had met Nabin. Because of her, Nabin had clung to life. He had hoped she would survive, and even the Center Director had recognized her importance, mobilizing the medical staff to keep her alive.
She had even shown signs of recovery, and Han Jigang had already resolved to care for her himself if the Director ever withdrew support, just so Nabin wouldn’t be made to suffer because of her again.
But suicide… he had never imagined it. She had supposedly spent most of her time unconscious. Maybe, in a fleeting moment of clarity, guilt had overwhelmed her—that she couldn’t burden her son any longer. Or maybe she was simply tired of living half-dead.
Whatever the reason, nothing good would come of Nabin knowing. He hadn’t regained his sanity yet, and if he learned of her death, it might shock him back to his senses—but more likely, it would shatter him completely.
Han Jigang walked heavily to Nabin’s room. When he opened the door, Nabin was in the exact same position as before, curled up tight, trying to hide from the world.
His thin frame looked even smaller now. Without proper meals, his spine jutted sharply even through his clothes, pressing on Han Jigang’s chest with a suffocating weight.
“…Kim Nabin.”
“P-please… spare me…”
Watching him clasp his hands together, begging for his life without even recognizing who was there, was more painful than Han Jigang expected. He bowed his head, then opened the wardrobe and pulled out clothes suitable for the funeral.
No matter his condition, Nabin couldn’t be kept from his mother’s final farewell. Even someone as gentle as him might resent Han Jigang later if he were denied that chance.
Rummaging through the wardrobe, Han Jigang found a black suit. He had bought it long ago, just in case.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
As Nabin kept whispering pleas, Han Jigang carefully lifted him into his arms and began dressing him. Thankfully, Nabin seemed to recognize his scent—though he struggled at first, he soon went still and let himself be handled.
But when the clothes came off, the sharp outline of his bones stood out even more, and Han Jigang’s face darkened.
“C-cold…”
“Sorry. Let’s get you dressed.”
Though the room was warm, Nabin shivered as if an icy wind were cutting through him. Han Jigang dressed his frail body in the suit, then wrapped him in a blanket. It was already the season when others wore short sleeves, yet Nabin still shook, as if the frozen wind inside him had lowered his very body heat.
Han Jigang gathered him up and left the room. Tae Yishin, who had been ready to strike just moments earlier, was gone.
