“What?”
Park Ki-hyun asked again, incredulous.
“The quality of guiding depends on the guide’s condition, and here you are, stuffing your face with garbage like it’s gourmet.”
Bae Yeon-woo said it with unwavering certainty.
“You. You’ve never actually been guided by a Guide before, have you?”
“So what if I haven’t!! I don’t need that crap!!”
“Don’t need it? You think you can just survive on meds instead?”
“Y-yeah!!”
Kwon Ho-eun could only stand there, silently watching, with no idea what was going on.
“If all the suspected Espers Tiger took are in that state, then we’ve got a serious problem.”
Eom Tae-seok frowned, clearly troubled. Ho-eun’s lips parted slightly, curiosity tugging at him—what was the issue exactly?
“Shifok.”
That’s when Do In-ho finally spoke.
“They’ve basically created walking time bombs. No telling when they’ll blow.”
The cold, blunt words made Ho-eun’s pupils dilate.
“Time bombs? What the hell do they gain from that?”
Kang Him-chan responded, sounding baffled. When an Esper overloads, they die.
In a world where the number of Espers equates to national power, creating such instability was no better than destroying your own arsenal.
And it’s not like they’re crystal implant users like Do In-ho…
“Haah. They’ve lost their goddamn minds.”
As everyone struggled to comprehend the situation, Bae Yeon-woo ran a hand through his hair before gripping it hard. His brow twisted like he had a splitting headache, and his chest rose and fell in ragged anger—like he was trying to pull fury up from the pit of his gut.
“They’re bait.”
Eom Tae-seok laid down his conclusion, and Bae Yeon-woo added to it.
“Exactly. Looks like they’re preparing to threaten us into sending Guides in, under the pretense of saving Espers held by the anti-government group.”
Though he had been acting rough moments earlier, Bae Yeon-woo still showed proper deference to his superior.
“Have they already tossed out the bait? Or are they still gathering it?”
For some reason, the words of that nameless man from before came to mind—“They say when a hunter goes after a tiger, it’s usually the hunter who ends up being devoured.”
The eerily calm voice rang vividly in Ho-eun’s ears.
“Even if we include the previous suspects and Park Ki-hyun, that’s still just a handful. I doubt the higher-ups will lift a finger for so few.”
“You’re still so quick to make definitive statements.”
Eom Tae-seok interjected into Bae Yeon-woo’s words.
“Three people: the two who disappeared and Park Ki-hyun. Add Han Yeo-ul, once she awakens, and that makes four.”
At the mention of four, Bae Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed—he’d caught on to something.
“Seoul, Incheon, Gimpo, Jeju. If a single overload candidate is placed in each branch of the Esper Corporation… they wouldn’t even need to sync the explosion dates. One by one, they’ll pop.
Trust in the Esper Corporation will tank. Public fear will skyrocket.”
“…And at that point, we’d have no choice but to act.”
“What are you implying?”
“I’m saying we might be forced to provide guiding support to the anti-government group.”
Park Ki-hyun, who’d been silently listening, scoffed with a puff of breath.
“Pfft. I knew it. You guys are nothing. Compared to him…”
As morning crept in, the sky outside had taken on a bluish hue. The window, left slightly open, let in the cool dawn air, refreshing the room.
“Director. We don’t need this guy anymore—should I knock him out?”
Paul, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. When Eom Tae-seok nodded, Paul stood and struck the back of Park Ki-hyun’s neck.
“What’s the status on Han Yeo-ul?”
“No concrete evidence yet, but from the audio we obtained last night, we’re now convinced there’s a strong possibility she’s an Esper.”
It seemed Paul had been listening in on Han Yeo-ul’s recordings too. The device played back the part of the conversation between her parents late last night.
“Additionally, we suspect Han Yeo-ul’s parents are connected to the Dragon. It looks like they gambled away everything they had.”
As Bae Yeon-woo continued, Eom Tae-seok rubbed his chin.
“Still, we’ve got nothing solid. This could blow up in our faces if we screw up.”
Eom Seong-chan spoke in an irritable tone. Ho-eun shot him a sharp glare.
“What, what’re you glaring at me for? What is wrong with the PR kids lately? Whatever—just hand Park Ki-hyun over to HR and call it a day. You’re not seriously planning to use him to capture anti-government Espers or something, are you?”
“……”
“Now you’re both glaring at me?”
Bae Yeon-woo’s glare was sharp enough to bore holes through steel. If he were an Esper, Eom Seong-chan’s face might’ve ended up with literal holes from the intensity.
“If we turn a blind eye and something does happen, HR won’t be able to dodge the blame. We should stop this while we still can. This mission was meant to be a cooperative effort, wasn’t it?”
“Hey! That’s not the kind of ‘cooperation’ I meant!”
Just as Eom Seong-chan was about to slam the table and lash out, Eom Tae-seok raised a hand, stopping him.
Eom Seong-chan, who’d half-risen from his seat, reluctantly sat back down.
“Assistant Manager Bae. Do you know why the special division for anti-government Espers was extended to include PR?”
“Because anti-government sweeps are dangerous. That’s why we were added as support.”
“There’s another reason.
When things go south, someone has to take the fall. A department that can absorb all the backlash—like a human shield.”
Bae Yeon-woo said nothing. His face showed he already knew.
“Frankly, I don’t want PR involved in any anti-government operations.”
“……”
No one from HR spoke up to disagree with Eom Tae-seok.
“But I still owe you something, Yeon-woo. So I’ll give you one day.”
“??”
“We’ll release Park Ki-hyun. Use him to infiltrate the hideout. Find out what you can. At midnight, regardless of what you’ve uncovered, we take him back.”
Bae Yeon-woo looked stunned, eyes full of disbelief. His face was conflicted—torn between disbelief and emotion. Even Ho-eun felt a jolt of surprise.
“Kid. In your report, say that the anti-government group, which had been hiding the awakened Park Ki-hyun, might also be hiding Han Yeo-ul’s awakening. Say that’s why we let him go—to make contact with her directly.”
“Yes, Director.”
–THUD
“This is insane! You’d risk the whole team over your personal feelings?!”
Eom Seong-chan slammed the table and yelled.
“Is this what I meant when I came to you, Director?! I told you to put him in his place—make sure he never steps out of line again!”
“……”
“Don’t you remember? When that bastard agreed to imprint, then went and accused me of trying to force it on him?! Fuck. I was planning to treat him nicely this time and give him a taste of his own medicine.”
With no one stopping him, Eom Seong-chan’s rage surged. Spittle flew as he shouted.
“You know I almost lost my promotion to Team Lead because of him!!”
“I know.”
“Right?! Then now’s the time! That punk who doesn’t know his place—”
Bae Yeon-woo’s clenched fist was visibly trembling. He bit his lip over and over, trying to swallow the rage.
Even if it broke his hand, he wanted to smash it into Eom Seong-chan’s face. Should he do it? But if he got disciplined, wouldn’t that hurt the team?
A swirl of thoughts tangled in his head.
“The one who doesn’t know his place… is you, Seong-chan.”
The words came out low and cold, tinged with restrained fury. Bae Yeon-woo cautiously turned his gaze to Eom Tae-seok.
“You lucked into a good family. Or maybe it’s your family’s fault you turned out like this.”
Eom Tae-seok let out a bitter smile.
“I’ve regretted it more than once, you know—taking the side of someone just because of their family name. Seong-chan, Yeon-woo didn’t do anything wrong. You were the one imagining things. Charging ahead alone. Misreading everything and losing someone precious because you couldn’t see clearly.”
“…What the hell? Why aren’t you taking my side?! Is Bae Yeon-woo fucking you too now?!”
Eom Seong-chan reached for Yeon-woo, but Nam Woon-soo stepped in fast to block him.
“You’re… fucking pathetic right now.”
“Fuck off! Let go of me! Who do you think you are, you smug piece of shit?!”
Kwon Ho-eun stood up and positioned himself beside Yeon-woo protectively.
“Look. I’ve been quiet since I don’t know the full story, but enough’s enough. It doesn’t even sound like you’ve got anything to be proud of—so why are you the one yelling?”
As the newbie spoke up, Eom Seong-chan looked utterly dumbfounded.
“Honestly, Assistant Manager Bae Yeon-woo seems way more competent than you. You’re pissed because he’s more respected than you, even without the fancy family name, aren’t you?”
From the very beginning, something about Eom Seong-chan had bothered him.
He didn’t show this level of hatred toward Kang Him-chan, or even Ho-eun himself—both also Guides.
His disgust seemed laser-focused on Yeon-woo.
Was it because the Guide he once sweet-talked into imprinting had turned on him?
The more Ho-eun watched, the more emotions he saw in Eom Seong-chan. Jealousy, resentment, regret, envy, hatred.
So many, all flaring up in a single instant.
“Assistant Manager Bae Yeon-woo isn’t part of HR anymore. You don’t get to boss around our department, Team Lead Eom. Of course, I’m just a newbie, so maybe I’m wrong.”
Though he blurted it out, Ho-eun felt a little embarrassed afterward and cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Looks like you’ve got a solid team this time.”
Eom Tae-seok said kindly to Ho-eun, who was now sweating bullets, trying to gauge the mood.
“You know what they say: when the junk car’s gone, the Benz rolls in.”
With a chuckle, Bae Yeon-woo draped an arm over Ho-eun’s shoulder.
“So? You still wanna fight when you’re clearly outnumbered?”
Eom Seong-chan looked around. Paul and Kang Him-chan were busy looking elsewhere, pretending not to notice. Everyone else was clearly against him.
“Ha. Unbelievable. You’re amazing, Bae Yeon-woo. How many people did you seduce exactly? Fuck. I’m not letting this slide. All I have to do is report it to the higher-ups, right?”
Just as he reached for the conference room door, Eom Tae-seok lifted a hand—
Click. The door creaked open. Standing in the doorway, holding coffee, was none other than Baek Woo-gyeong.
“C-Chairman?!”
“Ahaha. Surprise~”
Baek Woo-gyeong walked past the dumbfounded Eom Seong-chan and placed the coffee on the table.
“I just happened to drop by HQ and saw the lights on in the HR conference room, so I figured I’d check in. Bit noisy, isn’t it?”
With a warm smile, Baek Woo-gyeong took a seat like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Ho-eun noticed something that proved this visit wasn’t as “coincidental” as it seemed—there was exactly one cup of coffee for each person in the room.
“Well. No need to run off to find someone higher up. Just talk to me.”
“Chairman! Please—you’ve gotta hear me out. These bastards—!”
Flustered but seeing an opening, Eom Seong-chan rushed to Baek Woo-gyeong and began tattling about everything that had just happened.
Too caught up in his story to notice Baek Woo-gyeong’s lips slowly curling upward with every word,
Eom Seong-chan poured out his tale, throwing in increasingly vulgar terms, thinking the Chairman was actually on his side.
