Nam Woon-soo perked up his right ear, then tugged on Ho-eun’s shirt.
— KWAANG!!!
Ho-eun, slammed into the wall alongside Nam Woon-soo, blankly stared as the front door went flying toward the spot he had just been standing.
The door struck Park Ki-hyun head-on and pinned him against the wall.
“Am I allowed to kill this bastard?”
Do In-ho stepped in, slipping on black gloves, his face steeped in murderous intent.
“Hey. Let it go, would you? Look at his reaction. It’s his first time being Guided.”
Do In-ho’s brow twitched.
“Fine, don’t kill him. Let’s just restrain him first.”
At Bae Yeon-woo’s command, Do In-ho approached Ho-eun and pressed a kiss to his wrist.
“How dare you…”
Despite the gentle touch of his lips, his eyes blazed with fury. In an instant, Do In-ho was in front of Park Ki-hyun.
“How dare you run your mouth like that—like you could save anyone?”
Blue flames surged and wrapped around Do In-ho’s entire body. Park Ki-hyun, struggling under the fallen door, lifted it with great effort, his face frozen in terror.
“Wait… In-ho, hold on—ugh…!”
Ho-eun shook off Nam Woon-soo’s grip and took a step forward, only to stumble as a wave of dizziness hit him.
A sharp beep rang in his ears, and his vision swayed. He paused, clutched his head, and blinked. When he opened his eyes again, Bae Yeon-woo was standing in front of him.
“You’re probably disoriented from being hit with an ability.”
“Ugh. My stomach’s not feeling great either.”
— CRACK
As soon as Ho-eun spoke, Do In-ho stepped onto the fallen door in front of Park Ki-hyun. The door split clean in two beneath his foot, a clear sign of how enraged he was.
“As long as he can talk, that’s all we need.”
The flames surrounding Do In-ho flared wildly. They were paler than usual, and strangely, they passed right through objects without burning them. Everything else remained untouched—but Park Ki-hyun seemed to be feeling every ounce of their heat.
“Don’t come closer!!! Do you know who I am?! If you touch me, he will come!!!”
Park Ki-hyun fumbled for his phone, but as he reached into his pants, Do In-ho grabbed and twisted his wrist—dislocating his shoulder in one swift motion.
“AAAGH—mmph?! MMPH!!!”
His scream was muffled by Do In-ho’s palm.
Do In-ho began twisting and resetting Park Ki-hyun’s bones repeatedly, over and over again.
“Don’t you think hanging around Espers’ll rot your brain?”
Standing in front of Ho-eun, Bae Yeon-woo gently pressed down on his head with one hand. Unlike before, it wasn’t a forceful push—it felt more like he was shielding Ho-eun from the brutality in front of them.
“People like us, regular folks, if our bodies got that messed up, we’d be rushed to the hospital. But Espers? As long as their hearts don’t get pierced, they just regenerate. No matter how many times it happens. Makes you wonder…”
“……”
“Feels like they’re something entirely different from us. Alien, even. Makes you queasy, makes you doubt everything.”
“……”
“Eventually, you even start to hate them. Maybe it’s just me, though.”
As Bae Yeon-woo finished speaking, the grotesque crack of bones abruptly stopped. The previously cold room felt oddly warm, likely due to Do In-ho’s ability. Ho-eun slowly lifted his head.
“It’s done.”
Do In-ho turned around, blood staining his cheek and clothes. At least it wasn’t on his pajamas—he had changed into normal clothes after getting out of the car.
“Now then. Shall we have a chat?”
Park Ki-hyun’s face had gone pale with fear. He kicked his legs desperately, like he was trying to back into the wall, but there was nowhere to go. All he could do was slump against it.
“Ho-eun. Give me your glasses.”
Ho-eun handed Bae Yeon-woo the glasses he was wearing. Putting them on, Bae Yeon-woo calmly walked up to Park Ki-hyun, step by measured step, and stopped right in front of him.
He crouched and lifted Park Ki-hyun’s chin.
“If you awakened as an Esper, you should’ve registered with the Esper Corporation. Why’d you choose this path?”
“Huff, huff. D-do you have proof?! You got any proof I’m an Esper?!”
“Huh. Funny how you know we need proof before we can bring you in.”
At some point, Nam Woon-soo had come to stand beside Bae Yeon-woo.
“He’s right. Proof is important. And your ability is illusion-based, yeah? Since only those affected by it can see it, collecting evidence is a pain in the ass.”
Bae Yeon-woo pushed up the bridge of his glasses.
“But these glasses are custom-made. They react to Esper abilities—can detect brainwashed individuals, or even visualize abilities that aren’t usually visible.”
“What?!!”
“So yeah. We’ve got proof. That illusion you showed us? These glasses recorded it.”
Bae Yeon-woo smirked. His expression was more terrifying than a grim reaper come to claim a soul.
“So how about we talk? Openly and honestly.”
Park Ki-hyun’s gaze flicked toward the ceiling. Maybe he thought of someone just then—he shook his head furiously, teeth chattering in panic.
“E-even if I die, I won’t say anything!”
“Why? They threatening to kill you if you talk? But let me tell you something. If you don’t choose us, you’ll end up begging us to kill you instead.”
Without warning, Bae Yeon-woo pulled out a dagger and glanced at Nam Woon-soo. As if it were routine, Nam Woon-soo pulled a cloth from his pocket and stuffed it into Park Ki-hyun’s mouth.
“MMPH!! MMPH!!!”
As Bae Yeon-woo raised the blade and made his move, Park Ki-hyun’s body trembled violently, eyes rolling back in pain.
“Normal citizens get legal protection. Capital punishment’s gone now, and even with the crimes you’ve committed, you’d only serve a few years in prison, tops.”
“NGGHHH!!! HUFF, MMMPH!!!”
— SPLASH
Blood sprayed up and splattered across Bae Yeon-woo’s face. The sharp tang of iron filled the room.
“But in the Esper trials, things are different. Trash like you? You’d get a Class 1 Punishment.”
Park Ki-hyun shook his head desperately, trying to resist.
Though Ho-eun could only see Bae Yeon-woo from behind, he imagined the man’s face was completely blank.
“Even Espers feel pain. We’ll lock you up in a torture chamber, let you rot in agony for years. Just like now.”
— SHLICK
“NGHHHHH!!! MMMPH!! NGHHH!!!”
“How’s that? Scarier than dying, isn’t it?”
Tears streaming down his bloodied face, Park Ki-hyun nodded. Bae Yeon-woo removed the cloth from his mouth.
“I’ll talk!!! Everything!!! I’ll tell you everything, just please, stop…”
“Smart choice. Cooperate, and we’ll see about reducing your punishment.”
Ho-eun swallowed hard. His heart was racing like he’d just sprinted a marathon.
Park Ki-hyun’s clothes were slashed all over, his blood soaking the cloth that had gagged him.
A pool of blood had formed on the floor, and droplets still dripped from the blade in Bae Yeon-woo’s hand.
“You okay?”
Do In-ho had come up beside him at some point, gently brushing Ho-eun’s pale face.
“……”
“If it’s too much, you can go back.”
“No. I’m in PR too.”
There would be more moments like this ahead. He couldn’t keep hiding behind Do In-ho or Bae Yeon-woo every time something brutal happened.
He had to get used to it. Espers didn’t die from stuff like this…
No need to pity them like they’re people.
“Huh?”
Ho-eun was startled by his own thought. What the hell was that? Espers are people—why would he think otherwise?
That line of thinking… it was exactly how Hosoo or Bae Yeon-woo treated Espers—like they were monsters.
“……”
The stench of blood still hung heavy in the air. When Ho-eun’s fingers trembled, Do In-ho quietly reached out and held his hand.
Ho-eun clenched his jaw. He couldn’t run away. He was a Field Guide now. He had to learn to handle scenes like this.
Especially if he wanted to stay by Do In-ho’s side. This would happen again—and again. Maybe hundreds of times.
“If I want to stay by your side, I have to be able to handle this.”
“……”
Do In-ho’s stiff expression softened, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“I’ll keep holding your hand until you’re used to it.”
The warmth of his grip seemed to lend Ho-eun courage. One step at a time, he walked forward.
Bae Yeon-woo, seeing Ho-eun approach, slowly straightened his knees and looked down at Park Ki-hyun.
“All right. Start talking. When did you awaken as an Esper? And how did you come into contact with the Dragon?”
“T-that’s…”
Just as Park Ki-hyun began to answer—
— Step, step
Footsteps echoed up the stairs. Nam Woon-soo and Do In-ho reacted first, their eyes darting toward the ruined front door.
“That’s enough.”
Even in the dead of night, Eom Tae-seok stepped in wearing a sharp suit. He surveyed the wrecked interior and finally spoke.
“Not even a Secret Shield? You really went all out.”
His towering frame made the room feel cramped the moment he entered.
Bae Yeon-woo, seeing him, dropped the dagger from his hand as if all strength had left him.
“Director… How did you…”
“Seong-chan told me. If an Esper awakens, it falls under HR’s jurisdiction. So why is PR handling this?”
“This guy’s involved with anti-government elements too—”
Bae Yeon-woo stopped mid-sentence.
“Are you going to write me up again?”
“……?”
“You always take Eom Seong-chan’s side first. But this was a joint operation between PR and HR. If we hand him over to HR now, we won’t get anything. Let us question Park Ki-hyun first.”
“Did I say anything?”
Eom Tae-seok’s footsteps rang louder as he approached. Sensing a rift, Park Ki-hyun looked up at him with a glimmer of hope and began crawling toward him.
“You shouldn’t have made me hear it from Seong-chan. If you were planning this, you should’ve told me first.”
“!!”
Eom Tae-seok crushed Park Ki-hyun’s crawling hand under his shoe.
“Park Ki-hyun. We’ve been monitoring you. Selling drugs to the poor, getting them hooked, then making them take out loans to pay for it.”
“AAGHHHH!!”
“Do you have any idea how many lives you’ve destroyed?”
— CRACKLE, SNAP
Tiny bolts of lightning sparked around Eom Tae-seok.
“Lightning Strike.”
He raised his thumb, pointing it at Park Ki-hyun. Blinding light flashed—and a downpour of lightning bolts rained down on Park Ki-hyun like a storm.
A stench Ho-eun had never smelled before filled his nose. He pinched it shut and looked at Do In-ho.
“Won’t this get discovered?”
“He must’ve activated a Secret Shield.”
“Secret Shield?”
“No one outside can hear or see what’s happening here right now.”
Do In-ho clenched his empty left hand, then opened it again—producing a flower made of blue flame.
Seeing Ho-eun still pinching his nose, he blew gently on the flower. Blue petals fluttered in the air around Ho-eun.
“You should be fine now.”
The reeking stench of burnt flesh faded—replaced by the scent of flowers.
Ho-eun lowered his hand from his nose.
