The door shut with a soft thud, and Ho-eun clenched the necklace Do In-ho had given him. He had no idea what the hell was going on anymore.
Was that horrifying monster really something Baek Woo-gyeong had created?
And what even was a “Multi”—someone who was both an Esper and a Guide?
Just like the experiments on Ability Crystals meant for people without abilities, had Baek Woo-gyeong conducted similar experiments on Espers, trying to make them generate Guiding internally?
“This company’s insane.”
What had they done in the past to drive Tiger to such lengths? Even if he asked, there was no one around to answer. That fact was what made everything so much harder for Ho-eun.
Why the hell was this happening to me? Why did I end up at a job in this screwed-up company?
“Why…….”
Lying under the covers, Ho-eun was now alone in the room Han Yeoreum had just left.
It was far larger than the space he’d been confined in before. The various belongings scattered around made it feel like Han Yeoreum’s private room.
“Ugh.”
Ho-eun limped toward the door, his left foot dragging painfully.
“There’s no lock…….”
Unlike the place he’d been earlier, the door handle here didn’t have any lock or key mechanism.
He took a deep breath and opened the door. The hallway outside was silent. There weren’t any windows in sight—he couldn’t tell if it was night or morning.
Han Yeoreum didn’t seem to be lying, but… still, there’s no proof the Anti-Government are actually using me as a test subject.
Han Yeoreum was a good actor. What if he was lying this time too?
Ho-eun decided to cling to the thinnest sliver of hope. Even if it turned out to be false, it didn’t matter. Because if he didn’t, he felt like he’d crumble right there on the spot.
Standing in the quiet corridor, Ho-eun hesitated—should he move forward or not?
He was afraid Tiger might be another victim of the experiments, just like Do In-ho. Afraid he’d find some justification for the awful things Tiger had done.
“What the hell am I even…….”
What am I trying to confirm?
“OH MY GOSH!!! You actually came?!”
A woman’s loud, ringing voice echoed from down the hall, and Ho-eun reflexively pressed himself against the wall.
Bounding through an open stairwell like a butterfly came Wolrang—the same woman he’d seen at the Civil Complaints Division site.
“Kyaaa~ It’s really you!! You actually came!!”
Wolrang landed lightly in front of him and, realizing her disheveled appearance, shyly brushed her hair back.
“You’re Kwon Ho-eun, right?”
“……”
“Do you remember me? Hm? You totally fell into my arms!”
Wolrang said it so nonchalantly, like it wasn’t the kind of line someone might seriously misunderstand. Ho-eun shook his head.
“You pulled me into them, didn’t you? Wolrang… ssi?”
“Oh no. Wow. You actually remembered my name!”
Unable to contain her excitement, Wolrang wrapped him in a hug—but the moment she heard him groan in pain, she stopped, her previously unrestrained energy abruptly reined in.
“You’re hurt?”
“……”
“That’s weird. Boss said to be nice when you came. No injuries or anything.”
“Please just get off me.”
Wolrang let go of Ho-eun’s shoulder. Espers really didn’t seem to know their own strength. He was sure there’d be bruises shaped like her fingers there by tomorrow.
“Ahaha. Sorry, sorry. I was just so happy to see you.”
“……”
“But really, isn’t this destiny? How are we meeting again like this? Hm?!”
“There sure are a lot of fate believers around here.”
Ho-eun subtly averted his gaze.
“Fate’s great! It’s so romantic!”
Not wanting to hear another word about fate, Ho-eun hobbled further down the corridor, doing his best to ignore Wolrang.
“Wait!! I wasn’t done talking!!”
“I’m sorry, I have a headache.”
“Really? Okay, but don’t go that way. Seol-ah hates your guts!”
As he kept walking, Ho-eun noticed the air getting colder—that direction must’ve led to Ban Seol-ah.
“Then where should I go?”
“Huh?”
“I just… want to rest.”
“Then just go back to your room?”
“……”
He didn’t want to go back to the room that reeked of Han Yeoreum. And after bumping into Wolrang, he was just completely exhausted.
He needed a quiet place to cool his head.
Whether he was going to think of an escape plan, or figure out Tiger’s connection to Baek Woo-gyeong—whatever it was, he just needed space to himself.
“Hmm. Well, hey—looks like it’s my chance to score some points. I’ll take you somewhere.”
Wolrang covered her mouth and laughed.
A soft breeze stirred behind Ho-eun’s weary frame. His feet lifted from the floor, and he floated gently to the top floor corridor.
“This is Tiger’s executive hideout, but it’s empty right now.”
She opened a door that, at first glance, looked ridiculously luxurious.
It revealed a cocktail bar.
The ceiling was higher than the other rooms—as if it had been deliberately raised. The display shelf behind the bar was stocked with all sorts of liquor.
Ho-eun sat in a chair, and a heaviness settled in his chest. Sitting here like this made it feel like he’d gone right back to the field again. The Dragon’s hideout… Had that all ended cleanly?
“Wolrang-ssi, are you an executive too?”
To shake off the intrusive thoughts, Ho-eun felt like he had to latch on to someone and just start talking.
Wolrang was mixing a drink. She poured the liquor into a glass and added some edible flowers, blushing as she handed it to him.
“That’s right! I’m not an original member, but I was scouted into an executive spot.”
The cocktail she handed him was a deep, vivid blue. It reminded him of Do In-ho’s Blue Flame—it was about the same brightness.
“Hey! You’ve got a pretty lady right in front of you, and you’re off in la-la land?”
“Ah…”
Resting her chin on her hand, Wolrang pouted her lips playfully. He hadn’t noticed when she wore the mask before, but her face was younger than expected.
Her voice was one you’d never forget, so he recognized her instantly earlier—but if they’d crossed paths on the street, he might’ve just mistaken her for someone bubbly like Kim Se-hee and walked right past.
“What was that again?”
“Hmm. I said I got scouted.”
“Scouted? So where were you before, Wolrang-ssi?”
“I used to be a U.S. mercenary! Korean Espers have to be government-affiliated, but in the States, you can choose government or private.”
She made a money sign with her fingers.
“Just follow the cash, y’know?”
“Guess the Anti-Government pays well.”
Ho-eun picked up the cocktail and sipped it. It was sweet, with a low alcohol content.
“Yeah, the pay’s good. Plus, I was interested in what they’re doing here.”
“You mean the monster on the second floor?”
“Whoa, Boss already showed you that? He just told us not to take you down there.”
Grumbling, Wolrang hopped up and perched on the edge of the bar counter.
“How long has that monster been there?”
“It hasn’t been long. Took forever to get the medicine.”
“Medicine?”
Images flashed through his head—people on the first floor working like they were manufacturing something.
“Hmm. I don’t think Boss would want me talking about this…”
Wolrang tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear with a slender white finger. Sharing secrets brings people closer, the line flashed in her mind, and she gave him a sly smile.
“Keep it a secret that I told you, okay?”
“……”
Seeing his head bob up and down, she fought the urge to hug him again. Instead, she lowered her voice.
“The Espers on the second floor are all C-rank or lower. To create a Multi, you need guiding from a higher-ranked Guide.”
That instantly brought to mind the time Tiger threatened the government on TV, demanding an S-rank Guide.
“So they tried to strike a deal with the government and find an S-rank Guide. But from what I heard, the whole plan flopped.”
Ho-eun understood what she meant right away. There was no S-rank Guide at the 63 Square site. Which meant Tiger’s plan should’ve failed.
“But apparently, a Guide who walked in all on his own turned out to be S-rank.”
His face stiffened. She was clearly talking about him. But S-rank? His test results had come back D-rank. Did someone else have blood drawn at 63 Square besides him?
He wanted to ask what she meant, but it seemed Wolrang didn’t realize the sample had come from the man right in front of her. Ho-eun forced himself to stay expressionless.
“Thanks to that blood, they made an S-rank Guiding drug. If you were an Esper, I’d have given you a pill myself. S-rank blood makes a whole different tier of drug.”
Before he realized it, she had moved to sit right beside him. Covering his ear with her hand, she whispered:
“What do you think happens when you inject S-rank Guide blood into a C-rank Esper?”
“……”
“They get so much guiding that they don’t need a Guide anymore! That’s a Multi! Haha. But, y’know, you gotta give up your human form, so I passed.”
Ho-eun clenched his fist under the table. That monster had been made… using his blood? No way. He was just a D-rank Guide.
“Just like a low-ranked Guide shouldn’t guide a high-ranked Esper, maybe the reverse doesn’t work either. That monster’s the result of forcing it.”
Wolrang, still giddy, giggled to herself. Meanwhile, Ho-eun’s face drained of color. The idea that he might be at the center of all this madness filled him with dread.
“Oh! Boss’s favorite whiskey is over there!”
Whether it was her wind-based ability or just her nature, everything about Wolrang seemed light and carefree. She moved fluidly, grabbed a bottle, then paused when she saw Ho-eun’s unfinished drink.
“You bad with booze?”
“No……”
He downed the cocktail in one gulp. Staying sober was getting harder by the minute.
Wolrang dropped a couple ice cubes into a glass and poured the whiskey halfway before handing it to him.
“Wolrang-ssi… aren’t you underage?”
“Huh? Nope! I’m twenty this year!”
Just as she reached for another glass, Ho-eun stopped her hand.
“At least one of us should stay sober.”
“Eh?”
“If I pass out… please take me back to my room.”
He looked like he could fall apart at any moment. Normally, he wasn’t the frail type, but right now, he looked like a breeze could carry him away.
When he finished his whiskey in a single gulp, Wolrang quickly refilled his glass. His pale skin turned a soft shade of pink.
“Oh my~ You already trust me enough to get drunk in front of me?”
Flustered, Wolrang covered her cheeks with her hands and wiggled excitedly.
Thud.
Despite claiming he wasn’t a lightweight, Ho-eun was knocked out after just two glasses. Wolrang blinked wide-eyed and checked the label on the whiskey.
“Forty proof…”
Sticking out her tongue in guilt, she scrunched her nose.
***
It’s your fault. You made us this way! If only you hadn’t shown up that day…!
That night, Ho-eun didn’t wake. He sweat through a nightmare, chased by Espers twisted into monsters.
Their voices, thick with resentment, dragged his consciousness further into the dark.
He knew it was a dream—but he couldn’t wake up.
In that endless nightmare, he remained trapped, unable to relax even for a second.
