Staring into Hyun Je-ha’s eyes—eyes that brimmed with undisguised murderous intent—I wasn’t just stunned. I was dumbfounded.
No way… did this bastard go full dark mode after I died?
Seriously? All because of me?
No, come on. No way.
I figured we were closer than the average Esper-Guide pair, sure…
But at best, we were just better-than-average friends.
Even when Potato told me Je-ha had gone berserk after I died, it hadn’t really sunk in. The Hyun Je-ha I knew was someone who tried to mediate the conflict between upper management and Ability Users. He was a peaceful guy.
[See? What did I tell you? He lost it. Went absolutely nuts.]
…Yeah, sorry I doubted you, Potato.
While I silently apologized to Potato, Hyun Je-ha barked at me with a vicious scowl, demanding a response.
“You’re not answering. So you didn’t inherit Ga-hyun’s will after all—”
“No, I’m just too dumbfounded to respond.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said—I’m an idol.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think it means? It means you can’t kill me. Not right now.”
I jabbed my index finger at myself as I spoke.
“Online, offline, I might be getting flamed to hell and back, but I’m still an idol. A known public figure. If you just off me like it’s nothing, you’re gonna have a problem.”
Celebrities are public figures, after all.
“Infamy is still fame. If I disappear out of nowhere, people will try to find out what happened.”
“…So?”
“So, that means you can’t kill me. Your threats don’t work on me.”
Potato sounded surprised.
[Gasp. For real? Your body’s owner was some has-been idol, but he still had name value?]
You really think so?
[…Huh?]
I’m just making shit up and rolling with it right now.
Still, I wasn’t entirely bluffing.
It’s not a total lie. My manager will come looking for me.
I only had a half-day of free time—granted after my manager got approval from the agency.
If I missed the deadline, my manager would sense something was wrong and contact the agency. They’d start looking for me.
Here’s hoping there’s no news of an ‘incident’.
In moments like this, as ridiculous as it sounded, the fact that Yeon Yu-jin had a long track record of “issues” was actually a good thing.
Since he’d shown so many signs of instability while alive, any indication of trouble would spark immediate concern and action.
“So that’s why you can’t kill me.”
I puffed out my chest and held my ground like a smug little bastard. Je-ha let out a short scoff.
“That’s your big backup plan?”
“Not all of it. I did inherit Ahn Ga-hyun’s will, after all.”
“I told you—I don’t believe that.”
He looked at me like I was spewing nonsense, then raised a hand toward my neck, aiming nails and rusty wires at me.
Probably because the place was old and sealed off, the nails were corroded and the ropes were rough and frayed.
Pretty gruesome, honestly.
The fact that he’s using something like that means he’s really pissed, huh.
The way he was going about this, it wasn’t just about scaring me off. He wanted to kill the intruder who dared break in here—in the most painful way possible.
Guess I’ve got no choice.
I decided to play my trump card.
“You’re Hyun Je-ha, right? The Esper who used to be partnered with Guide Ahn Ga-hyun?”
Freeze.
The moment the words left my mouth, Je-ha halted.
“…How do you know that?”
Oh come on. How wouldn’t I know?
I was that Guide, Ahn Ga-hyun.
Did he really think a mask would be enough to hide his identity from me?
I recognized your voice the second you opened your mouth, dumbass.
Even though he was wrapped head to toe in black like some crow cosplay, there was no mistaking it—this was Hyun Je-ha.
Honestly, I’d expected him to look like an old man by now, but he hadn’t changed a bit from twenty years ago.
Well, except for the streaks of white in his hair and the deep blue eyes peeking out from behind the mask—probably side effects of his rampage.
Who else would be guarding my vault, making sure no one touched the inheritance I left behind?
My mouth itched to say more, but I held myself back.
Instead, I mixed in just a bit of truth.
“My mom told me. She said the only person Guide Ahn Ga-hyun ever fully trusted was his partner, Esper Hyun Je-ha.”
“Ga-hyun said that…?”
At the mention of “Ahn Ga-hyun,” the cold mask Je-ha wore cracked, if only for a second.
Even though everything but his eyes was covered, I could see the change in his expression. I knew him that well.
“Yeah. She said that if anything ever happened to Guide Ahn Ga-hyun, if someone ever came looking for answers—it could only be Esper Hyun Je-ha.”
“…”
Je-ha lowered his head, silent. It looked like he was lost in memories of the time we spent together.
The nails and ropes surrounding me trembled faintly.
He’s wavering.
I had to press now—strike while the iron was hot.
“I was just fishing, to be honest. I based everything I said on what Guide Ahn Ga-hyun supposedly told my mom. I figured, if anyone still remembered Ahn Ga-hyun… it’d be you, Esper Hyun Je-ha.”
“…Ga-hyun said that, huh.”
“I only heard it secondhand, so I wasn’t completely sure… but judging by your reaction, I guess I was right.”
[Damn, you’re smooth.]
Shut up.
Everything I’d said—except the part about Yu-jin’s mom—was all me, straight from the heart.
“There’s no one else it could be but you, Hyun Je-ha.”
Who else would guard the vault I left behind? Not just because of our high matching rate. We were bonded like brothers. A real partnership.
And honestly, I get why he tried to kill me.
Based on what Potato had told me, Je-ha must have deserted his unit after his rampage.
Guess that’s why he’s got himself wrapped up like some crow. To hide his identity.
I had no idea how the world looked at deserters these days, but I doubted the government was any more forgiving now than they were twenty years ago.
Even while being hunted, he kept coming back to this place. To make sure no one touched what I left behind.
I just had the bad luck of showing up on the same day.
“So, do you believe me now, Esper Hyun Je-ha?”
“….”
Still silent, Je-ha narrowed his eyes at me, then made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
Clatter.
The nails and ropes threatening me dropped to the floor like rain.
He grumbled, clearly annoyed.
“I still can’t fully trust you… but I guess you do seem like the one who inherited Ga-hyun’s will.”
“See? I told you I was.”
“Even your slick mouth reminds me of him.”
“What the hell, asshole?”
I almost blurted out, “I AM Ahn Ga-hyun, you dipshit!”
When was I ever just a slick-talking mouthpiece?!
[What do you mean, he’s not wrong.]
Potato agreed with him, but I refused to accept that.
This little punk… He followed me around like a puppy, and now I find out he was talking shit behind my back?!
The touching feeling of our reunion crumbled just a little.
Annoyed, I snapped at him.
“So does that mean I can take the money from this vault now?”
“Do what you want. If you really did inherit Ga-hyun’s will, then it’s not my place to stop you.”
Oh? And what was that “I’ll kill you” routine earlier, then? Not your place, my ass.
…but I held my tongue. Right now, I wasn’t Ahn Ga-hyun—I was Yeon Yu-jin.
Je-ha’s too dangerous to provoke just because I’m pissed.
Yeon Yu-jin was only a D-rank Guide. If I mouthed off, I’d be the one picking up my teeth off the floor.
If only I had my original powers back…
I sighed as I opened the vault, and Potato chimed in.
[You haven’t tested your abilities since waking up as Yeon Yu-jin, right? But you didn’t react badly when I showed up… Maybe your powers came with you.]
Wait, seriously?
If that was true, this was a whole new game.
Come to think of it, I never even tried guiding anyone after waking up. Every Esper I met was so useless it didn’t even cross my mind.
Maybe it was too soon to assume I’d lost my powers.
Feeling more hopeful, I started transferring the money from the vault. Je-ha watched me, then muttered quietly.
“You’re an emotionally volatile Guide.”
“I am not.”
“And you’re oddly casual with a stranger. Like you’re talking to someone you’ve known for years.”
“Well… would you be polite to someone who threatened to kill you the moment you met them?”
I gave him a look, utterly exasperated. Je-ha’s eyes curved softly in a smirk.
“That’s fair, I suppose. But still… You’re unusually fearless. Everyone else I’ve met—Guides, Espers, civilians—when I reveal my killing intent, they freeze. They can’t even look me in the eye.”
Wait, what?
Before I could react, Je-ha grabbed me by the collar and yanked me close.
Close enough that I could feel his breath on mine.
“But you… you treat me like it’s nothing. Just like Ga-hyun used to.”
