Seo Yoon-chae, clearly waiting to see me react in disbelief, went ahead and proudly spewed his bullshit.
“You’re just a broke-ass D-rank Guide. Meanwhile, we Espers are A-rank and come from wealthy families.”
“……”
“And it’s not like you sing better than me, either. You can’t rap like Tae-boem or write and compose music, right?”
“…So what?”
“Anyone can see it—you were forced into the group as a token Guide. Who the hell would like someone like you?”
“…What did you just say?”
At that point, Seo Yoon-chae finally stopped smiling. He looked down at me, eyes cold enough to freeze someone solid.
“Of course you caused a scandal right after debut. You’re dragging down our image. I totally get why Ho-yeon hyung hit you when you woke up. What was it, some desperate stunt for attention? You tried to off yourself, for God’s sake.”
“……”
“You’re pathetic. Secreti should’ve been a Guide-less Esper group from the start. It’s not like we even get guided by you, and yet you’re still giving us a bad name.”
Seo Yoon-chae hurled every word without the slightest hesitation, not an ounce of guilt on his face.
“Oh, and if quitting’s hard because of the penalty fee, I can pay it for you. I won’t even ask you to pay me back. I just don’t want to be tied to someone as low-tier as you.”
“……”
If this were the real Yeon Yu-jin, how would he have reacted?
Something tells me he wouldn’t have taken it well.
Seo Yoon-chae didn’t seem to realize just how deeply his words could’ve cut someone who’d just gotten out of the hospital.
What a total fucking psycho.
No matter how much you dislike someone, spewing this kind of verbal violence takes a special kind of cruelty.
Was Yeon Yu-jin constantly subjected to this kind of humiliation?
For me, it was just insulting—but I wasn’t scared of some smug A-rank Esper’s hate. His venomous mockery? I’d forget it by lunchtime.
When I stayed silent, Seo Yoon-chae raised his voice, sounding a little irritated.
“See? You’re ignoring me again. Just like before. You haven’t changed a bit—amnesia or not. Are you sure you’re not faking it?”
“I’m not.”
“Huh?”
I stood up and stared him down.
“What…?”
“…Hmm.”
Unfortunately, Seo Yoon-chae was taller than Yeon Yu-jin, so I had to look up at him.
Tch. I’m taller than this brat in my real body.
Hiding my frustration, I said what I needed to, slow and clear.
“You just admitted with your own mouth that you bullied Yeon Yu-jin. Doesn’t that make you pathetic, too?”
“…What did you say?”
Seo Yoon-chae blinked, genuinely caught off guard.
Like a worm used to getting stomped on suddenly spat acid—he looked completely shaken.
You gotta give assholes like this a taste of their own medicine.
Yeon Yu-jin had never retaliated.
Even though both Shin Tae-boem and Seo Yoon-chae were openly hostile, there wasn’t a single record of Yu-jin ever fighting back. He must’ve been afraid of them.
Me? I wasn’t scared of them in the slightest. If anything, I found it funny.
“I said you’re pathetic, too.”
That finally cracked Seo Yoon-chae’s mask. His face twisted.
“What?”
“You actually look better angry. That fake smile earlier was pissing me off.”
Listening to some bratty little Esper run his mouth was starting to wear on my patience.
“You little—how dare you talk to me like that…!”
He raised his hand. I calmly stared at it.
So slow…
It was honestly fascinating.
Even though I was in a D-rank Guide’s body, Seo Yoon-chae’s movement looked ridiculously sluggish—like watching someone move underwater.
Wait. Can I use my original stats?
This was the same sensation I had when fighting on the front lines. The only difference was that the opponent was an Esper, not a monster.
I cracked my knuckles.
Let’s find out.
I wasn’t classified as an SSS-rank Guide just because I had the self-healing ability.
There were two reasons. One: I could perform high-efficiency guiding regardless of compatibility.
And two—the most important—was reverse guiding.
Not only could I inject guiding energy into Espers, but I could also extract it and make it mine. No one else had ever been able to do it. Not a single Guide.
And this guy’s the perfect test subject.
Just before his hand could land, I grabbed his wrist and activated reverse guiding.
I could feel Yu-jin’s dormant guiding energy stirring to life under my will.
“Urgh…! Wh-what the hell?!”
Shlurp.
Seo Yoon-chae’s energy—once tightly coiled inside him—flowed straight into me.
I greedily absorbed it and converted it into guiding energy.
No mucosal contact needed. Reverse guiding still works like a charm.
Thank god. The last thing I wanted was to rub lips with this asshole.
“Aaagh! What are you doing?! What the hell are you?!”
“What do you mean? I’m your oh-so-pathetic Guide, remember?”
Even as I spoke, his energy kept pouring into me.
Looks like I didn’t lose my powers. Good.
If Yu-jin really had never guided before, that would explain the murky, stale feeling in his energy—it tasted like secondhand smoke.
“Ugh. This is why spoiled Espers suck.”
Okay, even I thought that sounded a little old-fashioned.
Thud.
Seo Yoon-chae’s legs gave out as I continued the reverse guiding. He collapsed to the floor, drained. And just like that, the power dynamic flipped.
Gasping for breath, he looked up at me and asked,
“Huff… Huff… What… what the hell are you…?”
“All you do is ask what people are, huh?”
“I asked you a question!”
God, shut up already.
The way he stared at me, eyes wide with fear and confusion, made me want to say less, not more. He was the same guy who’d bullied the vulnerable Yeon Yu-jin. Why would I give him answers?
“Beats me. I’m still figuring that out myself.”
“The Yu-jin I know didn’t have anything like this kind of power! Who the hell are you?! You’re not Yeon Yu-jin, are you?!”
Oh? Looks like he hit the nail on the head by accident. Still, I played dumb.
“And if I’m not, then what?”
“Y-you’re… I mean…”
His words faltered. Even he realized how ridiculous he sounded—he was looking at Yu-jin’s body, after all.
Not worth my time anymore.
I turned and headed toward the elevator, ignoring him.
“Wait! You haven’t answered me!”
“I don’t owe you an answer. If I’m such a pathetic loser, then you, the genius, can figure it out yourself.”
“Why you—! Hey!!”
The smooth, princely face was gone now. Seo Yoon-chae was screaming like a deranged beast. It suited him better.
Ugh. And I’m supposed to be in the same group as that guy?
What the hell was the CEO thinking?
I ignored his shouting and stepped into the elevator, focusing my senses outside the building.
Let’s see…
I’d been noticing two presences watching me lately.
One was somewhere near the company building, but its location shifted every day.
The other seemed to be inside the company itself… but they hadn’t made any moves yet, so I was leaving it alone for now.
Who the hell is watching me?
Was it someone from the government? Already here?
Keeping my senses sharp, I headed to a nearby general store.
“One stun gun, please. Something strong enough to work on an ability user.”
Whoever was tailing me might be the ones who killed me—and they could still be after my resurrection ability.
If that was the case, I’d have to eliminate them before they could make a move.
Too bad I don’t have a gun.
***
While Yeon Yu-jin—no, the real one inside, Ahn Ga-hyun—was plotting how to handle the ones watching him…
“……”
From the rooftop of a building facing HB Entertainment, Hyun Je-ha was staring fixedly at one spot.
He was watching Yeon Yu-jin.
Something about him still doesn’t sit right.
Hyun Je-ha had successfully escaped the underground vault and returned to his hideout, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.
There was a voice in his gut that refused to let go. A voice screaming that he shouldn’t ignore Yeon Yu-jin, the Guide who acted just like Ahn Ga-hyun.
“He’s just a D-rank Guide. The only thing he has in common with Ga-hyun is his speech pattern…”
And yet, he couldn’t forget.
Hyun Je-ha was starting to think he’d finally gone insane.
Even the teammates he’d fought alongside for twenty years had questioned him when he announced he was going to tail Yeon Yu-jin.
“Have you lost it, Captain?”
“What’s gotten into you?”
“I get that you miss Ga-hyun, I do. But chasing after some random kid just because he kinda reminds you of him? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
“…I know.”
But I still have to go.
