“I… Seo Won…”
The words, stammering out, pricked at Han-gyeom’s taut nerves. It was as if they were repeatedly asking if it was alright to say this.
‘I need to stay calm. At this level, somehow…’
If he truly wanted to, he could have raised his GP and pushed back against this bizarre ESP in an instant. Even if nullifying the ability was impossible, creating a barrier of GP to block the power or push it away was entirely within his capabilities, if he so chose.
However, he felt he shouldn’t. If he were to reveal his ability, so unlike that of a typical guide, to just anyone, he would immediately be treated like a monster. Or, he would be reported to the Esper Association and dragged away.
Fortunately, while he clearly couldn’t disobey the old man’s words, he could speak any ‘truth’ that aligned with them.
Han-gyeom fundamentally harbored a wariness towards ESP. This stemmed from his experiences and experiments at the Fourth Ability Analysis Research Facility, forming the basis of his defense mechanism against the abilities of Espers directed at him.
For instance, he could even show slight resistance to a mental ability that seemed to demand he speak the ‘truth’ in its entirety, just like now. He could speak by showing only a small fraction of the truth he was being asked for.
“To guide Seo Won… I’m alive… The contract… doesn’t matter…”
He cut out a portion of the mass of truth that surfaced in his mind and let it flow out of his mouth.
What the other party wanted was the truth.
What he had uttered was also a small truth that formed a larger framework.
There shouldn’t be any problem.
The old man’s ability slowly drew out the small truths that Han-gyeom had pieced together in his mind.
“Absolutely… to no one else… I hope he doesn’t die…”
Small fragments, cut off from the beginning and end, trickled out. Even amidst this, Han-gyeom was desperate to prevent the larger truth within his mind from leaking out.
“Seo Won is… my… Esper…”
The moment he uttered those words, he belatedly flinched in surprise.
Putting aside the fact that they were Imprinted, as the dedicated guide, it was absolutely not a lie to refer to Seo Won as ‘his Esper’. Rather, it could be seen as natural.
Nevertheless, what surprised Han-gyeom was that, unlike before, he felt no aversion to it.
Due to the old man’s ability, only the ‘truth’ he believed could flow from his mouth.
Han-gyeom felt complicated emotions about the fact that he considered Seo Won ‘his Esper’. Even if it was a sincerity built upon resentment and a desire for revenge, it was even more so because until now, the only one who corresponded to ‘his Esper’ was Song Yeon-woo.
The old man let out a small groan and propped his chin on his hand. He stared at Han-gyeom for quite a long time in that position, then a faint smile appeared on his face.
“I heard you’re from the Unregistered Guide scene, is that right?”
“Yes…”
“Yes, I see…”
The old man murmured to himself, still fixedly staring at Han-gyeom.
The old man thought that Han-gyeom, having come from the Unregistered Guide scene and been saved by Seo Won, was desperate to guide him. A guide who had to guide unfamiliar Espers in the harsh underworld would never want to give up a life of luxury in a magnificent place like Seo Won’s mansion.
If that was the case, it was perfect.
He would have a clear justification for diligently guiding Seo Won and staying by his side.
“Now, that’s enough. Relax.”
As soon as the old man’s words ended, Han-gyeom quickly exhaled the breath he had been holding. It felt as if the hand that had been gripping his neck and demanding answers had finally fallen away.
The unfamiliar ESP that had been pressing down on his mind had also vanished. Fortunately, it seemed he had given a sufficient answer to the old man’s question.
As soon as Han-gyeom confirmed that the pressure had disappeared, he secretly smiled to himself.
If they wanted a more certain and detailed truth than what he had spoken, they would have to cast a tight net with no way out. Even then, he would somehow manage to escape.
The pressure on his body having disappeared, Han-gyeom stood up and deliberately looked at the old man with a serious expression.
“Just now, what did you do to me?”
He asked as if he had been helplessly manipulated by the ability. As if anticipating Han-gyeom’s reaction, the old man gave a benevolent smile.
“Don’t you have an idea? I simply wanted to hear the truth, not a lie.”
Then, with a serious expression, he held out his hand to Han-gyeom again.
“Come here and lean in.”
Frankly, he wasn’t inclined to, but Han-gyeom followed his instructions and leaned in to listen. Within the old man’s seemingly rigid face, his eyes alone were remarkably earnest.
On the one hand, he wondered why the old man was asking him to lean in. In this lounge, there were only himself and the old man.
‘Is there a bug or something?’
Who would dare in the Chairman’s lounge?
While Han-gyeom was puzzled, the old man’s voice drifted in.
“Whether you and Won think well of each other or not, it doesn’t matter much to me. The important thing is that you, Won’s only guide, do not wish for that child’s death.”
The old man’s voice was very calm yet cold. The emotion contained within it was the same.
“It’s enough if that child can just stay alive. That’s the only thing I wish for.”
A chillingly deep desire flowed into Han-gyeom’s ears as if it were being engraved on him.
“You just need to hold on for this year.”
Han-gyeom belatedly realized that the breath reaching his ear was remarkably faint.
“Once this year passes, this contract will finally end, so please, protect Won.”
The old man’s voice had become earnest. Han-gyeom noticed that the hand holding his was trembling finely, just like his voice.
‘Contract?’
Han-gyeom couldn’t grasp the exact meaning of the old man’s cryptic words, but he could sense that the old man wanted to escape from some kind of contract. And for that to happen, Seo Won had to stay alive.
While Han-gyeom was racking his brain, the word ‘curse’ suddenly flashed across his mind.
“Grandfather, that…”
“Chairman.”
Just as Han-gyeom was about to ask about the contract the old man had mentioned, a strange voice suddenly came from behind him.
Only then did Han-gyeom realize that a man was standing behind the old man.
‘How did he get in here?’
Having not sensed any presence, Han-gyeom was startled and froze, intently watching the man who was backlit.
‘Is he an Esper with the same ability as Yoon Jeong-ho?’
The teleportation Ability User Yoon Jeong-ho came to mind. He also teleported in the blink of an eye, so he wondered if this man might have the same ability.
However, he quickly realized that wasn’t the case. There wasn’t even a trace of lingering ESP that would scatter like an afterimage the moment Yoon Jeong-ho used teleportation.
“You were meeting with Cha Han-gyeom.”
The man spoke in a friendly voice, as if he knew Han-gyeom well, even though it was their first meeting. Han-gyeom, on the other hand, couldn’t face this man, whom he was seeing for the first time here and who gave him a strange sense of unease, with any peace of mind.
The man, who looked to be around Seo Won’s age, was particularly striking with his neat attire and neatly combed-back hair. He gave off the feeling of a young butler straight out of a movie. Though, looking at the expensive decorations on his clothes, that seemed unlikely.
The man with a kind face looked at Han-gyeom and curved his eyes. His eyes and the corners of his mouth, which formed a pleasant curve, were quite charming.
“I noticed you seemed to be using your ability continuously, so I came to see if something was wrong.”
“I caused you worry.”
Hearing those words, Han-gyeom finally realized what the sense of unease he felt was.
The man was the owner of the ESP that was wrapped around the old man’s neck like a leash. The reason Han-gyeom hadn’t sensed any ESP from him when he appeared here through teleportation was precisely because his ability was tied to the old man.
As evidence of this, the strand of ESP wrapped around the old man’s neck felt faintly connected to the man. It was so faint that anyone who wasn’t particularly perceptive wouldn’t be able to notice it.
However, he couldn’t determine the man’s exact ability with just this.
An ability to draw out the truth? An ability to teleport to the person to whom he lent his ESP?
Or something else entirely?
Ordinary Espers usually possessed only one type of ability suited to their unique characteristics and merely applied it, so being able to use both mental and movement-based abilities like this was almost impossible. Therefore, all he could guess was that there was a separate ‘real ability’ that allowed him to use all these abilities.
“Are you analyzing diligently?”
The man looked at Han-gyeom with amusement and smiled brightly. Han-gyeom really didn’t like that playful face that seemed to say, ‘Guess if you can.’
While Han-gyeom silently glared at the man, the old man opened his mouth towards the man standing behind him.
“Tae-soo-ya, there’s nothing special, so you can go back now.”
“We’ve met like this, it’s a bit awkward to just leave after seeing faces.”
Ha Tae-soo smiled brightly, still fixedly staring at Han-gyeom.
“If you’re done talking, may I borrow him for a moment, Chairman?”
I don’t want to.
He wanted to say that, but before Han-gyeom could even utter those words, Ha Tae-soo’s hand suddenly grabbed his arm.
“It’s alright, isn’t it?”
Ha Tae-soo’s eyes, urging the old man for an answer, held a strange and eerie light.
