The mingled scent of various foods made his stomach churn. With a wave of nausea rising from his gut, Ho-eun’s eyes blinked open.
“What the…?”
A low table that hadn’t been there before now sat beside the bed. The source of the smell was obvious—the table was piled high with food. Korean, Western, Japanese—an absurd assortment of dishes as if someone had tried to win by sheer quantity.
Ho-eun moved his leg to reach for a water bottle sitting in the corner of the table.
“Ugh!!!”
He froze when pain shot through his left ankle.
The ankle Choi Seon-yul had attacked was now wrapped in bandages, as if someone had at least tended to the wound.
Reluctantly, Ho-eun shifted his weight to his right leg and reached for the bottle, careful not to put any pressure on the injured one.
His throat was parched, so he drank first, gulping down the water in one go.
“Ha. Like anyone could eat this crap right now.”
Scowling at the mountain of food, he turned his head away to confirm he was alone in the room.
Han Yeoreum had said to bring him to his room, yet somehow, Ho-eun was still in the same room he’d woken up in before.
“Hey. Han Yeoreum.”
He called out quietly, but there was no response—only silence.
Scanning every corner of the ceiling and walls, he was relieved to find no surveillance cameras. Breathing out in relief, he slipped his hand under the bed and pulled out a small transceiver. Crawling back under the blanket, he switched it on.
“This is Kwon Ho-eun. Can anyone hear me?”
—zzzt—
Only static replied.
“This is Kwon Ho-eun…”
He swallowed the sob creeping up his throat and set the transceiver down. If he kept talking, he’d start crying—and someone might hear.
He tucked the transceiver back under the bed just as the door opened.
“Hm? Why haven’t you eaten?”
“Would you have an appetite if you were me?”
Han Yeoreum’s shameless face appeared in the doorway. Ho-eun pressed a trembling hand over his reddened eyes, trying to hide them.
“I thought you’d like it. You always had a good appetite. You used to love those Monster Breads too.”
On one side of the table sat several types of bread—including Monster Bread.
“Han Yeoreum… you’re really the Tiger Boss?”
Seeing the Monster Bread suddenly brought back flashes of their school days. It was still hard to believe that the same Han Yeoreum from middle school had turned into this man.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Yeoreum only smiled in response, offering no explanation.
“I investigated your organization as part of the PR Department.”
His left leg still throbbed with pain—a sharp, grounding reminder that this was reality.
“Other than the 63 Square incident, you’ve never caused civilian damage in Korea. So what is it you actually want? And now, you’ve started kidnapping suspects… Don’t tell me you plan to use those suspects as living bombs?”
Ho-eun’s voice shook as his breathing grew ragged. No matter how hard he tried to keep his composure, emotion surged uncontrollably. Deep down, he wanted—needed—Yeoreum to deny it. Because accepting that his former classmate was an anti-government boss was impossible.
“Living bombs? Pfft, haha. Only the Association would pull off that kind of garbage. We didn’t bring them here to kill them.”
“Then what—!”
“I’ll explain once I show you it. How’s your ankle?”
Yeoreum smoothly changed the subject and knelt down on one knee, brushing his hand over the bandaged ankle. His eyes were cold, detached.
“It’ll take time, but you’ll be able to walk.”
His voice sounded gentle—but Ho-eun could feel the barbs underneath it.
“If you try running again, it won’t end with just that, so don’t waste your energy.”
“What? Running?”
“Ho-eun. I want to treat you kindly. You did save me once, after all. But if you betray me… I won’t forgive it.”
Ho-eun’s brows knitted tightly together. It was like watching someone act out their own delusional drama.
“You’re one of Tiger now.”
“Me? I never agreed to that bullshit!”
He shot up like a fish out of water, grimacing as pain jolted through his ankle.
“I—I’m a hostage, remember? Shouldn’t there be negotiations or something? You’re not letting me go?”
“What are you talking about? We’re teammates now.”
“?? Who decided that?”
“I did. I’m the boss.”
Yeoreum gave a sharp whistle, and someone waiting outside entered the room carrying clothes and a traditional mask.
“Should I dress him?”
“No. Just leave it.”
The man kept his head bowed, quickly setting the items down on the bed before hurrying out.
Ho-eun picked up the mask, expression darkening.
“You want me to wear this?”
“All Tigers wear one.”
His hand clenched around the mask. The brittle wood creaked like it could snap at any moment.
Should he just break it?
“Can’t wear it? Or are you still hoping someone’s coming to rescue you?”
“……”
He didn’t answer. There was no point in saying something so obvious out loud.
When Ho-eun still refused to put it on, simply holding it in his hand, Yeoreum’s expression hardened.
“You really are naïve.”
“What?”
“I guess it’s time to give the sweet little princess a taste of reality.”
Yeoreum scooped him up effortlessly, cradling him in a princess carry, and strode out of the room.
He leaped lightly over the railing of the stairwell, landing gracefully on the second-floor corridor.
“Let me show you something fun.”
Unlike the other floors, which had multiple doors along the walls, this one had only a single massive door—the rest were solid concrete.
“These guys are a bit rough.”
The thick concrete door looked like something an ordinary person couldn’t even budge, but Yeoreum pushed it open with one hand.
The moment it opened, a nauseating stench hit them, followed by guttural noises—half-human, half-beast.
“You were looking for Esper suspects, right? Here they are.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“We’re working on creating hybrids—Espers who can also Guide. ‘Multis.’”
“……”
“We needed a lot of Espers for it. Enough that we even started abducting suspects. Haha. Impressive, huh?”
Yeoreum’s light tone contrasted horribly with the sight before them.
Whatever those things were, they had once been human—but that was no longer recognizable.
“Those are suspects? No… Espers?”
It was monstrous. Their flesh had melted, sagging into formless lumps of sludge. “Monster” was the only word that fit.
“They might look like that, but the experiments were a success in their own way. They can still use the abilities they had as Espers—and they don’t need Guiding anymore.”
“Turn them back…”
“Hm? That’s impossible. You can’t undo this.”
“Ugh…”
The creatures wandered aimlessly, their brains clearly decayed, emitting warped Esper energy as they shuffled across the large chamber.
“We’re gonna use them to get rid of trash. Hey—bring those two in.”
Two masked subordinates entered, dragging a man and woman bound with rope.
Ho-eun recognized them immediately.
“Those people… Han Yeo-ul’s parents?”
“Parents? Pfft—don’t make me laugh. Trash, more like. Alright, it’s feeding time.”
“AAAAAAGHH!!! PLEASE, HELP!!!”
The screams jolted Ho-eun. He struggled in Yeoreum’s arms, but could do nothing but flail helplessly.
Blood splattered across the floor like a fountain.
Flesh—or something like it—hit the concrete with a wet smack.
Within seconds, the two captives stopped moving, swallowed whole by the creatures.
“Why… why would you kill them?”
“Because they’re trash. I asked them to raise my little sister properly, but they raised her like garbage instead.”
“Your sister… Han Yeo-ul…”
His tongue stiffened. Saying both names in sequence, Ho-eun suddenly realized—they shared the same surname.
“Guess it’s in our blood to like you, huh? Both me and Yeo-ul.”
Yeoreum’s voice was sweet—disgustingly sweet—completely at odds with the horror surrounding them. His flushed face, his trembling tone of bliss, made his expression look grotesque.
“Urgh…”
The feeding seemed to be over. The monsters began dispersing, making eerie, unintelligible sounds as they slithered through the room.
“What the hell is the anti-government faction even doing?”
Ho-eun’s voice shook. The anti-government organization had only existed for two years—how could something so new commit atrocities like this?
“You’re saying you’re getting rid of trash by creating this kind of nightmare? And the first victims were Han Yeo-ul’s parents? You could’ve raised her yourself instead of murdering innocent people—!”
“……”
Yeoreum silently watched Ho-eun trembling with fury.
“You think I’d ever join monsters like you—turning people into that?”
“Haha. ‘Monsters,’ huh? That stings. But, you know… we weren’t the first to make things like this.”
Stepping out of the room, Yeoreum slowly closed the door and finally continued.
“The one who started these experiments was once the Esper Association—now known as the Guide Corporation.”
He paused again, studying Ho-eun’s face. When he mentioned the Association, Ho-eun’s pupils dilated.
“Chairman Baek Woo-gyeong was the one running those experiments.”
BANG.
As the heavy door slammed shut, the grotesque figures disappeared from view.
Ho-eun looked up at Yeoreum, dazed. He didn’t look like he was lying.
“And the five Tiger executives? They’re the failed subjects from Baek Woo-gyeong’s multi-ability experiments.”
Ho-eun’s pupils trembled violently.
He thought of Baek Woo-gyeong—the very man who’d interfered endlessly to bring Tiger down.
“What are you talking about…”
“Exactly what I said. The real trash isn’t us—it’s the Corporation and the Association.”
“Who the hell would believe… a lie like that?”
“You don’t have to believe me. Stay here long enough, and you’ll see for yourself whether it’s true or not.”
“Stop talking.”
He didn’t want to hear any more. He no longer had the strength to separate truth from lies.
All he wanted… was rest. To be alone. To think.
“Ho-eun. You’ll fit right in with Tiger. The kind of justice you want—it belongs here.”
“……”
“You’ve always wished for a world where only good people survived, right?”
“Stop…”
“Tiger is full of good people—the kind you’re meant to save.”
Ho-eun clapped his hands over his ears, bowing his head as if to shut everything out.
His left ankle still pulsed with pain, and his head throbbed, thoughts colliding like they’d explode any moment.
“Stop, stop talking. Stop!!!”
His breath hitched, chest heaving, until silence finally fell.
When he cautiously opened his eyes, he realized they were in a different room—Yeoreum was holding him again.
He must’ve carried him while he’d been shouting.
Set down on a soft bed, Ho-eun immediately scooted to the farthest corner, balancing on his good leg.
“Guess I pushed you too hard.”
“…Get out.”
“Hmm? But this is my room.”
Ho-eun yanked the blanket over his head, pulling it all the way up. He couldn’t bear to look at Yeoreum’s face anymore—those burning eyes, that dark indigo hair. Just being near him made it hard to breathe.
But Yeoreum, clearly oblivious, rustled the blanket and peeked his face under it.
“If you wanna cry, I can lend you my arms.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Heh. So cold. Fine—sleep alone tonight. But starting tomorrow, I’m not letting you off.”
Climbing off the bed, Han Yeoreum looked down at the terrified Kwon Ho-eun with a satisfied smile.
