With a toothbrush hanging from his mouth, Ho-eun checked his reflection in the mirror. Had he lost weight? His jawline looked sharper than usual. On top of that, the skin around his eyes stung from how often he’d rubbed them with his hands.
What did Han Yeoreum see in this sorry sight that made him so eager to touch him all the time? Why was he so obsessed that he subscribed to Ho-eun’s mukbang channel and followed every upload?
Well, now that it was clear Han Yeoreum had special feelings for him, there was no reason to keep up the cutesy act like before. If anything, that behavior had made Han Yeoreum suspicious, so it’d be better to go back to his usual hysterics.
Ho-eun lifted one leg and finished washing his face, then dried it off with a towel.
Get it together.
For the first time in a while, his eyes lit up with a spark of resolve.
He had to do what he could from here. So that when someone eventually came to rescue him—
He could at least be of some help.
He turned the doorknob. As he stepped out of the bathroom, the first thing he saw was Han Yeoreum holding something silver in his hands.
“What the… what is that?”
“Oh, this? It’s nothing. Just figured we might need it soon.”
Looking closer at Han Yeoreum’s hand, Ho-eun saw that it was a pair of handcuffs.
“……”
Following the chain attached to the cuffs, he noticed a metal pole next to the bed that hadn’t been there before. It was bolted to the floor, making it nearly impossible for a regular person to remove.
“I said I wouldn’t throw you away. Think of this as a token of that.”
Before he realized it, Han Yeoreum had stepped right in front of him and was holding out the cuffs.
“This way, you can’t throw me away either, right?”
“……”
“I’m really glad we feel the same.”
Clack.
The cold steel closed around Ho-eun’s wrist.
I’m so fucked right now.
More than the chill of the metal, it was the glint in Han Yeoreum’s eyes—like something had snapped—that sent chills down Ho-eun’s spine.
The sound of the dangling chain filled the room as his hand dropped limply to his side.
***
“See? You heard that, right?”
Hosoo yanked the walkie-talkie out of Do In-ho’s hands and removed the antenna.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to come with me on a covert mission.”
“Ha. You seriously don’t see the state I’m in right now?”
Do In-ho’s expression twisted in anger. It had been a full week since Kwon Ho-eun was kidnapped. Despite the so-called triumph of capturing Anti-Government Espers, the PR Department had taken heavy damage. One of its Guides was in a coma; another had been abducted.
And what did the upper brass do to the remaining Esper? They slapped an Ability Restraint Device on him—even though he was the one who should be out there rescuing the kidnapped Guide.
Their reasoning was absurd. The Anti-Government forces might use Kwon Ho-eun to contact the PR Esper, who in turn might betray the Association and commit a terror attack. That was the official conclusion.
Right now, both Do In-ho and Bae Yeon-woo were being treated as potential traitors. And now someone was suggesting a secret mission? It was laughable.
“I do see your situation. You’re locked up, after all.”
Hosoo replied casually, mentally replaying what had just happened.
On his way to Do In-ho’s accommodation, he’d found two guards from Baek Woo-gyeong’s team posted in the hallway. Expecting trouble, he’d silently taken care of them. After that, getting inside was easy—the front door wasn’t even locked.
The room was ice-cold. Do In-ho, wearing a headset, stared daggers at Hosoo. In his hand was a walkie-talkie that hadn’t worked in days.
Guess he wanted to contact Ho-eun, huh?
Hosoo pulled an Ability Product from his pocket. Dangling what looked like an antenna in front of Do In-ho’s face, he lifted his chin.
You need my help, don’t you? So help me in return.
“……”
Do In-ho didn’t reply, but handed over the walkie-talkie. His eyes were full of suspicion, but he was desperate enough to borrow help from a stray cat if that’s what it took.
Alone, Do In-ho could do nothing. If it hadn’t been for the rabbit doll Ho-eun took with him, they wouldn’t even know if he was alive. The doll had been bugged, allowing them to monitor his condition.
Ho-eun must have figured it out too—he never tried to speak through the doll. Every day, Do In-ho swallowed his fury and sorrow while listening in. He was helpless. Utterly powerless.
But when Ho-eun’s choked-up voice came through the headset, pleading not to be abandoned, Do In-ho couldn’t take it anymore. He tried to defy Baek Woo-gyeong’s orders and leave—but that’s when Hosoo had shown up.
“Kwon Ho-eun, respond.”
Hosoo attached the antenna and pressed the transmit button. Do In-ho stared longingly at the walkie-talkie, practically in a daze.
[Chhh—crk. Team Lead?]
After a week of silence, the walkie finally connected. Do In-ho snatched it and blurted out words he couldn’t even remember forming.
“Ho-eun hyung, just hold on. We haven’t abandoned you.”
He’d wanted so badly to scream back at the Anti-Government boss’s bullshit, heard through the bug. Who the hell was abandoning Kwon Ho-eun? Don’t believe that crap—we’ll be there soon. Every word he sent through the walkie-talkie was filled with conviction.
Back in the present—
Hosoo, having suddenly appeared and re-established contact, began flipping through the field report.
“Seon Ak-yul used his ability to flee with Choi Seon-yul, Kwon Ho-eun, and an unidentified civilian male. Then an explosion occurred in Basement Level 2, prompting PR and HR to evacuate with Wonsin… That’s what the report says.”
Hosoo turned each page slowly. The only sound in the room was the soft rustling of paper. With each turn, Do In-ho’s mind flashed through vivid memories.
The ash-colored air. A massive shadow swallowing Choi Seon-yul, then falling upon Ho-eun.
That day, he’d watched an overwhelming force slip through his fingers. Do In-ho had trained relentlessly to protect, not attack—so that Ho-eun wouldn’t get hurt. And what had that gotten him? He’d lost the very person he was meant to protect.
The Corporation and the Association hadn’t said a word about Ho-eun. If he’d known they were going to abandon him like this, Do In-ho would’ve blown up the whole site—civilians be damned. The moment the Anti-Government leader disguised himself as a civilian and approached Ho-eun, he should’ve ended it all.
Had he done that… maybe he wouldn’t be in this much pain.
Which is why Hosoo’s sudden appearance was suspicious. The higher-ups had already washed their hands of this mess—so what the hell was this guy stirring it up for now?
“I don’t get it. Why are you even here? Wasn’t it you guys who locked me away after the incident?”
“I’m not the one you shouldn’t get. That was Baek Woo-gyeong’s order, wasn’t it?”
Having finished the report, Hosoo tossed it onto the table and sat on the couch like it was his own home, crossing his legs comfortably.
“There’s only one reason I’m here. I need an Esper to join me on a secret mission that even Baek Woo-gyeong can’t know about.”
“You don’t see what I look like? I’ve got a guard on me and an Ability Restraint Device.”
On Do In-ho’s left wrist was the device, slapped on without explanation the day he was detained.
Hosoo glanced at it and made a vague “Ah” sound. His pupils briefly dilated, then returned to normal as he pulled a key from his jacket.
“I requested the restraint.”
“…What?”
“Did you forget? You’re a Crystal Implant. Without a Guide to stabilize you, your guiding leaks out. Who else could’ve contained that?”
Hosoo stood and unlocked the restraint. A quick glance at the Guide Watch showed Do In-ho’s Guiding Output was at 52%. He hadn’t been stabilized since the incident. Hosoo took his hand.
“Just as I thought.”
An overwhelming amount of guiding had been leaking. Without someone like Hosoo, it would’ve been unbearable.
“At this point, even a stabilizer drug wouldn’t help.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying the only one who can handle you… is Kwon Ho-eun.”
“……”
“Why do you think Baek Woo-gyeong locked you up?”
“That’s…”
“If you hadn’t had that device, your instability would’ve hit dangerous levels by now.”
“……”
“You’re going back to who you were before you met Kwon Ho-eun— ticking time bomb Do In-ho.”
Hosoo let go of his hand.
“Wear this until you meet Kwon Ho-eun.”
He handed him a black leather bracelet.
“We can’t have you overloading before then.”
Do In-ho put it on. Just like with the restraint, his guiding energy stopped leaking.
“You said you needed an Esper for this mission.”
“Yeah.”
“I know where Ho-eun hyung is. If you help rescue him, I’ll help you too.”
“You know where he is?”
Do In-ho nodded. He’d planted a tracker in the necklace he gave Ho-eun. Even though he’d known the location, he couldn’t act. He didn’t trust the higher-ups, and all communications from the dorm were cut off.
But Ho-eun seemed dangerously unstable. Hosoo’s motives were unclear, but at the moment, he was the only hope.
“He’s in Jeju Island.”
At that, Hosoo raised an eyebrow.
“What a coincidence. My mission also takes me to Jeju.”
“……”
“Oh, right. I didn’t tell you the mission name yet.”
Hosoo stepped closer, as if worried someone might overhear. In a low voice, he whispered:
“It’s Operation: Rescue Kwon Ho-eun.”
“…!!”
“We leave in ten minutes. Get ready.”
“Why are you doing this…?”
Do In-ho couldn’t help but be suspicious of Hosoo’s motives for going rogue like this. As if sensing it, Hosoo let out a soft sigh.
“Would you believe me if I said… guilt?”
“…?”
“The blood sample you asked me to get from Kwon Ho-eun at 63 Square—this is all connected.”
“You mean the Anti-Government group planned this from the beginning…?”
“Yeah. They must’ve intended to kidnap him all along. They need Kwon Ho-eun for whatever it is they’re planning. And I figured it out way too late.”
Hosoo ran a hand through his hair, visibly agitated—like he was blaming himself.
He should’ve paid more attention when Tiger asked the government for a Guide. The whole setup, making it seem like there was an Esper on the verge of overloading, had been a trap from the start.
“I shouldn’t have kept his S-rank a secret. That’s where everything started going wrong.”
During the post-operation debrief, Baek Woo-gyeong had said this about Kwon Ho-eun’s abduction:
“He’s just a D-rank Guide. Don’t provoke the Anti-Government by rushing to rescue him—wait for the right time.”
He’d wagged his tongue, urging everyone to weigh the risk of a D-rank Guide against the threat of terrorism. That smug speech still burned in Do In-ho’s memory.
