The moment Kim Se-hee’s scream rang out, Kwon Ho-eun moved on instinct. His body reacted before his brain could process what was happening.
Without sparing a thought for the man in front of him, he flung open the door to the interview waiting room. Inside, Se-hee was struggling as a reporter clutched her arm.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Storming into the room, he shouted. A cloud of white breath burst from his mouth—the air was so frigid, it felt like winter had suddenly arrived indoors.
“Stop it, STOP IT!!!”
With her free hand, Se-hee was clawing at her own hair. The pained expression on her face and the whimpering sound she made made it clear: the reporter’s grip on her arm was hurting her.
“Let go of her!”
Ho-eun rushed forward to pull her away from the reporter—
Crackle.
With a chilling noise, the floor froze over. A slick sheet of ice shot across the room, racing toward where Ho-eun stood.
“!!”
Then, suddenly—an arm wrapped around his waist and effortlessly lifted him up.
In the next instant, Ho-eun was pulled backward into a man’s embrace. Where he’d been standing, jagged shards of ice jutted up from the floor like deadly spikes.
A cold sweat rolled down his forehead. Breathing heavily, Ho-eun slowly turned to look behind him.
“Gotta be more careful.”
It was the man who’d just asked for an autograph earlier. The black mask covering his face made it impossible to read his expression.
“Almost turned into a human pincushion.”
A chill ran down Ho-eun’s spine at the man’s calm remark.
If he’d taken even two more steps forward, he would’ve been skewered.
Was that eerie feeling I sensed coming from her?
Ho-eun’s gaze dropped to the frozen floor. Ice-based abilities—those belonged to Ban Seol-ah, an anti-government Esper.
He couldn’t be sure it was her face under that mask, but the power said it all: this woman was Ban Seol-ah.
Ho-eun gently placed a hand on the man’s arm, still wrapped around his waist.
It was a signal—let go.
Feeling the hold slacken, he waited for the moment Seol-ah’s attention shifted toward the window—then darted forward.
He inhaled deeply, focusing every ounce of awareness into his feet.
In the blink of an eye, he broke free from the man’s grasp and shot across the room to Se-hee’s side.
The instant his foot hit the ground, a strange exhilaration surged through him.
Light didn’t even begin to describe it. Each step felt like he barely touched the ground.
With speed no ordinary person could achieve, Ho-eun reached Se-hee and slapped away Ban Seol-ah’s arm.
“……!!!”
Shielding Se-hee behind him, Ho-eun’s lips twitched faintly.
This time was different from when he was helpless against Seol-ah.
Her irises—dark navy swirling into black—looked like black holes.
Ho-eun stared into those eyes with absolute confidence.
“You’re fast. So what’s next?”
Every word Seol-ah spoke came out in visible white breaths.
Feigning composure, Ho-eun raised his clenched fist.
There was nothing in his hand, yet he acted like he was holding something.
“Hm?”
Seol-ah’s gaze flicked to his closed fist.
She crossed her arms and waited, clearly expecting an attack.
I’m screwed.
Ho-eun cursed to himself. This was as far as he could go.
His only weapon was basic martial arts.
Is this why Bae Yeon-woo kept insisting field Guides needed Ability Tools?
It must’ve come from experience. He’d been too dismissive and was now regretting it.
Should I try running with Se-hee?
He considered whether he could maintain that same speed while carrying her.
Ban Seol-ah smirked, spotting the tremor in his pupils. Her lips—coated in soft pink lipstick—curved upward.
“You’ve got nothing, huh?”
“Th-that’s not true.”
Since the interview room was at the end of the hallway, only Ho-eun and the autograph-seeking man had responded to Se-hee’s scream.
It seemed no one outside had caught on to the situation yet.
No one’s coming to help.
The biting cold in the room made his body tremble—maybe from fear, or maybe just the temperature.
Behind him, Se-hee was still gripping her head in agony.
They needed to get out. Now. And get her to a hospital.
Ho-eun glanced at the man standing behind them—still calm and composed.
He had to be a civilian, but even after witnessing Seol-ah’s powers, he seemed completely unfazed.
Considering the crew were all non-Espers and even the security staff weren’t powered, the man’s reaction felt suspiciously collected.
Weird… but maybe it’s actually a good thing in this case.
Ho-eun decided to entrust Se-hee to him. If he could just hold off Seol-ah long enough, at least only one person—him—would be at risk.
His mind made up, Ho-eun moved fast.
Even though turning your back in a fight was dangerous, he spun around and barked at Se-hee.
“Run! Get out of here!”
Se-hee forced her unsteady legs into motion.
“Hey! Take Se-hee and get out of here!”
Ho-eun shouted to the man and then turned back to block Seol-ah’s advance—
“Ah……”
A sigh escaped him.
You know how in cartoons, magical girls get a whole transformation sequence and the villains politely wait? Or when the hero’s friend is escaping, the bad guy just watches?
Yeah—this wasn’t that.
When he turned back, he saw sharp spears of ice floating mid-air, like missiles ready to fire.
Ban Seol-ah wasn’t waiting.
This was real life.
And those ice spears were about to hit Se-hee and the man, too.
As her fingers twitched, preparing to snap, Ho-eun didn’t have time to think—he just threw himself at them.
If I can block it before it hits them… if I’m the only one who gets hurt…
Ho-eun wrapped himself around Se-hee’s small head, eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of pain.
The sharp whistle of ice cutting through air echoed in his ears. But instead of agony, there was a clink—something ricocheting off a surface.
“…Hmm. Looks like they escaped.”
Seol-ah and Ho-eun stood on either side of Se-hee, locking eyes.
Ho-eun turned around to see shattered ice and an open window, cold wind sweeping in.
“Did you do that?”
“Oh, this?”
The man lifted his left wrist, revealing a white bracelet.
From it, a translucent barrier shimmered into view.
“A transparent shield…?”
Ho-eun tapped it—solid.
A low thud echoed from the impact.
“Is that… an Ability Product?”
Ban Seol-ah’s attack had shattered against the man’s shield.
Thanks to it, they hadn’t been skewered—but they also hadn’t learned why she came. She’d slipped away.
Staring blankly at the window, Ho-eun’s gaze fell back to the bracelet—just in time to see the strap snap with a soft pop.
“It’s single-use. Guess that’s it.”
Single-use? Ho-eun was about to ask when Kim Se-hee suddenly collapsed.
“Call an ambulance! No—wait, forget that.”
Ho-eun gently picked her up and hurried out of the room.
A healing Esper would be faster and more effective than a regular hospital.
Cradling her, he rushed down the hall and immediately sought out the Chief Secretary.
“Chief! Kim Se-hee just collapsed. An anti-government Esper was just here—!”
The secretary seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation and quickly made a call.
Se-hee was laid on the couch in an empty waiting room, a blanket wrapped around her.
Ho-eun wiped the cold sweat from his face with the handkerchief the secretary had handed him.
Then he looked around—searching for the man with the Ability Product.
“Where’d he go?”
“Who?”
A voice behind him made Ho-eun jump.
He could’ve sworn no one was there a moment ago—his heart leapt into his throat.
“Y-you.”
“Me? Whoa, today’s a total fangirl dream come true!”
“…Fangirl dream?”
“There’s a saying: ‘A fan can’t reach their idol’s level,’ but today I got your autograph and you came looking for me!”
“…Well, I wanted to ask about the Ability Product you used earlier.”
“Oh, not me—the product did all the work.”
“N-no! I mean, of course I was looking for you too. You saved us. Thank you.”
Ho-eun gave a deep bow.
Even through the mask, the man’s smile was obvious—his cheeks lifted high.
He grabbed Ho-eun’s hands with both of his and shook them excitedly.
“Really?! I actually helped?!”
“Uh, yeah. Totally. If it weren’t for you, I’d be a cactus right now. But how’d a civilian like you get your hands on an Ability Product?”
Ho-eun smoothly pulled his arm back as he asked.
“Oh, I used to work for a company that made Ability Products. I know the industry inside out.”
“You used to work there…?”
“Yeah, I quit two years ago. Now I do this and that, but it means I can still get products pretty easily.”
“Wait—civilians can’t use those, right?”
“Normally, yeah. You need Guiding. But these single-use ones have a bit of guiding energy already infused.”
“Single-use?”
“Yup. After a few uses, they break. Since you can’t keep recharging the guiding energy, the tool just self-destructs.”
Ho-eun recalled the bracelet snapping.
“They’re still super popular. Civilians can use powers—that’s a huge deal. But most people can’t afford them.”
“How expensive are we talking?”
“This one? About 350 million won.”
“???”
Ho-eun stared, eyes wide, at the man’s now-bare wrist.
He’d been wearing something worth 350 million won?!
Now that he looked closer, the man’s clothes—though simple—were all high-end brands.
“Buying single-use Ability Products is kind of my hobby. Today turned out pretty lucky.”
“Sorry you had to waste one on me.”
“Then how about you treat me to a meal sometime?”
“Eh?”
“I’ve always wanted to watch Kwon Ho-eun eat in person.”
“Ah… Sure, okay.”
They ended up exchanging contact info, just like that.
Watching the man bounce with joy, Ho-eun forced an awkward smile.
He still wasn’t used to fans approaching him.
The idea of someone being his fan—someone like Kwon Ho-eun—was surreal.
Something he never even dreamed of during his YouTuber days, but now, as a Guide… somehow, he’d made it happen.
Once the man left, Ho-eun returned to the waiting room where Kim Se-hee lay.
She was fast asleep, and Ho-eun hovered nearby, worried.
The Chief Secretary quietly approached.
“I’ve called a healing Esper. They’ll be here soon.
Also, the PR Department staff are on their way.”
“PR Department?!”
