Kwon Ho-eun lightly tapped Do In-ho’s hand as if to stop him.
“It’s understandable if you’re scared. You’re a civilian. I’ll hold your hand, so come with me. Those people are just high on something. They’re not actually dangerous. Honestly, this place is more dangerous. You could end up as a hostage to some thug.”
Do In-ho raised and lowered his eyebrows at the two hands he was still holding.
“In that case, I’ll cover you.”
“Huh? Okay.”
Saying he’d cover them, Do In-ho grabbed Ho-eun’s free hand. Usually, when someone offers cover, they do it from the back, don’t they? It felt a little off, but Ho-eun quickly pushed that thought aside.
“Department Head!!”
Ho-eun called out to Eom Tae-seok as he approached the stairs, holding the man’s hand. Just when it seemed like everything was wrapping up, a burning smell drifted in from the direction of the jail cell where Park Ki-hyun was being held.
“You think I was gonna get caught here, huh?! Fuck!”
Park Ki-hyun, high out of his mind, had thrown one of the unconscious guests into the bars, using the electrocution as a human shield to escape.
The current seemed only strong enough to knock someone out. Aside from some singed hair, the guest looked mostly unharmed. After tossing the guest to the floor, Park Ki-hyun bolted up the stairs to the first floor.
“Let’s see here…”
Even in the urgency of the moment, Kang Him-chan remained unfazed. He pulled a small black object from the pouch on his belt.
It was about the size of a smartphone and looked similar to a monocular. Kang Him-chan assessed the distance like he was measuring range, then reached into his golf bag.
“At that distance, a driver should do the trick.”
Ho-eun had been about to dash up the stairs but froze in place when he saw Eom Tae-seok take a driver from Kang Him-chan and strike a stance like he was about to swing.
Eom Tae-seok swung his arms back and forth, gauging direction, then extended his arms straight. His torso twisted left, his right heel lifted—a perfect golfing posture.
“If your brain’s no good, your body’s gotta do the work.”
The golf ball soared up the stairs and stopped directly above Park Ki-hyun’s head.
Crackle. BZZT.
The blue golf ball morphed into a cloud shape and began to shine brilliantly.
“Lightning Strike.”
“AAAAAAAAAGH!!!”
With a thunderous roar, multiple bolts of lightning crashed down on Park Ki-hyun’s head. If the last Lightning Strike had been small, this one was easily twice as large and struck multiple times.
The shouting voice from the jail cell—screaming to be let out—abruptly went silent.
And that wasn’t all. The Dragon gang members who had been hiding and ambushing them repeatedly now emerged, seemingly entranced, to stare at Park Ki-hyun.
“Aa… ah, ahh…”
Park Ki-hyun collapsed to the floor, unable to speak, completely unconscious.
If he’d been a regular civilian, he would’ve died instantly. But seeing him twitching now and then, it seemed he was still alive.
“So… is it finally over?”
Ho-eun muttered to himself, just starting to let his guard down.
THUD!
Paul, who’d been shielding Han Yeo-ul, appeared at the top of the stairs—then lost balance and tumbled down.
Holding Han Yeo-ul tightly to keep her safe, Paul rolled to the bottom, immediately sprang up, and began scanning the area.
“What happened?!”
“Huff, huff… they… followed…”
Paul began to respond to Kang Him-chan’s question but couldn’t finish. His shadow twisted unnaturally—and from it, Seon Ak-yul emerged, wrapping an arm around Paul’s neck.
“I told you—shadows are everywhere.”
“Guhk!”
Seon Ak-yul slammed Paul to the ground and yanked the terrified Han Yeo-ul by the hand.
“Seriously? This is what happens the moment I’m not around?”
Wearing a twisted grin, Seon Ak-yul looked over the chaotic Dragon hideout.
“Did they get my brother too?”
“You’re the one who was too slow!”
With Seon Ak-yul’s appearance, what had seemed like a successful mission was now unraveling. Someone who absolutely shouldn’t have been taken hostage—was.
No one could easily speak up as Seon Ak-yul began talking with Choi Seon-yul. Everyone knew exactly who held the upper hand here.
“Hmmm. What to do. The boss did say to bring Han Yeo-ul, after all.”
Seon Ak-yul shifted his gaze to where Ho-eun stood.
“But I can’t exactly just run away by myself, can I? So what’s the best play here?”
“Let’s trade.”
Bae Yeon-woo, silent until now, pulled a key from his pocket. It was the only key that could unlock the Ability Cuffs.
“Han Yeo-ul for one person of your choosing. One-for-one exchange. How about that?”
“…Huh? That’s a raw deal for me. I mean, if I wanted to…”
Seon Ak-yul disappeared into the shadows with Han Yeo-ul—only to reappear through Bae Yeon-woo’s shadow.
“…killing trash like you is easy.”
A dagger pressed against Bae Yeon-woo’s neck.
“Stings a bit.”
Though he spoke nonchalantly, a drop of crimson trickled down his neck as the blade dug in deeper.
“Aren’t you scared?”
“I’ve seen you fight before. You’re the sneaky type, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Your ability’s kinda lame. Hiding in someone else’s shadow and jumping in and out like a whack-a-mole. You’re probably weak in places without shadows, especially when the lights are off. That’s why you always stick with Choi Seon-yul, right?”
Bae Yeon-woo didn’t pause.
“Look at you now. Taking a child hostage? Isn’t that a bit pathetic? Kidnapping a sleeping kid to use as leverage—you’re doing this ’cause you’re scared we’ll destroy you without a hostage, right?”
The blade at his neck quivered. Bae Yeon-woo glanced at it and continued, his tone even smugger.
“People these days only pick on the weak, right? Taking a little girl hostage and threatening a guide with a knife? It’s obvious. Even though there are plenty of Espers here, you had to go for me. You know why? Because I’m the only one you’re actually capable of killing.”
His snide tone would make anyone want to punch him, even someone other than Seon Ak-yul.
Was this what verbal assault looked like?
Ho-eun remembered the time Bae Yeon-woo had destroyed him with words and gotten him extra drills. He started sweating.
“Ak-yul! Ignore that asshole and just grab the damn key!”
“Ha… ha… wait a sec. Let me kill this bastard first.”
“No!!!”
Seon Ak-yul, who’d pulled the blade away for a moment, raised it high to slash—and froze at Choi Seon-yul’s shout.
“If you kill him, the key breaks too!! He’s provoking you on purpose!!”
“…Your brother’s got some brains, huh?”
Bae Yeon-woo smirked and leaned closer.
“The Ability Cuff keys have a special feature. They only work while the registered owner is alive. If you kill me, your brother’s gonna be stuck wearing that cuff for life. You know that, right? These cuffs can’t be broken with abilities.”
“Dirty bastard.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Shick. Bae Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes and smiled. That level of composure in a situation like this was unreal.
Ho-eun exhaled a shaky breath. So that’s why he gave them the cuffs but not the key. It made sense now. He’d nearly had a heart attack thinking his superior’s head might roll.
“Let’s see how long you can keep smiling. Don’t forget—I’ve still got the girl.”
Seon Ak-yul yanked Han Yeo-ul upward roughly.
……
It was terrifying, especially for a child, yet Han Yeo-ul seemed calm despite her frightened expression—as if she’d expected this. She looked around, as if searching for someone, and her gaze locked onto one spot.
“Mom.”
She was looking at the prison cell where her parents were being held. Han Yeo-ul’s mother, despite making eye contact, quickly lowered her head as if she couldn’t bear to meet her daughter’s eyes.
“Give me the key if you don’t want this kid getting hurt.”
“I said let’s trade.”
“…You’ve lost your damn mind. You not getting it? I said I won’t kill her. I could just slice off her arm and take the key instead.”
“My right hand’s kinda important. Got a lot of uses.”
Bae Yeon-woo made a mock-thoughtful face.
“By the way, kid—you’re an Esper, right?”
……
Han Yeo-ul didn’t answer.
“I mean, sure, we do need Han Yeo-ul. But unless we caught her actually using an ability, we can’t prove it. Even if we take her in, we’ll have to let her go.”
At Bae Yeon-woo’s comment, Ho-eun looked at Kang Him-chan.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, sir. Even if we save her now, without evidence that she’s awakened, we can’t prove she’s an Esper. If that’s the case, she’ll just have her memory erased and be returned to society.”
Ho-eun looked at the scene with anxious eyes.
“But Tiger wants her, right? Doesn’t that mean she has awakened?”
Eom Tae-seok, who had been quiet, finally spoke.
“To be honest, in our current situation, it makes more sense to rescue Assistant Manager Bae Yeon-woo instead. Seon Ak-yul is holding Han Yeo-ul, which makes it hard for us to use our abilities. And rescuing her without abilities is even harder.”
Eom Tae-seok’s long explanation boiled down to one thing: abandon Han Yeo-ul and save Bae Yeon-woo.
Ho-eun felt like his insides were burning.
“But…”
He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t finish. No, there were too many thoughts swirling around for him to even put them into words.
When it’s a choice between an adult and a child, you save the child—the vulnerable one. But when it’s between a guide and an ordinary child, their law says to save the guide.
“Is there no other way…”
“There is. If Han Yeo-ul uses her ability right now and confirms she’s awakened. That way, we don’t have to give her up.”
At Eom Tae-seok’s suggestion, Ho-eun turned to look at Han Yeo-ul.
She blinked her large eyes, still staring at her mother. Her hand was still tightly held by Seon Ak-yul. If Eom Tae-seok or Do In-ho made a move now, she’d definitely get caught in the crossfire.
What if Paul used teleportation to extract her? No good. If he took Seon Ak-yul with her, it would just be a change of location.
“W-Wanna play a game?”
At that moment, Nam Woon-soo, who’d been silently standing next to Bae Yeon-woo, picked up a deck of cards from the table.
“…What?”
“Ti-Tiger likes fun stuff, right? S-So instead of a trade… how about a g-game?”
Nam Woon-soo shuffled the cards and offered one to Seon Ak-yul.
“E-Everyone draws a card… highest number wins.”
Seon Ak-yul took the card and smirked.
“Sounds more fun than whatever that guy was on about. But I’m shuffling.”
He took back the card, shuffled, then handed one to Nam Woon-soo and kept one for himself.
“What do I get if I win? Better not be some one-for-one trade bullshit.”
Nam Woon-soo stared quietly at the back of his card before finally speaking.
“Right hand…”
“…Huh?”
He reached for Bae Yeon-woo’s hand—the one holding the key.
……
Without a word, Bae Yeon-woo dropped the key into Nam Woon-soo’s palm. Nam Woon-soo curled his fingers into a fist and gave a faint smile.
“I-If I lose… I’ll c-cut off my own hand. And if you lose… y-you do the same. One minute to s-save… or s-stop… me.”
Ho-eun blinked, completely lost.
Nam Woon-soo now held the key in his right hand. Seon Ak-yul’s right hand was holding Han Yeo-ul.
“…A gamble, huh?”
Shoulders trembling with laughter, Seon Ak-yul bared his teeth.
“This sounds fun.”
