Cha Han-gyeom lay alone in the bedroom Seo Won had left, staring blankly at the ceiling with bleary eyes.
‘I can’t even lift a finger.’
It wasn’t the first time he’d felt so drained that even breathing felt like a chore, but today was different.
It wasn’t the usual exhaustion that came after sex or guiding—his entire body was tingling with an intense numbness. Just when he thought he’d passed out from sheer fatigue, that very tingling sensation kept jolting him awake.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
He turned his head toward the wall clock. Forcing strength into his dry, stinging eyes, he stared at the numbers for a long while before realizing that only two hours had passed.
Letting out a strained groan, Han-gyeom pushed himself up. Even the slightest movement sent screaming protests through his entire body. If it were just pain, he might have managed, but the relentless, searing numbness accompanying it made him flinch again and again.
Only after sitting up did Han-gyeom notice that his body was perfectly clean, without a trace of discomfort. Since Seo Won had been glued to him the moment they returned from the showcase, he must’ve slipped away to take care of his backlog of work. And yet, he’d still taken the time to thoroughly wash him.
‘Needlessly considerate, as always.’
He ran a hand slowly over his clean, smooth skin. The warmth from his body had mostly subsided, but the reddish marks Seo Won left behind still pulsed with lingering heat.
As he stood, legs still tingling, his gaze happened to land on the nightstand. There sat a translucent ice apple and a small note beneath it.
Han-gyeom cradled the ice apple in one arm like a doll. He knew it wasn’t actually made of cold ice, but holding it now, it felt just the right temperature—pleasantly cool against his skin. Every time he touched one of these, it felt the same. Could that really be a coincidence?
‘If it’s Seo Won, it might just be possible.’
Seo Won possessed an unmatched affinity and overwhelming potential when it came to ice-type abilities, along with a flawless sense as an Ability User. If he made it, maybe it really did adjust to the holder’s body temperature. It sounded absurd, but not entirely impossible. If something like that was possible, it would be nothing short of revolutionary.
Just hugging the ice apple seemed to soothe the numbness coursing through Han-gyeom’s body. And yet, part of him still felt the emptiness left by Seo Won’s absence. If he were here, the natural resonance between Imprinted partners would have easily suppressed this uncomfortable tingling altogether.
Feeling a wave of melancholy wash over him, Han-gyeom picked up the note on the nightstand. As expected, it was left by Seo Won. Han-gyeom’s eyes widened the moment he read the message.
[If you wake up alone, contact Jung Ah-young.]
[I’ll arrange for you to meet a guide from the other research facility.]
Without a second thought, Han-gyeom turned toward the door. Though his legs wobbled from the lingering numbness, he managed to keep his balance and headed straight out without stumbling.
The word “research facility” written on the note kept echoing in Han-gyeom’s mind.
Though it was just the generic term “research facility,” there was no way he didn’t know what specific one it referred to. That only made his anxiety worse.
His memories of the research facility were, without a doubt, the worst of his life.
The researchers there were cold-hearted demons—worse than machines—and the Ability Users dragged in as test subjects were far from mentally sound, not just physically broken. He had been no different. Nor had Song Yeon-woo, his former Imprinter.
There were four such hellholes in total.
Just days before the notoriously cruel Fourth Ability Analysis Research Facility collapsed, he’d overheard rumors about the others.
They said the First, Second, and Third Ability Analysis Research Facilities had already started shutting down one after the other.
The one left now was this place. And since no one knew when it might be raided and forced to close too, the researchers whispered that they had to run every experiment they could—without restraint—while they still had time. He remembered clearly how, from that day on, the experiments became even more merciless.
To be honest, he’d never felt the slightest interest in the Espers from the other research facilities. They had likely been just as pitiful, dragged in as test subjects like the rest. Whether they wanted to or not, they must have clung to any available guide, crying out for guiding just to stay alive.
So being told he’d be introduced to an Esper from a research facility didn’t sit well with him. He wanted no part of it.
Even if they hadn’t been in the same facility, he couldn’t help but associate them with the Espers who had driven him to the edge. It would only trigger his trauma.
But a guide—that was different.
There was a quiet, undeniable sense of kinship with another Ability User who had likely suffered just as much. A natural empathy, an aching curiosity about what kind of hardships they’d endured to survive. A tenderness that bloomed without warning.
Emotions surged inside him all at once.
Because of what he’d done to Song Jae-woo, there were certain emotions he knew he could never feel—should never feel—toward the guides of that terrorist group. And yet, in that moment, those very feelings came rushing forth.
Clutching the note, Han-gyeom threw open the door. The bodyguards stationed outside flinched and turned toward him. More specifically, their eyes landed on the haphazardly tied sash around his waist—and the way his shower gown had fallen open, revealing much of his upper and lower body.
“Please call Ah-young for me.”
But Han-gyeom had no time or interest in worrying about where their eyes were wandering.
***
A short while after Han-gyeom’s request, Seo Won, accompanied by Cha Min-hyung, made his way to the lounge set up on the same floor as Han-gyeom’s bedroom.
He didn’t want to force Han-gyeom—who was still unwell—to come all the way to the reception room. At the same time, he couldn’t exactly show outsiders the inside of the bedroom he and Han-gyeom shared, so he’d intentionally set up the meeting space not far from it.
Not long after arriving at the lounge, Jung Ah-young appeared with Han-gyeom in tow.
Aside from the slight redness still lingering around his eyes from the prolonged deep guiding, Han-gyeom appeared perfectly neat and composed. Perhaps to conceal the vivid marks left on his neck, he had buttoned his shirt all the way up, giving him a slightly stifled appearance.
As he stepped into the lounge, Han-gyeom’s eyes widened the moment he saw Min-hyung seated across from Seo Won.
“Cha… Min-hyung?”
It was their first time meeting in person, but Han-gyeom knew his name all too well. He was an S-rank guide with fame and popularity rivaling that of a celebrity in Korea—there was no way not to know him.
Min-hyung rose from his seat and offered his hand to Han-gyeom with a natural, poised gesture.
“This is our first time meeting face-to-face, Han-gyeom-ssi.”
Han-gyeom stared at him intently, as if he might bore a hole through his face, momentarily forgetting to even shake the extended hand.
The Cha Min-hyung in front of him felt starkly different from the one portrayed by the media. Cold and composed to the point of seeming similar to Seo Won, he now radiated something more complex, something layered far deeper than a single expression. Even the subtle trembling of his eyes paired with that faint smile carried a quiet poignance.
A strange surge of emotion welled up within Han-gyeom.
Right now, he felt like if anyone so much as nudged his heart, everything inside would pour out like a waterfall.
With a feeling like he’d just reunited with a long-lost friend, Han-gyeom finally reached out and clasped Min-hyung’s hand.
“You’re really… from the research facility?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Min-hyung responded without hesitation to Han-gyeom’s trembling voice.
“Hardly anyone in the Association knows, but I’m G_NO.00, the Base guide from the First Ability Analysis Research Facility.”
At those words, Han-gyeom bit his lower lip hard.
He too had been a Base guide and test subject—designated 00—at the Fourth Ability Analysis Research Facility. Standing in front of someone who shared not just the same kind of past but the exact same number stirred up even deeper emotions.
But what shocked him even more was that Cha Min-hyung had been the Base guide of the First Facility. The amount of GP extracted from him had dragged countless guides into the abyss of experimentation—so many that it was impossible to count. Han-gyeom had been one of them.
And yet, he didn’t resent him. No, he couldn’t resent him.
He had been a child back then—completely unaware and exploited. Just imagining the quantity of GP that must have been forced from him was overwhelming. All under the guise of “creating a superior, special kind of guide,” he’d been used relentlessly.
Lowering his head, Han-gyeom gripped Min-hyung’s hand tightly.
“I’m glad you’re alive.”
At those words, Min-hyung looked startled at first—but his expression soon softened into one of heartfelt gratitude.
“I’m grateful you survived too, Han-gyeom-ssi.”
Min-hyung pulled Han-gyeom into a firm embrace. It wasn’t an affectionate gesture, but rather a warm, grounding hug—one that carried the weight of everything they had both endured.
Understanding this, Han-gyeom didn’t resist. He let himself be held.
Not long after, the two gently pulled apart. In that brief time, Han-gyeom had calmed the storm of emotions that had been threatening to burst. As he turned to look at Seo Won, the latter met his gaze and extended his hand—not with jealousy, but with quiet maturity as he sat patiently at his seat.
“Come here, if you’re done.”
Han-gyeom obediently took Seo Won’s hand, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and sat down beside him. Seo Won wrapped an arm around Han-gyeom’s waist and pulled him close, holding him tight—as if he had no intention of letting anyone else lay claim to him.
Watching the scene, Min-hyung sat down on the sofa with a faint, knowing smile.
“I have a favor to ask of you, Cha Min-hyung-ssi.”
“Please, go ahead. If it’s within my power, I’ll gladly help.”
Min-hyung’s response was firm and enthusiastic.
“A very good answer.”
Behind Min-hyung’s eagerness, Seo Won could clearly sense the deep empathy and sorrow he felt toward Han-gyeom. And yet, instead of finding it unpleasant, Seo Won decided to take full advantage of it.
