Seo Won approached Han-gyeom and extended a hand toward him.
“Let’s go.”
He had no intention of launching into any kind of speech. Han-gyeom’s mind was probably already overwhelmed just from dredging up that pitch-black past. There was no need to stir the pot further. He’d rather Han-gyeom didn’t think about anything at all.
Han-gyeom stared quietly at Seo Won’s outstretched hand. Until now, he had been sitting motionless, like someone who had lost all strength—not even twitching a finger. Finally, he lifted both arms. Spreading them wide with limp effort, he spoke with an exhausted expression.
“Hug me.”
It was an uncharacteristically childlike display—very unlike Han-gyeom.
Seo Won said nothing. He simply held Han-gyeom the way he wanted. Han-gyeom, lifted effortlessly, wrapped his arms around Seo Won and rested his head on his shoulder.
Just being this close, a subtle resonance pulsed between them. Moments ago, his heart had been so weary it felt like it could stop at any second—but now, in tune with Seo Won’s resonance, it steadied itself, beating in a calm, even rhythm.
Han-gyeom let his eyes fall shut, surrendering to the tickling sensation of the resonance. The murky, tangled mess in his head slowly began to clear. The scent of Seo Won, softly brushing against his nose, played no small part in calming the tightness in his chest.
“What did it cost you?”
He asked with his eyes still closed.
Seo Won had clearly formed some kind of agreement when he saw Min-hyung off. In exchange for receiving the full data on all the test subjects from the Fourth Ability Analysis Research Facility, what had he given Cha Min-hyung?
“He said there’s someone he’s looking for.”
Carrying Han-gyeom in his arms, Seo Won stepped into the corridor, answering casually.
“He asked me to find one of the Ability Users who escaped from the First Ability Analysis Research Facility.”
“Isn’t that person with the terrorist group?”
“No chance.”
Seo Won had initially assumed the same. But according to Min-hyung, there was no way the person in question would be among the terrorists. If they’d kept the promise they’d made with the lead researchers from the First Facility, then the Ability Users in the terrorist group likely wouldn’t even remember him.
“He’s a psychic Esper. As long as he hides his abilities well, it’s totally possible for him to pass as a regular person.”
Espers who displayed obvious physical changes or unique characteristics could be outed in an instant the moment they let their guard down. But psychic-type Espers, whose powers allowed them to manipulate the human mind without detection, could easily blend into everyday life if they wished. Of course, depending on the extent and duration of their ability use, they would still require guiding just like any other Esper.
“I told him I’d find the guy for him.”
There was a reason why someone like Cha Min-hyung—a senior official in the Esper Association—had gone out of his way to ask Seo Won to handle this personally.
It was precisely because he held such a high position that the forces keeping Min-hyung in check within the Association were so numerous. In particular, Kim Cheol-min—the current Vice President of the Association and former director of the First Ability Analysis Research Facility—was still keeping a close eye on him.
They had to avoid attracting attention at all costs. If they weren’t careful, the person Min-hyung was looking for might end up leashed by the Association.
Han-gyeom quietly lamented the current state of affairs—that even someone as high up as an Association executive couldn’t freely search for someone. Even after escaping the research facility, Cha Min-hyung was still tightly bound by the Association’s grip.
“In exchange for finding that person, you’re getting access to all the Ability User data from the research facilities, right?”
“Exactly.”
Seo Won’s crisp response matched the long, steady strides he was taking down the hallway.
“In the end, it’s all about information when it comes to crushing someone.”
Han-gyeom slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Seo Won, who was staring straight ahead as he walked. The arms holding Han-gyeom tightened with solid resolve.
“They dared to lay hands on what’s mine—so I’m going to grind each and every one of them into the dirt until they can’t get back up.”
Seo Won intended to hammer every last bit of information about the terrorist group’s Ability Users into his mind—their powers, their characteristics, and everything else. The more data he absorbed, the stronger his Buff would become.
As he stared up at Seo Won’s eyes, which shimmered with a cold, lethal intent, Han-gyeom secretly bit the inside of his cheek.
“…Are you planning to kill them?”
Only then did Seo Won’s eyes shift to meet his.
“If that’s what it takes.”
***
“Uwaaaaah—!”
Song Jae-woo’s agonized shriek pierced through the door like a blade.
“Let me out! Just leave me the hell alone!”
Ah-young, standing behind Han-gyeom with her hands cupped over his ears, made a troubled face.
“How is he still that loud when his voice is already gone?”
As she muttered to herself, three medical staff came running up from behind. They gave Ah-young a polite nod before hastily opening the door. Spotting the large medical kits in their hands, Ah-young called out to them.
“Give him something strong—really strong!”
Even with Ah-young’s hands covering his ears, it wasn’t like Han-gyeom couldn’t hear anything. Feeling guilty, he gently removed her hands.
“Thank you for trying to help, Ah-young. And… sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for, Han-gyeom?”
“I know you’ve been taking care of Jae-woo non-stop without getting any proper sleep. You must be exhausted…”
Ah-young quickly waved her hand and shook her head.
“Don’t apologize for that kind of thing. I mean, honestly, even when you were, uh, guiding with Director Seo at night, I’d stay up all night watching over you guys anyway.”
She meant it as a way to say this was just business as usual and not to worry. But the moment the words came out, she immediately regretted phrasing it that way.
Ah-young scratched her cheek with an awkward smile, then flinched at the loud scream from inside the room.
“Hyung! Han-gyeom hyung! Help me! Aaargh—!”
The moment Jae-woo saw the medical staff trying to administer the sedative, he began thrashing wildly and screamed at the top of his lungs. Spotting Han-gyeom through the open doorway, he cried out desperately.
“They’re trying to kill me! They’re going to kill me! Help me, hyung! I’m scared!”
At his desperate wails, Ah-young instinctively tried to cover Han-gyeom’s ears again. If the noise continued, there was no telling when it might trigger another seizure—this situation was more than dangerous enough.
But Han-gyeom gently pushed her hands away.
“It’s okay. I’ve got this.”
He pulled out a palm-sized object. It was a transparent ice apple, identical in design to the one Seo Won had given him, though much smaller.
Just the day before, Seo Won had added a compression function to the apple so Han-gyeom could carry it with him at all times. When Han-gyeom infused it with GP, the ice would respond by adjusting its density, shrinking down to its minimum form—small enough to fit in his palm.
Thanks to that, he was now able to keep the ice apple tucked into the pocket of his thin cardigan, providing both direct and indirect protection against seizures.
He slipped a hand into his pocket and gripped the ice apple tightly. The solid cold filled his palm completely.
Despite only a day having passed, Song Jae-woo’s condition had deteriorated alarmingly.
Dark circles as heavy as twilight hung under his eyes. His face had grown pale and dry, his pupils trembling so violently he couldn’t focus on anything for more than a moment. His wrists were swollen and raw from the constant thrashing against the restraints. His breath was harsh, like his heart might explode at any moment.
This wasn’t just ordinary guiding withdrawal. It was far worse—far more vicious.
With a grim expression, Han-gyeom stepped into the room. The medical staff, having barely managed to inject the sedative with help from the guards, backed away with cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
Now finally drained of strength, Jae-woo gasped raggedly, his face twisted in misery.
“Hyuuuung… I’m gonna die like this… I’m dying…”
“You’re not dying. Why would you die?”
“I feel so dizzy, I’m gonna puke… The world’s spinning—everything’s twisting and melting… I can’t even recognize your face anymore…”
Tears welled in his reddened eyes as he looked up at Han-gyeom, and then, all of a sudden, his face crumpled like a child’s.
“My body’s creaking and hurting everywhere! It hurts! I’m going insane!”
“Jae-woo…”
“Take these off, hyung! I’ll kill everyone here—just let’s run away together! Woo-chan hyung said if I’m with you, he’d shower me with affection! He said he’d guide me all day long! Hee… heehee—!”
The way Song Jae-woo burst into hysterical laughter, veins bulging in his neck, made it painfully clear he wasn’t in his right mind. Not long after, the sedative circulating through his body finally took effect, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
Looking down at Jae-woo’s pale, trembling face, Han-gyeom felt a sharp ache pierce his chest. The thought of having to just sit and watch while Jae-woo suffered and descended further into madness until the symptoms finally subsided left him hollow and helpless.
‘Kang Woo-chan…’
Han-gyeom bit his lip with a conflicted expression, the memory of Kang Woo-chan flickering through his mind.
After watching the sleeping Jae-woo’s face in silence for a few minutes, Han-gyeom finally stepped out of the room with Ah-young.
“Ah-young, Seo Won’s in his office, right?”
“Ah, yes. I’ll take you.”
Ah-young quickly got up from her seat and rushed ahead of Han-gyeom toward the door, but even as she moved, she didn’t forget to glance back and check his expression once more.
As Han-gyeom watched her back, he reached into the pocket of his cardigan—the one holding the ice apple—and pulled something else out alongside it.
A small black cube.
He mulled over the words spoken to him by the intruder who had handed it over, repeating them again and again in his mind.
“If you drop this while genuinely thinking you want to come to us, it’ll transport you.
In other words, if you’re not truly feeling that desire, it’s nothing more than a useless rock.”
Maybe… just maybe, right now, he really could go to them.
Han-gyeom clenched the black cube in his palm, squeezing it as though he might crush it to dust.
