The day after the terror attack.
The sonic terror incident at the product demonstration hall was completely buried without any media coverage. It was the result of an unspoken agreement among the involved parties.
There was a clear reason behind the decision to cover up the incident.
“It’s because only Espers could hear the sound. Those who reacted to it were all Ability Users, and among them, the ones who felt pain were Espers.”
Lim Du-hyuk handed a copy of the entry log from the demonstration venue to Seo Won, who sat across from him.
A total of four people had gathered temporarily in a hotel room.
There was Seo Won, the owner of the room; Jung Ah-young and Lim Du-hyuk, who had come out unscathed because they were regular people among the security detail; and finally, Yoon Jeong-ho, who had escaped alone using his teleportation ability during the terror incident and returned afterward.
Sitting around a round table, the four of them were investigating the incident in their own way. In particular, from Seo Won and Yoon Jeong-ho’s perspective, it was hard to feel good about a three-day demo event they had meticulously prepared going up in flames on the very first day.
“There were too many unregistered Ability Users among the attendees this time. If this gets reported properly, the issue wouldn’t just be the terror attack—it’d be the fact that unregistered Ability Users are openly mingling with high-ranking officials.”
In response to Du-hyuk’s remark, Seo Won gave a careful directive.
“Make sure not a single line makes it into the press. Also, ask for the cooperation of the executives at the Esper Associations in each country to block the information.”
“Understood.”
As soon as Du-hyuk finished speaking, Yoon Jeong-ho, who had been sitting there with an openly irritated expression, raised his hand and interjected.
“The Association agreed to deploy a search team around the demonstration venue.”
Seo Won nodded, and Jeong-ho let out a heavy sigh before voicing his complaint.
“Ugh! Who the hell was it, seriously?! If they were going to pull something, they should’ve done it on the last day! What the hell is this, starting off with a bang on day one?!”
Overcome with anger, Jeong-ho jumped up from his seat and blew out a furious breath through his lips. His stylishly permed bangs—done by a specially called-in hair designer—drooped lifelessly.
Meanwhile, Seo Won, still checking the entry log, twitched slightly at the corners of his eyes.
“Are these two the suspects?”
The two individuals Seo Won pointed to were outsiders who had entered together but had no recorded exit. According to the notes section, they had no affiliation with the company they claimed to be associated with.
“Yes, they’re the prime suspects. As for the other attendees, we’ve confirmed all their identities and even reviewed their movements through CCTV.”
“What about these two?”
Ah-young handed over a document envelope.
“We haven’t tracked their entire movement path, but they were briefly caught on CCTV. However, one of them…”
Trailing off, Ah-young glanced warily toward the closed door.
Reading into her reaction, Seo Won opened the envelope with a sinking feeling. Several CCTV photos slipped out from inside.
Two of the photos showed a man in a black hoodie pulled deep over his head and wearing thick-rimmed glasses. The hood and glasses obscured his face, but it was clear from his slim build that he was a young man.
The remaining three photos showed a tall man in a beige coat over a white shirt. He, too, looked quite young—barely in his early thirties, at most.
The problem lay in one particular photo of the man in the beige coat.
“…Why the hell is this guy with Cha Han-gyeom?”
Seo Won’s eyes glinted with a chilling edge as he stared at Jung Ah-young. The timestamp on the CCTV photo clearly matched the time Ah-young had been with Han-gyeom.
“It’s, uh… He approached while I stepped out to get coffee. I didn’t catch what they were saying… but as soon as I saw them, I rushed over and pulled them apart. I swear!”
Seo Won glared at the flustered Ah-young before lowering his gaze back to the photo. Han-gyeom was sitting in a chair, looking up at the man, who was smiling as he said something.
“How long were you gone?”
“Not even two minutes.”
Seo Won shot her another sharp look.
Nearly two minutes away? Was she out of her mind? Who knew what that man might’ve done to Han-gyeom in that time?
Seo Won glanced toward the room where Han-gyeom was sleeping, briefly debating whether to go inside or not.
Almost as if trying to steer him toward that decision, Ah-young added another piece of information.
“Oh, right. About Han-gyeom… I think he knew something about that weird sound.”
“Han-gyeom did?”
Du-hyuk asked, and Ah-young tried to recall exactly what he had said.
“‘Ah-young, take those people who collapsed and get them outside.’”
“‘Huh? What do you mean…’”
“‘Please. Hurry!’”
Ah-young recited Han-gyeom’s words exactly, then explained what had happened.
“People were suddenly collapsing all around, and the moment he saw it, Han-gyeom moved into action. There wasn’t even time to assess the situation—it was total chaos—but he didn’t hesitate at all.”
Du-hyuk nodded in agreement.
“I thought it was odd, too.”
This time, Du-hyuk recalled a conversation he’d had with Han-gyeom.
“‘Han-gyeom? Weren’t you with Ah-young? Wait—more importantly, are you okay?’”
“‘I’m fine. That sound only affects Espers.’”
“‘Wait, sound? What do you…’”
Du-hyuk turned to Seo Won, who seemed lost in thought.
“Ah-young and I are both non-ability users, so we don’t really get it… but Han-gyeom definitely seemed to know what was going on with you, Director Seo. That’s why he rushed straight to the hotel to—”
Du-hyuk suddenly trailed off, cutting himself short. Then, as if to deflect attention, he quickly turned to Yoon Jeong-ho and asked what kind of sound he’d heard back then.
Jeong-ho, for his part, was unaware of Seo Won’s Black Vein.
Only a handful of people at the mansion even knew about it.
Du-hyuk and Ah-young were among that rare few.
The two of them continued pretending not to know about Seo Won’s Black Vein in front of Jeong-ho. After all, as a non-Esper, he couldn’t see it anyway.
Regardless, based on what they had seen and heard from Han-gyeom, something was clearly off.
How did Han-gyeom know that the sound only affected Espers? And why did he seem to understand not just its effects, but exactly how it influenced them?
As Seo Won silently replayed the incident in his mind—an event that could’ve easily turned into a rampage by an unregistered S-rank Esper—he stood up.
“I’ll go check it myself.”
Taking the CCTV photo showing Han-gyeom with the man in the beige coat, Seo Won headed toward the bedroom. Just then, Yoon Jeong-ho’s clueless voice rang out behind him.
“Hey, once you’re done talking, let me borrow him for a sec. I’ve been getting dragged all over the place—teleporting nonstop. I need to recharge a bit…”
“Oops! Director Yoon, there’s a whole colony of bugs crawling out of your mou—uh, I mean your mouth! Ahaha!”
“Ah! You little—mmph!”
With a loud slap, Ah-young flung out her hand and forced an awkward laugh. The moment Jeong-ho was smacked in the mouth, Du-hyuk clamped a hand over his face, forcibly silencing him.
Seo Won cast a lethal glare over his shoulder at Jeong-ho, then silently entered the bedroom. Only after the door clicked shut did Ah-young, who had been holding her breath, finally relax.
Han-gyeom awoke not long after Seo Won entered the room.
Sensing someone’s presence, he opened his eyes to see Seo Won staring down at him, his expression blank.
“…Did something happen?”
After a full day of rest, Han-gyeom had recovered to some extent. While he was still bedridden, at least he could hold a conversation.
Seo Won showed him the CCTV photo.
“What were you talking about with this man?”
Han-gyeom stared quietly at the picture, jogging his memory of that moment.
“‘Are you okay?’”
“‘You look really pale—do you want to go to the hospital? I can take you.’”
“‘No, I’m fine.’”
“‘You don’t look fine. Look, you’re sweating bullets…’”
“‘Your friend doesn’t seem well either. Maybe you should take them outside for a bit? Some fresh air might help.’”
“‘Take care.’”
Even as he retraced the conversation, nothing stood out as suspicious. If he’d looked healthier at the time, the man probably wouldn’t have even spoken to him.
To Seo Won’s ears, it just sounded like ordinary small talk.
A small relief, in a way—but something about the man’s words continued to gnaw at him.
Was he really in that bad shape?
Seo Won’s expression turned faintly bitter as he slowly reached out. It was a simple, trivial gesture—just to straighten Han-gyeom’s tousled bangs with his hand.
In that moment, Han-gyeom lifted his gaze and looked at Seo Won’s hand. Seo Won instinctively flinched and froze mid-motion.
During that brief pause, Han-gyeom kept his eyes fixed on Seo Won’s hand—then leaned forward of his own accord. As if he already knew exactly what was out of place, he gently rubbed his forehead against Seo Won’s outstretched fingers. Then, glancing up with slightly upturned eyes, he gazed at him.
“Are you done talking?”
With a motion that could be read as playful—or perhaps even flirtatious—Han-gyeom straightened his own hair and sat upright.
It was only then that Seo Won realized he’d been momentarily entranced. Snapping out of it, he hurried to change the subject—because if he didn’t, he had the strange feeling he wouldn’t be able to tear his eyes away from Han-gyeom.
