The muscular man belatedly realized that there was a doppelganger behind Kang Woo-chan that looked exactly like Seo Won. He hurriedly tried to rush towards it, but he was blocked by something invisible and couldn’t move an inch.
“This is…….”
The man, who hadn’t uttered a single word or even a grunt until now, stiffened his face and glared straight ahead.
Unnoticed, a transparent ice barrier had encircled the man, forming a cylinder around him. Feeling around, he confirmed that the barrier was only about 10 cm away from his body.
Seo Won had been thinking of a way to subdue the young man who used fire while also planning to immobilize the muscle-enhanced man. He knew that no matter how sharply he shaped the ice, it would only scratch the enhanced Esper. Therefore, he needed to find a way to restrain him.
So, Seo Won deliberately revealed the ice barrier to the fire-using young man to draw his attention. This was to ensure that the muscular man wouldn’t notice the transparent ice pillar forming around him.
The man clenched his fists and tried to punch forward, but the ice pillar surrounding him was too close, preventing him from getting into a proper stance. He tried to break free with all his might, but the hardened ice wall was impenetrable.
Seo Won had swiftly subdued two Espers and even created a delicate doppelganger to threaten Kang Woo-chan.
Woo-chan was genuinely surprised by the situation but maintained his composure.
“You reacted so quickly. I’m honestly impressed,” Woo-chan said, looking at the doppelganger with interest, as if it posed no threat.
“Why didn’t you kill them?” Woo-chan asked calmly.
“Isn’t it easier to kill than to subdue? Why didn’t you just kill them?”
Despite his comrades being completely subdued, Woo-chan remained blunt, as if he didn’t care whether they lived or died.
Strangely, neither of the two subdued men showed any sign of resentment towards Kang Woo-chan. They didn’t seem bothered by his words and were solely focused on trying to break free from the ice to help Woo-chan, who was being threatened by Seo Won’s doppelganger.
‘What’s going on?’ Seo Won furrowed his brow, sensing an odd dissonance between Kang Woo-chan and his comrades.
Woo-chan suddenly exclaimed, “Ah,” as if he remembered something, and laughed.
“Was the condition for sparing them to send Song Jae-woo and not to interfere with Cha Han-gyeom? You’re keeping them as hostages to get a definitive answer, right?”
Woo-chan smiled coldly as he spoke.
“Kill them both. I have no intention of changing my mind.”
“…What?”
Seo Won couldn’t hide his bewilderment. The two people were clearly not hired mercenaries but Kang Woo-chan’s genuine comrades. This was evident from their reactions and expressions when they attacked Seo Won.
Yet, Woo-chan casually ordered their deaths, and the two showed no change in expression, as if they didn’t care whether they lived or died. There was no sign of betrayal, disappointment, or resentment towards Woo-chan. They accepted their fate as if it were natural, like pawns on a chessboard.
Kang Woo-chan clearly viewed them as mere pawns, and the two were aware of this. Despite this, they remained obedient. Seo Won wondered what could possibly motivate such loyalty.
Another question arose in Seo Won’s mind: Why was Kang Woo-chan so fixated on Cha Han-gyeom that he was willing to sacrifice these two obedient Espers?
A faint chill emanated from the doppelganger behind Kang Woo-chan. The chill gathered at the hand aimed at Woo-chan’s neck, forming a cold, sharp blade.
“You bastard, take your hands off him!” the young man shouted, struggling futilely against the ice barrier that held him fast. The muscular man, likewise trapped, desperately tried to break free, his face a mask of anxiety.
Their unwavering loyalty to Kang Woo-chan astonished Seo Won, but it did not stop his doppelganger. The ice blade pressed against Woo-chan’s neck, yet he remained calm, his composure unbroken.
“I have one question,” Woo-chan said, his voice steady as he looked at Seo Won. “Why are you keeping Cha Han-gyeom by your side?”
Seo Won bristled at Woo-chan’s familiar use of “Han-gyeom.”
“You used to keep many guides in your mansion,” Woo-chan continued, his smile twisting eerily. “It was fun to pick and choose, use them as you pleased, and discard them when they broke or you grew tired of them. Or perhaps you grew weary of paying them and decided to keep only the most efficient one?”
Woo-chan’s voice dripped with accusation. He knew about the unregistered guides Seo Won had kept in his mansion and even seemed to know about the contract between Seo Won and Han-gyeom.
“Did you really make him sign a ridiculous contract to guide you for life?”
Seo Won’s thoughts turned to Song Jae-woo, whose innocent face flashed in his mind. Song Jae-woo knew the general terms of the contract, and under duress, he might have revealed everything.
But what was strange was that Kang Woo-chan, who seemingly had no connection to Cha Han-gyeom’s past, was looking at Seo Won with eyes filled with rage and accusation. Cha Han-gyeom had mentioned that he met Kang Woo-chan for the first time in the lobby of a product exhibition hall and had never seen him before that.
‘Why?’ Seo Won wondered why Kang Woo-chan was so emotionally invested in Cha Han-gyeom.
“All Espers are the same. You’re no different,” Woo-chan said coldly, glaring at the silent Seo Won. “Espers from the Association use guides as convenient tools, while unregistered Espers treat them like insects to be trampled on.”
As Seo Won had suspected, Woo-chan had learned a lot about Han-gyeom from Song Jae-woo. He knew how Han-gyeom had suddenly appeared and started working as a guide, and how he and Song Jae-woo had lived together. Woo-chan was particularly affected by the fact that Han-gyeom suffered from an unknown chronic illness.
Song Jae-woo, who rarely visited the mansion, only remembered Seo Won’s initial harsh treatment of Han-gyeom. Their communication was limited to a few notes and brief phone calls, and it was only a few days ago that they had seen each other in person after signing the contract.
Woo-chan wanted to separate Cha Han-gyeom from Seo Won as soon as possible. It wasn’t just because of Han-gyeom’s remarkable guiding abilities, but also because Woo-chan felt a strong sense of kinship with him.
Kang Woo-chan placed his hand on the cold blade that was pressed against his neck.
“That’s enough,” he said, his smile fading and his eyes narrowing fiercely. At the same time, a red glow flickered in Woo-chan’s eyes.
“I shouldn’t have tried to negotiate with an Esper in the first place,” he muttered.
Only then did Seo Won realize that Kang Woo-chan was not an Esper, but a guide. Guides were supposed to be protected by Espers and were generally seen as weak and vulnerable once their guiding abilities were excluded. However, Seo Won’s perception of guides had changed significantly after meeting Cha Han-gyeom. Still, he had assumed that Woo-chan, like most guides, was an Esper.
Defying Seo Won’s expectations, a burst of red energy exploded from Kang Woo-chan. The energy caused the ice blade to shatter, and the red cracks spread throughout the doppelganger’s body. With a loud crack, the doppelganger exploded into pieces.
“…!”
Seo Won had no time to be surprised. As the doppelganger shattered, Kang Woo-chan lunged forward, his red eyes filled with the same contempt that Seo Won himself had once shown.
