“Let go of me!”
It wasn’t Han-gyeom or Jung Ah-young’s voice. But it was undeniably familiar.
Seo Won flung the door open with a grim look on his face. What he saw inside was Jung Ah-young clinging to the bed—and two bodyguards.
What they were desperately restraining was none other than Song Jae-woo, just as familiar as his voice.
From what Seo Won remembered, Song Jae-woo, while occasionally acting strict to maintain authority with clients, was inherently gentle and upbeat. Seeing him with such a ferocious expression, his face twisted in rage, was startling.
Jae-woo thrashed wildly, as if he might throw the bodyguards off with brute force, his eyes bloodshot and blazing.
“I’m leaving with my hyung! Let me go!”
He shouted so loudly it hurt the ears, then turned his tear-filled eyes toward one side of the room.
There, leaning against the wall with his back sliding down, was Cha Han-gyeom—biting his lip so hard it looked like it might bleed.
“Hyung, let’s go. Yeah? You don’t belong here.”
Jae-woo’s voice suddenly softened, almost tender, like a different person. But he was still straining against the bodyguards, refusing to be subdued.
Han-gyeom didn’t say a word. He just stared at him with confused, dazed eyes, locking gazes but offering no response.
Whether it was frustration at Han-gyeom’s silence or something else, Jae-woo’s face twisted back into a furious scowl.
“I said, let’s GO!”
Han-gyeom flinched. It wasn’t fear of Jae-woo’s anger—but being sensitive to loud noises, his body reacted instinctively, tensing up without his control.
“Jae…”
Han-gyeom’s lips parted slightly, but he suddenly gasped and clamped a hand over his mouth. His body began to tremble—so violently it was visible even to the naked eye.
Recognizing the onset of a seizure, Seo Won rushed to him in an instant.
Han-gyeom, completely absorbed in Jae-woo and unaware of Seo Won entering, was startled by the sudden rush of a familiar scent and lifted his head sharply.
“Cha Han-gyeom, come here.”
Seo Won spoke gently, reaching his arms out to him. Kneeling on one knee to block Han-gyeom’s view of the chaos, he wrapped his strong arms around the other’s trembling frame.
Han-gyeom’s body, pulled into Seo Won’s embrace, was as cold as the bloodless pallor on his face.
Held tightly in Seo Won’s arms, Han-gyeom subconsciously drew in a deep breath. The warmth laced within Seo Won’s body seeped into him, carried by the refined scent of his cologne, and filled Han-gyeom’s lungs.
Dropping the hand that had been covering his mouth, Han-gyeom closed his eyes and instinctively focused solely on Seo Won’s presence. The ominous energy that had surged up to his throat quickly receded, as if it had never been there at all.
Seo Won gently stroked Han-gyeom’s hair.
“You’re doing great.”
With a tender pat, Seo Won whispered praise before lifting Han-gyeom into his arms.
“Hey! Put him down! You bastard, I told you not to lay a hand on my hyung!”
Jae-woo, who had hesitated for a brief moment at Seo Won’s sudden entrance, erupted into a fresh bout of rage. He shoved off the bodyguard gripping his arm in one swift motion and jabbed a finger furiously in Seo Won’s direction.
“I heard everything! You’re working with those Esper Association bastards, planning something shady, aren’t you?!”
Seo Won, now standing with Han-gyeom in his arms, glared at Jae-woo with a terrifying intensity.
“Shut up.”
Seo Won’s gaze was so cold, so vicious, that even Jae-woo instinctively flinched. Still, he didn’t back down.
“You’re trying to use him too, aren’t you?! You piece of—mmph!”
Jae-woo’s rant came to an abrupt halt. At first glance, it looked like he’d just clamped his mouth shut on his own—but a closer look revealed a thin, transparent layer of ice sealing his lips.
“I told you to shut up, Song Jae-woo.”
Black energy seeped from Seo Won’s eyes, radiating a murderous aura that stabbed through the room like blades.
For Han-gyeom, that was actually a relief.
Every time Jae-woo shouted, familiar auditory hallucinations crept in—snatches of memories, voices that didn’t belong. He knew Jae-woo wasn’t in his right mind, but it still conjured vivid flashbacks of other Espers who had once suffered similar symptoms. When it happened repeatedly, the result was always the same: a seizure. He hated it, but he couldn’t help the fear that gripped him.
It had nearly happened again just moments ago. But Seo Won’s sudden appearance had narrowly pulled him back from the edge. The energy flowing from him had quelled even the most brutal onset of a seizure, and the echoing voices that had layered over Jae-woo’s shouting vanished like mist.
Maybe that’s why—even Seo Won’s current bloodlust didn’t feel scary.
“You can say whatever the hell you want to me, but lower your damn voice. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you never speak again. Ever.”
Hearing the cold weight of Seo Won’s threat, Han-gyeom looked up at his face.
It was the first time he’d seen Seo Won so close, directing that oppressive intensity at someone other than him. The black current that always accompanied his ESP powers undulated with lethal precision. His face, as cold as carved ice, bore the sharpness of a perfectly honed blade—one touch would cut.
And yet, he was more enraged by the volume than the words themselves.
Han-gyeom knew exactly why—and turned his eyes away, trying to ignore the sudden tightness in his chest.
Whether the threat had hit its mark or not, Jae-woo didn’t speak again, even after the ice sealing his lips melted away. He just stood there, breathing hard, fists clenched.
Seizing the moment, Ah-young shoved him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, pinning him down.
“Tie him up! Now!”
As if they’d practiced the move a hundred times, Ah-young and the two bodyguards simultaneously loosened their ties. Meant to add formality to their attire, the ties doubled as convenient restraints when needed.
Of course, the guards also carried zip-tie restraints, as required—but with Jae-woo flailing this wildly, using them risked serious injury to his wrists. So, they opted for the softer alternative.
After all, every one of them knew just how important Song Jae-woo was to Cha Han-gyeom.
Whether he understood the gesture or not, Jae-woo glared furiously at Ah-young, who was straddling him with her full weight pressing down on his shoulders.
“Get off of—!”
“Shh! Shh!”
Ah-young urgently shook her head, cutting him off as he tried to raise his voice. She wasn’t the only one who had felt the spike in killing intent—Jae-woo, catching on, rolled his eyes to the side and lowered his voice.
“Get… off me…”
His eyes flickered with resentment and humiliation. Still, he managed not to yell.
It wasn’t just Seo Won’s murderous aura that silenced him.
He’d lost control of himself and forgotten one crucial thing—loud noises could trigger Han-gyeom’s seizures.
Looking up at his wrists being bound to the wooden bedposts, Jae-woo panted in frustration. His eyes darted around restlessly, his thoughts clearly in disarray.
“Jae-woo-ssi…”
Ah-young looked down at his haggard face, unable to hide her sympathy.
The strange anxiety symptoms, the increasingly dark shadows under his eyes, the wild, unregulated emotions, and the sudden bursts of violence. This wasn’t the Song Jae-woo she had met before. The sudden transformation was jarring and deeply unsettling.
Even after he’d been restrained, Ah-young stayed on top of him, watching his condition closely. But then she heard Seo Won calling her from behind, snapping her out of it.
As she scrambled off of Jae-woo, Seo Won gave her a cold, commanding look.
“Follow me and report. The rest of you—clean this up.”
“Yes, Director.”
The two bodyguards gave a sharp nod and moved swiftly.
The room was a mess. Broken objects, scattered debris—clear signs of the rampage Jae-woo had unleashed. It would take a while to get it all back in order.
Seo Won stepped out with Han-gyeom still cradled in his arms. Behind them, Jae-woo’s voice called Han-gyeom’s name softly, but Seo Won ignored it and kept walking. From over Seo Won’s shoulder, Han-gyeom looked back at Jae-woo, worry etched on his face, before slowly turning his head away.
As they walked down the hallway, Han-gyeom spoke with his eyes lowered.
“Jae-woo didn’t mean to. The terrorists… they messed with him.”
He defended Jae-woo, his voice tense.
Given the destruction in the room and Jae-woo’s shouting, there was plenty Seo Won could’ve taken issue with.
To him, Song Jae-woo was just another unregistered Ability User scraping by at the bottom. No one would bat an eye if Seo Won chose to dispose of him right then and there.
Only Han-gyeom, who was certain the terrorists had done something strange to Jae-woo to cause this change, felt any unease.
“He’s not like that. He’s kind, cheerful… And all this time, he’s always been so—”
“Cha Han-gyeom.”
Seo Won came to a sudden halt. His icy eyes shot down toward Han-gyeom with a piercing glare.
Han-gyeom instinctively swallowed hard, the sensation like something cold and sharp had been pressed against his throat.
“You’re taking another Esper’s side in front of me?”
