His lower back was damp with cold sweat. As he looked around at the subordinates sprawled across the floor, his mouth grew bone-dry.
I have to get out of here.
A number of them were already dead, their deaths evident at a glance. But now was not the time to mourn the loss of manpower.
Emotions like grief were a luxury reserved for the living.
Of all times, Yu Je-hyun had chosen to attack while the leader and executive members were away from the base. It would take someone of the leader’s caliber to go up against that monster.
The highest-ranked among those left behind was only A-rank.
Like a phantom, Louis moved toward the secret passage. Just as he reached for the door, he felt a piercing gaze—something metallic came flying his way. Thankfully, he managed to slip into the passage just in time.
“You rat bastard.”
Yu Je-hyun ground his teeth as he stared at the now-closed passage door. He wanted to storm in and wring the man’s neck, but Lee Haru’s condition was too severe to ignore.
Blood pooled around the corpses of those who had tried to violate him. Yet what stood out most was Lee Haru, lying motionless on the bed—his face even paler than the dead around him.
“Lee Haru, come on. Wake up.”
Cradling him in his arms, he called his name. Perhaps the sound reached him—his eyes slowly cracked open, and the moment focus returned to them, thin arms rose to wrap around Yu Je-hyun’s neck.
“Ugh… ngh…”
A choked sob brushed past his ear. Lee Haru clung to his warmth with desperation, like someone clinging to the edge of a cliff. Yu Je-hyun’s ears gradually turned red.
The skin under his palm was so soft it sent a strange sensation crawling up his spine. What unsettled him even more was the way Lee Haru clung to him, as if he was salvation itself.
There had been a time when Lee Haru had clung to him like this before, but back then, it had only irritated him. So why now… why did something inside him ache, tender and bittersweet?
Is it just pity because he looks so helpless?
The more he thought about it, the more that seemed to ring true. After all, Lee Haru had been abducted while standing right beside him.
Even now, remembering the moment he realized Lee Haru was gone made his stomach twist. It felt like the entire ground had caved in beneath his feet.
He had searched for him like a madman. Whether Haru had vanished into the sky or sunk into the earth—it had happened in an instant, and tracking him down took far longer than he had expected.
Only after an entire day passed did they confirm that it was Black’s doing.
Among Black’s ranks, the only S-rank Esper was their leader. And even so, they had not been able to eliminate the group—because the leader’s abilities were just that dangerous.
It is too risky to go alone. We move as one.
Kang Min had jumped into action the moment he heard of the kidnapping.
Lee Haru was taken…
Hong Seong-jun was the same. When he heard that Lee Haru had disappeared, his face went deathly pale—something no one had ever seen before.
Team Leader, should we start by searching the places we suspect to be Black’s bases?
With a faint tremor in his voice, Hong Seong-jun made the suggestion. The S-rank Espers immediately teamed up with other units to track Black’s hideouts.
The Association also devoted all its resources to the case—the abduction of an S-rank Guide like Lee Haru.
For the first time since Black’s emergence, a full-scale manhunt was launched. The Association had resolved to use this opportunity to wipe them out once and for all.
Lee Haru’s rescue. The capture of Black’s leader.
That was their mission. But Yu Je-hyun had no intention of following that script.
The man who had taken Lee Haru was none other than Black’s leader. The moment Yu Je-hyun saw him, he had no thought of capturing—only of killing.
That man had given him something he had never experienced since awakening as an S-rank Esper: the bitter taste of failure.
Thanks to that encounter, countless lives had been saved—and many had expressed their gratitude. But rather than pride, all Yu Je-hyun felt was regret. It was then he realized something crucial.
The one person he had truly wanted to protect was not the world. It was Lee Haru—just him.
“…I am sorry I came too late.”
That was why he whispered an apology as he stroked Lee Haru’s head, wet with tears.
It felt like everything was his fault. If only he had paid more attention to Lee Haru during the battle, maybe he would not have had to endure this kind of suffering.
Apologizing had never come easily to him, but rather than wounding his pride, it made something deep in his chest throb with pain.
“Th-thank you. Really…”
In response to the sincere apology, Lee Haru clung to him more tightly. Without a word, Yu Je-hyun held him and comforted him until the trembling stopped.
***
“Where is Guide Lee Haru?”
“Here.”
At Kang Min’s question, Yu Je-hyun gently lifted the figure wrapped snugly in his uniform jacket. Lee Haru had cried himself to sleep.
Yu Je-hyun could not carry him around completely naked, so he had taken off his jacket and draped it over him as a temporary measure.
Their size difference was considerable—just putting the jacket on Haru was enough to cover halfway down his thighs.
Kang Min exhaled quietly as he checked Lee Haru’s condition. A subtle sense of relief clung to his breath, showing that he, too, had not wanted anything to happen to Haru.
Yu Je-hyun had been the first to arrive at Black’s base. After silently taking out the guards stationed at the entrance, a strange sensation washed over him.
This way?
Two corridors split from the entrance. There was no clear indication which path would lead to Lee Haru—it was a 50/50 gamble at best.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, he felt a strong pull toward the right-hand path. Normally, he would have trusted that instinct and gone with it.
But something made him hesitate—like a hand pressing into his back, urging him forward. After a moment of thought, Yu Je-hyun made a deliberate choice to go against his gut.
It was a gamble—but one that paid off. By heightening his hearing to its utmost limit, he had been able to locate Lee Haru.
Unlike Yu Je-hyun, Kang Min and Hong Seong-jun, who arrived shortly after, had followed their instincts instead.
“Who’s that you’re carrying, Team Leader?”
Yu Je-hyun’s gaze lingered on the figure cradled in Kang Min’s arms. His tone held a note of surprise.
“An S-rank Guide. Looks like they were being held captive by Black.”
“A new S-rank Guide?”
Another S-rank Guide—an incredible stroke of luck for the Association, which was constantly plagued by a shortage.
In the past, Yu Je-hyun might have taken some interest in the arrival of a new S-rank Guide.
But right now, all he wanted was to get Lee Haru back to the Association as fast as possible. He had hastily applied recovery potions to Haru’s face and wrists, but the damage—especially psychological—looked severe. He needed to be seen by a specialist.
As for cleaning up the remaining Black forces, that could be left to the other Espers. But just as Yu Je-hyun was about to press on, Hong Seong-jun stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“What are you doing? Move.”
Annoyance crept across Yu Je-hyun’s face. He had already been irritated by the way Hong Seong-jun kept glancing between him and Lee Haru—as if silently asking, Why are you the one holding him?
Right now, Yu Je-hyun was like a mother beast who had just reclaimed her lost cub—tense, defensive, and ready to lash out.
Hong Seong-jun’s odd behavior grated against his already frayed nerves. He felt no need to hold back.
“I said move. Can you not hear me?”
A blade formed as metal slipped from within his clothes, sharpening into a gleaming edge aimed squarely at Hong Seong-jun’s throat. But the man did not flinch.
His usual easy smile had vanished, replaced by an unreadable expression—as though enduring something silently. He simply extended a hand toward Yu Je-hyun.
“I will take Guide Lee Haru.”
“…What?”
“I am faster than you. Should we not prioritize getting him to the Association as quickly as possible?”
Kang Min was often said to be the strongest among the three, but in truth, their power levels were almost evenly matched.
Among S-rank Espers, battles were often decided by the narrowest of margins—sometimes determined by the compatibility of their abilities.
And in this case, Hong Seong-jun was right. When it came to pure movement speed, he was faster than Yu Je-hyun.
Speed was a different skill entirely—one unrelated to combat prowess. Yu Je-hyun hesitated for a moment.
Lee Haru seemed to be in a deep sleep, but there was no way to be certain. It had taken them three full days to find him.
The image of Lee Haru when Yu Je-hyun finally located him flashed through his mind. His jaw tensed with a hard, audible click.
“…Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
In the end, he handed Lee Haru over to Hong Seong-jun—a decision made for Haru’s sake, above all else.
For a brief moment, Hong Seong-jun looked down at the sleeping face nestled in his arms. The expression was completely blank, only the faint flutter of Haru’s lashes betraying any sign of life. Watching him, Yu Je-hyun felt a wave of unease and instinctively moved, about to take Haru back.
He might have, too—if Hong Seong-jun had not vanished a second later, leaving only a blur behind.
As the figure rapidly disappeared into the distance, Yu Je-hyun sprang forward, kicking off the ground in pursuit.
“…They’ve both changed a lot.”
Kang Min murmured as he watched the two disappear, then looked down at Ji Yeon-woo in his own arms. He was worried about Lee Haru too—but he could not turn his back on Ji Yeon-woo. Not now.
