I Want to Be Your Guide – Chapter 1
Prologue
It happened in an instant—the peaceful street transformed into a scene of chaos. Buildings that once stood tall collapsed, the ground split open, and belated sirens filled the city.
[Terrorist attack in progress. Citizens are advised to evacuate to a safe location immediately. Terrorist attack in progress. Citizens are advised to evacuate to a safe location immediately…]
People were screaming in the thick dust cloud. Unable to see anything, Jeongyun waved his hands through the empty air and called out for anyone nearby.
“Is anybody there! Someone’s injured! Is anyone—ugh!”
Pain shot through his ankle with every step. It seemed he had sprained it when he fell, startled by the explosion sound.
He needed to escape to safety or risk being caught in another attack, but his injured ankle made it impossible to move quickly.
[Citizens are advised to evacuate to a safe location promptly…]
“Ugh!”
With a piercing screech, the broadcast stopped, and the thick dust that had filled his vision cleared away as if by magic.
Lowering the hand that had been blindly feeling the air, Jeongyun took in the now clearly visible ruins.
This place was hell.
“Aaagh!!”
A pain-filled scream came from somewhere. Jeongyun quickly turned around. A man was dusting off his blood-covered hands after casually crushing someone’s head.
The man wasn’t wearing the choker that all registered Espers should have. He was an unregistered Esper.
The perpetrator of the attack, a madman obsessed with murder.
He needed to run. If the man spotted him, he would surely end up like that victim. But despite his urgent thoughts, his legs, paralyzed with fear, wouldn’t move as he wanted.
Clatter.
“Huh……”
No sooner had he taken a step than a stone hit by his shoe rolled away.
The screams that had filled the ruins had disappeared at some point, and everything was now eerily quiet. So quiet that the sound of the falling stone seemed incredibly loud.
“Found a little rat.”
The man had spotted Jeongyun. A chilling smile appeared on his previously indifferent face. Stay right there—that’s what the man’s moving lips seemed to say.
The man was getting closer and closer, but Jeongyun’s body had frozen, making escape impossible. He’d always thought protagonists in horror movies were stupid for not running away from killers, but now he understood—in the face of extreme terror, the body simply doesn’t listen.
‘Please… move.’
He tried punching his stiffened legs, but until the man was right in front of him, Jeongyun couldn’t take a single step.
And so, he had to face the man.
“P-please, please, please—”
His trembling lips couldn’t even complete the plea for mercy. The man quietly looked down at Jeongyun, who had sunk to the ground, and pulled his hand out of his pocket.
“You enjoyed watching secretly, didn’t you?”
The man wiped the sticky blood on Jeongyun’s head and smiled, showing all his teeth.
Jeongyun desperately shook his head. Who would enjoy watching murder? No one in their right mind would.
“Well, since I gave you a good show, I should charge an admission fee.”
At the mention of an admission fee, Jeongyun quickly searched his pockets and took out his wallet. With trembling hands, he pulled out all the crumpled bills and held them out to the man.
Two 10,000 won bills and three 1,000 won bills—a truly pitiful amount.
“I-if you n-need more m-money, I can w-withdraw—”
His voice shook so badly that he couldn’t finish his sentence. The man who saw the money Jeongyun offered suddenly threw his head back and began to laugh hysterically.
“Ah, you’re actually giving me an admission fee?”
The man, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, took the money Jeongyun held out.
Just when hope of survival began to appear, the man stopped laughing and crumpled the bills miserably.
“…Are you fucking playing with me?”
When Jeongyun saw the veins bulging on the man’s forehead, he thought he was truly going to die now. Jeongyun sensed that he would soon end up like those discarded bills and tightly closed his eyes.
“Argh!!!”
At that moment, a scream rang out. The scream that echoed through the ruins wasn’t Jeongyun’s.
When he cautiously opened his eyes, the man was clutching his strangely twisted hand in agony. What on earth had happened?
As Jeongyun was confused, a large hand gently landed on his shoulder.
“Don’t be afraid.”
At the gentle whisper that could melt his ears, Jeongyun slowly nodded. The surroundings were still quiet. The only ones here were him, the man, and a boy who had suddenly appeared.
As the boy instructed, Jeongyun calmed his trembling body and just looked ahead. The boy patted Jeongyun’s shoulder, saying he did well.
The warm temperature moved away, and the boy who had been behind him came forward and asked:
“Would you stay behind me for a moment, Hyung?”
Despite his youthful voice, the boy was a full head taller than Jeongyun. Seeing the boy’s solid back, Jeongyun followed his words and quietly stepped back.
The boy hid Jeongyun in a place out of the man’s sight. Jeongyun looked at the back of the boy protecting him. Tall height, broad shoulders, and a black choker around his neck.
A government-affiliated Esper.
“You son of a bitch!”
The man, holding his mangled hand in pain, charged toward the boy. But the boy, who had been quietly watching the scene, raised his hand toward the man and lightly clenched his fist.
Then, with a pop, something burst, and droplets of blood sprayed in all directions. The man who had been charging just moments ago disappeared with pathetic simplicity.
“Ah…”
Jeongyun wanted to assess the situation, but the boy blocked his view and wouldn’t move aside.
The boy slowly turned toward Jeongyun. As the dust cleared, a ray of light from the sky illuminated the brightly smiling boy.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
At his magnificent smile that could make one lose their senses, Jeongyun’s heart began to pound uncontrollably, making him forget even the dangerous situation he’d nearly died in.
They say no one could dislike a hero who appears like in a movie at a moment of crisis, but this feeling was something more.
“Shall we go somewhere safe now?”
Collapsed buildings, quiet ruins, blood splattered everywhere.
His mind, which had been filled with fear, had changed its emotion in the meantime. Jeongyun raised his trembling hand and clutched his shirt, now a mess with dirt and dust.
It was the beginning of a severe crush that would afflict him for years to come.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
