“So, this is… Hyung, are you even listening?”
“……”
“I said, are you listening to me?!”
At Kang Bijun’s sharp voice, Kang Biso finally sat up from where he’d been lazily sprawled across the couch. He knew this wasn’t the time to be zoning out, but his head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hwang Dae-heon. Bijun’s words had been little more than background noise—until the nagging finally got loud enough to cut through.
He’d only just managed to get Dae-heon to join ZEC by his own will, finally able to be with him. And yet Bijun kept getting in the way. Biso knew his brother had handled ZEC perfectly well without his input all this time, so this sudden obsession with checking in felt more like interference—like he was trying to steal time away from Dae-heon.
And every second with Dae-heon felt precious. Honestly, how had he ever managed to go back and forth to the Guide Center and survive being apart for so long? It was unthinkable now.
What was Dae-heon doing at this exact moment? Watching TV? Snacking on something? As Bijun’s voice droned on like background music, Kang Biso let his thoughts drift to Dae-heon’s face.
“Anyway, just do your damn job properly, alright? Oh, and speaking of which… remember that item the government’s been researching? I think it was called the Book of Wishes or something. I’m thinking it’s about time we call our undercover agents back. Doesn’t seem like they’ve uncovered anything special…”
“Wait.”
Biso had been half-listening, but the moment he heard Book of Wishes, his eyes lit up.
“Huh? What now?”
“Leave them out there a little longer.”
“Seriously? You didn’t care at all before—why the sudden interest?”
“……”
Biso didn’t answer. Bijun narrowed his eyes with suspicion.
“What’s going on? Do you know something about the Book of Wishes?”
His gaze was heavy with doubt, but Kang Biso had no intention of giving him a straight answer. If someone like Kang Bijun—who loved ZEC as much as he did—found out an item could grant actual wishes, he’d never let it go. Normally, Biso wouldn’t have cared; if it helped ZEC, fine. But this time, it involved Hwang Dae-heon.
And if Bijun found out, he’d definitely try to get the book from Dae-heon—whether by persuasion or force. Even if they were brothers, that was something Biso couldn’t allow. If it came down to choosing between his brother and Dae-heon, he’d rather keep Bijun in the dark.
He shrugged, keeping his voice light and casual.
“…I just got curious about it, that’s all.”
“Yeah, right. Coming from the guy who doesn’t give a damn about anything except Hwang Seol-bin? That just makes it sound even more suspicious.”
“What’s suspicious?”
“Don’t tell me the Book of Wishes… is it connected to Hwang Seol-bin? Did he say something? Does he know anything?”
Bijun came right out and said it, testing the waters. For someone who was supposed to be his little brother, he was annoyingly sharp. Biso tried to keep his face neutral, acting like it was nothing—but Bijun had been watching him for far too long to be fooled.
“Oh, come on. That was a joke. You’re actually hiding something, aren’t you?”
Biso waved him off, trying to brush it away.
“What the hell are you talking about? I told you—I’m just curious.”
“You don’t get curious for no reason. Ever. So come on, just tell me already.”
Bijun leaned in, practically breathing in his face, but Biso clammed up completely, lips sealed tight.
“Ha! So you’re really not gonna tell me a damn thing, huh?”
“Just don’t pull them out yet. And if they can get that book—good.”
At that, Bijun let out a long, dramatic sigh and muttered under his breath.
“Doesn’t explain a damn thing, just dumps the work on me… Won’t even handle his own responsibilities…”
“If you’re done ranting, I’m out. Don’t call me in for crap like this again.”
Stretching as he stood, Kang Biso turned toward the door, already thinking about seeing Hwang Dae-heon again.
But just then, there was a knock.
“…Yeah? Come in.”
“Excuse me, sir!”
The man who entered was a tall, solidly built ZEC member in training gear. He looked flustered, breath slightly short.
“Sorry to barge in, but you need to come to the Training Grounds right away!”
“What? Why? What happened?”
“Well… it’s Guide Hwang Seol-bin…”
Even before the man could finish, Kang Biso’s face went rigid. And without waiting for another word, he shoved the door open and bolted.
***
“So? What’s the challenge gonna be? Wanna whip it out and compare sizes or something?”
Kim Jin-dae grinned, one corner of his mouth curled into a smug smirk, oozing mockery. The ZEC members who’d gathered to watch weren’t much different—every single one of them clearly convinced I was going to lose, no matter what we competed in.
I didn’t let it faze me. I simply raised my hand and pointed at the target up ahead.
“Ten shots each. Whoever hits closer to the center wins.”
“Hah. Shooting? You wanna settle this with shooting?”
“If you’re not confident, you can still apologize now.”
“Pfft, I almost feel bad for you. Why don’t you book a room while you still can? Things are gonna get messy if we do this here.”
“Alright, alright, enough.”
A sharp voice cut between us. A crew member with a close-cropped buzzcut stepped forward, positioning himself between me and Kim Jin-dae.
“I’ll be the judge. Relax. I’m not about to embarrass myself with some biased bullshit.”
I wasn’t entirely convinced a judge would make a difference, but it was better than nothing. I nodded.
“I’ll go first. You’d better watch carefully.”
With a swagger in his step, Kim Jin-dae strutted forward and grabbed the gun. Even then, not a hint of tension in his posture. He squared his stance, planted his feet, and extended his arm toward the target. His form… wasn’t bad.
So maybe there was a reason for that inflated ego. I didn’t know how sharp he really was, but at the very least, he wasn’t just blowing smoke. Still, he wasn’t anything special either.
He squeezed the trigger.
BANG! BANG!
The gunshot rang out loud and crisp. The bullets punched clean through the target.
Confident for a reason, huh. Not bad.
Now I could see where all that bravado came from—he had some skill. But whether it was overconfidence or lack of focus, a few of his shots strayed from the center.
“Damn, Jin-dae really is the best.”
“Poor bastard. He challenged Jin-dae to a shooting match of all things? He doesn’t stand a chance.”
The spectators whispered among themselves, their voices full of awe and certainty that I was about to lose. I ignored them.
“Your turn. You did say if you lost, you’d do whatever I wanted. Don’t go backing out later.”
“…I won’t. And you’d better not forget your promise to kneel and apologize.”
“Hah! You better start warming up those knees now.”
Kim Jin-dae grinned like the victor already and brushed past me without hesitation. I didn’t even blink. I simply raised the gun, steady and slow.
How long has it been since I last fired one of these?
Probably back when I was undercover as a trainee here. It’d been a while. Holding it again felt strange. Distant.
“…I’ll begin now.”
I braced my legs, locked my posture, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The first bullet tore clean through the exact center of the target. The rest followed—sharp, swift, flawless.
“Th-This can’t be happening…”
With every shot, Kim Jin-dae’s face paled more and more. Once the tenth round was fired, the judge stepped up with a stunned expression, checking the target again and again before turning to the crowd.
“All ten shots. Dead center. Perfect score.”
A stunned silence fell over the room before it exploded with gasps and wide eyes.
“I’ve never seen anyone shoot that fast and that accurately…”
“Better than the Instructor, no question.”
“Jin-dae got absolutely wrecked…”
As the murmurs grew louder, Kim Jin-dae’s face turned beet red—like it might explode at any moment. Then suddenly, he snapped.
“SHUT UP! This doesn’t count!”
What a load of crap.
“Oh? And why not? Pretty sure I won.”
“Don’t screw with me! There’s no way someone like you beat me! You had to have cheated!”
He was seething. I let out a low laugh and fired back.
“With all due respect… your skills aren’t nearly impressive enough for me to need to cheat.”
“WHAT?!”
“…Come on, Jin-dae. Just admit it. Everyone saw it. You lost.”
The judge frowned, clearly irritated by Jin-dae’s tantrum. But Jin-dae ignored him, stormed toward me, and grabbed my collar.
“You little shit… You’re not a Guide, are you?! You’re faking it—probably an Esper pretending to be a Guide!”
“And you? You sure you’re even an Esper? With skills like that, I’d ask for a re-test.”
“You bastard—!”
Kim Jin-dae completely lost it. His fist came flying toward my face.
THWACK!
My head snapped to the side, coppery blood flooding my mouth. I spat it onto the floor, then lifted my head and met his eyes.
“I got hit first… so now it’s my turn, right?”
“…What?”
He didn’t even have time to react. I twisted his wrist, yanked it away, and slammed my fist straight into his face.
“Ghk!”
My punch landed cleanly. Dead-on. Blood spurted from his nose as he stumbled back, nearly losing his footing.
“Y-You son of a—!”
Red with rage, Kim Jin-dae raised his hand, power crackling at his fingertips. He was about to activate his ability—when—
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
A cold voice rang out from behind.
Startled, everyone turned their heads.
Standing in the doorway, face frozen like ice, was Kang Biso.
And he was glaring at Kim Jin-dae like he was ready to kill him.
