When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Where… am I?”
My head was hazy. I clearly remembered having dinner and chatting with Kang Biso. But after that…? Did I just doze off? As I tried to sit up to clear my mind, I heard a metallic clinking sound.
“Huh? Ha… handcuffs?”
I stared at the cuffs locked around my wrists, and a vivid line from the novel flashed through my mind.
Kim Yong-ha opened his eyes. When he came to, he found himself on a strange bed— With both hands cuffed.
Words whispered by a masked figure echoed in his head, teasing and obsessive.
“Ah, I want him so badly. I want Kim Yong-ha so much. Can’t I just have him?”
But why the hell were my wrists cuffed right now? That scene was supposed to happen to future Kim Yong-ha. So why was I the one tied up like this?
I racked my brain, but no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t make sense of it.
Clank, clank!
I flailed my arms just in case, but as expected, the cuffs didn’t budge.
There was never a part in the original story where Kang Biso kidnapped Hwang Seol-bin. Which meant… something I did must’ve changed the plot. But all I’d done was test out a bit of Guiding on Kang Biso before the main character even showed up. That was it.
It’s not like Kang Biso ever showed any signs of obsession or said he wanted to possess me the way he did with Kim Yong-ha. He’d always treated me like a close older brother, nothing more.
That’s why, even though I knew he was a Villain, I never pushed him away.
So then… what the hell was this situation? Where did I go wrong?
I let out a short sigh and scratched my head.
I really didn’t think I’d end up using this…
When I lowered my hand, something cold and familiar was sitting in my palm—a black paperclip. Hiding clips like this had become a habit. Any proper Special Agent would understand.
After all, during infiltration missions, getting caught, kidnapped, or locked up wasn’t exactly rare. Keeping a paperclip tucked away was the standard escape plan. Still, I never thought I’d need it here.
I unfolded the clip, slid it into the handcuff’s lock, and twisted. With a faint click, the mechanism released.
Click.
My wrists ached from being restrained for so long. I rolled them a few times, and the stiffness slowly faded.
Just as I was about to get out of bed and figure out how to escape, something felt… off. I looked down and felt a chill.
“My pants…?”
I’d been too out of it to notice before, but I wasn’t wearing pants. Luckily, I still had my underwear on. But I couldn’t remember why my pants were gone.
To make things worse, there were reddish marks on the inside of my thighs, like hives or irritation. Bug bites? But they didn’t itch.
They looked kind of bad, honestly. First thing I’d do after escaping was hit a pharmacy.
“My clothes…”
I couldn’t exactly wander around in nothing but underwear. Where the hell did my pants go?
I scanned the room and spotted a small cabinet tucked into the corner. Inside, I found a T-shirt and a pair of jeans—probably Kang Biso’s. They weren’t mine, but under the circumstances, I didn’t have a choice.
The jeans were longer than I expected. I knew Kang Biso was taller than me, but not by this much.
I rolled up the hems and quietly crept toward the door. Pressing my ear against it, I held my breath. No sound. No movement. Looked like no one was out there.
Rattle, rattle!!
Locked, of course.
So he’d only cuffed me and locked the door? That’s it? Pretty careless. Guess he thought I was just a weak little Guide.
I slipped the clip into the lock and jiggled it a few times. With a soft click, the door opened.
“This place is…”
I stepped out and grimaced. Where the hell was I?
The hallway outside looked cold and clinical, like something straight out of the Guide Center. But before I’d passed out, we were in a cozy, well-decorated house.
I slipped into the corridor and walked slowly, peeking into rooms and corners. Where was I?
I kept scanning the area for a way out, but I couldn’t find a single door that looked like an exit.
There’s gotta be a way out somewhere…
This place… it might be a Villain hideout. And if it was a hideout, then of course the entrances and exits would be hidden—easy to overlook unless you were paying attention.
I walked a bit further, reaching out cautiously to pull open the next door—
“So, like I was saying!”
A man’s voice rang out from inside. I gently cracked the door open just enough to peek through without making a sound.
At the front stood a man, mid-speech, while seven others stood in a straight line, perfectly still like soldiers on inspection.
“So yeah, when I first came here, I was totally—wait, what?”
The speaker turned his head and froze when our eyes met. He blinked at me, startled.
“Uh… hello?”
I greeted him like it was no big deal, trying to play it cool.
He stared at me, dazed like he’d just seen a ghost—then his face twisted into a scowl.
Did he figure it out?
My fingers curled into fists, just in case I needed to strike first—
“You! What the hell took you so long?!”
“…Sorry, what?”
“I was wondering why someone was missing! You’re the rookie, right? Sneaking off already? Get in line! Because of you, I have to repeat everything from the beginning!”
Quick read on the situation— He thought I was someone else.
Even if I could take them all down fast, seven people would’ve made too much noise. If that happened, Kang Biso would realize I’d escaped in no time.
So yeah, luck was on my side.
“…My bad. Won’t happen again.”
I gave a polite nod and slipped to the back of the line.
The instructor-looking guy gave me one last scowl before continuing. From the sound of it, this was a Villain training session.
Wearing a cap pulled low, he gave a clean, no-nonsense rundown of the training program and safety rules.
“That’s the briefing. Go get changed into your training gear and regroup here. Move!”
“Yes, sir!”
The men scattered, and I followed them to what looked like a locker room.
The walls were lined with cabinets, each filled with black uniforms sorted by size. On one side, black masks were stacked neatly.
The men changed with practiced ease, pulling on the uniforms and securing numbered tags on their chests. I followed their lead, quickly changing clothes and pinning on a tag labeled with the number 8.
Once everyone was suited up, we returned in formation to the training area. Now each lane had a gun and a human-shaped target set up.
Man, this takes me back.
I used to train in rooms like this. Felt strangely nostalgic.
The instructor, face stuck in a permanent scowl, scanned each of us before speaking in a gravelly voice.
“The masks are so your performance can be judged fairly. Your rank will be based purely on skill.”
“Understood, sir!”
“We are proud members of ZEC! As Espers of ZEC, you will act with pride and discipline. Got that?”
“Yes, sir!”
ZEC?
That wasn’t mentioned in the original novel. Maybe the details about Kang Biso were too vague for it to come up?
While I stood there processing the new information, the others shouted their responses with booming voices.
“Good. I like the energy.”
“First up is firearms training. You might be thinking, ‘Why would an Esper need a gun?’ Well, this is to prepare for when your powers fail you. So focus. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“And today’s special—your instructor is none other than the Deputy Commander. Show him some gratitude. Got it?!”
What’s with all the ‘Got it?’s?
At the mention of the Deputy Commander, a wave of excitement rippled through the trainees.
Deputy Commander? Who’s that?
Right then, the door opened, and the man in question walked in.
“…Are these the new recruits?”
The Deputy Commander was a sharp-looking guy—intellectual vibe, thick-rimmed glasses, dark circles, and an expression that screamed sleep-deprived and overworked. He swept his tired eyes over the group.
“Yes, sir. We gathered only the most promising candidates.”
“Got it. We’re short on time, so let’s begin. I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully.”
Without further ceremony, he grabbed a gun, aimed at the target, and fired—no hesitation.
BANG!
The deafening gunshot rang through the room, and the bullet hit dead center—right through the heart.
“Whoa… damn.”
The trainees let out murmurs of awe.
The Deputy Commander ignored the praise and launched straight into his explanation on proper shooting form.
“…And that’s more or less how it’s done.”
Turns out, shooting a gun didn’t work any differently in real life than it did in the book—I’d already figured that out the first time I ran into a monster. Listening to stuff I already knew was making me yawn.
But seriously—who was this Deputy Commander guy? Now that I looked closely, he did kind of resemble Kang Biso.
The novel never gave much detail about the other Villains besides Kang Biso, so I had no idea who this guy was. If he didn’t appear in the book, then chances are, he wasn’t anyone important.
“That’s enough theory… time for practice.”
I’d been zoning out, only pretending to listen while watching him.
Before I knew it, he was already wrapping up the explanation.
“Let’s start with… Number 8.”
Number 8? I turned my head—and froze when I realized everyone was looking at me.
Oh. Right. I was Number 8. I’d assumed they’d go in order from Number 1, so I’d let my guard down.
“Yes, sir!”
I stepped forward, and the Deputy Commander shot me a cold, sharp glare.
“You’ve been yawning and zoning out this whole time. Quite the impression you’ve made. I guess this was all just too easy for you, huh?”
Busted. I thought I’d been subtle, but even with the mask covering most of my face, it must’ve been obvious I wasn’t paying attention.
“They say this group has talent… let’s see what you’ve got. Here.”
He handed me a gun, his tone practically daring me to prove myself.
I snatched it from his hand without hesitation. The weight, the grip—it all felt natural. Like second nature.
I raised the barrel and aimed at the target. Just like back during Special Agent training. I was about to pull the trigger on instinct when a thought stopped me.
How good should I look right now?
What kind of result would be just impressive enough without raising red flags?
The Deputy Commander had landed a clean heart shot. If I could hit the same area, that’d probably be enough to show I belonged here—without overdoing it.
I steadied my hand and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
