“What’s going on? What happened?”
“What’s that noise? Is there a fire?”
I asked, covering my ears, and Yoon Yi-hyeon snapped, clearly irritated.
“That’s not it! The Center’s barrier has been breached! Villains are attacking!”
“Ah…!”
I let out a short gasp. So things like this really do happen.
Unlike Espers who operate under government orders, Villains use their powers however they want.
They cause chaos by recklessly using their abilities, which is why they’re treated like criminals.
Ah, that’s right.
I looked at Yoon Yi-hyeon, who was anxiously biting his nails as he peered outside.
This entire incident happened because of him. Because someone was trying to kidnap Yoon Yi-hyeon, an A-Rank Guide.
It was just a minor episode that took place before the main character’s official introduction, so I hadn’t paid much attention to it. I never thought I’d end up caught in the middle of it. Just my luck.
The episode had originally shown up briefly as a flashback.
Nothing major happened. A villain broke into the Center to kidnap Yoon Yi-hyeon, but by mistake, ended up abducting a low-ranked, seemingly useless Guide who was standing nearby.
The kidnapped Guide went through hell and barely managed to return. But the trauma was so bad, he had to take time off.
This was the first time a villain had attacked the Guide Center, and it was usually only mentioned in passing as one of those rare incidents.
…Wait. Doesn’t that mean I’m in danger?
The Guide next to Yoon Yi-hyeon gets kidnapped.
And right now, the only person next to him is me.
I’m the one getting kidnapped? On my first day? It’s only been a day since I possessed this body!
“Why are you just standing there? This is no time to space out. Go outside and figure out what’s going on.”
Maybe annoyed by how dazed I looked, Yoon Yi-hyeon stopped watching the door and came over to tug at my arm.
In situations like this, staying quiet and out of sight is usually the safest move. But apparently, that’s not what Yoon Yi-hyeon wanted.
“Come on, hurry!”
My arm’s going to come off at this rate.
“Okay, okay, just let go. That hurts.”
“Hurry and check outside. Look for the Team Leader and see if there are any Espers still inside!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I gave a halfhearted nod, grabbed a pen off the breakroom table, and headed toward the door. It was the only thing I could use as a weapon. The fact that a pen was my best option made me sigh.
When I cracked the door open, I could still hear the emergency siren blaring, but the inside of the Center was dead silent.
This seemed serious. Still, I shouldn’t die, right? According to the story, my death doesn’t happen now—it happens later.
It wasn’t long before I sensed someone nearby. Footsteps. A calm, unhurried pace that didn’t match the tense situation, heading straight toward us.
“Oh no, oh no…”
“Shh!”
I signaled for Yoon Yi-hyeon, who was nervously fidgeting, to stay quiet and gently shut the door, which had been half-open.
Click!
Damn, that was loud.
The click echoed louder than I’d expected, and Yoon Yi-hyeon’s eyes widened. He shot me a look full of panic and blame.
How was I supposed to know it’d be that loud? I just shrugged.
Whoever was out there must have heard it—the footsteps were getting closer.
Yoon Yi-hyeon’s face turned ghostly pale. I’m the one who’s going to be kidnapped, yet he’s the one panicking. Unbelievable. Just in case, I gripped the pen tightly and got into a stance, ready to attack.
Clatter!
The door rattled. Luckily, it was securely locked and didn’t budge.
But that relief didn’t last long. BANG! With a thunderous crash, the door was blown open.
“Eek!”
Yoon Yi-hyeon shrieked and ducked behind me. Not that it made any sense—we’re the same height. What’s he even trying to hide behind?
Dust filled the air from the shattered door, and amidst it all, an overly cheerful voice rang out, completely out of place.
“Found you~.”
The man who stepped in was tall and wore a black mask.
He had thick double eyelids and black eyes, and when he looked at us, he flashed a playful smile with his eyes.
I swallowed hard and took a step back.
He’s dangerous. Seriously dangerous.
When you work as a Special Agent, you encounter all kinds of people during missions. But the ones with eyes like his? They’re the most dangerous of all.
He was pretending to be normal, but those eyes had already gone off the rails.
People like him… they don’t see anything. They can smile while killing you.
“Do you have any idea how startled I was when I found everyone unconscious? So, which one of you is the A-Rank Guide? If it’s both of you, even better……”
“It’s him! He’s the A-Rank Guide!”
Before the villain even finished speaking, Yoon Yi-hyeon was already pointing at me. At some point, he’d ditched his name-tagged dress shirt and was now in just a plain white short-sleeve tee, his finger aimed right at me.
There’s always one—someone who turns traitor the moment things go south.
The villain’s gaze turned to me.
“Huh? You? The cutie with the glasses is the A-Rank Guide? Judging by how you both resisted my ability, you might both be A-Rank. Or maybe you just got lucky and had some resistance. But I was told there’s only one A-Rank in this Center.”
Cutie…? That was a first in my life.
The villain looked between the two of us, clearly puzzled. He probably hadn’t expected both of us to still be conscious.
Yeah, seriously—why am I still awake?
It’d be nice if I could just sleep through this whole mess and wake up when it’s over.
I clutched the pen tighter and hesitated, then gave a small nod.
Might as well let the story unfold the way it’s supposed to. If I get kidnapped, will they torture me? I hate pain…
“…I think I’m the A-Rank.”
As soon as I spoke, the villain clapped his hands together with a cheerful grin.
“There we go. So it’s you. How thoughtful of you to say so. Still, come over here—both of you. Just to be sure.”
“N-No! I told you, it’s him! Not me! Someone help! Please, save me!”
“Tch. So noisy.”
The moment the villain gestured for us to come over, Yoon Yi-hyeon shrieked in panic. The villain’s expression twitched in annoyance.
He lazily dug a finger into his ear, then flicked the other hand toward Yoon Yi-hyeon.
Yoon Yi-hyeon’s body began to move in sync with that small flick.
“Wh-What the—my body! It’s moving on its own—AARGH!”
“Ah… well, he’s out.”
Yoon Yi-hyeon’s body swayed like a puppet, dragged toward the villain, then collapsed mid-scream. The future villain who once strutted around like a pampered prince clearly didn’t have the mental fortitude for this.
Seeing real Esper powers—something he’d only seen on TV—must have been pure terror.
Looking bored, the villain gave Yoon Yi-hyeon’s cheek a few light taps.
“Well, now I can’t even tell which one of you it is.”
His eyes shifted to me, curling into forced half-moons. It wasn’t a genuine smile—it was strained.
“You can’t pass out, okay? I’ll pull you in gently, so don’t be scared. Stay with me, got it?”
He said it in a soft, coaxing voice, and I nodded without protest.
Honestly, it was kind of fascinating. That kind of power… Since I’d ended up inside this book anyway, I’d hoped to try something like that, too.
No. I shook off that thought quickly.
I noticed the bloodshot tint in the villain’s eyes. His breathing was growing heavier and more erratic—he was near his limit.
Just before an Esper goes into Overdrive.
Makes sense. He barged into the Center despite the risk because he needed Guiding. He didn’t want to die. Even he was desperate to survive in his own way.
He flicked his fingers at me, and I mentally braced myself to be pulled in.
“……”
“……”
A beat of silence passed between us.
The villain gave another flick. And another. But my body didn’t move an inch. He blinked, confused. I blinked right back.
“Huh?”
“…?”
“What’s going on? Why isn’t it working?”
“…Is something wrong?”
“Did I push too far? No, that’s not it. This doesn’t make sense…”
Muttering to himself, the villain kept gesturing, but I still didn’t feel a thing. Not even a tug.
Thinking maybe one hand wasn’t enough, he started waving both. He was clearly straining now, but nothing happened. My body stayed rooted.
Eventually, I got tired of waiting and broke the silence.
“Um… when exactly am I supposed to be getting pulled over?”
For the first time, the villain’s expression cracked. He looked genuinely shaken. Guess this situation really threw him off. Honestly, I was a little disappointed too—I thought I’d get to experience a real supernatural ability for once.
In the end, I just trudged over to him myself.
“H-Hey! Cutie, why are you walking toward me?”
Seeing me approach on my own, he actually backed away in surprise.
I frowned. What the hell is he doing? For a villain, he was starting to feel more like dead weight.
“Since your power didn’t seem to be working, I figured I’d just come to you. Are you alright?”
If an Esper couldn’t even activate their ability, it usually meant something was seriously wrong. I reached up toward his forehead.
“Uh? Uh. Uh?”
The villain’s panicked voice rang out behind me, but I paid it no mind. The moment my hand made contact, I could sense the state of his body.
Yeah… this is bad. Really bad.
Now it made sense why he’d stormed the Center so recklessly, determined to kidnap a Guide with nothing to lose.
Just the fact that this Esper was still standing bordered on a miracle.
There wasn’t a single healthy part left in his body. Chaotic, unstable energy was rampaging inside him, tearing through him in violent waves. It wouldn’t be surprising if he collapsed at any moment—he was surviving through pure grit and desperation.
I hesitated for a moment.
It’s fine. Really, the main story hasn’t even started yet. This whole incident is just a blip in the past, barely mentioned in passing. There’s no reason for me to get involved.
And it’s definitely not because I’m afraid of getting kidnapped and tortured.
The book never said who the kidnapped Guide was anyway. It might not have even been me. No need to march into danger voluntarily.
I stepped back.
“This is beyond my capabilities. I’m just a D-Rank Guide.”
“D-Rank? But you said you were A-Rank!”
Ah—right. Forgot about that lie.
“Actually, I’m D-Rank. Sorry for the deception.”
A faint mutter—“That can’t be…”—slipped from his lips, but I acted like I didn’t hear it.
For some reason, the villain stared at me with a hazy, unfocused gaze. I slowly raised the pen still clutched in my hand.
“…What’s that for?”
He glanced between the pen and me, visibly confused. I hesitated, trying to figure out the best way to explain, then finally opened my mouth.
“I know another Guide—someone I’m close with. I think he’d be able to give you the Guiding you need.”
“Uh… c-cutie? Why are you looking at me like that? That face is kind of terrifying, you know? I’m starting to get scared here…”
If an Esper couldn’t use their powers, they were just an ordinary human. And I wasn’t just any ordinary human—I used to be a Special Agent, trained for combat.
“Take a good long nap. When you wake up, this will all be over.”
I curved my lips into a soft smile, hoping to ease his nerves. But for some reason, the villain’s face turned even paler.
Was my fake smile that obvious?
Let’s wrap this up.
Dropping the smile, I moved in one swift motion. Before the villain could react, I jabbed the pressure point in his neck with the pen.
“What are yo—ugh.”
He managed to follow me with his eyes, but his body didn’t catch up in time.
His eyes widened in disbelief just before he slumped to the floor, unconscious.
“Sweet dreams.”
I whispered it softly into his ear.
