“What exactly happened to Hwang Seol-bin?”
“…Are you suspecting me right now?”
At Kim Seong-gyeong’s question, Kim Yong-ha stiffened, his expression hardening. The way he froze up made him look all the more suspicious.
“I’m not accusing you. I just want to understand. Esper Kang Biso said you were the one who took Seol-bin away…”
“W-What are you talking about?! That Esper is the one who kidnapped my sunbae!”
“That Esper?”
“He threatened me and took my sunbae…!”
“…Did you know where Seol-bin was being held?”
“Well, he was in the center’s basement…!”
As soon as the words slipped out, Kim Yong-ha looked like he’d swallowed his own tongue—clearly realizing he’d just said something he shouldn’t have.
That reaction was all the confirmation Kim Seong-gyeong needed. So Kang Biso had been telling the truth. Which meant everything Kim Yong-ha said about not knowing anything had been a complete lie. Unbelievable.
“And how did you know Seol-bin was in the basement?”
“T-That’s… I-I didn’t do anything! I just found out by accident!”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“My sunbae and I share a very special bond!”
Wait, what?
…A very special bond?
He’d been stammering excuses nonstop, and now suddenly he was talking about something “special”? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Baffled, Kim Seong-gyeong blinked slowly before pressing again.
“…A special bond?”
“Yes. My sunbae and I have a very special relationship.”
Kim Yong-ha doubled down on the word special, eyes gleaming. It almost felt like he was flaunting it on purpose—like he wanted Kim Seong-gyeong to react.
That twisted, intense gleam in his eyes made it hard to keep pressing. As much as it seemed like Kim Yong-ha was involved in Seol-bin’s disappearance, there was no point continuing if he wasn’t going to give a straight answer.
As Kim Seong-gyeong fell silent, Kim Yong-ha exhaled sharply to calm himself and then extended a hand.
“Anyway, you need Guiding, right? I’ll do it. Give me your hand.”
When their hands met, Kim Yong-ha slowly began the Guiding process.
At first, everything went smoothly. But as it went on, Kim Seong-gyeong found himself frowning in confusion.
Something’s off…
Technically, the Guiding was working fine. But… that was it.
There was none of the exhilaration, none of the pleasure he’d felt when being Guided by Hwang Seol-bin. Granted, he hadn’t felt that way with any other Guide before either—but this still felt wrong.
If it was just that he was exceptionally compatible with Seol-bin, shouldn’t he still be getting something from an S-Rank Guide like Kim Yong-ha? How could it feel this empty?
Or… was it that Guiding with Hwang Seol-bin was just that different?
Why? Why is it only with him that it feels so intense?
It wasn’t that Kim Yong-ha’s Guiding was bad. His condition was improving. But it still felt lacking. Like it wasn’t really cleansing him—it was just… slowly draining the tank. There was no euphoric rush, no sense of release. Just a gradual fade.
He noticed sweat beading on Kim Yong-ha’s forehead as they remained linked. Eventually, Kim Yong-ha wiped it away with his sleeve and let go of his hand.
“…All done.”
“…That’s it?”
Kim Seong-gyeong looked at him with visible hesitation, but Kim Yong-ha—either misreading or ignoring it—beamed with pride.
“How’s your body feel?”
“…It’s fine, I guess.”
“Way better than what you got from sunbae, right? Way more comfortable.”
“…Yeah. It’s… definitely different.”
Different, alright.
So different, it made him wonder if Kim Yong-ha was the D-Rank and Seol-bin was the S-Rank. That’s how much the process—and the result—varied. Seol-bin felt like a rare, potent elixir, small in quantity but overwhelming in quality. Yong-ha, on the other hand, was like chugging a bland sports drink—abundant, but lacking.
“Then from now on, just come to me for Guiding. No need to trouble sunbae anymore.”
Smiling as if he’d done a good deed, Kim Yong-ha completely missed the tension in Kim Seong-gyeong’s eyes. Watching him, Seong-gyeong found himself shaking his head before he even realized it.
“I’m good. I’d rather keep getting Guiding from Seol-bin.”
“…What?”
Kim Yong-ha’s expression twisted in an instant, eyes narrowing with venom. But the words were already out there, and there was no taking them back.
So Kim Seong-gyeong looked him straight in the eye—and made sure there was no room left for doubt.
“It’s exactly what I said. I prefer receiving Guiding from Seol-bin.”
“…You’re unbelievable. Do you not even care how much your sunbae might be suffering because of you?”
Kim Yong-ha snapped, raking his eyes up and down Seong-gyeong like he was picking a fight, but Kim Seong-gyeong swallowed the retort rising in his throat.
He had never—not once—seen Hwang Seol-bin break a sweat or show signs of strain during Guiding. At most, his cheeks had flushed a little, but that was it.
Meanwhile, Kim Yong-ha had looked like he was struggling just to keep going. He’d been catching his breath like he’d run a marathon, his forehead drenched in sweat.
Compared to the deeply satisfying Guiding he’d experienced with Seol-bin, this was on a completely different level. Seong-gyeong couldn’t even put the difference into words.
“Tch. Whatever. The Guiding’s done anyway. Just get out.”
“…Thanks for your time.”
Dismissed without ceremony, Kim Seong-gyeong had no choice but to leave, his questions about Seol-bin still unanswered and a heavy unease clinging to him.
***
Ugh. I can’t stand him.
As soon as the door closed behind Seong-gyeong, Kim Yong-ha glared at it like he could set it ablaze with his eyes.
I’m a Guide, which means I can’t even receive Guiding from Seol-bin…
Lately, he hadn’t even been able to see him from afar. Sure, Seol-bin was avoiding him, but after the new security detail took over, he couldn’t take a single step toward him without being blocked. If he so much as thought about approaching, guards would materialize out of thin air and drag him somewhere else.
That alone was already enough to drive him up the wall. But now he knew that Kim Seong-gyeong had been offloading his wild, unstable energy onto Seol-bin all this time?
And liked it?
I miss him. I want to see sunbae again…
His anger quickly gave way to raw longing.
Unable to hold himself back, Kim Yong-ha shot up from his seat. There was still time before his next scheduled Guiding, and staying cooped up like this would only make it worse. Maybe if he wandered around, he’d run into Seol-bin by chance.
He quietly cracked the door open and peeked out.
Immediately, the two guards posted outside stepped forward.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve got time before the next session. Just getting some fresh air.”
Only then did they step aside, and Kim Yong-ha strode into the center, wandering with no destination in mind. Back then, he used to find Seol-bin in the break room pretty often… They’d chat, he’d make him coffee…
Caught in the memory, his feet naturally carried him there.
“Huh?”
The moment he stepped inside, he froze—then broke into a wide, disbelieving grin.
There he was. Hwang Seol-bin, sitting there like nothing had changed, sipping coffee with that gentle elegance he remembered so well.
“Sunbae!”
“…Kim Yong-ha?”
It really was him.
Just seeing Seol-bin’s face after all this time felt like every ounce of stress had melted off his shoulders. His heart pounded wildly, like he’d just sprinted full speed across the training grounds.
He couldn’t just stand there. He had to go to him—now.
“Sunbae—!”
“You’re not allowed to go any further.”
Before he could reach him, the guards who’d trailed behind quickly stepped in to block his path. Flustered, Yong-ha tried to push past them with brute force, but they easily held him back.
“Wait—please! I just need to say something! It’s important!”
“No. We’re escorting you back to the Guiding Room.”
Despite his desperate pleas, the guards remained stone-faced. They grabbed him by both arms and began dragging him away.
Yong-ha thrashed like a man possessed, yelling over his shoulder with all the desperation of someone being torn away from a loved one in the middle of a war.
“Wait—! Sunbae! I missed you! Are you doing okay? I’ll come find you—just wait, I swear I’ll come to you soon!”
But just as his voice cracked with emotion, Seol-bin turned his head sharply, as if he couldn’t bear to look at him a second longer.
Why? Why won’t you look at me?
That moment crushed him.
Even as he was being dragged away in front of Seol-bin, the man didn’t say a single word. Not even a glance of concern. Couldn’t he at least have said something?
…It’s been so long since we last saw each other…
Even as the guards pulled him away, Kim Yong-ha’s eyes stayed locked on Seol-bin’s back.
When they arrived at the Guiding Room again, the guards finally released his arms.
“Please go inside.”
Their voices were cold, mechanical, like they were just checking off a task. Yong-ha glared at them, then stepped inside and slammed the door behind him.
This was the only place left without their eyes on him.
He slumped down with his back to the door, heart still racing, but now for an entirely different reason. The image of Seol-bin turning away—refusing to even acknowledge him—played on repeat in his mind.
He bit down hard on his lip. Panic was creeping in. What if… what if he really never saw Seol-bin again? What if Kang Biso took him away forever?
…I have to have him. I need him.
His eyes glinted with a dangerous hunger.
No matter what it took, he had to make Seol-bin his again.
He didn’t care about feelings anymore. If he couldn’t have Seol-bin’s heart, then he’d take his body. He’d drag him back to that bed, tie him down like before, and make sure he belonged to no one else.
Still biting his lip, he started gnawing at his fingernails. It was the only way to keep himself from losing it—from going completely mad from longing.
I want to see him. I need to see him…
That brief glimpse hadn’t satisfied anything. If anything, it had made the craving worse.
“Haa…”
He let out a deep, hollow sigh and clutched at his head. There had to be something he could do.
A way to take him back… I have to find it…
His eyes darkened—consumed by obsession.
