“This guy…”
But apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was pissed.
“Ha, watch your mouth?”
Thwack.
“Ugh!”
“If you were the type of bastard who knew how to talk properly, you wouldn’t have poured gasoline on rumors and let them torch the group’s reputation.”
…What the hell is he talking about?
It sounded like he was talking about “Yeon Yu-jin,” but I had no information—so from my point of view, this was just unfair.
Cowardly, pathetic bastards. Ganging up on me when I don’t even have a weapon?
With both arms pinned by Ra Ho-yeon, I was completely defenseless.
Then some red-haired asshole slammed his foot into my gut.
“Guuugh…”
Hard enough to make me want to puke on the spot.
Fucking psycho!
If what Ra Ho-yeon said was true, then this lunatic just kicked a patient who had barely survived a car crash.
Bent over and staggering backward, I heard that red-haired bastard toss out a cold remark.
“Oh right, you forgot everything, didn’t you? Must be nice, huh? Just erase all your memories and forget how you fucked over the entire group. And now, you’re probably not even aware that every damn day on every online forum or YouTube gossip channel, you’re crowned with shit like ‘#1 Idol Who Should Never Have Debuted’!”
“Shin Tae-boem! That’s enough!”
A middle-aged woman in a business suit stepped between us, finally putting an end to the fight.
“CEO!”
“Nothing good comes from making a scene. You think fighting among yourselves helps? That’s just feeding the vultures looking for a juicy headline.”
“…Tch. Fine.”
The red-haired guy—Shin Tae-boem—only backed off after listening to the CEO.
Instead, he shot a murderous glare at the hospital room door. It sounded like a crowd had gathered outside.
“Tsk.”
Scratching his head, Shin Tae-boem threw me a sharp, hateful look.
“Count yourself lucky.”
Lucky? After taking a swing at me?
“The hell did you say, you prick?”
I snapped.
As he turned to leave the room, I chased him down and slammed my fist across his cheek.
Thwack.
“Ugh!”
Shin Tae-boem flinched.
“…Tch.”
That was me hitting him with full strength?
Compared to the body I used to have, this one punched like a damn kitten. There was no satisfaction in that hit at all.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
While I stood there stunned, the red-haired esper grabbed his barely-stung cheek, eyes blazing.
“Hey! Yeon Yu-jin, are you out of your mind?!”
His expression screamed: You dare hit me? I answered coolly.
“Just trying to share some of that good luck with you.”
“You son of a—!”
He couldn’t hold back anymore. He lunged at me like a beast.
“Yo, they’re fighting in there!”
The noise outside didn’t matter anymore.
“This little shit needs to be taught some manners!”
“You’re one to talk.”
Crash! Bang! We tangled, limbs flying, scrambling to land one more hit than the other.
The company staff watching us cried out in unison like it was a reflex.
“NOT THE FACE! PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT THE FACE!”
Yeah, like that was gonna happen. The face was the first thing I aimed for.
Of course, I was the one getting my ass kicked more.
Pinned underneath him, I got pummeled mercilessly.
“Ugh!”
“You’re all bark and no bite, huh?”
I’m acting out because I’m pissed, you asshole.
Compared to my old body, Yeon Yu-jin’s was garbage-tier.
What kind of guy has this little muscle?
I wasn’t going down without a fight. I threw every ounce of strength I had into my punches, but he just looked mildly annoyed, like I’d tickled him.
“Come on, you surrendering or what? Keep going and I’ll knock you senseless.”
“You piece of…”
I used to be the top dog when it came to raw power—second only to Hyun Je-ha on the front lines.
You think some punk threat like that is enough to make me tap out?
Hell. No.
I raised both hands, and Shin Tae-boem sneered.
“Yeah, that’s right. Surrender, like a goo—”
Grab.
“…Huh?”
What I grabbed was his bright, luscious red hair.
“Who said I was surrendering? We’re just getting started.”
It’s you or me today. One of us is going down.
“AHH! You psycho! Hair pulling’s against the rules—AAAGH!”
Surrender? Defeat? Those words don’t exist in my vocabulary.
“Let’s see how many follicles I can tear out. I bet your esper powers don’t protect your scalp.”
My voice had gone completely unhinged.
Now, finally, Shin Tae-boem looked genuinely afraid.
“AAAGH! Manager hyung! Save me!”
He flailed, trying to rip me off him, but I clung like a leech.
“AAAGH! My hair!”
The fight got so out of hand that nurses came rushing in to break it up.
“What in the world do you two think you’re doing?!”
***
The brawl only ended after the nurses and hospital security intervened together.
Goddamn it. That hurts.
My cheek was already starting to swell. My stomach throbbed where I’d been kicked. This body was pathetically fragile. It was humiliating—and infuriating.
Shin Tae-boem, was it?
As I stared daggers at the bastard, wondering how best to rip him apart, the CEO—clearly alarmed—hustled the rookie espers out of the room.
“Alright, alright! All of you, go cool off before I hear another word out of you! Yu-jin, you just focus on recovering and try not to cause any more trouble, okay?”
“…Understood.”
Rule number one from my time in the military unit made up of espers and guides: Always respond promptly to a superior’s orders.
So… she must be this body’s superior.
I relaxed my expression and nodded. Satisfied, the CEO led the others away.
“…So what the hell happened to me?”
I needed information.
Something—anything—that could help me understand what kind of nonsense I’d just been thrown into.
I’ve already been punched a few times, so this isn’t a dream. And that foul-mouthed brat just cursed me out, so I’m definitely not in heaven.
If this was heaven, the first person I’d have seen would’ve been my partner, Hyun Je-ha.
Even if I died in his place… those were some damn near impossible odds to survive.
No time for useless thoughts. I rummaged through Yeon Yu-jin’s belongings.
Inside a worn-out eco bag were a wallet, a half-drunk bottle of water, and a smartphone.
Luckily, it had facial recognition, so I didn’t have to mess with a password.
“Yeon Yu-jin… Yeon Yu-jin…”
Here’s what I learned after searching online for his personal info:
Legal Name: Yeon Yu-jin
Stage Name: Yu-jin
DOB: April 21, XXXX
Age: 20 (19 international age)
Group: Secreti
Agency: HB Entertainment
Debut: 20XX, Secreti’s single album Bodyguard
Position: Sub Vocal / Sub Rapper
Special Note: The group’s only D-rank Guide
“…What the actual hell.”
Three things shocked me.
First, the current year was at least 20 years ahead of what I remembered.
Second, Yeon Yu-jin was a Guide, and yet he hadn’t been drafted—he was living a totally normal civilian life.
Third, and most absurd of all… this agency had bundled four espers and one guide into a single group…
As idols.
“…Hah.”
You’ve got to be kidding. Espers and guides… in an idol group?
Are espers and guides so common now that no one bats an eye at them becoming pop stars?
I kept searching. Again and again.
Keywords: esper, guide, military, conscription.
But all I found was… fluff.
[Top Guild ‘Garam’ Recruits Another S-rank Esper]
[5 Things You Should Know When Manifesting as an Esper or Guide]
[Government Project Offers Civilian Life Option for Special Abilities Users – The New Path]
Every article said the same thing: this world was peaceful now.
There wasn’t a single mention of conscripted espers or guides dying in combat.
“…So that hellish era—just twenty years later, it’s like it never even happened?”
Back then—only about twenty years ago, for me—the world was a nightmare. Dungeon breaks, the monsters that poured out of them, the countless civilian casualties…
Maybe it was that trauma that finally pushed humanity to awaken espers and guides.
The moment people realized that this pair—esper and guide—was perfect for fighting monsters, they cheered. Then they shoved all of us toward the gates. Told us we were humanity’s last hope.
For people like Je-ha and me, there was never a choice. A life where surviving the day was a miracle. A life where tomorrow meant nothing—wasn’t even worth hoping for.
That was what it meant to live as an esper and a guide.
Now, the world had pretended like none of that had ever happened. Now Espers and Guides could choose civilian life. Even become idols. Hell, it looked like things had gotten even better for them.
Just look at the banner ads online:
Handsome espers—no idea who they are—modeling for luxury perfume brands. Guides going viral as influencers on social media.
“…Hah…”
The kind of world I used to only dream about was now real—right in front of me. And yet, I didn’t feel happy.
This isn’t my life.
