Lee Tae-rim tightened his grip on Seon Juho’s hand. In response, Seon Juho squeezed back, holding on just as firmly. As Tae-rim looked at Seon Juho’s smiling face, a wave of emotion surged up—he felt like he might burst into tears.
News of Choi Jiwoon’s pitiful return spread like wildfire. Too many people had seen him being carried from the front gate to the infirmary.
But after that, everything went silent. Everyone was dying to know what had happened to him, but Tae-rim tried not to pay it any mind. Whatever. He’s back now. He and Kwon Hae-beom can go tear each other apart for all I care. He brushed it off like it was nothing.
Still, he ended up hearing bits and pieces from Jung Jae-heon. He hadn’t meant to, but Jae-heon had asked him to stay nearby in case Kwon Hae-beom went into Rampage—and the details that followed left Tae-rim stunned.
He did pity Choi Jiwoon. But more than that, what hit him hardest was learning that Jiwoon had been experimented on so severely it left him in that condition.
Seon Juho had also Awakened through experimentation—and gone into Rampage. In other words, he’d been injected with drugs so brutal that it had pushed him over the edge. The thought that Seon Juho might’ve ended up the same way made Tae-rim’s eyes sting with the threat of tears.
What if they came for Seon Juho again? The thought terrified him. The experiments were enough to drive a person to madness. He never wanted Seon Juho to go through anything like that ever again.
“Hyung, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
His face must’ve given him away. At Seon Juho’s concerned voice, Tae-rim bit down on his lip and led him silently to his private Guiding room.
“Hyung?”
As soon as the door closed behind them, Tae-rim pulled Seon Juho into a tight embrace. Seon Juho hesitated in surprise, but then hugged him back.
“Is it because you feel bad for Choi Jiwoon?”
At that, Tae-rim felt a lump rise in his throat again.
“Yeah. So promise me—you’ll never get caught. You’re strong, Juho. Don’t be stupid and let them take you. If you do, I’ll be really mad.”
“As if I’d ever leave you behind. I’m gonna stay with you forever, Hyung.”
Seon Juho pulled Tae-rim in even tighter, like he was trying to merge them into one body. But truthfully, what scared him more than anything was the thought of Tae-rim getting hurt. As long as Tae-rim stayed uninvolved, Seon Juho would never be taken by those people again. Not in a million years.
But if Tae-rim were ever taken hostage… then Seon Juho wouldn’t have a choice. His entire world revolved around Tae-rim now.
And if Molt ever decided to target him, there was no doubt they’d go after Tae-rim first. He’d heard S-rank Guides had tracking chips embedded in their bodies, but that didn’t reassure him. Molt didn’t care about rules or limits. They’d use any method necessary—and Seon Juho knew that all too well.
If it were up to him, he’d stick to Tae-rim like glue, never letting him out of his sight. But that was impossible. And honestly, Seon Juho was nervous, too. That lost experimental subject had Awakened into a monstrously powerful Esper. There was no way Molt would just let that go.
Especially not with Dr. Han—the mole—being so obsessed with him. Seon Juho knew just how feverishly that bastard had taken notes on him, and all of it must’ve been passed on to Molt. Just thinking about it made him sigh.
If he hadn’t been captured by Molt, would he have Awakened at all? Maybe, maybe not. But what he did know was this: the experiments triggered his Awakening and subsequent Rampage, which led him to meet Tae-rim. And something about that encounter had made Tae-rim choose to stay by his side. For that alone, he was grateful. Just that. Nothing more.
As for the rest—it wasn’t even worth discussing. They were monsters. Seon Juho had never forgotten the pain they put him through. If it weren’t for Tae-rim, that trauma would’ve consumed him whole.
If they wanted to experiment so badly, they should’ve used their own damn bodies. It was only because they weren’t the ones suffering that they could carry out such inhumane procedures. Anyone who’d felt that pain even once could never do such things.
He’d overheard parts of Central’s internal discussions too. What really made him laugh bitterly was hearing that all the spies shared one thing in common: they’d each lost someone precious in a Gate accident.
So they were sensitive when it came to their own pain, but completely numb to the agony they inflicted on others? Unbelievable. Selfish to the core.
Revenge was something you had to carry out with your own hands. Only then did it have meaning—only then did it truly belong to you. Just like when he burned everything down during his Awakening. There was a moment of satisfaction—brief, fleeting. Because right after, the second Rampage hit, and he had no time to savor anything.
Seon Juho didn’t hold any lingering attachment to revenge. He’d already killed everyone who had made his life hell. Luckily, they hadn’t brought in new test subjects yet, so there weren’t any real casualties—just two others who, like him, had gone half-mad from years of captivity.
To be honest, Seon Juho had been half-mad himself. But Tae-rim brought him back—restored him. Tae-rim was salvation itself.
And that’s why Seon Juho had to protect him. A life without Tae-rim? Unimaginable. If Tae-rim died, Seon Juho would die with him.
“I’ll protect you, Hyung. No matter what. So don’t worry.”
Tae-rim chuckled softly at his words, like he found them adorable.
“Just focus on protecting yourself.”
“Hyung. I’m an Esper, remember?”
“Right, you are.”
Seon Juho leaned against him, shamelessly clinging like a child. For Tae-rim’s sake, he could do anything. No—he would do anything.
***
Rumors about Choi Jiwoon spread faster than expected and weren’t kept under wraps at all. Apparently, the higher-ups didn’t bother interfering, and everyone who’d seen Jiwoon in the infirmary started talking. People said he’d lost his ability as a Guide, that his body could no longer endure an Esper’s Wavelength, and that he was being transferred out. Word had even gotten out that he’d been a spy.
There was talk about how Kwon Hae-beom wasn’t at fault—he’d simply been deceived by Jiwoon. Some even said that if Jiwoon hadn’t appeared in the first place, Kwon Hae-beom would’ve become Tae-rim’s Exclusive Partner, just like the old Tae-rim had wanted before losing his memories. What a shame. Poor guy.
Tae-rim couldn’t deny it. If he were still the same person he used to be, he might’ve been thrilled right now—might’ve even gone straight to see Kwon Hae-beom. But unfortunately, the current Tae-rim had no such desire. And he was pretty sure Kwon Hae-beom wouldn’t want that either.
Jung Jae-heon had told him that Kwon Hae-beom was covering all of Jiwoon’s medical bills. That he even tried to visit during Jiwoon’s scheduled wheelchair strolls. Jae-heon sighed, calling him a fool, and said it looked like he planned to keep visiting even if he couldn’t go often. He also added quietly that Jiwoon probably didn’t have much time left.
So I live, and Jiwoon dies? The thought struck Tae-rim. It wasn’t a healthy one, but he couldn’t help it.
It had been Jiwoon who slapped him, when maybe it should’ve been the other way around. Maybe, in that incident, he should’ve been the Guide who died. But Tae-rim had lived. And now Jiwoon might be the one to die. The thought left an uncomfortable knot in his chest. He knew it wasn’t his fault—but that didn’t make the feeling go away.
“Why the long face again? Don’t tell me it’s because of those rumors.”
“Huh? What rumors?”
“The ones saying you missed your shot at an Exclusive because of Choi Jiwoon…”
“Come on. I still don’t have my memories back, you know.”
“Right, that’s true.”
Yoon Ye-rin gave a breath of relief, as if she’d momentarily forgotten. But then she clicked her tongue with concern.
“So, what are you gonna do now? You’ve got four Espers to support. And two of them don’t even have backup Guides. Are you really okay with that?”
“As long as two of them don’t go into Rampage at the same time, I think I’ll manage.”
Honestly, Tae-rim wasn’t too worried about Seon Juho. He wasn’t the kind of person to put others on edge—and Tae-rim wasn’t going to let him become that kind of person either. But Kwon Hae-beom was another matter entirely. Just thinking about him gave Tae-rim a headache.
“Ugh. I heard they’re pulling that stunt again.”
“What stunt?”
“They’re testing Kwon Hae-beom’s Matching Rate against every newly assigned Guide in the district. Back when he was himself, maybe that would’ve made sense. But now? I doubt he wants anything to do with it. They should at least give him time to grieve.”
“Since when do the higher-ups care about things like that? And to be fair… it’s not totally wrong. It’s risky for one person to handle two S-ranks alone.”
“Yeah, true. Still, it’s sad. I saw him the other day—Esper Kwon. His eyes were completely lifeless.”
Tae-rim had seen it too, when Kwon Hae-beom came in for Guiding. His eyes were empty. Like he was only staying alive because Jiwoon still was. And the moment Jiwoon died, he looked like he’d follow him without a second thought. There wasn’t a shred of will to live left in him.
If something were to happen to Taerim, Juho would probably be like that or even worse. So let’s not die Lee Taerim and Seon Juho! Only when you are old and have reached your natural end of life!