Han Jigang couldn’t just march straight up to the mansion. The suspicious trail Ryu Soh-an left behind led directly to the estate of Lee Hayan, an S-rank Esper.
Though they were both S-rank, Han Jigang barely knew him. Their paths had only crossed on missions where they carried out their duties and parted immediately after. From what he knew, Ryu Soh-an wasn’t especially close to Lee Hayan either.
As a Healer, Ryu Soh-an was on good terms with most Espers. Healing-types were usually gentle by nature, with broad social circles.
Lee Hayan, though not a Healer, was famous for his courtesy. Still, instinct told Han Jigang their personalities made them incompatible. Tae Yishin and Gong Min felt the same.
Yet now, the reason Ryu Soh-an had started acting strangely might be tied to Lee Hayan—and that was something Han Jigang hadn’t expected. Worse, it wasn’t just him.
Kim Su-hyun, an A-rank Healing Esper, had also been coming and going from Lee Hayan’s mansion with Ryu Soh-an. Han Jigang had never heard of Lee Hayan suffering an injury severe enough to warrant two Healers attending him daily.
True, he hadn’t seen much of Lee Hayan lately, but if one of the strongest S-rank Espers had been wounded, word would’ve reached him.
And besides—ever since he began watching the mansion, the Lee Hayan he saw didn’t look like someone sick at all.
No, Han Jigang’s gut told him Lee Hayan, Ryu Soh-an, and Kim Su-hyun were hiding something inside that sprawling estate.
So he waited. With Lee Hayan inside, sneaking close enough was almost impossible—his senses were too sharp.
Unless he had clairvoyance, all Han Jigang could observe from afar was the gate and a sliver of the garden.
From the moment he decided to shadow Ryu Soh-an, he’d exercised more patience than ever, holding his breath for the right chance. Just as persistence had led him here, he trusted an opportunity to get inside would eventually appear.
Finally, today, it came. Ryu Soh-an’s caution hadn’t lessened, so Han Jigang had even purchased a one-use Artifact that concealed his presence. One opening was all he needed.
The very obstacle keeping him at bay left the mansion. Only after Lee Hayan’s presence vanished completely did Han Jigang activate the Artifact and approach.
He scaled the tall wall, eyes searching for Ryu Soh-an. If he was inside, Han Jigang planned to enter—but fortune favored him. Ryu Soh-an was already in the garden.
Now, he only had to uncover the secret Ryu Soh-an was guarding. But the moment he spotted the figure with him, everything changed.
Even from behind, the instant that person came into view, Han Jigang’s heart clenched so painfully he couldn’t move.
In the sunlight, fine strands of hair scattered the light, drifting softly in the breeze. Against a pale nape, white as fresh snow, his chest thundered violently, on the verge of bursting.
Nothing else existed. The wind stilled, the world narrowed—only he and that person remained. The weight of it numbed his mind.
And suddenly, he remembered his nightmares—the ones he always forgot upon waking. He was trapped in a void, endlessly waiting for someone who never came.
He hadn’t known where to go, or if there even was a destination. All he could do was stand on a dark road, waiting, waiting, and waiting.
If only he could see them again, he would bare his chest even if it meant his heart was torn out. And now, that very person stood before him.
When they froze at the sound of his voice, emotions surged wildly. He wanted to pull them into his arms immediately.
He longed to crush that fragile body against him, to breathe in the scent he’d yearned for—maybe, if he could savor it, the emptiness devouring him would ease.
His mouth went dry. The storm of emotions gnawed at his chest and mind alike. His stiff body began to move, compelled by desire.
He wanted to see that faintly glowing face, to lock those eyes—clearer than any gem—into his heart.
But someone stood in the way. Han Jigang raised his hand. Ryu Soh-an might be his cherished junior, but right now, the only one who mattered was the figure from his nightmares.
In his urgency, he lost control of his strength. His merciless strike hurled Ryu Soh-an against the wall, shattering it as he crashed through.
“Guhh—!”
Ryu Soh-an tried to block with both hands, pouring mana into defense, but the direct hit from such a lethal fire-attack left devastating damage. Blood sprayed through the air in a crimson mist.
Where his clothes had burned away, his torso was scorched with horrific burns. The flames hadn’t stopped at the surface—they seared so deep they threatened to roast his organs.
Though he forced mana through his body, he still coughed up another dark, clotted mass onto the grass.
But his agonized groans never reached Han Jigang. All of his senses were fixed on Nabin.
Startled by the attack, Nabin lifted his head. Beyond falling debris, he saw Ryu Soh-an struggling for breath.
“E…Esper Ryu Soh-an…”
Hearing his name whispered in fear, Ryu Soh-an struggled to rise, but the attack had been too strong; regaining control was nearly impossible.
As Nabin tried to move toward him, a heavy shadow fell, blotting out the sun.
From the Esper before him came a familiar scent, echoing the gaze he remembered. Sweet, intoxicating—like roses in full bloom, dizzying in their intensity.
If not for Ryu Soh-an’s daily treatments, Nabin might have fainted the instant he saw Han Jigang again. The only reason he could endure was thanks to that healing.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid. The moment he truly recognized Han Jigang’s presence, tremors spread through his body like a reflex, starting at his fingertips.
Nabin lifted his trembling hand to touch the necklace Hayan had fastened around his neck. Its cool touch slowed his ragged breath.
In this life, he and Han Jigang were still strangers. The man before him was only a phantom, a memory.
This time, he swore, he would never again be under Han Jigang’s control. Unless he chose it himself, Han Jigang would never lay a finger on him.
At some point, Nabin’s eyes, streaked with red veins, rose to meet Han Jigang’s. Everything was different now. Nabin was not a D-rank Guide anymore. He hadn’t serviced countless nameless men in illegal guiding dens.
The body Han Jigang once despised as filthy still held its untouched purity.
Back then, maybe—but not anymore. Nabin no longer had any reason to cower. Even without guiding, his mother was being treated better than before, in a safer place.
He had once thought everything was inevitable—Han Jigang’s contempt, the way he forced himself into his body, the cruel words that carved wounds deeper than flesh.
“…Don’t come any closer.”
No one deserved that. Since the day he met Hayan in the testing room, Nabin had been learning—he wasn’t trash. He was a person.
Every moment, Hayan reminded him how precious he was. In his eyes, there had only ever been care for Nabin, so much that at first, Nabin hadn’t known how to react.
He still wasn’t used to it. That warmth, those gentle words and gestures—they made embarrassment bloom inside him like sudden flowers.
Even now, he sometimes wondered if he truly deserved such kindness. But no matter what, he wouldn’t tear himself down as he had before. Again and again, he would steady his heart.
Patiently waiting for the blessings of an update 🥺