The fact that Tae Yishin had called using Nabin’s phone could only mean one of two things: either Nabin was with him, or the situation had grown so dire that his phone had been taken away. That was why Noh Si-woo couldn’t risk provoking Tae Yishin.
“I have something urgent to tell him. Please, let me speak directly with Guide Kim Nabin.”
Noh Si-woo kept his tone as respectful as possible. Tae Yishin had been ready to hang up the second he pushed further, but in the end, he just clicked his tongue in irritation.
He’d thought it was only Han Jigang and Gong Min who had gone soft over the Guide, but without realizing it, he himself had also grown attached to Nabin. Since Noh Si-woo was connected to Nabin, treating him with his usual sharpness felt awkward. And on top of that, Nabin had collapsed.
“The Guide can’t come to the phone right now. He’s unconscious.”
“Nabin is?”
Noh Si-woo’s voice shot up in alarm. He had already been afraid the news about Kim Su-hyun might crush Nabin, but it seemed the worst had happened.
“Yeah. We should probably get someone here to examine him. Han Jigang and I are watching him, but there’s no visible injury. Even so, he just won’t wake up.”
“…I’ll be there right away. Please wait.”
Not bothering to hear Tae Yishin’s reply, Noh Si-woo hung up and rushed off. Tae Yishin tossed the phone onto the sofa with a flick of his hand.
“Han Jigang, Noh Si-woo said he’s bringing someone to treat him.”
“Got it.”
“You’re staying here?”
“Yeah.”
Han Jigang was still tending to Nabin, touching his forehead, rubbing his cold hands and feet, fussing over him with unusual care.
Why don’t you treat him like this when he’s awake?
Watching him look gentler now than he ever did when Nabin was conscious, Tae Yishin shot him a look of disdain. Then he remembered a promise he’d nearly forgotten.
“Oh, right. I’m supposed to go out with Somin today. When the Center people get here, open the door for them.”
It was a date he’d promised Ryu Somin a week ago. By now he was probably awake and getting ready. With Han Jigang staying by Nabin’s side and the Center sending someone over, Tae Yishin figured he didn’t need to remain at the mansion.
Once Han Jigang nodded, Tae Yishin left the room. His last glance lingered on Nabin’s pale face and on Han Jigang, who stared down at him with an unreadable expression.
Nabin was still unconscious, but to Tae Yishin, Ryu Somin—waiting for him to show up—mattered more.
***
“Why isn’t he waking up?”
Unable to hold back, Han Jigang demanded an answer from Noh Si-woo, who was bent over Nabin with a grim face. The moment Noh Si-woo had arrived ten minutes earlier, Han Jigang had whisked him inside at S-rank speed, setting him right down in front of Nabin.
Tae Yishin had told him to bring someone who could examine Nabin, but Noh Si-woo had come alone. Still, in a crisis, even he was better than nothing. He wasn’t highly ranked, but he was known to have solid medical knowledge as an Esper.
That was why, despite his low rank, he had been serving as Kim Su-hyun’s assistant doctor.
Now, using the tools he had brought, Noh Si-woo examined Nabin carefully. The dizzy nausea from being hauled here at such speed still lingered, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through it. Checking Nabin came first.
“Fortunately, aside from a bruise on his head, there are no external injuries. He isn’t poisoned either. …Most likely it’s psychological shock.”
Just as he had suspected. From the moment he heard Nabin had collapsed, Noh Si-woo had guessed it was shock that had taken him down.
“What kind of shock? You were the last person he spoke to. What the hell did you say to him?”
Relieved it wasn’t a suicide attempt, Han Jigang still grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up. Noh Si-woo’s face flushed red under the crushing grip, but his expression remained bleak.
“…Esper Kim Su-hyun died during his mission in the U.S.”
“What?”
Kim Su-hyun… dead?
The words rattled Han Jigang, catching him completely off guard. His eyes fell to Nabin’s pale, fragile face. He might not have liked Su-hyun, but he knew all too well what he meant to Nabin. More than once, that fact had left him seething with a jealousy he could hardly contain.
The Nabin who trembled in front of them managed to smile in front of Su-hyun. He’d tried to hide it, but it was obvious how eagerly he had awaited every one of Su-hyun’s visits.
He might have hated him, but he had never wished him dead.
“He heard that yesterday?”
“…Yes.”
Only then did Han Jigang understand. The moment he heard Su-hyun was dead, Nabin must have collapsed.
Should he feel relieved it wasn’t self-harm? Or despair that the one lifeline Nabin had was now gone? The feelings tangled, leaving him unsettled.
“For now, there’s nothing we can do. It’s psychological… he’ll have to find the strength to wake up on his own.”
Which meant there was no need for Noh Si-woo to stay. Han Jigang—and the other Espers—hated outsiders entering the mansion. Since childhood, they had dreamed of keeping this space theirs alone.
Even the Center staff’s brief visits were unwelcome. Only recently had Nabin begun to be accepted into that space.
Since Noh Si-woo was no longer useful, Han Jigang immediately thought of sending him away.
“Fine. Then get out.”
He waved him off, but Noh Si-woo only bit his lip hard and refused to move.
Ever since Nabin had collapsed, Han Jigang’s patience had been running thin. The warmth in his rose-colored eyes froze over into ice.
Against an A-rank like Su-hyun, maybe Noh Si-woo could have resisted. But Han Jigang’s pressure was overwhelming.
“Ugh…”
His knees buckled, slamming against the floor. Even biting his lip until it bled, he couldn’t withstand the crushing weight pressing down on him. His vision flickered black, threatening to snuff out.
Only when his face had gone deathly pale did Han Jigang release him.
“Ghh—hah…”
Wiping the spit from his mouth, Noh Si-woo glared up at him. If only he were A-rank, he wouldn’t have been so helpless. Never before had his weakness felt so bitter.
With Su-hyun dead, there was essentially no one left to protect Nabin. True, some at the Center had sympathized with him, but the Director’s authority and the word of the S-ranks would be enough to make them turn their backs.
His own strength wasn’t enough. He didn’t even know why Su-hyun had forced himself to take the mission in the U.S. When asked, Su-hyun had only said it was classified and that he would explain later. Noh Si-woo had let it go.
Now it was clear it had been related to Nabin. If he’d known, he would have pressed harder until Su-hyun talked. But now Su-hyun was dead, and Nabin was unconscious. There was no one left to ask.
Would someone who treated him with such violence treat Nabin any better? Just remembering the things he’d heard from Su-hyun made the answer obvious.
That was why he couldn’t leave Nabin here, alone and unprotected.
“Don’t tell me… you treat him like this too?”
Forcing strength into his knees, Noh Si-woo staggered upright. He knew it was reckless to defy an S-rank Esper, but thinking of Su-hyun’s death and Nabin’s collapse, he couldn’t back down.
“And what business is that of yours?”
Han Jigang’s mood grew darker. With Su-hyun, he had tolerated some arrogance because he was A-rank and essential to Nabin. But Noh Si-woo wasn’t.
Running at him with shallow pity—what good was that? At best, a C-rank Esper could only glare in impotent anger.
“Get out. I won’t hold back next time.”
It was his final warning. If Noh Si-woo stayed, he would press him down until he fainted, then throw him out of the mansion.
“…I’ll be back.”
At least he wasn’t foolish enough to push further. Even as he left, his worried gaze lingered on Nabin. Han Jigang sneered at the sight.
