“Haha. Still, to think you’re already a center director. Our rookie has grown so much.”
The teacher smiled gently. It was the face of someone who befriends the confused and lost, exuding unparalleled warmth.

As if the smile were a signal, the firmly closed training facility doors creaked open. Oh Jinwoo, who had been standing lethargically from the aftereffects of using his powers, froze the moment he recognized the newcomer’s face. His expression turned cold and rigid.

Even Ji Gwanyeong’s eyes momentarily flickered with intrigue. Cha Taehun, who had been squinting against the sunlight pouring in, turned his head toward the visitor his partner was staring at so intensely. Like a statue, he froze in place.

The tension that had slackened in their minds tightened instantly, drawn to its limit. The center director raised her voice without hesitation, issuing commands to her subordinates. Though her voice trembled slightly at the end, it was firm and resolute.

“—All Espers!”

Ji Gwanyeong planted a small kiss on Cha Taehun’s forehead before stepping away from his lover. Taehun flinched belatedly, unable to stop him, even though Gwanyeong’s movements weren’t quick.

“Subdue ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lee Hansol’ immediately!”

Despite the center director’s orders, no one moved hastily, hesitating as they glanced around. The first reason was the sheer shock at seeing Lee Hansol appear in the center’s core out of nowhere. The second was the confusion about who exactly the monstrous Esper referred to as ‘Teacher’ might be.

It was only Miyeon who quickly grasped the situation. With a pale face, she followed the center director’s command without delay.

“Haha! Hahaha! Hahaha!”
The Teacher, caught and restrained by Miyeon, burst into laughter, his voice full of amusement.

“See? Even with me right in front of you, you don’t realize it. Haha!”

A gasp of shock escaped the mouths of a few Espers who recognized the man. They had discovered that the infamous Esper known as ‘Teacher,’ at the center of countless vile crimes and secret dealings in the facility, had been spending time with his guide all along.

Cha Taehun, too, stared at the scene in disbelief, as if trapped in a terrible nightmare. His mind reeled. Kim Gwonsuk was dead, and the training facility he had managed was utterly destroyed in the pair’s rampage.

And now, the counselor he had been speaking to earlier was revealed to be the ‘Teacher’ behind countless atrocities. Overwhelmed by shock, his thoughts went blank, refusing to process anything further.

The Teacher was swiftly restrained by all the Espers’ powers. Beginning with Miyeon’s flames, a lethal combination of ice imbued with bitter cold and telekinesis was used to subdue him.

Cha Taehun watched from afar, fear mixed into his gaze. The counselor he knew had always worn a gentle smile—a middle-aged man of calm demeanor. This laughing man, so irreverently cackling, was not the same person.

Meanwhile, Esper Ji Gwanyeong headed decisively toward one place—Lee Hansol. He intended to finish what he had once hesitated to do, to sever the guide’s thread of life completely this time.

Ji Gwanyeong reached Lee Hansol in an instant. If the guide’s genetic modifications left even the slightest doubt, he would ensure none remained. However, someone had followed closely behind Gwanyeong, arriving just moments later.

Gwanyeong raised an eyebrow at the Esper who grabbed his arm and spoke in a gruff voice.
“Weren’t you the one who said to capture or kill him before?”

“……”

Oh Yeon’s hand, which gripped Gwanyeong’s arm, trembled—not from fear but because his intelligence-based Esper abilities were far too weak to overcome Gwanyeong’s strength.

The monster tilted his head slightly, frowning as if annoyed by the feeble resistance. If his guide hadn’t been watching from nearby, Gwanyeong might have immediately hurled Oh Yeon against the wall. But this time, Cha Taehun was awake, complicating matters.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?” Lee Hansol asked brightly, flashing a radiant smile at Gwanyeong.

Instead of responding, Gwanyeong sighed lightly and pushed aside the Esper blocking his way. Oh Yeon, who had been standing firm, was slammed into the ground in a single motion.

“…Hyung!”

A clanging sound echoed as something metallic collided. Oh Jinwoo let out a fierce growl, ready to rush toward his fallen brother. However, the Esper restraining Jinwoo bared their teeth, halting him before he could act.

The Teacher, Lee Hansol, and Oh Jinwoo—every figure who had plunged the center into chaos was now gathered in one place.

“Researcher Oh Yeon. This is your last warning. Let go.”
Ji Gwanyeong’s low voice carried toward the man gripping his ankle. Yet Oh Yeon, still reeling from the intense shock, stubbornly refused to release him.

The brain of the center. The cold, rational arbiter. Ji Gwanyeong glanced down at the man holding him and remembered the nickname he’d earned. Even restrained, there were countless ways to kill Lee Hansol. Ji Gwanyeong tilted his head slightly.

Hansol, as if encouraged by Gwanyeong’s attention, smiled faintly, his cheeks subtly flushed. With delicate features that could rival any young man’s, Lee Hansol looked like someone hopelessly smitten with love.

And then, a voice cut through. The voice of the only one the monster loved.

“Are you alright? Pull yourself together, Oh Yeon.”

“……”

“Ji Gwanyeong, step back.”

A long sigh escaped from Esper’s lips. He was holding the life of Lee Hansol in his hands, someone he could kill in a single second, and yet, right now, he was being swayed by the words of his lover.

“Leave that person alone. Hurry up.”

“…Choi Taehun.”

“If anything happens to that person, won’t it be troublesome for Oh Jinwoo?”

Even in this situation, Choi Taehun was making an effort not to use the word ‘death’ while trying to express the situation. The monster glanced down at his lover, who was supporting Oh Yeon, and said decisively.

“I must kill him.”

“No, you can’t.”

“He’s dangerous. No.”

“You know what will happen if the guide dies. I understand your feelings, but we need to find another way.”

Ji Gwanyeong looked at his lover with teary eyes. He could not tolerate anything that might threaten Choi Taehun. Yet, one researcher, with blurry eyes, was desperately failing to stop the situation, and his only pair was helping out in this unbelievable scenario!

There was nowhere he could vent this frustration.

The monster swallowed a curse under his breath and, nervously, turned around, looking at his lover’s steady gaze. At that moment, the Esper, who had been waiting behind, suddenly rushed toward Lee Hansol, quickly binding him with brutal force.

Choi Taehun, following his Esper with his eyes, assisted Oh Yeon as they moved deeper inside. The man, whose strength had always been far superior despite their similar height, stumbled, unable to stand firmly on the ground. A slightly surprised Taehun urgently asked,

“Oh Yeon, are you alright?”

Oh Yeon’s head moved slowly. Her swollen face made it hard to decipher her exact expression. The guide clicked his tongue and handed Oh Yeon over to another researcher before collapsing against the wall.

The name of the man etched on his back stung and ached.

From a distance, he saw his lover, who was calming down while clenching his fists. Though Choi Taehun had spoken boldly, the truth was that he himself feared the loss of his relationship with Ji Gwanyeong the most.

Choi Taehun bit his lip and hunched over. He wasn’t sure if his decision had been the right one. Only then did his hands begin to shake. A strained laugh escaped from the teacher’s mouth as he was subdued by the researchers.

“Ah, why are you acting so ruthlessly? What power does someone like me, who only sits at a desk, have? Hahaha! Look over there, instead of someone like me!”

Even while pressed flat on the ground, the teacher turned his head and raised his voice. The guide, who had once thought that voice was pleasant, now hated it and covered his ears. But it was a futile action. The man’s voice didn’t weaken, but each word seemed to engrave itself into his mind like a hypnotic spell.

“Don’t you think it would make you cry if the parents, who collapsed from the shock of their son being the guide’s killer, passed away, leaving their child an orphan filled with hatred and brotherly love stronger than all of that? Hahaha!”

The words that dug into the reality made Oh Jinwoo’s gaze, which had been fixed on his injured brother, sink further down. Ji Gwanyeong’s face also contorted faintly as he read the shadow of his own past in his brother’s history.

“But of course, the most interesting part is Ji Gwanyeong! Hahaha! Why can’t you kill Lee Hansol?”

“…”

“Is the guide stopping you? You don’t want to be hated by Choi Taehun, huh? Hahaha!”

The moment the teacher said “Choi Taehun,” Esper’s expression changed. Ji Gwanyeong’s lips curled into a frustrated, fake laugh. He immediately tore away the strength of the other researchers and slammed the teacher into the wall.

There was a tremendous, deafening sound.

No matter how powerful Esper was, the impact was enough to break a few bones. Sure enough, faint blood seeped through the teacher’s ruined gown.

However, the monster showed no sign of surprise as he immediately aimed to stab a steel rod into the teacher’s head. Choi Taehun, watching this, couldn’t muster the strength to rise as his legs gave way.

“Ah, wait! Wait! Hah, Ji Gwanyeong, wait!”

The teacher’s voice rose sharply in desperation.

Ji Gwanyeong raised his eyebrows as if to listen to the last words before death, and stopped the piece of metal right in front of the teacher’s head. It was a dangerously tense, life-or-death situation.

However, the teacher seemed to enjoy Ji Gwanyeong’s actions, coughing roughly and gasping for breath while chuckling with a faint laugh.

He found Ji Gwanyeong’s change interesting. Ji Gwanyeong, back during the Gangnam terror incident, was a monster who would tear apart the insides of a rampaging Esper. He was a twisted, hideous non-human being who couldn’t even begin to mimic human emotions.

But this Ji Gwanyeong had changed. He was now trying to protect the rampaging Esper, preventing even a speck of dust from harming him. He was exerting unnecessary strength and had even let go of Lee Hansol after following Choi Taehun’s words.

Indeed, the guide was an extraordinary being.

Even if he made countless guides, he wondered if he could ever make a “perfect” guide like this. The teacher spoke in a voice tinged with laughter.

“Heh, heh, Oh Yeon, researcher? Someone as meticulous as you, with… well, a decently useful brain, you must know.”

“…”

“How many guides have I ‘counseled’?”

It was a sudden question. All eyes were on him, even the eyes of Lee Hansol, who was completely subdued by the Esper. Oh Yeon, feeling the strength in his muscles slowly returning, moved his hand and frowned slightly as he looked up at the teacher, who was pinned to the ceiling, bleeding.

“The number of guides the teacher counseled.”

The teacher, whose face wore an unfamiliar expression, had been at the center almost three years ago. Given the rotation structure of the counseling system, at least half of the guides from the center must have met this teacher.

The teacher, seeming to read Oh Yeon’s thoughts, couldn’t stop laughing even as he coughed up blood. Imihyun, who was nervously creating sparks with her fingertips, disliked the sound of his laughter. It felt like dark anxiety was stirring inside her heart.

Unfortunately, her suspicion was completely accurate.

“And how many of those guides, like Kim Gwonseok over there, have I counseled on ‘suicide’?”

“What are you talking about?!”

Miyeon almost screamed in a cry of despair.

From all around, sounds of people gasping or screaming that it was nonsense erupted. The power of the Espers began to surge like a rough wave.

Ji Gwanyeong, eyes wide open, glared at the man he had pinned to the ceiling.

“I warn you. If you even twitch a finger at me, one of the guides I’ve met will randomly die every time.”

The teacher, still chuckling, added, “Just like Kim Gwonseok, who was preparing for his proposal!”

The monster stared blankly at the man he had subdued and asked numbly,

“…What?”

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