With the press of a single button, the center’s hotline would connect. The guide slowly turned his head. “Someone” standing in the darkness was hiding their face in the shadows.

A flash of lightning struck. A few seconds after the lightning, a sound that seemed to tear the sky followed. For a brief moment, the interior of the residence was illuminated, and the guide clearly saw the intruder’s face standing inside his residence.

And he instinctively realized. There was no way he could press the hotline button before that man did. The thunder in his ears blended with the rapid beating of his heart. As the intruder made eye contact with Taehun, he slowly began walking toward him.

“…I knew it was impolite, but I came anyway.”

The man’s voice was slightly hoarse, a little cracked. It was an extremely polite sentence, but the guide, sensing the threat in the words, hesitated and took a step back. The man, as if understanding, gave a bitter smile and raised both his hands. Taehun, with his legs trembling slightly, staggered toward the intercom connected to the center.

The man didn’t stop him. In fact, he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

[Center control room ○○○. Guide Choi Taehun, what’s the issue?]

The man kept his fearful gaze locked on the guide as he slowly opened his mouth. The first thing he wanted to say was simply this.

“I’m sorry… for that time.”

The guide’s hand twitched.

But the hesitation was brief. Instead of responding to the apology, Taehun quickly spat out a sentence into the intercom.

“There’s an intruder inside the residence. It’s ‘that Esper.’ …Oh Jinwoo.”

* * *

A table flew up and slammed into the pristine wall of the laboratory, leaving a mark. It was such a fierce impact that the guide, who had tried to stop his Esper, shut his mouth tightly, almost like a clam.

Taehun blinked and looked at Ji Gwanyeong.

The Esper, dressed in dark shirt-like pants, looked as dramatic as usual, like someone straight out of a television drama. Actually, that description was accurate. The Esper had dropped everything during a shoot and rushed straight to the center.

“The center’s technological expertise.”
“…”
“Top-tier security?”

“Ji Gwanyeong, we are aware of the situation…”

Imi Hyun’s words were cut off before she could finish. As Ji Gwanyeong slightly tilted his head, the massive machines behind her seemed to be sliced thinly and removed. In an instant, Imi Hyun, who had bounced her body to avoid it, took a deep breath as she saw the metal parts completely severed, as if a delicate surgeon had performed the operation.

Sometimes, witnessing the evolution of a monster could be a profoundly overwhelming experience.

Ji Gwanyeong’s control of his power had changed. A few months ago, during the Gangnam incident, he used his overwhelming power to literally slash and crush targets.

But now, even in an excited state, he maintained extreme precision. He had come to perfectly control his strength over time. Because of this, Imi Hyun unconsciously swallowed dryly. The warning from the completely dismantled machines was simple, but all the more powerful.

She knew very well that if even the slightest detail had gone wrong, she would have been the one affected. The laboratory was filled with a cold silence.

Meanwhile, Ji Gwanyeong’s mind was consumed with an anger that wouldn’t dissipate, making his head ache. He had torn apart, shattered, and disassembled the interior of the large machines, but still, his anger didn’t subside. What was the use of these well-made pieces of scrap metal, after all?

‘What if… Taehun.’

Just that unfinished thought sent a chill from his head to his toes. Ji Gwanyeong remembered when he first visited his lover’s residence, thinking the security system there was a bit annoying. He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at himself. It was his own thought, but it truly made him want to tear everything apart.

“Gwanyeong, I’m really fine.”
“…”

“Oh Jinwoo, that man, he only said two sentences to me. One was ‘I apologize,’ and the other was ‘I’m sorry.'”

Choi Taehun’s mouth carefully opened. However, Ji Gwanyeong didn’t even turn his head toward the guide. His emotions were too out of control. Right now, his face had turned bright red, and he was busy trying to calm himself. Taehun could clearly see the state of his lover, and after hesitating for a long time about how to comfort him, he made a firm decision. The guide slowly wrapped his hand around his partner’s tightly clenched fist.

Though it might seem like a small gesture, for Taehun, who had never initiated any physical contact with others before, it was a huge step. Ji Gwanyeong, feeling the warmth, let out a deep sigh, and then, after adjusting his grip, tightly entwined their hands.

At first, Taehun felt a little embarrassed, avoiding eye contact as he shifted uncomfortably. But that feeling soon turned into a small surprise.

Ji Gwanyeong’s hand was faintly trembling.

The power coming from their interlocked fingers felt almost desperate. The man, who seemed fearless in every situation, was now trembling ever so slightly because Taehun had almost been in danger.

The guide felt a lump in his throat. The warmth of the hand, holding onto his as if it were the only thing he could do, stung his eyes with its intensity. Taehun pressed his lips together and then gently traced the top of his lips with his tongue. He wondered if the man holding his hand felt this way too.

Ignoring the people around them, the place they were standing, and the situation, Taehun realized what it meant to want to kiss someone immediately.

He realized it belatedly.

From deep inside his heart, something darker seemed to slowly grow, expanding in size. But the guide was someone whose emotional framework was fundamentally different from that of an Esper.

Instead of kissing, Taehun squeezed his lover’s hand with determination. Ji Gwanyeong took a deep breath, then slowly turned his eyes toward his guide.

“I’m ready. To the central hall… Hoo, let’s go.”

When one of the researchers who had entered earlier saw the chaotic state of the room, he sighed quietly. Ji Gwanyeong ignored it and, still greedily holding onto his guide’s hand, took several strong strides ahead, with Imi Hyun following behind.

In the expensive land of Seoul, in the very heart of the city, stood the massive Esper-Guide National Research Center.

Taehun had sometimes wondered.

While the abilities of Espers were undoubtedly important, was it truly fair to invest an entire prime piece of land like this into the center? Why was the ‘central hall’ of the center filled only with white marble, resembling an empty field?

This question had lingered for a long time in the guide’s mind. And now, Taehun was finally about to find the answer to that long-standing curiosity.

The spacious central hall, which had always been filled with people walking around casually, was now packed with hundreds, no, thousands of people. Taehun instinctively knew that they were all Espers.

There was only one reason.

In the center of the hall, inside a transparent prison, stood the intruder.

‘Second-class immeasurable Esper.’ ‘First-class criminal.’ And ‘Researcher Oh Yeon’s younger brother.’ The man, Oh Jinwoo, who had long descriptions following his name, stood motionless, shackled in every way.

The tension in the hall, filling the entire space, was so palpable that it made Taehun’s legs feel weak. Only then did he realize that the Espers gathered in this hall were all standing in a strict formation. They formed a massive circle, zigzagging around the prison, with their faces set in a way that suggested they were ready to unleash their power at any moment.

Among them were many faces Taehun knew well. But despite this, they felt unfamiliar, almost as though he had never seen them before. Perhaps it was because this was the first time he was seeing faces that were truly prepared to harm another person.

Taehun suddenly became stiff, realizing how fortunate he was to be alive. The man standing expressionlessly in the center of the hall was the one these Espers would be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. And something else became clear to him…

“That’s not necessary. Get rid of it.”

Ji Gwanyeong briefly spoke to the researcher who had started setting up barriers around him. His voice was filled with an arrogant confidence, but there was no one who could raise an objection to it.

As Taehun scanned the crowd, it didn’t take long before he spotted someone who, like him, wasn’t an Esper. It was Park Seungwon, the guide of Oh Yeon. When their eyes met, Seungwon gave a light nod. Taehun also nodded in return before he finally noticed the Esper standing next to the man.

It was Oh Yeon. He noticed Taehun’s gaze and turned his eyes away a moment later. They were too far apart to have a conversation, but Taehun knew well the meaning behind that distant, indifferent look. Oh Yeon had been like an older brother to Taehun since they had met when he was only seventeen.

A sudden, firm sound of heel clicks echoed. It was the center director, Kwon Dahee. She sat at the center of a row of seats facing Oh Jinwoo directly. At this point, Taehun still didn’t understand the significance of the Espers sitting in that spot.

Meanwhile, Oh Yeon, confirming that the director had seated herself, took a deep breath.

Ten years.

The younger brother he was seeing after ten years had changed into someone with a much sharper, more intense look than the image he had in his memories. Oh Yeon had cherished his younger brother, who was seven years younger than him, very dearly.

The last image of his brother that remained in his mind was that of a twenty-year-old, full of youthful energy, more like a boy than a young man. But now, the younger brother, locked in an Esper-exclusive prison made of thousands of layers of reinforced material, was thirty years old. His body, which had grown into a clear, well-formed man, was slightly lean but perfectly toned. Oh Yeon didn’t look away from his brother’s gaze and spoke slowly.

“Your name?”

“Oh Jinwoo.”

It was the answer everyone knew. Oh Yeon continued his questioning quietly.

“Are you the main suspect in the murder of Guide Kim Ga-ha, which occurred ten years ago at the center?”

“…Yes.”

Taehun finally realized that the Espers seated in a row in front of Oh Jinwoo were all staring at him intently, as if their eyes were like machines trying to extract something from him.

“How were you able to find a specific guide’s residence during the intrusion, especially when it was a guide’s private residence?”

“I had an accomplice. He operated the machines and gave me the method to locate it.”

“Who is this person?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never met him in person. I only received the information.”

Oh Yeon paused for a moment, then looked toward the center director. At that moment, the blue letters on the electronic billboard attached to the wall of the hall appeared. Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward the screen.

/ T /

The guide finally understood what was happening.

If the man trapped inside was someone who could disable all the scanners in the center, then there was only one way to proceed. They would need to analyze all the available data in real-time: his body language, tone of voice, pitch—everything that the intelligence Espers could analyze to verify the truth. This was the method that could only be done by the Espers sitting here.

“Please tell us about the process of receiving the information.”

“…Guide Lee Han-sol made direct contact with him. Mostly through the black market of the network and occasionally through encrypted emails. I believe they met in person several times.”

“Where is Guide Lee Hansol now?”

“I don’t know. My pair with Lee Hansol ended.”

At this answer, murmurs began to spread through the crowd. Once again, blue letters appeared on the electronic board.

/ T /

Oh Jinwoo continued speaking without any hesitation, despite the buzz around him.

“After Lee Hansol said he would take a new Esper, he completely disappeared.”

“A new Esper?”

“Ji Gwanyeong.”

“……”