The teacher, with a sharp gleam in his eyes, stared at the guide mimicking what he had said yesterday.

“‘If Guide Choi Taehun succeeds in the experiment, Guide Lee Hansol will no longer be able to guide anyone.’”

“…What are you talking about now?”

At the moment, Lee Hansol screamed in a way that sounded almost like a cry, reacting to Taehun’s words.

But Taehun didn’t even glance at Hansol, focusing only on the teacher. There was something Taehun had noticed since the first time he conversed with Lee Hansol.

This young man, who seemed to be around the same age or a little older than Taehun, had a strangely childlike way of speaking. Despite the outward appearance of polite formal language, his actual words were often blunt and straightforward, almost to the point of being crass. He didn’t consider the other person’s feelings or reactions, simply acting on his immediate desires.

The most noticeable thing was his simple, unyielding possessiveness—this was “mine.” It was something Taehun, who had essentially raised his younger sister, Mina, knew all too well. Even now, she didn’t like it when anyone, including him, used her pen without permission.

As Taehun smoked alone in the dormitory yesterday, an unexpected thought struck him. *If Lee Hansol’s primary goal is to become the guide of the strongest Esper, maybe the best way to strike him would be to take that away from him.”

“Counseling could kill him, but there’s no way this easy thing would fail, right?”

While Taehun was walking a tightrope with the teacher, Oh Yeon’s gaze was directed elsewhere—at Lee Hansol. After some time passed, the teacher’s lips curled into a smile.

“Haha, hahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

His laughter, exaggerated like an actor delivering lines, filled the air.

“Yes, let’s do it that way! This is too much fun!”

“…Father!”

Lee Hansol’s voice trembled with desperation.

It was the first time he had seen this young man, who always laughed casually, with such a pale face. Oh Yeon could sense a power dynamic between the two of them from their relationship. From Lee Hansol’s earlier demeanor and his current reaction, he deduced two things.

First, Lee Hansol had an identity complex about being a “guide.”

“How long has it been since we’ve had such an interesting experiment? Haha! Hahaha! Mr. Lee Hansol, let’s do it that way. ‘Understood?'”

At the teacher’s words, Lee Hansol trembled, his shoulders shaking as he glared at Taehun. Oh Jinwoo, unable to hide his surprise, watched the guide, whose eyes were beginning to turn red with anger, as he trembled uncontrollably.

Even Oh Jinwoo, who had observed Lee Hansol for 10 years, had never seen him so distorted and shaken. Oh Yeon, watching Hansol unable to defy the teacher’s words, became more certain of her second hypothesis.

Second, Lee Hansol was bound in some kind of power relationship with the teacher, unable to go against him. This could also be inferred from the way they addressed each other. The teacher called Lee Hansol “Mr. Lee Hansol,” a formal and distant title, while Hansol referred to the teacher as “Father” and followed him.

“Haha, ha. Ha… I’m really looking forward to this experiment. Now then. Ji Gwanyeong, please follow me.”

The time had come. Ji Gwanyeong, still holding onto his guide’s hand, lightly traced the contours of the guide’s bones before standing up at the teacher’s command without changing his expression.

Taehun briefly inhaled the warmth left behind by the man who had moved away from him.

“See you later, Taehun.”

“…Yes.”

There was no tearful farewell.

Ji Gwanyeong clicked his tongue inwardly as he listened to the heartbeat of his guide, who was running wildly, pounding louder than ever. But he could not bring himself to embrace his guide, who was desperately trying to hide his emotional turmoil, and make him cry.

It was Taehun who would be left alone.

For Taehun, who would have to endure whatever would come in just a few hours, there was no crueler final memory than this, one devoid of tenderness.

Without realizing it, Taehun pressed his hand firmly on his own Esper, trying to suppress his emotions. He was worried that the last image Ji Gwanyeong would remember of him might unintentionally upset his lover. Ji Gwanyeong, maintaining a completely steady posture without a trace of hesitation, walked toward the director’s office.

The guide, standing behind the door his lover had just opened, gazed at it for a long time.

There was no resentment or anger toward anyone else; his inner turmoil seemed to be brewing alone, almost dangerously so.

Oh Yeon gritted his teeth, stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, and then followed Ji Gwanyeong at a hurried pace.

The third measurement was off the charts. The man who had received everyone’s love, the man with a long nickname to match, now lay on the center’s bed with all sorts of machines attached to him, calmly watching the people around him.

He appeared strangely relaxed.

Even though his connection with his guide, Choi Taehun, would be severed and he would lose all memories from the last eight months, there was no visible sign of tension or anxiety.

Oh Yeon, standing silently behind the researcher who was inserting a thick needle into Ji Gwanyeong’s arm, spoke with a slightly hoarse voice.

“Aren’t you anxious?”

“Well…”

For Ji Gwanyeong, a normal person would need an overwhelming amount of anesthetic to even begin affecting him. The dosage would have to be increased gradually until his defenses completely collapsed, allowing for mechanical intervention.

Whereas memory manipulation for an ordinary person would take just a few minutes, for him it would likely be a painful process. Knowing this, Oh Yeon lowered his head, unable to meet Ji Gwanyeong’s eyes.

The Esper, watching him, spoke in his usual arrogant tone.

“Well, Taehun might suffer a little, but this is just a lesson in keeping a troublesome guide alive in order to save your little sister.”

“….”

“Of course, I’m also being swayed by Taehun.”

The machines powered on. The sound of the giant motors slowly warming up echoed through the room.

“Stop with that expression. I’ve prepared quite a bit for this.”

“Prepared.” That word, so neatly and carefully used, seemed almost out of place in this grim situation. Ji Gwanyeong didn’t answer but instead exchanged a faint smile with Oh Yeon, his eyes twinkling. He was not joking; in fact, he was genuinely starting to enjoy himself.

He could vividly recall his guide trembling in fear, still managing to say a word or two to the teacher. Taehun must have spent the whole day smoking cigarettes just to get those words out.

Just like how he had spent the time he earned with a guide’s life, preparing without wasting it.

“If you’re so consumed by guilt, don’t pretend to be a hypocrite. Use that clever head of yours. ‘The brain of the center,’ Oh Yeon.”

Now, Ji Gwanyeong too was curious about how this experiment would end. He wanted to see if, without the matching—the only remaining indicator of whether an Esper and guide could be together—he could once again hold Taehun in his gaze.

Of course, he had no intention of giving up Taehun easily. How could he, when Taehun was the man who had fallen to him? The thought of that crazy Esper just doing as told was unpleasant to him.

So, Ji Gwanyeong had prepared a little cheat.