Lee Hansol barely survived.

In fact, if he hadn’t had the ability to recover, it would have been nearly impossible for him to survive such severe injuries. Aside from the added scars, there were fractures and internal organ damage, making it unsurprising that he could have died from shock right then and there.

As a result, the center now had another major concern, in addition to the task of figuring out how the “teacher” could control his guide. That concern was the safety of guide Choi Taehun, who had to get closer to the ferocious Esper.

Given that Taehun’s matching rate was well over 150, it was probably a surreal experience, as just a light touch from him could reset everything in front of him. But to think that an Esper, who would throw his guide against a wall and torture him like that, was unimaginable! It was something no one had even dreamed of.

It was easy to imagine what would happen to a guide like that—who had no sense or feeling, just a name—compared to a guide with such a matching rate. The researchers, all in a somber mood, cautiously watched Taehun’s reaction.

But the former guide, Ji Gwanyeong, after his initial surprise, quickly regained his composure and showed a calm expression. He even started to speak this way:

“Honestly, I somewhat expected this.”

“Eh?”

Oh Yeon, who had been thinking about whether to assign his younger brother, Oh Jinwoo, to protect Taehun as a guard, widened his eyes. The others reacted the same way, but Taehun simply continued speaking calmly despite their surprised reactions.

“I thought that when Lee Hansol was cornered, he would act hastily to provoke me, to show me how desperate he was.”

“…”

“Ji Gwanyeong doesn’t like it when someone acts without permission… I thought maybe I could buy some time, but honestly, I didn’t expect him to react like this.”

In simple terms, Taehun had not imagined that Ji Gwanyeong’s personality would be so extreme. Taehun let out a long sigh, still feeling tense.

“…I guess it’s fortunate, but still, I was really shocked when that guide almost died.”

At least for the next month, Lee Hansol’s death would be synonymous with the rampage Ji Gwanyeong would inevitably cause. Taehun’s heart was still racing from the trauma he witnessed for the first time.

There might still be a few drops of Lee Hansol’s blood left somewhere in the central hall of the center, where shards of debris lay scattered. Taehun never imagined he would learn just how tame Ji Gwanyeong had been before he lost his memory.

Taehun took a sip of water to wet his parched mouth, rubbing his sweaty palms together.

“But, no matter how rude it may have seemed… the matching rate should be no different from yours, Taehun. Why is the reaction so different?”

It was Center Director Kwon Dahee who spoke. In her eyes, there was genuine curiosity. In fact, both Oh Yeon and Miyeon, who had managed the Ji Gwanyeong-Taehun pair, also couldn’t fully understand the current situation.

Ji Gwanyeong had once turned the entire Gangnam terrorist attack scene upside down, defeating the rampaging Esper and then surrendering without hesitation. He did show some rejection afterward, but that was a mental refusal, not anything like the extreme reaction he had now.

Taehun thought for a moment, then spoke in an uncertain tone:

“Ji Gwanyeong said he knew me even before the Gangnam incident. Perhaps that’s the difference?”

What Ji Gwanyeong did to Lee Hansol wasn’t just a matter of a stranger pretending to be close to me and saying “my Esper” for no reason. It was far too cruel for that.

But no one among the researchers here objected to that statement. They simply thought, “Ah, if it’s Ji Gwanyeong, that might be how it is.”

“But, if you knew him before the Gangnam incident, when did that start?”

“It was at a signing event where Ji Gwanyeong and I first met.”

“…Wait, Taehun, you were a fan of Ji Gwanyeong?”

“Oh, no! Not at all. My younger brother is a fan, and it just happened to be near the office…”

If the Esper before losing his memory had been around, he would certainly have looked displeased at the intense denial from my lover. Miyeon thought this and tilted her head as if encouraging him to say more. It seemed like it was an unfortunate situation that even now, knowing everything about Ji Gwanyeong, still left something missing.

The behind-the-scenes story of the first meeting between Ji Gwanyeong and Choi Taehun, which the center staff didn’t know, finally began to unfold.

“That day, we shook hands. Ji Gwanyeong suddenly suggested it.”

“Really?”

“And when our hands touched… how should I put this? Suddenly, starting from the spot where our hands met, it felt like heat spread all the way to my back. It was so intense and stinging, I was so surprised that I quickly pulled away.”

That was when Taehun remembered the enormous name appearing on his back. He continued, somewhat awkwardly.

The researchers were now fully realizing that Ji Gwanyeong and Choi Taehun had crossed paths in every possible way, and it was truly unbelievable that they had met only when both were in their thirties and twenties. Their matching rate was absurd, and the name sharing was even more surprising.

“Actually, even after the name appeared on my back that day, I never thought it would be ‘that Ji Gwanyeong’.”

“…I see. I guess it would be hard to believe that you’d share a name with someone who’s always on TV.”

“Yes. So, I was just looking for other people… but Ji Gwanyeong must have recognized me immediately at that signing event. He knew I was a guide and that I was his matching partner.”

It was easy to picture. Taehun, clueless and flustered, leaving the scene—one could almost feel how that clever monster must have salivated. The researchers sighed softly to themselves.

In the first place, a name is considered one of the strange phenomena that doesn’t require reporting, like an Esper-guide bond. It only reacts for certain sensitive individuals based on the other person’s condition, so it doesn’t pose a significant threat.

“So, from then on, he secretly kept an eye on me. School, work, family relationships, whether I had a matching Esper or not…”

“Unbelievable. Ji Gwanyeong did that?”

“I only found out a few days ago… right, the day before.”

Though the guide spoke with a clear face, no one in the lab failed to catch the hidden meaning behind Taehun’s words.

Especially Miyeon and Oh Yeon, who had first interrogated Ji Gwanyeong after he entered the center, felt that all the strange questions they’d had about the violent Esper were finally being answered.

They had been quite curious. The man, incredibly strong and violent—how had he so willingly entrusted his life to Taehun, and even entered the center, a place he had avoided for over a decade? It never seemed to quite add up.

No matter how high the matching rate, if he were the kind of man who would immediately obey his guide, he would have come to the center long ago to take the matching test. But now, with the guide’s words, everything that had seemed out of place began to fall into place.

Ji Gwanyeong, that suspicious Esper, must have been someone who only moved once he knew everything about his target and was certain it was under his control.

And probably, when he willingly surrendered during the Gangnam terrorist attack, he had been complacent, thinking he could manipulate Taehun to act as he wished.

He would have gladly taken whatever the guide offered, still thinking he could make his owner kneel and adore him with dry affection. At one point, that must have been his plan. He probably felt confident he could achieve it.

Because he knew everything about Taehun.

“…So, no wonder pretending to be the owner in front of me didn’t look good.”

“Eh?”

“No, no. Forget it, Taehun.”

Lee Miyeon shrugged her shoulders slightly.

Until now, I had been helplessly manipulated within the teacher’s plan, but it was quite strange that the one who first broke this chain was that very Ji Gwanyeong, the man who had fought and clashed with me so fiercely.

…Moreover, an unexpected possibility had begun to faintly appear. In fact, no one at the center had expected that Choi Taehun, after only a month, could make Ji Gwanyeong, who was still in a non-pair state, his Esper.

After seeing how Ji Gwanyeong treated Lee Hansol, who inherited the matching rate, so harshly, I had given up on the idea as though it were a done deal and had focused on uncovering the teacher’s secret.

But watching Ji Gwanyeong, that monster, being thoroughly analyzed by Choi Taehun without a care, I couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of hope. It was really just a possibility, but…

Could it be that this damn experiment might succeed after all?

Of course, the center would have to do everything they could within their power. Miyeon gathered her thoughts, recalling her own guide.

Ji Gwanyeong’s manager briefly glanced at the man’s face visible through the rearview mirror. He had been in charge of Ji Gwanyeong for quite a long time and was considered to be a good match for the top star, who was known to be very difficult to handle within the company.

There was no secret formula to this. The manager was simply a man of few words, quick-witted, and always trying not to upset his actor’s mood.

“Um, today’s schedule is done. Tomorrow, there will be additional filming.”

“Understood.”

It wasn’t exactly a warm conversation, considering they were practically together all day. But the manager had long since gotten used to it.

In recent days, the sudden absence of Ji Gwanyeong had caused an emergency at the drama filming site. This was due to an urgent call from the center, where he had been granted absolute exemption. As a result, last Thursday’s live broadcast had been replaced with a special edited version, a rerun.

The internet was flooded with complaints from investors, broadcasters, and even people involved with the scheduled program.

Given the situation, Ji Gwanyeong would likely have to skip dramas from his next project and focus on movies again. The manager, while driving, mentally calculated the situation.

Not long after, the voice of the man with the refined eyebrows came from the backseat.

“Where are we going?”

“Huh? We’re headed to the Center Guide’s residence.”

“…No. From now on, we’re going straight to Seongbuk-dong.”

The manager tilted his head, thinking it was no big deal, but he didn’t question Ji Gwanyeong’s words. This quiet understanding was why he had been able to work with Ji Gwanyeong for so long.

Through the rearview mirror, the manager could see his actor’s expression, which didn’t seem particularly bright. He cautiously turned on the music that his actor usually liked.

As the manager had guessed, Ji Gwanyeong was indeed in a low mood. It was because of the eight months of memory that had completely disappeared from his mind.

For drama filming, which was just a few days ago, he had no trouble catching up just by looking at the marks he’d left in the script. Though the writer was known for long and complicated lines, for an Esper like him, a single read-through was enough to memorize it.

But the problem lay in everything else.

He hadn’t told anyone that he had lost his memory. He even kept silent in front of the man driving the van right in front of him. Choosing a profession that would inevitably make him the center of attention was a different matter from becoming a subject of curious observation.

Eight months. The eight months of his life that he couldn’t remember.

Ji Gwanyeong became truly curious about the man he had been for that period.

He had clearly been acting rather foolishly until recently. Today, he had just heard for the first time about the man who had originally been his guide during filming.