Chapter 17

“Did you wait a long time?”

He was wearing a black garter belt, underwear, and fishnet stockings under the slip.

“Bastard, untie this… Let go…!”

He struggled as if he were going to kill him, but his muscles were weak. Even so, he charged like a hyena at a time.

Hey, fuck! Fuck! He screamed a bunch of abusive words at the hand that loosened his pants dance. It was the same situation as when he woke up in the motel room after drinking free alcohol at the club on the first day of meeting the pervert.

The only thing that moved above his head was the shabby ceiling fan. He couldn’t get away this time, and it felt like his mind was going insane as well.

“Get out of the way, you bastard, hah, get out of the way!”

A panicked body was useless. When he twitched in response to the touch of his skin.

Suddenly, he thought, ‘Am I finally crazy because of extreme stress?’ He wouldn’t have seen that otherwise.

The stalker’s face was as red as the lights, and his hand unbuttoned his pants as something came up behind his fluttering hair. One iron pipe… floats in the air like a ghost.

There is no time to be perplexed. Whip, a steel trail pierced the air.

Slam!

“Urgh!!”

The death scream marked the end.

The man who had been struck in the vital points collapsed on top of his body. His eyes rolled over as he felt himself being touched again. The terrible body temperature went away after a while.

Thud. He could hear him tossed on the ground. “Hey, hey!” At the rough slap on his cheek, he barely managed to keep his eyes focused.

“Look at me! …Are you okay?”

He took a deep breath as he heard the asking voice. His vision gradually returned as he inhaled a short breath. The image in front of him was of an unexpected person’s face.

…Why.

Why is this guy here?

Thump thump, thump, the heartbeat engulfed him and he stared at the other person. His face was completely decent, despite being the same scumbag as that perverted stalker bastard. It was Seon Jae-chan, who had no choice but to maintain a roommate relationship due to the official regulations.

Let’s just look at him, “You’re fine.” He nodded. Then, with the blue tape in his hand, Jae-chan quickly started tying up the pervert who had fallen like a mop on the floor.

Seon Jae-chan’s method of arrest was both quick and meticulous. He shakes his hands after dealing with the pervert, but it’s difficult for him to grasp the situation because his head is buffered. It was difficult to move along. He brought a jigsaw this time.

“What, what are you doing!”

“To untie you. Cut the rope.”

Jae-chan grabbed the toe of his roommate’s shoe without hesitation. The jigsaw started to move between the ankles. Cutting only one thick strand with a saw was certainly quick and easy. The shock had worn off by the time he cut the rope around his wrist.

“Are you okay?”

Seon Jae-chan asked once more as he touched his tingling hands and feet. The roommate’s eyes, which had been relaxed in a daze, hardened. He stood up. He sat on the creaky mattress and responded defensively.

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Really?”

Seon Jae-chan sat down beside him and asked one more time. His face was noticeably more tired than usual, but his roommate, who had just escaped from the abduction situation, naturally did not notice.

“Shit. I said I’m okay. I’m okay!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“Then, guide me.”

“…What?”

What did he just hear?

His roommate frowned at him. He could then see a particularly pale face, even in the reddish lighting. The two of them locked gazes. Seon Jae-chan realized he needed more explanation for his pounding head after exchanging unwilling glances for a while.

“Like me kicking or robbing a locker. Do you know how I did it?”

He reached out to his roommate.

“I did it myself.”

At the same time, Seon Jae-chan endured the sharp pain and relied on his strength. The roommate, who had inadvertently focused on the outstretched fingertips, nearly passed out. The boy’s hand disappeared without a trace. As if melted in the air.

‘Come to think of it… Even the iron pipe…’

The roommate’s face became even more strange when he remembered the iron pipe that seemed to float in the air.

Meanwhile, Jae-chan released his power, which had reached its limit. The hand appeared once more. It was a special class, ‘concealment’ ability. The reason he hasn’t been caught by the kidnapper and hasn’t been attacked like Kim Geun-won. Later, he made significant contributions to becoming the director of the Guide Han Tae-hoon’s right-hand man.

“I am a multi-guide. Guide and Esper. Well, the esper side power is weak.”

The roommate’s face distorted. Seeing him not moving like a statue, Seon Jae-chan let out a light sigh and gently grabbed his opponent’s hand. He couldn’t help but say it a little nervously.

“So can you guide me a little?”

It’s urgent. After all, he is his lifesaver. He gathered more strength in his hands and lowered his voice as if to console him. He believes he can survive simply by maintaining some contact with a guide. Then the roommate was surprised. He recognized an Esper’s faint and delicate wavelength that touched his palms.

*

Around 8:30 in the evening, a remote mountain in District 1’s southern outskirts. Several police patrol vehicles, including MPVs, flashed their warning lights. The red and blue LED lights flickered and illuminated the shadows cast by the trees, the deteriorating slate roof, and the wide-mouthed warehouse.

The police, who arrived after receiving a report, was interviewing an eyewitness, who was a guide in the center about the incident. It was Seon Jae-chan. From time to time, he pointed to the culprit tied up with blue tape like a set on the floor of a glossy green warehouse and finished his explanation.

“Can I take a break now?”

The handsome guide, who was making a statement, asked. The officer looked behind him at the main victim, who had curly bangs like a brown poodle, and noticed that both of them were not looking good, so he called his subordinates.

“Hey! Take them to the car!”

Only then was Seon Jae-chan able to drag his roommate away from the crime scene. Whether it was a big shock or something, he kept silent.

There were three patrol cars. They were guided by a policeman into an empty vehicle.

“The team leader of Team 5 will come too. I contacted him when I reported it.”

Seon Jae-chan spoke as he sat one space away from the middle seat in the spacious van. His roommate simply shook his head. He opens his mouth as if to say something, then looks out the window. He kept a meaningless gaze on the tail of the patrol car in front.

What’s the matter with him? Seon Jae-chan raised his brows and looked out the window on the other side. Police were dragging the handcuffed criminal out after recovering the illegal firearms. While looking at the guy who was still confused, he suddenly held his hand and opened it. His physical condition has improved noticeably. Fortunately, the police arrived just as the guiding was coming to an end.

‘The matching rate probably at least 40% or higher?’

Of course, depending on the roommate’s rating, it could go up or down, but it feels good. At the very least, he would not have to seek out illegal guiding routes. Jae-chan unintentionally gave his roommate a coveted look. It is unfortunate that he will be leaving the center soon.

Oh, come to think of it, it was around this time that this guy changed his nationality?

Could this have influenced his decision to leave the center? Because the identities of the victims were strictly protected in the past, he was unable to connect the case to the roommate who had left. As he guessed, the eyes as pale as amber were also looking back this way. The man opens his mouth once more.

“…”

In fact, the roommate’s hands were clenched tightly due to Seon Jae-chan’s wavelength remaining under his skin.

Maybe it’s because the other half is a guide. What esper wavelength…

It tickled and rubbed the remaining texture as if to crush it, like a feather. Perhaps as a result of his guiding, he fixed his gaze on the pale cheeks and then on the front seat’s headrest. First and foremost, he brought out the words he had stopped saying earlier.

“You… So, you’ve been messing around all this time by yourself?”

Seon Jae-chan shifted his gaze to the front without responding. Of course, he had previously abused his Esper powers around this time. If the act had continued or intensified, it would have been the same as a crime committed by an unregistered Esper criminal. This was the reason why the state’s Esper investigation team was absolutely necessary.

“Did you report it to the Guide bureau? You said you’re Multi-Guide?”

He used his right to remain silent. Seon Jae-chan’s power as an Esper was awakened at the age of nineteen, but he had not reported it to the state. The reason for this is… Naturally, he remembered something from his past. Once upon a time, when he truly wanted to be an Esper.

For generations, Seon Jae-chan’s family was known for producing A-level or higher Espers. However, they had a strange family custom that was completely unknown to the people outside.

A tendency to disrespect Guides. ‘Espers must ultimately break free from their dependence on Guides. Guide is just a consumable item that must be used before that step can be implemented.’ this was the family’s theory.

That’s why the whole family actively sponsored guiding machine research and maintained a close relationship with J Company, an Esper-Guide medical pharmaceutical company.

In such an environment, Seon Jae-chan unexpectedly became a Guide. The tension became apparent.