Espers—especially S-classes—weren’t exactly known for their manners.
But Haeyong’s original self, Jang Haeyong, was still the dominant personality.
After wrapping up the meeting, Haeyong glanced at the black bead on the table.
“I have to confiscate this,” Shin Hyunjoo said.
“Dealing in illegal Gate residue is usually grounds for discipline, but given the circumstances, I’ll let it slide.”
“That’s fine. I’ve already transferred the files to my phone.”
He handed it over with a small, internal smirk.
‘Evidence secured,’ he thought, feeling a bit like a character in a mystery movie.
“I’ll handle your new housing immediately,” the Director continued.
“I’ll ensure Team 1 is blocked from accessing your address. Please wait a moment.”
“Thank you.”
“My work here is done, so I’ll be heading back,” Yoo Junghyun said.
“I’ll process your transfer now. As for your schedule starting tomorrow…”
“I’d like to start training,” Haeyong interrupted, his eyes shifting nervously.
“My ability… I need to work on it.”
He knew how much other Espers hated his ‘Copy’ power, but Yoo Junghyun simply nodded.
What Haeyong didn’t know was that the Support Team was one of the few places where a Copy ability would be welcomed with open arms.
If he hadn’t been shoved into a combat role from the start, his life might have been very different.
Yoo Junghyun promised to send a training schedule and left.
Haeyong sat alone on the sofa, sipping the now-cold tea.
It wasn’t a total victory—not compared to what the original Haeyong suffered—but it was a start.
And if things went south, he still had his digital copies of the evidence.
He could always leak them and flee the country; every nation wanted an S-class.
“Everything is ready,” the Director’s secretary said, appearing at the door.
“Please follow me.”
After a quick drive—less than three minutes from the Center—they arrived at a small, charming one-story house with an attic.
The secretary explained that no other Espers lived in the immediate vicinity.
To someone like Jang Haeyong, who had lived in a semi-basement studio, this was a palace.
It had a cozy living room, two identical bedrooms, a neat kitchen, and a bathroom with a tub.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. Can I move in right away?”
“Of course. We’ll have your belongings delivered. Please change the passcode and register your fingerprint.”
Haeyong thought about the few things in his old storage-room-turned-bedroom.
He told the secretary where to find them, and though the man’s eyes flickered with confusion at the description of the room, he promised to have them delivered by evening.
Left alone, Haeyong collapsed onto the living room floor.
The tension drained out of him all at once.
It was just the beginning, but he was determined to be happy in this new life.
He spent the evening shopping online to fill the house with furniture.
Using the money he’d earned while being “pierced” for a month felt strangely satisfying.
*
The next day, training schedule in hand, Haeyong headed back to the Center.
He knew he’d run into them eventually, but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
THUD!
A suppressed groan escaped his lips as he was slammed into a wall with enough force to nearly bury him in the concrete.
He had been waiting for the General Manager’s secretary in the lobby; he hadn’t even seen the attack coming.
His back screamed in pain.
When he opened his eyes, he was staring into a pair of murderous, glinting eyes.
“Fuck, you really went and did it, didn’t you? Is this why you were so quiet? You’re nothing but a rat, aren’t you?”
“Ugh… let… go…!”
Haeyong grabbed Yoon Minjoon’s hand, trying to pry it off his face.
In the past, he might have stayed still, but he had no reason to take this anymore.
“Don’t you dare struggle. Fuck, do you have any idea what kind of shit I’m in because of you? You little piece of trash!”
The strength difference was immense.
Minjoon was a seasoned combatant with skin as hard as stone.
Haeyong felt a strange sensation—a faint hum of energy—flicker within his body. He focused on the hand crushing his jaw.
If he couldn’t push him away, he’d make him move.
Haeyong opened his mouth and bit down on the meat of Minjoon’s hand, right between the thumb and forefinger.
CRUNCH.
Haeyong was actually the one surprised.
Minjoon’s skin was supposed to be like rock, yet he felt his teeth sink in.
The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
His blunt, human teeth had actually torn through the S-class defense.
“ARGH! You… you filthy little animal!”
“Ptu! Gross…!”
Minjoon recoiled, staring at his mangled hand in shock.
Haeyong felt a surge of triumph, despite the disgusting taste in his mouth.
“I told you, Minjoon. Attacking him directly is dangerous now.”
Choi Juhoon stepped forward, pulling the fuming Minjoon back.
He looked down at Haeyong, who was frantically wiping the blood from his lips with his sleeve.
“So… you finally learned how to use your ability. It would have been much easier if you’d done that from the start,” Juhoon murmured.
Haeyong froze.
The moment he had wished his teeth were as hard as stone, he must have unknowingly copied Minjoon’s attribute.
Juhoon’s voice was calm, but his eyes were filled with loathing and disgust, hidden behind a practiced smile.
“If there was a misunderstanding, you should have come to me. Going straight to the Director has caused a lot of ‘unnecessary’ restrictions for our team. Minjoon is just a little upset. But you’re an Esper too, so a little roughhousing shouldn’t hurt, right?”
A crowd was starting to gather in the lobby.
Juhoon glanced around, and the whispering died down instantly.
Minjoon was still in a trance, unable to process that his “invincible” skin had been breached. Haeyong didn’t care. He didn’t want to deal with them anymore.
He wanted to change branches, but why should he be the one to run away when they were the criminals?
Besides, he had one more person to save: Shim Yeonwoo, the protagonist Guide who was destined to suffer alongside him in Team 1.
“Kang Haeyong. Why aren’t you answering? Just because you left the team, you’re going to act like a stranger? After everything we’ve been through together…”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Haeyong said firmly.
“And if you ever touch me like that again, I won’t just stand by.”
Juhoon’s smile cracked.
For a split second, the raw hatred in his eyes was visible to everyone.
“Fuck! You think you can—! Urgh!”
Minjoon tried to lung again, but Juhoon caught him by the scruff of the neck.
“Don’t make things harder to clean up, Minjoon. Stay still.”
“Fuck… I can’t stand being near this rat. Hey! Don’t let me see your face again. If I see you one more time, I’ll grind your face into the pavement!”
Minjoon threw off Juhoon’s hand and stormed out of the lobby.
Haeyong ignored the threat.
He was the one who never wanted to see them again.
“Were you always this… spirited?” Juhoon asked. His eyes held a flicker of something new. Interest? Curiosity? It made Haeyong’s skin crawl.
“Esper Choi Juhoon! What is going on here? I believe I made it clear that Team 1 is to avoid all contact with Esper Kang Haeyong!”
Yoo Junghyun’s voice thundered through the lobby.
He arrived just as things were settling, looking furious.
“Is that blood? Kang Haeyong, are you bleeding? Was there more violence?”
“Ah, this isn’t Haeyong’s blood,” Juhoon said smoothly, cutting him off.
“It’s Minjoon’s. Haeyong isn’t hurt at all.”
Yoo Junghyun looked at Haeyong for confirmation.
Haeyong gave a small nod, wanting only for Juhoon to leave.
“We’ll talk later,” Juhoon said with a smirk before walking away.
Yoo Junghyun stepped between them, his suspicion of Juhoon growing by the second.
He realized there was a lot more to the “perfect” Team Leader than he had initially thought.
“I’m sorry,” Yoo Junghyun said.
“I thought I had made the situation clear to them.”
“I expected to run into them eventually. Can we just start the training?”
“Very well. Follow me.”
He led Haeyong to a specialized training facility in a separate building.
The structures were reinforced with advanced tech; even an S-class couldn’t easily bring them down.
“This is your private training room. You’ll be working with Esper Lee Yu-na. She’s an A-class healer from the Support Team. Since you’ll be working alongside the healers from now on, we thought it best for one of them to oversee your training.”
“That’s… great. Thank you.”
Haeyong nodded eagerly.
A healer.
If he was going to save the protagonist, Shim Yeonwoo, he needed to master recovery abilities more than anything else.
