* * *

At the lawyer’s office, the three Espers watched the video left by Yang Heewoon first.

They didn’t share the details with Ye Eunsoo, but their pale faces made it easy to guess.

They had come face-to-face with the truth they had been avoiding.

That their actions had destroyed Yang Heewoon’s body.

So gravely that it had led to his death.

“Holy shit… What the hell is this…?”

“Wait. Is this… because of me? Because I lost control…?”

“No. Look at the date. This was recorded before your incident.”

“That doesn’t help… Do you think that makes me feel better? Does it change anything? It makes it worse, if anything.”

“Goddammit. God…dammit. How could he…”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Cha Junseong, don’t tell me… You knew?”

“You knew, and you kept quiet?”

“I suspected, but there wasn’t anything I could do…”

“…”

“I thought he’d be fine. So I pretended not to know.”

“Are you insane? You hid this? So because of us, Heewoon…!”

The voices coming from the room grew louder, to the point where it sounded like they were ready to grab each other by the collar and start fighting.

Seeing those three idiots finally getting hit with their karma was something Eunsoo had hoped for.

But for some reason, something else weighed on him.

Why had he been abandoned too?

He couldn’t understand.

‘What did I do wrong…?’

He had held back, knowing he couldn’t act on his feelings until he was an adult.

He had tried his best to be a good kid.

He had helped Yang Heewoon recover and supported his life.

He had endured watching him guide those damned Espers, sharing his body and lips with them, without a single complaint.

Because he loved Yang Heewoon, Eunsoo had done everything he could.

If Heewoon had just said something, he could have told him: ‘I’m the one who saved your life.’

So why…

“Even if I’m no longer with you, I will always love you.”

The video ended.

Eunsoo, who had been staring down at his feet midway through, lifted his head.

Then, he opened the door to the room where the three Espers were.

“Ye Eunsoo…”

The three men, who had been hurling harsh words at each other moments ago, immediately fell silent when they saw Eunsoo.

His eyes narrowed.

This is so damn irritating.

Even after becoming an adult with the New Year, they were still treating him like a child.

Even Yang Heewoon hadn’t mentioned a word about his death in the video he left for Eunsoo.

No doubt, the contents of his video were different from what those three had seen.

Yang Heewoon always relied on them but treated Eunsoo like a kid.

If being 19 or 20 made no difference in how he was treated, why had he waited so long to become an “adult”?

So, he decided he wouldn’t hold back anymore.

“You said we can’t file a missing person report because we’re not ‘family,’ right?”

Was that part of Yang Heewoon’s plan, too?

Thinking they wouldn’t be able to do anything because they weren’t family?

And yet he had the gall to say the word “family” with that mouth of his.

Disgusting.

“Then let’s put out a bounty. He’s retired, but he’s still a Guide, so it’s justifiable.”

“…What? A bounty?”

“What are you saying? Heewoon’s not a criminal—”

“I’ll pay whatever it takes. Let’s start with a billion won. How’s that? We’ll accept tips for any sightings too.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes. No matter what it takes, I have to see him again.”

Unlike those three, who had pushed Yang Heewoon to his death and now couldn’t face him, Eunsoo wasn’t like them.

As a victim, he had the right.

But he couldn’t do it alone.

For now, he had no choice but to use them.

To convince those idiots, who seemed to believe Heewoon was dead or dying, he added one more thing.

“Bring me Yang Heewoon’s body if you have to.”

---

‘Bring me Yang Heewoon’s body if you have to.’

It sounded vicious, but deep down, Eunsoo still believed Heewoon would come back home on his own.
Sure, it looked like Heewoon had left expecting to die, but there was no way he actually had.

The bounty and the threats—those were just because Eunsoo was furious.

Yang Heewoon, who had barged into his world, said he loved him, promised to become family, and then left him—on the very day Eunsoo had waited so long to finally become an adult.

He was resentful and furious and wanted to scare him.

But it had already been six months.

Yang Heewoon hadn’t come back. He hadn’t been found.

He must still be alive…

Eunsoo had healed him completely.

So why hadn’t he been discovered yet?

Could he have made such a foolish choice?

Was he really that stupid?

No. That’s not possible.

Yang Heewoon had wanted to live.

Every time Eunsoo injected him with guiding energy to heal his body, he had clung to life so desperately.

If the worst truly had happened, a body would have been discovered by now.

In this era of frequent gate occurrences and vigilant espers combing through areas for civilian casualties, there’s no way such a discovery could have been overlooked.

Six months had passed, with no traces of survival or death.

That hopelessly clueless man—what on earth could he be doing to leave no trace behind?

As if he had simply vanished.

---

“Eunsoo.”

With earphones in, Eunsoo closed his eyes, listening to the voice in the video.

He had watched it so many times that he could recall it frame by frame.

Bored of it? Sure.

But he had no choice.

Yang Heewoon hadn’t left a single photograph behind.

It was only after Yang Heewoon disappeared that Eunsoo realized how little he had possessed.

Despite throwing away most of his belongings during the move, Heewoon hadn’t bothered to buy much to replace them.

Clothes, shoes, personal items—he lived for three months in that state, leaving barely a trace of himself behind.

…It was as if every ounce of attention or care he should have spent on himself had been given away to someone else.

---

“Sorry for making you wait. The call took longer than expected.”

Beyond Yang Heewoon’s voice, static crackled annoyingly.

Eunsoo paused the video and straightened from his reclined position on the sofa.

“Have you eaten? If not, we could—”

“Get to the point.”

Eunsoo had no intention of staying long, let alone making small talk or sharing a meal.

At Eunsoo’s firm tone, Cha Junseong sighed briefly before settling into the single-seater sofa across from him.

“Have you ever seen Yang Heewoon taking any kind of medication?”

“Medication?”

“Yes. Not the usual kind. Something he might have been discreet about around you.”

Medication…?

Something did come to mind.

He had seen it a few times—Yang Heewoon tipping some substance from a bottle into his mouth.

He had been oddly secretive about it, dismissing it as “vitamins,” though his pale complexion had betrayed him, as if he were guilty of committing some unspeakable crime.

“Why do you ask?”

“Look at this.”

Cha Junseong handed him a file. Inside was a profile of a man named Kim Jaewoong, who had been arrested for distributing illegally manufactured special substances.

“These potions, produced by unregistered espers, were distributed at a relatively low price to those in desperate need, often with the mediation of doctors who saw it as their patients’ only hope. Because of this, and their careful operations, they went undetected for years.”

So it was an illegal substance for prolonging life.

If that was the case, Yang Heewoon’s reactions made sense.

“Are you saying Heewon bought this from him?”

“That’s not all.”

Of course, there had to be more than just this.

“What else?”

“Yang Heewoon’s fingerprints were found in a ledger that this man kept hidden.”

Eunsoo stopped skimming through the file, his sharp blue eyes locking onto Junseong.

“So you’re saying… Heewon was this guy’s accomplice?”

Was Yang Heewoon about to become a wanted criminal?

If they found him, would he be sent straight to prison?

That wouldn’t do.

Eunsoo had no intention of letting Yang Heewoon run free as he once had, but he certainly wouldn’t let the state take away his freedom either.

“Well, we’ll need to investigate further to confirm…”

Even Junseong looked unsettled by the unexpected development.

He rubbed his lips, lost in thought, before continuing.

“The man claims the last time they met was earlier this year.”

This year.

Considering Yang Heewoon disappeared on January 1st, that meant the meeting happened after his disappearance.

Despite the bounty placed on Yang Heewoon by three espers, which brought in countless tips, most were false reports aimed at claiming the reward.

Credible leads dried up within a month.

This was the first solid lead in five months.

“Where is this man now?”

* * *