* * *

The Next Day.

Every major newspaper carried the same headline on their front pages.

[Radical Illegal Esper Group Led by Seo Shinwoo Completely Apprehended – A Victory for the Esper Administration.]

The group had been the largest unregistered Esper faction operating in the metropolitan area.

While their known criminal activities were already extensive, the aftermath of the raid revealed even more shocking details.

From distributing illegal substances to organized theft, assault, and even contract killings, their crimes extended beyond domestic borders to foreign operations of a massive scale.

The Esper Administration, eager to emphasize their success, held a press conference early in the morning to tout their accomplishment.

“Haah…”

The operation had been a success, a resounding one.

But it wasn’t the result Cha Junseong had hoped for.

[Seo Shinwoo, infamously known for the 10 billion won bounty on him, is also suspected of murdering and disposing of the B-class Guide Yang Heewoon.

This has sparked widespread sympathy.

Particularly, Ye Eunsoo, who had been aided by Yang Heewoon in the past, was seen shedding tears, unable to hide his grief.

Ye Eunsoo, who was instrumental in the mission’s success, reportedly participated driven solely by his desire to locate Yang Heewoon.

He has since remained at the harbor, unable to leave while the search for the missing continues.

He pleaded with reporters to share any information related to Yang Heewoon, no matter how minor, urging the public to contact the Esper Administration…]

Cha Junseong closed the article he’d been reading online and pressed his fingers against his eyes.

A week of sleepless nights had left him drowning in fatigue, despair pulling him deeper into an unyielding mire.

“…Yang Heewoon.”

The name escaped his lips, his voice raw and fractured.

After leaning against the steering wheel to compose himself, Cha Junseong finally stepped out of his car.

The harbor was teeming with divers’ boats, investigative teams, reporters, and even human rights activists.

Amid the bustle, Ye Eunsoo stood at the dock, staring vacantly at the sea where the victims’ bodies were being searched.

“You should head home.”

Ye Eunsoo was wearing the same clothes as in the photo from the article.

He hadn’t left the area since the operation, staying to monitor every development.

Cha Junseong couldn’t bring himself to meet Eunsoo’s gaze and dropped his eyes instead.

“Don’t worry. Yang Heewoon is…”

“I know. It’s a lie.”

The reply came swiftly, the voice unnervingly calm, devoid of emotion.

“Kim Jaewoong must have given a false statement. Whether he’s hiding something else or covering for the person he really met, I don’t know. But I’m certain Seo Shinwoo never met that person.”

Seo Shinwoo had never met Yang Heewoon.

That group was notorious for working Guides to the brink of ruin, even those at D-class.

If they had gotten their hands on a B-class Guide, they would’ve done anything to keep him alive.

Killing him and tossing his body into the sea within months?

Unthinkable.

So it was just bravado.

An attempt to provoke Eunsoo.

Likely, they’d hoped to use his reaction to activate their abilities and manipulate him.

With Yang Heewoon’s high-profile status due to the bounty, it would’ve been easy to fabricate such a claim.

But Ye Eunsoo had already been certain Seo Shinwoo hadn’t met Yang Heewoon.

There was no reason to fall for his schemes.

“If you knew, why go that far…”

“I’ve always wanted to beat someone to a pulp. I’ve got quite a grudge against Espers.”

“…”

“And then they had the audacity to insult Heewon. It was almost a blessing. I got to use a punching bag without a shred of guilt.”

“…”

Cha Junseong’s eyes dropped to the bandages on Eunsoo’s right hand.

Though his healing rate was rapid enough that the injury must’ve improved, Eunsoo hadn’t removed the bandages yet.

There were things to be gained by keeping them on.

“I’m sorry. Truly, I only feel regret when it comes to you.”

Even as Cha Junseong lowered his head in apology, Ye Eunsoo’s face remained emotionless.

Junseong clenched his fists tightly.

“I’ll meet with Kim Jaewoong again. I’ll find out who he really introduced them to.”

“Let me know if you uncover anything new. Immediately this time.”

“…Alright. Stay home and wait. I’ll drive you back.”

“No need.”

Ye Eunsoo turned away. There was nothing more to gain from staying here.

Although he couldn’t drive due to his injured hand, the Administration had provided him with a chauffeur for protection, worried about the possibility of their precious S-class Guide being abducted while recovering.

There was no reason to stay with Cha Junseong, someone he didn’t particularly like.

Above all, staying with him would have been… inconvenient.

On the way back, Eunsoo couldn’t suppress the smile spreading across his lips.

It was a small mercy he didn’t laugh out loud like a madman.

‘Are you looking for that Guide with the 10 billion bounty?’

‘I… met him. I’m sorry I kept it a secret… It was his wish.’

‘I heard he was your benefactor. He was for me too. If it won’t harm him, I’ll tell you what I know.’

The reporters had taken plenty of photos.

He had made a show of staying in the same spot.

Even though his hand had healed, he’d kept the bandages on.

He had endured interviews he didn’t enjoy and even teared up on camera.

It had all been worth it.

“Ah, this feels good.”

As soon as he got home, Eunsoo washed up and entered Yang Heewoon’s room.

Today, he had earned a reward.

Sitting in front of the bed, he buried his face in the blankets, breathing in Heewoon’s scent as he savored his joy.

Yang Heewoon was alive.

He’d suspected as much, but the confirmation meant everything.

Now he even understood how Heewoon had disappeared so thoroughly.

‘It was strange when gifts arrived from Polwel for the baby’s birthday.’

A newborn currently cared for by Elliot—what connection could the baby have to Polwel?

And how had they known the exact date to send such generous gifts?

It was far too extravagant to be from a mere “friend of the caretaker.”

But if it was Yang Heewoon, it made perfect sense.

‘That wretched old man. He played dumb when I contacted him about it back then.’

A complete lie, it turned out.

The man was a master of deception, hiding his cunning behind a cheerful façade.

Still, Eunsoo didn’t mind. Such a response had its own benefits.

‘If Yang Heewoon had been just a brief encounter, I could have glossed over it by saying he had gone off somewhere.

I wouldn’t have had to outright deny ever meeting him.

This suggests that they might be protecting Yang Heewoon in some way.

Good.

Yang Heewoon isn’t capable of much and is clumsy at best, so it was worrisome to leave him alone.

If someone was by his side, and if that someone was Polwel, it wasn’t a bad arrangement.

After all, no idiot would dare lay a hand on him, knowing what Yang Heewoon meant to me.’

Ye Eunsoo smirked. He buried his face into the blanket and took a deep breath.

Yang Heewoon’s scent.

That was the smell when he hugged a sleeping Yang Heewoon tightly, pressing himself close and burying his face into the back of his neck.

Every time, he was tormented by impulses.

How many times had he opened his mouth wide, ready to sink his teeth into that pale, delicate neck, only to hold himself back, telling himself he couldn’t wake Yang Heewoon or cross that ‘line’?

But now, there was no need to hold back.

Yang Heewoon’s body was alive and well, and Ye Eunsoo was a full-fledged twenty-year-old adult.

When he met Yang Heewoon again, the first thing he’d do was kiss him.

Deeply, for so long that his wanton body melted into a pliant mess.

And then…

“I’ll imprint him.”

There was no precedent for guides imprinting on each other.

But Ye Eunsoo had done plenty of “unprecedented” things up until now.

He believed he could be the exception this time, too.

Even if he couldn’t, it didn’t matter.

He could simply make Yang Heewoon believe he was imprinted.

“So he can’t go anywhere anymore.”

There was a reason Ye Eunsoo hadn’t devoted himself completely to finding Yang Heewoon over the past six months.

Even if he found Yang Heewoon, he was a guide.

If news of his recovery spread, the administration bureau would pressure him to return to duty.

In that case, Ye Eunsoo would have to allow Yang Heewoon a certain degree of ‘freedom.’

And that ‘freedom’ could put Yang Heewoon in mortal danger at any time.

Ye Eunsoo couldn’t accept that.

Reclaiming Yang Heewoon only to have him taken by the government or those three morons would be meaningless.

That’s why he needed to establish his position within the Esper Administration Bureau first.

So that no one would question him having a retired B-class guide.

This time, no one would take Yang Heewoon away from him.

“How should I bring him back…?”

He hugged the blanket tightly, recalling the days when he used to fall asleep in Yang Heewoon’s arms.

The texture of his skin, his body heat, his scent, the faint sound of his heartbeat and breathing…

Ye Eunsoo’s cheeks flushed faintly as he opened his eyes.

“I want to see him soon.”

* * *