* * *

One day, massive, inexplicable holes—Gates—appeared in the skies around the world.

Before anyone could make sense of them, swarms of bizarre, otherworldly creatures began pouring out, plunging the world into an age of chaos and destruction.

It felt as though humanity was teetering on the edge of annihilation.

Just as hope began to fade entirely, a new phenomenon emerged—people who suddenly gained supernatural powers.

Society called them Awakeners, later adopting the term Espers.

These individuals used their abilities to combat the monstrous threats.

Thanks to the Espers, the world slowly clawed its way back to stability.

However, as people began to believe that this newfound order would last, the Espers themselves became the next threat.

It was discovered that the more Espers used their powers, the more energy built up within their bodies.

This latent energy eventually led to uncontrollable outbursts.

By the time this revelation came to light, many Espers had already died from this phenomenon.

Though new Awakeners continued to emerge, the cycle of Espers losing control and dragging others into fatal incidents repeated itself endlessly.

Governments began treating Espers as potential murderers, escalating global tension once again.

In this time of crises, true hope appeared—individuals with the ability to calm the volatile energy within Espers.

They were called Guides.

Unlike Espers, Guides had no overtly visible powers, often unaware of their own abilities.

Desperate to prevent further disasters, governments worldwide enacted laws and established facilities to locate and train Guides.

Through these efforts, Guides began to emerge, and they were brought under state control to manage Espers.

This brought a fragile semblance of peace.

But just as people thought the world had finally stabilized, the number of Guides began to plummet.

No clear explanation existed.

Rumors among high-ranking officials suggested that the Guides had been overworked and exploited behind closed doors.

Eventually, the shortage of Guides became an unavoidable crisis, rendering them an extremely rare and precious commodity.

In South Korea’s Ability Management Center, six S-class Espers were registered—the highest number in any nation.

Of these, two were dispatched overseas, while the remaining four worked domestically as part of the Special Management Team 1.

These Espers were far from ordinary. Each had glaring flaws.

Han Jihyuk was logical and calculating to a fault, treating others as tools to be evaluated for utility rather than as human beings.

Shin Heesung displayed an unconventional, often disturbing mindset, frequently engaging in bizarre, incomprehensible actions.

Kang Taewon was the most violent of the group, prone to foul-mouthed tirades and brutal, reckless behavior that left others injured.

Lee Dohoon, while outwardly calm and amicable, was deeply manipulative, adept at gaslighting others to get what he wanted.

Given their collective issues, the management center decided to place all four in the same team.

Han Jihyuk, being the most rational, was appointed team leader.

While this arrangement brought a semblance of control, one glaring problem persisted: the team lacked a compatible Guide.

The center’s highest-ranked Guides were only A-class, and none of the three could achieve a compatibility rate higher than 10% with the S-class Espers.

Lower-ranked Guides fared even worse.

In desperation, the team relied on artificial methods—drugs and machines that simulated Guide wavelengths.

But these stopgaps were inadequate, barely holding their instability in check.

Talk of imprisoning the entire Special Management Team 1 in a high-security Esper facility began to circulate.

It was at this time that a new A-class Guide, Woo Jiyoo, appeared.

Astonishingly, Woo Jiyoo had a compatibility rate of over 70% with every member of the team—unheard of compared to any other Guide.

Naturally, the team became obsessively attached to Woo Jiyoo, who held the key to their survival.

They isolated him from the outside world, treating him as their lifeline.

On the day a catastrophic Red Gate appeared—a high-risk Gate that remained unstable even after being cleared—the entire team was dispatched to address the emergency.

This left a crucial gap in their vigilance.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Go Yeonwoo, an A-class Esper, whisked Woo Jiyoo away.

Woo Jiyoo, worn down by the mental torment of dealing with the S-class Espers, was swayed by Go Yeonwoo’s promises of freedom.

So much so that he unknowingly entrusted his very life to him.

Go Yeonwoo had secretly harbored feelings for Lee Dohun of the Special Management Team 1 for a long time.

Yet, he was acutely aware that their relationship couldn’t progress beyond that of a guide and Esper, and so he endured his unrequited love in silent agony.

That was until Woo Jiyoo, an A-rank guide, suddenly appeared.

What made it worse?

Woo Jiyoo had a high compatibility rate with Lee Dohun—the very man Yeonwoo had been yearning for.

Jealousy consumed Yeonwoo swiftly and entirely.

Eventually, he lost all reason and resolved to kill Woo Jiyoo.

He watched and waited for his chance, and then it came—a Red Gate event erupted.

Yeonwoo seized the opportunity.

The act was carried out when Woo Jiyoo’s dedicated Espers were absent.

By the time they realized what had happened, it was already too late.

Woo Jiyoo was dead, and Yeonwoo was standing there, unmistakably the culprit.

There was no room for doubt.

Yeonwoo had murdered their cherished guide.

The Espers, blinded by rage, had no intention of letting him live.

Just as they were about to strike Yeonwoo down, something unbelievable occurred.

A massive surge of guiding energy burst from Yeonwoo—an impossibility for an Esper, let alone one who hadn’t just awakened but had functioned as an Esper all along.

It was unprecedented.

An Esper exuding guiding energy as if they were a natural-born guide?

They were overcome with exhilaration.

The energy radiating from Yeonwoo was intoxicating—blissful to the point of incapacitating their reason.

No, it wasn’t merely sweet; it was violently overwhelming.

Yeonwoo’s guiding energy enveloped them in a serene, suffocating stillness, like being submerged in water.

Even their former guide, Woo Jiyoo, had never made them feel this way.

Though Jiyoo was the ideal match for S-rank Espers, they had always felt an indefinable emptiness, a void they could never fill.

And now, their instincts screamed that Yeonwoo was the perfect guide they’d been searching for all along.

Caught between shock and euphoric awe, the four Espers found themselves drawn to Yeonwoo, their earlier intent to kill utterly forgotten.

Under the guise of avenging Woo Jiyoo, they greedily claimed Yeonwoo for themselves.

And thus, the scene before them unfolded.

“Haah…”

Yeonwoo, unconscious from the guiding energy he had emitted, lay sprawled on a bed.

His jet-black hair was tousled, exuding an inexplicable allure.

His tightly shut eyelids quivered slightly, arousing dangerous thoughts, while his crimson lips glistened temptingly like ripe fruit.

The Espers surrounded him, leaning in close.

Though they refrained from touching him, the guiding energy radiating from Yeonwoo clung heavily to their entire beings.

It was a phenomenon known as radiated guiding, something only the highest-ranked guides could perform.

Yet Yeonwoo, even in his unconscious state, was executing it naturally.

Conflicting emotions swirled in their minds.

A murderous urge surged alongside an opposing restraint, creating a storm of internal turmoil.

“…Fuck. This is so messed up.”

The silence was broken by none other than Kang Taewon, his fiery red hair swaying faintly in the dim light.

“This feeling is the worst. I want to kill him, but I can’t. It’s driving me fucking insane.”

Though his words were harsh, Taewon’s gaze never wavered from Yeonwoo.

It was Taewon who had first suggested using Yeonwoo as their guide, but that didn’t mean he had come to terms with his emotions.

Woo Jiyoo, who had once been alive and breathing, was gone.

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