“Oppa, are you okay?”
“L-lower your voice.
My ears hurt.”
The Esper energy he had recklessly drawn out now raged beyond his control, attacking his own body.
Dana, not being an Esper, couldn’t know the exact nature of his torment, but Doha had once told her that to him, the sound of breathing was like thunder.
“If you don’t forcibly dull your senses, it feels like your whole body is going to explode at any moment.
You’d rather they just kill you.
Did you know there are a lot of psychos among Espers?” Mr.
Joo had once explained with a sneer.
President Lee and Director Jeong sent an urgent request for Yeonhwa’s return, but China refused, citing a B-rank Gate that had opened in downtown Shanghai.
The reply came that it would take at least three days for her to arrive.
Doha lowered his head, chewing on a tranquilizer like a cracker.
For the past two days, he had been bedridden again.
His room, windows sealed by curtains, was perpetually dark.
The return of these extreme sensations after a period of normalcy relentlessly wore down his patience.
No one was allowed near his room; not a word could be spoken in the garden.
Everything tormented his hearing.
He could barely swallow food, and his face was ashen.
Only Dana was permitted to enter.
She opened the door as slowly as a crawling grub and closed it with equal care.
She made no sound as she approached the bed.
And yet, as if he somehow knew, Doha lifted his head toward her, his eyes still closed.
His dilated pupils made even the dimmest light agonizing.
“Oppa, water,” Dana whispered.
Doha shook his head.
Instead, he laced his fingers through hers.
A shiver ran through her at his cold touch; his skin was even colder than yesterday.
“Are you still cold?”
He shook his head again, then seemed to change his mind, whispering in a hoarse voice, “The medicine… bring me more of the medicine from the center.”
He meant the drug made from the venom of a demon spider.
It was more effective than tranquilizers but dangerously addictive.
“You’ve already had ten times the prescribed dose.”
“I don’t care.”
Dana looked at his other hand.
The one not holding hers was curled into a tight fist.
It was said that Espers grew aggressive when deprived of guiding for too long.
Doha was already a far cry from the person she’d first met, often feeling like a stranger.
But now, he was terrifying.
She bit her lip.
‘He’s in a bad place.
He helped me when I was struggling, and now it’s my turn.’
“No.”
“Dana Lee.”
“I said no.
Being an Esper doesn’t make you invincible.
The healer said you can’t have any more.”
Doha seemed to understand, his pale face silent for a long moment.
Finally, he murmured, “Right.
I suppose I have to endure it.”
Dana was at a loss for words.
“If Yeonhwa doesn’t show up, will I go on a Rampage?
My heart will probably just explode.”
The moment she heard his sarcastic, self-loathing words, Dana could no longer hold back.
She threw her arms around him.
Hero of humanity, savior—none of it mattered.
If he’d just been a normal, unawakened person, he wouldn’t be suffering like this.
Just then, a white aura materialized before her eyes—the same phenomenon she’d seen when Doha absorbed the ice crystal.
But unlike then, when it had seethed only around his heart, it now writhed like insects throughout his entire body.
As if possessed, Dana reached for it.
She had no idea how she did it; her only thought was to sort out the grotesque energy that was so clearly tormenting him.
At her touch, the white aura began to move, as if captured by her will.
Dana gently untangled the twisted knots, pulling some of the energy out of his body.
Doha flinched with every touch, but she was too focused on combing through the chaos to notice.
Only after the volatile energy had settled did she realize what she had done.
She flinched.
‘I hugged him.’
It was the very first warning she had received after coming to stay by his side: ‘Do not touch Doha.’
In all that time, she had done nothing more than hold his hand—no, she ‘couldn’t’.
How could she have forgotten that warning so completely?
As she hastily tried to pull away, Doha seized her hand.
“Doha?”
“You…”
Astonishment bloomed on his face, mingled with confusion.
“What did you just do?” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
His hazel eyes were magnetic, pulling her in.
His composure, so unlike him, was shattered, and a tremor ran through her hand as she wondered if she’d made a terrible mistake.
“I’m sorry.
Did it hurt?”
As Dana tried to retreat, a sharp pain made her cry out.
Doha was gripping her so tightly that the veins stood out on his hand.
“Don’t go.”
She froze, her body refusing to move.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“But—”
“Dana Lee.”
His tone was firm, and her body went rigid.
As she stared at him, uncomprehending, a captivating smile spread across his lips.
“Listen to me.”
“…Okay.”
Dana had vowed to live for him, and Doha, in turn, demanded her complete obedience.
Though they might outwardly act like a close brother and sister, in moments like this, she was entirely at his mercy.
“Hug me.”
“What?”
“I said, hug me.”
She swallowed hard.
Suppressing the frantic beating of her heart, Dana wrapped her arms around him as she had moments before, still feeling dazed.
When unstable, Doha found physical contact unbearable.
Even if it was an order, was this really all right?
His hand closed around her wrist, forcefully wrapping her arm around his neck.
She was flustered, her heart pounding against her ribs.
With their chests pressed together, it felt as though their heartbeats were resonating, becoming one.
Like a young animal seeking a safe harbor, he rested his forehead on her shoulder and nuzzled against her.
Dana froze, so startled she couldn’t move a muscle.
They remained that way for what felt like an eternity; at least an hour must have passed.
Doha lifted his head.
Just as she thought it was over and began to pull away, their eyes met.
‘Huh?’
His dilated, unfocused pupils had returned to normal.
As she leaned in for a better look, he smiled—a smile filled with the joy of someone who had found a long-lost treasure.
She was about to smile back when her eyes widened.
Doha pressed his cold lips to the soft nape of her neck and inhaled deeply.
The cool breath sent a shiver through her, making the fine hairs on her body stand on end.
He pulled away for a moment.
As if released from a spell, Dana parted her lips in a daze.
“Doha, why all of a sudden…”
Before she could finish, he pulled her back into his arms, his lips returning to her nape.
Like leaving the first footprints on an untouched field of snow, his mouth traced the line from her neck to her shoulder.
He pressed so hard it felt as if the very lines of his lips would be worn smooth against her skin.
The sensation was ticklish, and Dana squirmed.
‘Why is he acting like this?’
She trusted him, so she remained still, assuming he had his reasons.
But when his soft tongue darted out to lick her skin, she jumped in surprise.
Doha wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
He held her so tightly, as if refusing to let go of even an inch, that she had no choice but to helplessly offer him her neck.
She’d never been so intimate with anyone, and the proximity sent a dizzying heat rushing to her head.
And that wasn’t all.
A ticklish sensation, like ants crawling deep in her belly, spread through her, and her heart hammered against her ribs.
As her body gave a faint shiver, Doha’s eyes fluttered open.
“Have you ever kissed?”
“Of course not…”
He let out a low laugh.
The next moment, her legs went weak.
“You have to love me.”
Doha pulled his lips away and whispered.
The seductive quality in his silky voice made the fine hairs on her earlobes stand on end.
She was struck by a sudden realization.
He was far more of an adult than she was.
“It’s an order,” he said, nipping her earlobe.
Dana nodded.
It was a romantic joke, so uncharacteristic of him.
She truly believed it was just a joke, because she didn’t yet know the difference between liking someone and loving them.
“His pupils are back to normal, and his pulse and blood pressure are within a normal range,” the family’s doctor announced, putting away his stethoscope after examining Doha.
“It’s good that he’s stable, but why?
The Hwang’s daughter isn’t even here,” Chairman Lee said, refusing to let the matter rest.
Unlike President Lee and his wife, who were sighing in relief, he remained stern.
At his severe expression, President Lee’s joyful face turned awkward.
Mr.
Joo, who had accompanied them, glanced at Dana standing like a shadow behind Doha.
“It seems she’s a Guide,” he said.
President Lee furrowed his brow, finding it difficult to believe.
“A Guide?
But she’s a Contaminant.”
His gaze shifted to Dana, who swallowed hard.
President Lee had always treated her like vermin that needed to be purged from the family.
If Doha hadn’t looked out for her, she would have been cast out long ago.
Uncharacteristically, Dana didn’t lower her gaze, which made her seem strangely confident.
In truth, she was just reading the room, but that’s how it appeared to President Lee.
Worried that this bothersome Contaminant he’d allowed in his house would use this as leverage, his thick eyebrows shot up.
“Are you certain?”