“Where is this?” Seunghyun demanded.
“Huh?
You’re going there now?
You can’t go in during a guiding session.
Wait until it’s over…”
‘That bastard is guiding Cha Yeonsu right now?’
An inexplicable urgency surged through him.
Unable to hold back, Seunghyun slammed his fist on the desk.
‘Bang!’ Injeong flinched at the loud noise and Seunghyun’s aura, retreating a little further.
It was deeply unsettling to see the normally composed Seunghyun lose his cool and glare at her like this.
Dumbfounded, Injeong stared up at him, not even thinking to push her fallen glasses back up her nose.
“Where is she?”
From Seunghyun’s violent reaction, Injeong knew something was very wrong.
But no matter how she thought it over, nothing seemed out of place, so she could only look on in confusion.
“Hey, Tae Seunghyun.
Why are you…”
Instead of waiting for a reply, Seunghyun grabbed the monitor as if to break it and scanned the screen.
It showed the male Guide drawing a curtain around Yeonsu’s bed.
As the two were hidden from view, a blue light flickered in Seunghyun’s eyes as he stared at the monitor as if to devour it.
‘Recovery Room 3’
The moment he saw the room number, Seunghyun stormed out of Injeong’s office.
“Hey!
Tae Seunghyun!
You can’t go in there!”
Injeong’s shout quickly faded behind him.
Seunghyun’s presence was so menacing that people in the hallway moved out of his way on their own.
“Fuck…”
He didn’t know what was driving him there.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to do when he arrived.
All he knew was that he had to get to Cha Yeonsu.
The last image of her, seen through the gap in the curtain, played over and over in his mind.
Her familiar golden eyes had been shining through her heavy-lidded gaze.
“That stupid woman.”
The Ability Center was designed with multiple safety measures to control unpredictable actions.
There was no way she could escape so easily.
Which meant she had done something foolish.
And that made him furious.
He was incensed that she had followed him so meekly, only to be plotting her escape.
He was furious at those damn golden eyes he had seen on the screen.
She would probably whine to the Guide, just as she had to him, begging him to get rid of the backlash.
The thoughts kept piling on, fanning the flames of his anger.
Seunghyun, who had been walking at a near run toward the recovery rooms, broke into a full sprint.
He didn’t have the presence of mind to question why he was running.
He just had to see her.
“Ah, ugh… What is this?”
When Seunghyun reached Recovery Room 3 and opened the door, a strange sound came from behind the thick curtain.
It was a man’s groan, not Yeonsu’s.
Hearing it in person felt even more fucked up.
Seized by a rage that felt like his blood was turning to ice, Seunghyun strode forward and ripped the curtain open.
With the force of his pull, the curtain tore with a rip and swayed raggedly.
He was stunned by the sight.
Yeonsu was slumped on the bed, one arm handcuffed to the wall.
She must have struggled violently; her hair was a mess, and the lower tie of her gown was completely undone, revealing her bare skin.
Next to the bed, the Guide was bent forward, clutching her wrist.
At the sight, the eerie blue light in Seunghyun’s eyes deepened.
“H-hey… Let go of this, ugh!”
Seunghyun walked closer.
The man was in too much pain to notice his approach.
“Ugh, ahhh…!”
The man’s struggles grew more violent.
He tried to use his other hand to pry his own off Yeonsu’s arm, but it was stuck as if glued on.
The room was filled with his agonized screams.
Seunghyun grabbed the wrist of the hand holding Yeonsu.
“Let go.”
“I’m trying to… Wh-why is this… Aaargh!”
The man didn’t have time to be surprised by Seunghyun’s sudden appearance.
He just looked at him desperately, as if begging for help.
From the point of contact with Yeonsu, a searing sensation, like being burned, was spreading throughout his body.
The Guide, sensing instinctual danger, had tried to pull away, but Yeonsu gave him no opening, instead pushing the backlash from her body into him.
An ability user initiating guiding without the Guide’s consent was reverse guiding.
He had Guided numerous ability users and had never encountered one he couldn’t control.
He had heard that, in theory, it could happen if an ability user’s power level exceeded a Guide’s capacity, but this was the first time he had actually experienced it.
The man was terrified not only by the physical pain but also by the unrefined backlash relentlessly pouring into him.
“…Let go,” Seunghyun said once more.
“Ugh, it’s not me, it’s this woman, ugh!”
Just then, Seunghyun tightened his grip on the man’s wrist.
As if it had never been stuck, the man’s hand came away from Yeonsu’s with surprising ease.
Standing by the bed, Seunghyun held the man’s hand and looked down at Yeonsu.
Her eyes were closed.
Her cheeks were flushed as if she had a fever.
In contrast to the body that was greedily exploiting the Guide’s power, her gently closed eyes and reddened lips were a potent sight.
“Ms.
Cha Yeonsu.”
As if in response, she slowly lifted her eyelids.
She spotted Seunghyun and smiled faintly, her eyes unfocused.
It was a fluttering, captivating smile that fed the fire of his impulse.
“L-let go, De-detective Tae Seunghyun!”
Seunghyun’s grip on the man’s wrist tightened.
The man’s insides were a mess from the reverse guiding, and blood trickled from his mouth and nose.
He looked like he would collapse at any moment, but Seunghyun held him so tightly he remained standing in an awkward crouch.
But Seunghyun paid him no mind.
His gaze, both angry and full of longing, was focused entirely on Yeonsu’s small frame.
The strange standoff was broken by Yeonsu’s small movement.
She lifted her uncuffed arm toward Seunghyun.
Noticing the gesture, he let go of the man, who let out a small groan and collapsed to the floor.
Clutching his trembling hand, he scrambled away from the two.
In a state of panic, he continued to struggle even after his back hit the wall.
It was an instinctual fear of an ability user he, a Guide, could not control.
Oblivious to his surroundings, Seunghyun simply stared into Yeonsu’s eyes.
He grabbed her wrist in the exact same spot the other man had held.
At that, the blue light that had been surging like waves in his eyes filled them completely.
He was thrilled at the feeling of finally being in the right place.
From their point of contact, an electrifying sensation, like two bodies of water with vastly different temperatures mixing in an instant, shot down his spine.
Unable to bear it, Seunghyun pulled her arm.
Her body followed without resistance.
He closed the distance and pressed his lips deeply against hers, which held a strange sensuality.
Then, between their lips, he asked, “…Is this what you were trying to do?”
‘With that Guide?’ As he asked reproachfully, her lips curved into a smile.
That smile, as if she knew everything, made him despair.
That day, she had seemed so desperate that he thought he was the only one.
But it wasn’t that.
She had simply pulled in whoever was nearby who could resolve her backlash.
He was furious with himself for reacting so fervently.
Losing his senses and rushing here—it was all so unlike him.
“So anyone will do, as long as they get rid of the backlash.”
But contrary to his thoughts, he had no intention of letting her go, thrusting his tongue deeper.
He pulled her slender waist onto his lap, her full weight pressing against him.
The soft peaks of her breasts, through the thin gown, pressed against his firm chest, rubbing and hardening.
The small contact sent waves of arousal through him, so intense it was chilling.
“Ah, ngh…”
“You, Ms.
Cha Yeonsu, you really are…”
Further denial was meaningless.
He decided to willingly accept this impulse.
As he did, he felt an unknown energy slowly stirring within him, as if a lock had been released.
He could hear multiple urgent footsteps approaching from a distance, but he couldn’t stop.