By Zephyria 
“……!””
Every time Jae-ha spoke, his breath landed on my lips, giving me goosebumps.
I couldn’t stay still as I was reminded of the tingling, chilling moments during Guiding, which I had forgotten since waking up.
“L, let go of me!”
I pushed Jae-ha away with all my strength, and he readily stepped back.
“You’re a Guide, yet you’re shy around Espers?”
“…It’s none of your business. And don’t you know that unwanted physical contact from an Esper is sexual harassment?”
I shouted, and Jae-ha chuckled.
“It’s been so long since I wandered around like a lost dog. I’ve lost my self-control. It’s been a while since I last received Guiding.”
Lost self-control, my ass.
‘You might as well say the sun will rise in the west tomorrow?’
The Hyeon Jae-ha I knew wasn’t some sleazy Esper who hit on Guides other than his partner.
Although some comrades fought harder thanks to Jae-ha’s persuasion, there were also guys who gave up everything and lived promiscuously under the guise of Guiding.
‘Hyeon Jae-ha was the one who educated those guys who seemed to have their brains in their lower bodies and turned them into new people.’
It was just ridiculous that he himself was clumsily imitating those libertine bastards.
I pushed away Jae-ha, who was reaching for me, and coldly retorted.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Why?”
“Aren’t you still unable to forget the dead Guide, An Ga-hyeon, and stuck here like a ghost, guarding the vault?”
Jae-ha flinched at my words. Pain filled his blue pupils.
“…Don’t speak carelessly.”
Seeing the grief and pain of losing someone precious intertwined, my heart ached.
‘You foolish bastard.’
Don’t stay chained here like a dog.
Even if Bonding was severed, even if you ended up wearing someone else’s body…
Hyeon Jae-ha is still my one and only partner.
I slung the bag containing the relics over my shoulder and said, preparing to leave.
“Don’t spout nonsense when you don’t even intend to touch me. Don’t bother innocent people with your bullshit while thinking about your dead partner.”
“…….”
“Now, find your own happiness. Live freely, doing whatever you want, living a comfortable life. Don’t dress in black like some secret society member and scare people. You didn’t hesitate to do things that could kill people earlier, so don’t do bad things either.”
An Ga-hyeon would have a hard time seeing you like that.
It was An Ga-hyeon’s sincere feelings, pouring out through Yeon Yu-jin’s mouth.
“…….”
“Well, I’m leaving.”
Leaving Jae-ha, who couldn’t say anything, I slipped outside.
I didn’t have any more time, I had to return quickly.
But tears kept welling up.
“Damn it.”
Annoying.
‘If I risked my life to save you, you should have at least been living comfortably and happily.’
Seeing Jae-ha clinging to the past like a shadow made me feel depressed.
An S-Class Esper, why does he have to live without seeing the light like that?
[ …Hey. Are you okay? ]
“No, I’m not okay.”
Was it wrong of me to save Jae-ha back then?
Should I have struggled to survive and faced the peaceful era with Jae-ha?
Even though I knew it was impossible because Potato told me that someone was plotting to kill me…
Touching the empty trace of Bonding made me sad.
Hyeon Jae-ha stood still for a long time among the piles of vaults where the relics of Ability Users were stored.
“Ga-hyeon wouldn’t have wanted to see me like this…”
Hyeon Jae-ha, repeating those words, slumped to the floor.
“I know, Ga-hyeon. But… I can’t bear it if I don’t avenge you.”
I can’t digest the pain of being left alone.
Tears dripped from Hyeon Jae-ha’s blue, jewel-like eyes.
It had been 20 years since An Ga-hyeon died.
Hyeon Jae-ha went berserk due to the death of his partner, and perhaps thanks to that, he achieved Second Awakening.
When he removed his mask, white hair like silken threads was revealed.
Hair and eye color that had completely changed after Second Awakening.
Every time he looked in the mirror, it felt like it was saying this to him.
‘You must not forget Ga-hyeon’s death!’
He had no intention of forgetting.
Since learning that Ga-hyeon didn’t simply die trying to shield him from the boss monster’s attack, Hyeon Jae-ha’s mind had been constantly bound to An Ga-hyeon.
Even though Bonding was severed, Hyeon Jae-ha still thought that his leash was still held in An Ga-hyeon’s hand.
“I miss you, Ga-hyeon…”
Unlike an Esper with great power, Hyeon Jae-ha crouched down and swallowed his sobs.
“How wonderful would it be if you were alive and came here.”
Hyeon Jae-ha, who was in pain, put his mask back on and stood up.
His eyes, with burst blood vessels, were stained red.
Hyeon Jae-ha stroked the empty vault that Yeon Yu-jin had swept clean with his palm and muttered.
“This was the only place where Ga-hyeon’s traces remained… Now I can’t even come here anymore.”
He couldn’t stay long in this underground area where the relics of Ability Users were gathered.
Hyeon Jae-ha was an Esper who had deserted after the rampage 20 years ago.
This underground area, where almost all the owners of the vaults were dead, was originally managed by the government.
The government, knowing that Hyeon Jae-ha had a special affection for his dead partner, An Ga-hyeon, had taken measures to ensure that the center would be contacted as soon as the vault was emptied.
Hyeon Jae-ha, who had failed to take An Ga-hyeon’s belongings before, knew this well.
‘The center’s people will be here soon.’
He had to get out of here safely before that.
Even to avenge An Ga-hyeon, Hyeon Jae-ha couldn’t be caught yet.
Using a stealth artifact, Hyeon Jae-ha melted into the air and quietly left the underground area.
He, who could utilize his unique ability, telekinesis, to the maximum, could fly back to his hideout without transportation.
When he was quite far from the cafe where the vault was located, he felt many Ability Users flocking there.
‘I’m one step late again.’
He regretted not seeing the faces of the government officials who would be furious at seeing the empty vault.
Now that the reason for Hyeon Jae-ha to appear there had disappeared, they would rack their brains trying to find Hyeon Jae-ha’s traces elsewhere.
Flying leisurely through the sky, Hyeon Jae-ha hardened his expression.
The Dungeon Break that killed An Ga-hyeon was unnatural.
The sudden last order. The monsters boasting the highest level of difficulty that poured out as if they were running wild.
After the rampage was over, Hyeon Jae-ha entered the government’s research facility and rummaged through all the reports, finding a secret document that was about to be incinerated.
[Regarding the method of transplanting the abilities of Espers/Guides to others]
An Ga-hyeon was chosen as the test subject, and the name of the devilish bastard who would benefit from it was burned away.
‘An Ga-hyeon was murdered by someone.’
By someone who coveted Ga-hyeon’s ability.
After learning this fact, Hyeon Jae-ha never thought of returning to the government.
He gathered his surviving comrades and created a secretly operating Ability User corps.
Only to find the culprit who killed An Ga-hyeon.
‘But I haven’t found the culprit yet.’
Despite pouring in as much as 20 years, it was difficult to identify the veiled culprit.
As a result, Hyeon Jae-ha and his comrades speculated.
‘Wasn’t the one who killed Guide An Ga-hyeon a high-ranking official among the government personnel?’
Otherwise, it would be so difficult to grasp the clues.
Hyeon Jae-ha agreed with this.
So he was planning a terror attack targeting the government…
‘That Guide resembled Ga-hyeon.’
He met a Guide in the underground area where he went to commemorate An Ga-hyeon and monitor the vault.
‘Was his name Yeon Yu-jin?’
Although he didn’t look like An Ga-hyeon, there were many aspects of his speech and temper that reminded him of him.
That’s why Hyeon Jae-ha was lenient with Yeon Yu-jin.
‘Yeon Yu-jin’s mother knowing Ga-hyeon is an obvious lie, but…’
The reason he turned a blind eye to the excuse that came out of his babbling mouth was because of that.
Because he reminded him of An Ga-hyeon.
Hyeon Jae-ha was the only partner who knew everything about An Ga-hyeon.
An Ga-hyeon had already lost all his family and relatives due to the Dungeon.
The neighborhood he lived in had also disappeared without a trace. Even if there were people he interacted with when he was young, they would all be dead.
An Ga-hyeon had never sent letters to the outside. He clearly remembered An Ga-hyeon saying self-deprecatingly that there was no one to send such things to.
‘But that Guide, Yeon Yu-jin, knew about An Ga-hyeon quite accurately.’
How?
The question started from there.
How could a fledgling Guide who seemed to have just become an adult know in detail about An Ga-hyeon, who died 20 years ago?
The government had thoroughly erased the records about him, so there was nothing left.
The only ones who remembered An Ga-hyeon were his comrades, the anti-government faction.
‘But he knew.’
Hyeon Jae-ha’s face turned fierce.
There was only one possible explanation.
In the case that Yeon Yu-jin was bait sent by the government.
Bait laid out to catch Hyeon Jae-ha and the anti-government Ability Users.
Even knowing this was a trap… Hyeon Jae-ha couldn’t refuse this bait.
‘I have to find out who killed Ga-hyeon.’
That’s why Hyeon Jae-ha is still alive and prolonging his life.
Even though 20 years had passed, his young face, which hadn’t aged at all since Second Awakening, was filled with intense longing.
‘Ga-hyeon, this time I will find the enemy who killed you and tear them apart, and then I will follow you to death.’