“…What about Myung-hwon?”

-Myung-hwon went to the department store first. He went alone without a guide. We requested backup but they said it would take a while to get there.

“He went alone? I’m near D Department Store right now. I’ll go.”

-Will you be okay? The backup said they won’t arrive for 40 minutes. Those bastards.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I’ll contact you after I meet up with him.”

Ju-eon quickly got up from his bed as soon as he hung up. With no time to change clothes, he hurriedly put on his shoes and threw on the coat he came in. He looked ridiculous, but there was no time to worry about that.

“What was he thinking, going alone…”

Suddenly, the face of the reporter who had come to his house flashed through his mind.

‘Though I can’t be specific, AGT is planning to occupy a certain department store for revenge…’

The information the reporter had shared as a token of trust. That information had become reality.

“No…”

Ju-eon muttered with a pale face.

AGT’s targets were always the agency. But that didn’t mean there weren’t civilian casualties.

When Ju-eon arrived, one side of the department store had been blown away. Ambulances kept coming and going with their sirens blaring.

People’s screams, cries, and shouts mixed together like a scene from hell.

“Excuse me, coming through.”

Ju-eon pushed through the crowd. The sudden department store occupation in the middle of the city had prevented proper crowd control.

Several people appeared to be injured by building debris from the explosion. There were also groups of people gathered around large pieces of debris.

“Ahhh! There’s someone trapped under there!”

“Someone’s trapped under the wall. Please, someone help quickly!”

It reminded him of when he helplessly watched the hospital ward. Unlike then, people were helping each other now. Soon he saw them lifting the debris and rescuing someone whose leg had been crushed underneath.

The security guard who had stopped him while he was running away. People who voluntarily helped those injured by flying building debris instead of running away.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared. The hospital explosion was something he got caught up in, but now he was voluntarily jumping into the storm. It was completely different.

Ju-eon didn’t stop walking. He looked around the building and approached the side with the fewest personnel. He never wanted to feel that helplessness again.

This would be the least visible spot when looking out from inside the department store.

“You can’t go inside.”

A police officer controlling the crowd stopped Ju-eon. Others must have realized this spot looked easiest too, as it seemed there had been several attempts to enter through here.

“The agency sent a support request.”

“I’ll need to check your ID.”

The officer, suspicious of him coming alone, scrutinized Ju-eon up and down before letting him through after checking the ID he showed on his phone.

Before Ju-eon went in, the officer asked in an urgent voice. It was quite different from earlier, more cautious.

“Will there be additional support from the agency…?”

There seemed to be some confusion, as information about the additional support request hadn’t reached this side yet.

“Support was requested and they’ll be here soon, but it’ll take some time.”

The officer, who had been very anxious about there being only two people sent from the agency, let out a relieved sigh at Ju-eon’s words.

Explosions and gunshot sounds rang out one after another, suggesting a battle inside. The sounds weren’t coming from nearby.

Stepping over building debris to enter, the interior was hazy with dust from the explosion due to lack of ventilation.

The stairs right in front were half destroyed, making it impossible to move that way. Ju-eon took a deep breath and hid behind a pillar, trying to recall the layout of D Department Store.

The emergency stairs would be too obvious a route for AGT to leave alone, and the regular stairs were unusable.

‘Escalators.’

Ju-eon remembered the escalators at both ends of the building and started moving.

When a guide moves alone without an esper, safety takes priority over speed. Ju-eon moved bit by bit, hiding his body behind building debris.

Fortunately, he made it to the second floor without encountering anyone on the first floor.

“F*ck. Why is the boss so obsessed with that bastard?”

“Don’t know. Boss isn’t in their right mind anyway.”

“True.”

At the sudden voices, Ju-eon stopped and hid behind a pillar. Only AGT members could be walking around so casually here right now.

‘Who’s “that bastard”?’

Thanks to hiding before they spotted him, the two passed by the pillar without noticing anything.

“Not only is the boss not in their right mind, suddenly making and executing such a reckless plan, but we’re not in our right minds for following it either.”

Just as he was about to let out a relieved sigh after the two passed by laughing, another voice joined in.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

Ju-eon could feel how tense the two who had been laughing became. The newly appeared person scolded them in a cold voice.

“Why do reconnaissance if you’re going to laugh without checking who might be listening?”

“What?”

“Are your eyes just for decoration?”

Flinch. Ju-eon’s body trembled. There were clearly only two people nearby. Who was this person who suddenly appeared? He could only guess they must be someone high up in AGT.

Had he been discovered already? No, not yet. The fact that they weren’t attacking immediately suggested it might be a bluff.

‘I haven’t even found Myung-hwon yet.’

His heart pounded. He had nothing that could be used as a weapon. Sweat soaked his palms. His heart felt like it would jump out of his mouth. Ju-eon held his heart and held his breath to minimize any signs of his presence.

Step.

Step.

The footsteps grew closer.

Just as he was clenching his fists, thinking he should at least put up some resistance rather than be caught helplessly, an arm reached out from behind to cover his mouth, and instantly pushed his body into a gap between the debris.

“Mmph!”

“Shh.”

“Mph?”

A hot body enveloped Ju-eon. He tried to struggle with his eyes wide open, but soon relaxed when he met the other’s gaze.

It was Myung-hwon.

‘He’s not in good shape.’

Myung-hwon’s eyes were red, perhaps from overheating after using too much power. His forehead was bleeding quite a bit, likely cut during fighting. Ju-eon grabbed his sleeve with his fingers and pressed it to Myung-hwon’s forehead. The sleeve was instantly soaked with blood.

“I’m sure they were here…”

The clicking of a tongue could be heard as if right next to them, suggesting they were definitely aware of this area.

“Doesn’t seem like anyone’s here.”

“Boss. You seem badly injured, perhaps we should retreat-“

“The vice commander opposed this and didn’t come.”

The two reconnaissance members suggested retreat in stiff voices. It was easy to guess this had been a divisive issue within AGT.

‘Boss?’

The identity of AGT’s leader had never been clearly revealed. There were only assumptions that they were someone in their early to mid-40s who was skilled at handling people. But the voice of the person called boss was surprisingly youthful, completely different from expectations.

“They couldn’t have gone far.”

“What?”

“There’s fresh blood drops here.”

“Ah…”

“The blood is too scattered to tell which way they went, but they couldn’t have gone far.”

“Oh! Now that you mention the blood…!”

Focused entirely on what was happening outside, he noticed too late. Myung-hwon’s breath against his neck was becoming dangerously hot. Glancing back, he saw Myung-hwon breathing heavily with a pained expression.

“What about the people?”

“We’ve gathered them in one place. But boss, are you alright?”

“Fighting with siblings is natural as you grow up.”

“If you say… fighting… goes that far…”

The reconnaissance member laughed awkwardly while sweating.

Being so close, normal guiding would surely give them away. Ju-eon grabbed Myung-hwon’s hand. A wave of hot energy surged threateningly toward Ju-eon.

Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t found them as the area grew quiet. Ju-eon seized this chance to grip Myung-hwon’s hand tightly. Myung-hwon’s condition looked seriously bad. If he had known it would be like this, he should have brought suppressants.

‘Come to think of it, I left the underground lab recklessly too.’

Due to security, he couldn’t leave alone and had to force his way out with another researcher. He’d have to apologize later. For now, getting out of here safely was the priority.

Myung-hwon hugged Ju-eon with all his strength. The more physical contact, the more effective the guiding becomes. When bodily fluids mix, the effect doubles. Even knowing this was just hugging because they couldn’t do anything more intimate right now, his heart raced uncontrollably. Just as he felt Myung-hwon’s embrace warming him-

“Myung-hwon.”

A voice reached his ears. He had never known his name being called affectionately could sound so chilling. Myung-hwon acted quickly. While hugging Ju-eon’s back, he aimed his gun at the person behind them.

Boom boom boom boom.

Though the attack range was small, the building seemed to shake from its destructive power.

“…Ugh.”

Ju-eon, who had been held against Myung-hwon’s chest, quickly turned his head to look around. He wondered if they had taken down AGT’s leader. The distance had been that close, and the attack was instantaneous.