“Did you come to save us? Why did monsters suddenly appear here? Please help us quickly.”

“Get out of the way! My child is over there!”

“How could they let this happen in the middle of the city? What is the government doing? What a waste of taxes!”

The eyes of people trying to go down to the subway station all fell on Myung-hwon. People showed various reactions, but they all shared one common thought.

They believed he would naturally resolve this chaos.

Buwoong-

Whoosh!

The insect-type monster at the front descended vertically. As if that was a signal, other monsters followed and began attacking people all at once. The area with the most severe damage was the subway stairs where people could barely move due to overcrowding.

“Aaargh!”

Even just a slight scratch made blood shoot up like a fountain. Both injured and uninjured people screamed in terror.

Whooosh, bang!

That’s when it happened. Just as people thought the monsters had caught fire, their bodies exploded all at once. Being somewhat far from Myung-hwon, people momentarily couldn’t grasp the situation and looked around.

“…Huh?”

Instead of explaining the situation, Myung-hwon manifested his ability again. The sky looked like it was burning.

Whooosh, bang!

Myung-hwon began mercilessly slaughtering the monsters. He had no time. But he couldn’t leave these people behind either.

Bang bang bang bang!

Screech…

Bang, bang!

Like fireworks, the monsters in the sky burst into flames and turned to ashes.

There had been public demonstrations of clearing dungeon interiors before. But very few ordinary people had actually seen an esper’s abilities.

Esper abilities were legally restricted from being used in places with civilians, and dungeons were off-limits to ordinary people. People were left speechless at these supernatural powers beyond human capability.

Most monsters disappeared in an instant without even getting to attack. Myung-hwon briefly paused his attacks to adjust his too-rapid pace. As silence filled the air, loud sirens began to wail.

Weeeeee.

—This is an announcement from the Special Abilities Agency. Please follow instructions.

An announcement was heard telling people to evacuate according to instructions as other espers had arrived. Myung-hwon roughly wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. His job was done now.

“Ha…”

But when Myung-hwon turned his gaze, Ju-eon was already gone.

“Myung-hwon!”

From far away, Kang No-hun, who had been happily saying he would spend a lazy day with family today, came running.

“The damage?”

“There are some injuries but no casualties.”

“Ha… thank goodness. Good work, Myung-hwon. How were you right here?”

No-hun ran his hand roughly through his hair and sighed in relief. Fierce criticism of the government’s complacent response was inevitable. Should they be grateful there were at least no deaths?

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Yeah, I need to handle the cleanup. Go ahead.”

“Okay.”

Not only failing to catch AGT, but now causing injuries from a dungeon break. Though those involved knew it was unavoidable, the media wouldn’t be so understanding.

It was clear there would be a flood of news comparing Korea’s Special Abilities Agency with American and European systems, criticizing it mercilessly.

“Ji-woo and Ho-yun are being called in for emergency too, want to wait a bit?”

“Do you have emergency medicine?”

“I do, but wouldn’t it be better to wait and get guided?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look good right now.”

His fingertips trembled from overusing his ability. His senses had become razor-sharp.

“I’m fine.”

In the end, No-hun had no choice but to hand over the emergency medicine. Myung-hwon chewed and swallowed the suppressant without water.

His whole body was drenched in sweat. His body was filled with ecstasy. Every cell in his body panted with desire for Ju-eon. Myung-hwon ran in the direction Ju-eon had disappeared, but couldn’t find him by the time he reached the subway station. Standing dejectedly in front of the station, Myung-hwon pictured Ju-eon’s back that had been just out of reach.

Last night wasn’t a dream or illusion. He had so many questions – why he appeared and disappeared, if he was okay now, why he didn’t recognize him.

“For now… this is enough.”

This was enough for now. Myung-hwon clenched one hand into a fist.

It felt like the world was trying to prevent them from meeting. If the world really was interfering between them. Myung-hwon vowed he would gladly destroy that world.

**

When Ju-eon woke up, he thought he would regret it. But stealing glances at the profile barely visible as he lay face down, Ju-eon instinctively knew he would have made the same choice even if they had met during the day.

‘I can’t believe I did that.’

But surprisingly, he felt no regret at all. Ju-eon picked up the clothes scattered on the floor like shed skin.

The Ju-eon who had lost his memories had extremely limited relationships, and since he had a lover from the moment he woke up, he had never considered this kind of relationship.

When he bent down, his waist and embarrassing areas ached dully, making him blush. Ju-eon closed the bedroom door and alternately looked at the living room and kitchen.

‘Why is the apartment layout familiar?’

Everything was really strange. Nothing about his behavior was like himself. Though he thought he should quietly leave now, instead of leaving, Ju-eon opened the refrigerator.

“There’s nothing…”

The fridge was full of only water bottles, without even a single egg – what did he eat to live? The only edible thing was an herbal tea bag in the drawer above the sink.

‘I wonder if he’d dislike eating together.’

Just as Ju-eon put water in the electric kettle, he felt a presence behind him.

“I’m sorry for wandering around as I pleased…”

“Please leave now.”

The cold dismissal delivered while irritably rubbing his face hit him like a bucket of cold water, instantly sobering him up.

“Alright.”

He was embarrassed. Realizing how absurd his fantasies had been, his face burned hot.

What was I thinking?

This person had slept with him because he mistook him for someone else. Had he secretly thought that if he greeted him properly when sober, the man would suddenly fall for him?

‘What good would eating together do.’

Ju-eon had Yun-jae. The bubble surrounding Ju-eon burst, and reality hit his skin coldly.

Ju-eon fled the house like he was escaping.

He hadn’t noticed while inside, but walking quickly outside, he realized last night’s aftermath was bigger than expected.

“Ugh.”

His waist ached with each step. Given how relentlessly he had been driven, it was natural in a way.

Those fingers that moved unhesitatingly as if knowing exactly where he felt things most intensely. The thick drops of sweat that fell on his body with each movement. Those lips that endlessly traced his body. Himself panting beneath it all.

“Ngh.”

He had planned to talk about calling similar names when they woke up. He briefly wondered if he might be connected to his past self, but that was impossible. His original name had been reported deceased 4 years ago.

‘You lost your family early and were always alone. That’s why you decided to participate in the clinical trial.’

According to Yun-jae, there wasn’t a single person who would wait 4 years for him.

Ju-eon shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts and hurried his steps. Glancing at the phone he had stuffed in his pocket, there were several missed calls.

Kang Yun-jae

39 missed calls.

Song Gu-young

3 missed calls.

Looking at the chat app, it already showed 99+ notifications. Too afraid to check, he didn’t look at the messages.

Glancing at the time, it was rush hour. Yun-jae would still be in the same place. He decided he needed to get back before Yun-jae.

Buwoong!

The sound of rapidly vibrating wings filled the entire sky. Only when people started screaming in panic did Ju-eon, lost in thought, belatedly notice the changes around him.

People moved faster than Ju-eon could react.

“Aaah! Get out of the way!”

“Stop pushing!”

Thud. People pushed past Ju-eon, making him stagger.

-Ju-eon!

Ju-eon turned toward the direction everyone was heading. He thought someone had called his name.

“Huh…?”

Before finding who called him, what caught Ju-eon’s attention was the sight of monsters in the sky instantly turning to ash. Each time light burst with intense heat, the monsters helplessly lost their form without even time to scream.

As if the screaming chaos had been a lie, everyone’s attention focused in one direction. Though some still bustled about trying to escape, most people watched the monsters disappearing like miracles.

“Aaah!”

When monsters that had descended lower burst, brief screams rang out, but only momentarily. Soon one name began circulating among people’s lips.

“They say it’s Yeo Myung-hwon catching the monsters now.”

“Where is Yeo Myung-hwon?”

“Yeo Myung-hwon?”

“He’s over there!”

Thump.

Though it was clearly a name he was hearing for the first time, his heart sank as if it had been hit by an immense shock. He was confused whether he was surprised by the name spreading around him, or by the fact that the name’s owner was right nearby. And completely unrelated, the face of the man he had spent the night with came to mind. It was strange.

‘I don’t even know that person’s name…’

Ju-eon clutched his heart as he exhaled his constricted breath.