“Yeo Myung-hwon…?”

Every time he whispered the name, it felt like it sweetly rolled off his tongue. It was strange. Though it was clearly a name he’d never heard before….

‘Ju-eon.’

Yet he couldn’t understand why the face of the man he’d spent the night with kept flashing through his mind.

‘He seemed like a famous esper.’

There’s no way such a person would have been standing drunk on the street. To imagine that he might have followed him out and stopped to prevent the dungeon break, causing him to lose track of himself – isn’t that the kind of thinking a preschooler would do? The delusion that the world revolves around oneself. Isn’t it problematic to think like that at thirty? Too much self-consciousness can be a disease.

He wasn’t sure why such thoughts suddenly occurred to him. If someone who could read minds were to read his thoughts, it would be embarrassing – such an absurd thought made Ju-eon shake his head vigorously, trying to shake off the unconsciously emerging thoughts.

“What about Yeo Myung-hwon?”

“When I was in District 1, I got caught up in a dungeon break. They called out that esper’s name then… do you know him?”

Ju-eon asked Gu-young without expecting him to know. It wasn’t a question meant to be asked, but rather one that followed the spontaneously mentioned name.

“Yeo Myung-hwon?”

With a screech, Gu-young unconsciously jumped up from his seat and questioned Ju-eon accusingly. It was a rare display of excitement from someone who usually never lost his composure.

“…Huh? Yeah.”

Surprised by the unexpectedly intense response, Ju-eon spat out the straw he had been chewing on and nodded.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

When Ju-eon asked in confusion at Gu-young’s uncharacteristically intense reaction, Gu-young seemed embarrassed by his excessive response and sat down while scratching the back of his neck.

“You’re like someone who’s been living in the mountains.”

At Gu-young’s words, Ju-eon explained defensively.

“Since Yun-jae doesn’t like me using my phone at home, I naturally stopped using it as I tried to restrain myself.”

“What do you do for fun?”

A strange silence fell between the two. It might not exist. It’s not necessarily an essential home appliance after all. But this wasn’t simply about a TV, the problem was that his partner’s control was too extreme.

Though Ju-eon wasn’t the type to share all his worries in detail, when piecing together just a few facts, it didn’t seem like a normal relationship.

He recalled the face of the man who had come to the café with bloodshot eyes, looking ready to destroy the place. Those fierce eyes that contrasted with his neat appearance. He seemed like someone desperate to completely isolate Ju-eon.

“Is your partner… really okay?”

“…He’s never told me not to do anything.”

Ju-eon was living in a house under Yun-jae’s name. He had merely been considerate. But even to Ju-eon’s words, Gu-young added one more thing.

“Still, hyung….”

Gu-young firmly believed that meddling in others’ relationships only invited criticism. Nevertheless, Gu-young thought that Ju-eon needed someone to tell him that their relationship was far from what normal couples looked like from the outside.

After all, when you’re too close to the picture of a relationship, it’s often hard to notice that the overall picture is strange. Gu-young spoke with a worried voice, as if telling Ju-eon to take a step back and look.

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

Ju-eon smiled bitterly. To think he was causing concern even to Gu-young, who was much younger than him. He was grateful for the consideration, but also embarrassed.

Because he had betrayed Yun-jae.

“…Is this Yeo Myung-hwon person someone who comes up when you search?”

It was an obvious avoidance. A signal that he didn’t want to continue this conversation any further. Any more interference would just be meddling unless requested by the other party. Gu-young started typing search terms into his phone as if ready to explain while taking a long sip of his drink.

“He’s someone who appears a lot in the news.”

He said it was a name that anyone with even a slight interest in espers would know.

“Really?”

He suddenly realized how indifferent he had been to world affairs while just trying to get by.

“The teams with ability users were treated as confidential departments and had poor working conditions, but he brought that to public attention, and he also raised issues about guides and espers being underpaid compared to their job risks.”

Well, there’s a lot more than that.

Gu-young shrugged his shoulders as if bragging about a close acquaintance. Soon, having found the photo he wanted, he thrust his phone screen toward Ju-eon.

Who would think that someone they spent one night with might be a famous person? He hadn’t even thought to search.

‘I couldn’t even ask his name in the first place.’

After checking the screen, Ju-eon barely managed to swallow the coffee in his mouth.

“…Is this him?”

His voice trembled slightly at the end. Why had he associated a name he’d never heard before with the face of the man he’d spent the night with? The person in the photo wore an expressionless face as if the world bored him.

“Yeah. Have you seen him?”

To Gu-young’s excited voice, Ju-eon responded in a dazed voice.

“…Yeah.”

And why had his far-fetched imagination become reality?

“When did you say you went to District 1?”

“It’s not decided yet, but it should be soon.”

“…How do you get there?”

“Hm? Where?”

“That training center.”

He wanted to see him again. Even if it was just one-sided watching, it didn’t matter. The stopped clock had started moving again.

**

The bar was quiet, having been rented out entirely. Jazz music flowed softly. Kang Yun-jae stood up when he saw Yeo Ji-woong arrive with bodyguards on either side.

“It’s been a while since I’ve greeted you.”

Yeo Ji-woong gestured for him to sit down as he took a seat opposite Yun-jae.

“It’s hard to call busy people here and there. I understand completely.”

At Ji-woong’s gesture, the bartender who had been waiting at a distance began moving busily.

“I’ll help set up the glasses.”

After ice, glasses, and whiskey were placed in front, the bartender, having finished his task, tactfully disappeared toward the kitchen.

“Well. You did well this time.”

“Without the support, I couldn’t have achieved results this quickly.”

At Yun-jae’s matter-of-fact words, Ji-woong seemed greatly satisfied, laughing heartily as he filled Yun-jae’s glass with amber-colored liquor.

“So modest. My son should learn a thing or two from you.”

Yun-jae’s brow furrowed slightly. But soon his expression returned to its usual composure as if nothing had happened.

“Your son is doing well too, isn’t he?”

Though his throat felt parched bringing up that man, Yun-jae didn’t show it. He knew well that this wasn’t a name or situation he could avoid just because he wanted to.

“Well, he’s doing his best.”

After his lover disappeared, Yeo Myung-hwon had carried out all of Ji-woong’s orders. But something still felt off and continued to nag at Ji-woong.

“Is the situation that bad?”

“The tide isn’t good. I heard all American states and Germany have just legalized the establishment of private institutions related to ability users.”

Ji-woong clicked his tongue softly, his brow furrowing unpleasantly at the mere thought.

Just by having young S-class esper Yeo Myung-hwon speak about matters that had already been settled internally, criticism toward government institutions had decreased. Yeo Myung-hwon was a good card to play in improving the government’s image of monopolizing power. His role was important, especially with rumors circulating about private guild legalization being brought up at the UN General Assembly as an international issue.

But even that had a foreseeable end. You can’t go against the world’s major trends. Ji-woong tapped his glass with his finger.

“Still, with the unexpected dungeon break, they’ll be busy talking about that for a while.”

“Yes. And when that talk dies down, we just need to create a new incident.”

Ji-woong smiled slyly.

Handling the media is easy. When controversy arises, you just cover it with bigger controversy. Even if a minority calls for remembering the previous issue, it’s ultimately the public that creates the major trends.

“It would have been good if there had been quite a few casualties during the dungeon break.”

“Pardon?”

“Then it would have made for a more dramatic presentation.”

His voice was steady and calm as he discussed human lives. At his voice, which was so plain it carried a hint of regret, Yun-jae’s fingers gripped his glass tighter.

“I see. Do you have any methods in mind?”

Kang Yun-jae said nothing. He couldn’t refuse the power that Ji-woong was offering bit by bit. All of this was for Ju-eon.

Ju-eon just needs to live peacefully without knowing anything. He would handle all the dirty and vulgar things himself. While one could easily escape if they wanted to live comfortably alone, Yun-jae willingly walked into the trap with both feet.

If Ji-woong were to find out that Ju-eon was alive, he would surely harm Ju-eon to keep Yeo Myung-hwon, who had come under his control, from leaving.

Even now, he was down in District 2, having gone there with the excuse that he wanted to rest after achieving significant results.

“I call it a necessary evil.”

His tone was meaningful. Ji-woong hates all existence that goes against his will.

“You mean AGT. Come to think of it, AGT’s terrorist activities have been quiet lately.”

When Yun-jae astutely asked, Ji-woong nodded leisurely.

“They’ll be quiet for a while.”

Conversations with Ji-woong were always like this. He would drop a couple of meaningful remarks, and only after Yun-jae correctly guessed his intentions would he provide an explanation. It was a blatant indication that he wanted Kang Yun-jae to constantly read his mood.