Esper: A Foreign Entity in a Guide-less World

The veins in Nakyoo Seong’s eyes bulged.

His glare was terrifying.

He had always been a bit childish in some ways, but he had never lost control of his emotions like this.

Ji Seon Woo let out a trembling sigh.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have guided another esper.

But the people here…

‘There’s an eerie lack of guiding traces on them.’

And when he did guide them, their reactions were strange—almost like… it was their first time experiencing it.

‘…Ah. But even if I had known this would make Yoo Seong so upset, I still would have done it.’

Ji Seon Woo swallowed hard.

In Korea, guides outnumbered espers.

It was rare—nearly impossible—to find an esper who had never received guiding before.

But here, for the first time, he had encountered an esper whose energy was razor-sharp and completely untouched by guiding.

And that was enough to soften something deep inside him.

Was it pity? Or just the instincts of a guide?

Whatever it was, he couldn’t ignore that erratic, unstable wavelength.

Even if it meant getting scolded for being too softhearted.

‘I’m a guide. This is what I do.’

Ji Seon Woo called out to Nakyoo Seong again.

“Yoo Seong….”

“…Hah.”

He could see the wounded look in Nakyoo Seong’s eyes as he struggled to swallow his anger, but there was no way around this.

“Yoo Seong, just let him go. Please.”

“…….”

“I was wrong.”

“…….”

“Okay?”

Reaching out carefully, Ji Seon Woo stroked Nakyoo Seong’s pale cheek.

At the repeated touch, Nakyoo Seong’s fierce expression faltered, his eyes drooping like a dejected child’s.

Then, without warning, he hurled the man he’d been holding onto the floor.

Thud!

Ji Seon Woo sighed quietly.

After offering another apology to the brown-haired man and the others, he prepared to leave with Nakyoo Seong.

That was the plan, at least.

[I’m sorry. But I can’t let you go. Your power needs to be studied.]

[We tried to handle this peacefully, but it turns out you really are a threat. Jayan!]

Before they could react, the man on the ground—Cheon Chan-woo—suddenly grabbed Ji Seon Woo and pressed a blade against his neck.

Thud!

“Kgh!”

[Your precious jewel is in our hands now. You won’t make a move, will you, stray dog?]

Jayan forced Nakyoo Seong to his knees, twisting his arms behind his back in a brutal hold.

[Unfortunately, I can’t let you go. You’re far too valuable, little one.]

“Wh-what… Why? Again? I even guided you….”

Ji Seon Woo’s face paled as he looked up at Cheon Chan-woo, who held the knife to his throat.

His eyes, filled with betrayal, made Cheon Chan-woo flinch and turn his gaze away.

“Y-Yoo Seong, let him go! He’s hurting!”

[Ah-ah. Careful now—move too much, and the stray dog gets hurt.]

As Ji Seon Woo struggled, Jayan leisurely lifted his foot and pressed it against Nakyoo Seong’s back.

Crunch.

His weight forced Nakyoo Seong’s arms further back, drawing a sharp groan of pain from his lips.

“Yoo Seong!”

Ji Seon Woo’s face went deathly white.

His small body trembled with anxiety.

Cheon Chan-woo shifted uncomfortably at the sight, looking increasingly uneasy.

[Hold him properly, Cheon.]

[This is enough. We need him. He shouldn’t be treated like this.]

Kaoru, who had been silently watching, turned to Jayan.

[Jayan. Let’s move our guest to a proper room. We need him conscious for questioning.]

Jayan’s lips curled into an amused smile.

[Sure. I’ll be there soon. Just need to deal with this stray dog first. He’s more dangerous than he looks.]

“Tch… Let go. Fucking let go! Don’t touch Seon Woo!”

[See? He’s still so lively. I really don’t want to turn into slime again.]

Jayan muttered, chuckling softly—an angelic smile on his face.

[Just stay put for a while, stray dog.]

Jayan whispered sweetly to Nakyoo Seong—right before effortlessly snapping his arm.

“Yoo Seong—!”

Crunch!

Ji Seon Woo’s scream and the sickening sound of bones breaking echoed through the room at the same time.

[Left your meal untouched again, huh?]

Clink.

The way he set the bowl down was just a bit too forceful, betraying his irritation.

[I went out of my way to give you a decent meal, and this is how you repay me? Sigh, so ungrateful.]

Listening to this bastard drone on was worse than hearing a broken radio.

[Hey, stray dog. Do you know what people call you around here?]

The silver-haired man let out a long sigh, scratching his brow with his slender fingers.

Nakyoo Seong, of course, ignored him.

If he had it his way, he would’ve killed the bastard a thousand times over by now.

But he couldn’t.

And it wasn’t just because of his broken arm.

His gaze dropped to the limb, still wrapped tightly in stiff wooden splints and old bandages.

Whether it was thanks to Ji Seon Woo’s guiding or just his natural healing ability, the bone was mending without any sign of infection.

Still, every time he looked at it, a fire burned in his gut.

[They call you ‘young master.’ Funny, isn’t it?]

“Shut up. Keep your mouth shut.”

[Though, I guess it does suit you. Picky, spoiled, and fussy as hell. No wonder people find you insufferable.]

“Hah… Fucking hell, you really don’t know when to quit.”

He shot the silver-haired man a glare.

Nakyoo Seong had never cared much for people.

When he liked someone, he liked them to the extreme.

When he hated someone, he hated them completely.

And right now, this was the most disgusted he had felt toward anyone in a long time.

Suppressing the urge to lunge at him, he turned his head sharply.

If he kept looking at that smug face, he might actually try to break the bastard’s jaw with his fractured arm.

What pissed him off even more was that his legs were perfectly fine, yet he still couldn’t leave.

Because of Ji Seon Woo.

Because his goddamn guide wanted to stay here.

“Ji Seon Woo…”

He exhaled the name like a sigh.

That day, when they held a blade to Ji Seon Woo’s neck—he lost control.

He didn’t remember much, but Seon Woo had said it happened.

That meant it must’ve been true.

Apparently, he had nearly burned everything to the ground in his frenzy.

Ji Seon Woo had to throw himself into guiding him, desperately reining him in.

And for some reason, the bastards here kept speaking to Seon Woo afterward.

Pointing at him.

After that, Ji Seon Woo made a decision Nakyoo Seong still couldn’t wrap his head around.

He didn’t speak their language, but his instincts as a guide told him exactly what they wanted.

Guiding.

According to him, their wavelengths clung to him like crying children.

It made no sense.

But Seon Woo insisted it felt that way.

At first, he hadn’t wanted to help them.

He knew how much Nakyoo Seong despised it.

And they had hurt him.

But in the end, Seon Woo had looked at him with that bitter, apologetic expression and said:

“I can’t ignore it, Yoo Seong. I just can’t. I know you’ll never understand, but… I’m a guide. It’s what I do.”

It was like watching someone wade into a lake to rescue a drowning child.

Even if that child had once hurt someone he loved, he was still just a child.

Ji Seon Woo sighed as he tried to explain, as if Nakyoo Seong would ever understand.

He had scoffed.

“So what’s your point?”

When he finally calmed down enough to ask, Seon Woo responded with the same tired expression.

“Give me time.”

“Time? Time for what? To kill these bastards?”

“I’m angry too. I can’t forgive what they did to you. But…”

“But?”

“…Something’s off about this place. Their wavelengths are a mess, yet there’s not a single guide around. That doesn’t make sense, Yoo Seong. I hate them too, but I can’t just leave them like this. Let me figure this out. I’ll find a way to bring them to the Association. Until then… can’t you try to understand? Can’t you help me?”

Bullshit.

It was complete, utter bullshit.

He had wanted to laugh in Seon Woo’s face.

But then he had said—

“I’m a guide, Yoo Seong. It’s my job to protect espers.”

He had looked at him—his guide—dead in the eye and declared that he would help other espers.

Nakyoo Seong should’ve told him to fuck off.

He should’ve refused.

“…Do whatever you want.”

But he couldn’t say no.

“Only until my arm heals.”

“Okay! I promise!”

“You’re always so quick to agree. And guiding—”

“I’ll keep it to a minimum! No direct contact, I swear!”

“If I find out you’re touching them—if I even hear about it—I’ll burn this place to the ground.”

“Only hands! Or hugs! That’s it, I swear!”

That conversation had been days ago.

“It’s pretty much fine now.”

Nakyoo Seong flexed his fingers.

A dull ache lingered, but it was tolerable.

It hadn’t even been that serious of an injury to begin with.

More than anything, he just wanted to get the hell out of here.

[You must be really picky, huh? We’re already being generous, feeding an outsider like you when you haven’t even earned your keep.]

Even after being ignored for days, the silver-haired bastard was still running his mouth.

The room he was in was filthy.

Not just dirty—but the kind of place that made him feel like he needed a shower just by breathing in it.

Some old, abandoned storage area, by the looks of it.

Not that he particularly cared.

The whole shithole they lived in was like this.

Honestly, it was funny.

For a bunch of fucking rats, they sure had found themselves the perfect nest.