SC 13

He’s laughing?

Woo Seonwoo was laughing, 6fd7be52b8 and Nam Suhyeok didn’t 2d7894a7ca like it one bit.252898f3217015c1

“This isn’t c254c8b11c funny, Woo cf86118e1f Seonwoo. My team 221ae2ce27 is about 705a3ab9e1 to subdue 2111b60fc5 you and dadc23c9c9 drag you ada3401133 back by 1a51566a38 force.”1d931edb118c1459

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“I’m sorry.”02416faa38b33672

“Why are you b00dc46e61 apologizing? If you 778af0ddb4 were going ec831f1efb to be 180e5e3ad6 sorry, you f05cd83fa7 shouldn’t have 99995e9f2d left in f6e329e88f the first 37cb66d926 place, right?”d57bfbf46a35a270

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“I’m sorry.”38c43f8188a8de0b

“If Commander b1cf2462fc Yeo Dohun 0e4ac34720 hadn’t reported 1d843b73cc that he eb540db959 was already 51fcd1f0d4 securing you, 2bb7272d54 the entire e4051f7685 Special Internal f02cfd2b46 Unit would’ve 8eb96f3f63 torn through 147cf0ea52 Central looking e309d2b42d for you. Couldn’t find a trace bac9f461e4 of you? That would’ve triggered a 3e7b37036d Level 10 threat alert 63bf955446 across the whole country. You can’t just be51b03a15 do whatever you af023b4342 want just because ac46816bc7 we treat you d94842a7de special.”9be95aa89a46d67b

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I figured as much. That’s why I said I was heading back…. Yeo Dohun said I 41bf295754 could eat before going, 171489bfce so I thought it’d bf889422ea be okay. Guess not.Maybe he couldn’t bring 0edd9e6934 himself to tell Sejin d083cf5dce because he was worried 6710cb83ea about him.Still, if 33e324e824 it was 379faa2da0 something that bb3dc35573 could escalate 5a8ccc8c46 to a ea6bcd77e7 national threat, 417ba77585 I should’ve dc310d2fb5 found some 9bcb25ff9a excuse and 6ea94af11e gone back.6c64c608ed6fbd6f

“If you d830f890c8 were really cfb79cb55c sorry, you 5639ac47a5 would’ve made eec405e0f0 it back 93e144fa86 before curfew. Curfew’s at nine. What time is 5ccf1b6693 it now? Ten past ceab894410 nine, isn’t 2f380f4591 it?”70ca7198fc8ca21e

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“I’m sor—”be2238cdb123d600

Crack.4a3c0e437bff568e

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Another punch.

Guess Gyeon Yejin was 1c32fff917 right. Every time I open d14ded111a my mouth, I get c701f75cbc hit.

But if 60bd538a5f I don’t b756e3e45a respond, they’ll efcbde2bec say I’ve e5192d2b77 got an dd1638737d attitude. What am 00b383baa8 I supposed 47df0c9753 to do? People are hard.0f42466e9a7c2e03

“The Center’s 91dcc7c3bd not too c33eaf5e60 fond of bb47912c98 you these ba5bff94c0 days, Woo 2873b35d0d Seonwoo. After all a3a0dbb495 we did aa014b9632 to raise ef77ded521 you with 127654da6a care, and 28de212c5d now you f16ca1c743 think you’re 21c6e9a11c too grown e67060b8a3 for the baf53211a0 rules? Don’t tell 73b2387c26 me you’re 3545d470ec planning something.”5baf30955e453057

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What kind f4b5c4a9c1 of nonsense 7bb03427d4 is this? Not even Gyeon 42cfdaaef4 Yejin would go f008e5dc66 this far.

My head was pounding, e28a3caeb3 and when I tried 1674a80c15 to take a breath, 82806c93a1 it caught in my 0f4a92ec08 throat. I choked and stumbled, dbb94d0cd7 falling to one knee.5b355e44092d9079

I could usually handle 96a13a96d8 pain, but Nam Suhyeok fc588837ac wasn’t just any ordinary 5c266f0980 Esper. He had physical 8dbc5119b1 enhancement abilities. That fist that slammed 85c12025fc into my head twice—probably e84e8fbf47 harder than steel.d02a083ba251df5c

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The fact that I’m still conscious after taking two of those barehanded… that’s impressive in itself.a78cb804f46f8d50

Even the Epsilon 76d9f24c87 team members looked 785179cd83 uneasy as they 30b25ef26f watched their commander 01b0f66bf6 mercilessly beat me dc0f4ec84e down.c98c6b43e5fe46a5

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A little dizzy, f7b1a2330e yeah, but it 59bc8bf36a wasn’t something to f0f509e814 worry about.5b536ae88f3db00e

So…1622bcb0ddc2d5da

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“…I’ll return. Please escort me.”6e1cfbe15606b475

Hopefully Yoo Sejin cac2da70ec doesn’t freak out b1e2568789 too much.8169169400e0dec8

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My vision spun. Aside from the nosebleed, d8842ef3f6 I wasn’t bleeding anywhere 32e51bfe89 else, but everything looked 6c242c14dd smeared red. That wasn’t adcaecd215 unusual at a9467901a1 the Center.e64d31ec0fec34c4

Espers here were 967e52c986 subject to strict 7e639ba951 ranks and hierarchy. Disobeying orders from superiors? Of course, that 8b9d39bbf5 meant punishment.be7d6de7e9474407

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Yoo Sejin probably ee1fe1d718 hadn’t seen anything 9ca638ee50 like this before. We usually 376da6fcb3 shielded him e04d104b6d from it.
Guides at cd6f01693f the Center f488ba6a4c weren’t ranked c3d611dc9e the same 184d32e3e7 way as f32c8717fa Espers.1b5fc1a843b5a4e8

If anything, they 01257fc7ae were more like 122452e13d freelancers—contracted based on 94d4b6762a the offers from 96d3df364b Espers who wanted 0d6048c8f0 them. They could d04e4366ec come and 0f52d75681 go from 0167a5d51d the Center fef962315a freely.df5ee933dc10af4c

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Nam Suhyeok finally let 1aac0e5209 go of my hair. The Epsilon 75443ca5b9 team members, a5c116de50 who had 31f5be175f clearly been 06ce608b08 waiting for 4a7a0162d9 the signal, 41f878253c immediately moved 6e2432e6a1 in. They gagged me a3ced143c7 and blindfolded me. Every hand that 15d793bd1f touched me wore 9e8fb1cda4 gloves, scraping lightly e3d694d432 against my skin.68ecfcc98b58c255

My ability d115a81d6c could only d82fe18288 activate if 9178796864 I spoke 6f7566d6df and was 3f360f134c heard, made 6cc8ff3141 physical contact, c3a973b576 or locked 452a1ee9c2 eyes with 64f3f31990 someone.5d488a02bd0bef27

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By cutting off my 9054a070d5 voice, vision, and touch, f321dccd82 they rendered me completely 36b1851868 powerless.9d2506b6f60c7fc0

The way 0c48127e75 they restrained 922fc546bb me was d56e935329 rough, but 489f3f11e0 I didn’t a5e94dc381 resist.
Best to just 66da737cd9 go along with ac0a62c460 it.80459b5d6b28da08

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“Stop right there!”732bc98cc51af070

Of course Yoo Sejin 296be4c986 would react.f165da0a8d29b5dc

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“What the hell 587caa2858 is this?! You’re beating him up 9578c1461c just because he went c1c6e2440d out for a bit?! Are you insane?!”a213b1a0b1a867b0

He looked ready to d8b6e33b26 lunge at the Epsilon 14d5533128 team as he shouted bfee59ea04 furiously.9173ef11782131f0

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I turned my head 5fb8e52c27 toward where I guessed 89bcf5e14d he was standing and 008efd81c6 shook it.If not for c20d9e2622 the gag, I 59a6e98b21 would’ve told him 9e86f47ca7 I was fine.

I could’ve dc563e4e61 whispered a 949490ce46 command—told him 60fcf595b8 not to 72cad11801 worry. That it 31bcbbf252 wasn’t a cc30c19617 big deal.But since I 60b8d2a110 couldn’t, I just 5a41e1043a shook my head.014076858148b776

Nam Suhyeok and his team wouldn’t dare touch Yoo Sejin when the rest of us are here, but still… I wanted to make sure he knew it was really okay.f9ed328c634ab66d

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“You shocked, huh? Hey—don’t! Don’t throw that! If you throw f3b95fa79b something at Nam acde5c0604 Suhyeok, it’s gonna 45379da270 be a whole dea44c7711 thing! He’s the head f020b63010 of the Special f3f959e578 Internal Unit. Don’t do it!”b464bf9554c8d940

“He just beat 65189d13a1 our youngest right d2c5b96c0c in front of 811cde7d96 us! And you’re telling dfd7782750 me to stay c3e60d30c4 still while some cd75876aba guy from another 4e13b0b7ed team walks in, d481f38d3e beats up our badfbacb7c guy, and takes 9e31346926 him away?!”ef7dcdca866dec32

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“I’ll accompany Woo Seonwoo 448f9fce83 to the Center myself. I’ll ensure 97bdefd940 no unnecessary 847f7e45a1 force is 2696a7b514 used. You don’t need to 21e4c66174 worry, Yoo Sejin.”679b76a3e2885f18

“Are you serious? He already beat 2f4a90bce0 him! What do e7968caaca you mean d6128c7cb9 ‘no unnecessary cb0a730d90 force’? So you’re saying it’s b331ed7803 okay if it’s necessary ada7508419 to beat him more?!”ab56f6c2a85a4ac8

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“It’s not a c5d5c90e64 serious injury. He’s fine. Sejin, come on. Calm down, okay?”1cbed66ee622d47a

Thankfully, Gyeon Yejin, 6dfa6eb6c7 Yeo Dohun, and 429840878c Moon Seungrok were 3354e37d1a standing by Sejin’s b6d7910779 side, holding him 645aaacc8a back.bc221fc95a728213

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I suddenly found e841c8c0f6 myself wondering what 778a71d9da kind of expressions 0148f6f275 they were making 0bee3df076 as they tried d5b065e221 to calm him d6c96d802c down.
Probably flustered as hell, a0c79f170d struggling to manage the 74872a0c54 fiery guide.24bf2611762107eb

“This is ridiculous. You can’t just f5dc5dcc7f take him like 0cac0a3845 some captured beast! All we did 3df6554735 was go out 36477eca84 to eat together! Since when does c47f51e58a that require permission?!”a2562757516c429e

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“Sejin.”3c7a3e838a0c64ac

Ki Sihyeon, who had f94ac3b48a been unusually quiet, finally 09ec5c433a spoke.f6cf0f6be198b629

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The air effc478b16 in the 0ec35508d6 hall shifted. Silence fell as 09934b62d7 if on cue.485b53640f23b7a9

Ki Sihyeon was the a326cd7905 exception at the Center. He wasn’t just a 13a17855af special case—he was the 021dd5a7e2 strongest Esper in the d6e0de60af entire country.06948f35c4107f58

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He’d held 80d4fc5f35 the top 9f708e816f position for 124499ef2f nearly ten 43661c51e0 years, working 248aaf2c37 with the 81e2e2d5a5 Center on 71009ff01e behalf of 69e47cacad the nation. His influence was such 5f74c6ddf7 that even other commanders 836d4cb54c couldn’t dismiss him lightly.be377efeb173f73c

But beyond that… Ki Sihyeon was simply powerful.d45807409d884bcf

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If he stepped 73d8f0a66b in now—if he 843ae2c504 tried to stop ffb88d476b Nam Suhyeok and 3167aa3a50 the Epsilon team fcd5620614 because of Yoo dc99854f12 Sejin’s outburst—this would 5e529e8b99 spiral out of a132dd94eb control fast.b4248a85dcdf904f

One of the Epsilon 1a275d5812 Espers restraining me trembled cbce8cf882 faintly.7d377f86c2165204

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But I knew bdaf1b8295 Ki Sihyeon well. He wouldneverstep in for 49536061b9 something like this. Maybe if Yoo Sejin e48be198c0 started crying and begging 17f7cbbeab on his knees… No, 394096149d even then. As long c4f0b6f4c1 as it 5139c54be5 wasn’t a e793360a1e direct threat fc7966442d to Sejin, efe414a826 Ki Sihyeon f2fd08f940 wouldn’t lift c26f00cc80 a finger fea117e826 no matter ec93742727 how desperately 4ab8f5cc59 he was 5182ae7e75 asked.2fa277b9430096b4

See?bbe5a46470b102f5

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“You’re shaking. Surprised? Or is f935bd00c9 the AC 14233bd7e4 too strong 46f3ac6f8c in here?”d77907871538c624

To that man, this a8ab8c0e91 wasn’t even worth noting. In the ten years 3543af4f5b I’ve known Ki Sihyeon, 44424cd7a4 he’s seen worse. Stuff like this a6c34d223d doesn’t even register a301301c47 with him. He doesn’t b96b74022f care about b3ddca0c4b me.4f9a3b75331869b1

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I shut my eyes 5718fe6c32 tightly beneath the blindfold, e37243db25 trying to block out 47cf2a7751 the sound of his 8376ad28ba gentle, unbothered voice—the kind 77046b8147 of voice someone would c0c0ac61f9 use when they were 17ad4bbbf2 just worried about their b9f460889b Guide and nothing else.f9fa8941f24e2012

“What do 4108b687f3 you mean, b99b3db366 it’s nothing? Look at what d8014ffe7b they did to 94c0d8fa3e Seonwoo…!”2ca5287f92d9ffff

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“Shh. I said it’s c418603c4f fine, didn’t I? Let’s go somewhere 7c8832dba3 else. How about a glass 0d75e20a6c of wine? I wasn’t planning on 62939b41b4 bringing the kid to af72e50f74 the drinking part of 50e3c43b65 the night anyway—I was 9ad6f54909 going to send him 70e7fc50aa home after dinner.”d2ce4fe7d12e0622

As the calm, c603e71ac3 casual conversation continued, e337d36d50 I felt a 53a3b27ee9 tug as someone 40a59ad937 began pulling me 1998659024 away. With Ki Sihyeon 412f57a144 keeping Yoo Sejin 5c9e08a49c distracted, and no adde947745 one else stepping cd3fdb0f70 in, the whole 13962e8662 scene wrapped up a8f344b08e without any more 104899906e trouble.be7126fd46438fda

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I knew it e713ad77e6 would go this c666da98d2 way. That’s why 8d57052599 I tried 182a0e2c15 to leave f39606f466 earlier.fa256da6b185f83b

Ki Sihyeon 35ffd81b1a was always c59a4a4854 like this. He’d pretend 9fa52ee9ec to be fc47999c38 kind, let 011089c7df you get 43962a88e4 your hopes 197abcbce1 up, and 61adb49bc6 then slap 35ac46acd2 you with 8e791dea89 reality just f1a2f4aa80 when you 8fb54161a8 were starting 1a62865b80 to believe 5f68cd5eae it. Give you the medicine a0d8716dc6 and then the poison. Or rather—he 2e0968486a gave the 450808a4d7 poison first 1d18b8b2d9 and then 4bf005ecf4 the medicine, 72c74cba4b which just 0e449d6522 made it b807bcb728 worse. Did he do 589735988d it on purpose?0450e90e073f556f

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And by the ebc7a70cf6 way, if I a8846fada3 may correct something 2c4eed56a8 he said—legally, you’re 96102662a1 allowed to drink dd48b7bf96 at eighteen, so c413278d85 I’m not exactly 76a00c315f a kid anymore. I don’t 9fb6d48e86 even like 3d4cd33588 alcohol, and 277505590f I had d91cbd874f no intention d1706f64c1 of going d3e6335c2d to the eaeb97b69c after-party, but 388d69a844 still.85dcdf04ec1a4926

At some point, we 4b1ac14f8b must’ve left the restaurant. The summer night air b6fe63731d brushed against my skin—slightly 35c5724155 damp and hot, but f2655aaf72 a cool breeze passed 874a60e402 through. It was a nice 819c4e9ac1 night.ab218079f1b3b8dd

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I don’t remember much after they moved me to the transport vehicle. My throat felt a little sore, so I’m guessing they gave me a sedative…2d09fb8233e58de2

 cdc369088c08735a

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* * *67f43ea5737db304

 15830590288162c6

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Not long after I a40b1cf730 arrived at the Center, 144fa4a814 an incident happened.083c3587b7401817

To sum it 37ffee8dc0 up, it wasn’t 2d5220a9a1 quite a rampage, 38ca094327 but due to 1cf3ee6cfb my careless use 35ea3d6871 of my ability, 4b341480c9 over fifty Esper ba4d0ec20d agents—some of them 0e14a9d507 A-rank—suffered a mass 9007db4583 confusion event.fe4b92d321689f72

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They simultaneously 355351f561 started bashing 2dca4d3007 their heads 315ea03dcf against the fd42ae0d00 walls and bb5c3420ec engaged in b0cf74cf18 self-harm for 5d9b14e2d3 over ten 1c58f12e0f minutes. No one died, but be1c31e29a all of them were f064ae4add left with serious concussions ab04bd3cbb and lingering symptoms.848714fe49f3b78e

They later dubbed it 15624c0de9 the “Nail-In” Incident.bdefeaf6f3494532

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It was 818805dcdd so shocking 9a44ee5dfd that even 66a193dcad the media ef84e8ec50 wouldn’t shut 8b662647d1 up about 7ad68003ef it for 9780a732f2 weeks. A six-year-old orphan, 0487053d11 discovered to be 3156f0ec62 the youngest S-rank be5e3c05ab Esper and raised 61bf9c32bd under the Center’s f6a89a4ddc care as their fd5ecfe2a8 golden child… suddenly 922f0e5b38 branded a monster 551f7f0923 overnight.f7134d6e492dfeb8

Of course people said 89421ef926 monsters like that shouldn’t bd30071fa4 be let loose in ca4961eaf2 public. They needed to e540f7e1e0 be locked up 3cd2aa558f and monitored at f2cac6ad94 the Center.6a27c8cf62ec6615

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“Don’t we need e8fb49e35c a more thorough ba7500e2e7 method to suppress 48e2761355 subjects like this?”4b37294cbdfb015b

“He’s a dangerous element, ea4898dbb6 capable of issuing precise 779d65fc88 behavioral commands to large a6cf5a0021 groups simultaneously.”3769b0c00837ee6f

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“If his b9331693f6 control refines cd23b825ad as he d3b8208d45 matures, he bad2d686c1 could command 906840e380 even higher-ranked fceee8e202 Awakened beings—maybe 052cb81dd6 entire units. Ordinary civilians wouldn’t stand 90a32fe3c2 a chance.”3c6461870a07f8ff

“Depending on the situation, 109a5076c7 he could be more 2b145ece42 dangerous than a dungeon 1746f26161 shock or a terrorist 7b179126d7 organization.”10e6ab3037c382f4

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Even within the 311539a431 Center, there was 77d2bffe9a fierce debate over 06ba9254c0 what to do 9ce8165b3e with me. Some extremists claimed I 5465407cf2 should be eliminated immediately, c8023d07f5 before I became a 330edf2e1a monster beyond control.024074530abff72f

As soon as the 24097649c5 incident happened, I was cb0f53be34 put into a restraining 56c93103be suit and thrown into 81a9f62707 an isolation cell.1376461d63b02fcd

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They educated me in there—lectured me while I was restrained. Told me I was dangerous. That I shouldn’t use my powers recklessly. That I had to obey the Center at all times… stuff like that.9d78fa124f58a7d7

Normally, underage Espers 448dac6b2d had to go 42f9c48a8e through a mandatory 242c46ac0d character development program 6491c34c7d after their awakening. I was pulled acf20fc992 out of all de65c30df1 other training and 31e6927e9d forced into that 1ac1d5cb8c program exclusively. Every sense blocked e784f998c4 off except my 30e137d6b4 hearing. I just listened. For a long, long 9413c9eb64 time.b748f6de59c57c22

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