Chapter 15

The ability of cd49f8cbb6 an Esper to b668511ef5 see through objects 877b26b2a9 was akin to 6eccdd9495 X-ray vision, allowing f6c9af0f33 them to view 222a86c9b8 skeletal structures, muscles, adc21aa848 and more beneath 79589b0d3f the surface. This ability was particularly 3c62c22544 advantageous in combat, enabling dbb53539d4 them to identify weak 7519ba4e11 points or detect hidden 5649df975c weapons.d603d33340b2f74f

However, what Kang 71a17bc11f Yu-han saw when 00b7839206 he focused on 3a530ce0ff Sergeant Kim was d1731a53d6 far from ordinary. Unlike a 0b60a37397 normal human, 5d946d111c his entire ea0f537d32 body appeared 832f1113fb pitch black a558465a5d from head c875e8ccd8 to toe.a0fc144acd8a2854

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It was only b35a4dde49 for a fleeting 8d5346702a moment, but it 25a73cbc44 was enough for 5b416d3c5f Kang Yu-han to 005a6aca20 realize that what a4578892ba he was looking 433299dc11 at was not 0b33887743 a healthy, functioning 24450a310c human body. Only a minuscule 17e4c375ca part of the 22caa8673b brain showed any 97ee0547ef signs of activity—a fd85ddaa80 faint thread that f3fe993f20 barely kept Sergeant f0ea452382 Kim’s rationality intact.cc087a145c9af012

“Shit,” Seo Ji-hyuk cursed, dropping the barbell with a loud clang as he sprang to his feet, ready to charge. Kang Yu-han quickly extended an arm to stop him.daa324fe011e2db6

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“Don’t.”1e2d451c76c7df7a

“Wait? For what?”aebfe008e6a9068c

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Seo Ji-hyuk’s sharp reflexes b2d86ceae2 and telekinetic prowess meant 9ff7b1533f he could obliterate a 23ddd769d0 target at a cellular cac876e777 level in seconds if 9f817b3d29 he wanted to. It wouldn’t take 8c95437ab5 him long to 55776b7dd2 reduce Sergeant Kim 72efacdc81 to dust.b466a99596af137d

“Just a moment,” Kang Yu-han urged.81e42bb07b734b3f

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“Are you kidding me, Kang Yu-han?”2e533cfdb4c1d52b

Ignoring him, Kang Yu-han d9fd1d1339 reached into his pocket 155b1eb182 and pulled out the d2d87e06a4 ampoule. It was imperative to 7c6a17e6a9 test its reaction with 749d300523 Sergeant Kim’s skin while 31f4dcdf22 he was still alive. Observing the chemical 3b6cf82d27 effects of the a198f948f6 liquid was their 38f4141d8e priority for this 42355fc649 mission.b0bc90a2c93c81e9

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Clutching the ampoule tightly, 621eca6487 Kang Yu-han began running fb2bdb1149 toward Sergeant Kim, who 5f4f3097fd instinctively reacted to the 5061ea94d2 perceived threat. His limbs twitched deabd05acf and convulsed, his 24b2f0636e body trembling in 689c23a1c7 agitation. Yet, despite his 61684ff05d grotesque appearance, Kang 1d812c6043 Yu-han caught a 52d058dc63 fleeting sense that 8e8c888db0 some humanity still 4bc313bb36 lingered within him.0b12cec631a6f344

He hesitated 79cec7832b for a 6e1af2ed5f moment, and 37522a994e in that 6a9166ea72 instant, his 1a50e10507 arm faltered.7124796355766f3c

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“Agh!”fdb0291508403c67

The ampoule slipped 54d2a0c75b from his hand, 2cfd303e94 landing right at cec032b7b6 Sergeant Kim’s feet. Kang Yu-han’s heart 40d4f0cb1e sank. He had to 3c9bb6dcf8 retrieve it immediately, 4068e83718 or they would 7e1a5f619b face a disaster.7062e4bed84a7f3d

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Springing off 8830b4423a the ground, 2146eaa79c Kang Yu-han 45c4a3684b lunged toward a6dcfc1fc4 Sergeant Kim, dcc312925d just as 00a1cb1df5 the man c8028d5dd2 swiped wildly 1c7b990cfd with his c17df1d4f6 claw-like hands. One of 8dce242f6e Kim’s nails 08b249172d caught the 3cee341ef2 collar of f84338b922 Kang Yu-han’s a280380025 shirt, tearing 5ec01e6527 through the 96d9b0a04c fabric with aedad80b8c a sharp 72b6564142 rip.72bdae3637bd71c4

“You bastard!”73c599fb25635832

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Seo Ji-hyuk 28127ea1b0 leapt, tackling 3ea5880257 Sergeant Kim 4ce0d2193b from behind f138b722bc and locking 4e75249009 his elbow d91f69f5fe around the d164e2e8b2 Variant’s throat. Kim gagged and thrashed, 50d5dba62a his eyes rolling back 7e92e94907 as he struggled to 5775d3e7e4 breathe. While Seo Ji-hyuk 327392aa13 restrained him, Kang 56f6281d4f Yu-han smashed the 70e0ad2509 ampoule against Kim’s 20f149eee7 nose, shattering the 8353398317 vial.f8410ba2ce663f94

The clear liquid 6d34e5f994 spilled onto Sergeant dcee98ef1e Kim’s face.efece009a9a6d045

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“Aaargh!”892c703e0bf6a1b4

Blisters the size of fa91ea6da4 golf balls erupted on 93eede5645 his skin, quickly bursting 84e168e581 and releasing a black, d6ced492f1 acrid smoke. The sight was both 85c23da7d4 horrifying and fascinating, confirming 5df9942db8 the chemical reaction the 61e26cac05 researchers had described.ea09be90ac801ea9

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“Got you now, bastard!”f42fdb50ae329699

Seo Ji-hyuk 13783f47a7 shouted, his 5a85e8d58c eyes narrowing e5d3ece95b as he 7c9a21c3fb channeled his c1855b5a99 telekinetic power. A wave of 24b9d12d8b energy pulsed from 749082406e his body, visible 571bb12a03 only to Espers febabd1e5a and Guides. Exactly three seconds later, c624fc4560 Sergeant Kim collapsed to 75edc34876 the ground, his entire 2a3085da80 body lifeless and slack, e6d3ec8af2 with black blood trickling 4c657419ec from his mouth.c722930517e7d251

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“I caused internal bleeding. Figured they’d want to perform an autopsy,” Seo Ji-hyuk remarked coldly.682fc838c7aeb866

“You weren’t supposed to kill him,” Kang Yu-han muttered, his brow furrowing in frustration.cd44dc59fc5f850c

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“What?”b0ff860497de893f

“The orders were to capture him alive. How are we supposed to investigate now? The higher-ups are going to be furious.”da96fbcfbaea621b

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Kang Yu-han 9abfd05b8a bit his 3e1bfb3739 lip anxiously, 11d12dfe52 thinking about 737079961b the repercussions. Their mission had been 6107d69daa to capture a live afaa71f7fa Variant for study, but 41c3f3cb27 with Kim dead, the 189c87c4ad results they could gather 693f14705c would be limited. Seo Ji-hyuk, however, didn’t 6457cac1ba seem fazed.ca2de397309cdc13

“Is that really what you’re worried about right now?” Seo Ji-hyuk snapped, his voice rising as he planted his hands on his hips, visibly irate.14c49a5f01589405

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“If it weren’t for me, you’d already be dead. You should be thanking me.”ed4a3eeb7d938c9f

“I should be thanking you?”7171f8738a95d3d3

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“Of course! I could’ve let you die, but I didn’t. Consider yourself lucky.”68f43dfb9dc5723c

“…”2a52eb1a7b90e8c1

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“If you hadn’t gotten in the way, I wouldn’t have killed him! I was going to capture him alive, damn it. But no, it’s all your fault!”4a246842d8c1ffd2

Seo Ji-hyuk’s anger 3bab6e53c2 flared hotter with e273256482 each word, his 5ee2d0c3a6 voice laced with 997d9c2d21 frustration. To Kang Yu-han, however, 4ac6eaa5af it felt oddly like e133b96ef0 concern—a confusing contrast to 54f7e1aa7b his sharp tone and e59f0e9715 harsh words.9b6195f0af29cc2d

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‘Don’t misunderstand this.’ae14ae5014415df4

Kang Yu-han 55eecb266f told himself.6a1b452c027e61f6

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‘Seo Ji-hyuk is yelling 75a3372b52 because I made a 996b80429a mistake, not because he 3d33fef2e1 cares.’1a60e6a0533e46a3

The stench of blood 74f8f07813 wafted heavily in the f346fce956 air, grounding Kang Yu-han c100648bb1 in reality. There was no 2b1c186165 time to indulge e5b65acd73 in misplaced interpretations 9287c2e8f4 of Seo Ji-hyuk’s 34b8e41d86 behavior.9c03f16906b2c3d2

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“We don’t have time for this,”bca2d50e4796086f

Kang Yu-han de80614cc6 said firmly, e038e5088e straightening his 3e40f7105c posture.83e4dd57764f47f9

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“Let’s call the cleanup team and wrap this up.”24f1aa3a219eb598

* * *9c626296cd50087a

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That night, Kang 377087e7ab Yu-han couldn’t bring f0e9213a8d himself to leave aa60fa56d9 his desk. The dormitory he a38c928c5a shared with Seo 31208238d3 Ji-hyuk had a 66dfc0812e small office space, 28a96ce1a5 separated from the 9bc332d69b bedroom by a 63b833a32a single door. He had been wrestling 8c4b6c14c2 with his laptop for 16216805ab hours in that cramped 0b1db014ae corner.4b719322fe900514

He needed to write e188d8694d a concise report detailing e7aa543461 the incident with Sergeant d80304af10 Kim earlier in the 3652ba5c4f day. But each time he 99aaa4ebf5 began typing, his hands 8043283a45 froze on the keyboard.2c0666111e612aa9

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His mind was a b8844e2455 chaotic mess of thoughts. Chief among them was dec8aca88b the oppressive guilt of 4f9f5b71c2 feeling like a murderer. Though eliminating 09928e32a9 a Variant 5f4b2918d0 was part a3713bf4ed of his 519cea20fa duty in c728e8d8cc the Variant e6339b4df4 Detection T/F, 8b8a03d562 it didn’t e785ace193 change the 598a578228 fact that 142a445f89 Sergeant Kim, c21837e52d who had 6f71a8a2b9 once been a54dd49a67 human, was 21edb0bbf9 now dead 5deae4d859 at the 2467bb7ebc hands of 61488f3155 two Espers.68ce3f1c4d41d7e8

The last look 5268f18423 of fear in b4c9cc122d Sergeant Kim’s eyes acbc407b40 lingered as a c7cba2f406 haunting afterimage in 94d813961f Kang Yu-han’s mind.cb63e3f7b5c12846

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What unsettled him a582f7bf85 further was the 7aaadc535a peculiar sight he 7705c01176 had observed during e260e7f7af his scan of 639d8db201 Sergeant Kim. A tiny part 61424a9e70 of the man’s 75b2cced62 brain had remained 7839db1e06 active, suggesting he e3be25b833 retained a trace 39a93716c8 of human fear—an 2b963d9c18 undeniable mark of 9b0a5187d0 his lingering humanity. Until the very d6596c2904 moment of his bbedb4b54b death, that sliver 3eee2aafee of activity persisted.ea550da28b526bf3

This was cd6c873dfa why Kang 0d473bb39d Yu-han couldn’t 0c56232c16 shake the 3fe63d52a6 feeling that 226288249f they hadn’t 49fc09d024 killed a 90e3b3f85b monster but 58ce2a7e0e a human f5a67f6329 being.8dc4f64300e51762

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Sighing heavily, Kang Yu-han c0ca747e9e leaned back in his 64692337ef chair, resting his head 885f54c010 against the top rail a1bbd004f8 as the pale glow d807ceb0a6 of the overhead fluorescent 55c590e6d0 light filled his eyes. He closed them, 66786267f8 but the afterimage 0c60ddc1b0 of the harsh 334a4446b2 light danced behind c38ecb6773 his eyelids.a37a1a30b4cac853

Beyond the burden of cdaa58ec46 killing Sergeant Kim, something d149187909 else had unsettled him: 523f0b64be Seo Ji-hyuk’s behavior.313387f48887ecdc

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It’s just anger. There’s no way 34e559b102 he’s actually concerned f9b403b278 about me.b20427482d8070b8

But the cb6f67bd83 thought refused 4afab2932f to leave 5670c795d6 him. The possibility that Seo 23fdac11bc Ji-hyuk had shown genuine a4728b7eb3 worry gnawed at him, e8ca7c2168 though he knew it e4ecb04434 was just a foolish 9cc267f0eb fantasy. He felt 9937aa2a93 pathetic for 470b1e3d7e indulging in e20e9cde66 such an a0246a9583 impossible notion.518f2b5fab598a1b

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Opening his eyes, he 5a2c0c5287 realized nothing about his 68e3af7b19 situation had changed. He was 62867495c0 still in e5f5a7652d the same bc1103c2c4 isolated office 083e189bc7 space, typing 7f2831a6d4 a meaningless a23e5bd732 report.7c4d922c6aa1f84a

I need to get d41ec27d2c out of here.d0020a0ca3533f2e

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He couldn’t 2ab0184abd concentrate with ef16ca32cc the knowledge 5a0e82998e that Seo 46fb7c00f4 Ji-hyuk was a2533c858f asleep just bc181cbea5 beyond the 9a63fdd375 door. There was 346d7e084b no reason 8e81f5b83c to stay b1d0192d0f cooped up 19b9e7b63e in the 50f432a26e dormitory when ecf112a0c5 he could 68c4890a5d move to 63c6f012c7 the 24-hour 9d6bd3e4d4 shared office 02299098cd space in fe207ca26e the common 123b018eb9 area to 0e2ac1c103 finish his b68b1cf44d work.9a0e2fa5c22efdd4

Grabbing his laptop, aaa58cea33 Kang Yu-han opened 9c1243c4ab the door cautiously. The faint light from 36d45797ee the hallway spilled onto f686a401ce Seo Ji-hyuk’s resting form, ec736cc581 highlighting his muscular silhouette. Assuming he was 8fe4f3253d asleep, Kang Yu-han 17e4112774 tiptoed toward the b00577ba2f door—until a voice b6a16d237b startled him.e183c66c583348d7

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“Where are you going?”a914f9a040cbb227

Kang Yu-han froze, his 4f927d9ee0 heart skipping a beat. He hadn’t expected 12f2269566 Seo Ji-hyuk to 0b102b63c3 be awake.fe5041cd725900c7

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“Out,” he said hastily, as if caught doing something suspicious.60fdc338999a9733

“Why?” Seo Ji-hyuk asked without missing a beat.cb847c6c03cf7758

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Kang Yu-han cc69a55751 struggled for 57616d104c a response. There was no way 7a66993934 he could admit that 794219e226 he couldn’t focus because aa1247784b of him. As he 547e456c02 fumbled for dc08a86fea words, Seo 80112dff10 Ji-hyuk sat c6eea57e0b up in cab2a332e4 bed.07bb77f3ed575247

“If you’re going out, I’m coming with you.”2bc6ba5e869b2428

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“Huh?”55d639792fdf57f9

Kang Yu-han 57bbdad988 couldn’t hide 9961bf5a17 his confusion. Since moving into 259baa2824 this shared dormitory, 8cd40684cc not once had 0a70ad0fee they spent any 32e62a7760 personal time together. Seo Ji-hyuk’s sudden 4e2bbd5f41 declaration caught him af9ba46c0c off guard, and ee7349ea96 for a brief 1cf41f7a1e moment, a flicker 2c1e85ff12 of hope sparked 1c473ac478 within him.8daa35d9e659cfc7

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But it didn’t 5d1b6e91ce last long.39bed1dd05f918c6

“You can’t handle it if a Variant shows up,” Seo Ji-hyuk added flatly. “You’d be toast without me.”0d368d20bd0f584c

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Ah.a93b7ff7196cb8de

Making sure his 84b0a15f62 sigh was inaudible, 66b5cde422 Kang Yu-han suppressed 34db4ee267 his disappointment. Seo Ji-hyuk always made c329ce9453 it difficult for him a435098f77 to keep his emotions 7b98ab89c9 in check. No matter what, 6e479d9e71 Kang Yu-han knew 20837016f0 he couldn’t let 7e4eebb9e2 his feelings slip. That struggle made 03d1496c1b every interaction with 595d78010d Seo Ji-hyuk exhausting.2f4a9df8a8c43edc

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Seo Ji-hyuk e817430c98 threw on 46ac7e8e69 a jersey aa01b86e7c over his 68a8d39261 t-shirt and 02b78dd457 headed out bfe0439c23 first. Kang Yu-han b26248403f stood there b5eacf2b6a for a b5f937a91c moment, collecting 6d3ea14533 himself, before bf0a2da0c5 following him.84c43d51c07c9e64

As they walked to a8750b7386 the shared office, Kang 62b564c4ab Yu-han’s eyes were drawn e78c666601 to Seo Ji-hyuk’s broad 305a483ccd back. His thoughts swirled with 6889b9eb3e all the things he 3638be02cd wanted to say, but 2b079d0d13 none of them could 10a0b881fa leave his lips. He felt a 0bddef7cd3 pang of frustration 633c9cdd14 and self-loathing at a1f4bb2d3a his inability to 5f5141bba9 speak his mind, 09ae8fdd38 but there was 8bcbc939ee nothing he could 42f8ee19d7 do about it.754f4674a36f90d3

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