PARADOX 20

When he lifted his head, he saw a man wearing glasses beyond the entryway. Dressed in civilian clothes, he was a young man with a plain impression that you might see anywhere.

The man asked Hanseo.

“Are you all right?”

Hanseo, who had been staring blankly at the man, belatedly backed away.

“Who are you?”

“I am…”

“Ugh, fuck.”

Park Jintae, who had been collapsed, twitched as he spoke, cutting off the man.

Thwack! Hanseo reflexively kicked him hard.

“Urgh!”

Park Jintae, hit squarely in the head, flopped over again. However, Hanseo knew that his attack wouldn’t have caused significant damage to an A-class Esper. He also knew he couldn’t stay here any longer.

As soon as he made the judgment, he dashed outside blindly.

However, he couldn’t go far. This was because his body froze the moment he saw a familiar shape immediately upon exiting.

A black car.

Clunk! Right then, the car door opened.

Whether he had followed behind at some point, the man with glasses was sitting in the driver’s seat and shouted to Hanseo.

“Get in, Yeo Hanseo-ssi!”

“…!”

“You don’t need to be on guard. I am…”

Before he could even hear the rest of the man’s words, his body moved.

“…”

As the man watched Hanseo promptly hop into the passenger seat, an emotion similar to bewilderment seemed to flicker across his face for a moment.

But that was only temporary. The man calmly started the car. At the high speed, Hanseo’s body was momentarily pressed into the seat.

The scenery outside the car window changed in an instant. At this rate, even if Park Jintae regained his senses, he wouldn’t be able to follow immediately.

Only then did Hanseo turn his gaze toward the driver’s seat.

“Excuse me, who did you say you were?”

“I am Esper Kim Youngsu, from the Center’s Inspection Team.”

“Kim, Youngsu.”

Hanseo’s lips trembled slightly, but fortunately, the man was looking straight ahead and didn’t seem to notice. Even if he had noticed, he likely would have thought it was because Hanseo was nervous.

The man explained calmly.

“I was monitoring because a report came in recently that Esper Park Jintae’s movements were suspicious. While doing that, I saw Yeo Hanseo-ssi trying to jump out the window. It’s a relief I stopped you before a disaster occurred.”

Hanseo looked at him with a mysterious glint in his eyes and eventually beamed.

“I survived thanks to you. Thank you.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m fine. Though I was a bit startled. But will Jintae hyung be okay? I was so shocked I kicked him without realizing…”

“Are you worried about Esper Park Jintae right now?”

The man asked in a tone of disbelief.

“Esper Park Jintae wouldn’t just be fine after being kicked; he’d be fine even if he were shot, so there’s no need to worry. The one you should be worried about right now is yourself, Yeo Hanseo-ssi.”

“Mmm, that’s true, but. Ah! But seeing as Esper Kim Youngsu knocked Jintae hyung out in one go, you must be an A-class as well!”

The man did not ignore the attempt to change the subject.

“…No, I am a B-class. Since Esper Park Jintae was off his guard, the surprise attack worked.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hanseo swallowed a laugh internally.

“But where are we going? It doesn’t look like we’re heading toward the Center.”

“We won’t be going to the Center. A place Park Jintae can’t predict is safer right now.”

“Ah, okay.”

When he nodded without another word, the man fell silent again. This time, Hanseo didn’t bother to speak first either.

“By the way, Yeo Hanseo-ssi.”

The one who broke the silence first was the man.

“Why do you trust people so easily?”

“Pardon?”

“What would you do if I were a bad person?”

“Uh, but you aren’t?”

Haa, the man sighed. As if Hanseo’s answer was unsatisfactory.

“You probably thought Park Jintae wasn’t a bad person either.”

“That’s…”

“In this kind of situation, you should at least ask exactly where you are going. And check for identification as well.”

“Ah.”

“It shouldn’t end with just an ‘Ah’.”

‘What a nag.’

Hanseo shook his head inwardly. However, on the outside, he kept nodding as if taking it to heart. Even that didn’t seem to satisfy the man, though.

“Yeo Hanseo-ssi, you need to be more wary. Guides have a lot of run-ins with madmen who only have strength. Didn’t you learn about precautions during your education?”

“I did learn to keep a private distance from Espers, but…”

“Then you should do as you were taught.”

He felt like a child being scolded. Yet, it didn’t feel particularly bad. Hanseo spoke hesitantly.

“But if it’s not Jintae hyung, I don’t really have anyone I know, and it gets lonely being home alone…”

“…”

“Uh, I haven’t really mingled with people much. So I guess I haven’t developed an eye for people. But I’ll get better as I experience things like this, right?”

After a brief silence, the man spoke.

“There’s no need to learn by going through bad things. Because there’s a simpler way.”

“A simpler way?”

The man nodded.

“Just think of all Espers as madmen.”

“…?”

“Because that is the truth.”

He wondered if it was a joke, but the atmosphere didn’t feel like that at all. Noticing the man was serious, Hanseo blinked.

“But, uh, you’re an Esper too, Esper Kim Youngsu.”

“I included myself in that statement.”

“Still, I don’t think that’s right. There are good Espers in the world too. Like Esper Gu Jeyi.”

At the mention of Gu Jeyi’s name, the man faltered. It was a flicker of agitation that only Hanseo, who had been paying close attention to the man while pretending not to, could notice.

But that was only for a moment; the man soon returned to his original calm expression.

“Gu Jeyi is the same. He is ultimately an Esper, too.”

Hanseo was about to say something but just closed his mouth.

Only after driving for several tens of minutes more in silence did the car come to a stop.

“Please get out.”

The place where the car stopped was an underground parking lot. Not a single person could be seen passing by. It was only natural. The time displayed on the car screen was close to 3:00 AM.

“This way.”

The man, having entered the elevator, pressed the button for the top floor. Hanseo, who had been keeping his mouth shut the whole time, could no longer hold back and asked.

“Where is this?”

“It’s an apartment an acquaintance of mine isn’t using and has left vacant. It’s a place with good security, so stay here for the time being.”

When the man entered the password, the door opened. As if it had a sensor, the lights came on by themselves even though he hadn’t pressed a button.

The living room, which had a wide floor-to-ceiling window, offered a bird’s-eye view of the city’s nightscape, and the interior was decorated with warm-toned wooden furniture.

‘It looks like something out of a drama.’

It was so in the sense that there was no feeling of it being lived in at all. As the man said, it appeared to be unused and left vacant.

Hanseo looked around the house and asked.

“Is it really okay for me to stay here? Is this also supported by the Center?”

“…Yes, something like that.”

The man gave a vague answer and then stared at his wrist.

“It’s late. You must be tired, so please rest. I’ll be going now.”

“Uh, wait a moment!”

Hanseo called out to stop the man.

“What’s going to happen to Jintae hyung now?”

“You probably can’t expect a punishment. Since it ended as an attempt because I intervened.”

“I see.”

Hanseo lowered his head. The man, who had been hesitating without leaving even after answering, approached Hanseo.

“There’s no need to worry. I’ll take measures so that he is separated from you, Yeo Hanseo-ssi.”

“…But I’m still scared.”

Hanseo reached out and carefully grasped the man’s sleeve.

Even though he could have avoided it easily, the man did not pull away.

Hanseo slowly lifted his head. Making sure his frightened expression was clearly visible to the man.

“What if hyung finds his way here?”

“That won’t happen.”

“But he found his way to my house. He knew my number even though I never told him, and he seemed to know a lot about me. Jintae hyung knows a lot of people and has a lot of money… so maybe he’ll find this place, too.”

As Hanseo trembled slightly, the man let out a small sigh.

“I’ll stay here today. So sleep peacefully.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, thank you.”

Hanseo flashed a shy smile.

“Then, could I wash up? I think I sweated a lot because I was so nervous earlier…”

“All the toiletries are in the bathroom. The bathroom is over there.”

“Yes.”

Hanseo nodded and turned around.

Having entered the bathroom, Hanseo looked at his face reflected in the mirror.

The shy smile that looked embarrassed was nowhere to be found. What was reflected in the mirror was the face of a hunter watching a prey right before it falls into a trap.

‘Kim Youngsu, of all things. I didn’t think I’d hear that name again in this life.’

Then again, ‘Kim Youngsu’ wouldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams that someone would know that face and that name.

‘But why Kim Youngsu? It’s the name of a pot-bellied Mister I saw in a drama, so it’s weird. You should have picked a cooler name.’

‘It is my father’s name. Gu Youngsu.’

‘…Your father’s name is cool.’

…Because those were things that hadn’t happened in this life.

However, since only Hanseo remembered that time, he could know.

Kim Youngsu.

That it was an alias used by Gu Jeyi.