Taming the Obsessive Attachment

He stopped in the middle of the hallway, taking in the sight of the raging flames. The acrid smoke was ashen gray, and the billowing fire burned a vivid yellow. The elegant and refined monochrome living room—something only the wealthy of the First Residential Area could afford—was engulfed in flames.

‘Hmm. So this is what it feels like to set something on fire with gasoline.’

Before long, the ceiling automatically opened, and the neatly spaced sprinklers all popped out at once.

As the system suppressed the fire, an emergency evacuation announcement played while a torrential downpour of water rained down. In an instant, the smoke dissipated, and the flames began to die down. Kwon Jae-jin followed the glowing arrows that lit up along the walls, walking leisurely.

A previously hidden emergency elevator—concealed by a built-in design when not in use—stood wide open.

Normally, it was common sense to use the stairs in case of a fire, but this particular elevator was a fireproof emergency escape route, making it safe to use.

Shaking the water from his drenched hair, Kwon Jae-jin stepped inside.

There were only two buttons inside.

△
▽

Up or down.

Of course, as someone going through this a second time, Kwon Jae-jin already knew the right answer.

‘Going down leads to the panic room. There’s a door and a passageway that connects to the outside, but only Seo Eui-woo can open it. It’s an emergency shelter—a fully sealed underground bunker that only those registered with biometric authentication can enter.’

Then should he go up?

‘The rooftop is up there. There’s an escape helicopter, but I don’t know how to fly it.’

That’s why, in his first life, Kwon Jae-jin had tried to jump from the rooftop.

Seo Eui-woo, somehow knowing exactly when and where, had appeared just in time to catch him mid-fall.

See? You can’t escape from Seo Eui-woo.

Not that he wanted to anymore.

Kwon Jae-jin pressed the ‘△’ button and headed to the rooftop.

A vast blue ocean stretched out before him.

Today, the sky was so clear that the boundary between the sea and the heavens seemed to disappear.

Kwon Jae-jin glanced at the well-maintained helicopter before heading toward the edge of the rooftop railing. Seo Eui-woo’s mansion, built at the edge of a coastal cliff, faced entirely toward the ocean.

If he fell from here, he’d either have his skull shattered against the jagged rocks below or be swallowed by the swirling waves and drown instantly.

‘Damn, Kwon Jae-jin, you were something else. No fear. Seriously.’

Resting both arms on the railing, Jae-jin took in the view. The salty sea breeze carried away the lingering scent of alcohol and gasoline.

Then, wondering if it was about time, he called out the name.

“Seo Eui-woo.”

…Not yet?

Why was he taking so long?

“Seo Eui-woo-ssi.”

Time felt unbearably slow.

He wished that when he closed his eyes and opened them again, Seo Eui-woo would just be standing right in front of him.

“…Eui-woo.”

Or would he have to throw himself off the cliff for Seo Eui-woo to finally show up?

Standing here, having made it through all kinds of hell, Kwon Jae-jin chose to face Seo Eui-woo head-on this time. If he had to jump, he’d jump. If he had to reveal the truth, he’d reveal it.

The autumn sea breeze was sharp, and the sky, a deep, unbroken blue, stretched endlessly above. As he stood there, gazing out over the vast expanse of the world, he felt truly alone—not just another face in the crowd, but someone whose very foundation was crumbling beneath him, isolated, utterly solitary.

And with that realization, the world seemed to change.

The sunlight scattered across the waves, glimmering like shards of light. The breathtakingly captivating sight held his gaze, filling him with unexpected awe. The ocean had always been there, yet he had never truly seen it before. In his first life, driven by desperation, he had never paused to take in his surroundings. Now, everything appeared raw, unfiltered—profoundly moving.

He truly didn’t want to waste this second chance.

Kwon Jae-jin looked down at the foaming waves crashing against the moss-covered rocks below. He bared his teeth in a grin, staring hard at the abyss beneath him. It was the first time he had ever outwardly expressed his resolve, sincerity, and the fragments of truth he had grasped.

And just as he smiled with all his heart, just as he was about to let himself fall—

A flash of light.

Through the scattering light particles in the air, Seo Eui-woo appeared.

Had he abandoned his battlefield mid-fight? He was covered in blood.

One of his ears was missing, and a massive metal shard—like a broken piece of reinforced steel—was lodged deep into his thigh. Even at a glance, the injuries were severe.

His marble-like, strikingly beautiful face was stained with brutal carnage, making him appear not just unsettling but grotesque.

“Jae-jin-ssi, what the hell are you doing?”

Seo Eui-woo roughly yanked off the goggles he had been wearing as he strode forward. A holographic display flickered across the lenses, and an audio transmission device was attached.

“Did the house catch fire? Or… did you set it on fire?”

“…Calm down. Nothing happened.”

“The injuries.”

Seo Eui-woo flicked off the power to his goggles. The metal shard embedded in his body disintegrated into dust in an instant, and a Healing Factor vial popped out from his chest pocket. He uncapped it and, without hesitation, jabbed the needle straight into Kwon Jae-jin’s neck. The bright blue liquid was swiftly absorbed into his bloodstream.

“Were you trying to run away? Trying to jump… to die…? What the hell were you thinking?! Are you insane?”

Seo Eui-woo stormed toward him, grabbing Jae-jin’s arm. As if that wasn’t enough, he seized him by the collar and yanked him forward, dragging him away from the railing. Blood dripped from Seo Eui-woo’s wounded body, while cold water trickled from Kwon Jae-jin’s clothes, still damp from the sprinklers.

“As you can see, I only did this to call you out here, Seo Eui-woo-ssi.”

Jae-jin caught Seo Eui-woo’s shoulder with one hand to steady himself. He examined the streak of crimson running down the man’s sculpted cheek, his voice low and calm.

“I have something to say.”

“Oh, I bet you do… of course, you’d have something to say.”

“It’s important. Don’t erase my memory. Don’t wipe anything. I’ll explain everything now.”

“…Do you really think that’s what I need to hear right now?”

“It’s all connected. And besides, if I don’t give you a warning upfront, you’ll definitely try to mess with my head again.”

“Hah, right now, the only thing I want to mess with is that mouth of yours.”

Seo Eui-woo’s fury surged as he barked out his words, twisting the very air around them.

The droplets of blood that had been falling from his wounds shuddered unnaturally, reversing direction and floating upwards. Instead of staining the rooftop, they hovered, orbiting him like some eerie gravitational force.

The pressure of his presence altered the density of the air. Even breathing became difficult. And as his power surged, something invisible clamped onto Jae-jin’s jaw, locking it in place. He couldn’t move.

Seo Eui-woo was being unnecessarily violent—just like the first time they had met.

“I think you need to keep that mouth of yours shut for a while. It’s only good for biting your own damn tongue off anyway…”

Despite the telekinetic force gripping him, Jae-jin resisted, forcing out his words through sheer will.

“T-That… p-person… you d-dated… th-that… Seo… Eui… ugh—”

“Give up and open your mouth. Before I start thinking about pulling out all thirty of your teeth.”

“Kh… ugh… aaagh!”

“…Hmm. Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Maybe I should test it out and pull just one.”

The unseen grip on Jae-jin’s jaw intensified. Not just his mouth—his entire body was locked in place. He couldn’t move his arms, his legs, not even his eyelids. Speaking any further was impossible.

Seo Eui-woo shoved two gloved fingers into Jae-jin’s open mouth.

This wasn’t Guiding. With gloves on, there was no direct contact with the mucous membrane—Guiding wouldn’t work.

His fingers probed deeper, pressing against the lower left wisdom tooth.

“Not thirty, but twenty-nine. No one else would notice the difference but me…”

Slowly, he traced the ridges of the molar, feeling its shape with unsettling precision. Then, he moved to the lower right wisdom tooth.

“Losing a wisdom tooth wouldn’t make much of a difference in your life anyway…”

His fingers moved slowly, almost as if he were deliberating which side to pull from. But after a moment, he withdrew his hand without making a choice.

Seo Eui-woo stared down at Jae-jin with chilling eyes.

Normally, his gray irises would be clearly visible, but now, his blood-soaked black hair hung over his face, casting dark shadows over his gaze.

Beneath those shadowed eyelids, his damp lashes clung together with beads of blood, and deeper within, his pupils—radiating a quiet, restrained malice—lurked like a predator ready to strike.

“…I really don’t get you. I warned you, didn’t I? I might let it slide once, but there won’t be a second time.”

His voice was soft—eerily so, as if he had deliberately crafted it to be gentle. It was unnaturally smooth, a stark contrast to the savage gleam in his eyes.

“Jae-jin-ssi, do you want to be cuffed…? Or are you just foolishly assuming that I wouldn’t do such a thing…? Do you actually trust me?”

“Kh… you… you bastard…”

“I’ve never trusted you. Not even once.”

“……”

“If anything… I’ve just been letting things slide.”

Seo Eui-woo narrowed his long eyes into thin slits, locking eyes with Jae-jin. He studied him for a long moment before letting out an amused scoff.

“I’m putting you to sleep now. No more leniency. You can sleep until I finish cleaning up the fire, get punished for deserting my post, and return.”

Without hesitation, Seo Eui-woo wrapped his fingers around Jae-jin’s throat.

At first, he had considered knocking him out with a strike to the solar plexus, but he wasn’t confident he could control his strength. If he used too much force, his abilities might kick in, and he could end up pulverizing Jae-jin’s body.

The Healing Factor could patch him up, sure—but if he made a mistake and killed him, there would be no fixing that.

Jae-jin’s body instinctively struggled, jerking against the chokehold, but his resistance gradually weakened. As his body went limp, Seo Eui-woo caught his collapsing frame with one arm and whispered:

“I won’t touch your memories… but I will tie you up. So keep that in mind.”

“……”

“…See you later.”