Taming the Obsessive Attachment

“……This is the first time I’m hearing about it. A mutant? If such a thing exists, why hasn’t the public been informed?”

“I know, right? I don’t really know either. Policies are the higher-ups’ business. Maybe they thought if people knew they were being hunted down, they’d flee or go into hiding? Or maybe, mutants could band together and form an anti-government faction.”

“No, but why do they have to be killed in the first place? If someone awakens late, shouldn’t the government recruit them and treat them as valuable assets?”

“Haha, Jae-jin, you’re so adorably naive. You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“……What?”

“Even Awakeners who fail to complete their formal education on time are disposed of. Do you really think the government would let mutants live? An unmanageable Awakener is nothing but a threat to human society. Immediate extermination. Every single one.”

Seo Eui-woo’s voice, lowered to a chilling calm, was sharp and cutting, laced with a quiet menace. He had known from the very beginning that Kwon Jae-jin had no way to escape.

Like a predator cornering its prey, Seo Eui-woo leisurely pressed his lips against Jae-jin’s exposed skin, sucking at the inside of his open shirt. The healing factor was active, causing the bruises to fade, so he left fresh marks in their place on Jae-jin’s nape.

“So, what will it be? Should I let you go so you can walk outside and get executed? Or should I hide you and keep you as my personal guide?”

With a cruel, impossible choice laid out before him, Seo Eui-woo devoured Kwon Jae-jin, delighting in the way he crumbled under the weight of grim reality.

The second guiding, forced into the barely healing wound, was even more satisfying than the first. The swollen, reddened flesh was so unbearably enticing that it drove him mad.

***

The Center.

Its official name was the Central Crisis Management Special Strategy Headquarters, but it was commonly referred to as the Center, a government-run military organization.

Located in the southeastern part of the Special Residential Zone, access was strictly limited. Except for a handful of high-ranking government officials, only Awakeners were permitted entry.

The vast facility was divided into three main sections.

The first was the Education and Residential Hall, where trainee Awakeners who had not yet completed formal training resided. This area also included dormitory facilities.

The second was the Central Hall, designated for officially recognized Awakeners who had completed their training. It was the largest building, serving as the hub for periodic combat training, strategy meetings, mission briefings, and medical treatment. Logistics management, troop deployment, personnel selection, and accounting—all Awakener-related administrative affairs—were handled within the Central Hall. It was also the place where media footage of Awakeners, as seen by the public, was produced and distributed, including handling fees for information transmission.

The third and final section was the Research and Development Hall, responsible for the production of healing factor stimulants and guide substitute drugs used by Awakeners. It was also where custom weapons were manufactured, tailored to suit the unique abilities of individual Awakeners.

Not only that, but research on gates and creatures is also conducted without rest. Here, a wide range of studies is carried out, including autopsies of creature corpses and geological resource surveys inside gates.

On rare occasions, researchers even hire civilians, which is an unusual case. However, specific details were not disclosed to awakened individuals in combat units like Seo Eui-woo. To access such classified information, one must have applied to the research department instead of the combat division during their training days and be affiliated with the research and development department.

Central Building. In the reception room on the 4th floor, Seo Eui-woo submitted a request for additional supplies, including a new combat uniform.

He entered the item details on the large tablet screen and pulled out the identification tag hanging around his neck. The moment he placed the tag against the terminal attached beside him, his Awakener Registration Code was automatically read, and the request was completed.

 CCMSSH KR S1 E
01-31040801S
O (RH+)

Beep!

Less than five minutes after submitting the supply request, his transmitter buzzed. Seo Eui-woo pulled down the goggles resting on his forehead to his eyes and turned on the device.

– Captain Seo.

It was Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san.

Thinking that the unnecessarily meticulous man had a sharp nose for things, Seo Eui-woo replied calmly.

“Captain Seo Eui-woo of the 1st Special Task Force speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Jang.”

– Is this supply request list correct? It looks like there’s an error.

“There’s no mistake. Please approve it as is.”

– Healing Factor, 80 packs?

“Precisely. You saw it correctly.”

– Captain Seo Eui-woo. Healing Factor is a special supply. Besides what is issued in the Guiding Room and the standard allocation for all members during missions, any additional orders for personal training are entirely at your own expense. Do you even know how much all of that costs?

“16 billion won. Two hundred million per pack.”

– ……So you do know.

“I’ll add, since you seem concerned—I’m not smuggling them, Lieutenant Colonel.”

As he exchanged transmissions with Jang Tae-san, Seo Eui-woo headed to the 7th floor of the building. The Central Building’s 7th floor housed the sterile transport chambers.

Since Seo Eui-woo could generate protective barriers with his ability, he technically didn’t need to use the sterile transport chamber for coordinate movement. However, general coordinate movement was only possible through these chambers. If one didn’t travel via designated, sterilized coordinates, they could end up with foreign particles embedded in their body.

If, by bad luck, even a tiny pebble happened to be at the arrival location and got lodged in his heart, it would be an instant fatal injury.

“The new experimental drug this quarter is highly effective. I’m in good condition, and I’d like to improve my ability through personal training to make a meaningful contribution to combat.”

– Captain Seo, do you have ambitions for promotion? At your age, with your current rank, you already seem to be on the fast track.

“I’m merely following in the footsteps of the esteemed Lieutenant Colonel Jang.”

Jang Tae-san was a nuisance. Seo Eui-woo decided he should file for a transfer. Or, now that the idea was out there, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to actually earn some merit and get promoted.

If he made major, he’d be at the rank of a deputy commander in any unit. Since the 1st Special Operations Unit, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san, already had Major Kim firmly in place as its deputy, Seo Eui-woo would be reassigned to another unit.

Would the higher-ups really appoint a twenty-year-old rookie as a deputy commander? He wasn’t sure. But for propaganda purposes, it might work. The first-ever S-Class Esper, Major Seo Eui-woo. Some of those higher-ups were obsessively concerned with public approval, so maybe it wasn’t entirely out of the question.

—Fine… Got it. Then I’ll process the supply request as is.

“Thank you.”

Beep.

As soon as the transmission ended, Seo Eui-woo pulled off his goggles. Arriving at the sterilized teleportation chamber, he underwent full-body decontamination along with all his belongings before immediately executing a teleportation.

Kwon Jae-jin.

He was dying to see his Guide.

Were all Espers like this?

If so, how did they even manage to go about their daily lives?

Seo Eui-woo seriously considered skipping the transfer request and just applying for an extended paid leave instead, but he barely managed to suppress the impulse.

He had used the new drug as an excuse, but between his already suspiciously lowered risk of Overload and the sudden bulk order of Healing Factor packs, his actions were already raising enough red flags. If he did anything else out of the ordinary, Jang Tae-san might start putting the pieces together.

To prevent that disaster before it even had a chance to happen, Seo Eui-woo had to keep taking on missions and acting natural.

He wasn’t afraid of being punished for hiding a mutant Guide. But if Kwon Jae-jin—his mutant Guide—were executed, that was something he could never endure.

If Kwon Jae-jin died, if his one and only Guide vanished from this world again, what could possibly make up for such a loss?

Seo Eui-woo had to protect Kwon Jae-jin.

No, he had to keep his Guide alive. By any means necessary.

A white light spread through the air, scattering like lingering droplets. As soon as he stepped out of the teleportation chamber, Seo Eui-woo immediately pinpointed Kwon Jae-jin’s location.

The core embedded in Kwon Jae-jin’s heart resonated whenever Seo Eui-woo got near, making it far too easy to find him.

He was in the bedroom.

And he was… hanging from the ceiling with both hands covered in white detergent powder.

“…Jae-jin?”

Seriously, every time.

Every single time, Kwon Jae-jin greeted Seo Eui-woo in some completely unexpected state.

The last time, he was injured and firing a gun instead of using Healing Factor. And now… why the hell was he dangling from the ceiling?

“Uh, Jae-jin, what are you doing up there? What’s going on?”

“…Ha, fuck. Shit!”

The moment Kwon Jae-jin saw Seo Eui-woo’s clear, innocent-looking face, he cursed under his breath.

He had been gripping the steel frame of the window structure with his bare hands, climbing up the wall like a rock climber in an attempt to open the ceiling vent. A potential escape attempt—one made possible only because rock climbing was his hobby.

Not that it mattered.

Because the moment Seo Eui-woo arrived, that attempt ended in utter failure.

Not that it mattered—Kwon Jae-jin wouldn’t have been able to open the window manually anyway. The entire system was controlled electronically. Even if he had managed to open it, Seo Eui-woo would have received an alert.

“Window? You wanted to open the window? Don’t tell me… you still want to leave my house?”

“Are you seriously asking me that right now? Of course I do!”

“But why? I told you, if you leave, you’ll be executed.”