Taming the Obsessive Attachment

“This is a mutant.”

“Kuhk.”

A pained groan escaped Jae-jin as the pressure on his injured chest intensified.

The major paid no mind to Kwon Jae-jin’s suffering and mercilessly pressed down over his heart with a gloved hand, clad in stiff black material. It was a careful motion, as if he were double-checking to ensure his judgment wasn’t mistaken.

He was like a well-trained military hound. The slicked-back hair, held in place with pomade, and his precise, restrained movements devoid of any unnecessary motion made that abundantly clear.

“A mutant? Are you certain?”

The soldier holding the scanner flinched in surprise, removing his hand from his goggle transmitter and gripping his gun instead.

“Yes.”

“Then… should we eliminate him? We wasted a healing factor on him.”

“Wait. This isn’t a general residential district. We need to find out how he managed to sneak into a special residential zone first. There’s no way he did it alone.”

“……Are you saying he had an accomplice? An Awakened?”

“He’s a criminal. Be mindful of your wording.”

The major’s voice was indifferent as he muttered the correction. His gaze, sweeping over the fallen Jae-jin, was cold and impassive.

“This might not be the only one. There’s a chance he smuggled out more mutants.”

Jae-jin’s expression twisted in despair.

A streak of hot blood trickled down from his lashes. His forehead must have been split open. His vision was already blurred, and now the blood further obscured his sight—it was frustrating.

‘If I get caught like this, I’ll die, and Seo Eui-woo will be punished…’

If they dragged him back to the Center, it would be over.

A psychic ability user could pry into his memories, revealing in an instant who had helped him escape.

He had to run.

If he couldn’t escape, then—

‘At the very least, I have to die alone…’

Jae-jin trembled as he fought against the pain, his right hand twitching ever so slightly.

In his grip was a handgun—one they had yet to take from him.

‘Shoot. I have to shoot. There’s no other way.’

At that moment, Kwon Jae-jin’s right elbow was stomped down by a military boot.

“Hah, you still have the nerve to move your fingers, huh?”

“Ugh!”

With a motion similar to grinding out a cigarette with a heel, the soldier twisted Jae-jin’s joint, causing his wrist to go limp against his will. The man, who resembled a well-trained military hound, gave a nod to one of his subordinates.

“Lieutenant Lee, disarm him.”

“Ah, y-yes, Major Mateo!”

The pistol was taken from him without resistance. The remaining rounds in his harness were also confiscated.

“Is the scan complete?”

“It’s at 98%… almost done now.”

“Report. We’ll be delayed in regrouping.”

The scanner displayed a completion message, immediately followed by a detailed identification record of Kwon Jae-jin.

“Resident of District 6. Kwon Jae-jin. Age 26. Male. Declared missing and deceased as of September 2nd this year. That was four months ago.”

“Hmm.”

Lieutenant Lee handed the scanner over to Major Mateo, who carefully examined the screen.

At that moment, the tall bushes behind them rustled violently.

A dark shadow leaped from the foliage and sank its jaws into Lieutenant Lee’s back in one swift motion.

Krrrghh!

It was a wolf-type β-Creature, having tracked down the prey that had slipped away.

And it hadn’t come alone.

“Kuaaagh!”

Lieutenant Lee, his flesh torn apart, gurgled blood as he collapsed onto the ground.

Major Mateo immediately opened fire, landing effective shots on several of the creatures before deploying his ability.

“Get a hold of yourself and stick to me!”

A translucent spherical barrier unfolded around Major Mateo, shimmering with colors as beautiful as a soap bubble.

Even when the wolves’ fangs, capable of biting through bulletproof glass, sank into it, the barrier remained unscathed.

Lieutenant Lee crawled desperately toward Major Mateo’s feet, trying to reach the safety of the barrier. If he made it inside, he would have enough time to use a healing factor.

But the wolf was faster.

Its monstrous maw stretched wide, and from within, a long tongue shot out—twisting and writhing like a tentacle. It coiled tightly around Lieutenant Lee’s ankle and yanked him back with terrifying force, pulling him straight into its gaping mouth.

“Aaaagh! Ugh! Ggaaaah!”

Crunch. The sound of bones being chewed and crushed filled the air as Lieutenant Lee met his gruesome end.

Major Mateo watched the scene unfold without a flicker of hesitation, his composure unshaken. He had to stay focused. Turning on his goggle transmitter, he relayed the situation and their coordinates.

“This is Major Mateo of the 7th Special Operations Unit. Requesting immediate backup. Wolf-type β-Creatures. Number: five. Coordinates are…”

Kwon Jae-jin realized this was his last chance.

Right now, all attention was on the creatures. This moment—this fleeting moment—was his only opportunity to escape.

Thankfully, the healing factor had taken some effect. His leg bones weren’t fully mended, but he could move. If he couldn’t walk, then he’d crawl if he had to.

“Huuuh. Ugh.”

Suppressing his groans, Kwon Jae-jin forced himself to step beyond the safety of the protective barrier.

Immediately, the wolves locked onto him.

“That mutant… is he planning to die?!”

Without glancing back, Jae-jin hobbled into a desperate sprint.

The wolves abandoned Major Mateo and lunged after him.

Jae-jin darted between the trees, stumbling over uneven ground. Two of the creatures leaped onto the branches above, while the others pursued him from below.

Gunfire rang out behind him. Two wolves collapsed to the ground.

But that didn’t change his dire situation. He was seconds away from being torn apart.

There was no alternative.

If he was captured and taken to the Center, he would be executed—and Seo Eui-woo would be punished as well.

But if the creatures devoured him here, only he would die.

If he had to choose between the two, wasn’t the latter the better option?

The edge of a ravine suddenly came into view.

Jae-jin gasped at the sight—a sheer, dizzying drop into a deep canyon.

‘Ha.’

Ignoring the eerie green glow of the wolves’ eyes, he wheezed and peered over the edge.

The height was impossible to estimate.

The cliff at Seo Eui-woo’s seaside estate was nothing compared to this. That was merely a ledge—this was a true precipice.

He had seen landscape stones carved by nature, but never a view like this.

Nine twisting streams wove through the canyon below, their waters flowing even in the dead of winter. Alongside them, two overlapping rainbows shimmered, their seven colors reflecting off the mist.

‘…I should’ve come with Seo Eui-woo when he invited me…’

The thought felt absurd.

He had been so determined to change the future, so full of reckless confidence.

Yet here he was, his life ending not after four years, but in just four months.

Both his first and second lives had been filled with nothing but regret.

A third chance… was unlikely.

With resignation, Jae-jin closed his eyes.

After his death, he prayed that Seo Eui-woo would find a real Guide—not a defective mutant like him, but a true-born Awakened.

Krrrreeh!

Before he could finish his prayer, something wet and scorching wrapped around his wrist.

A sticky, tentacle-like sensation wrapped around his wrist—it was the creature’s tongue.

The wolf-Creature that had been chasing Kwon Jae-jin latched onto his injured wrist with its tongue and yanked hard. Instinctively, he tensed his lower body, trying to resist being pulled in. But with his leg bones still unhealed, he couldn’t hold out.

“Kuugh…!”

The creature reeled him in and clamped its jaws around him.

Rows of serrated teeth, as sharp as a shark’s, sank mercilessly into his back and abdomen.

It felt like he was about to be devoured alive, torn apart piece by piece in unbearable agony.

Then, a loud gunshot rang out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets fired by Major Mateo pierced straight through the wolf-Creature’s skull.

The ferocious beast staggered sideways before collapsing, lifeless.

The other wolves lay scattered on the ground—already dealt with.

“Should I say thanks?” Mateo muttered. “Made my job easier with you acting as bait.”

He pried open the beast’s maw and dragged Jae-jin out.

The creature’s tongue, still coiled around his wrist, refused to come loose.

With a sigh, Mateo pulled the jackknife from his belt and sliced through it as effortlessly as cutting an umbilical cord.

“Kwon Jae-jin, was it?”

“…Kuhhck.”

“You’ve got guts. If you were one of my men, I might’ve even praised you.”

Jae-jin lay sprawled beside the corpse of the wolf-Creature, coughing up blood.

The healing factor was working, but the fresh wounds from the wolf’s fangs made recovery a losing battle.

He coughed raggedly, glancing at Mateo with contempt.

“You… are not… the kind of superior… I need. Should’ve let me get eaten.”

“I respect the bravado, but my team will be here soon. Just give up.”

Mateo removed the belt from his waist and tightly bound Jae-jin’s forearm with it.

He cinched the leather strap so firmly that it would be impossible to undo alone, effectively restraining his wrist.

Then, he peeled off his gloves, stained black with the creature’s blood.

“Kwon Jae-jin.” Mateo’s voice turned icy. “Who hid you for the past four months?”

His bare hand pressed down on Jae-jin’s throat, shoving him into the dirt.

“Tell me—how the hell did you sneak past the security gates of a Special Residential District?”

But the moment their skin made contact, Mateo’s expression hardened.

“Wh-what… the hell…?”

The ever-disciplined, soldier-like man, who seemed incapable of mistakes, suddenly looked like a fool.

A deep furrow formed between his brows, and for the first time, his pitch-black eyes—like voids with no light—wavered.

“Did you… just Guide me?”