A memory surfaced, faint and hazy. The memory of returning to his original world. Yujin pressed his palm against his throbbing head.
“Yujin?”
“Huh, what is this…”
Yujin murmured softly, disoriented. He couldn’t tell whether this was reality or a dream.
“What’s wrong? Hey?”
“……”
Yujin lifted his head and looked at Noel. The young Crown Prince had been gazing at him with warm, tender eyes from the very moment they first met. Yujin stared quietly at his own reflection in those eyes.
The name Noel was calling wasn’t his. It was Yujin Langford — not him. Every time he was reminded that the person reflected in Noel’s eyes wasn’t truly himself, a strange, suffocating ache closed around his throat.
In the end, he hadn’t been able to bear it and had run. Back to the real world where he had lived. To the place where he could simply be himself.
“A dream…”
“What?”
“This is a dream, isn’t it. Right?”
“……”
Yujin said it in a clear, steady tone. Only then did the scenery around him begin to feel slightly blurred. This was nothing more than a dream constructed from Yujin’s memories.
“Yujin.”
“Don’t call me that. I’m…”
I’m not Yujin Langford.
He tried to say it, but his voice wouldn’t come. Noel’s startled eyes trembled. It was a sentence that had risen all the way to the tip of his tongue countless times while he lived among the people of the novel world — and one he had never once managed to actually say.
It seemed he couldn’t say it even in a dream. Yujin smiled a bitter smile and closed his eyes against the ache.
Beep, beep-beep-beep!
“Ugh…”
His eyes flew open at the sound of the alarm. They swept around the room. This was not the imperial palace — it was the real world he had returned to.
“Phew.”
Yujin let out a breath and flicked his finger against the watch screen, which was still making noise. The alarm cut off and went silent. He pushed himself upright and kneaded the stiffness from his neck.
Why do I keep dreaming about that world every time I sleep. It left him in a bad mood every single morning. Yujin exhaled again, heavily.
Whether it was lingering attachment, or the weight of reality making things hard — or maybe it was the sheer impossibility of dealing with all the damage Yujin Langford had done in his body, leaving him unsettled and out of sorts. He thought that might be it, and rubbed his tired eyes with his fingers.
“Well. I need to go to work…”
Even if the world were ending, going to work was non-negotiable. Yujin got up with the mindset of a working professional and got himself ready. Then he left his quarters.
Breakfast should be fine to go and get.
It wasn’t as crowded as lunchtime, so eating at the cafeteria in the morning seemed like the better option, even if it meant a few disapproving looks. Breakfast was meant to be eaten properly, after all. With that thought in mind, he made his way down the corridor — and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Good morning.”
“…What are you doing here?”
At the point where the residential quarters within the center ended, Min Jaeha stood there waving with a bright, guileless expression. The moment Yujin saw him, his face went rigid.
“Did you already forget? I’m your guard, Team Leader. The approval even came through early this morning.”
“Did it?”
At Min Jaeha’s words, Yujin checked his watch. Sure enough, an authorization email from the Center Director had come in. He had deliberately been saving it to read at the office — but it seemed Min Jaeha had seen it first thing in the morning and come rushing over.
Was he genuinely a responsible type, or was he simply finding this amusing? Yujin looked up and studied Min Jaeha.
“You’re certainly eager on the first day.”
“I’m good at my job, to begin with.”
Min Jaeha smiled with his eyes and stepped in closer. Yujin hadn’t quite anticipated being escorted from right outside his quarters — this was a bit much. He’d assumed they would meet after he arrived at the office.
“Come on, let’s go. You’re eating at the cafeteria, right?”
“Yeah, uh…”
Min Jaeha, having already clocked the destination with no effort at all, fell in right beside him. Yujin shot him a dissatisfied look.
Even for a guard, isn’t this a bit too close? He was about to say something about the unwanted pressure of it, but Min Jaeha was already slinging an arm around his shoulder and walking, half-dragging him along.
Is this what close-protection guarding looks like or something? Min Jaeha seemed to have a rather mistaken understanding of what being a guard entailed. An S-rank Esper’s instincts were sharp enough that there was no need to stick this close.
“Here we are. It’s pretty empty since we’re early.”
“……”
Min Jaeha said it in a cheerful tone. Just as he said — Yujin had come out early on purpose, precisely because he didn’t want to run into people.
Then how long has this guy been waiting? The question occurred to him belatedly, just as Min Jaeha grabbed his hand and tugged him forward, announcing he was hungry.
“What are you standing around for? I’m starving, let’s go.”
“I know, stop grabbing me.”
He said it in a pointlessly cold tone and batted Min Jaeha’s hand away. Outside of Guiding, he had no particular desire to hold hands with an Esper.
“Yes, yes, understood.”
Min Jaeha didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. Come to think of it, Yujin Langford would have treated him far more harshly when he’d been in this body. Yujin swallowed a sigh and followed Min Jaeha into the cafeteria.
* * *
“The committee has decided to place Esper Kang Taejun under isolation.”
“Already?”
Hayeong reported the moment Yujin walked into the office after breakfast. Yujin responded with mild indifference.
That’s fast. He’d expected them to drag their feet and let it quietly slide. Then it occurred to him, belatedly, who his adoptive father was.
Father must have already heard about it.
And yet there had been no contact from Kwon Seunghyeok whatsoever. Hearing that his son had been assaulted by an Esper ought to be cause for concern. Even if it was an adopted child taken in for their ability, he had been on good terms with him before the Transmigration, as far as Yujin could recall.
Yujin Langford ruined all of that, naturally.
That damned Yujin Langford again. Yujin sighed out of habit.
“If you would like to specify a level of punishment or request a settlement, I can relay that to the committee.”
“A settlement?”
The punishment itself was probably nothing more than a show — he didn’t have much expectation there — but the settlement was tempting. The salary of a Guide team’s Team Leader was decent enough, but it didn’t hold a candle to what an S-rank Esper who went directly into Gates brought in. This felt like the right opportunity to squeeze a proper sum out of Kang Taejun.
“Talk it over with the legal team and go for the maximum.”
“Understood.”
Hayeong nodded promptly. During their discussions about the Kang Taejun situation, Hayeong had offhandedly mentioned the legal team that handled Association affairs — and from that, Yujin had realized that Hayeong wasn’t simply a Deputy Team Leader, but a personal aide placed there by Kwon Seunghyeok. Being treated as someone under surveillance wasn’t the most comfortable feeling, but Hayeong was a capable secretary. If anything, he was almost grateful Kwon Seunghyeok had sent someone to keep an eye on things.
“And, um…”
Hayeong started to speak, then glanced somewhere to the side. It was in Min Jaeha’s direction. He clearly had more to report but was hesitant with an Esper present.
“It’s fine, go ahead.”
“Yes…”
It couldn’t be helped — Min Jaeha, as his guard, would be at his side from now on. And even without Min Jaeha, another Esper would likely take his place. Hayeong shifted uncomfortably before opening his mouth again.
“The Association President would like to see you sometime soon.”
“Father wants to meet?”
“Yes.”
“Mm.”
At Hayeong’s reply, a quiet sound escaped Yujin.
His father could have contacted him directly but had instead sent word through Hayeong — that didn’t feel like a good sign. Yujin sat with the unease for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright, go ahead and set a date.”
“Understood.”
Hayeong answered and left the office. Today’s Guiding schedule had Baek Dohun slotted in. The lingering discomfort from having his shoulder grabbed hard still sat uneasily with him — and it was fortunate, as it turned out, that he now had Min Jaeha as a guard.
“You communicate with your father like he’s a stranger.”
“……”
But there the guard was, chattering non-stop right beside him. Yujin turned and fixed him with a glare.
“Mind your own business.”
“Oh come on, it’s not like we’re strangers.”
“If we’re not strangers, then what are we?”
“Hmm.”
Min Jaeha fell into brief thought at the question. He clearly had no good answer but was squeezing his brain for one anyway, which was almost funny. Yujin braced himself to scoff.
“Soon-to-be Pair partners?”
“……”
It nearly came out as a curse rather than a scoff. As Yujin’s expression froze, Min Jaeha burst into bright, childlike laughter.
“Stop joking around. We’re at work — keep it quiet.”
“Are you working right now? Really?”
“I will be soon.”
In truth, thanks to Kang Taejun’s rampage the day before, the Guiding workload had lightened somewhat. For the time being, all of Kang Taejun’s Guiding duties had been offloaded onto Yu Haneul entirely. In the middle of all that, Hayeong had even been moved to say how touching it was that Yujin was still making sure Kang Taejun received Guiding, even someone he must not want to lay eyes on.
Because of the quest, someone had to keep Guiding Kang Taejun consistently. His Contamination level was just as dangerous as Baek Dohun’s. Even with Yu Haneul — whose matching rate was high — handling him for now, the day would eventually come when Yujin had to face him again.
Maybe it was because he’d seen the nemesis from the novel world in his dream. Just thinking about Kang Taejun made his mood sink further. Yujin looked over the weekly Guiding schedule and let out another long sigh.
“Is it because of Kang Taejun?”
“Uh, well…”
Min Jaeha asked in a low, perceptive tone. Yujin gave a vague non-answer and changed the subject. This was probably just Min Jaeha poking at things out of curiosity again, he figured.
“Want me to beat the shit out of him?”
“What?”
The unexpected words caught Yujin off guard, and he couldn’t help but turn to look at Min Jaeha.
