TS 005

Yoon Taehwa entered the Center sixteen years ago. Even during the time when Espers were treated like dogs two decades earlier, one had to be at least seventeen years old to join the Center. However, there are always exceptions.

Being both an extremely rare Special Ability User and possessing an extraordinary S-rank was enough for them to recruit this fifteen-year-old boy. In fact, he started working as an Esper even before his birthday, effectively beginning fieldwork at fourteen.

Despite the heavy responsibilities of ability users, deploying minors remained controversial at that time. Sending a mere fifteen-year-old child into dungeons filled with bloodshed or terrorist situations raised concerns. Yet, these worries quickly faded away due to Yoon Taehwa’s lineage as part of the Taesung Group.

As a third-generation heir of one of Korea’s wealthiest families, Taesung Group, people were not particularly concerned about his rights due to his privileged status. However, Chairman Yoon was a wise man who knew how to leverage both his grandson’s abilities and public image effectively.

Despite spending more than half his life working in dangerous environments, Yoon Taehwa never considered his past unfortunate. He had faced numerous near-death experiences, but it became just part of his routine existence. In fact, he sometimes reflected on those times as being not so bad after all. Having worked at the Center for a long time, he encountered various types of individuals early on, which taught him valuable lessons about dealing with people.

Among them, there were a few exceptional souls that made him believe in innate goodness, while others were deranged lunatics reinforcing the notion of inherent evil.

However, this was his first time encountering such a situation.

“……”

Yoon Taehwa once again stared down at his hands. It was his left hand, not holding the Glock pistol. Due to the nature of his abilities requiring frequent close combat, his fingers were filled with minor scars. Yet, intertwined between them were smooth and slender fingers that seemed untouched by any harsh labor, ending with neatly trimmed nails.

What exactly is happening here?

He raised his gaze and looked at the man standing opposite him as if observing some strange creature. The other adult male’s expression showed no embarrassment whatsoever about tightly gripping another grown man’s hand.

“Could you let go?”

He was about to ask what the man was doing but barely managed to change his words. While he might not be friendly towards team members or other ability users, Yoon Taehwa tended to treat ordinary civilians kindly.

“Oh.”

The man finally opened his mouth. His gray eyes glanced down at their intertwined hands before slowly pulling away.

“I’m scared because there is so much blood splattering right in front of me…”

His deep voice sounded overly gentle for someone expressing fear. Yoon Taehwa looked at the man with bewilderment, finding it hard to comprehend why this taller individual would hold onto him out of fright despite being just an ordinary civilian.

…Had Taehwa been working with Espers for too long that he lost touch with reality? Is this a typical reaction when confronted with a murder scene?

“I need human body heat.”

He was about ten centimeters taller than Yoon Taehwa, which was rare since he usually had to look down at others. The man cast his eyes downward with a sad expression, creating deep shadows beneath his fluttering eyelashes on the thin skin below. It felt both intriguing and absurd that this tall man could appear so forlorn next to him.

“It seems my information leaked; I just returned from Russia. I didn’t expect to be followed all the way here… My only mistake was accompanying someone, yet suddenly guns were pointed at me… It was overwhelming and terrifying.”

The grip around Taehwa’s hand tightened subtly. Yoon Taehwa slightly furrowed his brow.

“You weren’t the one who killed those pursuing you?”

“It wasn’t me… My companion did it… I let my guard down.” Although his speech was slightly slow, each word was pronounced flawlessly without any noticeable accent. Sensing Yoon Taehwa’s immediate assessment, the man preemptively provided additional information.

“My father is Korean. I’m half-Korean.”

No wonder he had such a unique aura. His appearance was strikingly handsome.

Yoon Taehwa composed himself and slowly scrutinized the stranger. Despite claiming that his companion handled everything, there wasn’t a single drop of blood from head to toe on this young man.

“The smell of blood makes me dizzy…” The man grimaced as if recalling unpleasant memories and leaned his forehead against Yoon Taehwa’s shoulder once more, contorting his large frame awkwardly.

Why was he acting like this? Hadn’t Taehwa saved him from getting shot? Normally, he would have shoved him away immediately, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so due to sheer bewilderment. He chuckled awkwardly again as he stared at the top of his head. His thick ash-colored hair fluttered in the wind.

‘Two Russians will be joining us. One is a researcher, and the other is an Esper, so you’ll personally manage them, Team Leader Yoon Taehwa. You understand that no one else can handle foreign Espers except for you, right?’

Yoon Taehwa wasn’t certain, but it seemed likely that he was the researcher. It’s wrong to judge someone based on appearance alone, but considering how he had calmly stood there with a gun pointed at his face, coupled with his harmless demeanor, it made more sense for him to be the researcher rather than the Esper.

—Team Leader, we found her. Luckily, she’s safe. Should we head over there?

At that moment, a familiar voice came through his earpiece.

“The other bastards…”

—I see the situation is resolved. They’re all dead.

Indeed, it seemed the woman was the Esper.

“No need to come here. Withdraw.”

—But didn’t you say there were two people we needed to find?

“I’ve met them,” replied Yoon Taehwa, glancing down at his gently swaying hair. Their hands remained intertwined as they walked together towards the director’s office, their footsteps synchronized. Kim Dohee had left earlier to escort the blood-soaked woman to take a shower.

“Huh? Who’s behind you, Team Leader?”

Curious gazes followed them due to their unusual entourage. Irritated by the attention, Yoon Taehwa maintained a stoic expression while rolling his eyes. As soon as they felt his icy stare, the Espers discreetly avoided eye contact and pretended not to be interested.

Upon reaching the director’s office, they found it empty.

“Please make yourself comfortable.” Yoon Taehwa gestured vaguely towards the sofa with his head. However, the man stood there blankly, seemingly unsure of what was expected of him.

Perhaps he didn’t want to sit down. Only after Yoon Taehwa took a seat did the man finally follow suit.

“…..”

He chose the spot right next to Yoon Taehwa.

The sofa was arranged around three sides of the table. Even excluding the seat at the head, there were ample spots directly across from me. I stared at him with a questioning look as to why he chose to sit beside me instead. The man’s eyebrows drooped.

“I’m still scared…”

His voice sounded timid. This reinforced his prediction that he might be a researcher. Yoon Taehwa, who had spent approximately 350 out of 365 days confronting ability users, had never expressed fear like this before. Perhaps witnessing someone’s head exploding right in front of him had shaken him deeply. Despite being part of a guild, it must have been rare for a researcher to witness such death firsthand, and the scene seemed to linger vividly in his mind.

He found it intriguing that even members of Kasatka Guild, known for their toughness, were afraid to sit next to him. It seemed this might be a typical reaction.

“You should sit over there.”

“Why do you call me ‘you’?” The man politely questioned back.

“Well, because I don’t know your name.”

“Ah, my name… You indeed don’t know it.” Leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs, he rested his cheek against his palm. His posture naturally curved as he spoke, and his beautifully shaped lips formed a gentle smile.

“I’ll give you my Korean name since Russian names can be hard to remember.” As his eyes crinkled in amusement, the teardrop tattoo beneath his left eye slightly shifted upward.

“Han Suryeon. Pretty, isn’t it?”

Yoon Taehwa had never met someone who openly claimed their own name was pretty. He recalled Director Shin’s remark about Russia being full of crazy people and narrowed his eyes at him instead of replying. Despite labeling him as the first lunatic he’d ever encountered, he couldn’t deny that his appearance perfectly matched his name.

He realized, for the first time, that his ash-gray hair and eyes actually suited the name ‘Suryeon.’ The colors, far from pristine white, melted perfectly into his dazzling beauty. It was a meticulously crafted beauty, a landscape of subtly wavy hair, long eyelashes, and a single beauty mark beneath a shimmering grey eye.

“Isn’t it pretty, Team Leader Yoon Taehwa?”

How did he know my name? His forehead creased momentarily with confusion but quickly realized it was likely due to his fame from Russia.

“Yes, it’s quite pretty,” Yoon Taehwa replied politely. It was indeed a beautiful name derived from flowers.

Han Suryeon smiled again as if pleased with his response. As he did so, his left eye seemed to narrow slightly more than the right, perhaps out of habit. He instinctively tried to mimic his expression when suddenly…

The door opened, and Director Shin entered the room.

“Sorry for being late. Why is it just you two?”

With a cheerful demeanor, she took her seat and extended her hand towards Han Suryeon.

“Pleased to meet you, Lil–-“

“Please call me Han Suryeon. Since I’m in Korea now, let’s use my Korean name.”

“I see you have a Korean name as well. Nice to meet you, Han Suryeon-ssi.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

In this warm and cozy atmosphere, Yoon Taehwa was the only one with a frown on his face. From Director Shin’s expression, he had suspected something, but his handshake confirmed it.

“This is Liliya, right?”

“You didn’t know? I assumed you were aware since there are just two of them here. Yes, this is Liliya… or rather, Han Suryeon. He’s an S-rank Esper with physical-based abilities.”

Yoon Taehwa had previously ranted about how terrifying S-ranks could be, yet now he seemed like a hypocrite. His lips curled sarcastically as he glanced around. When their eyes met, Han Suryeon grinned sheepishly, blushing as if embarrassed.