Seon kept mostly to himself, training silently in the mornings and avoiding unnecessary conversation. Taeo didn’t bother him unless his watch buzzed, and even then, he guided him with the bare minimum touch and zero eye contact.

It was… tolerable.

Until the morning everything changed.

The Summons

At 6:14 a.m., the metallic speakers embedded in every Guide–Esper Residence crackled to life—loud enough to make Seon flinch upright in bed.

"CODE RED. All active Espers and Guides report to HQ Meeting Room A.”

“Special call: Yoon Seon.”

The announcement repeated twice before dying out.

Seon exhaled sharply. “Great.”

From the other side of the wall, Taeo spoke, voice flat as always.

“You heard that.”

“No shit,” Seon muttered under his breath as he got up.

They arrived at HQ together—but didn’t walk side by side. Just… near each other.

When they stepped into Meeting Room A, the atmosphere was already heavy.

A long table, holographic map in the center, and ten unfamiliar faces—Espers and Guides—already waiting.

One of the higher-ups, Director Hwang, stood at the front.

“Good. Everyone’s here,” he said, steepling his fingers. “We’ll begin.”

He tapped the hologram, and the map shifted into a recording—an Abyss S-Class Door pulsing open in the middle of Ilhwa Public Beach, civilians screaming as monsters poured out of the rip in space.

“We’ve evacuated most of the beach,” Director Hwang said, “but monsters keep emerging. And this—” he zoomed into the image “—is an S-Class Abyss. Only the top combat units can enter.”

A tense silence filled the room.

Seon’s eyes stayed glued to the footage, jaw tight. This was bad.

Really bad.

Director Hwang turned to the group.

“For this mission, we are deploying the Top Ten Active Espers in the country.”

Then, one by one, they introduced themselves.

A tall woman with short green hair stepped forward first.

“Im Haeun. A-Class Esper. Specialization: Cryokinesis.”

Next, a man with silver headphones hanging around his neck:

“Do Jisung. A-Class Esper. Sound Manipulation.”

A petite woman with a cold expression:

“Kang Rina. A-Class Esper. Photonic Constructs.”

A burly guy with wrapped hands:

“Park Eunwoo. A-Class Esper. Shockwave Impact.”

And more—until the ninth Esper finished.

Then all eyes turned to Seon.

He hated introductions.

“…Yoon Seon. Telekinesis. S-Class.”

No further explanation. No unnecessary words.

After the Espers, the Guides stepped forward.

A woman in a clean white uniform bowed slightly.

“Guide Choi Minha. A-Class.”

A nervous-looking guy raised a hand halfway.

“Guide Lee Gawon… also A-Class.”

Another Guide, calm and composed:

“Guide Seo Mirae. A-Class.”

Every Guide in the room… A-Class.

Which meant none of them could stabilize Seon in a real fight.

Director Hwang cleared his throat.

“To be clear, these Guides can support the A-Class Espers. But there is only one S-Class Guide capable of handling high-output Esper instability.”

His gaze shifted toward Taeo.

Every head in the room followed.

Seon froze.

Taeo didn’t look up from the table.

He just crossed his arms like the attention annoyed him.

Director Hwang continued,

“Woo Taeo will act as the primary stabilizer for all combat Espers—especially Seon.”

Several Guides stiffened at that, but no one argued.

They all knew the truth: an S-Class Abyss without an S-Class Guide was suicide.

Director Hwang turned off the screen.

“Backup teams from the lower classes are already positioned outside the Abyss perimeter. Your squad is the core unit. You will enter as soon as clearance is finalized.”

The room settled into tense silence.

The storm was coming.

And Seon… didn’t know whether having Taeo there made it better or worse.