CHAPTER 19
It was the dead of night. The house was so dark that only the faint moonlight allowed Hanseo to barely make out the shapes of objects.
In the pitch-black darkness, only a deafening noise echoed:
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hanseo glared at the front door.
Strangely, he felt no fear. When the situation that had seemed terrifying in his imagination now became a reality, his mind became calm instead.
Only one question lingered:
How did the Cult Leader find me?
Did the investigator discover he used his ability? Or was there another reason?
No, perhaps he hadn't made a mistake at all. The Cult Leader was surrounded by followers with bizarre and mysterious abilities. It was possible one of their powers was responsible. Whatever the reason, it wasn't the important issue right now.
Fortunately, Hanseo knew the Cult Leader quite well. The man was too lazy to personally attend to such trivial matters, so the one knocking at the door couldn't be him. This meant there was a chance—a chance to escape.
Fighting is out of the question.
Hanseo knew his limits. Even if he was just a strong ordinary person, not an Esper, he wouldn't stand a chance against the Cult Leader. But escaping? That was possible.
He approached the only window and peered down. Even from the third floor, the drop looked dauntingly high.
If I fall wrong...
BANG!
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
The front door shook violently, the sound even louder than before, as if it was about to shatter. Hanseo flinched and turned to see the doorknob rattling wildly. It looked like it would fall off any second.
Hanseo steeled his resolve.
Don't dwell on useless thoughts.
Even a broken bone was preferable to being captured by the Cult Leader.
With the screen door open, nothing obstructed the window now.
Just as Hanseo braced himself to jump,
Bang!
The door burst open.
Damn it.
Hanseo gritted his teeth and lunged forward, ready to leap.
But his limbs felt frozen, refusing to move.
Psychokinesis.
The realization struck him instantly. Hanseo whipped his head around to glare at the intruder, a fleeting crimson glint flashing in his hazel eyes.
"Hanseo!"
"...Park Jintae?"
The unexpected identity of the intruder made Hanseo halt his power. A dazed expression crept across his frozen face. Simultaneously, the invisible force holding him vanished.
"Thank God! You're safe!"
Park Jintae reached out and pulled Hanseo into an embrace. With the only escape route being the window, Hanseo reluctantly submitted, but immediately pushed him away.
Hanseo stepped away from the window, positioning himself near the exit, ready to flee at any moment. He remained on high alert.
The Cult Leader coveted high-ranking Espers and would seize any opportunity to claim them as his own, showing no hesitation even when dealing with Espers affiliated with the Center.
Hanseo's face was utterly expressionless as he stared at Park Jintae. Sensing something amiss, Park Jintae hesitated.
"Hanseo?"
"Are you with the Infinite Harmony Sect?"
The Infinite Harmony Sect. That was the name of the pseudo-religious cult Hanseo had once been involved with. Based on Park Jintae's actions, Hanseo had suspected this possibility, but Park Jintae's reaction defied his expectations.
"Huh? Infinite Harmony Sect...? What are you talking about?"
Park Jintae's bewildered expression showed no trace of the panic of someone whose secret had been exposed.
Followers of the Infinite Harmony Sect rarely denied their faith unless under extreme circumstances. On the contrary, they usually proudly proclaimed it. If Park Jintae was truly a believer of the Cult Leader, he would have gladly revealed his identity here instead of denying it.
Park Jintae was not a member of the Infinite Harmony Sect.
Once Hanseo was certain of this, he no longer felt the need to be wary of him. He was simply dumbfounded.
"More importantly, Hanseo, did you just speak informally to me?"
What the hell is this guy's deal? Hanseo crossed his arms and stared at Park Jintae in disbelief.
"Is that what's important right now? What are you even trying to do?"
"...I couldn't get in touch with you, Hanseo."
"What?"
"I've been waiting for your call since you left so abruptly yesterday. But you never called. I waited and waited, and when I couldn't stand it anymore, I called, but your phone was off. I rushed over here, thinking something had happened to you."
Hanseo glanced sideways at his phone, carelessly tossed beside the blanket. He hadn't charged it since yesterday, so it was no surprise it had died while he was sleeping. But that wasn't a sufficient explanation for this situation.
"So you broke down the door and barged in? And you've been spying on me too?"
"I'm sorry about the door. I'll pay for the repairs. Or... how about we move to a new place altogether? I've already found a new house for us anyway."
Park Jintae casually surveyed Hanseo's apartment, his expression completely calm, as if he didn't just broke into someone else's home.
"You'll love our new home. It's infinitely better than this place. This neighborhood doesn't suit you at all. Not only is it run-down, but the security is terrible. Look, even with all this commotion, no one came out to see what's happening. If someone disappeared around here, I doubt anyone would even notice."
Hanseo sighed, watching Park Jintae casually make such chilling remarks. Now that he knew this wasn't the Infinite Harmony Sect, he felt no need to remain cautious.
"Just a regular lunatic, huh?"
"Hanseo, are you talking to me?"
"Who else would I be talking to?"
After hearing this, Hanseo abandoned any pretense of being polite. Park Jintae seemed shocked by Hanseo's changed tone, his hands trembling visibly.
"Why are you talking like that? Were you pretending to be demure all this time just to impress me?"
"......"
"Even so, you shouldn't talk to your future husband like that. Well, I guess you wouldn't know since you never had anyone to teach you proper manners. It's okay. I'll teach you properly from now on."
Ignoring Park Jintae's nonsense, Hanseo pondered how a normal person would react in this situation. Will they usually call the police? But his phone was dead, and even if it weren't, Park Jintae wouldn't wait around for him to finish reporting. Trying to subdue an A-Class Esper with force would be equally absurd.
In the meantime, Park Jintae had recovered from his shock and regained his composure, his face now smooth and composed. He strode purposefully toward Hanseo, a smile playing on his lips.
"I was planning to tell you later, but after you left so abruptly yesterday, I've been thinking about it a lot. About what I should do with you..."
A strange glint flickered in Park Jintae's eyes.
"Let's get married, Hanseo."
"......"
"Become my bride. You can buy anything you want, have anything you desire. You don't need to live in this doghouse anymore."
Hanseo suddenly recalled countless proposal scenes from dramas—balloons, candles, cakes, and all the trimmings.
Reality is nothing like the dramas.
Hanseo stared up at Park Jintae, who was oblivious to the fact that he was well within Hanseo's range. If Hanseo wanted, he could easily scramble Park Jintae's mind, turning him into an imbecile.
Hanseo had done such things countless times before... but he had never enjoyed it.
He no longer wanted to live as he had in his past life. Every choice he made back then had been disastrous and horrific. In this life, he resolved to make choices that were the exact opposite of those he made before.
"Hey, I'll let you off this once. Just go."
I'll let him go for now and report him later. That's a normal way to handle this, right?
The problem was that Park Jintae didn't budge. Well, if he was the type to leave when told, he wouldn't be here in the first place. Hanseo pressed his forehead and quietly reasoned with him.
"I can't marry you. I already have someone I'm going to marry."
"Gu Jei?"
The surprisingly accurate answer startled Hanseo. Seeing Hanseo's reaction, Park Jintae's face twisted into a grotesque grimace.
"This is exactly why it won't work. You're so naive, Hanseo. You'd fall for anything that looks good on the surface. Even after I warned you. But I guess I should understand. It's not your fault you're so stupid, considering you didn't even finish elementary school."
This attack was completely ineffective against Hanseo, who had never even attended elementary school and never cared about his education. Hanseo looked up at Park Jintae, who was now standing only a hand's breadth away. Reading the raw emotions on Park Jintae's face was easy.
Rage and jealousy.
Only now did the situation begin to make sense. The spark had ignited in Park Jintae's heart the moment Gu Jei's name was mentioned at the restaurant, or perhaps even earlier, when they'd first encountered each other in the parking lot. This explained his rash actions. Knowing Yeo Hanseo lacked a proper guardian, he likely felt no reason to hesitate.
"You've been pretending to worry about me since earlier, but even so, stalking me was too much. Do you have any idea how scared you made me feel?"
"Stalking? I never did that."
"Don't lie now. I know you parked your car in front of my house yesterday and watched me."
"Hanseo, why would I lie to you about something like that?"
Park Jintae shrugged. He wanted to deny it, but there was truth in his words. Now that everything was out in the open, there was no reason for Park Jintae to lie.
Then who was that?
"Then who else could it be."
At that moment, a hot hand caressed Hanseo's cheek.
"Hanseo, you're quite popular, aren't you? Well, your looks are too striking. Even if you weren't a guide, everyone would still be going after you."
The way Park Jintae's gaze dissected him from head to toe made Hanseo feel like insects were crawling under his skin.
"That's why you should stay home for a while after we get married. We can't risk you going out and having something bad happen."
"I'm not marrying you."
Park Jintae stared at Hanseo with lifeless eyes. His blank, expressionless face soon broke into a smile.
"Hanseo, you don't know what's good for you. You'll realize I was right later. Anyway, let's not stay here. Come to my place and think it over calmly."
In other words, he was going to drag Hanseo away and imprison him. The fact that he claimed to have prepared his house in advance meant this had been planned long ago.
Hanseo slowly backed away. Park Jintae didn't try to stop him, merely watching with the relaxed expression of someone who had already cornered their prey.
As expected, the moment Hanseo darted toward the entrance, his body jerked to a halt.
"Honestly, this is why I worry. After being caught once, you really thought you could escape?" Park Jintae strolled over leisurely. When he finally stood before Hanseo, surprise flickered across his face.
"Surprisingly, Hanseo isn't as timid as I thought... To keep such a composed expression even in this situation. You weren't actually expecting someone to come and help you, were you?"
Of course, he had never entertained such thoughts. From the start, Hanseo's attempt to escape hadn't been for his own sake.
So, this is how it ends.
Their eyes met. Like a flame igniting, a crimson glow began to suffuse Hanseo's pupils.
Park Jintae stared, mesmerized, at the intensifying red glow. His Esper instincts screamed of danger, yet he found himself unable to look away.
Ah, this is...
Before Park Jintae could finish his thought, his body tilted.
Thud.
"...?"
Hanseo blinked, staring down at Park Jintae, who had collapsed at his feet.
What the hell?
I haven't even done anything yet!
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