The streetlights illuminating the alley went out one after another, and the lights flickered loudly. Kwon Jae-jin was pushed into a dark alley, his neck being strangled. It was a dead end.
"Cough!"
His spine slammed against the brick wall. The man who had been covering Jae-jin's mouth placed his hand on his chest as he tried to endure the pain. He spread his fingertips and pressed the area above his heart twice as if checking something. Kuk, kuk.
Even though it was a small movement, Jae-jin felt threatened, as if an animal's paw had stepped on him. It felt like his ribs were going to break.
"That's right. It's you."
"Ugh, hmm…. What is…..?"
"My guide."
Guide?
Kwon Jae-jin groaned and stared at the black shadow. The faintly flickering streetlight illuminated the silhouette of the villain.
He wore a black combat uniform that didn't belong in this ordinary alleyway. A leather harness across his thick chest held grenades and magazines, and a holster with a gun was strapped to his waist and thighs.
He was not an ordinary person.
He's an Esper.
'Why are the Awakened in the 6th residential area?'
He claimed that Kwon Jae-jin was his guide, but in fact, that was impossible. Jae-jin was an ordinary person living in a normal residential area. He worked in the 6th residential area, far from the 1st residential area where the wealthy lived.
Of course, only the non-awakened, those who have not awakened as either an Esper or a Guide, can live in the general residential area. They will never encounter an awakened person in their entire life, nor will they ever have to speak to one.
"Oh, Mr. Esper… You seem to be doing well. Please let me go."
Jae-jin spoke, enduring the pain. It was hard to even breathe, as his cervical vertebrae felt crushed as if they were about to break. He thought I don't know what kind of disaster this is, on my way home from work after working overtime.
"No, that's not true. You're mistaken."
An eerie voice whispered in my ear.
At the same time, the heated eyes gradually came closer. As the man came closer to my nose, Kwon Jae-jin could see his face.
He looks surprisingly young.
If you look closely, he looks younger than Jae-jin. His curly hair looks fluffy, and his thick eyebrows and long, slightly slanted eyes make him look like a dog.
What, a retriever….. a large dog?
Whatever it was, his appearance did not match his actions of holding Jae-jin's neck with only one hand.
And Jae-jin knew who the man with this face was.
"Let me check now. Whether you are the guide that matches me or not."
The first S-class Esper. 20 years old. Seo Ui-woo.
"Shut up."
After a brief, mumbled warning, the man pressed against Jae-jin, and their lips were forced together.
As Seo Ui-woo tried to push his tongue in, Kwon Jae-jin clenched his molars hard to block it.
He knew that the awakened ones had completely different views on sex from the general public, as they guided each other through physical contact.
However, knowing this didn't make it any easier to endure.
Jae-jin was an ordinary man, and he couldn't possibly be okay with being kissed by another man out of the blue. It was natural for him to reject it — especially in a situation like this, where he was cornered and choked.
"…I said, just a little?"
Seo Ui-woo frowned as he asked, questioningly, after failing to make contact. Suddenly, the air surrounding him became tense. An S-class Esper could exert pressure on their surroundings without even intending to. That must have been why all the streetlights had broken just a moment ago.
"Ugh, ugh."
The sharp air felt like needles were piercing his whole body. Jae-jin clenched his teeth even harder.
"Ha...."
Seo Ui-woo raised his clear gray eyes. He looked up at the sky for a moment, then lowered them.
It seemed like he felt the conversation was meaningless.
In an instant, Kwon Jae-jin's jaw twisted. At that moment, he had no idea what was happening. It felt like someone was pressing on his jaw joint and forcing his mouth open.
Seo Ui-woo thrust his thick, leather-gloved fingers deep into Kwon Jae-jin's neck.
"Ooh, ugh… …!"
Seo Ui-woo kissed Jae-jin again as he retched.
This time, their tongues were connected. Jae-jin jumped and kicked Seo Ui-woo hard with his foot, but his opponent didn't move at all, like a rock.
Seo Ui-woo licked and rubbed his clean tongue for a long time as if punishing Jae-jin, sucking his saliva. Even though Jae-jin was drooling, Seo Ui-woo had no intention of stopping. He licked his lips, rubbed them with his tongue again, made Jae-jin drool, and then sucked it again.
'This bastard.'
Kwon Jae-jin thinks he's crazy.
He should have known from the moment he started talking nonsense and rambling to the general public.
Are you saying that this kid was the first S-class Esper and was praised so much in various media? The savior of mankind that never existed in history, the prince of sunlight carved from light — those are all ridiculous nicknames. As expected, fame is not something to be trusted.
"Ugh, fall, gasp…..haa!"
Kwon Jae-jin's chin began to tremble. His breathing became labored, and his feet slowed.
Jae-jin was someone who enjoyed exercising so much that he ran every morning without fail and went rock climbing on holidays.
Thanks to that, his physique was better than most. His shoulders were broad, and his body was moderately muscular. To be blunt, he had never found himself at a disadvantage anywhere.
However, in front of Seo Ui-woo, who specialized in fighting, he was just a helpless, ordinary person.
At some point, he began to feel a sense of dread. The ordinary world around him was being encroached upon, and encountering someone who did not adhere to his sense of normalcy was a more terrifying experience than he had anticipated.
"Eum...."
Seo Ui-woo, who had been biting and sucking Jae-jin's tongue for a while, slowly let go. The viscous thread between his tongues was cut off. Seo Ui-woo swallowed it in his mouth as if he didn't even want that.
"See, it works. Guiding..."
Seo Ui-woo sang with his eyes wide open. For some reason, he seemed happier than before. He appeared excited. In addition, his monolid eyes were slightly curved, making him look younger. However, for Kwon Jae-jin, everything was just an act. The back of his neck tingled. He felt nauseous, and his stomach churned. It felt as though he was being tossed around in a small, cramped box. A thin, unpleasant stream of sweat trickled down his back.
"You are the guide that suits me. I hadn't found you until now because you were tucked away in such a corner."
Of course, Kwon Jae-jin is not a guide. He was not diagnosed as an awakened person in the mandatory awakening test he took immediately after birth. However, Seo Ui-woo claimed that Kwon Jae-jin was his matching guide. Inside… inside, it's even noisier. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and now it feels as if his outer and inner skin are flipping over.
"…Ugh, grr."
Jae-jin shook his head slowly.
It wasn't because of Seo Ui-woo.
It truly felt strange.
His nerves were on edge throughout his entire body, like concentric circles radiating from his heart. His vision began spinning counterclockwise, and soon everything went completely dark. His brain buzzed as if a giant gong were being struck inside his head, and there was a high-pitched ringing in his ears.
"What… what's wrong with you? Are you hurt? Is something broken?"
The condition was not good. It felt as if a huge, mysterious, intangible force was stirring Kwon Jae-jin. His breathing became increasingly ragged and then finally stopped altogether.
"…Gah!"
For a moment, it seemed like his heart stopped.
No. Should he say he died and came back to life?
At the same time, like the tide coming in, his head was filled with one thought. Memories came to mind one after another.
It was like a memory that was played backward.
They say that a kaleidoscope can only be seen when you die, but it was like a kaleidoscope that could only be seen when you defied death.
Therefore…..
So…..what this means is…..
It means that Kwon Jae-jin has already died once, and has now been resurrected here.
Regression.
This was Kwon Jae-jin's second life.
This is his second time meeting Seo Ui-woo and my second time becoming his guide.
The guidance that Seo Ui-woo had forced upon him a little while ago became the trigger for memories of his previous life, that is, his first life. Everything about how Kwon Jae-jin had lived in his previous life and how he had died.
"...Seo Ui-woo."
Kwon Jae-jin opened his eyes wide and slowly looked up at Seo Ui-woo as if he couldn't believe it.
"Were you this young...?"
His vision became dizzy. Soon, his body's center of gravity twisted and collapsed. Seo Ui-woo easily caught Jae-jin's unconscious body.