When the Camera Turned

Then, all of a sudden, Saheon broke into a run toward somewhere unseen.

People looked around, trying to spot the celebrity who had just appeared nearby, but he was already gone from sight.

The place Saheon reappeared was right in front of Jaeyoung, who had just finished his campus tour.

Saheon stood a short distance away, doing nothing but staring until Jaeyoung noticed his presence.

“Hyung?”

At last, Jaeyoung spotted him.

With his black hood pulled low, Saheon looked suspicious at a glance.

Jaeyoung led him behind the science building, where there were fewer people around.

“How did you know I was here?”

Without answering, Saheon looked at the smartphone in Jaeyoung’s hand.

“Oh…”

Jaeyoung let out a small exclamation.

Inside his phone case, the tracking device Saheon had secretly planted was still there.

Jaeyoung stared at his phone with conflicted eyes.

It was convenient not having to contact him separately every time guiding was needed.

After hesitating, Jaeyoung ended up doing nothing and simply flipped his phone face down.

“By the way, the campus is in chaos right now.

Apparently some Esper ‘disciplined’ a total creep…”

Jaeyoung trailed off mid-sentence.

“Don’t tell me that Esper was you?”

When he’d first heard the story, he hadn’t even considered Saheon.

But how likely was it that two Espers would be on an otherwise peaceful campus?

“Whoa.

Hyung, you’re already number one on real-time trends!”

Opening the app, Saheon’s name was rising and falling on the trending list.

Jaeyoung’s eyes sparkled like he was looking at a celebrity.

“There’s even a video.”

He quickly hit play and turned the volume up.

What on earth had Saheon done to cause this uproar in less than five minutes?

“Hand.”

Saheon, tired of waiting, held out his empty hand.

If he let Jaeyoung be, he looked ready to dive headfirst into his phone with the actual person standing right in front of him.

Strictly speaking, the reason Saheon had even been caught on video was because he’d come here to receive guiding from Jaeyoung.

If not for that, there’d have been no reason for him to be here at all.

“Oh, right.”

Jaeyoung casually tossed his hand into Saheon’s.

Having gotten what he wanted, Saheon leaned comfortably against the back of the bench and enjoyed the guiding.

“Wow.

Why do there seem to be more and more hopeless trash like this?”

There were so many that incidents like this barely even became news anymore.

If Saheon hadn’t intervened, this probably wouldn’t have made the headlines at all.

“Honestly, you can tell the woman’s way too good for him…”

Jaeyoung muttered regretfully as he turned the screen off.

“Did you know her?”

“No.”

Saheon opened his eyes at the question.

“Then why did you help her?”

If it had been Jaeyoung himself, of course he would’ve helped.

But this was Jin Saheon.

Even though he belonged to a government-affiliated center and was technically a quasi–public servant, the phrase “serving the people” didn’t suit him at all.

“She was right in front of me.”

After shaking the entire country with his unbelievable behavior, Saheon was utterly indifferent.

Even hearing his answer, Jaeyoung couldn’t quite accept it.

“How bad of a guy do you think I am?”

Saheon snapped, looking at Jaeyoung like he couldn’t believe it.

Jaeyoung naturally avoided his gaze.

Then he shifted closer to Saheon.

“Hyung.

Should we hug today too?”

It was stiff, awkward aegyo, meant to brush things off.

Saheon, who had no choice but to be the one conceding, quietly pulled Jaeyoung into an embrace.

It was a peaceful weekend.

Jaeyoung, who usually spent most of his time alone in his room, was sprawled out with his head resting on Haewoon’s lap.

Mintae lay on his back with his shirt rolled up, cooling off.

“Who would believe you’re exam candidates?”

Dongjun, in the same boat, clicked his tongue as he came out of the kitchen with popcorn in his arms.

“And you’re here too.”

Haewoon shot back without restraint.

“At least I came because I got an alert.”

Dongjun had dashed out of the library to watch the raid live, even though he could’ve seen it as a rerun.

“Kim Jaeyoung, what’s with you today?”

Dongjun asked, setting the popcorn down by Jaeyoung’s head.

Unlike the other three, who messed around like they’d given up on the exam, Jaeyoung had been living strictly by his study schedule ever since becoming a candidate.

“Just… wanted to clear my head.”

Caught off guard, Jaeyoung answered with a sheepish smile.

Ever since finding out he was a Guide, he’d started prioritizing raid broadcasts over studying.

His friends still didn’t know he was a Guide.

‘I should tell them…’

They’d never had secrets from each other growing up, but the words wouldn’t come easily.

Even if he told them, would they believe him?

“Aren’t you guys the ones distracting me from studying?”

Haewoon suddenly complained, having stared blankly at the commercials.

“And that’s our fault?”

Mintae made an exaggeratedly offended face.

Haewoon’s expression twisted sharply.

“No, it’s just that you all study separately, but when you want to hang out, you always come to my place.”

His voice was full of injustice.

Jaeyoung had to admit he lost focus when other people were around too.

But this wasn’t his house, and he wasn’t the one suffering.

“We’ll hang out on our own, so go upstairs and study.

What’s the problem?”

At the shameless response, Haewoon was left speechless.

“No, you assh—”

“Hey, hey!

It’s starting.”

At Dongjun’s shout, Haewoon clamped his mouth shut.

He still looked wronged, but no one cared.

The dungeon was located halfway up a mountain.

Because of that, there were no casualties before it was discovered by mushroom foragers.

–Measured rank is B.

A staff member in center uniform finished the assessment and stepped back.

Perhaps because of the low rank, Saheon wasn’t visible.

But no one was worried.

The team consisted of B- and C-rank Espers, and center-affiliated Espers had high dungeon proficiency.

They practically monopolized dungeon clearing, making this possible.

From the entrance, familiar monsters like gnolls and orcs poured out.

Aside from their sheer numbers taking time, it wasn’t difficult.

It was boring enough to make you sleepy.

–Boss zone.

That changed at the section where the dungeon’s strongest creature appeared.

Jaeyoung sat up straight.

“Holy shit.

Isn’t that a dragon?”

“Why is hyung in there?”

Inside a massive nest, breathing fire with its jaws wide open, was unmistakably a dragon.

Even an A-rank Esper’s blade barely scratched its gleaming scales.

“They can handle that, right?”

Mintae muttered tensely.

“Of course.

Actually, in this team, there’s someone even more reliable than the A-ranks.

She’s excellent at mana control and tactics—people call her the second ‘ground hound.’”

Dongjun rattled on, calming Mintae with his encyclopedic knowledge of Espers.

As he said, the situation shifted once the B-rank Esper stepped in.

She ordered them to attack the gaps, not the scales.

The greater threat was the flames that melted even reinforced armor in seconds.

But even a dragon couldn’t breathe fire endlessly.

They tracked its fire direction, timing, and intervals, and mapped the safe zones.

After that, it was smooth sailing.

“Damn, what’s her name?

I’m a fan starting today.”

“B-rank Esper Moon Seoha.

I sent you the fan café link already—check it.”

“Oh, nice.

Thanks, thanks.”

Jaeyoung shook his head at Mintae immediately checking his phone.

Their decisiveness was impressive, as always.

Jaeyoung’s eye for talent worked a little differently.

‘If more outstanding Espers appear, hyung’s burden will lessen.’

As Saheon’s Guide, he couldn’t ignore Saheon’s condition.

Korea relied far too heavily on its single S-rank Esper.

The dungeon’s light faded, and the Espers exited confidently.

Reporters and spectators waiting beyond the blue line erupted in cheers.

–…It’s too… much…

But something was off.

At an A-rank Esper’s signal, the scattered Espers backed away.

“What?”

“It’s not over?”

Even the ones glued to their phones looked up.

“Something’s wrong.”

Jaeyoung couldn’t make sense of it either.

–Everyone disperse—!

–Did you contact the center?

Looking closer, the Espers had surrounded a single person.

It was Moon Seoha, the B-rank Esper who had stood out the most.

“What the hell.

Why’s our noona there?”

Mintae, already calling her noona, leaned closer to the screen.

“Hey.

I told you not to sit so close.”

Haewoon began scolding him when Seoha suddenly twisted in pain.

“What is that?

Was there a zombie inside?”

Her shrieking, contorted movements looked eerily like a human turning into a zombie in a movie.

As Haewoon voiced his confusion, the screen abruptly cut to black.

The dark screen reflected the stunned faces of the boys.

“What?

‘Jjaekjjaek’ is going crazy too.

Everyone’s saying something serious happened.”

“Should we pack?

Are we evacuating?”

The easily frightened Mintae bounced anxiously, clutching his phone.

“The dungeon definitely disappeared.

We all saw it.”

Haewoon spoke calmly, but his eyes shook with confusion.

“Give it here.”

Dongjun snatched the remote and switched channels.

Someone among the spectators must’ve been livestreaming.

A violent gust of wind suddenly swept across the video.

The ground around Seoha cratered violently.

“What is that?”

“Is she infected or something?”

“She looks hurt—why isn’t anyone helping?”

As if responding to the concern, the camera moved closer.

The streamer looked more obsessed with views than safety.

–It’s dangerous!

Seoha stopped a man who tried to approach.

In that moment, dark red veins crawled up from beneath her neckline and swallowed her eyes.

–Aaaah!

–Help!

–What do we do?!

One of the spectators was suddenly lifted into the air.

Then he was hurled to the ground at terrifying speed.

It looked fatal—

But as if cushioned by an invisible tube, he bounced and landed safely.

“Huh?

It’s the Princess!”

Dongjun shouted, recognizing Saheon first.

On-screen, Saheon stared directly into the camera.

Jaeyoung’s eyes widened.

It felt like their gazes met.

The screen crackled violently—

Then went completely black.