Ghost Apple

Because the walls of the single-room apartment were practically soundproof in the worst way, anyone standing outside the door could hear most of what was said inside, as long as they listened closely enough. Still, that was beside the point—this young man could hear everything happening in this “sector” in real-time, which was exactly how he managed to show up so quickly.

The young man, Guiding Broker Song Jae-woo, who had stormed into the room still wearing his sneakers and wearing a scowl, paused when he caught Cha Han-gyeom’s sharp glare. He immediately stepped back and, with an awkward smile, finally gave the wide-open door a polite knock. Making sure to glance at Han-gyeom’s expression, he feigned innocence with a harmless grin.

Without bothering to take off his shoes properly, Jae-woo kicked them off carelessly and strode in. As if he’d been waiting for this moment, he pulled out a small slip of paper. At a glance, it looked just like one of those generic loan flyers—but he shoved the palm-sized sheet right in front of the middle-aged man’s nose.

“Forget the fine print—look here. Emergency fees not included! Five minutes of Guiding for just 10,000 won! You got the cash or not?”

Set against a bright, flashy background, the flyer’s main headline read, “Anyone can get a Guiding session for just 10,000 won!” And beneath that, in tiny print: 5 minutes for 10,000 won (Emergency fees not included).

This wasn’t the man’s first visit, so he clearly knew exactly which part Jae-woo was pointing to. Now looking visibly sheepish, he shifted awkwardly, unable to meet their eyes.

Jae-woo, driving the point home, tapped the flyer with his finger as if to say, Read it properly, then huffed through his nose and turned his gaze to Han-gyeom.

“Hyung, how much did he pay?”

Han-gyeom, who was tapping the corner of the cigarette pack on the desk before pulling one out, answered listlessly.

“Thirty thousand. Excluding the emergency fee.”

“Hah! And here I thought he must’ve shelled out a fortune, the way he was demanding extra service… This bastard, seriously…”

The truth was, Jae-woo already knew exactly how much the man had paid and how long his Guiding session lasted—all of it transmitted through the protective barrier’s exchange. But he still scoffed and played dumb.

“Forcing a Guide to work beyond their allotted session gets you blacklisted immediately. You know that, right? Or don’t you?”

Jae-woo growled low, eyes narrowing like he was ready to eat the guy alive.

“Mister, once you’re blacklisted in this industry, there’s only two ways it ends—go berserk and die, or off yourself. You want me to put your name on the list myself? End the deal here and now? Huh? Shall we call it quits?”

“N-No! I-I just…”

Looking completely flustered, the man’s shoulders slumped as he quickly bowed his head in apology.

“I’m sorry, Han-gyeom-ssi. I got greedy… It won’t happen again.”

A grown man—easily old enough to be their father—begging a guy who barely looked twenty was not exactly a pleasant sight.

Han-gyeom, cigarette now resting between his lips, averted his gaze from the man, whose head was bowed so low his scalp was fully visible.

“Fine. …If you bring a little more next time, I’ll throw in an extra ten seconds or so.”

“Th-Thank you!”

The man bowed repeatedly and hurried out of the apartment. Even in his haste, he made sure to close the door quietly, careful not to make a sound.

“Service, my ass.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jae-woo turned to Han-gyeom, who was coaxing a weak flame out of a nearly empty disposable lighter. He watched him closely, his gaze searching.

“You didn’t get messed with or anything, right?”

“You heard everything, didn’t you? He didn’t do shit.”

Han-gyeom gave a faint smirk and handed over the crumpled 50,000-won bill he’d received from the man earlier. Then, as if it were nothing, he also pulled out the guiding fees from his morning clients, which he had stashed deep in the desk drawer.

The total came to 130,000 won.

Jae-woo’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the morning haul. He hurriedly reached for his wallet.

“I’ll settle it up with you now. Just a sec—”

“Forget it. Don’t bother. Just take it.”

Han-gyeom, clearly too lazy to deal with it, shoved the wad of cash haphazardly into Jae-woo’s open wallet. Although the original deal had been that Jae-woo would get 20% of all earnings in exchange for securing clients, managing them, and ensuring at least a baseline of safety, Han-gyeom often chose to forgo his own cut like this.

Jae-woo frowned, staring down at the stuffed wallet with clear disapproval.

“You still need cash for smokes and food, though.”

“I’ve got enough for that.”

As he slowly exhaled the acrid smoke, Han-gyeom mentally estimated how much he’d accrued for Jae-woo so far.

“If things stay quiet, I should be able to round it out to a sheet this month, too.”

“A sheet? Hyung, at this rate, we might hit two.”

From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Han-gyeom earned around 300,000 won a day, on average. If he wanted, he could rake in even more. But Jae-woo prioritized Han-gyeom’s physical condition above all else.

That’s why they only took one client per hour, with each session capped at 30 minutes. The other 30 minutes were strictly for recovery.

Han-gyeom thought that was overkill and had tried to follow what other Guiding hustlers did—cut breaks down to ten minutes and take clients back-to-back. But Jae-woo held firm. In the end, they compromised: Han-gyeom was allowed to accept emergency cases during his break time, at his own discretion.

Still, Han-gyeom firmly believed it was better to make as much as possible while he still could.

“Should I really go for it? Not just hand Guiding, but open up deep Guiding too—I’m pretty sure I could hit that number easily.”

Most illegal Guiders didn’t stop at hand-holding. For maximum stimulation and high-efficiency Guiding, they often incorporated erotic physical contact—kissing, petting, oral, and even sex. While the official term lumping all of that together was “deep Guiding,” most people only ever thought of the last part—sex.

And judging by how quickly Jae-woo’s face turned beet red, he was no exception.

“Are you insane?! How could I possibly let you do that?!”

At best, he’d been imagining kissing—but with that kind of reaction, it was probably smarter to keep his mouth shut.

Jae-woo, trying to regain composure, put on his most serious face.

“We’re sticking strictly to hand Guiding. Anything more than that, and you’ll end up killing yourself.”

The difference in efficiency between hand Guiding and deep Guiding was staggering. While factors like compatibility and individual ranks did play a role, the rumor that a body requiring over ten hour-long hand Guiding sessions to recover could be healed in one go through sex-based deep Guiding wasn’t just idle talk—it was absolutely true.

The problem was that it wasn’t the Esper, but the Guide who got wrecked in the process.

Even while being physically tossed around, barely conscious, the unrestrained surge of extreme Guiding drained the Guide’s stamina completely. All Espers—except those with purely psychic abilities—generally possessed far superior physical attributes compared to ordinary humans, with endurance levels that were on a whole different scale. Which meant it was almost always the Guide who collapsed first.

That was why other Guiding hustlers charged tens of times more for deep Guiding than they did for hand Guiding. Taking on just one deep Guiding client meant you had to be prepared to take a day or two off from work.

And yet, despite that risk, most unregistered Espers who sought out Guiding hustlers were perfectly content with just hand Guiding.

“Sure, if we offered deep Guiding like some other outfits, it’d definitely attract attention… but let’s be real—do any of our clients actually have the kind of cash to book something like that?”

“Nope. Not a chance.”

Han-gyeom chuckled faintly as he recalled the ragged appearances and meager payments of their usual clientele.

Just like Jae-woo said—every Esper that came through here was dirt poor.

What kind of money do fugitives even have?

Unregistered ability users—especially those known as Espers, gifted with what people once called supernatural powers—were already considered criminals by society, viewed as walking disasters waiting to happen.

Most unregistered Espers loathed the derogatory term potential mass murderers. But that didn’t mean they could completely deny it, either.

The root of an Esper’s power lay in ESP—an internal wellspring of black energy. Whenever they used their powers, faint streams of that black aura would often become visible, and the problem was… this power was a double-edged sword.

The more they used their abilities, the deeper that black energy would embed itself in their bodies, slowly consuming them, gradually taking over their minds. It was common knowledge: if the vessel of mind and body became too eroded to control that power, their abilities would spiral out of control and erupt with catastrophic force, transforming them into monstrous entities stripped of all sense of self.

Once an Esper turned into a monster, they were no different from actual beasts—rampaging, destroying, and killing everything in sight. The power they once wielded would detonate at its absolute limit.

So it wasn’t exactly a stretch to call them mass murderers.

That’s why submitting to the Association before reaching that point—receiving regular management and ample Guiding to stabilize their powers—was both logical and necessary.

And yet, unregistered ability users who refused to be bound by the Association continued to appear.

The reason lay in the fundamental distinction between two types of power-wielders.

Those who manipulate black energy—ESP (Extra-Sensory Perception)—and wield special powers were known as Espers.

And those who harness red energy—GP (Guiding Perception)—to stabilize the flow of ESP within others… were called Guides.

The moment they’re identified as ability users, they are immediately bound to the Association—and inevitably turned into the nation’s weapons. Under strict control, they are stripped of all freedoms solely because of their powers, forced to live out their entire lives along the rigid tracks the Association has laid out for them.

Depending on their abilities, some spend the rest of their lives locked away in solitary confinement until death. Others are shackled to certain roles, coerced into lifelong service.

All for the sake of the “nation” and the “greater good.”

For those ability users who come to truly understand what that means, there are no dreams, no hope, no freedom.

This was something the general public remained completely unaware of. Thanks to the Association’s polished public image and relentless propaganda through media brainwashing, most people saw Espers as noble guardians of justice, essential assets to the country.

Idiots.

As if those managing such overwhelming power could ever be truly righteous.