A Certain Moment (1)
“Yes. I don’t really like making physical contact with others. That’s why I prefer only radiation Guiding.”
“Ah… I see. Then there’s nothing to be done about it.”
Only after my firm response did Esper Yoon Seon-hoo seem to understand somewhat. But that lasted only briefly. He soon showed a slimy smile and added something strange.
“But aren’t there exceptions?”
“Should there… be exceptions?”
“Ah, I was just asking. I was thinking whoever falls into that exception would be quite lucky.”
His manner of speaking suggested that he wanted to be that exception. Otherwise, why would he persist with the same question? I was starting to get tired of this circular conversation.
I had intended to focus on how Sa Hae-geon fought and how he overcame disadvantageous situations, but I missed many scenes because Yoon Seon-hoo kept talking to me. However, since ignoring him would likely make him talk even more, I thought it best to at least give some kind of response.
“Hmm, yes. I suppose there must be exceptions.”
As Yoon Seon-hoo was about to follow up on my vague answer, he closed his mouth when he saw me sigh as Sa Hae-geon was being overpowered in the battle.
Given his high S-rank, I had thought he would be stronger than most Espers, but it seemed difficult against a physical enhancement type Esper. Sa Hae-geon was barely dodging Kim Gyu-hwan’s attacks in the nearly half-destroyed training ground.
Kim Gyu-hwan attacked aggressively without giving Sa Hae-geon a chance to catch his breath. He didn’t seem to tire at all.
“Wow, our Gyu-hwan is doing well. As expected of someone with three years’ experience. I told you he didn’t spend those three years at our Center for nothing!”
“I trained Gyu-hwan! Do you think it’s easy to charge in recklessly like that? Look at Gyu-hwan. He’s jumping in completely haphazardly. That’s how he finds his way. Right?”
“Shut up. Weren’t you just complaining about what he was doing and questioning his sanity?”
“T-that was just a casual remark!”
The Guiding room overlooking the training ground was noisy with the voices of Field Team 2. In contrast, Field Team 1 watched Sa Hae-geon’s battle silently with their mouths firmly shut. Only Lee Cheol-min seemed a bit anxious, occasionally shaking his leg and muttering quietly, “Oh dear, Sa Hae-geon, you rascal…”
As Sa Hae-geon was backed into a corner, Kim Gyu-hwan leaped up from the ground. It seemed he intended to attack with his feet this time. Sa Hae-geon, looking slightly tired with furrowed brows, did nothing but dodge Kim Gyu-hwan’s attacks.
It was impressive that he could still dodge even with his stance so compromised, but it would be difficult to expect anything more. And Sa Hae-geon was already doing well enough. But even with his lack of experience, could he really be attacking this little?
Could it be… that he was holding back because of my earlier instruction to be careful? Somehow, I thought Sa Hae-geon might do exactly that. At this point, I just hoped the battle would end without any serious injuries.
The monitor showed Kim Gyu-hwan completely cornering Sa Hae-geon against the edge of the training ground. As everyone held their breath watching the situation, Sa Hae-geon’s gaze turned toward the Guiding room. Even though he should be focusing entirely on the battle, he rolled his eyes as if checking whether I was watching him closely.
The moment our eyes met, his gaze shifted to Yoon Seon-hoo standing beside me. After quickly looking back and forth between me and Yoon Seon-hoo in that brief moment, Sa Hae-geon suddenly stepped on water that appeared out of nowhere and rose into the air.
Simultaneously, a huge lightning bolt struck down on Kim Gyu-hwan’s head with a thunderous noise. The entire room went instantly quiet.
* * *
“Look, I understand it’s just a mock battle, but how could you let the training ground get this damaged? I understand the floor being ruined… but why is there a hole in the ceiling? Huh? What could possibly have caused a hole in the ceiling?”
The recovery-type Esper from the Center’s maintenance team frowned in dismay as he surveyed the miserable state of the training ground. Jong-hyeok hyung and the team leader of Field Team 2 apologized with embarrassed faces.
They, too, probably hadn’t expected the training ground to get damaged to this extent. I looked down at Sa Hae-geon, who was sticking closely to me claiming he needed Guiding, and asked:
“How was it?”
“There’s nothing much to say about it.”
“You were mostly just dodging until the end… Was that on purpose? A strategy to drain his energy, something like that?”
“More than that, I just wanted to see how other Espers fight.”
“So then you created the lightning… because you felt you’d seen enough?”
“I didn’t plan to create lightning from the beginning.”
“Huh?”
Sa Hae-geon suddenly looked at me with what seemed like a reproachful gaze. His dark blue eyes, which had appeared calm, were now turbulent.
“How could you do that?”
“…Do what?”
“How could you stand together with that Esper right in front of me?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Do you know how that Esper was looking at you?”
I shook my head in response to Sa Hae-geon’s question. Not only was I not curious, but I felt that anything I said would just further provoke him. But I really felt wronged in this situation. He probably didn’t notice because he was focused on the battle, but it was Yoon Seon-hoo who approached me and started talking, making things awkward.
Feeling that keeping silent about this fact would make me frustrated, I cautiously asked:
“Hae-geon, can I explain myself?”
“Yes. Please do.”
Fortunately, Sa Hae-geon nodded and responded promptly. Relieved, I carefully explained the whole situation to him. As I continued speaking, Sa Hae-geon showed various reactions, from furrowing his brows to squinting his eyes.
“Anyway, that’s what happened. I had no intention of continuing the conversation. I just wanted to focus on your battle.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Do you understand now that it was a misunderstanding?”
In response to my question, Sa Hae-geon answered with a subtle expression. Something still seemed to be bothering him.
“Well, I guess…”
“That’s a relief. But Hae-geon.”
“Yes.”
“You still don’t look happy even after my explanation?”
Sa Hae-geon blinked and then nodded frankly.
“Yes.”
“Why’s that?”
“I think I dropped the lightning in the wrong place. It shouldn’t have fallen there.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
Sa Hae-geon gave a bland response and then started rubbing his face vigorously against my cheek. He clearly saw himself as a giant puppy now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t behave like this.
While Sa Hae-geon was showing me all sorts of childish affection, Jong-hyeok hyung, who had finished talking with the maintenance team’s Esper, approached us. Hyung, who had been briefly frowning as if tired of the maintenance Esper’s nagging, smiled softly when he spotted Sa Hae-geon.
“Good job, Hae-geon.”
“It was nothing.”
“You don’t need to be so modest. It’s not easy to win your first mock battle. No matter how much you’ve trained, actual combat is different. You really did well.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
After saying that, Jong-hyeok hyung left the Guiding room. Only Sa Hae-geon and I remained in the large Guiding room. He sat for a while with his head resting on my shoulder, then softly called out to me.
“Hyung.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“But when are you going to give me Guiding?”
“Huh? What?”
“I’ve been feeling like the Guiding isn’t working for a while now.”
“That’s…”
A cough escaped me at his pointed question. In truth, I had only just realized that I wasn’t doing any Guiding. Honestly, I hadn’t had the chance. I was so busy explaining myself to Sa Hae-geon and worrying about him that I hadn’t even thought about needing to provide Guiding.
These were all just excuses, which was strange even to me… but at least it wasn’t intentional.
“I… forgot for a moment because I was distracted. Sorry. I’ll do it right away.”
“Hyung.”
“Yes?”
“I want to finish Guiding quickly and rest with you.”
“Oh, yes. That’s why I’m going to do it now. Just wait a little.”
However, Sa Hae-geon seemed to have something else in mind. He straightened his upper body, which had been leaning toward me, and asked:
“Do you remember what I asked before?”
“What question…?”
“I asked if there’s such a thing as Guiding through a kiss.”
“Hae-geon, I already told you then…”
“I had such a hard day today, hyung.”
I should firmly say no, but my heart kept softening at Sa Hae-geon’s complaints.
“It was my first mock battle, so I was nervous and made many mistakes. I was so busy just dodging while trying to figure out my opponent, and you kept talking with another Esper…”
“No, I just thoroughly explained that…”
But Sa Hae-geon continued muttering as if he couldn’t hear me, even sighing deeply.
“Haah… That’s why I still don’t feel at ease even after the mock battle is over. I’m worried that you, who used to indulge only my whims, will start indulging that Esper’s tantrums too…”
It seemed Sa Hae-geon was aware that he was receiving quite significant special treatment from me. If any other Esper had thrown this kind of tantrum, I would have ignored it or given a perfunctory response before leaving, but because it was Sa Hae-geon, I couldn’t help but care. Even knowing that there was no real sincerity in his complaint, I just inexplicably wanted to give him what he wanted.
“A kiss is all you want?”
At my question, Sa Hae-geon, who had been cutely puckering his lips like a baby chick’s beak, opened his eyes wide.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
