74.
It’s so obvious that it seems strange to even mention, but after Ryu Ho-yeon disappeared, Choi Jae-won was out of his mind. If he were the type of person who could maintain cool rationality in such a situation, he wouldn’t have devoted such foolish one-sided love to another person for so long in the first place.
The round handwriting that neatly filled in the blanks on the pair dissolution application form was unmistakably Ho-yeon’s, but Jae-won refused to accept it and imagined all sorts of scenarios. Disappearance, kidnapping, blackmail? But none of these could be the answer. Who would dare threaten an S-class Esper who had vanished without a trace?
However, Jae-won couldn’t bear this reality without such nonsensical thoughts. His boyfriend, who just the night before had been pressing his soft lips against him and whispering words of love, who had uncharacteristically asked for an arm pillow, had abandoned everything and disappeared without a trace. It was a terribly surreal situation.
Anyway, whether because of or despite this, Jae-won and the Research Director became united in purpose for the first time in a long while. They recklessly wielded their financial power and authority, combing through the center.
When the higher-ups confirmed footage of Ho-yeon calmly walking out alone through the main entrance on CCTV and threatened to publicly declare him a criminal for unauthorized departure, the two of them barely managed to prevent it by working together.
They scraped together all remaining sick days, annual leave, and vacation days. Officially, Ho-yeon was on extended leave for personal reasons.
The higher-ups had various opinions. It was strange that Lexy had left so obediently. Some suspected he had secretly persuaded Ho-yeon away, others argued they should immediately register him as an official criminal to prevent him from working in any country, while others said they should wait as his parents and pair were still here, suggesting he might have had unavoidable circumstances, and so on.
The deadline they managed to obtain was the end of March. Since neither the National Intelligence Service monitoring system nor any foreign centers had detected Ho-yeon joining them, they were granted that much time.
Strangely, despite the spider web of CCTV cameras throughout Seoul, Ho-yeon’s trace was completely cut off after the moment he left the main entrance. No matter how much footage they secured or how many eyes combed through it, the result was the same.
(He had received help from future civilization technology given by Lexy beforehand, but to those unaware, it was truly baffling.)
The tracking microchip implanted in Espers’ bodies had also been non-functional for a long time. As each day passed, Jae-won and the Research Director grew more determined, never tiring. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Only Kim Jun-young and Lee Jung-hyuk could speak to those two without fear, but they were busy handling all S-class dungeons alone after Ho-yeon’s disappearance, leaving them no time to get involved in situations outside the dungeons. They were constantly moving from one dungeon to another, sacrificing even sleep.
Jae-won and his numerous hired personnel secured all available domestic CCTV footage and examined it until their eyes nearly fell out. They also considered the possibility that Ho-yeon might have left the country after some time, going so far as to personally verify the identities of everyone departing through international airports, Incheon Port, and Busan Port. They had already cross-checked all existing records manually.
Since the outflow of Esper power was itself a national security issue, the government actively cooperated.
Jae-won maintained consciousness by pouring coffee and stimulants into his empty stomach. Fortunately, being already accustomed to enduring physical pain, this wasn’t particularly difficult. The problem was Ho-yeon’s unknown whereabouts.
Just as everyone was secretly worrying that Jae-won might collapse before finding Ho-yeon, miraculously, a person with a similar build and clothing was spotted on CCTV at a small café in a coastal city in Jeolla Province.
The camera quality was poor, having been installed over ten years ago for show, but to Jae-won, it was the only clue he had managed to extract after a full month.
Although they had agreed to share any new information with the Research Director in real-time, once he finally had something tangible, there was no time. Jae-won hurriedly left Seoul. Entering the small private café that was filled by just a couple of tables, his heart strangely pounded. He couldn’t distinguish whether it was joy or tension.
“You’re the employee in this footage, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. The time matches too. I handle the opening shift alone without other staff.”
“Please tell me anything you remember about this person. I’ll compensate you generously.”
Jae-won asked the café employee, showing both the blurry screenshot and a high-quality photo of Ho-yeon he had. The moment the employee saw Ho-yeon’s photo, she brightened up, exclaiming, “Ah, him!”
“Do you remember anything?”
“Isn’t that Esper Ryu Ho-yeon? Wow, such a famous person came to our café? What a shame, I should have asked for an autograph! Strange, the screen shows I clearly took his order and processed the payment… Why didn’t I recognize him?”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to gain. Just as he had mysteriously disappeared from the CCTV at the center’s main entrance, Ho-yeon had also vanished like smoke immediately after leaving this café.
Ho-yeon, knowing that the coordinates Lexy had given him led to an uninhabited island, had temporarily disabled his equipment and entered the store for a last cup of coffee before going to the island. But to those unaware of the circumstances, it still seemed like magic or a trick.
“Young master… Perhaps you should get some rest before heading back up…”
Perhaps his employee found it pitiful that he had come all this way without results. The employee kept nervously glancing at Jae-won with an apologetic expression. But for Jae-won, even taking time to be discouraged was a luxury.
“No, it’s fine. Since it’s certain he was here, let’s ask around again focusing on the café. Secure the black box footage from vehicles parked nearby at that time. Cost is no issue.”
After giving these instructions and heading back to his car, he suddenly noticed a port terminal nearby. It was a place where small passenger ships regularly traveled to and from the nearby archipelago.
At that moment, a small memory flashed through Jae-won’s mind.
‘Hyung, I told you to come out and eat, but you’re so focused on… Huh? What’s this? An electric motor? A yacht?’
‘Remember when we rowed so much during that maritime dungeon?’
‘Of course I remember. It was also my first time riding a paddle boat.’
‘I decided to study it right after we came out. But I haven’t kept that promise yet.’
‘Ah, I see? Studying is good, but let’s have dinner first. I prepared all your favorites today.’
He had been curious why Ho-yeon brought up the maritime dungeon story that had happened so long ago. But since Ho-yeon himself was an eccentric unpredictable person, he hadn’t paid much attention…
“Team leader.”
“Yes, young master.”
“We need to buy several boats right away. Request cooperation from the South Jeolla Provincial Office and let’s search everywhere, starting with places with small populations.”
The employee dedicated to the vice chairman’s family broke into a cold sweat as the young master’s grand instruction to search everything sounded more like “die” than “search.”
The number of islands scattered like stars in the archipelago exceeded 2,000 if all the small ones were counted. The uninhabited islands alone nearly reached 2,000, and the inhabited ones numbered well over 200. Surely… surely not. He cautiously asked with a somewhat desperate voice:
“Search where…?”
“Where else? The islands.”
A sinister obsession dripped from the corners of the young master’s brightly smiling mouth. Still not giving up his last hope, he gently posed another question.
“Then, excluding uninhabited islands, focusing on inhabited ones…”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Of course we must include uninhabited islands.”
“But logically, living alone on an uninhabited island doesn’t make sense. Um, there’s no sign of other heavy luggage or money being spent. Going to an uninhabited island with no equipment, barehanded?”
“Team leader. Who do you think we’re looking for? A manifestation ability user. And an S-class at that.”
“…”
“Now then, would you like to go and check what boats are available?”
Feeling the terrifying persistence beneath that gentle voice with his entire body, he hurried away. He was just as pressed for time as Jae-won.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
