#131
Weeeng― Weeeeng―
The siren sound ringing throughout the city in a regular pattern.
The faint cries of lamentation mixed with people’s shouts and cries from far away.
Blackmail with the life of a vile swindler as collateral.
Ho-woo threw the cold button that had finished all its functions onto the floor. Although he didn’t throw it with much force, the button that hit the marble floor shattered miserably and rolled around.
Oh-yul was still calmly holding the contract with an ice blade, honed to a pitiful beauty, pointed at his own neck. Ho-woo’s face was faintly tinged with doubt about whether that ice blade could really pierce that man’s neck.
“You’re doubting it.”
Oh-yul, accurately reading this expression, smiled faintly and pressed the blade even closer. The blade, bristling with venom, looked menacing as if it would pierce the throat at any moment.
“You’re welcome to try if you can handle it.”
“……”
Weeeng― Weeeeng―
The siren sounded again as if urging Ho-woo’s choice.
“…What’s the choice this time?”
Ho-woo instinctively realized that time was running out. What he had turned off was the city’s defense system. Lee Ho-woo knew that with the defense wall that constantly emitted frequencies monsters disliked turned off, it wouldn’t be long before monsters swept through the city like a tsunami.
As Oh-yul said, everything that happened from now on was Ho-woo’s doing. Damn it, Ho-woo wasn’t that brazen, and he felt guilt constricting his heart.
What if someone dies? No, what if they’ve already died? Can I handle that? His mouth dried up with anxiety.
“It’s simple.”
Oh-yul handed the contract to Ho-woo. Ho-woo glanced down to check the contract.
Party A, Lee Ho-woo, agrees to an exclusive contract with Party B, Oh-yul. This is a contract related to Party B’s right to life, and the effect of this contract continues even if the romantic relationship between the two parties ends, and Party A has the obligation to provide guiding to Party B.
This contract cannot be terminated by normal means. However, it can be terminated on the condition of giving up Party B’s life.
The wording remained the same without any changes. Ho-woo mercilessly crumpled the contract with the clause that had bothered him from the start.
“Why this? Wasn’t it you, Oh-yul, who rejected when I proposed that I would still do guiding even if we broke up?”
Ho-woo gritted his teeth. Why did he bring out this contract when he had rejected what Ho-woo had proposed with great resolve? They weren’t even in an imprinting relationship anyway.
“That’s right.”
Oh-yul calmly answered and added.
“But, it seems you’re misunderstanding one thing, so I want to correct it.”
“What…”
“According to the contract you just crumpled, guiding is something you naturally have to do.”
Ho-woo, who had been momentarily dazed, not understanding Oh-yul’s words, quickly contorted his face. Oh-yul’s intention was clear. Ho-woo was outraged at the behavior of kindly taking away the only weapon Ho-woo had.
“We’re not in an imprinting state, so this damn contract can’t apply.”
Ho-woo unfolded the poorly crumpled paper and held it up to Oh-yul’s eyes, arguing. He scanned the contract with his eyes.
“Indeed, we’re not in a perfect imprinting state.”
This contract was an imprinting exclusive contract. Since they hadn’t imprinted, it was a clause that couldn’t apply in the first place.
Ho-woo, continuing his thought, closed his mouth at the disturbing word.
Perfect imprinting state.
Somehow, that phrase grated on his ears terribly. As Ho-woo glared at him silently, he muttered bitterly with a very sad face.
“Unfortunately, we can never be perfect for life.”
He spoke like the protagonist of the most miserable and sad story in the world, but he was also the most terrible monster. Ho-woo tightly closed his eyes.
“Still, the fact that I imprinted on Ho-woo won’t change.”
“When… Since when?”
“Don’t you have some idea?”
Without giving a straight answer to anything, Oh-yul acted shamelessly.
“Since I imprinted on Ho-woo, the contract is valid.”
“Can you prove that you imprinted?”
Ho-woo retorted sharply because he hadn’t felt anything. Although it was a situation where monsters could rush in at any time with the shield down, he couldn’t helplessly lose his only negotiating weapon like this.
“Proof…”
Trailing off, Oh-yul gazed distantly at the snow-covered outside.
“Would that be alright?”
“What?”
“It will take a long time.”
“Huh?”
“I’m fine, but I’m not sure if Ho-woo will be okay.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a massive explosion was heard with perfect timing. The red sky on the other side of the darkened sky brightened for a moment and then disappeared.
“I wonder how much time is left…”
As soon as Oh-yul finished speaking, a sharp pager call pierced through the noisy siren sound ringing through the city. Oh-yul, who had been indifferently looking down at the watch with a flashing red screen, took it off and crushed it with one hand.
Crunch-
With a small bursting sound, the pager’s sound disappeared helplessly. The remains of the shattered pager fell to the floor with a thud. As the pager became useless, his phone started ringing this time.
Oh-yul checked the screen and showed it to Ho-woo as well.
「Han Seong-won」
It became clear why he called and who had just paged him. Monsters must be rushing into the city.
Once again, the sky far away turned red. Intense red flames burned, consuming the sky that had been covered in snow. At that moment, the constantly ringing phone cut off. Ho-woo took a small breath at the uncanny timing. The phone didn’t ring anymore.
“Oh dear.”
Oh-yul dropped the disconnected phone onto the floor. The phone that rolled on the marble floor had its screen shattered miserably, engraved with spider web-like cracks.
“It seems something has happened to Esper Han Seong-won. He’s the only one who can create that level of flames in this city.”
Ho-woo breathed short and fast, biting the soft flesh inside his mouth with anxiety. An A-class Esper with lost contact, it might not be a big deal, but what if monsters had gathered in numbers too difficult even for an A-class Esper to handle?
It’s because of me. Because I pressed the button.
It was difficult to think rationally. Guilt was slowly devouring Ho-woo, pressing down on his reason.
If someone got hurt, or if by any chance someone died.
I…
His fingertips trembled. He couldn’t stand up at all as his legs had no strength. Ho-woo curled up in fear. He wanted to hide somewhere.
“Don’t be scared. I’m here for you.”
The monster, still holding a knife to his own neck while embracing Ho-woo with one arm, curled up the corners of his mouth with wickedness disguised as affection.
“Although it’s come to this, Ho-woo can fix it.”
“……”
“Choose me.”
Then everything will be alright, he whispered. Only Ho-woo can save this city, the terrible monster smiled and whispered.
“I…”
His quivering lips closed without forming a sentence. Ho-woo, with a face distorted in agony and pain, grasped Oh-yul’s clothes so tightly that his knuckles stood out.
“No one will know that Ho-woo turned off the defense wall. Who would know?”
A large hand grasped his wet cheek as a sweet smile flowed. Ho-woo’s dazed gaze fell on the remains of the broken button. The siren sound ringing through the city faded distantly and then returned.
“So save me. I’ll fix everything.”
The child who had been seeking salvation remained in the dark room, reaching out his hand. Towards the man yearning for the only North Star in his life, Ho-woo became the starlight above his head, sparkling across the vast sea. The monster finally trembled with ecstasy, worshipping the only star illuminating the sea where black night had settled.
Lee Ho-woo closed his eyes deeply in the monster’s embrace.
The siren sound ringing through the city subsided, but the star rained down on the sea.
***
The corridor of the pristine white hospital was bustling. The faces of people passing by were tinged with worry, relief, and deep sadness. Ho-woo, out of guilt, gripped the juice box for the hospital visit so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The sudden calamity that struck the city was brief but left many scars. Although the damage to ordinary people was minimal, the damage to Espers was significant.
High-ranking Espers stood at the forefront facing the monsters, while relatively lower-ranked and weaker Espers supported them from the rear and held on. Thanks to this, it was fortunate, if anything could be called fortunate, that no one died in the midst of the chaos.
It had only been thirty minutes since the defense wall went down. The city was in utter chaos, with various circumstances intertwined, including terrified people and those causing riots to survive. Even after the defense wall was reactivated, people couldn’t calm down easily and flocked to the city center.
It took quite a long time to calm down and send back those who were desperately gathering to survive even a little. Even a week after that day, the city was still in turmoil.
Ho-woo hunched his shoulders, somehow feeling as if gazes were stuck to his back. As Oh-yul had said, no one knew that the defense wall had gone down because of the button Ho-woo had pressed.
Except for Oh-yul and Lee Ho-woo.
But that didn’t make what had already happened disappear. Ho-woo, with a complicated expression, finally reached the hospital room door, hesitated, and barely raised his hand to knock.
Even without the light knock, the person inside this door would have already noticed Ho-woo’s arrival. Still, Ho-woo stubbornly knocked and opened the door.
“Hello,”
Han Seong-won greeted Ho-woo’s small, timid greeting with delight. He was so pleased that when Ho-woo hesitated to enter the room, he even wiggled his hips, forgetting his two legs in casts.
“Ho-woo! I heard you were coming, was that today?”
Uncomfortable with the goodwill filling his face, Ho-woo lowered his gaze to the floor. In a way, Han Seong-won was someone who had been injured because of him. He would probably never know that, though.
