Chapter 46
Yoon Cheong was already gone from the faculty office.
Wondering why I’d been called, I approached, and the homeroom teacher who saw me spoke while looking at an urgent document that had just arrived.
“An emergency leave request came from the Calling Guild, so you can go out until this weekend. The middle school student Ji Yeohoon is probably heading to the school gate too, so Soo-young, take him along properly. I think you mentioned you know Cheong’s parents, so since Cheong will be having a hard time, help him a lot.”
“Wait, what does that mean?”
“Ah, I guess you haven’t received the news yet.”
The teacher, with an unfavorable expression, explained the situation.
Yoon Cheong’s parents were critically ill.
Why…? I couldn’t continue speaking due to the shock.
Looking at Yoon Cheong’s past actions, his life was uneventful until his rampage.
His parents suddenly?
Where did I miss something? I wondered if there was a point I couldn’t remember, but that wasn’t important right now.
Hurrying to the school gate, Yoon Cheong was nowhere to be seen, and Ji Yeohoon came running at a fast pace.
“Hyung!”
Ji Yeohoon, who had grown a bit more in the meantime, naturally grabbed my hand and hugged me.
“Don’t you see Yoon Cheong around?”
“No, I haven’t seen him.”
With an Esper’s eyesight, it would be impossible not to find someone nearby.
When he asked what was going on, I just shook my head because I didn’t know either.
“This bastard, where is he?”
As I was looking around, Yoon Cheong came running from a distance.
Ji Yeohoon and I approached him, who had left before me but now appeared with a dazed face.
“The car hasn’t arrived yet. They said it’s taking a bit of time because of the traffic light in front.”
In the meantime, Ji Yeohoon, who seemed to have spoken with the guild, looked at his phone and spoke.
Yoon Cheong’s expression was severely distorted, unlike his usual self, to the point where it would be unkind to tell him to pull himself together. It seemed like he might cry if I just tapped him lightly, so Ji Yeohoon and I watched him carefully.
Before my regression, I had never heard or specifically checked if Yoon Cheong’s parents had passed away or were unwell.
I could clearly remember the incident with Ji Yeohoon’s parents because I had a reason to check after joining the Association, and it was a famous death accident involving a well-known Guide and Esper.
But since Yoon Cheong’s parents were ordinary people, not Espers or Guides, even if they had passed away during high school, there would have been no way for me to confirm.
The same applies even though I was affiliated with the Association and Yoon Cheong was with the Chaehwa Guild.
That’s because Yoon Cheong and I, before my regression, didn’t even remember being elementary school classmates.
I hope this incident doesn’t become one of the causes of his rampage.
I slightly grabbed Yoon Cheong’s hand.
Feeling his heart pounding, I gently sent out some bigor, and Yoon Cheong firmly grasped my hand back.
“The car is here.”
Yoon Cheong was with me until he was called to the broadcast, so he probably doesn’t know what happened to his parents either.
Ji Yeohoon also asked what was going on as he got into the car, but all we could do was shake our heads.
We only explained that we came out immediately after the broadcast suddenly rang out at the end of the afternoon period, and then we departed.
Yoon Cheong didn’t seem to have the mental capacity to explain, and I couldn’t know either, so we just followed wherever the car was taking us.
The place we arrived at was the Association’s hospital.
It seems oddly like Yoon Cheong keeps being connected to the Association… Plus, I was puzzled because there’s no reason for two ordinary people to be admitted to the Association’s hospital.
“Cheong!”
When we went to the floor the guild had indicated, adults were standing in front of the intensive care unit.
Ji Yeohoon’s parents, our representative guardians, were also there, and my mom, who was on maternity leave and due to give birth soon, was sitting, having received the news.
Actually, it’s not normal for us to come to the hospital together, but since it’s an issue concerning Yoon Cheong, who is a member of the same guild, and considering that only I can stably guide Yoon Cheong right now, and Ji Yeohoon is also being guided by me, it seems an emergency leave document was submitted for all of us.
“No, Mom, with your condition, why…”
“How could I not come?”
I told Mom not to get up and just stay seated, and we were able to hear what had happened in the meantime.
The people who explained were not guild members but people from the Association.
“They were caught up in a Gate?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t ordinary people basically evacuated from the vicinity when a Gate is formed?”
“Of course, that’s right. But the entrance opened too suddenly.”
Gates are not places where ordinary people can easily enter.
It’s hard to endure the situations inside, and it’s not easy to safely avoid all the psychic powers flying around.
Guides can be considered safe because they enter with Espers, trusting the Espers’ instinct to protect Guides, but for ordinary people, the probability of being in danger drastically increases if they’re swept into a Gate.
Unfortunately, Yoon Cheong’s parents experienced that.
Was this something that happened originally?
As I listened to the story, I looked inside the intensive care unit where Yoon Cheong’s parents were lying, and thought it was somewhat fortunate.
“Because it was such an urgent Gate formation, Espers from the Chaehwa Guild who could come immediately and Guides affiliated with the Association conquered the Gate, but we couldn’t safely bring them out. We’re sorry.”
Anyway, the Calling Guild is now indebted to the Association.
Due to their apology for rescuing the parents of a guild member, even if temporary, and for not being able to bring them out safely together, we inevitably had to take a few steps back.
We couldn’t respond with “No, it’s okay” to the Association’s apology.
No matter how much we’ve lived like family, we’re not Yoon Cheong’s family, and only Yoon Cheong could answer.
Am I seeing him as too young? Yoon Cheong, looking at his parents lying beyond the thick window, seemed too out of it to answer, making me wonder if I should call him.
But soon, Yoon Cheong rather calmly turned his head.
“It’s okay. Please ensure they can recover with treatment.”
He was unexpectedly composed and more mature than I thought.
Yoon Cheong, who had been silent throughout the journey, looked at his parents for a long time, then took his eyes away and calmly looked at the people.
Even though he’s a minor, it’s common for Espers to be treated as legal adults after their first Gate conquest.
Ji Yeohoon and I could only keep our mouths shut and stand beside Yoon Cheong.
Since the uncle and aunt play the role of guardians within the guild, Yoon Cheong listened to various explanations from the Association staff along with them.
They were talking a bit far away, so I couldn’t hear properly, but Ji Yeohoon discreetly informed me from the side.
“They say ordinary people caught in Gates legally receive medical expenses and compensation from the country. From listening to the guild’s conversation, it seems they’re trying to ensure they receive it properly.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Dad is handling most of the conversation, but since Dad is an S-class Guide, the Association seems to be trying to do a bit more.”
They’re definitely Guide-friendly.
And not for nothing is it the #1 guild; the Calling Guild seemed to be considering various things.
And the best situation for us was that we had the aunt.
B-class Esper Ji Seon-young, with healing abilities.
Injuries from external impacts could be healed with Esper abilities.
As long as their limbs were intact, there was no brain damage, and they were still alive, that was enough.
The aunt could handle the rest.
But the reason she didn’t go in to heal immediately was partly because, as it’s an Esper ability, using it too much would be hard on the aunt, but also because if she used her power in a place with many patients, they would somehow cling to her asking for help.
Esper healing isn’t omnipotent, so it has limitations for cellular problems, disease manifestations, or viruses.
Still, with hope, people approach healing-type Espers and plead their case.
“Then, I would like Esper Ji Seon-young to use healing after the two are moved to a regular ward.”
“Yes.”
“The person in charge will remain here, so if there are any other matters, please be sure to contact us through the person in charge.”
And discussing the compensation plan from the Association before healing would be right for both Yoon Cheong and the two who were swept in.
Though they were critically ill, it might not have been a critical moment, as there were no doctors attached to the bedsides of the two, only machines.
As if the hospital had done all the treatment they could and were just monitoring the situation.
“Aunt will help. You know that, right?”
Even though he entered high school, Yoon Cheong seemed to have a more grown-up mind, understanding his situation better than expected.
The fact that he’s temporarily affiliated with the Calling Guild. The fact that he doesn’t have to try to solve it alone and has people who can inform him. The fact that Ji Yeohoon and I came together. The fact that our parents, even if they can’t help, are watching with us, and the aunt and uncle are there to help with treatment. He seemed to have recognized all of this quickly.
That was the point I thought was fortunate.
If Yoon Cheong hadn’t been with Ji Yeohoon and me after my regression and this had happened, he would have had to wait helplessly for treatment.
Yoon Cheong nodded, and Ji Yeohoon and I approached him.
“Then we’ll help too.”
Plus, we’re so lucky that Ji Yeohoon’s ability is enhancement. It was perfect for when the aunt uses her ability.
The uncle agreed to handle the legal issues with the guild, and Yoon Cheong moved with my mom to prepare for his parents’ room transfer.
It’s difficult to use a healing Esper’s ability in the intensive care unit, so they need to move to a special ward.
It’s not good to move them in this state, but it’s also difficult to treat them without a healing Esper’s ability in a critical situation.
“Then shall we see them after they move to the ward?”
Ji Yeohoon and I nodded at the uncle’s words.
Mom said she would check Yoon Cheong’s parents’ ward and then go home first.
Since it would be dangerous to move them right away, I suddenly realized as I watched the hospital taking various measures.
I had thought that Ji Yeohoon’s parents requested emergency leave for Ji Yeohoon and me because we were temporary guild members who grew up with Yoon Cheong.
After all, when such accidents happen, it’s very important to have people who help and stay with you.
But would the guild have made such an emotional decision to call us because they’re “friends” and need someone to comfort them?
Within the guild, they knew that Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon had one-sided imprints on me.
Yoon Cheong’s power wouldn’t be needed right now, so it seemed they wanted to borrow Ji Yeohoon’s power.
Even if not immediately, the aunt will definitely use her ability, and Ji Yeohoon will enhance that ability. Then the uncle will provide guiding to the aunt, and I’ll have to provide guiding to Ji Yeohoon.
“Hyung, why are you just standing there?”
I opened my mouth when Ji Yeohoon pointed toward the private room, asking if I wasn’t coming.
“No, the guild is more competent than I thought.”
I think I’ve been misjudging them by only thinking of the Guild Master as an image.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
