Chapter 70
After rejecting numerous requests from the Guild Masters, Yeonhwa grabbed Yeonwoo as he was seeing her off before entering her dimensional space. Yeonhwa dragged Yeonwoo to an empty lot, giving Kang Chahun sideways glances with an uncomfortable expression.
“Watch where you’re walking.”
Yeonwoo supported Yeonhwa, who had been stumbling and treading on her coat since earlier, and habitually took her hand. The moment their palms touched, Yeonhwa looked up at Yeonwoo with a face as startled as if she’d been struck by lightning.
“What is this?”
All eyes turned toward Yeonhwa’s voice. When Chahun reflexively rushed over, Yeonwoo sent him back, saying it was nothing. Looking down at their joined hands, Yeonwoo asked Yeonhwa with a normal expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
Trailing off, Yeonhwa couldn’t take her eyes off Yeonwoo’s palm. At that sight, he was certain. His possession of two abilities was a future even Yeonhwa didn’t know about. So this is my boomerang. Yeonwoo forcibly raised the corners of his lips and let go of her hand.
“Keep it a secret.”
Yeonhwa held Yeonwoo’s wrist and mouthed the words. Even without Yeonhwa’s request, he had no intention of telling anyone. Since the Center Director had already declared it confidential, he was safe for the time being. Above all, he didn’t want the Baekdu Guild Master to find out.
If it became known that Yeonwoo could handle two abilities, the Baekdu Guild Master would surely see Yeonwoo not as an Esper or Yeonhwa’s brother, but solely as an experimental subject. He could clearly envision her rushing in, claiming she would only observe how he handled two abilities.
When he answered that he understood, Yeonhwa gestured toward his hand.
“How did this happen?”
“I don’t know either.”
Yeonwoo, who told this white lie to Yeonhwa, carefully stretched out his hand. The moment their palms touched, Yeonhwa frowned. When Yeonwoo raised his eyebrows questioningly, Yeonhwa sighed and nodded. Like Chahun, she too was claiming she could feel Guiding.
* * *
“You seem to have a good relationship with your sister?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Yeonwoo was staring blankly at his wrist before nodding a beat late. Chahun, who had grabbed such a Yeonwoo, opened and closed his mouth as if he had many questions, but Yeonwoo ran to his room as soon as he took off his shoes. After securing the door, Yeonwoo hid in a corner of the room and pulled on his bracelet.
“Was I discovered?”
[Not me.]
At the dragon’s answer, Yeonwoo looked down at his palm. Mana that couldn’t be hidden was swirling in the creases of his palm.
[I was hiding my mana like I was dead, but you just got exposed? And after saying to keep it a secret!]
“The secret was about your identity. Not about my ability.”
[My identity is obviously a secret!]
Yeonwoo stroked the chain bracelet to silence the squeaking dragon.
“…I didn’t intend to reveal it either, but I needed confirmation.”
[What confirmation?]
“Confirmation to make a contract with you.”
[Right. Confirmation to make a contract with me… What, what…? WHAT?!]
The dragon, revealing its true form, jumped up. It crawled around Yeonwoo’s wrist and palm, not knowing what to do. Then it opened its mouth and bit Yeonwoo’s finger.
[Really? Are you sure? Can you swear on this?!]
Where did it learn such things? Yeonwoo silently folded his hands, hiding the dragon’s form. By now, the dragon had grown too large to be concealed with one hand.
He had vowed never to make a contract with the dragon, no matter what happened. If Yeonwoo, contracted with a dragon, freely changed the future, Yeonhwa’s ability would surely become unstable. He couldn’t bear to watch Yeonhwa suffer harm from losing trust, like before. That’s why he had planned to only advance Chahun’s future and then leave.
Though he was worried about Yeonhwa, who was still a minor, he had intended to entrust her to the Round Guild Master, who got along well with Yeonhwa and took good care of her. But the recent incident had changed his mind.
Recalling the Round Guild Master’s wild-eyed look as she gazed at Yeonhwa, Yeonwoo shook his head. He couldn’t entrust Yeonhwa to such a person. He felt he could only leave with peace of mind when Yeonhwa reached an age where she could receive her Esper certificate and claim her rightful rights. To buy time until Yeonhwa became an adult, about three years, he needed a contract with the dragon. The future had changed too much, and Yeonwoo needed to break free from causality, even just a little.
The dragon didn’t hide its sparkling eyes at Yeonwoo’s determination. He had expected it to extend its tail, urging him to contract quickly, but contrary to expectations, the dragon obediently bit its tail and transformed into a bracelet.
[We can’t do it here.]
At this bland reaction, Yeonwoo shook the bracelet as if to tear it off. You were pecking at me to make a contract, and now suddenly you’re like this? Glaring at the bracelet in disbelief, he heard the dragon mutter in a sulky voice.
[Someone’s coming.]
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
[If my true form is discovered while contracting now, wouldn’t Chahun fillet me alive?]
I guess… that’s true? Agreeing, Yeonwoo yawned softly. He was getting sleepy after finally resolving the worry he’d been carrying since the dragon first urged him to contract.
“Hyung, are you sleeping?”
Though his eyes were drooping, he wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep again. Yeonwoo answered no and got up.
“I thought you were sleeping, so I was trying not to wake you…”
Chahun, standing at the door, cupped Yeonwoo’s cheeks and checked his complexion. Color had returned to his face, which had been as pale as if he hadn’t eaten a thing.
“Are you feeling a bit better?”
Yeonwoo felt his physical condition wasn’t bad, but apparently Chahun didn’t see it that way. Yeonwoo sipped the potion Chahun handed him and looked up at the strangely dejected Chahun. Sensing his gaze, Chahun, who had been looking at the floor, raised his head and met his eyes.
“Your sister said earlier… not to control you…”
Chahun fidgeted with his hands and then leaned in. Yeonwoo patted Chahun’s back as he rubbed his forehead against Yeonwoo’s neck like a child seeking comfort, and thought of Yeonhwa.
To Yeonwoo, Yeonhwa was still a child. A child who stained her clothes with crayons, held Yeonwoo’s hand, and sniffled as she told him about what upset her. A child Yeonwoo had to look after and protect in every way—when had she grown so much?
It seemed like just yesterday that she would hide behind Yeonwoo and sniffle whenever she saw Guild Masters, but now Yeonhwa had grown enough to protect Yeonwoo. While feeling a mixture of pride and wistfulness, Chahun called to Yeonwoo, putting his weight on him.
“I’m sorry if I did that.”
Yeonwoo, who had been lost in nostalgia, blinked brightly. Had Chahun ever tried to control Yeonwoo? Wasn’t it Yeonwoo who had been manipulating Chahun, saying he would advance his future? There was no reason to apologize…? Yeonwoo pushed away Chahun, who had been clinging to him, and checked his face. Chahun’s eyebrows were drooping all the way to the Earth’s inner core.
“I’m fine since this is my residence, whether I’m confined or not, but you’re not. Getting caught up in all this because of me…”
Chahun mumbled and stretched out his arms as if asking for a hug. When did his childishness get this bad? Though Yeonwoo clicked his tongue internally, he opened his arms and patted Chahun’s back.
“I told you. It’s not your fault.”
Tracing back the memories of when Chahun went berserk, thoughts followed one after another. The rumor of his rampage would have spread everywhere, yet the Center deliberately kept it confidential. Considering everything that had happened so far, it was clear that the Center Director was behind the induced berserk state. The Center probably wanted to bind Chahun, claiming they would manage him due to his instability as an Esper who could go berserk in a dungeon.
Then how did they induce the berserk state? Several hypotheses came to mind, but Chahun wasn’t an Esper who would fall for such tricks. His mana core would be at least twice the size of ordinary Espers.
And who was the bastard who pushed me in the back then? Grinding his teeth and vowing not to let them off if caught, Yeonwoo checked the time.
“You need to eat.”
At those words, Chahun straightened his hunched back. He went to the dining table, saying they should eat together, and sat beside Yeonwoo, pushing the emerging food toward him. Today again, it was a sight that made Yeonwoo feel full just by looking at it, so he kept only the rolled omelet and pushed everything else toward Chahun.
“Can I ask what kind of person your sister is?”
“Among Espers, there’s no one who doesn’t know what kind of person my sister is. No, actually, only you wouldn’t know.”
It was true. Even ordinary people with no interest in the awakened ones knew the name Han Yeonhwa. Some people took an interest in Yeonhwa, saying she was the reincarnation of someone who had prophesied the end of the world long ago, while others worshipped her as a saint who came to deliver God’s message. The worst among them was the Lotus Guild Master. Clicking his tongue, Yeonwoo looked at Chahun, telling him to ask freely.
“What does she do? The Guild Masters were being really submissive to her. I know she can see the future.”
“It’s not just simply seeing the future. Yeonhwa can see all possible futures and even twist those futures.”
Chahun, who was placing kimchi on top of his noodles, raised his eyebrows with an expression asking what that meant. Wondering how much he could say, Yeonwoo shared only what was known to the world.
The future Yeonhwa sees cannot be changed, but many have tried to change it. Despite numerous people failing in the process, people continued to attempt to change the future. What if Yeonhwa revealed the future to such a person? What if Yeonhwa, dissatisfied with someone, intervened to change the future? They could lose everything they had built up or have their future stolen.
Chahun, chewing broccoli, nodded, saying he understood roughly. He snickered, asking if that’s why the Center Director was being so cautious, but then suddenly stiffened. I didn’t know you were a picky eater. Yeonwoo offered the rolled omelet to Chahun, who was just moving his jaw as if the broccoli tasted bad. Chahun silently stared at just the rolled omelet before opening his mouth with an anxious face.
“Your sister—”
“Yeonhwa. Han Yeonhwa. I was so distracted earlier, I forgot to introduce you to each other.”
“Did your sister perhaps… tell you to talk to me…? Your sister seemed to really hate the Center Director.”
At Chahun’s question, Yeonwoo just blinked. It was something many people had asked him, but it felt a bit strange coming from Chahun. Not particularly unpleasant, though.
“You don’t even remember bursting the slime ball?”
Chahun’s cheeks, already flushed, turned so red they looked like they might burst. It wasn’t just that. He seemed to have completely forgotten all his other behaviors: an attack-type Esper eyeing defensive weapons, an Esper lurking around Guiding tools, and angrily yelling at Yeonwoo after bursting a mana ball himself. And now he was wondering if Yeonhwa had sent Yeonwoo to seek revenge on the Center Director? It was so funny and cute to see Chahun becoming gloomy after doubting things on his own.
“If anyone had seen that, not just me, they would have spoken to you.”
Chahun, who had been yelling at Yeonwoo not to laugh, shook his head firmly at his words.
“No. Hyung was the only one.”
When Chahun stared at him intently, Yeonwoo’s ears began to tingle. He answered “Is that so?” and naturally averted his gaze. Feeling the heat spreading from his ears throughout his body, he quickly changed the subject.
“Well, that’s me, but why did you ask for my name then?”
“When?”
“Back then, when you came to visit Zone C.”
With an “Ah,” Chahun put down his spoon and stared at Yeonwoo. After moving his lips as if choosing his words, Chahun finally gave an answer after a long while.
“Just because.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
