# Chapter 28
‘…It’s like that day.’
The first day Jeongyun met Domin, he accidentally got caught in a terrorist attack. Back then, people were having a normal day like any other. Jeongyun was too.
But with a sudden explosion, unregistered Espers appeared and began to mercilessly slaughter people in the streets.
Jeongyun clearly remembered that day. The screams echoing from everywhere, the smell of blood that stung his nose, and the smoke covering the sky.
Everything was the same as now.
“What are you doing? Snap out of it!”
Wooyeon shouted while shaking Jeongyun, who was in a daze. Finally focusing his eyes, Jeongyun grabbed Wooyeon’s hand and headed toward the cafe exit.
With a terrorist attack happening, this place wasn’t safe. They needed to get out of here as quickly as possible, hiding among the fleeing people.
But due to the explosion, everyone in the cafe rushed to the exit at once. That made it difficult to get outside.
‘Over there…’
Looking back, Jeongyun belatedly realized that the building where the explosion occurred was the one Domin had entered. His heart pounded anxiously.
“What are you doing?!”
As soon as they left the cafe, Jeongyun shook off Wooyeon’s hand. Wooyeon barely caught Jeongyun, who was trying to head into the ruins in the opposite direction of where people were running, and asked:
“You’re not trying to go to Choi Domin, are you?”
Instead of answering, Jeongyun nodded.
Unhidden shock appeared in Wooyeon’s eyes. It was like asking why would he willingly walk into a place where he might die, all for Choi Domin?
Truthfully, Jeongyun was scared too. Every breath brought the stinging smell of blood, the screams of people, and the smoke covering his vision were all the same as that day. For Jeongyun, that day was still a trauma in itself.
But that’s precisely why he had to go.
That day was both a terrible nightmare and the precious day he met Domin. Back then, Domin had saved him, but now he needed to save Domin.
“Wooyeon, I have to go to Domin.”
“Are you really crazy?”
“I’m sorry.”
Jeongyun pushed away Wooyeon’s hand that refused to let him go. Wooyeon’s eyes wavered greatly, filled with hurt after hopelessly losing hold of Jeongyun.
Avoiding Wooyeon’s gaze out of guilt, Jeongyun apologized once more and entered the black smoke.
* * *
The sudden explosion took out an entire floor of the building. If Junyoung hadn’t quickly spread a protective barrier, even Domin would have been seriously injured by such a large explosion.
“Damn, that was close.”
When they were told to come to the busy district instead of the studio, he had a bad feeling, and finally, it happened. Plus, a terrorist attack on a weekend when the place was packed with people. Just thinking about cleaning up this mess made his head throb.
“Are you okay?”
After removing the protective barrier, Junyoung first checked on Domin’s condition. Instead of answering, Domin frowned deeply and dusted off his clothes. Judging from his irritable expression, fortunately, he didn’t seem to be hurt.
“What’s wrong with these bastards, do they have nothing better to do? Why did they have to show up on a day like today?”
As Domin muttered savage curses and swept his hand, rocks blocking their view flew away like pieces of paper.
What greeted the two as they came out of the building were bodies scattered on the road and black smoke.
“Kyaaaah!”
“H-help me, aaaaah!”
Desperate screams echoed from all around.
Domin could sense presences lurking around, but because of the swirling dust, his vision wasn’t clear, so he couldn’t tell who was where.
He had to be careful about attacking blindly, as it could be survivors. With a terrorist attack happening, Domin, as an Esper, had to prioritize protecting civilians.
“Did you call headquarters?”
“I sent it earlier.”
Junyoung’s pager was blinking red. Domin patted Junyoung’s shoulder in approval and moved forward through the smoke.
“You check for survivors below. I’ll see where these bastards are.”
“Got it.”
After quickly dividing roles with Junyoung, Domin tried to locate the unregistered Espers from the sky. He intentionally climbed higher since the smoke was blocking his view, but contrary to expectations, he couldn’t see anything.
‘Not even a breeze is blowing.’
Judging by the unnaturally still air, there was a high possibility this was also an Esper’s ability. Or maybe the smoke blocking their vision was an ability. Either way, it was equally annoying.
While walking lightly through the air, Domin spotted a familiar face in an area where the smoke had partially cleared. He was quite surprised by the appearance of someone who shouldn’t be here.
‘Why is he here?’
If it wasn’t a mistake, that person down there was Yeo Jeongyun. Since the guides dispatched to the scene were B-grade guides belonging to teams, there was no reason for C-grade Jeongyun to be here.
Domin took out his pager and immediately sent a call to Jeongyun. Jeongyun, who had been looking around, stopped walking and rummaged through his pocket.
Seeing him take out a blinking pager and press the confirmation button firmly, it was definitely Yeo Jeongyun. Domin, holding his throbbing head, slowly descended.
“…Choi Domin?”
Jeongyun opened his eyes wide upon discovering Domin unexpectedly coming down from the sky.
Just as he was about to say something to that dumbfounded face asking why he was here, Jeongyun approached with long strides and grabbed Domin’s hand.
“Are you okay?”
In a terrorist scene where everyone around was an enemy, it was ridiculous that someone was worried about someone else—Domin couldn’t help but laugh. But his fingertips had started to ache, and they quickly felt better thanks to the Contact Guiding.
“Why are you here?”
Domin asked as he pulled his hand away, judging the Guiding to be sufficient. Perhaps because of the situation, his voice came out sharply, causing Jeongyun to mumble nervously.
“I was just out—”
“Don’t you know that guides must evacuate to safe zones immediately when a terrorist attack occurs?”
“I do know, but I wanted to help you. I’m your Guide after all…”
Jeongyun averted his gaze and trailed off.
What could a mere C-grade Guide do to help in this situation? Domin seriously began to wonder if that small head was just for show.
His head started to throb, but it couldn’t be helped since Jeongyun was already here. Postponing the search for unregistered Espers, the priority now was to take this foolish Guide to a safe place.
“Let’s go for now.”
Just as Domin made his decision and grabbed Jeongyun’s arm to turn around, the black smoke that had been still suddenly completely enveloped the two of them.
So the smoke was an ability after all. This was becoming a real headache.
“Choi Domin!”
“Hold my hand tight. Don’t let go no matter what.”
The dense smoke completely blocked their vision to the point where Domin couldn’t even see Jeongyun right beside him. Taking a deep breath, Domin kicked off the ground and flew toward the air.
But unlike before, his body only rose about a hand span before quickly returning to its original position. He thought it might be due to the burden he was carrying, but something was different.
‘Is it because of the smoke?’
He tried waving his hand through the air, but the smoke scattered easily like normal smoke. He tried to kick off the ground and rise again, but the result was the same.
“Is something wrong?”
Jeongyun asked from beyond the darkness.
But Domin, bewildered by a situation he was facing for the first time in his life, didn’t even have the presence of mind to answer. If someone could push back an A-grade like himself, the opponent must be at least A-grade, possibly S-grade.
‘Could it be…!’
Holding Jeongyun firmly so as not to lose him, Domin strode into the smoke.
The smoke, which seemed almost tangible yet intangible each time he swept through the air, was real. Or perhaps they were mistaking an illusion that didn’t exist for reality.
But he desperately hoped it wasn’t the latter. If it was the latter, no one here would make it out alive. Because it would mean that none other than ‘Illusion’ had appeared.
“Yeo Jeongyun, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
Adjusting his grip on Jeongyun’s hand, Domin completely closed off his blocked vision. As he gave up one sense, his other senses became more acute.
Fortunately, there was no one around in the pitch-black smoke. They could be hiding their presence, but since there had been no attack despite their vulnerable state for a while, it was enough to secure a brief window of opportunity.
If ‘Illusion’ had really appeared, Domin stood no chance. The only one who could fight that bastard on equal footing would probably be Deputy Director Hyun Semin.
So, even if it seemed cowardly, they needed to escape this place safely now.
“I’m going to use my ability a bit forcefully.”
“What?”
As long as the smoke didn’t disappear, Domin’s abilities were useless here. So he had no choice but to strain himself and enhance his abilities to reach a place where the smoke couldn’t reach.
A severe aftereffect would hit him, causing him to lose consciousness instantly, but he could endure it with a Guide beside him. No, he desperately hoped so.
“From now on, don’t stop Guiding until I say I’m okay.”
“What are you— Ahhh!”
Domin slightly bent his knees and quickly flew toward the sky. Jeongyun, whose body suddenly rose, desperately held onto Domin’s arm to avoid falling.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
