# Chapter 65
“What?”
There was no way Hajin could understand what was being mumbled with barely moving lips, even if they were both Espers.
When Hajin furrowed his brow and tilted his head at the mumbling sound, Puppy repeated himself more clearly.
“You said you like Choi Jihyung more than me!”
His face was flushed red, seemingly aware that this was embarrassing for a grown man to say. Hajin was at a loss for words as he watched Puppy breathing heavily, unable to contain his anger.
‘This… is a twenty-five-year-old man?’
Remembering the personal information Puppy had previously shared about himself, Hajin felt bewildered looking at this twenty-five-year-old man who was making it painfully obvious he was upset about not being liked more.
‘Why am I even dealing with this?’
A fundamental question suddenly crossed his mind.
Why should he, what connection did he have to be caught between them and become a victim of their side-taking? But there was no one to answer such questions or help him escape this situation.
He regretted not having looked for another solution earlier, if he had known it would be this annoying.
But as always, adults had to resolve everything themselves. Hajin sighed and opened his mouth.
“I never said I liked him.”
He’d only said Choi Jihyung was better, never that he liked him. Puppy looked up at Hajin with round eyes.
“Huh? Really?”
Now too tired to answer verbally, Hajin just nodded. Though not physically exhausted, he felt mentally drained.
Normally, Hajin could have easily brushed off this level of stress, but the weeks of confinement following his kidnapping were enough to shake even someone with his exceptionally strong mental fortitude.
Whether Hajin was tired or not, Puppy asked again with an excited expression.
“So you don’t like Choi Jihyung? But that bastard lied to me in that creepy way of his?”
“I never went that far…”
Hajin immediately denied this blatant manipulation and distortion, but Puppy only heard what he wanted to hear and ran off to find Choi Jihyung without listening to Hajin’s response.
Hajin had reached out to stop Puppy from behind but soon gave up, wondering why he should care. He quickly abandoned the effort since nothing he said was being heard anyway.
He decided this matter had nothing to do with him and stopped worrying about it. After some time—he wasn’t sure how long—Choi Jihyung returned.
Although he’d decided not to care, Hajin couldn’t help but look over to see if he was injured, given how Puppy had left.
“Your face…”
“Ah, haha…”
As expected, his face was in terrible shape. His lip was split, his cheek swollen, and scratches covered him everywhere. While Hajin normally wouldn’t care if someone’s face was busted or arm broken, he felt he couldn’t brazenly ignore it since he was partly responsible for what happened.
No matter how coldly he tried to behave, Hajin couldn’t ignore his conscience.
“…Did Puppy do that to you?”
“Uh, y-yes…”
Since it was as he’d expected, Hajin kept quiet. If he’d known the other man would be beaten to a pulp like this, he would have tried harder to intervene.
Misinterpreting Hajin’s grim expression of guilt, Choi Jihyung waved his hands dismissively.
“B-but it’s okay. This much will, um, heal quickly once I apply some medicine.”
As he said this, he took out a first aid kit from a drawer so naturally and familiarly that Hajin couldn’t bring himself to turn away and leave him alone.
How often would an S-rank Esper need to apply medicine for injuries? They usually didn’t even get scratches.
“Does the medicine actually work?”
“W-well, to some extent. Better than not applying anything.”
Finally unable to ignore his conscience any longer, Hajin stood up and walked over to Choi Jihyung. He then took the medicine from Choi Jihyung’s hands as the latter was trying to feel for his wounds and apply the medicine without a mirror.
“I’ll apply it for you. Face me.”
Choi Jihyung was startled as if he’d heard something impossible.
“Y-you, Hajin?!”
“If you don’t want me to…”
Hajin was about to turn back, his guilt vanishing at such an overreaction, when Choi Jihyung, now pale-faced, apologized profusely.
“N-no! I’m sorry! Please apply it for me!”
Looking like he was about to grab Hajin’s pant leg, Hajin had no choice but to agree. He sat back down on the sofa and squeezed some medicine onto his fingertips.
There was no gentleness in asking if it stung or anything similar. From Hajin’s perspective, treating the wounds of his kidnapper was already fulfilling his duty to his conscience.
“…Hold still.”
“Y-yes, yes.”
As Hajin applied medicine to the split lip, he kept missing because the lip kept twitching. After repeatedly touching the wrong part of the lip, Hajin spoke up despite Choi Jihyung verbally agreeing but failing to stop moving.
“If you move one more time, I’m leaving.”
“Mmph!”
Only at this final warning did Choi Jihyung tightly shut his mouth and endure. He clenched so hard that his cheeks visibly hollowed, as if he were biting the inside of his mouth.
But Hajin, displeased at unexpectedly learning what Choi Jihyung’s lips felt like, didn’t care.
Hajin only spoke when necessary, and Choi Jihyung couldn’t open his mouth for fear that Hajin would leave, so a period of silence continued.
“Um…”
Correction: the silence didn’t last very long. As soon as Hajin finished applying medicine to his lips, Choi Jihyung spoke up like he’d been waiting for it.
Although the lip treatment was finished, Hajin was debating whether to leave since Choi Jihyung had moved his mouth, when Choi Jihyung asked:
“Um, do you really… like Aji more…?”
“What?”
He wasn’t asking because he didn’t understand. Rather, the words coming from Choi Jihyung’s mouth sounded like something out of a fresh high school romance, making Hajin reflexively question what he’d heard.
Hadn’t that topic already ended? After already hearing the answer, why was he asking such a ridiculous question again? It made no sense.
“Aji said… that you like him more, so I was wondering if that was true…”
Hajin suddenly felt at a loss for how to respond.
‘Why do I have to tell them who I like more in the first place?’
He disliked them both. There wasn’t a single person he liked. He had never once used the word “like,” so why were they creating words he’d never said?
“Aji must be misunderstanding something, right? You like me…”
Hajin, who had wanted to decline discussing the topic altogether, turned his head at Choi Jihyung’s sudden response—speaking without stammering and mumbling.
Hajin tensed at the suddenly strange atmosphere, but Choi Jihyung was still busy mumbling to himself.
“This must be because you’re too kind, right?”
Hajin slightly frowned at the sudden spark while carefully observing Choi Jihyung’s state, unable to move carelessly. But he could only watch, unsure what bomb might explode if he interfered wrongly.
‘Should I use Guiding?’
“Hajin.”
Hajin answered, ready to perform Radiative Guiding immediately if Choi Jihyung tried anything foolish.
“Yes.”
“It’s better if it’s just the two of us, right? [Sleep]”
Hajin lost consciousness instantly, like a computer that had been turned off.
And so he opened his eyes with his hands and feet tied, in a space he’d never seen before. Naturally, Hajin glared at Choi Jihyung, who had positioned himself next to the bed where Hajin lay.
Under the icy glare, Choi Jihyung squeezed his eyes shut and said:
“N-no matter how pitifully you look at me, I won’t untie you!”
‘Is he insane…? Ah, yes, he is.’
In any case, after Choi Jihyung’s declaration that he wouldn’t untie Hajin’s hands and feet, the two remained in a standoff.
Judging by how quiet things were with Hajin gone, and seeing Choi Jihyung disappear from time to time, he seemed to be using his ability.
“…Isn’t what you’re doing now betrayal or treason?”
There was no way such behavior could be tolerated—using his ability on a colleague to keep Hajin for himself. And it seemed his thinking was correct, as Choi Jihyung hung his head low.
Apparently feeling no need to lie, he readily admitted it.
“Y-yes… If the Chairman finds out, I’m, I’m a dead man.”
“Then you can fix this now.”
But Choi Jihyung shook his head vigorously in refusal. Hajin tried hard not to frown at the stubborn Choi Jihyung. But with his hands and feet turning cold, even that wasn’t easy.
Hajin didn’t want to show weakness in front of Choi Jihyung, even out of petty pride.
But he could no longer ignore his limbs, which were turning purple to the point where he wondered if they would need to be amputated.
“…At least untie these ropes.”
As blood stopped circulating, his strength gradually drained, and physiological tears welled in his eyes. It felt as though blood was draining out rather than not circulating.
When Hajin forced strength into his blurring eyes and looked up at Choi Jihyung, their eyes met, and Choi Jihyung flinched.
“H-Hajin, are you s-seducing me right now? Even in this situation…?”
‘What nonsense is this pervert talking about!’
If he’d been in normal condition, he would have punched him in the face with curses he normally wouldn’t use. But now, it was all he could do just to stay conscious.
‘I should have remained vigilant until the end…’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
