# Chapter 83
Hajin was certain that Alpha Team had been blocking recent news about the Association, so he wondered where this information came from. After thinking briefly, he decided to be honest.
“They told me during my examination.”
That’s right. Alpha Team, who knew the Association’s situation better than anyone, had stayed by his side to prevent anyone from telling Hajin nonsense.
The medical staff, unable to approach when Espers were deliberately on guard, had waited for the only moment when they weren’t present, and their scheme had worked.
Learning this directly from Hajin, Alpha Team’s anger toward the medical staff grew.
“These bastards…”
For a moment, Hajin worried about the safety of the medical staff member who had shared this information with him. But thinking again, he felt annoyed that they had pushed this situation onto him when he hadn’t even properly rested.
‘But surely they wouldn’t hit civilians.’
They would probably just glare menacingly to intimidate them and stop there. Of course, Hajin didn’t realize that even that would be enough to make a civilian’s heart pound with fear.
“Then for now, I’ll just use Guiding to lower the levels. That should be fine, right?”
Hajin extended his hand to Ju Seongwon. He had thought it would take quite some time due to Alpha Team’s solid guard, but this felt like an unexpected stroke of luck.
“Then, if you don’t mind.”
Ju Seongwon eagerly seized this opportunity and grabbed Hajin’s hand. No matter how intimidating Alpha Team’s presence was, he was still an Esper.
There was no way he would refuse Guiding from a Guide. Still, he planned to manage his expression so as not to show too much enthusiasm, lest those crazy guys get angry.
“Hah!”
But the moment he experienced the Guiding that gently flowed from Hajin’s hand, his mind went completely blank.
Forget managing his expression—he simply opened his mouth stupidly and surrendered his entire body to the Guiding.
The moment that seemed like it would last forever ended as the Guiding circulated once through Ju Seongwon’s body.
“Ah…!”
Ju Seongwon tried to grab Hajin’s retreating hand, but Han Seungho, who had been watching with wild eyes from the side, snatched it away with lightning speed, leaving Ju Seongwon’s attempt unsuccessful.
“Thanks to you, my body has fully recovered. Thank you.”
The words of gratitude delivered with a small smile were, in a sense, a polite dismissal.
Ju Seongwon wanted to beg to be allowed to stay by Hajin’s side, but he was half-forced out by Alpha Team’s pressure.
With Han Seungho and Lee Doyoon holding his shoulders from both sides, Ju Seongwon was pushed all the way to the entrance. Unable to let go of his lingering feelings, he kept looking back.
His expression resembled that of a man forced to leave his beloved partner behind.
“Our hyung is just too kind.”
Suddenly, Han Seungho made an unexpected remark. Ju Seongwon’s gaze, which had been fixed on where Hajin would be, turned toward Han Seungho.
Han Seungho turned his head to face him and muttered menacingly. As if worried that Hajin might hear, he spoke in a very low, quiet voice.
“So it was just a thank-you for his help. Don’t even think about getting clingy.”
Though his words were polite, it was clearly a threat. Normally, Ju Seongwon, not being a combat-focused Esper, would have reluctantly accepted it despite finding it unpleasant. But his feelings for Hajin couldn’t be suppressed so easily.
“Lee Hajin Guide isn’t your possession. What right do you have to say such things?”
At Ju Seongwon’s words, Lee Doyoon clicked his tongue and stepped back, while Han Seungho’s expressionless face was replaced with a fierce smile.
It was immediately clear why Lee Doyoon usually called him a beast, or occasionally, when annoyed, a beast bastard.
“Ah, yes, Hajin hyung isn’t an object. So should I take this as you wanting to challenge me?”
Ju Seongwon’s expression hardened. Other Espers might have eagerly accepted such a challenge, but unfortunately, he was an Esper with healing abilities.
He was naturally at a disadvantage in aggressive confrontations. While his body was sturdy enough to deserve the name Esper, Han Seungho’s would clearly be sturdier.
“No, wait…”
Finally realizing who he had openly confronted, Ju Seongwon tried to change the situation, but the person beside him happened to be Lee Doyoon.
Though he had a reputation for being more gentle compared to Han Seungho, that was only what outsiders believed. In reality, Lee Doyoon was more troublesome—cunning enough to hide his own mistakes behind Han Seungho’s disturbances.
‘Oh no…’
If it had been Cha Jinwoo, who had a reputation for having common sense, there might have been hope. But he showed no interest, saying it wasn’t his business.
A drop of sweat trickled down Ju Seongwon’s nape. He cursed inwardly. Han Seungho in front and Lee Doyoon behind—he realized too late that he had picked a fight with the worst possible opponents.
“You’re not thinking of fighting me, are you?”
Healing-type Espers were second in importance only to Guides. Sometimes they were even more important than Guides in combat situations.
Yet, why did he feel so uneasy?
Ju Seongwon anxiously eyed Han Seungho, who was still grinning with his teeth showing, his eyes half-crazed.
“What are you saying? Am I a gangster?”
Han Seungho spoke with a laugh as if it was all a joke. Nevertheless, Ju Seongwon couldn’t laugh along. He couldn’t feel at ease either, because Lee Doyoon was still looking at Han Seungho as if he were a madman.
As expected, his ominous feeling was not misplaced. Han Seungho put his arm around Ju Seongwon’s shoulder, as if they were close friends, and squeezed hard.
“Ugh!”
Though not enough to suffocate him, Ju Seongwon groaned reflexively as he fully felt the pressure. However, Han Seungho, acting as if he hadn’t heard anything, clearly warned him.
“But I never back down from a fight that’s been started. You started it, understand?”
Having said his piece, Han Seungho released Ju Seongwon. The way he grinned at Ju Seongwon, who was clearing his throat with a small cough, dramatically decreased the credibility of his claim that he wasn’t a gangster.
“Now get lost.”
After driving Ju Seongwon out of the entrance, Han Seungho closed the door without hesitation and hurriedly returned to Hajin’s room. However, before entering the room, he was blocked by Cha Jinwoo who was coming out and closing the door.
“Where’s Hajin hyung?”
“He said he’ll come out after washing up. Let’s go down to the living room.”
After washing his entire body with hot water, Hajin walked refreshingly down to the first floor. Feeling newly grateful for being able to move his body freely, he entered the living room where only Han Seungho and Lee Doyoon greeted him.
“Are you alright now?”
“If you’re in pain, call that guy anytime. But only when we’re with you.”
As Hajin acknowledged their jealousy-tinged complaints, he looked around for Cha Jinwoo. Surely he hadn’t gone on a mission when Hajin hadn’t even properly done Guiding for him?
“Where’s Mr. Cha Jinwoo?”
“Tsk, are you only looking for the team leader?”
Though Han Seungho clicked his tongue in jealousy, he didn’t ignore Hajin’s question and dutifully answered.
“He’s preparing the meal.”
“By himself?”
Hajin had simply meant to offer his help, but the two misinterpreted it as criticism and awkwardly made excuses.
“He told us not to touch anything and to stay put.”
Hajin almost nodded in agreement for a moment.
“Ahem, I’ll go help him too.”
Hajin sat the two, who naturally tried to follow him as he moved, on the sofa and entered the kitchen. Fortunately, since his shower time hadn’t been long, Cha Jinwoo was still in the midst of preparations.
“Hajin? You could rest, you know.”
“It’ll be faster if we do it together. We just need to heat up the side dishes from the refrigerator.”
“Wait…!”
Cha Jinwoo tried to stop Hajin from opening the refrigerator door, but Hajin was a bit faster. Hajin, who had been wondering about Cha Jinwoo’s reaction, realized why he had tried to stop him once he saw inside the refrigerator.
And also why Cha Jinwoo was trying to cook from scratch rather than just heating up side dishes. Thinking back, even yesterday, the three had unnecessarily cooked new dishes.
He had thought it was just to show their devotion to him, but… He hadn’t expected the refrigerator to be this empty. Since they drank water from the purifier, there were only a few ingredients and sauce seasonings left in the refrigerator.
“What is… this?”
Weren’t side dishes automatically replenished when they ran out? Had their treatment changed during Hajin’s absence? As Hajin’s face grew increasingly serious, Cha Jinwoo’s voice interjected.
“Ahem, since we haven’t been home much all this time…”
They hadn’t stocked up on food because there was no one to eat it. Hajin found this even more perplexing.
“Then what about meals? Sleep?”
It had been over a month since Hajin had left, and if Alpha Team had also not returned home during that time, how on earth had they managed meals and sleep?
“We didn’t skip them.”
Cha Jinwoo tried to smooth things over somehow, but Hajin wouldn’t let it go easily.
“How did you manage them?”
Hajin decided this wouldn’t do and called Han Seungho and Lee Doyoon from the living room to sit at the dining table.
Having already heard the conversation from the living room, they carefully took their seats, watching Hajin’s reaction.
“No lies. Tell me honestly. How did you manage meals and sleep while I was gone?”
Under Hajin’s interrogation, Cha Jinwoo opened his mouth.
It was better for him to speak than Han Seungho or Lee Doyoon. He didn’t think the two would lie to Hajin.
However, since the same words could be interpreted differently depending on how they were delivered, he judged it would be better if he, who could explain things more neatly than those two, spoke.
“We managed meals with energy bars issued as combat rations, and when we returned to the Association occasionally, we slept in the night duty room or isolation cells.”
“And how often did you return to the Association?”
Though he thought he had explained things neatly enough, Hajin wouldn’t let it go. As Hajin pressed for even more details, Cha Jinwoo finally averted his gaze and spoke.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
