# Chapter 56
Dohyun bit his lower lip hard at the fragments of past memories that kept surfacing. The boy who had smiled in a way that anyone who didn’t know better would think angelic, still weighed heavily on Dohyun, who had grown much bigger than he was back then.
“Seonwoo.”
Please, don’t let that voice be directed at him.
Tap, tap— Please, don’t let the owner of those approaching footsteps be who he thought it was.
Dohyun couldn’t turn his head. Just like back then when he couldn’t say anything even when face to face, Dohyun stood frozen white, unable to respond to the approaching Esper.
“Come here.”
The blue-haired Esper smiled just like before and reached out his hand.
Even as the hand drew closer, Dohyun couldn’t react.
He had clearly prepared for months. He’d done image training multiple times so he could respond immediately if Jiwhan appeared before him, and he’d received advice from Handam on how to move if the opponent was an Esper.
But when Jiwhan actually appeared and approached, all his preparations became useless. As if his ankles were caught in childhood memories, Dohyun couldn’t show any of the responses he had planned. Instead, he felt short of breath and cold sweat ran down his face.
Jiwhan’s hand slowly approached Dohyun in this state. When the fingers were right in front of his face, Dohyun barely managed to close his eyes.
“We meet again, indeed. Though I think it would have been better if we hadn’t.”
Dohyun, who had been trapped in darkness, opened his eyes at the familiar voice. Just before Jiwhan could touch him, Haegang had knocked away his hand. Then he stood facing Jiwhan, holding a shield device in one hand.
That large body that had always felt frightening to Dohyun. Even when he thought to himself that it was okay now, that intimidating body was now hiding Dohyun from Jiwhan. Looking at the back that stood blocking his view, Dohyun felt a sense of security he had never experienced before.
Dohyun blinked as he stared at Haegang’s back.
“Ah, Guide Choi Haegang is here too.”
“I would think you already knew that.”
“Is that so? I truly didn’t know. More importantly, won’t you give me some time to discuss memories with our Seonwoo?”
“I wonder about that.”
“It would be better for you to step aside for a moment, as it might be dangerous. All I need is our Seonwoo.”
Haegang didn’t even pretend to step aside as he stared at Jiwhan. An attack might come. With trembling hands, Dohyun transformed water into a black potion.
Perhaps because he was unwillingly caught in memories of the past, he couldn’t easily think of attacking. But he didn’t want to be hurt anymore. With these emotions, Dohyun created a shield in front of himself and Haegang.
The shield didn’t let in anything Dohyun didn’t want. Jiwhan, who had been reaching out his hand, blinked slowly when he saw that the translucent sphere wouldn’t let him pass, then smiled.
“A shield? Our Seonwoo… isn’t a potion maker?”
You deceived your hyung. Jiwhan muttered, then smiled. Regardless of what was inside, his outward appearance was still the same kind-looking face that Dohyun remembered.
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you’re a shield Esper. Come with hyung. I need you.”
His voice was strangely confident, as if he naturally thought Dohyun would go with him. Seonwoo. At that voice that pierced his ears, Dohyun grabbed the edge of Haegang’s shirt with trembling hands. Haegang confirmed Dohyun’s condition by the sensation behind him.
Yet, he kept his gaze straight ahead. There wasn’t much to fear. Even with just a slight touch, the Guiding Vigor was transferring sufficiently, and Dohyun was still maintaining a thick shield. But he couldn’t carelessly try to escape with Dohyun either. After thinking for a moment, Haegang organized his thoughts and spoke.
“The Esper here is Baek Dohyun.”
“…?”
“Esper Baek Dohyun, my exclusive contract Esper.”
“That’s a fact I already know…”
“No, I don’t think you do. This is Baek Dohyun. Not Han Seonwoo.”
Dohyun, who had been gripping Haegang’s clothes tightly, raised his head. Jiwhan wasn’t clearly visible behind Haegang’s large body. Jiwhan, who had been listening to Haegang’s words without any change in expression, now looked displeased.
At that moment, another familiar voice cut in.
“This is Baek Dohyun.”
And he’s a Somyeong Guild Esper. As soon as the words ended, a fireball appeared beside Jiwhan. The moment Haegang turned and pulled Dohyun into his arms, a massive explosion erupted.
BOOM-!
Along with a tremendous explosion, dust and dirt enveloped the surroundings. An attack might come through the dust. Dohyun, not relaxing his tension, poured more strength into maintaining the shield. Thanks to being in Haegang’s embrace, Guiding flowed in immediately, allowing his ability to activate smoothly without pain.
“He’s really quick.”
Where the dust had cleared, nothing existed. It was as if no one had been there from the beginning.
The attack had definitely hit accurately. Dohyun and Haegang were unharmed because they were within the shield’s protection, but whoever was hit would have suffered considerable damage.
As soon as Handam approached, Haegang asked:
“Did the attack definitely hit?”
“It was definitely within range. With an explosion of that magnitude, there should have been at least some injury, but I can’t sense any blood scent at all. Esper Dohyun, did you feel any energy?”
Haegang released his arms from around Dohyun. What just happened? With an expressionless face, Dohyun’s lips moved slightly before firmly closing. He would have to explain later. Dohyun, who had been hunched over, shook his head toward Handam.
“Nothing at all.”
When an Esper used an ability, other nearby Espers could feel the energy of that ability. However, when Handam’s fireball exploded, Dohyun didn’t sense any energy other than his own shield energy and Handam’s energy.
“Could it possibly be a teleportation ability that I couldn’t sense?”
Dohyun asked carefully, but Handam shook his head as if that couldn’t be the case.
“That’s impossible. Even though Esper Dohyun is a novice Esper who manifested just half a year ago, since you can properly use your abilities, you shouldn’t have difficulty sensing energy, right?”
If that was the case, what kind of ability allowed him to appear and disappear so mysteriously? Dohyun tried to calm his trembling hands and racing heart as he discussed with Handam. They concluded that they would need to investigate further to understand.
While Handam searched the surroundings, Dohyun and Haegang returned to the car. Since Dohyun had rushed out, Haegang had left the car nearby and followed. Upon arriving at a place with no people around, Dohyun moved his head as if checking Haegang.
“What are you doing?”
“I was wondering if you’re injured anywhere.”
“There was a shield.”
“…I know.”
But why? Though Dohyun understood the meaning of Haegang’s expression, he was serious. It was the Esper Dohyun’s role to protect his Guide’s safety. But during the recent attack, Haegang had pulled Dohyun into his arms as if it were natural. It was an illogical situation.
“I, I don’t get hurt by that attack.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Esper Ye Handam’s energy.”
At Dohyun’s answer, Haegang looked down at him. It wasn’t as scary as he had expected. Dohyun usually broke into a cold sweat from past memories whenever Haegang looked down at him. But now it was different. Perhaps because of the memory of Haegang blocking Jiwhan who had stood in front of him, the frightening feeling was significantly diluted. Haegang, who had been gazing down indifferently, answered casually.
“I also don’t get hurt by that attack.”
“How did you know what attack would come to block me?”
“And how did you know what attack would come to freeze up like that?”
It was certainly his fault for freezing up, caught in memories of the past. It was better if battles between Espers didn’t occur. But since they weren’t completely non-existent, Dohyun had already heard some advice from the guild’s Espers. Since he wasn’t from an Awakener specialized school, it was judged that he might have difficulty handling situations when problems arose between Espers.
‘Never freeze up, no matter what fight breaks out.’
‘Though we understand it’s inevitable due to lack of experience, never avert your eyes.’
‘Create distance so you can assess what the opponent is doing and respond accordingly.’
Despite having heard these precautions in advance, he hadn’t been able to accomplish any of them. Rather, since he had received help from Haegang, he should express gratitude. It was Haegang who had knocked away the hand that was trying to reach Dohyun with the shield device, and it was Haegang who had responded on behalf of Dohyun when he couldn’t say anything during the conversation.
Unlike Dohyun, who could respond to some extent if given time, the Guide who had no abilities had blocked Dohyun’s front with just a single device. Dohyun felt something indescribable along with the thought that it was too reckless.
“Next time something like this happens, you shouldn’t step forward. I’ll somehow regain my senses and respond.”
This was all he could say. Since no one had ever stepped forward on behalf of Dohyun before, he couldn’t grasp what words to use. Should he express gratitude? Should he reprimand that reckless action? Various emotions mixed together. Haegang, who had been quietly looking down at Dohyun, spoke.
“If you’re grateful, you can just say thank you.”
“…What?”
“If you’re worried, you can say you’re worried and ask me not to do that.”
“No…”
“Say thank you.”
At Haegang’s confident tone, Dohyun’s expression became ambiguous. Isn’t gratitude supposed to come from one’s heart? Where did that confidence that he should naturally be grateful come from?
Dohyun learned that when someone is shameless, words can disappear.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
