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Excruciating pain was consuming Minjae. I’m alive. Minjae thought as he felt the overwhelming pain washing over him.
It took some time before he could properly open his eyes. Fortunately, seeing the sparkling sunlight, it seemed that not much time had passed.
A mechanical ringing continued in his ears. Only then did Minjae remember that he had been attacked during the flight demonstration and had crashed.
Minjae waited for a moment. If a professional killer had been hired, they might come to check if his breathing had stopped. If he used his ability prematurely without waiting for the right moment, he might end up helplessly watching as the opponent finished him off.
How much time had passed? No sign of anyone could be sensed around him.
Minjae slowly raised his upper body. Ugh, keh. Minjae barely managed to cough out choking sounds.
Since his right arm was tattered, he had to support his upper body mostly with his left arm. His entire body was covered in blood, but it didn’t seem like any part of his body had reached the point of irreparable damage.
What bastard did this? A shoot-down in broad daylight? It was too blatant to even call it bold.
The bigger problem was that he had fallen victim to it. If there were injured civilians among the journalists who had gathered… He didn’t want to think further.
At that moment, Minjae’s eyes caught sight of a black feather. It was neatly resting on his thigh. The glossy synthetic feather was long enough to be eerie if one thought it was a real bird’s feather.
Are they not even trying to hide their identity? It might be a warning being sent openly.
Minjae picked up the feather with trembling hands and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he took out the phone from his inside pocket and checked it. As expected, it was broken. Minjae put the now-useless piece of metal back in his pocket.
Keh… Hearing a gasping sound similar to his own, Minjae turned his head to the side. He saw Jihwan lying in a similar state to his own. He still seemed unconscious.
Minjae looked down at his own wrist. Orange and red lights were alternately flashing.
“Shit… I’m really lucky.”
A self-deprecating laugh escaped Minjae’s lips. If he used Hill enough to be able to move and then tried to move, could he make it to the Center? No matter how hard he tried to calculate with his buzzing head, he couldn’t guarantee either outcome.
Minjae pulled on Jihwan’s wrist. It showed a stable green light.
Considering Jihwan’s attitude shown earlier, Minjae thought what he was about to do was reckless. However, Minjae had no other options left.
Phew. Minjae sighed as if trying to steady his breathing, then placed both arms over Jihwan’s body. With no strength in his body, he had to nearly collapse onto Jihwan.
Minjae began feeling Jihwan’s body. Light seeped from his hands.
***
Something tickled Jihwan’s ear. He could also hear the soft sound of wind. It’s bright. Jihwan felt that way even with his eyes closed. It felt like light was caressing his face.
Jihwan slowly opened his eyes. A clear sky stretched out above him. Occasionally, he could see the edges of grass swaying in the wind in front of his eyes.
A grassy field…? Jihwan was momentarily dazed. His body felt strangely light. There was a heavy feeling in his solar plexus, but everywhere else was fine.
What was I doing before falling asleep in this field? Jihwan wondered as he slowly sat up.
Plop.
Something seemed to fall to the side. And at the same time, the heavy feeling in his solar plexus disappeared. Jihwan turned his head to his right.
“…Ugh!!”
He felt a surge of nausea. Jihwan had to quickly cover his mouth.
Too much blood was flowing from Minjae’s body. His complexion was not just pale, but ashen. Moreover, his entire body was covered in severe wounds. The flesh was deeply gouged, painful just to look at.
Uh… Jihwan didn’t even realize he was making strange sounds. Only then did Jihwan remember that he had been performing a flight demonstration when he heard a tremendous explosion and lost consciousness.
“…Sunbaenim?”
Jihwan cautiously called out to Minjae. There was no response.
Jihwan took a small breath and brought his hand to the tip of Minjae’s nose. Is he breathing?
But with the wind blowing, Minjae’s breath couldn’t be felt. Jihwan didn’t have the courage to part Minjae’s blood-soaked clothes and put his ear to his chest.
What should I do? What should I do? Jihwan frantically searched his own clothes. He hoped for anything, a phone or whatever, but nothing could be found—perhaps lost during the crash. And in the process, Jihwan realized that despite being covered in blood, his own body didn’t have a single wound.
Jihwan looked down at his own arms. He rubbed the drying bloodstains vigorously. His arms were smooth.
Why are they smooth? Why is this… Jihwan stared at Minjae’s arm, which was in a terrible state. His eyes burned.
“Wait—”
Jihwan recalled that Minjae had tried to say something right before the crash.
Did sunbae sense the danger? At the moment the wind was rushing, sunbae was clearly trying to say something. But it seemed that, out of stubbornness that he could handle it, Jihwan hadn’t wanted to listen.
He thought that if it was something like a storm, going toward the center would actually make it calmer. He didn’t realize it might be something like a bomb. That it would end up like this…
Beep. Beep.
A sharp warning sound rang out. Jihwan’s body trembled. The sound was coming from Minjae’s wrist.
Jihwan carefully took Minjae’s wrist to check. It was a non-flashing red light.
The meaning of the warning sound was that he was on the verge of going berserk. This warning was for people near the esper. A warning to flee beyond the radius where the sound could be heard.
“…Why.”
Jihwan was angry. He spat words into the empty air as if grinding them between his teeth. He didn’t know why he was angry.
Jihwan carefully folded Minjae’s arm inward. Then he slowly picked Minjae up. An esper on the verge of going berserk could explode with even the tiniest stimulation. If Jihwan made even the slightest mistake, Woo Minjae’s foolish action would be in vain.
See? That’s why you shouldn’t have done that, sunbae. You’re not that special after all. Jihwan increased his altitude. Feeling the resistance of the wind, Jihwan ranted internally. He couldn’t bear it otherwise.
The warning sound continued in his ears.
***
The time it took to fly to the Center felt like an eternity. During that time, Minjae had seizures in Jihwan’s arms. Minjae shook his rigidly stiffened body. Blood gushed from his mouth, even though it seemed like he couldn’t possibly have any more blood to lose.
Each time he felt a tremor, Jihwan carefully adjusted his hold on Minjae. Having faced that pale face, Jihwan thought it was better for Minjae to be shaking than lying limp like a corpse. At least this way, he could continually confirm that he was still alive.
Jihwan didn’t remember how he flew to the Center. He just flew until the Center building came into view. Despite his desperate feelings, his body felt like it was floating slowly, like a cloud.
“Yes, I’m not a hero. Happy now?”
During that long time, Jihwan recalled those words of Minjae. Minjae’s face as he said that was calm. As if delivering factual information.
That’s right. This person is not a hero. Not the kind of hero I admired. Jihwan repeated to himself.
Jihwan had many things he wanted to confront Minjae about. He wanted to pour out accusations that he was a hypocrite. And only when he finally saw the door of the Center’s Guiding Department could he stop everything.
Still carrying Minjae, Jihwan kicked open the door of the Guiding Department. The door opened, and everyone looked at Jihwan. After seeing Minjae’s condition, all the guides widened their eyes and stepped back.
The shock and fear happened very quietly. Like the Red Sea parting, the guides pressed themselves against the walls.
Jihwan stared at this in bewilderment, then slowly moved forward. It was the guiding room where Director Choi Wooseok had previously taken Minjae.
In the enclosed space, Jihwan laid Minjae on the bed. Everything happened very slowly. With Minjae looking like he could explode at any moment, no guide dared to enter easily.
Please do something. As Jihwan’s lips quivered, he heard urgent footsteps. Then Wooseok, his face as pale as Minjae’s, entered.
“Minjae…”
Wooseok whispered, collapsing over Minjae as if falling apart. He seemed to be pushing in as much guiding as possible, pressing his upper body close.
Jihwan silently watched this. Director Choi Wooseok wiped the blood from Minjae’s face, caressing it with red eyes. Unlike when he complained about Minjae’s exaggeration, his eyes now overflowed with tenderness.
After some time, when an orange light came on from Minjae’s wrist, several A-class guides were additionally deployed, grabbing Minjae’s wrists and ankles to begin guiding.
One of the guides tried to guide Jihwan too, but Jihwan refused. His guiding measurements were still okay.
Jihwan left the guiding room and sat in a waiting chair. Then he looked down at his wrist.
He counted the number of dried bloodstains on the torn parts of his clothes. One, two, three. As he counted, he tried to gauge how deep the wounds must have been, and how much ability would have been needed to heal them so perfectly.
Jihwan felt a deep sense of defeat. Despite hearing childish words about whether he was a hero or not, Minjae was someone who had saved Jihwan without thinking of his own safety. Someone who did such things yet firmly stated that he was not a hero.
“The guiding measurements have entered the stable range!”
A guide shouted from inside the guiding room. Instantly, the air in the guiding room felt lighter. The guides who had gathered at the door, peeping inside, let out sighs of relief.
Jihwan got up and left the guiding room. He couldn’t bear it anymore.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
