42
Wooseok swallowed a sigh as he looked at Jihwan, who was staring at the ground.
By the time they somehow managed to keep Minjae alive, Jihwan had already disappeared. There were things Wooseok needed to ask him, and he also felt sorry for not being able to take care of someone who, as an S-class esper, had rescued his senior without abandoning him.
Jihwan burst into Wooseok’s office, panting for breath when Wooseok called for him. He flung the door open roughly, causing quite a loud noise.
It was obvious what he was thinking when he came running. His hair was soaking wet with water dripping down, and his clothes were wet in patches as if he had rushed out while showering.
“You, you called for me…”
Jihwan quickly looked around the office and flinched for a moment when he discovered Minjae wasn’t there. Then he let out a small gasp.
“…Just have a seat first.”
When Wooseok offered him a seat, Jihwan sat down quietly in a proper posture. After that, he just kept staring at the ground. He looked like he could dig a hole in the ground with his eyes.
Wooseok wondered how to start the conversation.
“Um… how are you feeling?”
Wooseok asked.
“…I’m fine.”
His tone suggested he shouldn’t be fine.
Wooseok observed Jihwan’s condition for a moment. True to his word, Jihwan was too fine. If it weren’t for his nearly-dead expression, one might doubt he was actually involved in the accident.
But if he really had intended to harm Minjae, there would have been no reason for him to risk dying in an explosion and return to the center together. Wooseok rubbed his face with his hands repeatedly.
“Did you notice anything unusual at the scene?”
“…The wind was strong when we started flying.”
“Anything else?”
“Sunbae said ‘wait,’ but… I didn’t stop immediately. I’m sorry.”
After saying that, Jihwan lowered his head even more.
“That’s not what I was asking about.”
“…Yes, I’m sorry.”
“No… sigh, I just wanted to find clues to guess who the culprit might be since you were with Minjae.”
“Yes…”
This seems hopeless, Wooseok thought. It would be strange if a rookie who hadn’t been here long knew anything anyway. Hah… Wooseok sighed and pulled at his own hair.
After S-class flyer Park Jihwan manifested, Minjae had to reveal his ability. And how many times had he appeared before Wooseok in such a dangerous state? And today… it was truly dangerous. Not just dangerous, but horrific.
If he hadn’t had to move around with an inexperienced rookie, would Minjae be better off now? When Wooseok thought about such things, he didn’t welcome Jihwan’s presence.
Is this all I can think? I’m really the worst. Wooseok glanced at Jihwan, who was still staring intently at the floor.
“…You went with Minjae to The Crow’s hideout back then, right? Did they discover your identities?”
“…Pardon? The Crow?”
“You don’t know?”
“What are you talking about?”
Jihwan seemed genuinely unaware of what the term “The Crow” meant. Ah… Woo Minjae. That guy didn’t tell him anything. Wooseok rubbed his face with his hand again.
“Never mind.”
“Please tell me.”
Wooseok was silent for a moment.
“You two disappeared in broad daylight during the flight demonstration with the sound of an explosion. All kinds of media outlets are pouring out articles in real-time. All of them are speculative.”
“……”
“The Center was in complete mourning until you showed up. We couldn’t receive any reports. We couldn’t even start search operations hastily and had to wait.”
“Why not the search operations…”
“Because we didn’t know what they wanted.”
“But still…”
Blood vessels were visible on Jihwan’s forehead as his voice trailed off.
The guides within the Center trusted and followed Minjae, but they also feared him. It was true that SSS-class was intimidating to attempt guiding recklessly.
Except in extremely exceptional situations like just now where many had to pour guiding into him, there were no situations where one would face Minjae one-on-one for guiding.
So it wasn’t incomprehensible that there wasn’t a guide who would risk their life for an esper on the verge of manifestation. From the esper’s perspective, it might feel too heartless, though.
“When most espers leave the center as search team members, the headquarters becomes vulnerable to attack, or they might be targeting something else using you two as bait.”
“……”
Jihwan was glaring at empty space. He seemed unable to accept it. Swallowing a sigh, Wooseok spoke again.
“Anyway, what’s become clear from this incident is that there’s someone targeting Minjae.”
“Then…”
“It could be seen as an assassination attempt rather than terrorism targeting unspecified personnel. This is just a hypothesis, though.”
“…So if I hadn’t returned to the Center with Sunbae, he could have died.”
Jihwan came up with an answer Wooseok hadn’t expected. Yes. Wooseok calmly affirmed. Jihwan suddenly grabbed and pulled at his own hair. Water splashed from his wet hair.
“…You might resent me for saying this, but please don’t blame the guiding room people too much. They don’t all hate Minjae.”
“…Aren’t you scared, Director?”
“Of what?”
“Minjae sunbae… just, everything.”
Jihwan’s eyes were bloodshot when he raised his head.
Wooseok felt envious of Jihwan for a moment. Worrying about Minjae without considering anything else used to be Wooseok’s role. Wooseok could do anything for Minjae.
But the responsibilities were increasing over time. He couldn’t think only of his friend Minjae anymore. The same was true for Minjae. Even if they were afraid, they couldn’t show it. There were many things that had to take priority over their own fears.
It would have been better if he hadn’t taken on the director position. Wooseok pressed his stiff eye area with his hand.
“You must not disclose our conversation today to anyone.”
“Yes.”
“It’s because Minjae could be in danger.”
“I understand.”
Jihwan said he wanted to see Minjae. Wooseok nodded.
***
Jihwan carefully closed the door and entered the hospital room. The room was quiet. There was the sound of the machine indicating heartbeat, but that seemed to make it feel even more silent.
Jihwan approached Minjae and sat down on a folding chair placed beside the bed.
“You’re a mess.”
Jihwan felt his voice trembling uncontrollably.
Minjae’s body was covered in wounds. Despite pouring so much guiding into him, they still hadn’t healed properly. Until he regained consciousness, his body would continue to be in that condition.
As he lowered his head, water dropped to the floor. Jihwan moved his body backward, afraid that the water droplets from his wet hair might touch Minjae’s bedding.
Before receiving Wooseok’s call, thinking he should get himself together, he had stopped by his quarters for a cold shower. Blood, presumably his own, was diluted and washed away under his body. Seeing the red bloody water flowing down the bathroom floor made it feel real.
He really almost died. He could have died, crashed in the bushes. If this person before him hadn’t saved him, that’s what would have happened.
As soon as Jihwan received the contact from Director Choi Wooseok, he ran like crazy. When he was in such a hurry that he couldn’t think, Jihwan forgot that he could fly.
Jihwan wondered if Minjae would be awake, and what he should say when looking into his eyes. What if he wasn’t awake? What if something was wrong? Such anxieties muddled his thoughts.
Director Choi Wooseok had said that Sunbae Minjae was being targeted. By whom? The flight demonstration schedule was a fact known to the entire nation. It was easy to guess which section they would fly in. That’s because the area was announced for everyone to see.
But had information that could match the timing to shoot them down ever been disclosed?
“You must not disclose this to anyone.”
It didn’t take long to realize that there might be an enemy inside.
Why is he being targeted? Jihwan looked down at Minjae’s pale face.
Come to think of it, he had been a person with many secrets since they first met. What exactly is this person?
Jihwan took out his phone and searched for the word “The Crow” that Director Choi Wooseok had mentioned. Regular information about the bird crow came up.
What is this? Muttering, Jihwan scrolled down and discovered a photo posted on a cafe. It was a photo that appeared to be of several people camping.
“Huh?”
Jihwan discovered a familiar person in the photo. The quality wasn’t good, but he could recognize the person who had tried to recruit Minjae into a cult religion on the street at that time.
Then did Sunbae know something? Or was he connected somehow.
“…Why do you have so many secrets?”
Jihwan asked. Predictably, no answer came. Is that what being a hero is about? Jihwan murmured.
Come to think of it, heroes in movies were always in danger too. It was just that there was a belief that they would survive because they were protagonists, so he hadn’t thought much about it.
But the place he was standing was not inside a movie. That’s why the Center didn’t send a rescue team, and guides didn’t hastily try to help.
Feeling suddenly anxious, Jihwan sat close to Minjae. And he put his finger in front of Minjae’s nose.
The faint breath tickled Jihwan’s index finger. Jihwan found stability from that. He remained silent without removing his hand for a while. And he began to think about what words would be good to say if Sunbae opened his eyes.
Jihwan’s wet hair was drying to a crisp. Minjae quietly opened his eyes. Startled, Jihwan quickly withdrew his hand.
“So I lived.”
Minjae quietly murmured. His tone suggested he wasn’t very interested in the fact that he was alive. Then he blinked and glanced at Jihwan.
“Are you okay?”
Minjae asked. His voice was cracked.
Jihwan clenched his teeth. He could have apologized. He could have said he was sorry for being stubborn and speaking rudely, sorry for not making the flight demonstration a success.
Or he could have expressed gratitude. He could have said Sunbae was his lifesaver or thanked him for not leaving him behind.
Alternatively, he could have calmly reported the situation after Minjae collapsed.
But different words burst out of Jihwan’s mouth.
“Why did you do it?”
Jihwan regretted the words as soon as he said them. But he couldn’t take them back.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
