# Chapter 43
*’Internal strife?’*
Hajin tensed up, afraid he might catch stray fire from the unexpectedly heated atmosphere. Yet the others watching this scene remained unimpressed.
It wasn’t that they thought it wouldn’t affect them; rather, they seemed familiar with this kind of spectacle.
Moreover, one man was just hunched over with shoulders drawn in, habitually torturing his innocent fingers, picking at his hangnails, appearing completely unbothered.
Hajin gave up trying to understand. So this is what sibling fights are like, he thought, harboring a somewhat exaggerated misunderstanding.
Having abandoned any attempt to comprehend the situation, Hajin turned to leave. Immediately, those with bored expressions and those distracted by the sibling quarrel all shifted their attention to him.
Hajin’s expression soured as he felt their gazes lock onto him like ghosts before he could even fully turn around.
“What are you looking at?”
While Hajin would normally approach people with manners and consideration, he felt no need to extend such courtesies to kidnappers.
“We haven’t finished introductions yet. We’re going to be living together, so you should at least know everyone’s names.”
Hajin was about to snap back asking why he should care, but suddenly felt drained and let his shoulders slump like someone who’d lost all strength.
He’d glimpsed a future where resistance would prove futile. If these people were the type to show consideration, they wouldn’t have kidnapped him in the first place.
“Let’s get this over with, then.”
“Sigh, you’re so cold.”
Seo Juan sighed as he observed Hajin’s eyes growing unfocused, like a student losing concentration during class.
Whose fault is that? Hajin almost flared up again at this shameless response but managed to restrain himself.
When Hajin didn’t react, Seo Juan backed off. If he pushed any further, it was clear the impassive yet incredibly sensitive Guide would lose his temper.
Seo Juan moved on to introducing the next person as naturally as if the argument with Seo Jihan had never happened.
“This person is…”
“Call me Black Dog.”
“He’s a puppy.”
“Hey!”
Hajin felt a sense of déjà vu at this oddly familiar scene. Seo Juan teasing the puppy while grinning, and the puppy unable to contain his anger and barking back furiously—it seemed familiar somehow.
“Aji-ya. You should cherish the name your parents gave you. Oh wait, didn’t you say you named yourself when you were six?”
“You fucking bastard!”
No, it was similar yet different. Baek Jaan teasing Han Seungho wasn’t this spiteful.
Hajin grimaced as he watched Seo Juan, who pretended to have just remembered while gleefully exposing secrets the puppy had wanted to hide.
He felt apologetic for even momentarily comparing these two to Han Seungho and Baek Jaan.
*’This is definitely a type best avoided.’*
Hajin could finally understand why Cha Jinwoo had been so wary of Seo Juan when they first met on the rooftop. Beyond having troublesome abilities, he possessed an exceptional talent for getting under people’s skin.
When the puppy lunged at him with lightning speed, telling him to shut up, Seo Juan used his own ability to dodge here and there.
“Aji-ya. As I’ve said repeatedly, there’s no need to be embarrassed. It’s natural for kids that age to want attention with cute, unique names.”
“Argh! Shut up!”
It was almost impressive how he continued picking at people even while evading attacks. If his future held death, it seemed likely it would come by someone else’s hand.
*’Is this going to happen with every introduction?’*
Hajin couldn’t believe it had already taken thirty minutes to learn just three names. His feet were starting to hurt too.
Even if he tried to go back inside, he’d just be stopped. Hajin turned his gaze toward the man who was still picking at his hangnails.
Perhaps because of his hunched posture, the man appeared to have the smallest build among them. Though as an Esper, he was still larger than Hajin. Hajin called out to him.
“Excuse me.”
At Hajin’s first initiation, even the fighting stopped. The surroundings suddenly fell silent, but Hajin ignored this and kept his eyes on the man.
The man didn’t respond at first, as if he didn’t think Hajin was addressing him, but when the silence persisted, he looked up with a puzzled expression.
“M-me?”
“Yes. What’s your name?”
“Y-y-you’re asking for my name?”
It was an excessive reaction for such a simple question. Hajin, who had only wanted to quickly ask for the name before retreating to his room, momentarily wondered if he’d touched on something sensitive.
“Tch.”
Seo Jihan, who was watching, clicked his tongue softly, but it was too quiet for Hajin to notice.
“…Yes.”
Hajin nodded, finding the man’s overreaction strange but proceeding nonetheless.
His plan was to learn the man’s name and then lock himself in his room, refusing to come out.
“My name… your voice is so nice… you must like me…”
The man covered his mouth with both hands and muttered something rapidly, but it was too quick to understand.
*’So when exactly is he going to tell me his name?’*
Hajin felt a headache coming on as he looked at the four Espers, none of whom could just behave normally. He recalled the Association’s term for the anti-government faction.
Social misfits.
Even that was putting it politely. In raw terms, they were crazy bastards who lived however they pleased.
“Haah…”
When a small sigh escaped from Hajin, the timid man jumped in surprise and collected himself.
“M-my name is Choi Jihyung!”
Hajin nodded with a tired expression. Anyway, this ridiculous introduction time was finally over.
He addressed Seo Juan, who kept smiling for no apparent reason.
“Can I go back inside now? And just to be clear, I don’t want anyone entering my room without permission.”
“Are you in a position to give orders?”
Though Hajin had addressed Seo Juan, it was Seo Jihan who answered. For some reason, Seo Jihan didn’t seem to like Hajin. Or rather, he seemed wary of him.
However, indifferent to what attitude the other took, Hajin responded with a smile that was likely to annoy his opponent.
As the cool smile spread across his neat but chilly impression, a sharp atmosphere enveloped the two.
“If you want even a shred of Guiding, you’ll have to respect that.”
Seo Jihan’s face hardened at the domineering attitude.
“…I see how gently those Association bastards treated you.”
Hajin snorted at the implicit threat that they wouldn’t treat him as kindly. Did they take him for a fool?
*’No. If my rank had been lower, that threat might have worked.’*
Hajin began Radiative Guiding, which he’d been told he wouldn’t need to use.
With just the intention to release it without needing to adjust the concentration, the Espers’ expressions changed.
“This is…!”
The puppy, being closest, couldn’t even finish his sentence before falling asleep from the Guiding. Even Seo Juan couldn’t laugh anymore and panicked.
He tried to use his ability to escape, but once he felt the Guiding touch him, there was no getting away.
The two sitting on the sofa were no different. It was surprising, though, that Seo Jihan, who had been so wary of Hajin and presumably would dislike even his Guiding, fell asleep with a somewhat pitiful expression.
Finally, Choi Jihyung, who was furthest from Hajin, barely managed an “eh” before all four Espers were instantly asleep.
In the sudden quiet, Hajin clicked his tongue thinking he should have done this sooner and returned to his room. He didn’t bother locking the door.
They wouldn’t dare enter without permission anyway.
* * *
Hajin sat on the bed with his back against the headboard, reading a book.
As if the kidnappers were worried he might get bored, a diverse collection of books filled an entire wall. Since they couldn’t give him electronic devices, they must have filled the space with books instead.
Just as Hajin finished reading one of the books, the sound of a door breaking made him turn his head. Didn’t he tell them not to come in?
More surprisingly, they were already awake. Was his Radiative Guiding too weak? Hiding his slightly confused thoughts, he turned his head.
A fist was protruding through the middle of the door. Thinking it might be an attack, Hajin tensed his body, but the fist withdrew. However, it wasn’t just the fist that retreated—the door panel caught on the arm came off with a splintering sound.
As the door panel fell away to reveal the puppy’s flustered face, Hajin relaxed. Seeing that expression made him feel foolish for having tensed up even briefly.
“…What is it?”
“No, this wasn’t on purpose… I was just trying to knock.”
Perhaps remembering the instruction not to enter, the puppy hadn’t withdrawn his hand from the door and was now caught with it, anxiously gauging Hajin’s reaction.
*’Once you’ve got someone under control, it does make things easier.’*
Though it felt a bit wrong to think this way about a person, Hajin justified it by reminding himself these were kidnappers. Nevertheless, he was annoyed about the broken door.
He’d shut himself in the room to avoid seeing their faces, but now with the door broken, they were only physically separated—it clearly felt like they were in the same space.
“Sigh, fix it as soon as possible.”
“Y-yeah…”
The puppy, who had been so brazen earlier, now meekly checked Hajin’s expression as he carried the door panel out into the hallway.
As Hajin absently followed him with his gaze, his eyes met Seo Jihan’s. As if he’d been watching Hajin’s location continuously, Seo Jihan didn’t seem surprised.
*’Has he been humbled a bit too?’*
While Hajin had no intention whatsoever of getting along with his kidnappers, a puppy-like response was better than someone picking fights. After all, he had no intention of being accommodating.
After briefly meeting his gaze, Hajin turned away without hesitation. Seo Jihan, however, spoke up regardless.
“Why didn’t you run away?”
When Hajin’s gaze returned to him, Seo Jihan continued.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
