# Chapter 62
No, I initially thought he was trying to make me angry with some sophisticated technique, but it turned out he was just crazy.
How could someone possibly think that if they’re enjoying something, the other person must be enjoying it too? For Hajin, who had lived his life according to normal standards, this was inconceivable.
“Did you enjoy it? You did it forcibly when I told you not to.”
Unable to hold back any longer, the sharp words burst out. At that, the puppy’s voice that had been coming from outside went quiet.
Could he possibly be angry? After experiencing contact guiding, there was no way he could be angry.
“I didn’t think you’d dislike it…”
As Hajin had predicted, the puppy wasn’t angry. The reason he had closed his mouth was because Hajin was angry with him. Until now, it had never mattered if someone cursed or hated him.
After all, what those small fry did could never affect him. But Hajin was different. When Hajin got angry, he felt like a child who didn’t know what to do.
“Can’t you… not be angry?”
The puppy, who had never considered anyone’s feelings, let alone read the room, didn’t know how to handle this situation.
Even though he still didn’t understand what he had done wrong, he didn’t want Hajin to be angry.
“Why should I? I’m the victim here.”
Faced with Hajin’s still cold response, the puppy racked his brain trying to find a way to appease him.
‘What more should I do? I already took him to the garden. If I take him outside for real…’
As the puppy continued this train of thought, he shook his head at the solution he’d come up with. He could do anything else, but he couldn’t take him outside.
From what he’d gathered, the Association, or at least Alpha Team, still hadn’t given up and was continuing to search for Hajin.
The puppy couldn’t ignore the possibility that Hajin might be taken from him. Even if the chance was one in a thousand or one in ten thousand.
He absolutely could not lose Hajin. Even if people mocked him for being just another helpless Esper in the end, he couldn’t help it.
Anyway, he was in the middle of considering ways to appease Hajin’s anger apart from going outside when Choi Jihyung, who had been away briefly, returned.
“You…”
Hearing footsteps behind him, the puppy’s face scrunched up in displeasure. Unlike usual, Choi Jihyung didn’t cower under that gaze and stood his ground.
“D-don’t bother Hajin-ssi.”
“…Who do you think you are?”
He had already been seething about how Jihyung had taken the seat next to Hajin while he was away.
And now, as if that wasn’t enough, he was trying to protect Hajin as if he were someone important. The puppy couldn’t let this slide.
The puppy turned his body completely to face Choi Jihyung. Though Jihyung’s body trembled when the anger was directed at him, he didn’t run away, as if he had made some great resolution.
“…I don’t like this.”
That behavior only irritated the puppy more. Choi Jihyung, who was always gloomy, timid, and fearful, always hunched over, was daring to stand up to him.
And to top it all off, it was as if he was trying to protect Hajin from him.
“I-I’ll protect Hajin-ssi.”
“You dare try to steal what’s mine?”
Hajin, who was listening from inside, wanted to interject and ask why he was considered the puppy’s possession, but the atmosphere wasn’t right for that, so he kept his mouth shut.
He just hoped that if they were going to fight, they’d do it somewhere else.
‘No, they shouldn’t fight at all.’
If rumors spread that Espers were fighting because of Hajin, they would surely suspect that he had done something to them.
In reality, he had performed contact guiding on the puppy, so that fact couldn’t be revealed. After quickly organizing his thoughts, Hajin flung open the door.
As he expected, the puppy was in a stance about to pounce.
“Hajin-ssi!”
Choi Jihyung called out to Hajin as if he were watching a prince walking voluntarily into the clutches of an evil lord, sacrificing himself to save Jihyung.
“What? Go back inside. I’ll finish this quickly.”
The puppy was very confidently stating that he was going to cause a commotion. Thinking that he needed to stop this situation first, Hajin stepped between them.
“What are you going to finish? Don’t fight.”
Seeing Hajin blocking his way, the puppy pouted. It was completely different from when he was glaring at Choi Jihyung with a vicious face.
“Why are you stopping me? Are you taking that bastard’s side now?”
“I’m telling you not to fight. Don’t cause a commotion.”
When Hajin spoke as if soothing a child in response to the childish accusations of taking sides, the puppy raised his voice even more as if feeling wronged.
“You’re standing in front of me with that guy behind you!”
“No, I’m just facing you because you spoke to me.”
Hajin was incredulous at the puppy whining over something so trivial—he was simply facing him to respond.
But regardless, feeling wronged and upset by the thought that Hajin had taken Choi Jihyung’s side, the puppy ultimately couldn’t contain his frustration and stormed off.
Hajin was first worried that he might cause a commotion outside, but he just sighed, hoping that wouldn’t be the case.
“Are you okay…? Because of me…”
“Ah… yes. Well.”
Hajin was momentarily speechless at the flushed face of someone who was supposedly worried. Could he possibly believe what the puppy had said?
“I-I should have protected you.”
Indeed, it seemed he really did believe those words. Choi Jihyung couldn’t even meet Hajin’s eyes, acting as shy as if he had just received a confession. Hajin debated whether to correct this misunderstanding.
‘Couldn’t this be useful in its own way?’
Since he was planning to use Choi Jihyung anyway, this small misunderstanding might actually be helpful. After a moment’s consideration, Hajin decided not to clear up the misunderstanding.
“If anything, I feel like I’ve caused trouble for you, Choi Jihyung-ssi.”
“N-no way!”
Choi Jihyung shook his head and hands vigorously, insisting that wasn’t the case at all. Only when his glasses became askew did he stop moving, and when Hajin chuckled, he immediately blushed.
“I-I’ll be in my room then.”
There was something strange about how he politely clasped his hands together and hurriedly turned away, but Hajin soon forgot about it.
* * *
Contrary to the belief that a few days of good rest would make things better, Han Jiwoo’s condition remained poor.
After spending three days secluded at home obsessively resting, Han Jiwoo checked the mirror at every opportunity, but his complexion remained dark and sickly.
Even though rest taken while trembling with anxiety pushed to the extreme couldn’t possibly be proper rest, Han Jiwoo’s thoughts didn’t extend that far.
“Why isn’t it getting better…!”
Despite forcibly taking nutritional supplements and even foods that were supposed to be good for the body, his physical condition showed no signs of improvement, causing Han Jiwoo to bite his nails.
His anxiety only grew, not knowing when he might be asked to perform guiding again.
And so, after two more days had passed—when it should have been enough rest—Han Jiwoo ended up having a nosebleed once again.
His face turned pale at the nosebleed that came even though he hadn’t performed any guiding at all.
* * *
A strange wind was blowing through the Association. For some reason, the runaway levels of Espers, especially S-rank Espers, were rising abnormally quickly, and their wavelengths were unstable as well.
The researchers rushed to analyze the situation, but they were struggling to find any clues.
At least there were no Espers who had gone into complete runaway yet, thanks to the presence of the S-rank Guide Han Jiwoo, but it was only a matter of time before a problem erupted.
“If only we had three more S-rank Guides, no wait, if only Lee Hajin were here, we wouldn’t be short on guiding.”
Unlike Han Jiwoo, who was resting after guiding an Esper on the verge of runaway, Hajin could guide the entire Alpha Team at once, so if he were here, they wouldn’t have to worry about unpredictable runaways.
‘Come to think of it, that’s strange. They said Lee Hajin could guide four S-rank Espers and still be fine, but why is Han Jiwoo struggling so much with just one?’
A question that had been momentarily forgotten amid the relentless work resurfaced.
Deputy Manager Park Jiwon, who was already reluctant to work due to the drowsiness that came after lunch, asked a colleague who worked with her.
He had been assigned to escort Han Jiwoo, so he might know something.
“Sungjin, you were in charge of escorting Han Jiwoo during the Ju Seongwon incident, right?”
“Yeah, I was.”
The response came immediately, suggesting Deputy Manager Ha Sungjin was also reluctant to work in the languid afternoon.
Park Jiwon checked if anyone was around before moving her chair closer to him.
“Was there anything unusual?”
When Ha Sungjin looked at her as if her sudden suspicious question made no sense, Park Jiwon shared the doubt she had been harboring.
“Think about it. They say Lee Hajin could guide the entire Alpha Team and still be fine, but Han Jiwoo is struggling with just one S-rank Esper. Don’t you find that strange?”
Listening to her words, it was indeed strange. Especially for Ha Sungjin, who had witnessed Han Jiwoo having a nosebleed.
At the time, he had kept quiet for fear of being caught in the crossfire if he made a fuss over what seemed like a minor issue, but the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
‘But is it okay to speak up about this now…?’
Ha Sungjin pondered. Should he file a report now, or should he continue to keep quiet? Since his colleague had brought up the subject, he decided to seek her opinion.
“Well, actually, there is something that’s been bothering me…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
