Chapter 110
I still couldn’t say anything and just blankly stared at Song Ji-hyeok’s face. I had clearly heard everything he said with my own ears, but I could hardly believe it. I wanted to pinch my cheek to see if this was really happening or just a delusion created by my desperate hopes.
At that moment, my hand moved unconsciously. When I firmly pinched one cheek, it hurt in proportion to the force applied. Seeing this, Song Ji-hyeok quickly lowered my hand.
“Why are you suddenly pinching your cheek?”
“I thought it might be a dream…”
Even as I answered stupidly, Song Ji-hyeok’s gaze remained fixed on me. Gulp—after swallowing dry saliva, I spoke again with a trembling heart.
“Everything you just said, is it all true?”
“Yes. Do you remember what you said before, Senior? You said you’d make me unable to live without you, and it really became true.”
“No, when did I…”
“You definitely did.”
No, I never did. I might have thought about making him unsatisfied with any guiding but mine out of stubbornness, but I never said anything like he couldn’t live without me. Yet Song Ji-hyeok persisted boldly.
“So you should take responsibility for me, Senior.”
His demeanor slightly overlapped with that of a bratty five-year-old, but I didn’t feel any actual annoyance. Rather, he seemed like the Song Ji-hyeok I knew, giving me a sense of reality.
My heart beat a little faster. But without showing excitement or elation, I asked him:
“But what if I said I was going to leave?”
“What do you mean? I’d have to follow you.”
“The guild won’t let you go.”
“Then I’ll make them let me go.”
Seeing his strangely confident expression, I was afraid to ask what method he had in mind. After a brief silence between us, Song Ji-hyeok pulled me into a one-armed embrace and spoke again in a low voice.
“Even if the guild makes trouble, even if the media makes a fuss, I’ll protect you from all of it. So please don’t go, Senior.”
The sincerity in his words, more than ever before, made the bridge of my nose sting.
“…Even though I can’t be of any help to you?”
“I told you I don’t care about that. What matters is that I like you, and I want you to stay by my side.”
Song Ji-hyeok’s sincere confession was enough to shake the difficult decision I had made.
After long deliberation, I had already decided to go to America with Gijun hyung. After thinking about it from all angles, that seemed like the best choice for my current situation.
But separate from that, I had also developed special feelings for Song Ji-hyeok. Beyond the tangible help or sense of responsibility as a Guide, I grew to like Song Ji-hyeok as a person more and more. The evidence was clear: my heart would race at the physical contact that was once merely a medium for guiding, I would smile automatically upon receiving even a text message, and just being together brought me joy.
To hear that Song Ji-hyeok felt the same way filled me with immense happiness and emotion… Yet, I hesitated to take his hand right away. It was because of the weight of reality that felt particularly harsh and severe to me.
Compared to me, weathered by life’s hardships, Song Ji-hyeok had grown up preciously like a greenhouse flower. Moreover, he was just barely twenty years old.
In simpler terms… although he might cling to me now, being true to his emotions, as he built a relationship with a Guide who replaced me, someday his feelings might cool or he might find my existence cumbersome.
Was it right to stay by Song Ji-hyeok’s side, accepting all of this? Would I someday regret a decision made while caught up in the moment?
As if reading my thoughts, Song Ji-hyeok once again met my eyes.
“Putting everything else aside, I’ll ask just one thing. You like me too, right?”
Unable to deny even those feelings, I moved my lips slightly.
“Yes.”
And then, with a trembling heart, I spoke words that I might have had to keep to myself forever.
“I like you.”
No sooner had I said those words than Song Ji-hyeok embraced me tightly again. I let out a brief moan at the intense hug, then hugged him back, my arms around his back.
I wondered how long we could continue to embrace each other like this…
“Great. Then let’s go to the district office right now, Senior.”
…Huh?
Just as I was barely managing to compose my surging emotions, Song Ji-hyeok’s words made me pause unconsciously. Thinking I might have misheard, I slightly pulled away from his embrace and asked again.
“What did you just say?”
“I said let’s go to the district office. You don’t have any urgent matters, right?”
“Not really, but…”
I answered first and then regained my composure. I had heard correctly, but I wondered why the district office was suddenly mentioned.
“Why the district office?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“You need to tell me so I’ll know. Do you have some business there?”
Song Ji-hyeok seemed to hesitate uncharacteristically for a moment, then tested me slightly.
“If I tell you, will you do as I say?”
“I need to know what it is first…”
“You just need to lift a finger once. If you promise to do that, I’ll tell you.”
This isn’t some guessing game. Rather than resolving my curiosity, it only grew more puzzling. I gave Song Ji-hyeok a look of interrogation, but he was determined not to open his mouth until I agreed to “just lift a finger once.”
What is it, seriously?
Though not much time had passed, my curiosity grew rapidly. Finally, my heart quickly leaned to one side. It was because I had faith that he wouldn’t try to take advantage of me or do anything that would harm me at this point.
“Fine. I agree, so tell me.”
“Really? No going back on your word.”
Then Song Ji-hyeok smiled brightly, showing his teeth as if he had never been stubborn. Ironically, that expression made me feel a surge of uneasiness.
Song Ji-hyeok held my hand just like before. As he opened the door and walked out, his words made me gape in shock.
“We’re going to register as life partners.”
***
At the same time, Jeon Hyeon-wook was engulfed in unbelievable shock. On his phone screen was the latest news article, registered less than an hour ago.
The reason he hurriedly searched for “Sunrise Guild Lee Su-hyeon” in the portal search bar as soon as he got off the elevator was because of a conversation between fellow Espers that he had unintentionally overheard.
Normally, Jeon Hyeon-wook preferred stairs to elevators when moving through the building. He didn’t mind if he was alone, but that probability was extremely low, and he felt uncomfortable when someone was already in the elevator when the doors opened or when someone got in during the ride.
But recently, he had no choice but to use the elevator. It was because he had suffered a crushed leg bone injury while being distracted during the fierce final battle in the Regular dungeon.
The guild had offered him sick leave until he fully recovered, but Jeon Hyeon-wook chose to come to the office the very next day, using crutches. While his body resided in reality, his mind was still attached to the battlefield of that day. After hesitating again and again until the last moment, he had committed an atrocity that should never have been done under the pretext of “for his sake.”
Thwack-!
Just before capturing the Two-Headed Serpent, Jeon Hyeon-wook closed his eyes tightly and sent energy toward Lee Su-hyeon, who was struggling to maintain the wind barrier. Hit in a defenseless state, Lee Su-hyeon was flung away and crashed to the ground.
‘Gasp, huff….’
Despite being the one who caused it, Jeon Hyeon-wook trembled with his hands and feet, his face turning deathly pale. His body couldn’t move an inch, as if under a spell. Even if he could move, he didn’t dare approach to check on him.
Fortunately, Lee Su-hyeon got up not long after. Watching his back as he walked away with Choi Young-sun, Jeon Hyeon-wook frantically repeated one thought. Sweat poured down his face like rain.
‘I, I had no choice. It, it was all for Su-hyeon’s sake.’
He couldn’t accept that he had attacked Lee Su-hyeon with his own hands unless he justified it that way. Moreover, this wasn’t merely self-comfort but the truth. The words that Team Leader Kim Kwang-in had secretly whispered before coming to the Regular dungeon buzzed in his ears.
‘You can save Lee Su-hyeon.’
It wasn’t because he was intoxicated by a shallow hero complex. On the contrary, Jeon Hyeon-wook was someone who would hastily retreat if someone laid out a welcome mat for him. Yet, after hesitation, he ultimately decided to carry out Team Leader Kim Kwang-in’s suggestion, solely to protect Lee Su-hyeon.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
