Chapter 93
Not just kissing, but we’d done even more intimate things dozens of times already. Yet, my heart pounded as if it were our first time, and a pleasant tension swirled around us. I wanted to be even closer to Song Ji-hyeok.
“Ugh…”
I groaned in pain as I habitually tried to wrap my arms around his neck. I wasn’t a single-celled organism, but I had momentarily forgotten about my injury. Song Ji-hyeok immediately pulled his lips away and examined my face.
“Can you still guide?”
“Yeah. Guiding isn’t a problem. But…”
I felt increasingly apologetic about what I was about to say.
“Is it okay if we just use hands today?”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
My eyes widened slightly at his much more nonchalant response than I’d expected.
“Are you really okay with that?”
“What choice do we have? I can’t make you more injured because of me… I’ll try to stay as still as possible, so you control everything.”
I could sense his dissatisfaction in his furrowed brow, but I was grateful that he agreed so readily. Thank you, really. I’ll do my best. After giving this obvious but sincere response, I immediately brought my hand to his waistband.
As soon as I grasped his manhood, Song Ji-hyeok pressed his lips against mine again. Since kissing was also an excellent medium for guiding, I actively entwined my tongue with his and began channeling my energy up and down.
The unexpected incident occurred less than five minutes later.
As I generously transferred my energy to Song Ji-hyeok, I suddenly felt a strong churning in my stomach. I felt a pressure like sinking deep underwater, followed by something flowing down from my nose.
“What’s wrong… Senior?”
Song Ji-hyeok detached his lips, confused by my halted movements. I wiped under my nose with the back of my hand and heard his shocked voice. Bright red blood was smeared across my hand.
No, it was more than just a smear. Blood continued to pour down like hail.
“S-Senior. Shit, what’s happening to you all of a sudden…!”
Song Ji-hyeok was visibly shocked. After fumbling around in confusion, he firmly pinched the bridge of my nose with his thumb and index finger.
“I’m fine.”
I barely managed to answer and tried to circulate my internal energy for self-hemostasis. But the result was disastrous. As soon as I exerted force, something surged up from inside, and a handful of blood spewed from my mouth.
“S-Senior. Senior!”
That was the last thing I remember. My vision quickly went dark, and I lost consciousness.
—
As Song Ji-hyeok caught the limp, forward-falling Lee Su-hyeon in his arms, he urgently called out to him.
“Senior, wake up. Senior!”
His heart sank the moment he saw his face. Dark red blood covered the area around his nose and mouth, and his complexion was deathly pale, devoid of any color.
He was so shocked that no thoughts came to mind. After his mind went blank for a second or two, he finally regained his senses and hoisted Lee Su-hyeon onto his back. Since the basic layout remained the same despite the base camp’s relocations, he ran without hesitation toward the infirmary.
Since the assault team had returned not long ago, the infirmary was crowded with injured Espers. The mixture of conversations, curses, and groans of pain created a marketplace-like commotion, but it quickly fell silent as people recognized who had just entered.
No one at the site was unfamiliar with Song Ji-hyeok. He had been the center of attention from the beginning due to his S-grade Esper status, and his combat prowess, worthy of his reputation, was enough to be automatically imprinted in the minds of the other Espers.
Despite unleashing tremendous power in every battle and literally playing the role of a one-man army, Song Ji-hyeok had never once shown his face in the infirmary until now. The fact that he appeared today for the first time naturally drew attention in yet another way.
Moreover, Song Ji-hyeok wasn’t alone. Everyone stared curiously at the person being carried on his back.
Regardless, Song Ji-hyeok was desperate to find medical personnel. Upon spotting a staff member passing by, he immediately blocked their path.
“Where’s the doctor?”
“Pardon?”
“I said, where’s the doctor! A Guide has collapsed.”
“Ah, this way, please follow me.”
His fierce demeanor suggested that if a doctor wasn’t called immediately, something terrible would happen. Additionally, the staff member was well aware of Song Ji-hyeok’s identity and promptly led him inside.
As Lee Su-hyeon was laid on the bed, blood was still flowing from his nose. Now that he looked closer, his breathing sounded abnormal, like someone with something stuck in their lungs.
‘Why so suddenly…’
Song Ji-hyeok’s hands visibly trembled as he attempted to stop the bleeding again. His fingertips were cold as if blood wasn’t circulating.
Even when faced with monsters of impossible size, or witnessing other Espers’ bodies being crushed at close range, he had rarely lost his composure. But now, for the first time since awakening as an Esper, he felt his heart constricting with fear. He had a feeling that Lee Su-hyeon’s collapse was no ordinary matter.
One second felt longer than a minute. Just as he was about to raise his voice to ask when the doctor would arrive, a man in a white coat finally appeared. As soon as he saw him, Song Ji-hyeok urgently spilled out his words.
“He’s my pair Guide, but suddenly his nose started bleeding during guiding, then he coughed up blood and collapsed.”
The doctor hesitated upon seeing the face of the person lying on the bed. If his memory was correct, this was the Esper who had just been diagnosed with rib fractures. But he was a Guide?
More striking was the patient’s condition. The doctor quickly checked the patient’s pupils and pulse while asking questions.
“Was there any significant impact to the head?”
“No. That couldn’t be it.”
“But isn’t this person an Esper?”
“He’s a Dual.”
The doctor was slightly surprised to learn that this ordinary-looking Esper was one of the Dual Awakened he had only heard about, but he quickly regained his composure and moved his hands busily. While injecting a blood coagulant into the vein, he continued speaking.
“If it’s not head trauma, I suspect internal bleeding due to guiding side effects. Should we stop the bleeding and wait, or should we transport him immediately via teleport?”
“Teleport? Is it that serious?”
“It’s not a minor situation.”
Everyone knows that practicing medicine strictly according to the Hippocratic Oath would be ideal but is closer to an unrealizable ideal. The hospital was no exception to the rule of money and power.
The inequality and discrimination were even more severe in this world. Even with similar injuries, the higher an Awakened’s grade, the faster they received treatment. This was actually considered fair; there were numerous cases where higher grades received treatment first regardless of the severity of their injuries. But the reason no one could complain about this was clear: among Awakened, grade was the indicator of everything.
And the man standing before the doctor now was one of fewer than ten S-grade Espers in Korea. The pair Guide of such an Esper was in a critical condition? Even if it wasn’t that serious, if Song Ji-hyeok wished, they could send him outside the dungeon with top priority right now.
It might seem cruel, but giving the option was actually for the Esper’s sake, not the Guide’s.
If the collapsed Guide left the dungeon via spatial transportation, the Esper before him would have to endure the remaining battle period without a pair Guide. Whether to send him away or keep him nearby until he woke up was up to the Esper.
The doctor thought the latter option was far more likely. As mentioned, although the patient’s symptoms were unusual, assuming it was a simple side effect, if the bleeding could be stopped quickly, it didn’t seem like his life would be in danger.
Of course, the situation could become more complicated later… but no matter how bad the condition, the difference between having a pair Guide within sight and not having one was like heaven and earth for an Esper.
But the answer that came shattered the doctor’s expectations.
“Send him out immediately.”
“If he leaves now, you should understand that he probably won’t be able to return until the battle is over…”
“I know that, so shut up and call someone right now.”
There was even a killing intent in his words spoken through gritted teeth. The doctor wisely called someone immediately, and shortly after, a new face entered the examination room. It was an A-grade Esper with teleportation skills.
Song Ji-hyeok grabbed his arm as if to twist it and asked:
“What’s your affiliation and name?”
“Ah, I’m from HLK Guild, and my name is Kang Tae-yun.”
“If anything happens to this person, you’d better be prepared.”
It was an aggressive request to please transport him safely. The Esper assigned to the mission sat next to Lee Su-hyeon’s head and carefully embraced his upper body.
The scene was fully visible to Song Ji-hyeok. Though he felt sick at the sight of another Esper making contact with his pair Guide, the urgent priority now was to get Lee Su-hyeon to the Guild’s infirmary as quickly as possible.
“I’ll be going now.”
There was a crackling sound and an optical illusion like a video breaking apart and reassembling, and then the two people disappeared without a trace through what looked like a tear in space.
Looking at the suddenly empty bed, Song Ji-hyeok bit his lower lip so hard it could tear. The red blood that had already soaked into the sheet painfully seared into his eyes.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
I hope the mc will be okay 😭