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A tentacle as small as a pinky finger shot out of Siwoo’s mouth after he had been vomiting gastric juices for a while.
The spores in the mucus had absorbed Siwoo’s energy and grown in size. If they had been even a little later, the tentacle could have attached to his organs, leading to a bigger accident.
“Guide, drink more water,” Seojun handed Siwoo water received from the unknown man. Siwoo, who had already emptied one bottle, quickly told him to drink it himself. After emptying his stomach, his body quickly returned to normal.
While catching his breath buried in the sleeping bag, he habitually looked for Taebeom. He was in conversation with Jihan a short distance away.
Taebeom had withdrawn his hand immediately after pulling the tentacle out of Siwoo’s mouth. He stood up without looking back, leaving Siwoo in Seojun’s care.
What’s the big deal? Siwoo felt a strange sense of disappointment.
“That person helped us. We’re here thanks to that esper’s ability,” Jihan introduced the man to Taebeom. The man with noticeable black skin was sitting at a distance from everyone. Jihan didn’t have much information to explain about him.
“He seems to be a survivor from the gate interior entry team.”
The man’s eyebrows twitched as he overheard Jihan’s words. However, he didn’t refute.
Taebeom carefully observed the man sitting with his head turned to the side. The gate interior entry operation was a project that had ended decades ago. Yet the man appeared to be only in his 20s.
“Time doesn’t flow here. Memories gradually disappear too.”
Jihan said the man couldn’t remember his name, age, or guild name. Taebeom’s expression remained impassive as always after hearing all this.
His black eyes, which had been examining the man as if searching for information, returned to Jihan. He asked first about why the mucus substance had entered Siwoo’s mouth, setting aside other issues.
“Ah, that’s…”
Jihan hesitated, rubbing his forehead. Their conversation echoed throughout the cave for everyone to hear. Geonho, standing quietly near Siwoo, was also listening.
“I—”
“I accidentally touched it,” Siwoo raised his arm, cutting off Geonho who was about to confess the truth.
“Kang Geonho and Yoo Jihan told me to stay still, but I moved. It’s not their fault.”
Siwoo glared sharply at Jihan and Geonho, silencing them. He didn’t want them to get scolded by the leader because of him. They would surely be scolded not for hurting him, but for being careless.
Fortunately, Taebeom let it go. He didn’t probe further. Instead, he walked towards the man sitting alone.
“This is too much…”
At that moment, Seojun suddenly gritted his teeth and stood up. His bloodshot eyes fixed on Geonho and Jihan.
“Did you hit your heads too, hyungs? Even if you’re thoughtless, this is too much!”
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Surprised by Seojun suddenly getting angry at his hyungs, Siwoo grabbed his hand. Seojun’s palm was drenched in sweat from tension. The damp sensation surprised Siwoo even more.
“What do you think the guide is? You know he’s physically weak!”
“Ha Seojun, lower your voice.”
At Taebeom’s low warning, Seojun grinded his teeth harder and panted. His rough breathing conveyed great anger.
The hyungs’ wavelengths were thickly clinging to Siwoo’s body. Even though Seojun was young and inexperienced, he knew what that meant.
“Did you think to do that after entering the gate?”
Seojun continued to berate his hyungs, only lowering his voice.
“Always going on about how you care for and like the guide… Ha, how could you two together…”
Seojun rambled, seemingly greatly shocked. His body suddenly sank to the ground as Siwoo grabbed and pulled his hand.
“Hey, Ha Seojun.”
Siwoo made Seojun sit down and looked at him with sharp eyes.
“If I asked you to do it, would you refuse?”
“…”
“I asked if you’d refuse.”
He urged for an answer while placing a hand on Seojun’s hunched shoulder. At the same time, he poured guiding energy into Seojun’s tired body.
“I wouldn’t do it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I wouldn’t.”
Seojun shook his head firmly. His bloodshot eyes were full of determination not to do it.
Siwoo gathered guiding energy and delved deep into Seojun, asking again.
“You wouldn’t do it even if I cried and said I wanted to?”
He made a sound close to a whisper, audible only to Seojun. He exaggerated a bit, hoping Seojun would calm down and understand his hyungs.
“Even if I took off all my clothes and asked you to touch me?”
He absolutely hated seeing the usually close Baekya guys fight. He’d rather be embarrassed.
“…”
Seojun, finally at a loss for words, bit his lip. Fearing he might draw blood if left alone, Siwoo touched his lips to stop him. With a look that said, ‘Calm down, youngest. Adults have their reasons.’
“Rest without giving me guiding. You don’t have to do it.”
“Take it when I give it to you.”
Siwoo held both of Seojun’s hands, sending out even stronger energy. He had injuries too, but fortunately, they were almost healed. As expected, being young, his recovery was the fastest.
That didn’t mean he was fine though. Seojun was exhausted. Having shown signs of a seizure due to hallucinations, his body was very tired.
“Hey, this won’t do. You lie down.”
Siwoo tried to lay Seojun in the sleeping bag while reading his wavelength. Thinking the sleeping bag might be too small for him to lie in, he was about to spread a blanket when Seojun hugged him.
“I’m sorry.”
Seojun, pushing his thin body deep into Siwoo’s embrace, inhaled Siwoo’s scent mixed with his hyungs’. He hugged Siwoo tighter, ignoring his hyungs’ energy.
“I’m sorry, Guide.”
Even holding him, he felt uneasy. He was afraid of losing Siwoo again due to his mistake.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
Siwoo, who had been frowning at the tearful voice, let out a sigh.
He was about to get angry, asking why Seojun was apologizing. But he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at the damp sensation seeping into his shoulder. Instead, he just hugged him tightly.
“I couldn’t protect you either. But I’m not going to apologize.”
Because it was an unavoidable situation for both of them. And we all did our best.
There was no one here who needed to apologize or receive an apology. The ones they needed to fight were elsewhere.
“Just receive the guiding properly. Don’t act up with your hyungs.”
Seojun nodded, wetting Siwoo’s shoulder with tears. Siwoo rubbed his cheek against Seojun’s crown and waved one hand.
He gestured for Geonho, who was staring intently at him, to come over. At the signal to come closer and sit down instead of standing, Geonho immediately lowered his tail.
The man quietly observed all of this.
Unlike his posture with his chin resting on his hand askew, his calm eyes were full of various thoughts. He seemed to have complex feelings.
“I’m Kang Taebeom, esper.”
At that moment, Taebeom approached the man. The man leaned against the wall and raised his chin high.
His sparkling purple eyes slowly scanned Taebeom up and down.
This must be the leader. At a glance, he seemed extraordinary, standing out from the others. His cold impression and cool attitude fit the image of a leader perfectly.
“Never mind the name, just explain the external situation.”
“I’ll explain,” Jihan stepped forward to relay the situation. Since they had already told the story of being sucked into the swamp, he only explained about the beastkin esper’s seizure.
The man’s gaze, which had been silently listening to this, gradually sank to the ground. Taebeom’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the man.
“Ah, and an unusual plant appeared,” Jihan, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly pointed at the man’s pocket.
“That leaf you have.”
Jihan had seen the man throw a dried leaf just before the teleportation. He couldn’t see it clearly, but it seemed to have the same effect as the plant with the bizarre root shape.
He had heard information about the plant while moving with his split consciousness to find Siwoo. It was a plant Jihan had never seen before either.
“You know what that is, right?”
The man, who had been silently looking down at the ground, ran his hand over his face. It was a face that made one doubt if he really had been cooped up in this barren place for decades.
Perhaps due to his distinct features, he looked even more like an ordinary man in his 20s. Though to call him ordinary would be an understatement given his exceptionally handsome appearance. Even the rugged combat uniform he wore looked like a high-end uniform on him. However, when he spoke, his age subtly showed.
“It’ll hurt your neck, so sit down first.”
Saying it would be a long story, the man took out and threw an iron chair from his backpack. Taebeom and Jihan obediently sat on the chairs, following the words of the person with valuable information.
Siwoo kept glancing at the scene from afar. As they sat down on chairs, he became even more interested and pricked up his ears.
He could hear all the conversation, but it was frustrating that he couldn’t see Taebeom’s expression as he sat with his back turned. Jihan occasionally looked up to check on Siwoo, but Taebeom didn’t give Siwoo any attention at all.
He only looked at the unfamiliar man. Not even a glance towards Siwoo. His gaze on the man never wavered for a moment.
Although he was probably just looking because they were in conversation, Siwoo found his gaze strangely irritating. He also wondered why they needed to sit so close when everything could be heard anyway.
“A very long time ago.”
Siwoo, who had been secretly cursing Taebeom, paused at the man’s continued voice.
“There was a conflict in here. Between ordinary espers and beastkin espers.”
Everyone’s attention, including Siwoo’s, focused on the man. Even Geonho, who had been staring only at Siwoo the whole time, turned to look at the man.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
