86
In the basement of the medical center where day and night were indistinguishable.
The sound of steady footsteps echoed in the restricted area where outsiders were strictly prohibited. It was the sound of Taebeom’s footsteps.
“Welcome, Guild Master Kang Taebeom.”
A large man waiting in front of the entrance briefly saluted. He was a member of the Hwayeon Guild, led by the black panther Esper who had shown mysterious seizure symptoms.
“This way, please.”
The man opened the entrance door and guided Taebeom. The dark corridor brightened with sensor lights.
Stopping in front of the most secluded door, the man asked for permission before surrounding Taebeom’s body with a protective barrier. He was a barrier ability user.
The interior of the room was relatively ordinary compared to its large door. It wasn’t much different from a regular operating room. The only notable feature was the expensive guiding machines that filled the space.
And invisible, transparent barriers were stacked around the bed. While invisible to ordinary people and guides, high-level Espers could detect them through changes in air flow.
Inside the operating room, high-level barriers and reinforced walls were erected. As a member of the Hwayeon Guild, which firmly held its position in the top rankings just below the Seowol Guild, the man’s barrier was excellent. He was deploying a much more solid protective shield than when facing monsters.
“Leader, Guild Master Kang Taebeom has arrived.”
The man carefully approached the bed and whispered softly.
The person lying on the bed connected to many long wires was Hyun Seungcheol, the leader of the Hwayeon Guild. He was the black panther beastkin who had entered a berserk state.
Thanks to Jihan’s quick response, he had survived. Just before his body, which had entered a berserk state, was about to burst, Jihan attacked his vital point and knocked him unconscious. If he had been even a little later, the other Espers present would have been caught up in the rampage.
Esper Hyun Seungcheol was an excellent A+ class guild master. The Hwayeon Guild he led had performance as impressive as the Seowol Guild. He was also one of those who risked their lives to save South Korea during the past gate saturation period.
Having met his mate early and imprinted, his usual wavelength was very stable. Even on the day of the seizure, his wavelength readings and condition were safer than anyone else’s.
Yet he lost his reason and went to the brink of going berserk. Until just before going into the field, his fatigue level had been close to zero, but the moment he transformed into a beastkin, he lost control.
“Leader?”
The man who had been waiting for a response for a long time sighed briefly and stared at Taebeom.
“…I’m sorry. It seems he has fallen asleep.”
Just a few minutes before Taebeom arrived, Seungcheol had been awake. It was the first time he had opened his eyes since that day.
Even after a long surgery, unable to leave the operating table, he had been unconscious since that day.
An Esper who has once entered a berserk state is like a ticking time bomb about to explode, requiring thorough isolation. Even in a sleep state, there was a risk of going berserk due to a sudden rise in blood pressure.
“Was he in a state where conversation was possible?”
The man flinched at Taebeom’s flat, hard voice and shook his head.
“No. His vocal cords are damaged, so he can’t make sounds. But he seemed to understand what was said.”
Seungcheol had answered the attending physician’s questions with eye gestures. He seemed to remember who he was and even the moment just before he lost consciousness.
“Should we wake him?”
The large man asked with a troubled face after hesitating.
Taebeom just stood in a noble posture, staring at the bed. He didn’t move at all, like a figure preserved in a painting. He looked like a lifeless statue.
“I apologize for being late.”
The suffocating silence was broken thanks to the timely appearance of the Baekya Guild’s secretary. The secretary had personally gone to fetch Seungcheol’s partner.
The woman who entered the operating room with the secretary limped towards the bed. She had been by Seungcheol’s side the whole time, but he had opened his eyes while she briefly went to the lodging to get some belongings. It was terrible timing.
“He woke up briefly and then fell asleep again.”
The barrier user, who was a guild member, supported the leader’s partner while putting up a protective barrier for her. The woman’s expression noticeably sank when she saw Seungcheol with his eyes closed. Her thin body was drenched in sweat, as if she had rushed here urgently upon hearing the news of his awakening.
The woman was Esper Hyun Seungcheol’s imprinted mate and lifelong partner. She was also a dedicated guide who had been with the Hwayeon Guild for over 10 years. Her name was Yoon Soha.
“Guide, this person is—”
“I know. Guild Master Kang Taebeom of Baekya Guild.”
Interrupting the man, Guide Yoon Soha approached Taebeom and expressed her gratitude. She seemed to have been waiting for an opportunity to meet him.
“I wanted to meet Esper Yoo Jihan and thank him personally. But I’ve been in such a state…”
She mumbled with her cracked lips, her face tired, then suddenly looked at the bed. Though there was no perceptible sign, she widened her eyes as if sensing something.
“Seungcheol?”
She rushed to the head of the bed and swallowed a wet breath. Seungcheol, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, had only his left eye visible. Even that was difficult to tell if it was open or closed due to the swelling.
“Can you see me? Seungcheol. Can you recognize me?”
However, the woman sensed with every cell of her body that Seungcheol had woken up. The two, bound by imprinting, shared sensations. They could read even emotions that weren’t outwardly visible.
“That’s right. It’s me. Soha.”
The woman, who had repeated her name loudly, leaned on the bed as if clinging to it. Her body was damaged from continuously providing guiding every day since Seungcheol lost consciousness. She seemed to struggle even standing for long.
The guild member supporting Guide Yoon Soha looked at Taebeom with a hesitant face.
“Does this… have to be done now?”
Taebeom had come to identify the cause of Esper Hyun Seungcheol’s rampage. Given his inability to communicate, they needed Taebeom’s power.
“It will only take a moment. Our leader will handle the rest.”
The secretary, speaking instead of Taebeom, led them out of the room. The woman moved her legs forcibly while sobbing pitifully. She had already been fully briefed.
Taebeom could only read the thoughts of conscious subjects and did not use his mental abilities where there were watching eyes. Of course, it was different when the subject was a monster.
* * *
The special stabilizer that Seojun had administered to Geonho was a drug prohibited for use on lower-class Espers. Even for Geonho, increasing the dosage would bring it close to a lethal dose.
The side effects of the drug varied depending on the situation. In mild cases, symptoms ended with a week of loss of appetite and nausea, but in severe cases, one might be unable to leave the bed at all.
Fortunately, this time it was the former.
“Ah— shit, my head…”
Geonho, who woke up after two days, covered his face. As soon as he came to his senses, he could barely breathe due to the tremendous pain striking his skull.
Even though he had just been lying in bed, his vision flipped, and everything he saw wavered dizzily. He gasped for breath from the extreme pain that felt like nails were being hammered into his entire body, and barely managed to open his eyes.
It was a familiar sensation. Geonho felt his unusually throbbing neck and found the spot where the syringe had been inserted.
“Haah…”
The moment he touched the rough wound, he immediately realized why his body was in pain. It seemed they had used that damn stabilizer.
Why? What did I do?
“Geonho, did you sleep well?”
Just then, Jihan opened Geonho’s room door wide and entered with a bright smile. He was holding a large tub of ice cream in one hand.
“You don’t remember anything at all, do you?”
Jihan stirred the melted ice cream with a spoon, still smiling. The sight of the sticky ice cream mixing made Geonho feel sick. He glared at it, covered his mouth, and ran to the bathroom.
“The last thing you remember is probably falling asleep on the sofa.”
Jihan’s prediction, muttered as if singing a song, was exactly right. Geonho only remembered the moment he lay on the sofa and held hands with Siwoo. He had no idea what had happened after that.
“Not knowing might be easier on your mind.”
Jihan stood in front of the bathroom door, watching Geonho who had his face buried in the toilet. He deliberately stirred the ice cream to make a sloppy sound. Even though he wasn’t going to eat it.
“Ha, hyung. Put that away. Before I smash your head.”
Geonho, who had emptied his stomach, warned fiercely. When Jihan pretended not to understand, Geonho used his telekinesis to dump the ice cream tub right into the bathtub.
Jihan just laughed good-naturedly. His laughter seemed particularly irritating today.
“I wonder when our Geonho will stop causing trouble.”
Jihan hummed, adding a tune to his words with his arms crossed. Geonho, who had thrown up acidic stomach fluid, glared at Jihan from the corner of his eye.
“Hm? Geonho. How can you stop causing trouble?”
He was smiling as usual, but it was clear he was in a bad mood. That’s why he seemed to be forcing an even brighter laugh.
“Maybe I need to be reborn.”
Geonho, who had been glaring at Jihan making incomprehensible sounds, buried his face in the toilet again. Even though there was nothing left to throw up, the nausea wouldn’t subside. It felt like someone was reaching into his throat and stirring his stomach.
Geonho continued to dry heave for a long time after that. All that came out of his raw throat was bitter stomach acid.
