92
Taebeom’s office was on the 54th floor of the center’s main building.
“Damn, it’s high…”
Siwoo rested his forehead against the transparent glass of the elevator that showed the outside view. He kept looking down, fascinated by the rapidly shrinking scenery and people.
Then he straightened up and stared at the panel approaching the 54th floor.
There was only one reason he decided to meet Kang Taebeom directly: to stand up for Geonho.
He intended to tell Taebeom not to scold Geonho, as this incident occurred entirely due to his own carelessness. He also planned to warn Taebeom not to treat Geonho roughly in the future.
Siwoo couldn’t shake the image of Geonho being scared of his fist that day. He knew well what that reaction meant. Siwoo himself had a habit of flinching when someone raised a hand towards him. Habits formed in childhood don’t disappear easily with time.
He could guess why Geonho was wary of his brother. If his suspicion was correct, Siwoo decided to fight Taebeom using his high matching rate as a weapon.
He would threaten to withhold guiding if Taebeom mistreated his brother. But first, he would ask about his relationship with Geonho.
“I’m going to get to the bottom of everything today.”
He took a deep breath, puffing out his chest as if psyching himself up. He was determined to resolve all the questions piled up in his mind today.
There were many things he was curious about. He wanted to confirm why Taebeom treated his brother like an enemy and whether he really disliked animals. And also about Geonho’s past.
These were all questions he couldn’t ask Geonho directly. That guy was too sensitive.
He judged it better to seek answers from Geonho’s brother rather than from Geonho, who seemed to have many wounds. Siwoo wanted to hear directly from the person involved, not from those around him.
Ding-
Finally, they arrived at the 54th floor. Siwoo, lost in thought, swallowed dryly as he watched the elevator doors open smoothly.
Seeing the long corridor filled with a heavy silence made him suddenly nervous. There was only one door on the 54th floor. It seemed Taebeom used this entire space alone.
Siwoo intentionally walked boldly, raising his head high. He had a habit of tilting his head back so much that the skin on the back of his neck creased when he was nervous.
Suddenly, he thought it was a good thing he had eaten sushi. It gave him strength.
After passing through the long corridor, he stood in front of the office door. Knock knock. He knocked without hesitation and waited for a response. He had already mentally prepared himself.
“…”
After watching the silent door, he knocked again. However, even after waiting for a while, Taebeom’s voice didn’t come.
Did he leave already? Siwoo had checked the leader’s location on his pad before leaving the dorm. The dedicated guide could track the espers’ locations.
Moreover, the secretary had said that the leader was usually in his office. He said that during the day when gates weren’t active, he was mostly cooped up in his office handling administrative work. Siwoo had come believing those words.
“Where did he go?”
He had come feeling assured, but it turned out to be a wasted trip. Siwoo glared at the closed door, chewing on his lower lip. It felt like a waste to just turn back after working up his courage.
But he couldn’t enter a room without its owner. As he was about to turn around with regret, his body suddenly leaned towards the door.
Siwoo blinked his eyes wide and grabbed the doorknob. It wasn’t an action of his own will.
Suddenly, he felt an urge to open the door. For no reason at all.
Sensing something strange, Siwoo’s eyes narrowed. It felt as if someone inside the room was calling him. After a moment’s hesitation, Siwoo flung the door wide open.
As soon as his gaze fell on the interior of the spacious room, his eyes went to the desk first. His gaze, moving as if pulled by a magnet, then went down. A large body was sitting on the floor.
As soon as Siwoo saw Taebeom’s tilted profile, he rushed to him.
“Are you okay?”
He knelt down to examine Taebeom closely. Unable to touch his body, he only looked with his eyes and was shocked.
“Damn…”
Kang Taebeom’s lower face was soaked in dark red blood. His neck and clothes were also covered in blood.
“I-I’ll call someone, so wait.”
Trying to keep his voice as calm as possible, he took out his phone. Taebeom, with his eyes closed, showed no movement. He seemed to have fainted.
If it had been Geonho, Jihan, or the youngest, a danger signal would have been transmitted to Siwoo long ago.
However, Taebeom had blocked the information to prevent checking his wavelength levels. Because of this, no urgent signal was transmitted to Siwoo, his dedicated guide.
So he couldn’t receive help in this situation. Siwoo’s fingertips trembled faintly as he searched for the call button. Strangely, his hand wouldn’t move as quickly as he wanted.
It was even difficult to maintain balance as his body kept leaning towards Taebeom. Was this also due to the matching rate?
Siwoo instinctively emitted radiant guiding. Calling someone was the most urgent priority. Who should he call? As he was deliberating between the secretary and Jihan, he tried to call Jihan, who could teleport.
Just as he was about to press the call button, exerting force on his fingertips that were fumbling over the screen, a large hand suddenly came and snatched the phone. It was Taebeom’s hand.
“What…!”
Siwoo, who had his phone taken away in an instant, looked up with a dumbfounded face. He was so surprised he couldn’t even finish his sentence.
“No need to call.”
Taebeom, holding Siwoo’s phone, turned it off with an indifferent face. His expression was surprisingly calm for someone who had just been unconscious.
“Y-you’ve lost a lot of blood right now. Do you know that?”
Siwoo told him directly, thinking Taebeom might not be aware of his condition. He waved his hand, pointing at Taebeom’s neck and clothes soaked in blood, asking him to hand over the phone quickly. However, he only received an utterly indifferent response.
“It’s fine.”
Siwoo’s eyes, filled with shock, widened. He wanted to shout, “What do you mean it’s fine?”, but surprisingly, even to himself, he couldn’t raise his voice. It was strange.
“It’s not worth reporting.”
Taebeom calmly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the blood. He seemed to have no intention of informing anyone about this.
Is he crazy? Is that why he can’t think straight?
Siwoo tried to retrieve his phone while Taebeom was wiping the blood. He wasn’t the type to not do something just because he was told not to. He intended to call Jihan immediately and inform him of the leader’s condition.
He lunged forward, stretching his hand towards the phone, but failed. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the phone, Taebeom snatched it away first.
“It’s nothing, so don’t report it.”
He broke the phone in half, preventing Siwoo from even attempting to use it. Siwoo looked at Taebeom with an incredulous face.
How could he say it’s nothing after losing so much blood? He wanted to ask if something was seriously wrong with his head. There was so much he wanted to say that his head was starting to ache. All the words that had risen to his throat got tangled, and he couldn’t utter anything.
“Move back a bit.”
Taebeom, who had been watching Siwoo’s mouth open and close, made a small gesture with his chin. They were close enough to touch if they just reached out a little.
Siwoo closed his malfunctioning mouth tightly and took a deep breath as if suppressing his anger. Then he slowly moved back.
He didn’t leave completely. He just put enough distance between himself and Taebeom. Siwoo sat down, leaning his back against the secretary’s desk leg, and straightened his back. He felt he needed to keep his own wits about him.
Kang Taebeom was clearly not in his right mind. He might look fine on the outside, but inside, he seemed seriously damaged. There was no way someone who had lost so much blood could be okay.
“Does this happen often…?”
Siwoo asked, watching Taebeom wipe the blood clean with a handkerchief and tissues. He acted as calmly as if this was a regular occurrence. That composed attitude made Siwoo even more worried.
“Sometimes.”
Surprisingly, a proper answer came back when Siwoo thought he would be ignored until the end.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Siwoo seized the opportunity and fired off questions.
“Does the secretary know? He doesn’t, right? Did you block the wavelength readings to hide that you’re sick?”
“Guide Han Siwoo.”
Taebeom looked at Siwoo with his usual expressionless face while folding the blood-soaked handkerchief.
“Just state your business and go.”
As time passed, Taebeom’s gaze grew colder. He was the type of person who could intimidate others with just a look. He had looked at Siwoo with those same eyes when they first met on the bench on that rainy day.
“No.”
Siwoo’s blue eyes, confronting him, also grew cold.
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to spill everything.”
Along with the fierce warning, he raised his chin high. However, he tilted his head back too much, causing the back of his head to hit the desk squarely. Bang! A tremendous sound rang out.
“Ugh…!”
He hit it so hard. The desk even shook.
As Siwoo grabbed his stinging head, Taebeom suddenly approached him. Startled by Taebeom coming towards him as if about to pounce, Siwoo swung his fist.
“Stay still.”
Taebeom caught the slender wrist with his left hand. With his other hand, he grabbed the vase falling towards Siwoo’s head.
Siwoo relaxed his clenched fist as he saw the large vase Taebeom was holding. The bulky vase was even filled with water.
I almost had my head cracked open. Just as he felt relieved at escaping danger, red droplets fell onto Siwoo’s thigh.
Blood started flowing from Taebeom’s nose again. Siwoo, who had inhaled in surprise, reflexively reached out towards Taebeom’s face. The moment he saw the dark red blood pouring down his philtrum, his body moved as if entranced.
“How can you bleed so much—”
Just as he was about to ask, he realized his mistake.
As soon as his hand touched the blood-stained face, his body temperature started rising as if heat flowers were blooming all over his body. It was too late to remove his hand. The moment the guiding transferred, his body escaped his will.
Oh no, this is bad.
Taebeom, whose eyes met Siwoo’s, had a similar expression.
