# Chapter 17
Despite it being a weekday afternoon, the road was completely jammed like a parking lot. While trapped here, it had been over an hour since Domin had sent a call saying he was going to Jeongyun.
Feeling pain spreading from his fingertips, Domin anxiously shook his leg. It was still bearable for now, but he couldn’t tell how long this calm would last.
If it wasn’t his imagination, the car hadn’t moved even a centimeter for a while. Domin, unable to stand watching the cars that seemed to have collectively turned off their engines, kicked the driver’s seat hard to vent his frustration.
“Fuck, why is there so much traffic!”
“J-just calm down a little…”
“Just break through! We could just crash into the car in front and go!”
Junyoung felt like his eardrums might burst from Domin’s shouting. He wanted to protest that the traffic jam wasn’t his fault, but knowing that speaking up would only make things worse, he chose to keep his mouth shut.
“Fuck, this is bullshit. Why is there a damn traffic jam?”
After kicking the driver’s seat until his anger subsided, Domin held his throbbing head as heat rose in his body. The stress must have built up more than he thought, as his leg was now tingling after just a few kicks.
This situation wasn’t going to end with just this one time. He would have to keep Jeongyun by his side for Guiding, otherwise what would be different from his time with Saeon?
“How much longer?”
“About 15 minutes…”
“This is shit.”
Domin reclined the seat as far back as possible and leaned deep into it. He thought sleeping might help pass the time quickly, but the subtle pain tormenting him made it impossible to sleep.
After tossing and turning, Domin eventually sat his seat back up and glared at the still completely jammed road. His patience had run out long ago.
‘Should I just blow them all away?’
With his ability, he could lift all these cars at once. Or he could push the cars blocking the way to the side to clear a path.
While considering which method would be better, Junyoung suddenly looked back and noticed Domin’s hands twitching as if about to use his power, making his eyes widen.
“What are you looking at?”
“Domin, you’re not thinking of… no, right?”
Junyoung asked with a trembling voice. Domin was about to ask what he was talking about when he realized the anxious gaze was fixed on his hand. Getting scared over just moving a hand once.
“I’m not planning to do anything, just look ahead.”
While wasting time with these trivial concerns, the pain had completely consumed his left arm. Using enough power to lift cars in this state would likely cause him to faint before even reaching headquarters after escaping the traffic jam.
Domin tried to forget the pain by breathing slowly. But each time the unfamiliar pain gradually devoured him, he felt like he was going insane.
Guides would never understand how fucking awful it was to live with a bomb inside that could explode at any moment.
That’s why they were so selfish. They knew what holding hands once or rubbing faces once meant to Espers, yet they still acted like they didn’t.
“Domin!”
Unable to endure any longer, Domin kicked open the car door and went outside. Even though the cars were stopped, this was still a road. The car behind honked loudly when they spotted Domin suddenly jumping out.
Honk honk—!
Holding back the anger rising from the loud noise, Domin lifted his body with telekinesis. He judged it would be better to move himself than to move all the cars here.
“Isn’t that Choi Domin?”
“Oh! It really is Choi Domin!”
People in the cars began making a fuss after recognizing Domin. He waved to the people who were busy taking photos through their car windows, then headed toward headquarters.
‘Can’t I go any faster?’
Time was still passing. The more he used his ability, the worse the aftereffects became, and he worried he might faint before even reaching headquarters at this rate.
The one hopeful thing was that headquarters was visible in the distance. Indeed, this was a better decision than stupidly waiting for the road conditions to improve.
‘Why is the road so jammed?’
As Domin moved against the flow of the blocked road, he detected something suspicious. The road became strangely quiet the further he went.
Cars were stuck in place like they were glued there, yet no one was honking. As Domin softly descended onto the quiet road, he discovered that all the people in the cars were asleep.
‘It’s a terror attack!’
After assessing the situation, Domin quickly took out his pager and sent a signal to headquarters. Given that people across such a wide area were put to sleep so perfectly, there was a high possibility that this was a high-ranked Esper.
Just as he confirmed that the blinking light had turned red, Domin noticed something approaching rapidly from a distance.
“That’s—”
By the time he realized that the thing pushing aside the cars blocking the road and rushing toward him was a person, his body was already slammed to the ground.
* * *
“I’m bored.”
Jeongyun sighed deeply and lay on his desk, resting his cheek. Before, he had been too busy to even breathe, but now the problem was that he had too much free time. Time was passing so slowly.
Normally, since he had become Domin’s dedicated Guide, he should have joined a team, but he was rejected because he was C-grade. Fortunately, since he had expected this, he wasn’t upset.
Not belonging to a team meant he should also perform Guiding for other Espers, but thanks to Domin’s consideration, he hadn’t guided anyone else for days.
‘When will I get a call?’
The pager was quiet as always. Well, receiving a call meant Domin needed Guiding, and such situations were often not good.
‘It means Mr. Choi Domin is staying safe and well.’
Jeongyun pushed the pager away and sat up straight from his slumped position. He looked up at the clock on the wall, only to find that just two hours had passed since he arrived at work.
‘Should I go visit Wooyeon?’
The sudden leisure that made him think of things he would never normally consider was making Jeongyun uncomfortable.
Just as he stood up, hoping that listening to Wooyeon’s chattering would help time pass quickly, he realized the most important thing.
“He must be working.”
Unlike himself, Wooyeon probably had his regular Guiding schedule. If he went and disturbed him, Wooyeon might not meet his quota before the end of the workday, which would naturally lead to overtime.
Giving up on going to see Wooyeon, Jeongyun turned around and noticed the blinking light on his pager. Taking one step to his desk, he checked the color of the light. Yellow meant that Domin was requesting Guiding.
Without hesitation, Jeongyun pressed the confirm button. The blinking light changed to blue, and soon a notification appeared showing that Domin had confirmed it.
‘Mr. Choi Domin will come.’
Excited, Jeongyun cleaned the Guiding room while waiting for Domin to arrive. He opened the windows wide, swept and wiped everything in Domin’s line of sight, then sat down with a bright face.
But despite the cleaning taking quite a long time, Domin didn’t arrive. Looking at the time, more than an hour had already passed. He thought Domin would come right away after sending the call, but apparently not.
‘Should I wait longer?’
As he waited with an excited heart for the tightly closed door to open, suddenly a siren announcing an emergency shook the headquarters. Startled, Jeongyun stood up.
Guides who went to the field belonged to teams. Guides like Jeongyun who didn’t belong to any team had to wait at headquarters.
But when the terror alert siren sounded, even guides far from the scene felt the same anxiety. No one here was accustomed to death.
Just as Jeongyun sat down and tried to catch his breath after the siren stopped, the door suddenly burst open without a knock. The person who entered, gasping for breath, was an Esper he’d never seen before.
“Are you Guide Yeo Jeongyun?”
Jeongyun nodded cautiously at the Esper who abruptly asked his name. After confirming, the Esper grabbed Jeongyun’s arm firmly.
He was about to say that unauthorized contact violated the Guide Protection Act when his feet lifted off the ground and his surroundings began to blur. It was spatial movement.
“Esper Choi Domin is in critical condition right now, so you need to come to the scene with me,” the Esper said urgently.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
