# Chapter 24
The process was difficult, but in the end, Domin got what he wanted. He looked at Saeon’s signature on the paper with satisfaction and carefully gathered the documents to put them in an envelope.
Now all he had to do was go to the office, submit the paperwork, and his unfortunate connection with Ju Saeon would be completely over. Just as he was about to take a step while humming a tune, he suddenly remembered someone.
‘Should I get Guiding before I leave?’
Domin took his hand out of his pocket and thought about it. He was still fine, but there was no harm in getting Guiding in advance.
‘I thought you might have come because you needed Guiding…’
Back then, his only thought was to get Saeon’s signature as quickly as possible. He had said he didn’t need it because he didn’t want to waste time, but now that he thought about it, there was no reason not to get Guiding while he was here.
‘It shouldn’t matter.’
Having made a clean decision, Domin turned toward Jeongyun’s Guiding room. Since there were still no aftereffects, he thought a light Guiding would be enough, unlike before.
Knock knock.
He knocked on the firmly closed door, but there was no response from inside. Unable to wait, he turned the doorknob, but it only made a clunking sound without opening.
“Where did he go?”
Shouldn’t he be quietly waiting in the Guiding room during work hours? He had said there were no other Espers who could provide Guiding, but it seemed like he went out to play since there was no work.
‘Should I call him?’
Domin took out his pager and wondered. Jeongyun would come running right away if he just pressed the button, but he wasn’t sure if he needed to go that far.
It was also annoying, and he hadn’t come to the headquarters for Guiding in the first place. He had already gotten Saeon’s signature, so his priority was to stop by the office and submit the documents.
“I can just call him next time.”
The more he looked at the tightly closed Guiding room, the more he felt an inexplicable uneasiness, but he soon dismissed it as nothing.
He concluded it was just because of Yeo Jeongyun who wasn’t at his post during work hours.
* * *
He had no idea how time had passed. After locking the Guiding room door tightly, he had been in a daze, and when he came to his senses, it was time to go home.
It seemed like someone had knocked on the door in the meantime, but he had been so out of it that his memory was hazy. Just a few days ago, he had thought it would be nice just to be by Domin’s side, but his desires were growing more excessive. Even though he knew he shouldn’t.
‘…I need to pull myself together.’
Jeongyun let out a deep sigh and left the Guiding room with his empty bag. After locking the door and turning around, some Guides were staring at him in the hallway.
He knew what their looks meant, so Jeongyun pretended to be even more nonchalant. But the hurt feelings inside him grew more bruised.
‘Should I ask Wooyeon to go drinking?’
After work, he usually went straight home because of the movement report, but on gloomy days like today, he wanted to spend time with someone.
He could comfort himself by drinking beer alone at home, but he wanted to forget the bad memories for a while by having meaningless conversations with Wooyeon.
As he was about to knock on the door, thinking of what to say, Wooyeon came out first. While Jeongyun hesitated in surprise, Wooyeon said in a gloomy voice,
“Jeongyun. I have to work overtime today.”
Unlike Jeongyun, who had more free time since becoming Domin’s dedicated Guide, Wooyeon was still swamped with work. Hiding his disappointment, Jeongyun comforted the depressed Wooyeon.
“So, you go home first.”
“Don’t you want to wait for me?”
“You’re not a kid. Go home and rest. You had a tough day today.”
“I will, then.”
After saying goodbye to Wooyeon, Jeongyun headed home alone. For the first time since becoming a Guide, he wished he had other friends besides Wooyeon.
‘Looks like it’s going to rain.’
As he left the headquarters, the cloudy sky looked even clearer. Although it seemed fine for now, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t rain by the time he got home.
After thinking about it, Jeongyun went to the convenience store and bought a plastic umbrella. Come to think of it, he already had quite a collection of umbrellas at home, but today he would add one more.
The subway during rush hour was already packed with people. After standing at the end of a long line, a subway arrived with a loud noise.
Jeongyun, holding his unwrapped umbrella tightly, followed the people into the narrow car. Even without holding onto a handle, he wouldn’t fall because he was tightly wedged between people.
‘This is tough.’
After escaping the crowded subway and coming outside, raindrops began to fall from the cloudy sky. Unlike people running to avoid the sudden rain, Jeongyun opened the umbrella he had bought in advance and walked leisurely.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
The sound of rain hitting the umbrella grew heavier. Even with an umbrella, his clothes would inevitably get wet if it rained heavily.
‘Should I hurry a bit?’
Jeongyun quickened his pace as he entered the alley. Once he turned this corner, he would be home. Since the weather was chilly, he planned to take a warm shower and drink beer.
Of course, he wouldn’t watch Domin’s commercials today. If he saw Domin’s face now, he would only remember the sight of him leaving the break room with Saeon.
He would turn on a comedy program that would make him laugh without thinking and drink beer to his heart’s content. Of course, not so much that it would affect work tomorrow. Then his gloomy feelings might get a little better.
Just as he was turning the corner, thinking of the perfect plan, something caught his eye.
Jeongyun stopped in his tracks.
‘Just now…’
Splash. His shoe sank into a puddle he couldn’t avoid and was getting soaked, but he couldn’t move. At the end of the right alley, in the darkness where light didn’t reach, something was moving.
Calming himself, Jeongyun turned his gaze toward the alley. Although it was hard to see clearly in the darkness, he could faintly make out the silhouette of someone sprawled on the ground.
‘Looks like a person.’
Since there was a possibility it could be a regular person rather than an unregistered Esper, he had no choice but to check. Jeongyun put down his umbrella at the entrance of the alley and carefully went inside.
As expected, there was a person collapsed on the ground. Judging by his height and build, he seemed to be an adult, but his face still had a youthful appearance. And there was no choker around his neck.
‘That means he’s either a regular person or an unregistered Esper.’
If the boy was an unregistered Esper, Jeongyun would have to call headquarters, and if he was a regular person, he would need to call an ambulance. But no matter how he looked at the boy, he couldn’t tell which one he was.
After looking around, Jeongyun moved closer to the boy. Kneeling down, he looked closely at the unconscious boy. Brushing aside the hair that blocked his view, a pale, fair face was revealed.
‘His fever is severe.’
The boy’s body was burning like fire, having been left in the rain for who knows how long. It was so serious that Jeongyun feared he might die from the fever if left like this.
‘First, let’s call an ambulance.’
Just as he was about to take out his phone, thinking they shouldn’t waste any more time, someone grabbed Jeongyun. The unconscious boy had woken up.
“Are you okay?”
Jeongyun asked the boy after calming his startled heart, but there was no answer. Looking closely, the boy’s eyes were unfocused. He didn’t seem to have fully regained consciousness yet.
“Ugh…”
The boy, who stood up unsteadily, grabbed Jeongyun’s arm more tightly. Though his arm hurt from the uncontrolled strength, Jeongyun didn’t shake off the boy’s hand.
Now at eye level, the boy stared at Jeongyun and moved his blue-tinged lips. Some faint sounds escaped, but they were drowned out by the rain.
Jeongyun moved a little closer to hear the boy’s voice. Hot breath touched his cold cheek. It gave him goosebumps.
“What did you just—”
“…It’s… so cold.”
With those final words, the hand gripping Jeongyun’s arm went limp, and the boy’s upright body collapsed.
Jeongyun instinctively reached out his arms and embraced the boy. The boy leaned weakly against Jeongyun and breathed heavily. His clothes clung to him, soaked with rainwater.
‘His body is too hot.’
Now that they were this close, the boiling heat was even more noticeable. Jeongyun held the boy firmly to prevent him from falling and took out his phone.
“Ah!”
Just as he was about to press the call button, his phone suddenly caught fire.
The phone he dropped, unable to withstand the sudden heat, fell into a puddle. But the flames consuming his phone didn’t go out.
This was an Esper’s ability.
‘Could it be…’
Jeongyun quickly looked around for an unregistered Esper who might be nearby. But in the alley where the rain was falling steadily, there were only himself and the boy.
Could the sound of rain be hiding someone’s presence? As he remained on high alert, he heard something drop. Looking down, he saw faint flames flickering from the boy’s fingertips.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
