# Chapter 25
‘An unregistered Esper.’
Thump, Jeongyun’s heart sank.
Terrified, Jeongyun watched the tiny flickering ember, smaller than a cigarette light, before shifting his gaze to the dark empty space.
A heavy silence lingered in the alley where the sound of rain could be heard. Jeongyun unconsciously released the breath he had been holding. After collecting himself, he slightly moved his eyes to look at the boy.
‘He doesn’t seem to have regained consciousness yet.’
As Jeongyun had expected, the boy’s eyelids remained firmly shut.
With the anxiety of not knowing when those rain-soaked eyelashes would rise, Jeongyun placed his hand on the firm shoulder. Then, he watched for the right moment to push the boy away.
The moment the ember that had been flickering even in the rain died down, Jeongyun urgently pushed the boy away. The limp body collapsed helplessly to the ground.
Splash—despite falling loudly into a puddle, the boy didn’t move at all. If it weren’t for the small sparks occasionally jumping from his fingertips, he would have seemed dead, he was so still.
‘I need to report this quickly.’
As he urgently pressed the pager button, a red light blinked indicating an emergency. Soon after, a message arrived in response to Jeongyun’s call, informing him that government Espers would arrive. Now he could feel at ease.
“Ugh…”
At that moment, the boy twitched. On high alert, Jeongyun grabbed a stick that had been discarded nearby. Though crude, it was sufficient as a weapon to attack someone.
Normally, when encountering an unregistered Esper, the principle was for Guides to evacuate to a safe place. However, Jeongyun couldn’t leave because he thought that if he lost the boy now, it could cause more casualties in the future.
Even though it was dangerous, now was the opportunity while the boy was unconscious. So it was right for him to hold the boy. Having received basic training, he should be able to handle it to some extent.
‘I wish I had some rope.’
Tying the boy’s hands and feet would help prevent escape. But no matter how much he looked around the alley, there was nothing but useless trash.
With no choice, Jeongyun took off his outer clothing and approached to restrain the boy. He managed to approach silently, muffling his footsteps.
‘Now I just need to tie him up…’
He successfully grabbed the boy’s arm carefully. Now he just needed to put the clothes between and tie them tightly, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought.
‘Is this not working?’
While struggling with the heavy arm, his pager rang loudly. It meant support would arrive soon.
Just as Jeongyun was about to feel relieved, the boy moved at the loud notification sound.
‘Oh no—’
The boy, now conscious, untied the poorly bound clothes on his arm. Unfocused eyes looked at the frozen Jeongyun. A hand sparking with flames slowly approached.
Am I going to die?
Jeongyun closed his eyes tightly. But even as time passed, nothing happened. The boy’s hand did touch him, but that was all.
‘…What’s going on?’
Jeongyun slowly opened his eyes that had been squeezed shut.
The boy was still looking at him. And the outstretched hand was just resting quietly on Jeongyun’s shoulder. The fierce sparks were gone.
“…It hurts.”
The boy whispered with a sob. Now that he looked closer, the boy’s condition was unusual. He was breathing heavily as if experiencing aftereffects, burning with fever, and mentally confused.
“Please… touch me.”
This must be asking for Guiding, right?
The boy who had muttered words that could easily be misunderstood moved closer to Jeongyun. As he got closer, Jeongyun could see his rain-soaked eyelashes, his hazily unfocused eyes, and his slightly parted red lips one by one.
‘I should avoid this.’
He knew it in his head, but his body wouldn’t move. But this wasn’t because he was scared. He just couldn’t move.
Just as those lips, close enough that their breaths mingled, were about to touch, a white light enveloped the boy. The light that instantly filled Jeongyun’s vision pulled the boy far away from him.
“Are you alright?”
It was government Espers. The commotion awakening the quiet alley brought Jeongyun back to his senses. He felt as if he had just been entranced by something.
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
“Can you stand up?”
Jeongyun nodded and slowly rose to his feet. His clothes were heavy from the water, making him stagger slightly, but he soon found his balance and stood.
A brief but definite look of regret flashed across the face of the Esper who was about to help Jeongyun. Jeongyun gave an awkward smile and looked at the boy surrounded by light. His head was drooping as if he had fainted again.
Now the boy would be transferred to the center by government Espers. Although very rare, there were cases of late manifestation, so they would give him a chance to choose.
Whether to become a government Esper and wear a choker, or reject it and be confined in an Esper detention center. There were only two choices given to Espers.
“We will take the unregistered Esper, so Guide Yeo Jeongyun can return home safely.”
“Yes, please take care of it.”
Only after the Espers had disappeared with the boy did Jeongyun finally release a long-held sigh. He left the now-quiet alley to find his umbrella, but it was completely ruined.
“…Can’t use this.”
He was already soaked through, so what was the point of an umbrella? Leaving the umbrella with its vinyl torn to pieces next to the trash, Jeongyun headed home.
Today had been truly eventful.
* * *
The next day.
When Jeongyun opened his eyes, he realized his entire body was drenched in sweat. He had felt uneasy since getting caught in the rain yesterday, and sure enough, he had come down with a severe cold.
Having rarely been sick since becoming a Guide, the sensation of his body feeling afloat due to fever was unfamiliar. He searched his drawer just in case, but of course, there was no medicine.
‘Should I take the day off?’
Jeongyun considered this while holding his pager. Taking sick leave wasn’t difficult, but especially after what happened yesterday, if he didn’t show up, malicious rumors would surely spread.
At times like this, he needed to show that nothing was wrong. Acting confidently to prevent unnecessary gossip was the only way to silence the B-grades.
‘Yes, I’ll just endure a little.’
Jeongyun sighed deeply and put down his pager.
Now he just needed to go to the bathroom, but his body was so weak that it wouldn’t move as he wanted. He just wanted to lie on the bed like this.
‘Do I really need to say it?’
Though he had tried hard to forget, he remembered Domin who had firmly drawn a line with him.
The fortunate thing was that unless something special happened, there would be no need for Guiding, so Domin wouldn’t call for him for a while.
‘Is that actually good?’
In truth, he didn’t know with what face he should meet Domin now. He could simply think that Domin was no different from other Espers, but the problem was that he couldn’t do that.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he wanted to get closer to Domin. But that wouldn’t happen. The small hope that had risen quickly disappeared.
“…I’d better get ready.”
Jeongyun got up with difficulty and headed to the bathroom.
Anyway, he wouldn’t need to provide Guiding to any Espers except Domin, so even if it was hard, he could rest in the Guiding room. Thinking like that made it less burdensome.
Due to slower movements than usual, preparation took twice as long. After finally managing to fasten the buttons that kept slipping, Jeongyun put his pager and phone in his pocket and left home.
Normally he would have taken the subway, but today he didn’t have the strength to squeeze in among the crowds. In the end, he decided to take a taxi and endure the heavily congested roads.
‘This is too hard.’
As soon as he got into the taxi, perhaps because the tension eased, his fever began to rise even more. His vision blurred and then returned repeatedly. Even the slowly passing scenery eventually stopped registering.
The morning commute was terribly congested, but thanks to the driver finding shortcuts, Jeongyun was able to arrive at headquarters without being late.
Without even having the energy to look at Domin’s advertisement hanging in the lobby, Jeongyun went straight to the Guiding room and collapsed on the cot.
His body sank endlessly like cotton soaked in water. When he raised his hand to his forehead, it was really hot. It was like touching a boiling kettle.
‘I need to take medicine.’
Though his desire was desperate, unfortunately, the infirmary was in the Esper wing. To get there, he would need to pass through the connecting corridor, but now he didn’t have the strength to take even one step.
Knock, knock.
Just as he was about to close his eyes thinking he would go when he felt a bit better, someone came. Jeongyun got down from the bed with difficulty, but before he could ask who it was, the door flung open.
“…Mr. Choi Domin?”
The one who entered the Guiding room without permission was Domin.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
