Chapter 92
An Esper with green eyes approached.
His light brown hair sparkled in the sunlight coming through the window.
‘I’ll help you walk somehow.’
His face was full of apology.
He was the most well-known among the rare S-class Espers in Korea.
As someone who remembered him pulling me away to protect me from the explosion, I thought it would be shameless to ask for that much.
‘It’s unfortunate that Espers have their limitations too. If there was an Esper who could fabricate things like in novels or movies, they could have helped somehow…’
I smiled at him, saying that there was no problem with my walking.
He said I wouldn’t be able to walk properly.
He said that if the healing-type Esper hadn’t died due to another Esper’s rampage, I might have recovered.
‘That’s unfortunate… You could have received help… I’ll make it up to you somehow.’
How could he make up for what was already lost in the explosion?
I told him not to worry since I was a Guide anyway, and work would come to me even if I just stayed still.
I asked if he was okay, since he wouldn’t have been the only one hurt at that time.
‘Are you… worried about me…?’
Aren’t Espers people too?
When I asked if he shouldn’t go to the hospital if he was in pain, the green eyes of the Esper, who had been smiling with just the corners of his mouth raised, disappeared behind his eyelids for the first time.
I thought his gently curved eyes were quite pretty.
Is that because he’s one of the Espers competing for beauty rankings?
‘Shouldn’t such talk be done when the person isn’t present?’
He seemed embarrassed, despite probably hearing often that he was handsome.
My parents always said that praise makes even whales dance, and it made me dance when I was young, so it’s something you should naturally do.
Besides, praise doesn’t cost money, so there’s nothing bad about it.
The Esper who had been listening to my words with curiosity slowly nodded.
‘Has anyone come from the Association?’
After the accident? At my question, his hair shook up and down.
He answered that no one from the Association had come, but that famous Esper with blue eyes had visited twice because he was supposed to join Chaehwa’s Gate raid.
The Esper’s expression, which had been listening normally, changed.
It was a very subtle difference, but due to the momentarily changed atmosphere, it stuck in my memory.
‘I see… If that Esper comes again, would you contact me?’
The Esper’s expression, Ji Yeohoon’s expression, was clearly smiling, but somehow it looked sad.
* * *
Breathing was difficult.
I blinked my eyes slowly.
Frowning at the feeling of my memories being flipped, I hurriedly sat up and reached down with my hand.
Right ankle, my foot?
“Hyung!”
“Moon Soo-young.”
Why are these people here?
That wasn’t what mattered.
I was actually surprised that the phantom pain I occasionally felt wasn’t there.
I moved my hand around and pressed firmly on my foot, blinking at the right foot that was completely intact.
Why isn’t the pain in my foot? Why do I feel sick…
“Ugh…!”
“Yoon Cheong! Quickly, get a bag, no, a trash can? No!”
“Shut up and go get a doctor!”
I grabbed the round container that was brought to my mouth and coughed for a while.
It was a memory I had forgotten for a while.
Since it was a memory I wanted to forget, it was even more painful now that it had surfaced.
“Are you okay?”
Only after seeing Yoon Cheong, whose face was full of apology and whose eyes looked like they might cry at any moment, yet whose expression remained impassive, did I realize that I wasn’t in the hospital after the explosion at twenty-four.
I could also tell that my foot was fine.
“How long have I been lying here?”
“About a day. Ji Seon-young Esper came and went.”
“Auntie did?”
Then why does my body hurt? She would have healed me, right?
As if noticing the question mixed in my expression, Yoon Cheong instantly became gloomy.
“Well… the wounds are fine, but it’s because of the aftereffects of the internal injuries…”
“Shouldn’t I be fine since the injuries were healed?”
“The body’s reaction isn’t an injury, so. They say that can’t be treated with healing.”
I understand. External wounds or internal injuries could be healed with abilities.
But while my body returned to normal, the psychological impact couldn’t be reversed.
Moreover, it seemed that my body reacted more strongly because forgotten memories also returned.
“I’m sorry.”
As I thought I’d be fine now and put down the container I’d been holding, just regulating my breathing, Yoon Cheong bowed his head deeply.
“I’m sorry, Moon Soo-young.”
“Hey, hey…”
Yoon Cheong’s voice trembled.
Hey, are you really crying?
“I said I wouldn’t let you get hurt…”
I heard his voice, so muffled it was almost inaudible.
Right, there was a time like that. It was Yoon Cheong’s answer when I told him not to force his ability.
Back then, he smiled so brightly that even I, who had seen him for a long time, felt awkward…
I heard that no matter how bad the situation, a handsome person crying still looks good, but I never expected to confirm that here.
“It’s okay. Why are you crying? I’m fine.”
“It’s because you got hurt because of me… If I could have controlled it properly, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt…”
Is this because of Yoon Cheong?
I didn’t understand.
“Did this happen because you chose to use your power that way?”
“No… It wasn’t, but…”
“It wasn’t on purpose, right? Have you been examined?”
I asked the head-bowed Yoon Cheong, thinking it was probably due to his ability’s increase, but he couldn’t answer properly.
“Stop crying.”
“It’s rare, but they say it’s because his grade increased.”
Yoon Cheong couldn’t answer because of his tears.
Ji Yeohoon, who entered opening the door with the doctor, approached with a smile.
“I was so surprised earlier I couldn’t even speak. Did you sleep well, hyung?”
Unlike earlier when he had rushed out in panic, Ji Yeohoon seemed more relaxed after confirming with his own eyes that I was fine.
The doctors and nurses who had rushed in mostly left after confirming that I was okay.
It seemed like Ji Yeohoon had made a scene outside because of my reaction as soon as I woke up. I can 99% guarantee it.
Only about two doctors remained in the room, checking various things.
They asked if breathing was okay and if there was any discomfort, to which I shook my head saying no.
The doctor who said I could be discharged soon greeted us and left.
Now that I looked, it seemed to be a VIP room with a high ceiling and spacious interior.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to rest more?”
“I’ve received healing, and the nausea earlier was due to psychological shock, so I’m fine. I need psychiatric treatment, not hospitalization here.”
Yoon Cheong nodded, seemingly at a loss for words at my answer.
“I’m against it.”
“Why?”
“Your body was treated by my mom, but you’re a Guide, so we don’t know what might happen. A really bad situation might occur later. Even with traffic accidents, they tell you to go to the hospital unconditionally in case you feel pain later.”
“That’s true, but… I didn’t have a traffic accident.”
“This is worse quality than a traffic accident.”
Ji Yeohoon glared at Yoon Cheong, moving only his eyeballs.
Normally, Yoon Cheong would have glared back, creating the prelude to a fight, but today he avoided eye contact first and bowed his head.
Why are you crushing the kid’s spirit? Well, he’s not exactly a kid compared to you, but still.
“Traffic accidents can also be treated with healing, so this level is fine for me too.”
“I’m telling you it’s worse quality. You were directly hit with an Esper’s power.”
“It wasn’t that bad. I was pushed and hit the wall.”
“Pushed? I heard you flew.”
With a feeling of ‘did you tell him?’, I turned my gaze, and Yoon Cheong slowly nodded.
“His ability increased to the point where it was almost like re-manifesting, so what could I do? Everyone evacuated, and only Yoon Cheong and I were left, so I had to go. Given the matching rate and all.”
“Hyung, even first manifestations stabilize over time without guiding. There was no need to immediately guide Yoon Cheong for his second manifestation.”
I closed my mouth at Ji Yeohoon’s scolding tone.
I knew that it would have been fine to leave it.
But what my head knew and how my body and emotions moved were different.
I thought I could be rational…
“I understand your uncle now.”
“…What?”
“Nothing. It was my mistake. I thought it was right to help quickly in case it was difficult. Plus, they said it appeared like manifestation due to ability increase. I thought he was suddenly going berserk.”
At my words, Ji Yeohoon made a face that said it couldn’t be helped.
If a nearby Esper seemed to be entering a rampage state, the correct response would be to guide them as quickly as possible to stabilize them.
“Hyung, if something like this happens again, I really don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Why?”
“What if another Esper has this kind of incident somewhere where neither Yoon Cheong hyung nor I are present? You’d try to rush over again. How can I watch that?”
“That’s nonsense.”
“How is it nonsense? You rushed over this time too. I heard you went even though Yoon Cheong told you not to come.”
I shook my head, telling the scolding Ji Yeohoon not to worry.
“Hey, I rushed over because it was Yoon Cheong.”
Both Yoon Cheong, who had been hanging his head the whole time, and Ji Yeohoon, who had been nagging, just blinked their eyes.
“I would have gone if you were re-manifesting too, Ji Yeohoon. But I’m not nice enough to care about other people, so I have no intention of going.”
“…What about Ye Han-dam or Ye Han-seo?”
“Tell Ye Han-dam to go to his own Guide. Chaehwa will take care of Ye Han-seo.”
You might think I’m too cold, but I wasn’t righteous or kind enough to lose my mind and rush to other Espers in situations where I might be in danger.
The ones I need to watch over are these two boys, and the people I care about are already determined.
“I have no intention of looking after Espers other than you two, so what are you worried about?”
It was meant to be reassuring.
But Yoon Cheong, who had been quietly still, shook his head with reddened eyes.
“Don’t come.”
“Huh?”
“Even if something like this happens to me again… never do that again.”
Yoon Cheong, as if in anguish, firmly held my hand and lowered his head to rest his forehead against it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
