#103
Through guiding because I’m a guide?
No, that won’t work. I don’t know how to guide. Yul said it’s a special situation. Then how do I persuade them? Do I have anything this man would value?
“Aagh, damn it!”
A man’s voice was heard from outside the car.
“The boss will definitely kill me!”
The grumbling voice was youthful and… strangely familiar. Ho-woo tilted his head. Where had he heard that voice before? He definitely had heard it before. A slightly sharp voice full of complaints.
So…
Meanwhile, footsteps approached the car, seemingly having finished dealing with the lunging monsters. Ho-woo looked up. Though the man’s face was hard to see against the light, his eyes holding greenery were clearly visible even in the shadows.
“Uh… hello.”
Moon Jin-hyuk awkwardly greeted as their eyes met.
“Mr. Moon?”
“…It’s Moon Jin-hyuk.”
Moon Jin-hyuk made a sour face at the name that came out of Ho-woo’s mouth.
“Come out first. Be careful when you put your hands down, there’s a lot of glass shards.”
Moon Jin-hyuk, with a sullen face, lightly tore off the door that wouldn’t open easily with one hand. He tore it off so simply that Ho-woo thought this car was made of paper. Even though he knew that wasn’t actually the case.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. There are other people in the car…”
Ho-woo, coming out of the car, lost his words. The area around the overturned car was literally a mess. Crushed and torn monster bodies were scattered everywhere, and a fishy liquid mixed with green and blue soaked the ground thoroughly. Moreover, there were quite a few of them. Since no other Espers were visible around, did he deal with all of this alone…? Ho-woo gave Moon Jin-hyuk a look of surprise.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I may not look it, but I’m an A-class Esper. I might not be as strong as the boss, but I’m quite strong, you know?”
Well, it’s because your first impression was so much like an immature child that it didn’t really register. Even without Ho-woo saying anything, Moon Jin-hyuk seemed to realize the reason himself and pouted.
“Well… I’m really sorry about that time. I had some prejudices against ordinary people because of what I heard at the training center… This isn’t a forced apology because of the boss… Anyway, that’s how it is.”
Moon Jin-hyuk’s neck and ears turned bright red. With an ambiguous expression that could be either embarrassment or shame, he even lowered his head with a rough interjection of “Esh!” It wasn’t a sight that fit a place filled with monster corpses.
“Well, thank you for apologizing again.”
“…As long as you understood.”
He really is young. Perhaps because he was confined in the training center, he was clumsy and inexperienced in dealing with people. Moreover, being isolated from ordinary people, it seems he didn’t have many opportunities to erase his prejudices.
If they weren’t isolated separately and allowed to live with their families, it would be much better for Espers and guides. Is the reason for isolation because it’s dangerous? If it’s not dangerous, could the training center be operated like a normal school…
What woke Ho-woo from his brief thoughts was Moon Jin-hyuk’s call.
“Should we take these people?”
He was examining the kidnappers crumpled inside the car. The person in the driver’s seat was headless. Moon Jin-hyuk clicked his tongue at the clearly visible signs of being eaten.
‘I don’t like monsters that become smarter after eating humans.’
Monsters that had eaten humans or Espers became annoyingly intelligent as they followed the intelligence of what they ate. He also checked the men sitting in the back seat. Fortunately, they seemed to have only fainted without major injuries. Moon Jin-hyuk asked Ho-woo while pulling them out with one hand.
“Since they’re kidnappers, I think it’d be okay to just let them die.”
“Even if they’re kidnappers, if we can save them, we should… Wait, come to think of it, how are you here, Moon Jin-hyuk?”
It’s quite far from the city, and considering the timing, it’s too good to be a coincidence. As Ho-woo looked at him suspiciously, Moon Jin-hyuk broke into a cold sweat. It wasn’t a situation where any ordinary lie would work.
“Well, that…”
“Don’t lie and tell me the truth. If there’s any problem later, I’ll help you.”
Seeing Moon Jin-hyuk stuttering and unable to answer properly, Ho-woo was certain. This was Oh-yul’s doing.
“Really?”
“It’s Yul, right?”
“……”
The tightly closed lips gave a silent answer of ‘yes’. Ho-woo was more surprised at himself for not being as shocked or surprised as he expected. Had he gotten used to Oh-yul’s shady behavior?
He had worn the pager even knowing it could be tracked, and there were suspicious circumstances. Like Oh-yul showing up at just the right moment during the Bae Gi-hong kidnapping incident.
“When I was kidnapped by Bae Gi-hong, it was you who informed him, right?”
“……”
I see.
“Um… The boss didn’t do it with bad intentions, you know.”
Moon Jin-hyuk desperately defended Oh-yul. Of course, even if there were strange aspects to the boss’s orders, they definitely weren’t with bad intentions.
“He assigned me because he knew Kim Dong-cheol would act like this, and actually, dangerous situations have occurred twice, right?”
Moon Jin-hyuk, who was spilling words while trembling and flustered, seemed to be in a panic. Ho-woo calmly calmed down the young man who seemed scared of someone who wasn’t even here.
“I understand, so calm down. If you hadn’t helped, I would have definitely been in danger. Thank you for saving me.”
Come to think of it, had he thanked Oh-yul for saving him? He seemed to have completely forgotten at that time, shocked by the fact that an S-class Esper had moved in next door. He should thank him first when he gets back.
“More importantly, how do we get back?”
The car is in this state, and the number of people Moon Jin-hyuk has to protect is three, including Ho-woo. The driver must be dead since Moon Jin-hyuk didn’t bother with him. Although it wasn’t clearly visible due to the seat, it must be so.
“Hmm… It might be safer now to go to the city these guys were heading to rather than returning to our original city. It’s closer in terms of distance.”
Moon Jin-hyuk tucked the two unconscious men under each arm and looked at Ho-woo. His bright green eyes blinked.
“Can you walk?”
It wasn’t prepared for this situation, but it was fortunate that he had done physical training. At least he should be able to walk for a few hours. Ho-woo gave an affirmative answer. Moon Jin-hyuk started walking ahead as if relieved.
“Let’s go to that city first and contact the boss. We can’t do anything here because even phone use is impossible unless it’s a satellite-connected communication method. Moreover, monsters will become more aggressive when the sun sets, so we need to get as close to the city as possible. The Espers from that city will also manage the roads, so we might be able to get help.”
So we have no choice but to walk for now.
Ho-woo quietly followed Moon Jin-hyuk. The surroundings were too quiet, with only the occasional sound of wind roughly shaking leaves.
“But is it okay to leave that as it is?”
When he asked, looking back at the overturned car and monster corpses that now looked like dots, Moon Jin-hyuk shrugged lightly.
“We can tell the Espers who manage the roads later. And speak comfortably. You’re older than me and you’re the boss’s guide. We’re on the same team now.”
Same team, huh.
The first impression was really the worst, but seeing Moon Jin-hyuk suddenly become so polite, Ho-woo felt strange. People say you never know how things will turn out.
“Okay. Sure, Jin-hyuk. Let’s do that.”
“I’ll call you hyung too.”
He’s being shy again.
Moon Jin-hyuk’s ears were flushed red. He walked briskly, looking only ahead, unable to hide his shyness. Beside him, Ho-woo somehow felt that he had changed a little.
He was too calm and rational even in situations that should cause panic. He was fine even in the face of death. It felt unfamiliar to be so indifferent knowing that the driver had died.
Maybe it’s the effect of becoming an Esper that Oh-yul mentioned.
Ho-woo walked along the stretched road with a complex expression.
***
The sun was sinking below the horizon, dyeing the sky like black tea. Ho-woo’s stamina was almost at its limit. Now, what was driving him forward was not physical strength but will. Perhaps feeling a surge of closeness after chatting a bit while being wary of monsters and walking on the road, Moon Jin-hyuk threw quite worried glances.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any more monsters while walking along the road. In the middle, one of the unconscious men woke up and caused trouble by resisting. It was so absurd to hear him treat Moon Jin-hyuk and himself as kidnappers. Instead of listening to that nonsense, Ho-woo used the good persuasion tool he had taken from him. After checking on the unconscious man, Ho-woo was very satisfied, saying it was a choice without regrets, while Moon Jin-hyuk seemed a bit surprised by the merciless action.
Except for that brief commotion, walking on the road was smooth.
“Hyung, we’re almost there.”
Ho-woo confirmed the entrance of the huge city visible in the distance at Moon Jin-hyuk’s words. It was the exterior of a city he was seeing for the first time. High iron fences and rusty gates, and five Espers approaching them, having apparently spotted Moon Jin-hyuk and himself.
These gradually approaching figures were looking perplexed.
