#46
The only reward given to the beast who confined himself in darkness surrounded by thick iron walls was the almost useless Guiding. Yu Hee-eun had the highest matching rate, but couldn’t come here due to being on the same team.
It was obvious that they probably weren’t even given the slightest information that Oh-yul was confined in such a place. Oh-yul gritted his teeth in displeasure while receiving the Guiding that was inefficient and only increased the burden on his body.
The man purified energy only as much as he could, that is, only as much as wouldn’t burden his own body, and then stepped back. Oh-yul’s eyes, reflecting in the light coming through the slightly open door, were still more blue than black.
For a week, Oh-yul struggled with the Esper’s instinctive thirst while receiving Guiding that barely managed to keep his condition from worsening. Until now, he had endured with such Guiding, but after tasting Guiding using Ho-woo once, it was quite exhausting to keep his desires and instincts in check.
The refreshing sensation and the pleasure that penetrated his entire body when he greedily drank clear spring water after filling his throat with salt and pouring seawater into it felt like a reward for all the time he had endured. Of course, that too was close to an oasis he had only briefly tasted when Ho-woo was asleep drunk.
“There’s a press conference this evening, I hear.”
The Guide who had taken the minister’s side spoke nonchalantly and called in the next Guide. The Guide who entered the room hesitantly looked young, seemingly just having become an adult. The Guide approached Oh-yul with extreme tension, extending a trembling hand.
“The order is to make your eyes black. There are plenty of prepared Guides, so feel free to receive as much as you want today.”
Oh-yul’s mood twisted as he saw that the man only Guided to the extent that wouldn’t burden himself, and filled the rest with young Guides like this. He had never found anyone he liked among those who followed the minister’s orders.
Oh-yul took the young Guide’s hand without showing any reaction. It was pitiful how the Guide trembled, but this Guide had also accepted the snake-like man’s proposal for what they wanted, and Oh-yul was just a means to an end for them.
There’s no need to pity them.
Oh-yul’s eyes glinted coldly as he forcefully pushed energy into the Guide’s body in one go. Normally, Guiding was supposed to be led by the Guide, accepting and purifying the Esper’s energy.
However, Oh-yul wasn’t quietly receiving such passive Guiding. His incompletely connected pair couldn’t provide him with passive Guiding.
He had to actively learn how to handle energy more delicately to find a method, and those efforts soon showed results. It was quite a good result, and he became the only Esper capable of reverse Guiding.
“Gasp!!”
The young Guide holding Oh-yul’s hand turned pale. For an inexperienced Guide used to always leading the Guiding, the sensation of Oh-yul’s rough energy freely stirring throughout their body wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Oh-yul’s power was like a sea full of salt, and the purification process to remove the dissolved salt was tricky, and the nature of the energy was nasty.
Oh-yul, who was conducting Guiding using the Guide according to his desires, only let go of that hand when the young Guide lost consciousness and collapsed. Even seeing the pale face faintly visible in the light coming through the open door, he pushed the body aside with his foot without feeling guilty.
“Next.”
At his cold words, another young Guide poked their head through the open door. The woman who was peering inside relying on that small light discovered another Guide lying on the floor like trash and turned pale.
“Ah… N-no…”
Oh-yul just stared silently at her as she stepped back, frightened. It didn’t matter if she ran away now, nor if she gathered her courage and approached. There were probably more than enough Guides prepared to replace her.
“Don’t waste time. Even if it’s not you, there are many other Guides who want to seize this opportunity.”
It was rather the Guide from the minister’s side with a stiff face who urged her. At his words, the sniffling woman supported her trembling legs and sat in front of Oh-yul, taking his hand.
Her fingertips were still trembling, with a lot of force applied. Whatever she wanted to gain from this, Oh-yul, who didn’t care much about what she desired, conducted reverse Guiding to his heart’s content without showing any mercy this time as well.
They were just means to an end for each other, and there was no need to feel guilty at this moment. As the Guiding progressed, his head throbbed. He didn’t know how many times he said “Next, next,” but with each fallen Guide, his blue eyes gradually darkened.
“I’ve only heard about it, but reverse Guiding is disgusting.”
This was what the man who had been quietly observing said when Oh-yul had made all the prepared Guides faint. Oh-yul glanced at him in response to the voice full of contempt and straightened his clothes.
Due to the side effects of Guiding, his vision was already dizzy and muddled as if he had been hit on the head. However, he took a step forward without showing any sign of discomfort, as if he couldn’t feel all that pain.
“Shouldn’t you be taking them to a theater rather than admiring?”
As the actor who had been meticulously prepared for a space that had likely been set up within a week entered, the curtain was about to rise.
The only thing worrying him in this ridiculous situation was Lee Ho-woo.
I hope he’ll be receptive enough to accept my plea later.
Oh-yul recalled the face of the fragile man who neither pushed him away nor approached when he acted pitiful, always hesitating.
He probably worried a lot, or at least thought about me, since we haven’t been in contact for a week. And he’ll be quite shocked when he finds me on this prepared stage.
It would be even worse if there was no reaction at all. Because that would mean he wasn’t thinking about Oh-yul enough to be shocked. While worried about Ho-woo rejecting him, he also hoped that Ho-woo had suffered a lot, and with this conflicting feeling, he slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
He walked slowly like a leisurely predator. The door that had been tightly closed for a week was wide open. What stopped Oh-yul as he was about to step out into the bright light was the words of the man standing behind him.
“You should know your situation well, so I won’t say much.”
It was truly a tiresome and worthless threat. Oh-yul thought it was fortunate that he was walking ahead so his expression couldn’t be seen. Otherwise, his highly mocking face would have been fully exposed.
***
“Ugh, how disgusting.”
Joo Si-yeo, who had entered the press conference hall, blurted out abuse without preamble. Her eyes had also returned from their usual yellow tint to a clean black color. Three beasts were chosen as performers for the stage meant to promote that the management complex was managing Espers well and to showcase Kim Seon-young.
Among the numerous beasts, they put forward the strongest and most beautiful ones, hoping to show off their achievements to people and solidify their support base even more. Although it was familiar to be used as a tool, it was inevitable to feel dirty, so there was no way for kind words to come out.
“Siyeon noona, shh, shh.”
Ha Eun-chan, who had also received full Guiding after a long time by mobilizing Guides, turned pale at her loud voice and put his finger to his lips, shushing her. However, Joo Si-yeo still fully displayed her displeasure despite his attempts to stop her.
As if representing her uncomfortable mood, sharp static electricity sparked around her. Seeing the reporters hastily moving their cameras at this sight, she snorted. Oh-yul, who approached Joo Si-yeo standing with her chin slightly raised arrogantly and Ha Eun-chan with a troubled expression, gave a short warning.
“Esper Joo Si-yeo. Refrain from rash actions.”
“The one with the most urgent problem is the most calm. Are you really going to imprint with that kid?”
Oh-yul responded to her sneering words with a look that said ‘Isn’t the answer obvious?’
“Even if I don’t answer, you already know the answer, don’t you?”
“This guy, still hasn’t broken the habit of speaking ambiguously.”
“It seems to be his nature. More importantly…”
Oh-yul quietly scanned the gazes directed at them. Perhaps because it was just before an important announcement from the management complex, the sight of S-class Espers gathered together was too eye-catching.
“More importantly what?”
When Oh-yul cut off his words, Joo Si-yeo tilted her head askew and urged him to continue. Despite her brusque words, Oh-yul didn’t lose his pace.
“Last time we parted right away, so I was going to suggest we catch up since it’s been a while.”
At the suggestion that seemed so out of character coming from Oh-yul’s mouth, both Joo Si-yeo and Ha Eun-chan twisted their faces strangely. Ha Eun-chan showed a dubious face, as if unsure if the person standing in front of him was really Oh-yul. Joo Si-yeo even went as far as to openly pinch Oh-yul’s cheek and stretch it.
“Who are you wearing Oh-yul’s skin?”
“I am the Oh-yul you know.”
