#74
The first S-class Esper, still endlessly growing stronger, a being containing an unfathomable sea of energy.
For that reason alone, Espers who value power might have bowed their heads at his feet, but Yul was excessively competent.
Unlike the incompetent man who had sat in his position and sluggishly consumed the corporation’s progress, he efficiently reassigned Espers and guides as soon as he took control of the corporation.
Lower-ranked Espers, who had been unconditionally pushed into maintaining city security without considering their abilities, were now assigned to combat teams outside the city according to their skills.
Given the small number of guides, firearms training and physical training were added to their work curriculum to increase survival rates outside the city.
Thanks to this, Cha Geon-woo, who was allocated training time, was able to enter the city with Ha Eun-chan and attend this meeting.
Joo Si-yeo felt a vibration and looked at her wrist. The pager on her wrist was flashing green.
“I really have to go now.”
As she was about to leave the cafe after saying her final goodbyes, she casually addressed Oh-yul rather than Ho-woo.
“I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but even you can’t stop all the raindrops from falling.”
“Is that a warning?”
“It’s advice. If something is really precious, shouldn’t you keep it in a display case? No matter how much you try to cover it with an umbrella in the rain, it’ll still get wet.”
With an expression of extreme annoyance at the light changing from green to yellow, she trudged away.
Ho-woo, who had been watching her retreating figure that seemed to be walking slowly but was moving away quite quickly, turned his gaze to the opposite side at the sound of a chair being pulled.
“We’ll be going too. We wanted to have a meal together, but it doesn’t seem like the right atmosphere, so let’s eat next time.”
Ha Eun-chan stood up, dusting off his seat, and shot a sharp glance at Oh-yul. The youthful Esper, tightly gripping Cha Geon-woo’s clothes, used telekinesis to lift Cha Geon-woo, who was about to greet Ho-woo, and left the cafe.
A brief silence fell between the two people left behind in an instant.
Yul was the first to break that silence.
“Would you like to go to the sea?”
“The sea?”
It was a rather abrupt suggestion in the current situation. Seeing Ho-woo’s confused expression, Yul added:
“It’s a good place for people with worries to visit.”
“……”
Worries, huh…
Ho-woo stared at Yul for a moment. It was quite amusing that the cause of his worries was now proposing to help. He should have been angry at his lies, but he couldn’t even do that properly. Somehow, his chest felt tight.
Usually, he wasn’t this soft, but with this man, he became infinitely malleable.
“Let’s go.”
After contemplating for a while, Ho-woo accepted Oh-yul’s suggestion. He had wanted to visit the sea since childhood, but if possible, he had wanted to visit for a better reason. How beautiful would the sea have been if he had faced it hand in hand with him, filled with expectation?
With his current deeply sunken mood, he didn’t think he could fully appreciate that beauty.
“It’s not far, but it’s not a walking distance.”
Since there was no public transportation to the restricted sea, there was only one option. As Ho-woo expected, Oh-yul effortlessly picked him up.
This time, fortunately, there were no people around. The stares they received in front of the subway alone were enough for a lifetime. Thanks to that, they had made the news and he had become a guide.
Indeed, since getting involved with this man, he had experienced many things that might happen once in a lifetime.
Ho-woo tightly closed his eyes at the scenery passing by in an instant. It was so fast that he felt nauseous even though he was being held by the same person. When he buried his head in Yul’s chest with a thud, Yul’s speed slowed a bit.
“Should we stop for a moment?”
Yul’s voice tickled Ho-woo’s ear, cutting through the sound of the strong wind. Ho-woo shook his head. It was fine if he closed his eyes, as he could barely feel the shaking.
However, Yul slowed down a bit more. They arrived at a long-abandoned beach after about ten minutes, a journey that would have taken Oh-yul just a few minutes alone.
They faced a beach that had been neglected for a very long time. With garbage washed up from the sea piled up here and there, it couldn’t be described as having a good view even with the kindest words.
Yul let out a small sigh at the miserable sight. It was a sound mixed with trouble and a strange worry.
“It’s a bit different from what I thought.”
Ho-woo laughed deflated while looking around. Unlike the miserable beach, the incoming waves made a refreshing sound. Ho-woo agreed with Oh-yul’s words that the sea was a good place for people with worries to visit.
Although the beach was messy, the open horizon somewhat relieved his tight chest.
What was it that made me like the sea?
The reason didn’t come to mind easily.
Perhaps it was because of a video he saw during his school days. Schools used to show old documentaries about the sea made before monsters appeared.
The endless horizon and the creatures living in it, the breaking waves and the white foam.
And the waves shining in perfect blue.
All of it was so beautiful that he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
He thought it would be a dream-like beautiful sight, but the sea he faced directly wasn’t that beautiful.
The beach was in chaos with garbage, and the incoming waves were murky in color. The blowing wind, heavy with salt and moisture, made his body damp.
Monsters live in that murky water.
Then what lives in this man’s sea?
It felt like facing the duality hidden behind calm waves that for the first time didn’t bristle at him.
Ho-woo looked up at Yul. The perfect line of his jaw, high nose bridge, lips like red fruit, and deep blue eyes slightly sunken under long eyelashes made him look even more perfect.
Cold as ice when expressionless, and like gentle waves when smiling.
However, the outward beauty didn’t reveal its dangerousness.
Even if humans regret after realizing they’ve fallen into the sea, the sea doesn’t offer a way out. It just mercilessly devours the humans submerged in itself.
That’s how Ho-woo was.
Sinking into the deep trench, submerged in the sea called Oh-yul, his ears were muffled and he had no leisure to open his eyes and look around.
Ho-woo swallowed a sigh. There was too much he needed to know from now on. Ho-woo, organizing a few questions in his mind, asked as if flowing while looking at the sea.
“Do guides dislike reverse guiding a lot?”
At the question thrown, Yul answered diligently while still wary of monsters that might jump out of the sea.
“It’s not just dislike.”
His words paused briefly before continuing.
“They despise it.”
Beyond dislike, to the point of contempt.
Ho-woo thought it wouldn’t have been easy to say even if their situations were reversed.
Walking slowly along the beach mixed with pebbles and sand, Ho-woo tried his best to understand Yul.
Telling himself it could happen because the world Yul had lived in and the world he had lived in were different.
“Then is it common for ordinary people to become guides?”
“As far as I know, it’s the first time it’s happened. That’s why I had to hide it as much as possible. There’s a reason for this too, besides not being able to tell because of my reverse guiding. Because Ho-woo was special, I couldn’t tell either Ho-woo or anyone else. I think it’s accurate to say I was desperate to hide it.”
“Why?”
“Does Ho-woo think that all the research and experiments the Management Corporation has done on Espers and guides so far have been conducted with respect for human rights?”
He had asked why, but instead of an answer, another question came back. However, that question already contained the answer to Ho-woo’s question.
Astonishment gradually overlaid Ho-woo’s face.
“Don’t tell me Yul also…”
Instead of a precise answer, the ambiguous smile that returned contained an affirmative “Yes.” He didn’t say what kind of experiments, but the negative feeling already emanating from the word “experiment” itself couldn’t be erased.
Curses naturally came out. These crazy bastards.
His eyes closed tightly. His contorted face was filled with compassion and sadness for the other person.
“Don’t.”
The man who cupped his lover’s face spoke in a firm voice.
“Don’t make that expression.”
That voice was resolute yet terribly affectionate.
Contrary to the ability he used, his excessively hot hand gently rubbed Ho-woo’s furrowed brow.
“You like the sea, don’t you? Just think about what you like now.”
“……”
Had he told Oh-yul that he liked the sea?
It didn’t particularly come to mind, but he thought he might have. Oh-yul slowly led Ho-woo to the front of the waves.
Waves made of muddy water endlessly left behind white foam, scraping away the sand on the beach.
The impression of the first encounter with the sea was surprisingly not joyful.
The salty feeling clinging uncomfortably to his whole body maintained its dampness for a long time, as if representing Ho-woo’s current mood.
***
After shaking off the damp saltiness brought from the sea with a shower, Ho-woo picked up the phone he had left on the dining table.
The phone, with few registered contacts and conversation partners, had only occasional game notifications and no particular messages.
Even though he wanted to tell someone about the current situation and get advice, the options were limited, so Ho-woo pondered for a moment.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
