#87
They seemed to be talking, but the distance was too far to eavesdrop on their conversation. Moreover, Oh-yul had told Moon Jin-hyuk to watch, not to intervene. Moon Jin-hyuk, who had been pacing anxiously, diligently carried out his assigned task.
[A-rank mental Esper Bae Gi-hong has approached the target now.]
After sending a message to Oh-yul with only the necessary information, Moon Jin-hyuk cautiously followed them. Seeing Ho-woo following along willingly without any physical coercion, it seemed he had already fallen under the Esper’s ability.
While physical types had the advantage in force, mental types were feared because humans aren’t beings that can survive on strength alone.
Thoughts, feelings, memories, habits. There are countless things that make up a human.
Mental types manipulated these. To be frank, while they might not work well on monsters, they were lethal to fellow humans.
Once affected by their ability, the scars remain as lasting traces.
Is it really okay to just watch this?
Moon Jin-hyuk, while observing Ho-woo, identified the person driving the car and sent an additional message to Oh-yul.
[A-rank physical/enhancement type Gi Hyeon-deok has joined.]
There was no reply to the sent message. However, there was a trace indicating it had been read.
I guess he wants me to keep watching…?
Moon Jin-hyuk quickly moved, following the moving car, and continued to send the location to Oh-yul. When the car stopped in front of an old, rundown hotel building on the outskirts of the city, he even took a picture of the building’s exterior and sent it.
Although it would be challenging to face two A-rank Espers simultaneously, since one was a mental type, there was a chance he could escape with Ho-woo if he played it right. The situation would only worsen with time.
Torn between following orders and his growing anxiety, Moon Jin-hyuk, who had been fidgeting as if about to rush out at any moment, groaned at the first reply he received.
[Stand by.]
At the cruel order to absolutely not intervene and just observe, Moon Jin-hyuk carefully moved to a range where he could at least hear their conversation, thinking he should at least get that close.
Concealing his presence with the sound of the wind, Moon Jin-hyuk approached the hotel as close as possible and pricked up his ears.
“Stop wasting time and tell me what you want.”
“…Oh.”
“Then shall we have a little chat?”
Although not crystal clear, it was audible enough to understand the content.
“―!”
Moon Jin-hyuk flinched in surprise, his shoulders hunching. Ho-woo’s voice was quite distinct. It was a clear voice that didn’t seem like someone under the control of a mental Esper. Despite Ho-woo’s cold attitude, Bae Gi-hong calmly asked:
“Would you like something to drink? This place may look shabby, but it has everything.”
There was no particular response from Ho-woo, but it seemed he had refused with his expression, as a disappointed reply followed.
“That’s a shame. Well, since we’re both short on time, I’ll just get to the point.”
Clearing his throat with a few “ahem”s, Bae Gi-hong spoke in a somewhat lowered voice.
“I’m in quite a difficult situation too. I’ve become stuck between Kim Dong-cheol and our great S-rank Esper, you see.”
In short, you’re screwed, huh.
Moon Jin-hyuk nodded, summarizing the elegantly laid out words. It made sense.
Even though Moon Jin-hyuk was still young, what he saw was clear. Even someone as dense as him could see the cold, hostile gazes directed at Espers and Guides aligned with Kim Dong-cheol.
Of course, Moon Jin-hyuk couldn’t look at them favorably either.
What’s there to like about guys who ran away just to save their own skins?
“If we just follow along quietly, the outcome is obvious. Haven’t you ever experienced that, Ho-woo? When your company assigns you a task, and you feel like doing it exactly as told will lead to failure.”
A silence followed, as if carefully choosing words.
“Changing sides, well, if you don’t do what you’re told and just sit on your hands, it’s obvious you’ll be let go in two months. But you see, there’s a problem with just waiting.”
A very troublesome problem indeed.
The hint of laughter underlying Bae Gi-hong’s voice completely disappeared.
“…You’re saying I can help with something you couldn’t solve yourselves?”
As Ho-woo’s dubious voice flowed out, Moon Jin-hyuk spotted a shadow rapidly approaching as if flying from far beyond the sky.
Whoa.
Realizing what it was, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. A black meteor shower shooting towards its target instantly rained down from the distant sky onto the hotel. The sharp noise of breaking glass mixed with the dull sound of thick concrete walls shattering.
Amidst it all, Moon Jin-hyuk heard a soft, affectionate, yet chilling voice.
“Close your eyes.”
***
It was just a moment.
A black shadow, shooting in like a bullet while breaking through the window and wall, stood tall within the shadow, backlit. The shattered glass pieces flying about sparkled in the sunset light that rushed in.
Beautiful.
The fleeting thought that passed through was terribly out of place with the situation. The man in the shadow, smiling with curved eyes, whispered.
“Close your eyes.”
The infinitely affectionate and gentle coaxing voice was uttered again, as if to reassure the anxious Ho-woo.
“Quickly.”
At the urging voice, Ho-woo slowly closed his eyes as if entranced.
Crunch- Crunch-
The sound of footsteps treading on broken stones and glass shards mixed with urgent gasps swallowing dry breaths.
“We didn’t—”
Bae Gi-hong quickly denied. Even with his eyes closed and vision dark, Ho-woo could read the urgency in that voice. His heightened hearing was conveying to him the events unfolding in the room.
The sound of Gi Hyeon-deok uttering small curses and something ominously shattering were heard in succession. Ho-woo, who had his eyes closed for a moment, gently opened them and was shocked to see Oh-yul grabbing Bae Gi-hong by the neck with one hand and lifting him up.
“Y-Yul! You’ll kill him like that!”
Bae Gi-hong’s eyes were half-rolled back as he choked and gagged with his airway blocked. Seeing that he looked like he would stop breathing if his neck was squeezed just a little more, Ho-woo’s lips moved with a pale face.
“I told you to keep your eyes closed.”
The gaze looking at him while speaking gently flickered like warm spring sunlight. Ho-woo was momentarily at a loss for words at the bizarre sight of the man acting affectionately while strangling someone.
“Now, close your eyes again.”
At Oh-yul’s suggestion, delivered as if coaxing a child, Ho-woo finally snapped back to his senses.
This isn’t the time for this.
Gi Hyeon-deok was unconscious and shoved into a corner with his face bruised blue, and Ho-woo was the only one who could stop this situation. It had all happened in just a few minutes.
If left alone, Oh-yul seemed determined to kill Bae Gi-hong. The hand applying force as if about to snap his neck while smiling had blue veins and tendons protruding.
“You’ll kill him like that!”
“Yes.”
“I’m telling you he’s going to die!”
As the force applied increased rather than lessened, Bae Gi-hong’s raised feet twitched slightly. The Esper carelessly threw Bae Gi-hong, who had lost the strength to struggle and gone limp, to where Gi Hyeon-deok was, then strode towards his pair.
Oh-yul was excessively calm, to the point where it was hard to believe he had just been nonchalantly strangling someone.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…No.”
At Ho-woo’s words, Oh-yul tilted his head slightly. After staring at Ho-woo for a moment as if examining something, he finally showed a small smile when Ho-woo, who was looking at him blankly, slightly raised one eyebrow.
“You seem to be fine.”
“I told you so. More importantly…”
Ho-woo’s gaze turned to behind Oh-yul. The two Espers sprawled miserably on the floor seemed to be breathing, fortunately.
“Don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of it.”
Please don’t say you’ll take care of it kindly.
Ho-woo furrowed his brow deeply and stared at his lover, who had a gentle expression. It seemed like “taking care of it” might be literal. And not in a good way.
“Let’s take them to the hospital first.”
“Ah, we should, shouldn’t we?”
Oh-yul nodded slightly, agreeing surprisingly easily, then suddenly embraced Ho-woo.
“…What are you doing?”
“You said to take them to the hospital.”
“I meant them, not me…”
“Then who?”
At his question, Ho-woo’s gaze fell on the sprawled Espers. Oh-yul, who had turned his head following Ho-woo’s gaze, narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Surely you’re not asking me to take care of those shameless guys?”
But that’s exactly what I mean.
“Haha, Ho-woo.”
Oh-yul, who had been laughing lightly, gently kicked Bae Gi-hong’s body at his feet. He made a sound like a heavy leather bag filled with water being kicked and was slammed into the unbroken wall. Bae Gi-hong groaned, making pained noises even while unconscious.
“You’re joking, right?”
It wasn’t a joke, but the atmosphere demanded it be treated as one. He was smiling, but that smile was terribly chilling. Ho-woo, sensing that Oh-yul, who always maintained a gentle attitude towards him, was quite angry, hunched his shoulders.
“If they had killed you, I would have swept away this entire city.”
Like a dragon whose reverse scale had been touched, the man showed his anger without restraint. His blue eyes blazed like cold flames.
“Does it sound like a joke?”
At the question asked with brightly shining eyes, Ho-woo barely managed to shake his stiffly frozen head. Seeing Ho-woo extremely tense and watching his reaction, Oh-yul let out a small sigh. Oh-yul instantly put on a docile expression and gently soothed Ho-woo.
