“……Just a Guide.”
He hesitated briefly before answering, but there was only one thing he could say.
“A Guide that Cha Jae-woo needs.”
Lim Haeyul emphasized again, looking Cha Jae-woo straight in the eye.
In truth, Cha Jae-woo had always been a frightening figure to him. It had been that way from the start, but now the fear had shifted into something different. Now, he was afraid of being discarded by Cha Jae-woo.
That’s why he wanted to become someone Cha Jae-woo needed. That’s why he agreed with everything Cha Jae-woo said, why he never questioned him when he withheld words. He didn’t want to give him any reason to hate him.
“So I can’t just pretend I don’t know.”
That feeling hadn’t changed even now. However, the creeping fear that Kim Sol might end up being the scapegoat this time made him unable to turn a blind eye. Even if his attitude ended up upsetting Cha Jae-woo, he couldn’t help it.
“You’re not going to tell me, right? Then I’ll find out myself.”
His voice no longer trembled as his priorities shifted. He spoke as if delivering a notification and brushed past him.
Rather than waiting to receive a phone from Cha Jae-woo, it would be better to go buy one himself. No, borrowing Kim Geon-ung’s phone, which already had Kim Sol’s number registered, would be even better. Kim Sol might have already contacted Kim Geon-ung.
His mind raced in that fleeting moment.
“Ah.”
But Cha Jae-woo didn’t simply let him walk away. He grabbed Haeyul’s wrist roughly, his face twisted into a scowl.
“I told you not to act like this.”
His low voice carried irritation and anger, but Haeyul didn’t waver much. He had already anticipated this kind of reaction.
“……That’s just thinking from your side, Cha Jae-woo.”
The words slipped calmly from his lips.
“You’re not considering how I feel, or how anyone else might feel. You just want to move things according to your will… that’s selfishness.”
Of course, maybe he himself was being selfish for stubbornly insisting on his own point. But Cha Jae-woo’s actions involved matters of life and death. At the very least, Haeyul didn’t want to contribute even a little to something that could end with someone dying.
“If you won’t tell me, I won’t guide you.”
“……So you’re threatening me now.”
Cha Jae-woo muttered with a crooked tone. Haeyul looked at the twisted smirk on his lips and nodded.
“This is the only card I have.”
The only thing Cha Jae-woo wanted from him. Whether Haeyul’s feelings were there or not didn’t matter to him.
“You really have no intention of explaining it to me yourself?”
Haeyul straightened his back and squared his shoulders, trying to make himself look as confident as possible, as if his one card was something truly powerful.
If you thought about it, there was no reason for Cha Jae-woo to be tied to him. He could just find another Guide. Now that Jang Gijun’s schemes had been exposed, finding another high-compatibility Guide wouldn’t be too hard.
But there had to be a reason Cha Jae-woo kept him around. It certainly wasn’t because he liked him. Haeyul could now tell that what Cha Jae-woo felt for him stemmed from necessity.
“……It must’ve been Jo Gyeong-hoon who blackmailed you.”
Whether the threat had truly worked, whether Cha Jae-woo was being lenient, or whether he simply decided it didn’t matter if Haeyul found out—whatever the reason, Cha Jae-woo finally opened his mouth.
The reason didn’t matter to Haeyul. He nodded, waiting for him to continue.
“Because you’re close to Kim Sol. Jo Gyeong-hoon was hoping you’d react like this.”
There was no need to ask why Jo Gyeong-hoon did that. Since Cha Jae-woo had him in his sights, it was obvious Jo Gyeong-hoon was seeking a way to protect himself.
But still, did Haeyul seem like someone worth stopping Cha Jae-woo over? Absolutely not.
“……What happens if I don’t listen to Sol hyung?”
It was a foolish thought. In reality, Haeyul was the one who should trust Jo Gyeong-hoon’s judgment.
Because he needed to be someone worth that much—.
“Is it dangerous?”
Lim Haeyul believed Cha Jae-woo would listen to him.
Even if it really was a threat, just like Cha Jae-woo said, it didn’t matter.
“It’s not, right?”
He didn’t wait for Cha Jae-woo’s answer. Whether he agreed or not, there was only one thing Haeyul wanted.
“That’s not how it should be.”
The image of the Esper who had died because he chose to look away circled in his mind.
He knew that Cha Jae-woo was targeting Jang Gijun and Jo Gyeong-hoon. He also knew that he had suffered greatly because of the rotten schemes of the Association.
But even so, to correct all of that, innocent people shouldn’t have to be sacrificed. Even if Jo Gyeong-hoon would throw others under the bus to protect himself, Cha Jae-woo shouldn’t do the same.
“……I don’t know what Cha Jae-woo’s plans are. But even so, I believe that Sol hyung—or anyone, for that matter—shouldn’t be put in danger.”
“…….”
“You think so too… don’t you, Cha Jae-woo?”
Cha Jae-woo didn’t respond. Haeyul, who had been desperately trying to fill the silence, finally clamped his mouth shut. That silence spoke louder than words, telling him that Cha Jae-woo’s thoughts were very different from his own.
“……You should stay home for a while.”
The words that finally came out were neither an answer to his question nor an explanation of his plans.
Haeyul immediately shook his head.
“No, I don’t want to. Tell me clearly.”
“Lim Haeyul.”
He struggled to keep his gaze from dropping and shook his head once more.
This time, he had to know exactly what Cha Jae-woo was thinking. This wasn’t something he could just pretend not to know and move past.
“What exactly are you planning to do, Cha Jae-woo? What kind of danger is Sol hyung—and others—facing? I want to know. No, I have to know.”
He wanted to speak firmly and clearly, but standing in front of Cha Jae-woo’s cold stare made it difficult.
Barely managing to finish his sentence, he bit down on his lip hard. A sharp breath escaped Cha Jae-woo just as Haeyul’s words ended, and almost immediately, a drop of blood welled up on his lips.
“Cha Jae-woo.”
“So you insist you have to hear what I’m planning?”
“Yes….”
At least his persistence paid off. Cha Jae-woo let out a heavy sigh and nodded.
“I’m going to drag Jo Gyeong-hoon down to the gutter and kill him.”
The words that followed were chilling. Haeyul instinctively tensed but forced his body to remain upright.
“I’m going to strip him of everything he has, make him a pariah, and then kill him in the most miserable way.”
“…….”
“Now, do you understand?”
He wanted to ask if by ‘kill’ he meant literal murder, but for now, he held his tongue. He wanted to believe it wasn’t that. Besides, there was something even more important right now.
“That… is that why he’s using Sol hyung as a hostage to threaten me? Because he thinks I might be able to stop you?”
“That’s probably it.”
“……But that’s not right. Even if I tell you to stop, you’re not going to stop….”
The shock leaked from his voice—he hadn’t realized Cha Jae-woo’s intentions were this extreme—but part of him had suspected. And no matter what anyone said, Cha Jae-woo would still do as he pleased.
To Jo Gyeong-hoon, Cha Jae-woo would be a terrifying threat. That’s why Jo Gyeong-hoon had schemed the way he did. But Haeyul still couldn’t understand it. How could he possibly have the power to influence Cha Jae-woo?
“Th-then what happens?”
“What do you mean?”
“About Sol hyung. You said I shouldn’t cooperate with you… but whether I do or not, you’re not going to stop, right? Then… doesn’t that mean Sol hyung will be in danger?”
Cha Jae-woo stared at him, frowning slightly. His attitude was completely detached compared to Haeyul’s frantic demeanor.
“What should I do then? J-Jo Gyeong-hoon seems to think I can somehow control you, even though that’s impossible. So maybe… maybe I should pretend to cooperate? And then….”
“And then?”
“And then… save Sol hyung….”
“Who’s going to do that?”
Cha Jae-woo asked him indifferently as he stumbled through his words. Haeyul could only fall silent.
There was a cold void growing inside him from Cha Jae-woo’s casual tone, as if he truly didn’t care what happened to Kim Sol.
“Me?”
Cha Jae-woo’s expression seemed to ask, why would I?
“Th-then….”
Haeyul stammered, trying to force the words out, but he didn’t know what to say.
Cha Jae-woo has to go? Just because this all started because of him? But it wasn’t Cha Jae-woo who started it—it was Jo Gyeong-hoon. That wasn’t a reason to shift the blame onto him.
Yet Jo Gyeong-hoon’s intention was crystal clear: self-preservation. So maybe, just maybe… couldn’t Cha Jae-woo at least pretend to help?
“It’s not like I’m asking you to… actually go and rescue him or anything, just, uh, if you could just make Jo Gyeong-hoon let his guard down for a bit… so that Sol hyung doesn’t end up in danger… if you could just do that much….”
Was he asking for too much? He didn’t know. He and Cha Jae-woo were different. Cha Jae-woo probably thought he was useless, naïvely pitying others without understanding his place. But to Haeyul, it was Cha Jae-woo who was impossible to understand. Was he really that indifferent?
“……Please help.”
Cha Jae-woo was planning to kill someone. He had the power to do it. And he didn’t seem to care at all if others died in the process.
“Please…….”
Lim Haeyul clenched his fists tightly and spoke to him. He didn’t expect Cha Jae-woo to be a good person. But he hoped he wouldn’t be an irredeemably bad one, either.
It was selfish of him—wishing that the man he loved wouldn’t turn out to be that kind of person.
