107.
It seemed like a bolt from the blue, impossibly sudden.
The peaceful little island, occupied only by Choi Jae-won, Ryu Ho-yeon, and attendants hidden in unseen places, was completely turned upside down by the arrival of just one person: Lee Han-seo.
Jumping off the boat onto the island, Lee Han-seo moved straight ahead without a moment’s hesitation, showing off his loud voice. He seemed to have been shouting for quite some time from the sea, yet showed no signs of his voice wearing out. He must have been born with strong vocal cords.
“Choi Jae-won, come out!”
“Y-young master…! Young master Han-seo, just a moment, just a moment, please calm down…!!”
The security personnel who remained on the island and other attendants were thrown into confusion by Lee Han-seo’s bulldozer-like entrance. Since Lee Han-seo was as much a precious VIP to them as Choi Jae-won, they couldn’t properly restrain him.
“Don’t touch Han-seo.”
To make matters worse, if anyone accidentally touched Lee Han-seo, it would be an even bigger problem. Despite his soft, squishy appearance that looked like he might burst if poked, it was unclear where his strength came from—anyone who touched him would be blown away by the wind Park Woo-jun created. They were like autumn leaves in the wind.
Wherever Lee Han-seo pushed through, people scattered like falling leaves out of season.
“This is strange. Why do they keep telling me to calm down? Woo-jun, do I look angry?”
“No, not at all!”
“Hmm. Right? Anyway, this is suspicious. What on earth is Choi Jae-won doing to act like this?”
He had heard many stories about the island that Ryu Ho-yeon and Lexy had left behind with Choi Jae-won, but this was his first time seeing it in person. Still, Lee Han-seo’s steps didn’t show the slightest hesitation. Among the abandoned buildings that stood like ghosts, there was only one well-maintained building that was obvious at a glance.
Lee Han-seo moved forward briskly with his dutiful boyfriend following behind. This was just when he thought he should actually see Choi Jae-won, who was supposedly living quietly on this isolated island that he usually wouldn’t go near. He had only been curious about what his cousin was up to, without being particularly worried, but now that he was actually here, he was starting to feel concerned.
That was because the island was being operated much more “seriously” than Lee Han-seo had initially expected.
He had encountered nearly twenty security guards from the sea. He couldn’t visually confirm all the personnel in the cabin, but Park Woo-jun had sensed their presence, so it was probably accurate.
If that had been all, it might have been fine, but after docking on the island, things were even more absurd. Not only were there security personnel who emerged as if they’d been waiting, but counting from kitchen staff to those holding gardening shears and others handling different tasks, there were quite a few people. The Choi Jae-won that Lee Han-seo knew was not someone who enjoyed having others’ assistance in his quiet, solitary life.
He just ate enough not to die and moved enough not to die. He didn’t even move enthusiastically unless there was information about Ryu Ho-yeon.
What wind had suddenly changed him?
Lee Han-seo, who had never imagined that “the” Ryu Ho-yeon might be alive and that all these people might be busily moving around for Ryu Ho-yeon’s comfortable life, was merely worried that his cousin’s mind had finally gone from stagnant to insane. His determination to see Choi Jae-won’s current situation clearly with his own eyes only grew stronger.
If—though he hated to imagine it—if Choi Jae-won had truly gone mad, he was prepared to drag him by the collar to a doctor. As Choi Jae-won’s cousin and Ryu Ho-yeon’s closest friend, he felt he should do at least that much.
With that resolve, he walked boldly forward (Park Woo-jun easily broke down the locked door), but something seemed off.
“Stop right there. What are you doing, Choi Jae-won?”
This couldn’t be happening. It seemed Choi Jae-won really had gone mad. Lee Han-seo frowned involuntarily. He couldn’t understand the situation before his eyes.
Unbelievably, Choi Jae-won had dug up part of the perfectly normal living room floor and was mercilessly pushing someone’s back into the hole.
Even if he were burying someone alive, couldn’t he do it outside? In the middle of this comfortable living space with its pleasant interior?
Choi Jae-won flinched at Lee Han-seo’s sharp voice and stopped moving instantly, like a kite with its string cut. A suffocating time passed—tick, tick, tick—about ten seconds.
“…It’s been a while.”
Creak, creak. Turning around awkwardly like a rusty piece of metal in need of oiling, Choi Jae-won reluctantly greeted him. Seeing his forehead wet with cold sweat, it must have been quite an urgent situation for him. But regardless, Lee Han-seo couldn’t care less about that right now.
Flames rose in Lee Han-seo’s eyes. He thought his cousin, who had finally started to go mad, had committed an unforgivable act by harming a civilian.
“Been a while? It’s been a whiiile? Is this the time to make such casual remarks?”
“Um, hyung. I know this is a situation where you could easily misunderstand…”
“Cut the crap and come out. What, you won’t? And who is that person? Let them go right now!”
His angry footsteps hastily stepped into the room. Lee Han-seo easily subdued Choi Jae-won, who was trying to block his way.
“Park Woo-jun. Hold this guy up.”
“Yes, honey! Leave it to me!”
His one and only boyfriend’s ability was as useful as it was lovely.
No matter how talented Choi Jae-won was, he was just a Guide. What could he do against an S-class Esper’s abilities? Even the internal guiding expulsion that Choi Jae-won often used effectively against Espers didn’t work on Park Woo-jun.
For guiding expulsion to be effective, the guiding accumulated in the opponent Esper’s body had to be significantly lower in purity than one’s own energy, and in terms of purity, both Lee Han-seo and Choi Jae-won were S-class, so there wasn’t much difference.
“Hyung! Lee Han-seo!”
“Tsk, this bastard, how dare he say his heavenly brother’s name so clearly…”
Looking disapprovingly at Choi Jae-won, who was shouting while suspended in the air, Lee Han-seo hurriedly approached the half-dug pit in the middle of the living room. The somewhat fortunate thing—though it was truly lamentable to call this fortunate—was that the pit, which seemed to be under construction as a basement, was not just bare earth like a grave.
They’re not dead, right? Are they conscious? I’ll save them immediately and apologize sincerely, and ask them to keep this secret from the media…
Thinking like this as an attempt to act like an older brother, Lee Han-seo spoke in a rather kind voice to the bewildered victim (presumably).
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…”
There was no answer from the person who kept their head down, not showing their face. Lee Han-seo summoned all his patience—what little he had—and spoke kindly once more.
“My goodness. You must have been very shocked. I’m sorry. Well, he’s not actually a bad person…”
“Han-seo is mean… Why are you speaking so nicely to someone you’ve just met?”
“Woo-jun, mouth.”
“Tsk…”
This is what happens when you baby someone and tell them they’re cute all the time—they become more childish with age. Really, who does he think will look after him when he pouts like that? You’re dead, Park Woo-jun.
Lee Han-seo smiled brightly while grinding his teeth inside. The expression wasn’t unbecoming due to his cute appearance, but since it was an expression he rarely made, all the muscles in his cheeks and jaw were tense.
“Um, first, could you raise your head? We need to talk. Is there some problem with communication…?”
“…”
“Excuse me…?”
“…No. It’s not that.”
The person’s tiny response came just as Lee Han-seo was about to pass out from frustration. But something was strange. The hoarse voice, as if they had a severe cold, that rough voice that seemed so unfamiliar… strangely clung to his eardrums. And in a very familiar tone.
“I have severe disfigurements on my face and body. It might be difficult for you to look at…”
“Ah. That’s fine, so don’t worry about it.”
So that was why they were particularly reluctant to raise their head. For Lee Han-seo, who had seen a wide variety of injuries in various combat situations as a member of the U-class team, this was nothing. For some reason, his heart felt a bit lighter.
Until then, Lee Han-seo still had no expectations or predictions about the future that would unfold before his eyes.
“…”
The man, who appeared smaller in build than Lee Han-seo, swallowed once and slowly raised his head. His appearance, densely covered with burns and all sorts of other injuries without any intact skin, was among the most severe Lee Han-seo had seen. With a crooked, bumpy nose bridge and mismatched eyes, it was almost impossible to recognize his original appearance.
But.
“Mr. Choi Jae-won did nothing wrong. He wasn’t trying to harm me…”
Those faintly trembling light-colored pupils, those pupils that rippled blue in the light.
“…”
“…”
They were very familiar.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
