86.
What, what on earth is this…?
Won was so surprised that he could only move his lips without daring to speak out loud. Though his expression was hidden by his mask and invisible to Choi Jae-won, Choi seemed to guess Won’s feelings just by seeing his startled shoulders that had practically jumped in place.
“It’s nothing special.”
But it was far, far too special to be dismissed so lightly. Especially considering how many people had suffered from being unable to handle this C-class Esper.
Since starting work as a Guide, Won had been able to substitute financial payments for physical violence, but many others weren’t so fortunate.
Only when the C-class Esper was rolling on the ground, swallowing screams, did Choi Jae-won step back, dusting off his hands.
The watching eyes hiding in musty corners seemed equally surprised. They quickly disappeared, moving unusually fast to avoid meeting Choi Jae-won’s gaze.
“Espers loitering in places like this are predictable. They’re barely surviving on cheap substitutes. With that little energy, it’s not difficult to overpower them with higher quality energy.”
There was no luxury of time to wonder when this man had become capable of speaking at such length. Choi Jae-won walked right past the stunned Won and approached the C-class Esper who was crawling and scratching at the dirt floor like a salted loach in agony. Then he bent his knees, lowering his posture.
“Urghh, save me, please save me…”
The intimidating voice that always demanded money from Won as if he owed something was now solely focused on begging for his life.
“Hey. I want you to clearly communicate every word I say to this bastard’s ears without missing anything.”
Choi Jae-won said this while skillfully grabbing the menacing Esper’s hair with his hand, so thin the joints were visible. Though his sharp gaze was directed at the C-class Esper, the message’s recipient was Won. Still staring at dust particles in the air from the remaining shock, Won hurriedly approached the client and the C-class Esper.
Only after confirming that the interpreter was ready did Choi Jae-won begin pushing a small amount of guiding energy into the Esper through his grip.
It wasn’t energy worth sharing with such a lowly person, but that no longer mattered. He could use it freely as a means to find traces of the one person he had wanted to offer his guiding to.
Though it was in Choi Jae-won’s nature and habit to crawl and shrink before Ryu Ho-yeon as if born to be his servant, in reality, he was born to keep everyone else beneath his feet. Controlling people at will was simpler than breathing for Choi Jae-won, and with the keen perception of someone who had lived that way, he immediately realized that this pathetic Esper who only knew how to struggle under his grip was controlling this area.
The Esper’s eyes, which until moments ago had been trembling in fear and enduring pain as if seeing Satan risen from hell, now became intensely passionate, as if fallen in love. All from receiving a small amount of guiding. The Esper, in ecstasy, seemed ready to die if Choi Jae-won commanded it.
The corner of Choi Jae-won’s mouth rose crookedly with mockery.
“Remember this clearly. If you want to receive guiding from me again, you’ll need to listen carefully to everything I say from now on. No one would say anything to me even if I had someone like you dried up and killed right here.”
…Could this client simply be described as strange or unique?
Choi Jae-won’s voice, dripping with murderous intent, resembled the growling of a beast. Though the threat wasn’t directed at him, goosebumps still ran up Won’s arms.
“What are you doing? Translate immediately!”
“…Yes.”
Won immediately relayed Choi Jae-won’s words to the Esper who until moments ago had been virtually the ruler of this small town. He tried to soften the message with gentle, suggestive sentences to minimize potential conflict, but given the menacing voice and demeanor of the speaker, it had little effect.
* * *
“Th-these pe-people, th-they’re a-all of them…”
The Esper, with a clumsy speech pattern, bowed his head low before Choi Jae-won, shoulders trembling. The emotion in his tone and gaze wasn’t just fear. Rather, it contained wonder and awe, as if meeting the one true god descended into this corrupt world.
Indeed, for a lower-class Esper rejected and eliminated from society, a chance encounter with an S-class Guide would hold meaning not much different from meeting a deity.
Not only was he the precious son of an extremely wealthy family, but Choi Jae-won was also an S-class Guide. This was information Won had picked up from Choi Jae-won’s attendants during their journey.
“These are all the people on the list.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Standing one step behind Choi Jae-won, Won immediately translated the Esper’s words into Korean. In the shabby living space set up inside a container box of about three or four pyeong, only Choi Jae-won was seated at the table. He probably couldn’t imagine that this shabby space, which to him might look worse than a barn, was much cleaner and safer than Won’s own dwelling.
This was one of the sturdiest and safest places in this neighborhood where the C-class Esper had made his nest. Won had read out the list of various black market trading posts one by one to the Esper, and the Esper, still trembling, had his subordinates capture them all at once.
Thanks to this, the progress of their work was faster than either Choi Jae-won or Won had anticipated.
When Choi Jae-won gave a slight nod, the fence with waiting number 1 came forward to the table, his expression clearly tense. Having been thoroughly warned beforehand, he simply placed a small safe on the table without any additional comments. From the safe emerged a diamond necklace with dazzling brilliance even in the dark room.
Then, someone from Choi Jae-won’s group stepped forward. It was the gemologist who had accompanied them from Korea.
The gemologist, finding one examination insufficient, examined the diamond removed from the necklace from multiple angles for almost an hour. Everyone was sweating profusely. Though they didn’t know the exact circumstances, it was due to Choi Jae-won’s serious and stern demeanor.
‘…It’s beautiful.’
Won, fidgeting with his itchy fingers, thought to himself. He had always believed he had no material desires beyond entering Tumbes city, but today proved otherwise. For some reason, the sparkling gem on the gemologist’s fingers looked temptingly beautiful, though it wasn’t even his.
“Haah…”
Having finally reached a conclusion, the gemologist put down the gem and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His deep sigh seemed to convey his deliberation and patience.
Choi Jae-won, forgetting even how to breathe, waited only for the gemologist’s mouth to open. Won tactfully asked the Esper and other merchants to leave for a moment. Though he himself should have left as well, for some reason his feet remained firmly stuck to the floor.
Choi Jae-won and his group didn’t seem to care about how Won was conducting himself anyway.
“It matches… it matches, young master.”
“…!”
The gemologist’s voice trembled uncontrollably. Choi Jae-won’s gaze, which had only seemed to set a fierce atmosphere until now, shook violently in response.
“The diamond from the ring you gave to Esper Ryu Ho-yeon… There’s no doubt about it…”
“…Ugh.”
At the gemologist’s judgment, which came out like a sigh, Choi Jae-won couldn’t even think of grasping the diamond before him and buried his head down. His broad shoulders shrank miserably and began to heave up and down sorrowfully, like a lost child.
The fully grown man in his thirties, a head taller than Won, began to sob without caring about the gazes around him. Hyung, hyuung, Hoyeon hyung… His crying voice, pouring down like monsoon rain, was mixed with fragments of barely formed calls.
Still standing one step behind Choi Jae-won, Won unconsciously moved his hand towards the heaving back, intending to offer at least a comforting pat if not words of consolation.
SLAP!
“How dare you put your filthy hand there.”
But as if it weren’t the same person who had been sobbing so sadly, the moment he felt Won’s hand approaching, Choi Jae-won harshly slapped it away, muttering viciously. Wow, that stung his heart. It was surprising that despite living in rough streets with limited means and experiencing all sorts of treatment, there was still something that could sting him.
“What. Are you tempted by the jewel right in front of you? Shit, how dare you…”
Choi Jae-won behaved sensitively like a winter beast protecting its young. He thought Won’s hand was reaching for the jewel rather than his back.
“…I’m sorry.”
Without offering any explanation, Won simply bowed his head and stepped back two more paces. What had captivated his gaze wasn’t the brilliantly shining 3-carat diamond that sparkled even in the dark room, but the sorrowful back of the man shedding tears more precious than any diamond.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
