99.
‘I have a friend who’s one of the top plastic surgeons in skin regeneration—should I bring him over? He’s very discreet, so you don’t need to worry about information leaking.’
The doctor, who had been promised the position of the next hospital director in exchange for staying on the island for several years to exclusively care for Ryu Ho-yeon, was far more dedicated than Choi Jae-won had expected. This was evident from how he immediately made such a suggestion after carefully examining the scars all over Ryu Ho-yeon’s body.
The doctor repeatedly urged Choi Jae-won, who was listening without much reaction. He explained that although Ryu Ho-yeon had lost his memories, with such extreme physical changes, depression due to psychological stress often follows.
‘Or perhaps we should look into a psychotherapist as well? It would certainly help him recover his memories sooner. Anyone who knows the patient is Ryu Ho-yeon would be desperate to help.’
After listening to the doctor’s enthusiastic and rambling opinion, Choi Jae-won eventually spoke in a calm voice.
‘Doctor.’
‘Yes, young master.’
As if trying to demonstrate his loyalty that needed no proof, the doctor bowed politely despite being nearly fifteen years older than Choi Jae-won.
Choi Jae-won found the doctor’s attitude somewhat amusing. He and the doctor had merely exchanged Ryu Ho-yeon’s healthcare for the position of the next hospital director, yet the reaction was excessive.
All he needed was accurate and proper diagnosis and prescription skills, without any unnecessary treatments.
‘Actually, I respect you quite a bit, Doctor. I think it’s impressive how you’ve climbed this far on skill alone, without anyone to pull you up.’
‘Y-you’re too kind…!’
‘So only climb as high as I allow you to, until I give you my approval.’
‘Pardon? What do you mean…?’
‘I’m saying you should only focus on his physical health. Don’t pry into other areas unnecessarily. Do you understand?’
‘…’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Yes… I apologize.’
In a time now so distant that even the memories are hazy, Choi Jae-won’s love had a somewhat more conventional light than now. When Ryu Ho-yeon was gloomy, he would become gloomy too, and if Ryu Ho-yeon became uncharacteristically sad, Choi Jae-won would be desperate to cheer him up.
But now?
“…Why are you staring at me like that?”
The shoulders that had shrunk unattractively from intimidation and the hands that kept pulling the brim of his hat down to cover himself more looked quite pitiful. But, on the other hand, it was still pleasing.
“Just because. I’m happy.”
So Choi Jae-won answered honestly.
“What makes you so happy?”
Without even the minimum social skills needed for survival. I’m just overjoyed to see you, who was once so strong and resilient, now hiding behind my shadow in such a pitiful and unsightly state.
Ryu Ho-yeon’s unhappiness and depression had now become the catalyst that plunged Choi Jae-won into an abyss of happiness.
Just as Choi Jae-won had no one but Ryu Ho-yeon, now Ryu Ho-yeon had no one but Choi Jae-won. After such a long wait, he had finally reached what he had desperately wished for.
“You’re not really asking because you don’t know, right? What else could make me happy?”
“…”
Ryu Ho-yeon still seemed unaccustomed to such boldness and bowed his head deeply. His ears, visible at the sides of his black baseball cap, were bright red. Choi Jae-won walked slowly, allowing Ryu Ho-yeon, who couldn’t properly see, to follow without difficulty.
“Guide! Thank you for coming!! This way, please!”
“Ah, yes.”
The government official from the Sejong branch, who had come early to the parking lot to meet them, was anxiously pacing, but Choi Jae-won’s movements remained deliberately slow as if teasing someone.
“Please wait here. Can you start guiding right away? They’ve secured a fleeing Esper and are escorting him here now. They should arrive within 20 minutes!”
But isn’t it the way of life that the one who needs something more always gives in first? Choi Jae-won, who always gave in to Ryu Ho-yeon, was quite good at making others yearn in other situations. Choi Jae-won briefly glanced back to confirm that Ryu Ho-yeon was still following him well, then responded again in a soulless voice, “Ah, yes.”
“The Esper has arrived.”
“How is his current condition? First, tell me the guiding percentages.”
“Currently fluctuating between 20 and 40 percent. He can’t control his abilities at all due to awakening shock, so contact guiding is impossible. We’ve been administering anesthetics continuously, but they’re having no effect!”
The adult male who seemed to be an electricity-type ability user was literally foaming at the mouth, rolling his eyes, screaming, and trembling all over while discharging electrical sparks throughout his body. He couldn’t even be moved to a patient transport bed and had arrived right in front of Choi Jae-won still inside the special Esper transport vehicle.
The other staff members in the vehicle showed many blackened burn marks on their bodies, suggesting they had quite a struggle during the escort. Needless to say, all the government officials from the Sejong branch looked frantic.
To Ryu Ho-yeon, Guide Choi Jae-won had always been a pair who worked hard but was somewhat lacking, deserving more credit for enthusiasm and spirit than ability… Why? What had turned him into such a skilled and overwhelming Guide?
He could only wonder, unable to imagine that it was due to the guiding substitute he had personally injected and the resulting guiding surge.
“Currently, two A-class backup Guides and five B-class are on standby. We’ve requested support from other nearby branches as well, so they should all arrive within an hour!”
“Please help us at least get close to him, Guide Choi Jae-won!!”
“That won’t be necessary. No need for backup. This will be over quickly.”
“What? But… even Guide Lee Han-seo requested backup when calming an A-class without contact…”
Was it because of the huge difference in experience despite both being S-class Guides, or because there was some inferiority in guiding purity? People vaguely thought of Choi Jae-won as a Guide who didn’t quite measure up to Lee Han-seo. Strictly speaking, this wasn’t wrong.
“That damn Lee Han-seo this, Lee Han-seo that. It’s so tiresome.”
However, since each person’s guiding characteristics were different, in certain situations, Choi Jae-won could perform much better than Lee Han-seo. Fortunately, in situations like today where contact guiding was completely impossible, Choi Jae-won was twice as capable as Lee Han-seo.
This was because Choi Jae-won had no Esper to imprint on, neither now nor ever in the future.
“Secure the exits so he doesn’t escape again. It would be tiresome. I’ll begin guiding now.”
“Um, are you really sure you don’t need backup Gui—”
Before the sentence could be completed with “—des?”.
Choi Jae-won, thinking only of resolving the situation as quickly as possible and returning with Ryu Ho-yeon, strode forward and abruptly grabbed the Esper’s nape firmly.
Sssss. The eerie sound of skin burning caused an immediate silence in the room. Everyone who had been busy suddenly lost their words.
Choi Jae-won, as if already hardened to enduring pain, didn’t even frown as he roughly forced the guiding. From the outside, it looked less like guiding and more like someone choking a person they had a grudge against.
It felt quite different from when he had guided Ryu Ho-yeon in the past. The Esper, who had been raging and screaming like a madman, suddenly became docile like a transformed robot with its batteries removed.
“Monitoring guiding percentages. Currently 45, 48, 55…”
Choi Jae-won continued speaking matter-of-factly, completely ignoring the shocked atmosphere around him. His nerve endings had long been damaged from various incidents, so he couldn’t even properly feel the sensation of pain.
Ryu Ho-yeon just stared blankly at his young and impatient lover who had become excessively competent and skilled.
It was then.
“Guide Choi Jae-won!”
Someone cheerfully called out from behind, pushing through the crowd. The uninvited guest’s destination seemed to be Choi Jae-won, who was still gripping the awakened Esper’s nape.
“Oh, what’s this? Why are there so many people? Move aside, everyone! Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve seen the Guide? Come on, move!”
Judging by the color of the identification tag hanging around their neck, this person was definitely an Esper. However, given that they weren’t pushing through the crowd with much strength, they probably weren’t a physical enhancement or nature-type. Perhaps a special type? Ryu Ho-yeon analyzed habitually without even realizing it.
‘But who is this? Who would call someone else’s boyfriend so desperately…’
“Ugh!”
“I said move out of the way!”
There wasn’t even time to finish the thought. Ryu Ho-yeon was pushed forward by a shoulder that felt almost like a body tackle and fell flat on his face.
“Guide Choi Jae-won! It’s been so long. Why haven’t you been in touch? Do you know how long it’s been since we last met? Didn’t you miss me? I really missed you.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
