* * *
Yoon retraced his memory and moved to the base near the scene. As he appeared with a blood-soaked injured person, the waiting medical staff rushed over.
Yoon frowned as his vision blurred. It was the backlash from using his abilities for teleportation while in a state of mental collapse.
Despite the obscured vision, he brushed off his combat suit and asked the man approaching him.
“Phew, where’s Jaehee?”
Deputy- team leader Shin Jowon carefully examined Yoon. If there were signs of rampage, he needed to be moved to isolation.
However, Yoon was in a state where he could control the wavelengths, and he didn’t appear violent.
After making his judgment, Shin Jowon pointed to the guidance room where Lee Jaehee was.
“Jaehee is in Guidance Room 3.”
Yoon squinted and slowly walked in the direction Shin Jowon pointed.
He drooped his eyebrows and deliberately panted as he knocked on the door, prompting Hyunsoo, who was sitting inside, to jump up and run over.
“Jaehee. My head really hurts.”
“Let me see.”
“I can’t see well.”
“Lean on me? You’ll feel better soon. Don’t just stand there; come sit here.”
Hyunsoo took Yoon’s hand and led him to a bed in the waiting room. Yoon, who was obediently following, subtly squeezed Hyunsoo’s hand tightly.
Hyunsoo not only held his hand in return but even interlocked their fingers. In that moment, the countless vows he had repeated to himself came to mind.
It felt overwhelming, as if the promise to protect him was still valid.
Sitting on the bed, Yoon raised his hand to gently stroke Hyunsoo’s cheek. As his breathing grew rougher, Hyunsoo swallowed hard and whispered to Yoon.
“You can transfer the wavelengths to me. I can handle this much. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Though he answered firmly, he had never considered forcibly transferring the wavelengths. Unable to overcome his dizziness, Yoon closed his eyes.
Soon, soft lips met his, and the wavelengths were swiftly absorbed. It felt like his very soul was being drawn out. Yoon groaned lowly and hugged Hyunsoo’s waist.
“Jaehee, I saved someone who was injured earlier.”
“You did well.”
“I’m a good person, right?”
“Yeah.”
While Hyunsoo praised him by stroking his head, Yoon took off his combat suit, crusted with monster blood. He dropped the top to the floor, leaned over Hyunsoo, and lay him down on the bed.
“I did a good deed, so I deserve a reward.”
“What kind of reward?”
Just as Hyunsoo averted his eyes and gave an awkward smile, an alarm sounded from the device in his guide uniform. The sound snapped Hyunsoo to attention, and he got off the bed.
“I feel a bit better now, so rest here. It looks like Support Hyung is here. I have to go.”
“Chit.”
Yoon wanted to take Hyunsoo away to an isolated place where only he could see him, but he was afraid of the reprimand he would receive for doing so.
‘It’s absurd to kidnap someone when you should be trying to win their affection.’
Yoon had no choice but to let Hyunsoo go. Just before leaving the waiting room, he lightly grabbed Hyunsoo’s hand as he brushed his cheek to check the wavelengths.
As time passed, the monster attacks gradually subsided. Over the course of a month, many warriors were lost, and the media honored their noble sacrifices.
Attack teams organized for the purpose of annihilating the monsters struggled with heavy responsibility and doubt. D Team was no different. However, they had another problem.
Hyunsoo grabbed Minchan as he passed by.
“Wait a minute.”
“What?”
“Let’s talk.”
“…Alright.”
Hyunsoo entered Minchan’s room first, sensing his presence following behind.
“What do you need to talk about that you came all the way to my room?”
Minchan looked down at Hyunsoo with a slight smile. His gaze was filled with affection. However, Hyunsoo frowned, clearly displeased.
“Why haven’t you been receiving guidance from me lately?”
“…”
“It’s been over a month, hasn’t it? Since you’ve been getting guidance from the sub-team guides.”
It was as Hyunsoo said. Since the increase in monster appearances, Minchan hadn’t received guidance from Hyunsoo even once.
Usually, he wouldn’t seek out the sub-part guides, but he had been getting guidance from them and then heading back to the field.
Every time he met Hyunsoo, he smiled warmly, greeted him, and asked how he was doing, but that was it. It was as if he had drawn a line and acted within it.
“Is something wrong?”
Hyunsoo looked up at Minchan and cautiously asked. But Minchan shook his head with a smile.
“No.”
“Then why…”
Minchan, avoiding Hyunsoo’s direct gaze, muttered.
“There’s no rule that says I have to get guidance from you.”
“What?”
“I’m really fine, so don’t worry about me. Take care of the others.”
Minchan patted Hyunsoo’s head once and turned to leave the room. At that moment, Hyunsoo grabbed his hand.
“Wait. What do you mean by that?”
Despite Hyunsoo’s startled face, Minchan smiled warmly and repeated in a low voice.
“I mean it as I said. You don’t need to give me guidance anymore.”
“So suddenly, why…”
As Minchan looked at Hyunsoo’s face, full of confusion, he turned his gaze and mumbled.
“Just because.”
“What do you mean, just because? Why are you doing this?”
When Hyunsoo pressed on with wide eyes, Minchan hesitated before answering.
“…You came to D Team because we begged you. Since you joined, you haven’t had a moment’s rest and have been constantly working. So I thought I should step back to make it easier for you. I don’t want to make things harder for you.”
D Team, wanting to be with Lee Jaehee after learning that Park Hyunsoo had entered Jaehee’s body, used their uncle’s power to get Jaehee to join D Team.
As a result, they could be together, but a problem arose.
They didn’t anticipate that the number of monster appearances would drastically increase, leading to frequent human attacks, resulting in Jaehee being overworked.
Minchan thought stepping back would lessen Jaehee’s burden.
“Really, I’m fine, so don’t worry.”
“…”
“You must be tired. Go and rest.”
As Minchan gently brushed his thumb over Hyunsoo’s eye corner with lingering affection, Hyunsoo spoke up.
“Joining D Team was my choice. So I should bear the consequences. Why are you bearing it instead?”
“Jaehee…”
“I’m not done talking.”
“…”
“I’ve been busier with more missions, but it’s still manageable. Initially, I thought it was understandable that you sought guidance from the sub-part guides. But now you’re telling me to stop caring altogether? Are you treating me like I’m incompetent?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“If not, then do you think I can’t handle your guidance? That I’ll collapse under the strain?”
“No, I never thought that.”
Minchan, at a loss for what to do, looked at Hyunsoo, who was glaring at him with clenched fists.
He regretted forcing Hyunsoo to join as the dedicated guide for the frontline attack team, not realizing his considerate actions would be taken this way.
“Really, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I’ve… spent ten years in tougher situations than this without batting an eye. Do you think I’m that weak?”
Hyunsoo trembled with clenched fists, glaring at Minchan with all his might.
Though both were classified as Awakeners, there was an overwhelming power disparity between an Esper and a Guide. Hyunsoo, who had spent the most time with D Team, knew this better than anyone.
Espers had physical abilities that surpassed ordinary people, and the stronger their powers, the more pronounced the difference.
However, the stronger the power, the more easily it could spiral out of control. It was the price of possessing such strength.
But Guides could absorb and diffuse this turbulent energy. At the moment an Esper with immense power crumbled, a Guide displayed their greatest strength.
“Jaehee.”
“…I told you. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you all. It might have sounded like a joke coming from someone you see as nothing, but to me, it was my reason for being, my mission.”
“…”
“But being treated as a weakling who needs to be protected like this, it really pisses me off.”
Hyunsoo gritted his teeth and stormed out past Minchan. Minchan stood there, staring blankly at the direction Hyunsoo had disappeared.
Yoon, who had been watching the two since the commotion started, appeared out of thin air, clicking his tongue as he glanced at Minchan.
“See, I told you Jaehee wouldn’t like it.”
“…Shut up.”
Yoon shrugged and vanished. Meanwhile, Jiwon, who had emerged from another room, hesitated as he watched Minchan.
After a moment of gathering his thoughts, he cautiously knocked on Hyunsoo’s door.
“It’s me. Can I come in for a bit?”
When he got permission to enter, Jiwon carefully opened the door. Hyunsoo’s expression was tense, clearly very angry.
“Can I sit next to you?”
“…Yeah.”
Jiwon sat next to Hyunsoo on the bed, scrutinizing his deeply furrowed face.
“I really don’t understand.”
“Minchan hyung?”
“Yeah. After knowing me for so long, how can he treat me like this?”
“…”
“Do you think I’m weak too?”
He didn’t address Jiwon as ‘hyung.’
In his anger, he had abandoned the respectful title he had stubbornly insisted on using.
Jiwon thought for a moment before softly leaning his head on Hyunsoo’s shoulder.
‘In this situation, I should treat him as Park Hyunsoo, not Jaehee.’
With that thought, Jiwon cautiously began to speak.
“I don’t think so. When Hyunsoo hyung said he’d protect me, I was really happy. I felt like I could trust and rely on you.”
“…Seems like Chan doesn’t trust me.”
“Just my guess, but I don’t think Minchan hyung thinks of you that way. If anything, it’s probably out of guilt or anxiety.”
Hyunsoo’s agitated emotions seemed to calm down a bit at Jiwon’s gentle words.
“Anxiety?”
“He never said it, but Minchan hyung was the first to find you when you died.”
The room fell silent at Jiwon’s words.
* * *
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