GTLTGIDES chapter 26

As I gazed blankly at Rex, his face flushed. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a deflated sound came out.

What does this man want to say?

When I raised my eyebrows, urging him to answer quickly, Rex covered his face with his large hands.

With a voice dripping with frustration, he sighed deeply and then suddenly waved his hands, shouting.

“No, no, it’s fine! Stage 2, we don’t need that!”

“Yes.”

“Wow, Yang Heewoon, you’re really cutthroat.”

Normally, I would have played along with Rex’s nonsense a bit more.

But today, I didn’t have the mental energy for that.

Jake’s shaky voice was bothering me.

It was the same irritated tone, but subtly different from the voice I heard during our previous mission when tensions were high.

And “don’t touch me”… Perhaps…

As I kept looking in the direction where the voice came from, Rex’s lips pouted.

“Seriously. Yang Heewoon, are you more concerned about Jake than me?”

“…”

I’m sorry, but yes. All my attention was focused on Jake.

When I nodded with a stern face, Rex clicked his tongue and spoke.

“You’re always so nosy… Never mind. I guess it’s possible. That guy has been acting strange lately.”

“How so?”

“He seems to have lost his composure? He used to hide how difficult things were no matter what, but now he’s openly struggling. Isn’t that a sign of how tough things have been?”

That’s definitely true.

I don’t know much about Jake, but it’s clear he’s very conscious of others and puts on a lot of airs. It’s evident from how he hid Eunsoo and used his abilities, bragging as if they were his own.

Jake Polwell had changed.

His bravado had diminished, and he often seemed emotionally unstable.

The fact that he harmed Eunsoo also supports this…

Maybe something critical had happened to him.

Perhaps related to guiding.

“If his emotions are that unstable, could it be a guiding issue?”

“Then he would have received guidance. But you heard him. He said not to touch him. He wouldn’t even let his own guide touch him.”

“He might be deliberately avoiding guidance.”

“What kind of crazy Esper would do that? Do they want to go berserk and die?”

“…”

Rex was right. All Espers live in fear of going berserk.

Like a natural human survival instinct, Espers seek guides to transfer the impurities of their emotions to them.

Would there be an Esper who avoids such a natural, instinctive act?

“But if it’s Jake…”

Considering his unique circumstances, there were things that troubled me.

Unlike the original story, Eunsoo had been assaulted, and Jake’s previously trademark calm demeanor had disappeared.

I had nothing but bad feelings about this.

Releasing Rex’s arm, I quickly moved towards where Jake’s voice had come from.

“Hey. Where are you going?”

“Just for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

It was in the direction of the training hall.

According to the people around, Jake was still likely there.

After swiftly crossing the hallway, I slowed my steps.

I planned to hide myself and just check on his condition briefly.

Silently, I approached, trying to reduce any signs of my presence, intending to take a quick look at Jake.

“You…”

However, despite his poor condition, Jake was still an A-class Esper.

My effort to hide my presence was in vain, as Jake’s green eyes locked directly onto me as if waiting.

The moment our eyes met, my legs went weak.

Jake seemed almost unconscious. His eyes, devoid of focus, looked dead. But he was undoubtedly looking at me.

It was as if he saw me as a trash can.

His desire to dump all the filthy things filling him onto me was burning brightly.

And that desire was manifesting as his hand reached out towards me.

“Ah…”

A shiver ran through my entire body.

Even a brief touch from Jake would make it clear what he intended to do to me.

Given his extremely disturbed emotional state, it was obvious that a massive amount of emotional impurities and aggressive imagery would flow into me.

What was Jake’s imagery again?

I remember Eunsoo mentioning it in a flashback, but I can’t recall.

It was just one line, and I didn’t pay much attention to it since I had no interest in that criminal Jake Polwell.

Whatever it was, could I endure it?

I tried to turn and run from Jake.

But naturally, I couldn’t outrun him.

In a flash, he was right in front of me, and I tightly closed my eyes at the sight of his hand reaching out.

“Don’t you dare touch him with those filthy hands. Yang Heewoon is mine.”

Luckily, before Jake’s hand could touch me, someone intervened between us.

Rex pulled me back and smacked Jake’s large hand away.

‘Yang Heewoon is… what?’

Amidst the chaos, Rex said something shocking. I wanted to question it, but now was not the time for idle chatter.

Facing Rex, Jake snapped back to his senses. The previously unfocused eyes now had a glimmer of light.

And then his face twisted in fury.

“Fuck. Rex, you asshole, don’t make a fuss. I don’t need you, you B-class guide.”

“Then why did you reach out to Heewoon just now?”

“Damn it, I told you, I don’t need guidance from a B-class!”

Jake shouted so loudly that his voice cracked, then turned away from us.

He staggered down the hallway and crossed the lobby of the management bureau.

The members of Special B Team watched Jake with concern but didn’t follow him.

They must have thought it was useless to chase after him.

Given Jake’s attitude so far, it made sense.

Watching Jake’s back as he walked away, I spoke up.

“Rex.”

“Hmm?”

“If I suddenly die, find that convenience store boy I met before and bring him to the bureau.”

“Why are you saying such unlucky things?”

“Just in case.”

Rex should be able to handle this much.

As long as the premise of “Yang Heewoon dies” isn’t shaken, Rex is too simple to act on the latter part about finding the convenience store boy.

But Rex’s face was full of dissatisfaction, probably because he disliked the idea of me talking about death.

“Is someone threatening to kill you? Who is it? I’ll go beat them up. Tell me.”

“If you end up living with that boy, treat him well. Don’t bully him like you do me.”

“Hey! When did I ever bully you? Well, okay, maybe in the past, but I’ve been careful lately, right?”

“…”

That’s true.

After I proposed three conditions to the Espers of Special A Team, Rex was the one who followed my suggestions the most diligently.

He greeted me earnestly.

He would speak up when he wanted guiding or physical contact and waited patiently.

It was frequent and annoying, though.

I looked up at Rex. My heart ached.

Rex had really put in a lot of effort for me.

“What can I do to repay you?” he smiled as he held onto the hem of his clothes.

“I was happy to hear that you missed me. I missed you too. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to see you first. I had some concerns that distracted me elsewhere.”

In truth, when he first received the message saying he was missed, his initial reaction was shock, wondering if Rex had lost his mind.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t a lie. he was grateful.

To have someone waiting and saying they missed him…

Who wouldn’t be happy about that?

Especially for someone like him, with no family, friends, or significant other, it was a message that truly mattered.

Before Rex could respond to his words, he let go of him and took a step back.

“Yang Heewoon, you…”

“However, I have some things to attend to today. I’m sorry, but if there’s nothing more you need, I’ll be on my way.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and ran.

It hadn’t been long since Jake Powell left the administration office.

Since his steps were still unsteady, he might be able to catch up if he pursued him immediately.

That aggression, excessive excitement, and his flushed face… Something was clearly wrong.

And perhaps… I might be able to use this.

“Hey, hey! Yang Heewoon!”

I heard Rex calling me, but I kept running forward without looking back.

…Turning back might shatter the resolve I had just steeled.