Chapter 54 – ​The ​Price ​of ​Misjudgment

Jeong ​Si-jun, ​stammering ​as ​he asked back, blinked ​repeatedly. ​Yoon Ki-hyun looked ​up at the ​face ​that ​had ​flushed ​red ​in an instant ​and ​sank ​into thought.

‘He rushed ​out yesterday because he ​was so ​shocked by ​the news ​about his ​mother; ​does ​he even have ​the headspace ​for this today? What ​on earth is going ​on with his nerves?’

Whenever ​Yoon Ki-hyun ​was ​called away to the hospital, he ​would be completely drained, ​and ​his ​awareness ​of ​his surroundings tended ​to dull. ​It ​was usually during ​these ​periods that he would occasionally ​make guiding ​mistakes.

However, ​Jeong Si-jun’s recovery ​was ​fast, ​considering ​how ​pale and ​flustered ​he had ​been yesterday. Perhaps his nerves were as ​sturdy as his ​thick frame and ​those powerful forearms that ​looked like ​they could crumble ​a ​pillar with a ​light swing.

“Nothing. I ​was just ​worried ​that you ​might ​be a ​bit ​tired.”

When Yoon ​Ki-hyun ​broke ​eye contact first ​and ​replied, Jeong ​Si-jun ​mumbled, ​rubbing ​the back of his neck.

“Ah, I thought it was something else…”

His voice was thick with obvious disappointment. What on earth had he been thinking unauthorized copyRead BL Novels -->Read on Read BL Novelsthat made him feel disappointed?

Seeing how he couldn’t even properly hide his feelings of liking him, a sudden curiosity arose.

Exactly when did Jeong Si-jun start liking him?

It certainly wasn’t while he was working at the Center. Even when they were alone in the guiding room, or in the isolation room where he had provided mucosal guiding when signs of an outbreak appeared, he hadn’t worn this expression.

Back then, although he had eyes that looked as if he were staring at something fascinating, it wasn’t this burdensome, greasy, and somehow strange gaze.

As the awkward standoff continued, a loud notification sounded from Jeong Si-jun’s pocket. It was the alert announcing the appearance of a gate.

“Ah…”

Jeong Si-jun didn’t get annoyed by the call as he usually did. He simply took a small breath in and out.

With a blank face, he looked like a burnout patient feeling boredom and ennui in a repeating daily routine, as if he had let everything go.

Only after the alarm had rung for a while did Jeong Si-jun check his phone with a reluctant gesture. [visit unauthorized copyour site]aria-label="stolen content">stolen contentThen, as if suppressing some emotion, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

‘Well. I suppose he wouldn’t want to be called to gates all the time either.’

He didn’t know why a rich kid who didn’t need to worry about money was rolling around as an Esper.

It was a question he had asked at the hangover soup restaurant, but at the time, Jeong Si-jun had talked nonsense about how he might tell him if he became his personal Guide, so the topic had lost its interest.

“Team Leader.”

“…Yes.”

When he softly called Jeong Si-jun, his gaze followed later than usual. For some reason, that bothered him.

Yoon Ki-hyun took the initiative to hold Jeong Si-jun’s hand and check his wavelength. He was relieved that there wasn’t much difference from when he had sent him to the hospital, but he felt inexplicably anxious at the uncharacteristic behavior.

“Be careful at the gate.”

So, he spoke words that didn’t necessarily need to be said. He knew that even if Jeong Si-jun disliked the call, unauthorized [unauthorized copy]copyhe would respond. He was the type of guy whose body would leap forward even while he was grumbling and annoyed.

“Your wavelength is fine. Doesn’t look like there’s anything more I need to do.”

During his time as a Guide affiliated with the Center, there were always lines of Espers waiting for him. He had been so overwhelmed just by clearing his assigned tasks that he had no time to feel lethargic.

However, now that there was only one Esper he had to be responsible for, he occasionally felt swept by lethargy at times like this. It was because there was no way to know how his Esper, whom he had sent out after guiding, was fighting or getting injured inside the gate.

As Yoon Ki-hyun looked down and smiled awkwardly, Jeong Si-jun tightened his grip on the held hand. The white hand still holding his flinched slightly.

“Yoon Ki-hyun, you know.”

Jeong Si-jun’s voice was heavily suppressed. When he looked up with a glimmer of anticipation, the man’s face was full of life. As if he had never looked tired.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I mean, obviously I’m going to the gate.”

“Yes.”

“It’s just, damn, I mean… because you told me to go back safely like that…”

While Jeong Si-jun rambled, the two continued to hold hands.

It was closer to the fact that Jeong Si-jun wouldn’t let go of Yoon Ki-hyun’s hand, but it was also because Yoon Ki-hyun didn’t pull his hand away.

‘What on earth is he babbling about?’

While Yoon Ki-hyun just blinked, unable to guess what Jeong Si-jun was trying to say, Jeong Si-jun swallowed hard and whispered.

“Doesn’t it feel like… a lover seeing someone off?”

Even though there were always only two people in the guiding room, his voice was subtle and small, as if there were someone eavesdropping.

As soon as Jeong Si-jun finished speaking, Yoon Ki-hyun frowned. Jeong Si-jun, who had been gauging Yoon Ki-hyun’s reaction, seemed to perceive it as a bad signal and immediately pouted.

“Ah, it’s a joke. A joke… Seriously, you won’t even let me say anything.”

Jeong Si-jun let his shoulders slump and let go of the hand first. He waved both hands lightly as if surrendering, then repeatedly rubbed his reddened earlobes and the nape of his neck.

“Then think about what to eat for lunch. I’ll be back soon.”

Jeong Si-jun lightly checked his shoelaces and disappeared, almost as if fleeing, without even listening to Yoon Ki-hyun’s answer. Staring blankly at the firmly closed door of the guiding room, Yoon Ki-hyun finally let out a long breath.

‘Doesn’t it feel like a lover seeing someone off?’

It was still poking around in his head. A ridiculous hypothesis delivered in Jeong Si-jun’s slow and thick voice.

Lovers. Who and who were lovers?

Yoon Ki-hyun continued to chew over those words while pouring water into the neglected citron tea. Even though the person who had casually tossed those words out had long since disappeared from the spot.

In fact, Yoon Ki-hyun had been bewildered from the moment Jeong Si-jun muttered that ridiculous trick.

Instead of brushing it off as the usual nonsense from Jeong Si-jun, he had first imagined an image of h[stolen stolen contentcontent]imself and Jeong Si-jun as lovers.

To the point where it was absurdly a mood that looked quite affectionate.

“Am I actually crazy?”

Yoon Ki-hyun muttered to himself and buried his lips in the glass. Even though he drank the tea several times to clear his head, it didn’t get any better.

Lovers. Lovers…

A word that should be dreadfully unsuitable for his current situation continued to linger in his mind.

Yoon Ki-hyun ran frantically down the hallway. The gazes of people looking back in surprise didn’t even enter his sight. He had to go to the medical wing right now.

‘Hello. This is Kim Cha-min, the deputy team leader of Special Team 2. I’m calling because I was wondering if you could come to the medical wing right now? Our team leader is injured, and his wavelength is a bit unusual.’

His mind had been a mess since he received the call from Kim Cha-min. The word ‘injured’ bothered him more than the phrase ‘wavelength is unusual.’

He knew that injuries were a common occurrence for Espers, but he didn’t [[unauthorized copy]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]know why he was so concerned.

‘I’ve definitely lost it. I think so.’

Yoon Ki-hyun objectively defined his state. He was clearly crazy.

He fumbled with his access card several times before entering the medical wing. A familiar face approached him immediately, as if having come out to greet him.

“You’ve arrived.”

Looking at the face, it was the Esper who had opened the door when he visited the Special Team 2 lounge yesterday.

The name was… what was it? Yoon Ki-hyun caught his panting breath and checked the name tag attached to the chest of the combat uniform.

Special Team 2, Park Kyung-min. Right. I think that was the name. But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“This way.”

He guided Yoon Ki-hyun immediately. Even though there was a fair distance from Park Kyung-min, who was leading the unauthorized copyway, he could feel his wavelength [[Read on Read BL Novels]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels]fluctuating calmly. This meant that Park Kyung-min was not in a perfect state either.

“Is the Team Leader’s injury severe?”

At Yoon Ki-hyun’s question, Park Kyung-min hesitated.

A blood transfusion and a few minor surgeries for tears were needed, but by Esper standards, it was definitely a light injury. To call it a severe injury would be an overstatement, as it was a level that would be completely healed in half a day.

“It’s more about the wavelength than the injury. We’re just thinking among ourselves that the agitation from the news about his mother might have been quite significant.”

Recalling Jeong Si-jun’s pale face yesterday, Park Kyung-min’s reasoning was valid. Although he had come to work the next day after hearing that the crisis had passed, it was inevitable that it would weigh on his mind.

However, Yoon Ki-hyun still suspected if there was a problem with his guiding. This was because he suffered from a disease that only occurred in Guides, causing intense pain if excessive guiding was administered.

Furthermore, who was Jeong Si-jun? He was famous for never being seriously injured even during the time when guiding was woefully insufficient.

Coincidentally, since he had taken him as a personal Guide, the frequency of injuries had increased significantly. He couldn’t shake the thought that it was somehow his fault.

‘If there were a problem with the guiding, Jeong Si-jun [visit our site]would be the first to notice and tell me, but…’

The reason he bought into worries that didn’t need to be made was that Yoon Ki-hyun felt he wasn’t doing much work compared to his salary.

The emergency treatment room he arrived at under Park Kyung-min’s guidance smelled strongly of blood from the entrance. There didn’t seem to be many people capable of moving.

Seeing Yoon Ki-hyun’s pale complexion, Park Kyung-min added a word as a form of consolation.

“He’ll be almost fully recovered in half a day. It’s not that big of an injury.”

Yoon Ki-hyun whipped his head around at the voice, unsure if it was mature or just indifferent.

He could say such things nonchalantly even after seeing people with arms and legs bent grotesquely on the temporary beds of the emergency room?

“We’re Espers, after all.”

Park Kyung-min laughed softly.

‘No, it’s not that I don’t know that.’

Yoon Ki-hyun frowned. Regardless of the marvelous recovery speed of Espers, they would still feel the pain itself, yet wasn’t he talking without considering that at all?

Perhaps everyone had become so accustomed to pain that their standards had become wildly distorted.

As Yoon Ki-hyun passed by the familiar Espers while feeling distressed, a familiar yet menacing voice flowed from behind.

“Hey, you fuck. Which crazy bastard brought my Guide here?”