30 – TDG 30

Amidst ​the ​sudden ​burst ​of applause, I ​stood ​frozen, ​my ​face ​flushing bright red with ​embarrassment. ​What on earth ​was happening? I ​was ​completely ​and ​utterly ​clueless.

Song ​Hyun-ho, you… don’t ​you ​trust ​people too much? ​He’s like a madman ​when he ​fights, but ​so innocent ​as a ​child ​normally; ​I honestly can’t ​tell which ​is his true self. ​How did he even ​become a Team leader? ​Is he ​a ​typical case of someone who spent ​so much time building ​his ​body ​that ​he ​forgot to use ​his brain?

“…….”

Well. ​Should ​I just leave ​it ​be?

Whether it’s a misunderstanding or ​not, if ​my ​reputation goes up, ​it’s ​a ​win ​for ​me.

As the ​applause ​died down, ​Han Ji-hyuk rushed over. Remembering the bloodlust ​he had shown ​earlier, Kwon Min-wook ​flinched and stealthily hid ​behind Song ​Hyun-ho. What a ​slippery ​bastard.

“Great work, Han ​Ji-hyuk.”

Song Hyun-ho patted ​Han Ji-hyuk ​on ​the shoulder. ​Shortly ​after, a ​communication ​soldier rushed ​in ​to ​report that Team ​1 ​had also ​finished ​up. ​Song ​Hyun-ho looked around at the members and declared:

“I hereby order the operation [Read on Read BL Novels]terminated. Elapsed time: 37 minutes and 14 visit our siteseconds. Hmm. stolen contentThat’s a record.”

37 minutes? Didn’t he say it would take a minimum of 2 hours to a maximum of 4 hours when the operation first started? To finish that in 37 minutes.

The results achieved by the addition of Han Ji-hyuk alone were staggering. Amidst Song Hyun-ho’s praise, I glared at the Esper bastards who had been talking trash earlier, calling me a rookie. Like Kwon Min-wook, they were now modestly casting their eyes downward, keeping their mouths shut. Damn bastards, so they’re afraid of Han Ji-hyuk, huh?

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Except for those who are injured, the rest of you please board the prepared port-cars and return to the Center.”

In the direction Song Hyun-ho pointed, a line of vehicles from the Center was waiting. The Espers, their tension finally breaking, began heading there with their respective Guides.

“Joo-won, I’m heading out too.”

Seonbae Soo-jeong took the hand of an Esper man who approached her and disappeared toward the back.

The face I caught a glimpse of had a cold impression that couldn’t be called sociable even as a joke. A man with snake-like slanted eyes and a rugged jaw. Could that be the nuisance, Do Jong-soo, who had provoked Seonbae Soo-jeong into performing her dazzling rap of profanities?

As soon as the car door opened, Ji-hyuk scooped me up and plopped me down onto the car seat. Then, he climbed in after me, mounting over me with practiced movements.

A port-car is a Center-exclusive vehicle modified from a cargo truck. While it possesses various functions, such as transporting multiple members, the purpose of the car stationed before us was exactly this: a ‘mobile Guiding Room.’

Once you step through the automatic doors, you find a cozy stolen contentspace visit our sitedecorated like a [Read on Read BL Novels]master bedroom in a home. The bed, large enough for four people to lie on rather than just two, was a spectacle in size and famous for its plush cushioning that felt as if you’d bounce right off.

Furthermore, the soundproofing was top-notch, and the windows on both sides were coated with opaque film to completely block views from the outside. Simply put, it was designed for Espers to engage in closer contact with their Guides during transit to comfortably replenish their lacking guiding.

“Wa-wait a second. Ugh, Ji-hyuk, that tickles.”

Ji-hyuk, bracing himself with his hands above my head, leaned his upper body down and buried his face in my neck. Laughter escaped me involuntarily at the sensation of his lips tickling my sensitive skin. When I tried to push his face away with my hand, Ji-hyuk frowned and made a pouty face. However, he didn’t lunge again; instead, he tilted his head and pressed his lips against my palm. Chu. As I instinctively curled my fingertips at the unfamiliar heat, he gripped my hand with a gentle strength to prevent me from pulling away. The hand clutching my wrist was strangely hot. It felt as if the remnants of a raging fire were still swirling inside his body.

His features were like a painting, delicate details embroidered upon bold lines. Within those deep, cool eyes that stretched out like a bird’s tail feathers, a soft smile was pooling.

A boulder seemed to drop in my chest. I felt a torrential current I couldn’t escape. Suddenly, my solar plexus ached and my breath tightened, causing me to quietly clench the other hand supporting my body.

Noticing the change with his keen senses, Han Ji-hyuk curved his lips against the palm of my hand. I knew he was smiling teasingly, but even that sight was so enchanting that I didn’t even have the energy to pretend to glare at him. Ji-hyuk firmly fixed my hand against his jaw once more, buried his lips deep into it, and then began to slide them toward my wrist.

“!”

The intimate silence inside was shattered by a loud phone ringtone. Along with a violent vibration against my chest, an unnecessarily cheerful melody flowed out.

It was a call from my father. I quickly turned my body and answered.

“Yes, Father. It’s me!”

• Joo-won, where are you?

“Father, I just left the site. The situation is over, and I’m on my way back.”

• Is that so? With whom?

“With Ji-hyuk.”

Ji-hyuk’s advance, which I thought would stop when I answered the phone, simply shifted location and resumed. Startled by the sensation of him touching sensitive spots, I covered the microphone and tried to stop him in a hushed voice, but perhaps annoyed at being interrupted, he refused to listen. In the blink of an eye, three of my shirt buttons were undone.

Ugh, I don’t know anymore. This stubborn thing. I decided to leave him be for a moment and focus on the call.

“B-but, what brings this call?”

• I heard the multiple gates situation has ended. Are you hurt anywhere?

So he knew I had been deployed.

“Of course not. There was a bit of a crisis, but I got through it without any problems!”

When I replied cheerfully, I heard a small laugh over the phone. Is it my imagination? He seems to have been caring for me much more since the incident where I ‘ate’ the car. He must be busy with official duties, yet he went out of his way to call.

“Father, have you eaten?”

• Yes, I have. Hmm, right… Joo-won.

“Yes?”

• Nothing unusual happening around you, is there?

“No. Nothing is happening.”

Huh? Does he have something to say? I feel like he’s strangely trailing off….

• Right… Make sure to come home early. You don’t have any plans to travel or go far away, do you?

“No, I don’t…. Why do you ask?”

• It’s nothing. Stay by Han Ji-hyuk’s side. Father will call you again later.

I stared at the disconnected phone, tilting my head.

What was that? Something is weird.

Does Father want to go on a trip?

While I was distracted for a moment, Ji-hyuk, who had finished undoing all the buttons, grabbed my shirt and yanked it down below my shoulders. My eyes widened at the sight of my bare chest exposed to the air.

“Wa-wait a second!”

Stop stripping me!

“This goddamn…! This piece of…! I [stolen content]wouldn’t stolen contenteven [visit our site]be satisfied if I tore him to shreds!”

Every piece of furniture in the room was flying through the air. A piece of Goryeo celadon, once acquired at an auction for nearly several billion won for its exquisite beauty, was shattered into pieces by a single outburst of a distant descendant’s temper.

Still not satisfied, Kwon Min-wook violently kicked the Espers who were kneeling like sinners nearby.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

The violence showed no sign of stopping until noses bled and blood pooled from torn faces, trailing across the floor. They simply took it helplessly, whether Kwon Min-wook kicked or trampled them, unable to resist or even shrink away.

“Now, now—that’s enough.”

From behind a wooden partition that divided the spacious living room into two, a man wearing a sleek white mask walked out. He was quite tall, with a solid build and a smooth, low voice.

“If you scowl too much, you’ll get wrinkles on that pretty face.”

Though his voice wasn’t particularly loud, Kwon Min-wook’s excitement visibly subsided at the man’s smooth intervention.

“…Wrinkles, my ass. Dammit.”

Sarcastic to the end due to his twisted mood, Kwon Min-wook stopped kicking and shook the blood off his dress shoes. He then roughly swept back his disheveled hair, took a cigarette from his pocket, and habitually put it in his mouth.

The man stepped over the groaning Espers as if they were objects and approached Kwon Min-wook. An antique gold Zippo lighter opened with a click.

“What happened?”

Kwon Min-wook exhaled the smoke he had drawn in deeply in one go, spitting out his words through the haze.

“That damn brat played me again.”

“And who might that be?”

“That kid whose blood hasn’t even dried in his head!”

Aha. The man let out a low exclamation and shrugged. Even though the white mask had no expression, he gave off the feeling that he was smiling.

Ignoring the man’s reaction, Kwon Min-wook gnashed his teeth as he recalled the humiliating events of the day.

It was embarrassing enough that he, the epitome of composure Read on Read BL Novelsand experience, had fallen over stolen contenta single monster and screamed like a visit our siteslaughtered pig, but to think he had to receive help from that damn rookie of all people.

It would have been better if it had just passed quietly, but Song Hyun-ho had to fan the flames by broadcasting it to the whole neighborhood, forcing him to endure even greater shame.

His pride was scratched to the limit. It was the first time in his life he had felt such an insult.

When he thought of Seo Joo-won’s acorn-like face—how he had clearly heard and understood everything yet blinked innocently as if he had no idea, almost trying to play him—the heat rushed to his head again. The way he had looked so pitiful, almost sobbing in Yoon Soo-jeong’s arms, was so loathsome that he had almost been fooled himself.

‘Who the hell is that brat?! Who is he!’

The man’s long fingers touched his tense shoulder.

“Take a deep breath and calm down a bit.”

“Would you be calm in my position? Some brat from who-knows-where suddenly pops up, snatches an S-rank, and then manages to get on my nerves at every turn. I won’t feel satisfied until I tear that pretty face to shreds.”

Kwon Min-wook had also been on that street that day. The ground and buildings shaking as if there were an earthquake. By the time he had rushed there, sensing an unusual awakening energy, someone had already beaten him to it. His stomach twisted at the thought of missing such a jackpot item right under his nose, and at the same time, he wondered who the person was. He was absolutely appalled when he heard it was a rookie who had only been at the Center for about a month.

The man whispered closely behind his huffing ear.

“You should be careful. Despite how he [visit our site]looks, [Read on Read BL Novels]that cutie is [Read on Read BL Novels]Minister Seo Hyung-shik’s son.”

Kwon Min-wook stomped his foot.

“That’s why I don’t understand! If his father is a Minister, why the hell did he go to Department 7?”

“Ah. Department 7. That place is truly a demon’s den. Honestly, I’m impressed he lasted five years there.”

“Impressed? He’s just a psycho. It’s because you haven’t seen the twisted look in his eyes.”

Seo Joo-won wasn’t just a rookie. Five years in Department 7 would exceed the experience of ten years in any other department. He was a tenacious bastard who had crammed all that into himself to climb up. No wonder he had quickly suppressed the crazed rampage waveform of an S-rank.

The man let out a faint laugh beneath the mask.

“Since you put it that way, I’d like to meet him. He looks like he couldn’t even kill a bug, but perhaps he has a masochistic streak?”

Kwon Min-wook snorted.

“The kid is no pushover. I can tell. He pretends to be innocent and plays the part, but the eyes don’t lie. He’s incredibly sly.”

A hateful brat who only spat out things that made one’s blood boil [Read on Read BL Novels]the moment he opened his mouth. Leaving someone who had played him alone [visit our site]was [unauthorized copy]not something that happened in Kwon Min-wook’s life.

“Then why not get rid of him while you’re at it?”

The man made an unexpected suggestion.

“Talk sense. How on earth would we….”

The man held out a rectangular black envelope between his white fingers.

“…….”

Kwon Min-wook glanced at the envelope, snatched it away, broke the wax seal, and pulled out the card inside. After glancing left and right and reading the contents, he frowned.

“Is this… for real?”

Instead of answering, the man raised his hand and signaled outside. Soon, three men opened the door and entered.

Kwon Min-wook stared at them as they bowed politely to him, then threw the card in his hand aside with a distinctly malicious smile.