19 – TDG 19

He ​really ​is ​S-rank. ​He drains the ​amount ​of ​guiding ​for ​ten A-rank Espers in ​one ​go. My energy ​is being sucked ​out ​along ​with ​it, ​but ​I didn’t mind. ​The ​bigger ​problem was that ​I had been holding ​back until ​it came ​to this. ​He’ll have ​to ​accept ​guiding from other ​Guides when ​necessary, yet he stubbornly ​refused.

I wonder how much ​time had passed. Finally, ​the vital ​signs ​on the watch turned a stable ​blue. His blood pressure ​and ​body ​temperature ​had ​all returned to ​normal.

‘That did ​it.’

As ​a wave of ​relief ​washed over me, I let ​out the ​breath ​I had been ​holding ​and ​collapsed ​on ​top of ​him. ​As I ​lay there with my eyes closed, catching ​my breath, Ji-hyuk ​raised both arms ​and gently wrapped them ​around my ​back and waist. ​A ​laugh escaped me ​at the playful ​fingers tracing ​each ​vertebra, brushing ​past ​my shoulder ​blades. ​This guy ​is ​finally ​feeling better.

I lifted ​my ​head and ​rested ​my ​chin ​on his chest.

“But why did your levels spike so suddenly?”

S-ranks generally have a very high threshold for enduring visit our sitethe reverse reaction of the power they use. A mere [stolen content]aptitude evaluation shouldn’t cause someone to suffer to the point of incapacitation.

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one culprit.

Song Hyun-ho.

I heard about the situation at the time from Han Ji-hyuk.

‘The reaction is different from the rehearsal. Was he always such a cautious person?’

Song Hyun-ho had shown signs of boredom at Han Ji-hyuk’s consistent defensive stance. The battle he wanted probably wasn’t like this.

The lock on the hostage area was released, and Song Hyun-ho, noticing this with his heightened senses, finally realized how the situation was unfolding. Ji-hyuk said the look on his face—clicking his tongue and laughing in disbelief—was very memorable.

‘Interesting.’

Ji-hyuk said his heart sank the moment those blue eyes left an afterimage as Song Hyun-ho pivoted. Sensing that Song Hyun-ho’s unauthorized copytarget had shifted to me, Han Ji-hyuk grabbed his shoulder [visit our site]with all his might. Dark red flames erupted from the tips of his powerful grip. Song Hyun-ho, who had intended to shake him [stolen content]off effortlessly as before, was horrified when the aura armor surrounding his body cracked.

“Really? He actually broke the aura armor?”

I was so surprised that I forgot my exhaustion.

“No one has ever broken Song Hyun-ho’s aura armor before. You’re the first. Ji-hyuk-ssi, you’re the first one to succeed!”

It was a truly remarkable record, but Han Ji-hyuk merely reacted as if it were nothing special. Is that all, Han Ji-hyuk-ssi? His reaction was so flat and dull that I felt sad on his behalf.

Anyway, Song Hyun-ho, feeling the pain of burning flesh, tried to shake Ji-hyuk off, but it wasn’t easy. With his strength and speed diminished compared to the start, he easily let Ji-hyuk grab him by the collar. Feeling his life threatened by the flames boiling at ultra-high temperatures, Song Hyun-ho brought out his final technique.

Repulsion aura. A range skill that compresses one’s aura armor into a single point and detonates it with several times the power. It was a finishing move with the power of a mortar high-explosive shell.

“…….”

I swallowed hard. Now I know what caused that explosion in the back. Does that man Song Hyun-ho have any unauthorized copysense or [Read on Read BL Novels]not? No matter how flustered he was, how could he set something like that off in a training center?

‘Ten years of experience were completely for nothing.’

Thanks to that, I heard the training center building vanished without a trace from the third floor up.

I want to go see Manager Kim’s face. I wonder what expression he’s making.

By the way, there was something strange. In the midst of the chaos where the building was blown away, how could I, who was closest to the source of the explosion, be this fine?

The answer was simpler than I thought. Song Hyun-ho hadn’t completely lost his mind; he had deployed his aura armor.

He could transfer the aura armor surrounding his own body to others, and he had wrapped me in it just before the heat of the explosion hit.

“I’m sorry. I put Hyung in danger.”

Ji-hyuk couldn’t lift his head, as if he were ashamed.

“What are you talking about? You did nothing wrong. The problem is the guy who couldn’t control the situation and blew everything up despite having ten years of experience.”

“No. I was the cause.”

“…You were the cause?”

He bit his lip hard, then nodded heavily.

“The moment he turned toward Hyung, I lost my reason. I couldn’t… control my ability.”

“Why is that your fault!”

This is unbelievable. So that’s why Han Ji-hyuk looked like he was attending a funeral.

What crime is it to do something visit our siteRead on Read BL Novelsproperly when told to do it properly? I grabbed Ji-hyuk’s hand and emphasized once more, putting strength into my voice.

“Listen carefully, Han Ji-hyuk. You didn’t lose your reason; you exerted your original strength. The entire responsibility for this incident lies with Song Hyun-ho, who couldn’t handle you.”

Tell them to go ask outside. If you say a rookie Esper two months after awakening was taking an aptitude evaluation and a ten-year S-rank came and went wild, a hundred out of a hundred people would say the other guy was crazy. He fought perfectly without a word of complaint even though he was pushed relentlessly by an absurd standard! He deserves plenty of extra points; what the hell is this talk about responsibility?

“You did it to protect me. You were anxious that I might get hurt, right?”

Ji-hyuk nodded.

“I would have done the same if I were you. Don’t blame yourself.”

If two people have a serious duel and one side apologizes for not controlling their ability, isn’t that just killing the opponent twice? If I were Song Hyun-ho, I’d rather pay for everything than hear such humiliating words.

Ji-hyuk stared at me blankly, then buried his face deep in my shoulder.

“I like you, Hyung.”

Fortunately, he seems to have regained some energy. Before I knew it, his voice was full of spoiled affection. Relieved, I patted him tenderly.

“I like our Ji-hyuk too.”

Ji-hyuk released the arms that were hugging me tightly and looked into my face, asking,

“Hyung is my Guide only, right?”

“Of course!”

As I answered readily, Ji-hyuk’s expression brightened visibly. Why is he confirming something like that all of a sudden?

‘He couldn’t have heard Song Hyun-ho asking him to be his Guide, right?’

Nah, no way. He heard that? Well, with S-rank hearing that can catch the sound of my [stolen content]laughter even while asleep, it’s possible. Anyway… well, it’s not unauthorized copya lie. Even if I quit, I’ll quit as your Guide.

Before I knew it, the positions had reversed, and Ji-hyuk was on top of me. The process of him placing his hands beside my head, grinning, and slowly pressing his stomach against mine was so natural that I found myself watching blankly.

“Hyung….”

As I shrugged my shoulders at the strangely ticklish sensation, Ji-hyuk’s fingers were already tickling near my ear.

“Ji….”

I didn’t know this was when the phrase ‘losing one’s soul’ was used. When did we get this close? I unconsciously gasped at my own reflection in his pupils. Feeling a sense of crisis that our lips might touch at any moment, I quickly turned my head, but a firm hand came and grabbed my chin as if telling me not to. Ugh… overwhelmed by an unbearable sensation, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

“Ji-hyuk…!”

Just then, the hospital room door opened, and a doctor holding a chart and a man in a Center uniform entered.

“…….”

“…….”

Seeing us entangled with our shirts off, the doctor asked nonchalantly.

“…Should I come back later?”

Saying it was a misunderstanding would have been more embarrassing. Feeling the blood rush to my face, I pushed Han Ji-hyuk away with all my might and jumped up.

“P-p-please come in!”

The doctor told us that it was just mild shock, a few bruises, and abrasions, so we could be discharged tomorrow morning if there were no abnormalities after observing for a day. His consistently businesslike attitude was my only solace. In truth, my heart was still pounding unnecessarily, so I needed a dry, professional aura to cool down the internal heat.

After finishing his words, he looked at Ji-hyuk, who had put his shirt on backward and was sitting squeezed next to me, and showed a mysterious smile.

“This gentleman visited me no [Read on Read BL Novels]less than [stolen content]thirty-eight times, so I am very glad that you Read on Read BL Novelshave finally woken up.”

…What? How many times?

As I looked back in shock, Ji-hyuk, feeling a bit embarrassed himself, quickly made an excuse.

“That… Hyung wasn’t waking up, so I asked for more tests to make sure there was nothing wrong.”

“The patient was in a normal state of sleep and there were no problems with the vitals. Therefore, I told him there was no reason to perform unnecessary tests. Thirty-eight times. Including this time, it’s the thirty-ninth.”

At the polite but somehow emotional response, Ji-hyuk couldn’t argue further and shut his mouth sullenly.

Not two or three times, but thirty-eight. At that rate, the medical duties must have been paralyzed, you brat. The doctor must have been desperate to count the number of times. On behalf of the guy who showed no sign of reflection, I offered an apology. The doctor coolly brushed it off, saying it wasn’t something the patient needed to apologize for, and stood up to leave. After he left, the Center employee who had been waiting for his turn reached out his hand.

“I am General Manager Park Sangjun. I work under Manager Kim Yoo-hwan.”

After exchanging handshakes, he said visit our sitehe had come to visit our siteinform us of the results [Read on Read BL Novels]of Ji-hyuk’s aptitude evaluation.

“Congratulations, Esper Han Ji-hyuk. As of midnight today, your official national qualification has been issued.”

How long had I waited for these words?

I raised both arms high and let out a light cheer.

“Congratulations, Ji-hyuk! You worked hard.”

“It’s all thanks to Hyung.”

As I patted his shoulder in pride, Ji-hyuk responded with a happy smile.

Usually, it’s just a one-sided notification, but for an employee to come in person to deliver the pass result—S-rank treatment is indeed different. …Or so I thought, but it turns out Han Ji-hyuk had ignored the Center’s summons and didn’t go. At first, I thought I had misheard.

“You really didn’t go?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Then there would be no one by Hyung’s side.”

Ji-hyuk’s attitude was as if he were asking why I was asking something so obvious. R-right. That makes sense.

If it had been me, the fallout might have hit the entire Guide Team 2. Because he ignored the order of the person in charge of the department’s general management. Unless your liver had grown to the size of a watermelon, how could such a thing be possible? The Team Leader would have been called in, asked how the new recruits were being trained, and…

But Han Ji-hyuk is different. He’s not just a Guide; he’s an S-rank Esper. If he doesn’t go, regardless of the reason, they have to come find him, what else can they do? However, seeing that Kim Yoo-hwan had been stood up and yet sent a subordinate without a word of complaint was a bit funny.

“Please give me your wrist. I will release the control device.”

When he tagged the control device with the tool he brought, the visit our sitepurple light blinked a couple of times, and the lock clicked open. After cleanly collecting stolen contentthe remaining control devices, Park Sangjun placed a black briefcase made of a hard case on the table.

When I held the watch in front of the bag, the lock opened with a click.