9 – TDG 9

“Ji-hyuk, ​don’t ​deal ​with ​him.”

I stepped in ​with ​my ​whole ​body ​to block Han Ji-hyuk, ​who ​was as sharp ​and poised to ​strike ​as ​a ​bullet ​about ​to fly out ​of ​a ​gun barrel. Facing ​a guy who was ​a head ​taller and ​more than ​twice my ​size ​was ​no small feat, ​and it ​was making me break ​into a cold sweat.

“What? ​Don’t deal with him? ​Where does ​this ​brat get the nerve to…!”

Seong-joon, please! ​Read the room, okay?! ​Im ​Seong-joon, ​this ​crazy ​bastard, must really ​want to ​die. ​He strode forward ​of ​his own accord and raised ​his hand. ​His ​grip flew toward ​me ​like ​a ​viper.

“Ugh!”

Han ​Ji-hyuk snatched ​Im ​Seong-joon’s wrist ​mid-air and twisted it upward like it ​was a toy. ​Seeing his muscles ​ripple and his jaw ​clenched, it ​was clear that ​his ​touch was on ​a completely different ​level from ​when ​he touched ​me.

“Gah, ​aaagh! You ​brat!”

As ​Im Seong-joon ​struggled ​to ​charge forward, Han ​Ji-hyuk ​kicked him ​squarely ​in ​the ​shin and twisted the angle further, as if the man were nothing more than a joke. He mercilessly yanked the trembling arm upward and then crushed it, twisting it again from above.

Im Seong-joon let out a sharp scream and collapsed onto his knees in a pathetic display. His arm dangled limply, as if his shoulder had been dislocated. Of course, that wasn’t the end.

“Kuaaaagh!”

With a sickening crunch, Im Seong-joon’s hand was crushed within Ji-hyuk’s fist. I got goosebumps watching the blood trickle down as if juice were being squeezed out.

The last time he was measured, Han Ji-hyuk’s final grip strength was 800kg.

I didn’t even want to imagine what was happening inside that fist.

Im Seong-joon wasn’t small in terms of build or height, but he was tossed around like a scarecrow by Han Ji-hyuk’s strength.

Im Seong-joon’s screams for mercy echoed loudly through the hallway. It was useless. There was no way security would be in such a private and intimate training center space. Ji-hyuk gave a cold snort and raised his foot. Oh my god, don’t kick him. Even by common sense, the probability of leg strength being lower than grip strength is slim. No matter if Im Seong-joon is a half-baked S-rank, if you kick him with all your might, he could die!

Terrified, I practically threw my entire body forward and clung to Ji-hyuk’s chest.

“Ji-hyuk! Stop! If you do any more, this man will die!”

Whether my desperate plea reached his ears, Han Ji-hyuk finally stopped moving. When those ruthless black eyes turned toward me, they wavered softly with affection once again. Fortunately, some reason remained. Or perhaps he had come to his senses after breaking a few things.

Soon, Im Seong-joon was flung to the floor. Clutching his mangled, blood-stained fist, the man rolled on the ground, letting out sobbing sounds. You should have looked at who you were messing with.

If I had measured Han Ji-hyuk’s brainwaves just now, the graph might have pierced right through the paper.

The breath I had been holding rushed out all at once.

I was momentarily drained. Damn, that was a close call! My legs were shaking so much that I barely managed to resist the urge to collapse on the spot.

“Take him away.”

At my words, Im Seong-joon’s Guide, who had been frozen in fear, snapped out of it and hurriedly approached to help the collapsed man up.

I didn’t let go of Han Ji-hyuk until Im Seong-joon’s whimpering, dog-like groans had completely vanished.

After returning to my quarters, I wrote a fierce report to send to the higher-ups.

The superiors needed to know what kind of massive accident that jellyfish-waste of a human almost caused just to stroke his own ego.

He probably thought he could have some fun this time since it was the same cheap trick he always used, but he had the wrong target. If my intervention hadn’t worked or if Han Ji-hyuk’s ability control had been clumsy and his emotions rampaged, everyone there would be dead.

What truly makes me angry is the fact that even after doing such a thing, an S-rank like Im Seong-joon wouldn’t face any significant disadvantages. That bastard knows that, which is why he goes around spreading filth everywhere. Once he recovers, he’ll probably submit a protest or a petition to the higher-ups. It’ll undoubtedly be filled with fabrications. As if I’d let that happen. I’ll submit mine faster and beat him to the punch.

If he’s got a problem with that, let him release the CCTV footage. There will be recorded video, so if that’s released, he won’t be able to say a word.

Damn bastard. Why does a guy who isn’t even supposed to appear yet show up and cause trouble?

As I clicked the mouse obsessively, I unconsciously stopped. Then, I unauthorized copystared visit our siteblankly at my own face reflected [stolen content]dimly on the monitor screen.

“…….”

Could it be… is it because I twisted the original plot…?

Since I’m just an insignificant extra, nothing I do should affect the world-building, but Han Ji-hyuk is the protagonist. If his fate changes, the story that follows him will change too. I was so focused on the desire to save him that I hadn’t considered the thought of deviating from the original path.

My heart pounded with a fresh sense of realization and tension, but there was no point in worrying about things that couldn’t be undone. I just have to trust my current choice and move forward. It can’t be helped that things have already shifted, but from now on, I’ll try to preserve as much of the original narrative as I can.

Damn, what can I do? Isn’t this better than half of Seoul blowing up in a few months?

After submitting the documents to the higher-ups, I went to Han Ji-hyuk’s room. When I entered, the bed was empty, and instead, I felt a presence toward the terrace.

Opening the half-open balcony door and stepping out, I could see the distant, shimmering night view of the city in the darkness. Ji-hyuk was looking at the night view with his arms resting on the railing.

“Here you are. How are you feeling?”

“You came?”

Brushing back the hair scattered by the wind, Ji-hyuk looked back at me. The agitated energy from before seemed to have completely subsided; as he surrendered his body to the swaying night breeze, he looked peaceful without any abnormal signs.

“You were really angry earlier, weren’t you?”

“…….”

“You held back well. Im Seong-joon is a pathetic human being. He did that because he’s jealous of you, so don’t let it get to you too much….”

“I don’t care. Hyung is the problem.”

“Huh?”

Without a sound, Ji-hyuk gripped my shoulder and turned my body toward him. Within the gaze where I naturally faced him, Ji-hyuk looked at me with eyes shimmering with an inscrutable lingering emotion.

“You heard such insulting words to your face. Are you really okay, Hyung?”

An answer saying I was fine didn’t come easily.

It was true that I was angry, and even now, if it were possible, I was full of the desire to chase him down and beat the dust out of him. However, I’m not a child; how can I live my life purely by my temper? I can’t stoop to the level of a dimwit like Im Seong-joon. I let out a small laugh, pretending it was nothing.

“It doesn’t matter. There are a lot of rough people in this field. It was even worse in the past.”

“Worse… in the past?”

Ji-hyuk’s eyebrows flicked. Seeing his expression change instantly, I unauthorized copyregretted [stolen content]saying that last part. I hurriedly unauthorized copyadded some simple, improvisational chatter to smooth things over.

“I just mean… that’s all! A person can’t always meet people they like in life. And you can’t always hear pleasant things.”

“I won’t say things like that to you.”

The rebuttal that popped out was blunt and strangely laced with emotion.

“Of course you wouldn’t….”

As I laughed and agreed, I reflexively shut my mouth when a large hand reached out and wrapped around my neck. In an instant, Han Ji-hyuk cupped my cheeks with both hands and leaned his face in toward me, bending his shoulders. For a moment, I was startled, thinking our lips were about to touch.

“I won’t even let you hear them.”

His lips brushed past my ear, dropping a powerful whisper. Ji-hyuk took a couple of breaths as if suppressing something inside, then met my eyes again. I unconsciously gasped at his eyes, which were burning as if they might explode, his previous composure having vanished.

“So, I’m letting it slide just this once.”

Beneath the infinitely sweet and soft tone, I could feel a rage that spread like a burn scar.

Even after returning to my room, I remained dazed for a while.

‘Crazy bastard, his intensity is insane….’

Wow. Heart, are you still in your proper place?

Of course, without a doubt, my heart was thumping wildly inside my ribcage.

Rubbing the fine hairs on my forearm, I repeatedly engraved Han Ji-hyuk’s new side into my mind as if to sear it into my soul. What is this? What kind of major event is this? I absolutely cannot miss a single moment.

‘So this is what happens when he escapes Kwon Min-wook’s grasp.’

The Han Ji-hyuk I knew was either screaming in pain before the accident or so devastated after the accident that he just endured everything regardless of what happened.

A Han Ji-hyuk who revealed raw emotions—something the original novel never depicted—was excessively dangerous and sexy. Recalling that expression and voice made my whole body tremble and my brain feel numb.

‘To think that was anger for my sake.’

It’s right for him to be angry since someone touched his dedicated guide, but the fact that he considered my feelings was unexpected.

Usually, in these cases, the trigger isn’t the Guide, but rather the “how dare you touch what is mine” reverse scale being scratched, causing them to go wild.

My heart was so full of emotion that tears poured down like a waterfall. I rolled around on the bed, letting out a groan that couldn’t become a sound. Ji-hyuk, the five years I spent on you aren’t a waste in the slightest. You really are the best man.

Thinking that he would show this devotion to Read on Read BL Novelsthe female lead [stolen content]in the future, [visit our site]my heart pounded with anticipation and I couldn’t calm down.

“Ah-yoon, just wait. Your man is seriously such a cool guy….”

The South Korea within Lost Paradise was similar to where I lived, yet different in many ways.

First, after the appearance of Espers and Guides, nuclear weapons and missiles across the world became useless. What’s the point of launching a nuke when there are Espers who can decompose it into atomic units in less than three seconds?

A world where humans themselves became the firepower.

The criteria for being classified as a global power were no longer nuclear weapons, but rather which country possessed more high-quality Espers.

Ironically, those who adapted to this change most quickly were the armed groups across the globe.

They abandoned guns and gunpowder, which had become outdated weapons, and showcased a terrifying offensive of firepower led by Espers.