BP 16

He didn’t remember. The hazy gaze, the words and actions that felt like wandering through a dream—all of it had become as if it never happened. Jae-il felt deflated this morning at the sight of his disheveled appearance and his clear, oblivious gaze. Above all, since it was a memory only he held, he couldn’t even blame him. To threaten him never to do it again, the flashing value of the gear silenced him. It was in the 20% range again. That was the borderline where the leech-like headache subsided.

“…”

Jae-il bit his lower lip and rubbed the area around his solar plexus. To be precise, he felt a dull heat slightly below that. Jae-il knew exactly how far this heat extended. It was an uncomfortable sensation that must never be let loose, for if it were, it would become nothing more than a shame or a weakness. Now, even his pride was being wounded. To feel a rut from a mere hug. No, to heat up just from a memory was too much.

A deep sigh escaped him as he leaned his upper body against the backrest. For someone who found it easier to swallow and suppress emotions internally, he was unusually confused. He felt even more so because the intimidated look the man had when they parted weighed on his mind.

* * *

Seung-hyun was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice Joy’s hand waving in front of his eyes.

“Hey. Rookie.”

“Ye… yes?”

Only after being called did Seung-hyun snap out of it and scratch the back of his head. This was already the [Read on Read BL Novels]BL Novels">Read on Read BL Novelssecond time he’d been pointed out for this.

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

Today’s cafe menu was caramel macchiato, green tea latte, and berry ade. They also added a plate of waffles topped with plenty of ice cream. The menu was a mixture of everything Joy liked. Rowan paid. It was for Joy, who must have had a particularly hard day.

Recalling the morning schedule, Joy stuffed the waffles into her mouth and chewed loudly. She gulped down the ade without a straw and wiped her mouth.

“Ah! That son of a bitch!”

Even then, her anger didn’t subside, and she eventually let out a curse. The surrounding eyes focused on her, but she wasn’t in the mood to care about such things.

Guiding an Esper like Go Jung-yeol was truly distressing.

Joy ground her teeth as she recalled what had happened a moment ago. Perhaps her stamina had been drained from guiding Ha Jae-il recently, because by the time she realized it, Go Jung-yeol was already on top of her. She was clearly pressing down on his heart, so it was maddening how the positions had switched. As expected of a Psychic Esper. He really was something. After standing up while shouting all sorts of curses, she was surprised by her own weak mental strength and marveled at the man’s skill. She barely finished the guiding after threatening that if he did this one more time, there would be no more guiding or anything.

She wanted to rip apart the mouth that claimed it was a mistake with a sly smile. Yes, she should have ripped it.

She said, tapping the table with her fork.

“Rookie. Listen carefully. This isn’t just someone else’s problem, okay? There’s a high chance you or we will be assigned a similar Guide. If you meet that son of a bitch, keep your wits about you. Got it?”

Rowan chimed in.

“Right, Seung-hyun. That man is a snake. A snake. No matter how high your rank is, you can’t match his experience. You must be absolutely careful, okay?”

They seemed genuinely worried. Seung-hyun thought deeply before speaking. His expression was quite serious.

“Am I allowed to hit him?”

Rowan, who had expected some grand solution, slumped his shoulders. Do you call that a solution?

“In the first place, they’re the kind of people you can’t beat with strength. You have Jae-il, right? He looks like a dummy because he’s quiet, doesn’t he?”

“…”

He had never seen him that way. Seung-hyun shook his head in denial.

“If Jae-il gets angry, this Center will blow away.”

“He actually blew one away once.”

“Oh. Right.”

Rowan said, tapping his two fists vertically. Recalling that time, Rowan fell silent for a moment and frowned. Joy did the same. Thinking about how the entrance to the Center’s East Wing had been blown away…

“Jae-il is really scary when he’s angry.”

“Right. Jae-il is truly scary when he’s angry.”

The way they huddled together, shivering, made them look exactly like squirrels.

“Why… was he angry?”

Seung-hyun recalled this morning. The blunt face cluttered his mind. ‘Perhaps I snored. Or ground my teeth. Or took the blanket. Or, was I tossing and turning too much.’ He had asked cautiously while forcing down a breakfast that wouldn’t go down, stolen contentstyle="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">stolen contentbut while the answers were prompt—’No. No. No. That’s not it’—the expression never softened.

At Seung-hyun’s question, Joy’s gaze shifted diagonally.

“Back then, the Center was talking about killing Esper Kwon Giju because of his Rampage.”

“…”

While Joy was continuing as she searched her memory, Rowan suddenly cut in.

“He just kills everyone who touches his people.”

“Kills… them?”

“Yeah, kills them.”

* * *

The day after Rowan drank because of Jung-yeol’s habit of wandering hands, [Read on Read BL Novels]Joy swapped schedules visit our site[Read on Read BL Novels]with Rowan, and Ha Jae-il broke Jung-yeol’s ribs.

On the surface, Jae-il was a Physical-Type Esper, but to be precise, he was a Multi-type. Using psychokinesis above a certain level, he easily subdued Jung-yeol, who was Poker rank. There was no need to get angry or argue. The insurmountable difference in ability itself was both the threat and the punishment.

It was said that he pressed down with enough force to put a normal person in critical condition. As if to burst the heart. And the words he said indifferently were, “Does it hurt?” The insubordination, which only ended after three or more high-ranking Espers rushed in to stop him, was still talked about in secret.

Since that incident, Rowan had become cautious about speaking to Jae-il unless it was necessary. It was because of the anxiety that he might actually commit murder if provoked.

“When he’s… angry.”

Seung-hyun sank into thought with a serious face. So he kills people when he’s angry. But is murder permitted for Espers?

“I just meant it as a figure of speech. Joy, this guy is incredibly naive.”

Rowan corrected his misunderstanding. While it seemed like he really could kill, it wasn’t that he had actually killed anyone yet. To believe words so literally. He thought he’d be a bit cunning since he was from the 13th District, but was he acting or what? Rowan narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

However, Seung-hyun was absolutely not a calculating personality. He simply recognized that a person named Ha Jae-il had quite a temper, and sipped the second recommended menu, the green tea latte. He didn’t even think Rowan’s suspicious gaze had such a meaning.

Did they call him naive?

Joy, who had been leaning back on the sofa with a deep sigh, suddenly sat up at Rowan’s words. Meeting the suddenly transformed gaze, Seung-hyun stiffened and adjusted his posture.

“By any chance, do the Guides say anything to you?”

“…”

Since the content of the question was unexpected, Seung-hyun couldn’t answer readily. He blinked his round eyes a few times and then moistened his lips. Seung-hyun tried to brush it off by saying there was nothing like that, but he gave in to Joy’s persistent gaze. As Seung-hyun stirred his straw, the ice made a clinking sound.

“The kind of things you’re imagining.”

“…Hey.”

Joy’s brow furrowed sharply.

“You’re a Backsplash. Don’t be discouraged!”

“…?”

“And don’t let them push you around! If they say some bullshit, just ram into them. What are they going to do? Even if it’s a rank system, skill comes first. If you’re just good at guiding, they won’t be able to say a word.”

Joy’s words were refreshing, but Seung-hyun couldn’t agree. ‘I’m a useless Guide who can’t even do that right now, so what should I do.’ With a troubled face, he scratched his temple.

“No matter how little I know… I don’t think I should do that.”

“…”

“There’s also the position of the mentors…”

This time, both Joy and Rowan’s eyes widened. With bewildered faces, they looked at each other once and then turned their gaze back to Seung-hyun. A brief silence followed, and Joy spoke. She said it with a rising tone, as if she were appalled.

“Were you… just worrying about us?”

* * *

‘Starting tomorrow, you’ll also do training in parallel. Go to the gym and register for [visit our site]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">[unauthorized copy]the things you want to learn. While you’re there, loosen up your body a bit.’

Now that Haon had become safe, the role had changed to managing Espers or deploying, but it was said that ten years ago, when Oni appeared frequently, Guides were also deployed to the field.

With Grade 3 Oni appearing recently, there was no guarantee that a situation like back then wouldn’t happen again. Although not as much as Espers, Guides also received training at the training center. For Ji Seung-hyun, whose top priority was guiding, instructions were given to learn basic physical training and firearm usage first.

The first floor of the gym seemed to be entirely a fitness center. Presenting his employee ID at the front desk, Seung-hyun stretched his neck to look around the interior. Those with large builds and monsters practically attached to them would be Espers, and the rest would be Guides or staff. Everyone was working hard on their bodies.

A staff member with a toned physique greeted Seung-hyun with a bright smile.

“Hello, Mr. Ji Seung-hyun. It’s your first time here.”

“Yes.”

“Basically, I’ll set up a PT schedule for you. Is there any particular martial art you’d like to learn?”

“Please recommend whatever is best for practical use in the field.”

At Seung-hyun’s words, the staff member spoke in a slightly troubled tone.

“Those kinds of things are mostly high difficulty; would that be alright? What I recommend is…”

As the staff member touched the monitor, a window guiding beginner courses popped up. It was the moment Seung-hyun leaned his elbow on the front desk to examine the screen.