BP 17

“Hey. 13th District.”

At the sudden remark, Seung-hyun turned his head. The person walking toward Seung-hyun with a swaggering gait was a familiar face. Seung-hyun first bowed deeply to Lee Jae-jin. He didn’t want to give him any excuse to pick on him over a simple greeting.

Standing in front of Seung-hyun, he shifted his weight to one leg. Arrogance overflowed from his smooth face.

“Is today your first time?”

“Yes. I came to register.”

“Hmm. Really?”

The man curled his lips. It was a meaningful smile.

“If you came alone, why don’t we do it together? There’s a lot I can teach you.”

“…”

Seung-hyun’s body turned completely toward him. His clear eyes faced the man. A face that had a flicker of hesitation returned to being calm.

“Yes. Please. What should I do?”

“Do this.”

Lee Jae-jin squeezed in between Seung-hyun and the monitor, skillfully touching the screen to navigate through the menus. He selected MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). He was brazenly signing them up for a class used by black-belt Espers for sparring. The staff member looked quite surprised, and Seung-hyun’s eyes drifted blankly toward Jae-jin.

Lee Jae-jin was similar in height to Seung-hyun, but he had a better build. It was evident that he maintained his physique consistently. As Jae-jin lightly stretched, he scanned Seung-hyun’s body from top to bottom. Seung-hyun was wearing a white t-shirt emblazoned with the Neo national flag and black training pants. While his shoulder width and proportions were exceptional, he lacked bulky muscles, so he didn’t give off an impression of strength. Jae-jin tilted his chin up and looked down at him. He was looking down on Seung-hyun.

“You better learn something quickly so you can earn your keep.”

“Yes.”

Seung-hyun nodded and answered. His voice was devoid of any impurities, such as doubt or dissatisfaction.

The staff member, who had gone behind the front desk, brought out personal safety gear for Seung-hyun. As he watched stolen contentSeung-hyun accept it calmly, the staff member’s expression [unauthorized copy]was full of worry. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately kept his mouth shut.

Seung-hyun placed the safety gear in the sports bag he had received and signaled that he was ready. Lee Jae-jin, who had been smirking as if something were incredibly amusing, started walking.

“Let’s go up.”

Upon entering the third floor, the majority of the people were ability users. The cages and rings for sparring, along with the wide-open space, gave a sense of openness to the view. As the front desk staff had mentioned, this was not a place for beginners.

“Hello.”

Ability users who recognized Lee Jae-jin acknowledged him. Greetings mixed with jokes were exchanged, suggesting they were quite close. Lee Jae-jin was a person with a personality completely opposite to Seung-hyun’s. He approached others without hesitation and acted friendly—provided, of course, that they were stronger than him.

Behind him, while he was busy managing his network, Seung-hyun scattered his awkward gaze around the room. Then, his eyes stopped at one spot. His shoulders flinched in surprise.

“…….”

Where Seung-hyun’s gaze landed was Ha Jae-il, the man who had repeatedly replied with a cold “No, I’m not” before they parted. He was in the middle of unwrapping his hand wraps while talking to Giju. Unlike Seung-hyun, who was just about to start, it seemed he had already finished his workout.

Perhaps because he was an ability user, Jae-il quickly noticed Seung-hyun’s intense gaze and turned his head. Seeing Seung-hyun at the end of his sight, he quirked an eyebrow and then narrowed his brow. He visit our sitestill seemed to be angry. For a moment, Seung-hyun felt a tightness in his chest and rubbed the area between [stolen content[Read on Read BL Novels]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]his solar plexus. Whenever he thought of or faced the man, this spot always felt uncomfortable. He didn’t even have the courage to say hello. Swallowing a secret sigh, Seung-hyun gave him a brief nod of acknowledgment before focusing back on Jae-jin.

Lee Jae-jin plopped down on a bench and began putting on his personal safety gear one by one. His arrogant and pretentious manner wasn’t that different from Park Young-seok’s.

“Fighting is all about real-world application. Whether it’s an Oni or a Gon, if they lunge at you, you just have to kill them in any way possible. Right?”

“Yes.”

While physical combat with them was nearly impossible, Seung-hyun silently nodded. Lee Jae-jin was not the type of person to listen politely if someone were to explain in detail how to behave in front of those creatures to survive.

“Do you want to learn from the basics like everyone else? You don’t have that kind of luxury. You shouldn’t.”

“…….”

“Put on your gear and get in the cage.”

Glancing at Lee Jae-jin, who had already entered and was warming up, Seung-hyun rummaged through his bag. Thinking he could just wear the gear as he had seen others do, he tried to put on the gloves first, but a hard voice flew in from behind.

“What are you doing here?”

“…….”

Why did he feel like he had committed a crime? Shrugging his shoulders, Seung-hyun turned his head and looked at Jae-il’s reaction. Beads of sweat clung to the tips of the man’s hair, as he had just finished exercising. His black t-shirt clung slightly to his body, making the muscles of his chest and forearms distinct.

“He said he would teach me.”

“Teach you what?”

The single sentence tossed by the man was short and sharp. Seung-hyun fiddled with the tip of his nose and mumbled.

“Various things…?”

At that, a dissatisfied gaze pierced down at him. The man seemed completely unhappy with Seung-hyun’s response.

“Isn’t today your first time?”

“Yes.”

“And yet, it’s sparring.”

At the reprimanding tone, Seung-hyun lowered his gaze. Jae-il saw right through Lee Jae-jin’s intentions. Starting with sparring for someone who didn’t even know what the safety gear was meant to be was a way of exercising violence under the guise of education. It was a very rude and dangerous act.

Seung-hyun toyed with the gloves in his hand. Would it be better if he said he already knew? He hesitated, his lips fluttering.

“Hey. 13th District. What are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”

Unable to wait, Lee Jae-jin urged him. Just as Seung-hyun nodded and tried to put the gloves on again, a large hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder. The strength was so great that Seung-hyun was crushed back onto the bench; he looked up. Jae-il wasn’t looking at Seung-hyun. With a silent face, he kept Seung-hyun pinned in place and rummaged through a bag to find a mouthguard. He held up a plastic case that looked brand new and showed it to Jae-jin.

“He hasn’t even molded it yet.”

The mouthguard Seung-hyun received had to be molded to fit his teeth before being worn. Even if Ji Seung-hyun knew what it was, he likely wouldn’t know how to mold it, and Lee Jae-jin had irresponsibly told him to just wear it. His intention was utterly malicious. Seeing what was in Jae-il’s hand, Jae-jin smiled thinly and said,

“Ah. Is that so? Couldn’t we just skip that part?”

Meanness leaked through the chain-link fence. An expert who had trained here for years was forcing an [stolen content][unauthorized copy]absurd situation upon Ji Seung-hyun from the 13th District. Jae-il tilted his head slightly.

“Then shall we both do it without them?”

At Jae-il’s provocation, Jae-jin’s expression twisted subtly.

“Why are you worrying about something like that?”

It meant it was none of his business. For a moment, Jae-il’s eyes sank low, and he tilted his lower jaw diagonally. Jae-jin, who didn’t appreciate Jae-il’s interference, didn’t look particularly pleased either. As a menacing aura flared up like a wildfire, Seung-hyun’s eyes widened. The energy pricked at his entire body.

He couldn’t adapt to the situation, which was overheating uncontrollably. Seung-hyun’s eyes darted back and forth. He had no idea where or how to intervene. This was because both Jae-il and Jae-jin were awkward and uncomfortable people to him.

While observing the situation, Seung-hyun’s gaze drifted toward Jae-il’s gear. Because the man’s energy had become so fierce, he felt an urge to check the readings. Given the current atmosphere, it was a hopeless wish.

In the midst of this, Giju approached the three of them with a gentle smile and said,

“Still, it’s better to wear all the gear. Even if we heal quickly. Safety first, right? Molding takes no time, so please wait just a moment.”

As he spoke soothingly, Jae-jin shrugged. He rolled his tongue, suppressing [Read on Read BL Novels]aria-label="stolen content">stolen contenthis displeasure, and gestured with his chin toward Seung-hyun.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and go.”

As soon as permission was granted, Jae-il’s large grip seized Seung-hyun’s forearm and pulled him up.

“…….”

“…….”

Seung-hyun’s face gradually distorted as he was practically dragged away without knowing why. Unable to bear it, he glanced at Jae-il and spoke up.

“Ha, Esper Jae-il.”

“Yes. Speak.”

“It hurts.”

The man’s hand let go immediately, but his forearm, where the pain remained, tingled. Seung-hyun [unauthorized [visit visit our siteour site]copy]repeatedly rubbed his forearm as he followed the man leading the way.

The place they arrived at was a sort of resting area tucked in a corner, and most importantly, there was a water dispenser. As Jae-il filled the plastic case containing the mouthguard with hot water, he said,

“You didn’t look like the type of person to do something so stupid, but I guess I was wrong.”

“…….”

Stupid? Is he talking about me? Seung-hyun’s mouth pouted.

“It’s not a stupid thing.”

“It is.”

Seung-hyun puffed out his cheeks, feeling even more displeased by the confident response. Feeling unfairly treated, he began to ramble. The man was straining the water.

“Everyone has to be ignorant at first, don’t they? I only found out today that a place like this existed. If you teach me, in the future….”

He couldn’t finish grumbling because the man had already arrived right in front of him. Seung-hyun’s head tilted back slightly. It was to meet [unauthorized copy]style="opacity:0;font-size:0;">unauthorized copythe eyes of the tall man. After checking the softness of the mouthguard, Jae-il looked down at Seung-hyun and opened his mouth. Regardless of whether Seung-hyun was flustered to unint[Read on Read BL Novels]entionally admire the inside of the man’s open mouth, Jae-il did what he had to do.

“Ah.”

“Yes?”

“Say ‘ah’.”

As he stared blankly at Jae-il’s face and opened his mouth as if possessed, something soft and warm entered his mouth. At the same time he felt something being fitted against his front teeth, the man’s fingertips touched the area around his lips softly. It was an unexpected contact. Seung-hyun’s eyes widened.