Chapter 102 – GOY 102

#102

The ​center ​employee ​in ​charge ​of this raid ​seemed ​to ​have ​the ​same thought and asked ​Joo ​Seung-hyuk.

“Esper Joo Seung-hyuk, ​what is the ​meaning ​of ​this?”

“Support.”

“Pardon?”

“I ​heard ​there ​was a Gate ​Raid, ​so ​I came to ​help.”

“Ah, yes….”

An S-Class Esper ​was always ​a welcome ​presence. There ​was no ​reason ​to ​stop him if ​he volunteered ​to participate in a ​national gate subjugation.

However, one ​thing seemed to bother ​the manager.

“Since ​this ​is not a subjugation officially assigned ​to Esper Joo Seung-hyuk, ​your ​count ​of ​national ​gate subjugations will ​not decrease ​even ​if you participate ​in ​this gate. Is that alright ​with you?”

“Yes.”

“Then, ​we ​leave it to ​you.”

Joo ​Seung-hyuk ​strode ​inside. ​Even if ​it ​was a ​B-Class gate, was it really okay to ​go in wearing ​nothing but a ​school uniform without any ​protective gear?

Just ​then, Joo Seung-hyuk ​turned ​his head and ​looked at me.

I ​must have ​been ​staring at ​him ​without realizing ​it. ​Startled, I ​averted ​my ​gaze, and Joo ​Seung-hyuk ​entered the ​gate ​without ​any ​particular reaction.

“What? Joo Seung-hyuk is here? Where is he?”

Kim Seo-won came running over in a flurry. When someone told him that he had already entered the gate, his expression crumpled instantly.

“Aaargh! I should have just stayed! I’m the one guiding Joo Seung-hyuk today! Nobody touch him! Seonbaes, don’t even think about it!”

That guy was targeting Joo Seung-hyuk….

Joo Seung-hyuk often had troubles, big and small, with Guides. Well, since it was usually Joo Seung-hyuk causing the accidents unilaterally, it was a bit ambiguous to call them “troubles.”

Yet, despite the series of incidents, there was no shortage of Guides who wanted him.

He was an S-Class Esper, a chaebol, and handsome; and though I didn’t know personally, according to the Omega Guides, his pheromones were apparently captivating. Some Guides even said they were drawn to Joo Seung-hyuk because of his pheromones more than any other condition. He was incredibly popular in the original story, too.

Of course, there were just as many Guides who avoided [unauthorized copy]him, so no one ever [Read on Read BL Novels]stepped forward to guide Joo Seung-hyuk to the point of fighting with Kim Seo-won.

A few hours later, the Espers came out. I had heard it was a large gate, but the raid was faster than expected.

Was it thanks to Joo Seung-hyuk’s participation?

As I prepared for guiding, the atmosphere felt unusual.

“We have a casualty!”

An Esper rushed out carrying someone on his back.

“Aaaagh!”

The man being carried screamed, unable to bear the pain.

‘Park Cheol-jin…?’

He was covered in blood. His appearance was so wretched that for a moment, I couldn’t even recognize who it was.

The center employees hurriedly brought potions, and a Healing Esper checked Park Cheol-jin’s condition.

“Joo Seung-hyuk, you bastard…! You, you!”

Lying on a makeshift bed visit our sitein the tent, Park Cheol-jin poured out visit our sitehis scream-filled rage toward Joo Seung-hyuk.

“Esper Joo Seung-hyuk, exactly what happened here?”

The center manager demanded an explanation from Joo Seung-hyuk. However, Joo Seung-hyuk remained composed.

“I don’t know. Why he’s blaming someone else for his own incompetence.”

“You brat, you think I don’t know you did this on purpose! You intentionally threw me to the monsters! Aagh!”

“Park Cheol-jin, calm down. And Joo Seung-hyuk, go over there!”

The oldest A-Class Esper of this subjugation separated the two. He then explained the situation in their stead.

Since it was a super-large gate, they had proceeded with the raid in pairs, and Joo Seung-hyuk had been paired with Park Cheol-jin.

Joo Seung-hyuk had headed straight for the boss, and it seemed Park Cheol-jin, left alone, was attacked by monsters and injured.

“What? He got beat because he’s incompetent, and now it’s Joo Seung-hyuk’s fault?”

Kim Seo-won, who was listening to the situation beside me, condensed the whole thing into one sentence.

Although I disliked Kim Seo-won, I agreed with him to some extent this time. Joo Seung-hyuk was not the type to care about his comrades.

He had simply moved ahead to take down the boss; he wouldn’t have intentionally thrown [Read on Read BL Novels]Park [Read on Read BL Novels][visit our site]Cheol-jin to the monsters as the latter claimed.

The center manager seemed to think the same. Unless Joo Seung-hyuk had attacked Park Cheol-jin directly, he couldn’t be blamed for not protecting him from monsters.

“Now, we will treat Esper Park Cheol-jin, so we ask the other Ability Users to proceed with guiding.”

The manager stepped in to organize the situation. However, it was difficult for guiding to take place amidst the screaming.

Eventually, full-scale guiding began only after Park Cheol-jin was taken away in an ambulance.

And Kim Seo-won ended up being in charge of Joo Seung-hyuk’s guiding.

“Aaaaagh!!”

Just when I thought the atmosphere had finally settled, another scream rang out.

This time it was Kim Seo-won. As the first person to start guiding, he let out a shout, and everyone looked over in surprise.

The manager, who had barely managed to settle things, rushed into the tent upon hearing the scream. When the guiding partition was removed, Kim Seo-won was seen rolling on the floor while clutching his hand.

“What happened now?”

The manager asked Joo Seung-hyuk accusingly. Even if the Park Cheol-jin incident was considered an accident, this time it was clearly Joo Seung-hyuk who had caused an injury.

However, far from feeling sorry, Joo Seung-hyuk snapped at Kim Seo-won with a cold face.

“If you’re a Guide, just do the guiding. Stop shoving your disgusting body toward me.”

Joo Seung-hyuk kicked Kim Seo-won in the stomach and then walked out of the guiding tent.

After that day, Park Cheol-jin retired from Esper activities due to his injuries.

Furthermore, Kim Seo-won had been claiming that he was the eldest grandson of the Association President, but that turned out to be a lie. Far from being the eldest grandson, he didn’t even seem to be a distant relative.

Moreover, not only did he act arrogant by mentioning the President’s name, but he had also used it to borrow money.

Consequently, Kim Seo-won was disciplined by the Ability User Association and became completely blacklisted in the Ability User community.

He had been affiliated with a top-five large guild, but his contract was terminated due to the disciplinary action.

Since he hadn’t retired, I encountered him at the Esper Academy or during national subjugations, but he didn’t pick fights like before. Rather, he was the one to avoid me first.

Once Kim Seo-won quieted down, the atmosphere of picking fights over me performing Level 1 guiding disappeared simultaneously. Of course, the dissatisfaction itself didn’t vanish, but the number of people badmouthing me to my face decreased.

Thanks to that, participating in gate subjugations became much more comfortable….

As a result, the events of that day did help me, but I didn’t think it was thanks to Joo Seung-hyuk. Rather, I was shocked by Joo Seung-hyuk’s violence and vowed to avoid him at all costs….

Because he had suddenly participated in a [stolen content]gate, forced an Esper into retirement, and [stolen content]insulted a Guide who liked him.

But thinking back now, could he have done it for me?

The image of Joo Seung-hyuk, running toward the gate in his school uniform without any armor, kept flickering before my eyes.

I thought I had deviated from the original story. But that was a foolish delusion; Joo Seung-hyuk had been watching me all along.

Intercepting the letters between Park Geon-woo and me must have also been due to obsession and jealousy….

As I traced back my memories of Joo Seung-hyuk one by one, pressure was applied to the restraints on my hands and feet, and my body moved on its own before my entire frame froze stiff.

Then, the sound of footsteps approached. Someone was coming.

The footsteps stopped, and I heard the sound of a locked door being opened. Then the door opened, followed by the sound of someone setting down a tray of food.

Is it Joo Seung-hyuk?

However, due to the power of obedience possessed by the Treasure of Alcantra, my body remained frozen, facing the wall in the opposite direction of the door. Far from moving my body, it was impossible to even shift my pupils. Even my tongue was frozen, so I couldn’t speak.

Therefore, I couldn’t confirm who the person entering through the door was. I could only hear the sounds.

The door closed, and then I heard the sound of it being locked. The echoing footsteps gradually faded away.

Only after the footsteps completely vanished did the force constraining my limbs release.

Now I could finally move. When I turned my head, I saw the tray placed in front of the door.

I climbed down from the bed and trudged toward it. Joo Seung-hyuk provided three meals a day. There were no windows or clocks in the basement, but I could tell the time by the meals he gave.

‘It must be Joo Seung-hyuk, right…?’

It must be. I was told the Treasure of Alcantra could be controlled by the owner’s will. So it must be Joo Seung-hyuk….

When Joo Seung-hyuk first put shackles on my hands and feet, I thought some kind of cozy trash can would unfold. But it wasn’t.

After that, I thought he put them on because he was afraid I would run away. But that wasn’t it either.

He just hated even looking at my face. He put on the handcuffs and shackles because he hated hearing my voice. That’s why he makes me face the wall every time he comes to give me food….

Does he hate the sight of me that much…? Of course he does. I didn’t just leave; I deceived him by taking him to an amusement park.

Of course, that wasn’t my intention, but from Joo Seung-hyuk’s perspective, it was the worst possible behavior.

On the tray were rice, soybean paste stew, bulgogi, kimchi, seasoned vegetables, and tofu side dishes.

It looked delicious, and it probably tasted delicious too, but I had absolutely no appetite.