Chapter 89 – ​The ​Price ​of ​a ​Misjudgment

Left ​alone ​in ​the hospital room, Jeong ​Si-jun ​tossed and turned ​incessantly.

‘What is he ​actually ​playing ​at? ​His ​calculation ​of the dates ​was ​clean ​and precise. But ​why go out of ​his way ​to mention ​that?’

The face ​of Yoon ​Ki-hyun, ​who ​had already returned ​home, floated ​around in Jeong Si-jun’s ​mind. To leave behind ​such enigmatic words and ​then vanish, ​telling ​him to rest because he had ​to go.

‘What is it? ​Did ​he ​regret ​something ​a little, thinking ​I was ​dead? ​No way that ​could ​be it.’

His heart wavered dozens ​of times ​every ​few seconds. Even ​after ​drinking ​cold ​water ​and breathing ​in ​the cool ​night air, he couldn’t seem to calm ​down.

‘What on earth ​is it? What ​was he thinking when ​he said ​that?’

All sorts of ​thoughts ​boiled over until ​his head felt ​dizzy.

‘Don’t even ​get ​me started. ​I ​thought if ​something ​happened to ​the ​team ​leader, the same ​would ​happen to ​him!’

Kim ​Cha-min ​had ​said that Yoon [unauthorized [visit our site]copy]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]Ki-hyun waited for Jeong Si-jun at the temporary base almost every single day. At first, it sounded so much like a lie that he had asked several times to confirm.

‘I mean, look at how many people were at the base; why would I lie about that? If you really can’t believe me, go ask someone else. Honestly, I’m telling you this for the team leader’s sake. Ah, I mean, what I’m saying is…’

Through cross-verification, he had become certain that Kim Cha-min’s testimony was true. But that only made it more puzzling.

Wasn’t he the person who desperately wanted the contract terminated—to the point of wanting him to hear the doctor’s words about stopping guiding firsthand?

If he hadn’t returned from the gate, Yoon Ki-hyun’s contract would have essentially been nullified…

Listening to others, it was undeniable that Yoon Ki-hyun had genuinely worried.

Seeing how he had shed tears while guiding immediately after he emerged from the gate, it seemed he had suffered quite a bit of emotional distress.

‘Wait, no. It could actually be that he cried because he was so pissed off.’

After all, he had hidden a one-sided imprinting; he must have been incredibly angry.

Even if he pretended otherwise, he was a man with a strong sense of responsibility, so after finding out about the one-sided imprinting, he probably felt at a loss as to what to do with this bastard.

Of course, it would be wonderful if Yoon Ki-hyun took responsibility for him, but Yoon Ki-hyun’s sensibilities unauthorized copycopy" style="display:none;" aria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copywere far too delicate to think so linearly.

He would have preferred it if the man were just money-obsessed and accepted him for the sake of profit, but his pride and overall personality didn’t seem to allow for that.

‘Ah, seriously. This is driving me crazy. How am I supposed to interpret this?’

After spending the entire night awake thinking about Yoon Ki-hyun, he welcomed the morning to find, surprisingly, that Yoon Ki-hyun had visited the hospital room. He was even holding a fruit basket.

“…Is that for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? I just felt a bit bad about coming empty-handed when I visited yesterday.”

Yoon Ki-hyun hesitated as he tried to hand the fruit basket to Jeong Si-jun. He felt a bit awkward realizing he was asking someone who was still recovering to hold something.

He placed the fruit basket directly on the sofa table. Jeong Si-jun, who had followed closely behind him, still had a face full of bewilderment.

“Since you already bought it, I’ll stolen contenteat stolen contentit all, but you don’t have to buy things like this next time.”

One should receive from those who can afford to give. The thought of receiving such a gift from someone who had been on the verge of death due to lack of money made him feel dizzy.

Moreover, in terms of illness, wasn’t Yoon Ki-hyun in a more serious state than he was, having barely been rescued from the brink of death?

While his own shattered limbs could be mended in half a day, Yoon Ki-hyun suffered from a rare, incurable disease with a body just like a non-awakened. A disease where he couldn’t even guarantee what would happen five years from now.

“You bought me all sorts of things when I was hospitalized. I have to pay you back for what I received then.”

“That was just because I wanted to, so I bought them on my own. To get on your good side…”

“Hey. I bought it, so just eat it. Stop talking back.”

When Jeong Si-jun mumbled, Yoon Ki-hyun gave him a sharp look. He had put thought into buying it, yet the other was talking too much.

“Yes. I’ll enjoy it. Thank you, Hyung.”

Jeong Si-jun quickly bowed his head. If he dared to defy Yoon Ki-hyun while he was looking at him like that, he’d be in the doghouse for sure.

“Uh-huh.”

Responding bluntly, Yoon Ki-hyun naturally remained in the room. It seemed delivering the fruit basket wasn’t his only purpose. Jeong Si-jun took a spot next to him on the sofa, glancing at Yoon Ki-hyun out of the corner of his eye.

“I didn’t expect you to come again today since you were here yesterday.”

“….”

“Why did you come?”

No, that wasn’t how he meant to ask it.

They say a slight change in wording can change the whole meaning. This sounded exactly like he was picking a fight. Just as a flustered Jeong Si-jun was about to add more words:

“Then should I stop coming starting tomorrow?”

Yoon Ki-hyun asked in a casual tone. As if he had already intended to come tomorrow.

“No? If you’re okay with it, Hyung, come again tomorrow. The hospital food here is actually tasty.”

In his haste, words slipped out thoughtlessly again.

Hospital food is hospital food; it’s all the same. What kind of crazy bastard tells someone to visit a patient because the hospital food is good?

If he was going to spout nonsense every time he opened his mouth, it might be better to just shut up instead of trying to correct himself. Just as Jeong Si-jun was fidgeting, his lips merely twitching:

“Yeah. It is pretty tasty.”

Yoon Ki-hyun nodded in honest agreement. Come to think of it, he had just praised the hospital food in front of a man who had been eating patient meals here until just a few weeks ago.

‘Holy shit. Please, think before you speak. Please.’

Jeong Si-jun closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath. Although he kept making verbal blunders, there was something he had to ask. If Yoon Ki-hyun was coming again tomorrow, he had to sleep today no matter what to manage his condition.

“So, are you actually coming tomorrow? I’m not saying don’t come, but if you say you are, I’ll wash up and get ready.”

“…Hmm.”

Yoon Ki-hyun seemed to ponder for a moment.

Was he just saying it? Was [visit [visit our site]our site]he getting ahead of himself when the other person had no intention of giving?

Just as his thoughts began to swirl uncontrollably:

“I’ll come tomorrow too.”

Yoon Ki-hyun promised the next visit without hesitation. Jeong Si-jun whipped his head around to make sure he had heard correctly. Meeting his eyes, Yoon Ki-hyun quirked an eyebrow as if asking what was wrong.

“By any chance.”

“What now.”

“Are you taking care of me like this because I did a one-sided imprinting on you? Because you feel sorry for me?”

Faced with Yoon Ki-hyun’s kindness, which far exceeded his expectations, Jeong Si-jun’s brain finally went on strike. His resolve to think before speaking became utterly meaningless.

At Jeong Si-jun’s question, Yoon Ki-hyun let out a small sigh.

“Hey. Why on earth do you talk like that?”

“…No. I mean, I just can’t believe it.”

It was just a hospital visit, so why act like this? Yoon Ki-hyun stared silently at Jeong Si-jun, who was mumbling excuses and reading his expression.

In truth, he also didn’t know why he was acting this way toward Jeong Si-jun. Perhaps the remnants of the emotions he felt during the ten days the man was absent were fueling the impulse.

An Esper who had barely survived a gate with an unmeasurable grade had, of all people, performed a one-sided imprinting on him. Moreover, since he was an Esper who had unilaterally imprinted on someone who could no longer provide guiding, it was inevitable that he would be concerned.

“About the one-sided imprinting.”

“Yes.”

“I think we should get that properly checked.”

“The professor at the Center did say we should set a date for a test.”

“I heard the wavelength wasn’t picked up when Sa-on tried guiding. Is that true?”

“Ah.”

Jeong Si-jun groaned as he realized how Yoon Ki-hyun had found out about the one-sided imprinting.

It was definitely Kim Sa-on, that fussy Guide, who had chattered away to Yoon Ki-hyun. He should have known from the moment the man started calling his former personal Guide ‘Sunbae’ and treating him as a role model.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“That’s… yes. They said it wasn’t picked up. All the other Guides who came too.”

Looking at the situation alone, it was a one-sided imprinting beyond any doubt. Furthermore, since the Center’s doctors shared the same opinion, it would be stranger if it weren’t a one-sided imprinting.

“What the hell were you thinking, hiding that from me?”

“How could I tell you after I made such a mistake with you? I have some shame…”

Jeong Si-jun mumbled, subtly avoiding eye contact.

He couldn’t gauge what to do with this man. For now, he was moving according to his heart, but it was hard to tell if this was the right answer or not.

A silence descended upon the hospital room as their respective thoughts overflowed.

“But, Hyung.”

“What.”

“During the hospitalization, the, uh, the period is reduced, right?”

Yoon Ki-hyun wondered what he was going to ask and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Ah…”

Jeong Si-jun let out a small sigh. Then, with a determined look on his face, he slowly edged closer and swallowed hard.

“If you’re okay with it.”

“….”

“Would you like to take a short walk with me in front of here?”

Yoon Ki-hyun stared at him, seeing an expression [unauthorized unauthorized copystyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]copy]on Jeong Si-jun he had never seen before. Flushed cheeks and lips trembling with nervousness. Surprisingly, he seemed to be shy.