DB Vol 1 Part 6
No, she couldn’t think of anything else. Seo-na felt her energy gradually returning, and then, in an instant, her eyes flew open. Her pupils were clouded with shock. What is this? Why did the turbid power suddenly become clear… Huh? She looked down at her held hand in a daze. Toward the frozen Seo-na, Won-woo introduced himself in a voice that sounded suppressed.
“I’m a Guide who works at the Eastern Center with Han Seo-na-ssi. Have we perhaps met before? I’ve lost my memories, so I apologize if we are already acquainted.”
“……No…….”
“More importantly, do you happen to have a dedicated Guide?”
“……Eh?”
“Is there no dedicated Guide system here? I’d like to work with you; would we need to be on the same team for that?”
“……Eh?”
Seo-na could only make foolish sounds, like someone who had suddenly forgotten how to speak. No matter what she said, Won-woo continued talking as if he were excited.
“Ah, people are coming. I’ll contact you later. I’ll definitely contact you. Oh, by the way, today is a great day to down a cider in one go.”
Seeing the Center staff approaching, Won-woo let go of her hand and vanished. Seo-na stared blankly at his retreating figure. Meanwhile, the Center staff member who had arrived by her side quickly informed her.
“Esper Han Seo-na, you said you were in urgent need of guiding, right? Read on Read BL NovelsWe contacted the Guide Office, but they said BEGIN: stolen content -->stolen contentthere is no compatible person available right now. Instead, they are calling in an A-rank Guide, though the matching rate is low.”
“…….”
“Esper?”
“No…… D…… He was definitely D-rank, and a ‘Low’ grade at that…… But…… no, this isn’t guiding, but…… it felt like it…… Why, how…….”
“Um, are you alright?”
Only when the Center employee grabbed Seo-na’s arm did she lift her vacant eyes. The employee examined her with a worried look. An Esper had already rampaged and exploded today, and the Esper before them was wearing several suppressors in their ears, so it was impossible not to worry. Fortunately, however, the color of the suppression piercings was normal. Huh? Weren’t they glowing red a moment ago? Was I mistaken? The employee tilted their head and asked Seo-na.
“Esper Han Seo-na, are you truly alright?”
“I’m…… fine. Actually…… I’ve never felt this fine before…….”
“Then you don’t need guiding?”
Seo-na looked down at her hand again. She really didn’t need it. She didn’t know why, but right now, she didn’t need guiding. Since she had used a significant amount of power, the energy inside her body should have been surging like waves.
Those waves were like blades, always spreading a sharp pain whenever they subsided. This pain had followed her for her entire life since the moment she was born as an Esper. But right now, the inside of Seo-na’s body was like a lakeside at a silent dawn without a single breath of wind. Had her mind ever been this refreshed in her life? No, absolutely not. Then, did Ji Won-woo……?
“Esper?”
At the sound of her being called again, Seo-na swallowed hard.
“Guiding is…… not needed right now.”
As Seo-na turned away after refusing, she suddenly remembered what Won-woo had said and her eyes widened. Wait, he definitely said it was a great day to down a cider in one go!
“Huh?!”
The Center employee looked at the shocked Seo-na with worry once more. But Seo-na couldn’t see anything else right now. She belatedly realized the meaning of those words. It was a famous line from her favorite 2D character.
Although he had already spent three days in this new world, about 1% of doubt still resided in Won-woo’s heart. Was this all a dream? Was he suffering from a mental breakdown? However, after finding his backpack in the Contamination Removal Room, reality finally sank in.
The bag had likely been collected for decontamination, but it seemed they had only done a rough job on the exterior. If they had been thorough with the interior, he would have been horrified the moment he opened the bag. The inside was filled with items from his original world. Most were weapons, and since they might not exist in this world, Won-woo decided to take only the ones that wouldn’t stand out. First, he took out a knife about half the length of an arm, removed the case, and checked the blade.
Swish— swish—
After swinging it through the air a few times, he spun it one and a half times in his hand and slid it back into the case. Once he confirmed there were no issues, he rolled up his pants to hide it. He habitually strapped a belt to his calf and slotted the knife in. Next were two small knives, each about the size of a palm. He flicked them between his fingers in both hands simultaneously and gripped them tightly to check the feel.
Sang-cheon had once mocked Won-woo for the flashy way he spun knives in his hand, saying he’d be attacked and killed in the time it took to do that. But to use a knife like an extension of one’s own limbs, one had to make the movements instinctive through such techniques. Moreover, small knives were sometimes used like shuriken, requiring the angle to be changed quickly and easily within the hand.
Won-woo considered taking out more knives but decided to stop at three, thinking he wouldn’t need more here yet. Aside from [unauthorized copy]weapons, the things he used most were electronic devices, but since [unauthorized copy]there would be no signal here anyway, they seemed useless. Instead, he took a palm-sized military scope from the bag.
He went to the window where the curtains were drawn, peeled them back slightly, and scanned the outside. Of course, he kept the lights off inside. Even after confirming no one was in the house, Won-woo habitually held his breath. Instead, he focused all his attention on the scope, adjusting the magnification to observe further afield. Only after finding nothing unusual did he finally exhale properly.
[You really seem like a soldier.]
As if Nani had been waiting for Won-woo to finish his work, he spoke up.
“Our Nani is quite perceptive.”
Now that he was in a place where no one else was, a tender tone of voice had become a habit. On the other hand, the adult male voice echoing in his ear was blurry and humming, dry and cold. But it’s a machine. To Won-woo, it felt more like a naive child who was just learning everything about humans. Perhaps because he projected human traits onto him, the long silence felt like Nani was sulking. Won-woo laughed silently in the dark. Ah, he’s surprisingly good at noticing when I laugh.
“I laughed because you’re cute.”
When he explained the reason for his laughter in advance, that same cold tone flowed back.
[That’s even more unpleasant.]
The voice sounded somewhat bratty, making Won-woo let out an admiring “Ooh—”
“Wow, you’ve even learned how to talk back like that? But that kind of response should be classified as inappropriate and not used.”
[……It is not.]
“I guess it hasn’t been programmed into you yet. I’ll tell Mr. Hwang to put it in the inappropriate category.”
[…….]
Won-woo suspected for a moment that he heard a sigh. Was it a sound effect?
“But do you know much about soldiers? How did you know I seem like one?”
[Ordinary people don’t monitor the outside from dark places or use knives like that.]
“Even if he’s not a soldier, Ji Won-woo is a Guide who works in the field. He might have practiced swinging a knife and scanning his surroundings to protect himself.”
[You speak of yourself as if you are someone else.]
The slow voice felt as if it were piercing through him, giving him slight goosebumps. Realizing his slip, Won-woo chuckled.
“I can’t remember the past me. He really does feel like a stranger.”
[But you remember the people you’re looking for, don’t you?]
“Because there are people I must never forget.”
[Who are those people?]
“My people.”
After a short answer, Won-woo put on his hooded outerwear and pulled the hat over his head. As he went to the entrance to put on his sneakers, the curious Nani asked a question. He sounded even more cynical than usual.
[How can you trust them to be ‘your people’? Usually, betrayal comes from those closest to you.]
“You know about that too? Did Mr. Hwang get cheated out of money by a friend?”
[He did.]
“I knew it.”
Even in the original world, the investment scams Sang-cheon fell for could fill several books. There were an unusual number of scammers who approached Sang-cheon promising to fund his research. Instead of providing funds, they took money from him, calling it an investment deposit. The same thing happened several times, but Mr. Hwang Sang-cheon always fell for it.
Once, he almost took a loan from a predatory moneylender introduced by one of them and barely escaped. He managed his money so meticulously that he even kept a household ledger, yet he was completely loose when it came to his research. Well, thanks to that, he needed money and was able to work with Won-woo for so long.
[What do you mean, ‘I knew it’?]
“Nothing, just that he gives off that impression.”
[I suppose so.]
Won-woo paused while tying his shoelaces tightly.
“You shouldn’t evaluate your father like that.”
[I told you, I’m not his child.]
“But you’re Hwang Nani, right?”
This time, he definitely heard a sigh. The sound effects are amazing. As expected of Mr. Hwang Sang-cheon. Just then, his phone vibrated with a zzing. The caller’s name appeared on the screen.
‘Team leader Yoo Geon-young’
Won-woo turned off the phone immediately. Calls had been coming in every 30 minutes for a while now.
[Aren’t you going to answer?]
“Yeah. I don’t have to answer work calls.”
[Why?]
“Why? I took a day off today. You don’t know because you’ve never worked at a company, but usually, you just do company work moderately—just enough so you don’t get fired.”
[What if it’s urgent?]
“If it’s that urgent, they’ll figure it out themselves.”
Won-woo spoke nonchalantly and couldn’t resist adding,
“Nani, are you worried I’ll get fired?”
[Not at all.]
Nani’s denial was exceptionally cold, but Won-woo’s lips twitched into a smile again. There was a certain joy in teasing him.
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
[I said I’m not. You f***ing…….]
Nani spat it out as if gritting his teeth. Won-woo paused for a moment, thinking he heard a curse starting with a double consonant. Was it interference? Then, the voice returned to normal and informed him without emotion.
[An Esper rampage occurred at the Eastern Center yesterday. Ji Won-woo-ssi is a party involved in such a major incident. Yet, you spent the whole day searching through someone else’s house [unauthorized [visit our site]copy]and avoiding the work you’re actually supposed to do, so I asked out of curiosity.]
“It’s fine to avoid it. They’ll get the situation report from some other Esper besides me. Instead, thanks to searching the house, I found seeds.”
[Seeds are common. Everyone has them. They’re even used instead of money.]
As expected, it seems seeds are used as a currency substitute in this world. Actually, he had tried to see if there were any records left by the original Ji Won-woo today, but there was no hidden diary or anything. Instead, he found a box full of seeds. They would have been useless to the man who desired death, but they became a gift for Won-woo.
“They might be common, but they could be uncommon seeds.”
Won-woo muttered, thinking of the seeds in his bag, and added,
“And an Esper rampage is just a simple accident; everyone will forget about it in two days.”
[Simple?]
Won-woo paused as he opened the door to step outside. It was unlikely, but he felt as if Nani had noticed something and hit the nail on the head.
“Even if it’s not simple, the Center will make it simple. They wouldn’t want to brag about failing to manage an Esper. In reality, it is simple. A rutting Esper, who tried to do something to a Guide, rampaged because he couldn’t control his emotions.”
[Rampaging just because of being in heat? If that were the case, all the Espers in this world would have had their dicks explode by now.]
Won-woo stopped again while walking down the stairs.
“Hey, that word ‘dick’……”
[Register it as inappropriate.]
Won-woo felt awkward because Nani admitted it so coolly. Meanwhile, the persistent Nani clung to the topic of being in heat.
[I’ve never heard of an Esper’s genitals exploding due to being in heat. That couldn’t be the reason.]
“Then I guess this is the first time.”
[…….]
“Just because it didn’t happen in the past doesn’t mean it can’t happen now. That’s how the world is.”
That is why one can stubbornly keep living. That is why he crossed over here, and that is why he met his precious ones again. Of course, Nani was right about this. He didn’t explode from being in heat. But Won-woo didn’t want to explain what he had done yet. No questions came from Nani until he entered the long promenade by the river. Won-woo lightly warmed up his arms and legs before running.
“Mr. Hwang lives and eats at the office, right?”
[Are you going there?]
“Yeah. It’s about time I get close to him.”
Surprisingly, Sang-cheon built walls around himself when it came to people. Despite that, it was still amazing how he fell for research investments so easily that he became a pauper.
[Are you going to get close to him and make him ‘your person’?]
This time it was definitely sarcasm, but Won-woo didn’t notice as he was visualizing the route in his head. It’s roughly 15km, so it’ll take about an hour and a half.
“It would be good to make him my person.”
[Why trust him? What if you’re betrayed? He might be deceiving Ji Won-woo-ssi right now.]
“It can’t be helped if he deceives me. I can’t force someone to be on my side and not betray me, can I? The standard for ‘my people’ is my own trust. So it’s okay even if the other person stabs me. After all, there is only one betrayal for me.”
[What do you mean, ‘one’?]
Won-woo checked the time and began to run, informing Nani amidst his quickening breath about the only betrayal he recognized.
“Dying before me.”
“F***, Ji Won-woo, you son of a bitch.”
Geon-young cursed at Ji Won-woo’s phone, which had been turned off completely. The Eastern Center was currently in an emergency. To be precise, the 2nd Field Response Division, to which Head Team 3 belonged, was in chaos. The head of the 2nd Response Division had already been chewed out by those above, and those above had been chewed out by the ones even higher. And Geon-young [Read on Read BL Novels]had been chewed out by the head of the 2nd Response Division. Now, the person he needed to chew out was Ji Won-woo, but he had turned off his phone and disappeared.
“Ha, I’m going crazy.”
To think this bastard was such a fox. According to the manager he contacted, he had taken a day off due to shock, but according to Ki-hyun, who was at the scene of the rampage, he couldn’t have been that composed. He had provoked Chang-hee very calmly. Of course, he didn’t believe everything Ki-hyun said. But remembering how he had calmly threatened him in his office just before, he couldn’t dismiss it as a complete lie.
“Geon-young.”
As he just entered the parking lot, a familiar voice called him. Geon-young, who had not only been severely scolded by the 2nd Division head but also felt like he would be stuck handling the incident, was currently trying to slip away. He was startled to hear his name, but felt relieved upon confirming his friend’s face.
“Ah, Seung-wook.”
“What happened to you? I heard a member of your team rampaged yesterday? Why so suddenly, when it’s not even a unique wave?”
“Haa, f***, I’m going crazy because I don’t know the reason either.”
Geon-young ruffled his hair roughly with his hand. In truth, there was nothing to gain from Ki-hyun and Woo-rim’s testimonies, but an Esper from another department gave an unexpected testimony. Was it Han Seo-na? F***, why did she have to appear there and be so nosy?
“I heard he rampaged while trying to sexually harass a Guide.”
At Seung-wook’s words, Geon-young turned his eyes in surprise.
“How did you know that?”
“Is it true?”
“Hey, you know my team members are a bit rough. He just called out a Guide to play a little prank. But I have no idea why he rampaged.”
“Was that Guide Ji Won-woo?”
Only then did Geon-young realize why Seung-wook had approached him. He must have become interested after meeting him briefly before. Geon-young patted his friend’s shoulder.
“Nothing to worry about. Ji Won-woo wasn’t seriously hurt.”
“So he was hurt, though……. Haa, right. I have nothing to worry about.”
As Seung-wook spoke firmly as if cutting the conversation short, Geon-young chuckled.
“Of course. How many Guides have we met so far? When would we have time to care about each one? But seeing Ji Won-woo’s smiling face, I can see why you met him.”
At the remark Geon-young added in passing, Seung-wook frowned.
“You saw him smile?”
“We’re on the same team. Of course, our site">visit our sitehe was like an emotionless doll before, but they said he changed a bit after coming back from the Farm, right? He even smiles.”
Thinking of the changed Ji Won-woo, Geon-young found it so absurd that he didn’t notice Seung-wook’s expression beside him.
“Just smiling? He’s also damn good at talking. Do you know he says everything he wants to say very calmly and clearly? That bastard uses informal speech back at me if I use it first. Wow, I wonder if he was always that good at talking. It’s a problem because he’s so good at it that it’s infuriating.”
He frowned slightly, recalling the threats he had received, and only then realized his friend wasn’t reacting.
“Why are you standing like that?”
“No, it’s just that it’s a bit strange that Ji Won-woo is good at talking.”
“Yeah, I thought it was strange too. But according to him, it’s because he came back from the brink of death. Honestly, what a privileged thing to say. For us, coming back from the brink of death while dealing with monsters is daily life. Anyway, Guides don’t do any dangerous work, yet they whine so much. They don’t even realize they’re living a total breeze, and they make such a fuss as if the world is ending the moment they encounter a monster.”
“……He said he came back from the brink of death?”
“What? Ah, Ji Won-woo? I don’t remember the exact situation, but I heard he barely survived. Maybe he cried and threw rocks at the monsters or something.”
“That’s not it.”
Seung-wook denied it firmly.
“Ji Won-woo is a realistic pessimist. The moment he fell into the monster Farm, he definitely found a place visit our site -->visit our siteto hide and didn’t budge an inch.”
His tone was that of someone pointing out a mistake, and normally, one would have just let it slide. Because Seung-wook was truly never wrong. But this time, Geon-young felt a spark of irritation. There was a sense of rebellion—why did he have to point out such trivial things when they were suffering this much because of Ji Won-woo—and it also bothered him that Seung-wook acted as if he knew everything despite having only known Ji Won-woo for a month. Hadn’t he had Ji Won-woo as a team member for two years? At the very least, he didn’t believe he knew less about Ji Won-woo than Seung-wook did.
“No. Ji Won-woo has quite a bit of grit. He wouldn’t have just run away; he probably searched for a way and ran for his life. That’s why he walked out on his own two feet.”
Seung-wook’s eyebrows furrowed. He tilted his head askew, looking displeased.
“There must be another reason why he survived the monster Farm. I know Ji Won-woo for a fact—”
Seung-wook trailed off, turning his gaze toward the entrance of the parking lot. Someone was just passing through the entrance. Geon-young also turned his head and immediately frowned upon seeing the newcomer. It was Han Seo-na.
“Ah, fuck.”
A curse automatically escaped Geon-young’s lips. He realized they had been talking close enough to the door for Han Seo-na to hear, but it was also because he remembered she was involved in today’s incident. If she hadn’t babbled on about sexual harassment in her so-called testimony, the problem wouldn’t have escalated this much. Moreover, the nerve of her to just stare blankly, knowing exactly who he was.
Of course, Seo-na was not calm upon encountering them either. The moment she entered and heard the name ‘Ji Won-woo,’ she had been about to swear. She was only beaten to it by Geon-young. Still, she had no intention of caring what they were spouting. Seo-na tried to walk straight past the two toward the parking lot, but Geon-young wouldn’t let her.
“Hey, B-class Esper Han Seo-na-ssi.”
As he deliberately mentioned her rank, Seo-na turned a displeased gaze toward him. Among Espers, the most basic way to suppress an opponent was through rank. Being a high B-class, Seo-na hadn’t experienced much of this kind of provocation before coming to the Eastern Center. That simply meant there were many people here who were more accomplished than she was. The same went for other conditions. Being a former ordinary person with a unique wave made her a particular target for ridicule here.
“I heard you’re a former [visit [stolen content]our sitestyle="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]ordinary person with a unique wave, so your energy is always unstable?”
Sure enough, those two points came right out of Geon-young’s mouth. However, the opponent was an A-class Esper and held a higher position than her. Perhaps because she had been ignored as naturally as breathing since entering the Eastern Center, it didn’t feel that bad. She had grown accustomed to enduring it, telling herself that this was the Central Center, after all. But today was a bit different. Seo-na stared back at him defiantly.
“No matter how unstable it is, it’s probably better than the Espers of Head Team 3.”
“Wow, looking at you now, your inferiority complex regarding your unique wave is way worse than your rank or background. Is that why you spoke like that during the hearing? That our team’s Espers are unstable? Does she think everyone is like her? Fuck.”
Geon-young mocked Seo-na with a laugh that was offensively condescending. One of the reasons he had been chewed out by the head of the 2nd Response Department was that he failed to properly check the unstable energy of his team members. Seo-na’s testimony had been the backdrop for that. Thus, Geon-young glared at Seo-na as if he had been waiting for this. Seo-na stared back without backing down.
“I agree. I thought everyone was like me, but you guys are even worse. You’re supposedly a Team leader; you should have managed them better.”
“Fuck, watch your mouth. Did you snitch to the higher-ups like that because you were jealous, thinking everyone was like you? And seeing someone rampage, you were so excited you threw one of those suppression piercings right away? Hoping they’d just blow up and die.”
Seo-na’s jaw tightened, but she managed to suppress her anger and replied curtly.
“If I knew they’d blow up that easily, I would have thrown it sooner.”
“Watch your words.”
A firm voice reprimanded Seo-na. Only then did she turn her eyes toward Seung-wook. Seung-wook stepped one pace closer to her with an expressionless face. Seo-na knew who he was even without an introduction. He was that famous Esper who always ranked high in the Esper popularity polls. However, that wasn’t why she fell silent. Even though Seung-wook hadn’t released his power, Seo-na instinctively felt breathless under the energy of a high A-class Esper.
“You shouldn’t talk about a fellow Esper’s rampage in such a manner.”
And what about your friend who’s mocking a fellow Esper? Seo-na grit her teeth, struggling not to avert her gaze. Seung-wook, indifferent to Seo-na’s reaction, pushed Geon-young’s shoulder.
“Stop it, you too. Let’s go.”
Geon-young huffed and glared at Seo-na before disappearing after Seung-wook, but Seo-na remained frozen in place for a long time. She felt a sense of futility, wondering if she had fought so hard to come to the Central Center just to end up like this. She had hoped that by coming to the center, the disregard for being from a non-Esper family would decrease and she could more easily find a Guide who matched her unique wave, but the reality was entirely different.
If anything, she was ignored more, and guiding was a painful experience every time because she had to force it with those whose waves didn’t match. She hadn’t expected to become a famous, wealthy Esper like Seung-wook, but she thought she could at least succeed as an Esper. She hoped she could show her face at the monster hunting competition that drove the whole country crazy every autumn and perhaps land a sponsor.
Before coming to the center, Seo-na had a dream, however delusional it might have been. Since she was a nature-type Esper that everyone envied, she believed that if she met a proper Guide, she could exert over 50% of her power and showcase an ability that would shock everyone.
Yet, after spending a year in the Reconstruction Department doing nothing but hauling stones, she was finally deployed to a monster site, but even that was a support team. She wondered if the day would ever come when her skills were fully recognized. No, before that, finding a matching Guide seemed impossible…
Seo-na stopped her thoughts there and looked down at her hand. That incident from yesterday afternoon. Everyone questioned the Esper’s rampage, but Seo-na’s biggest question was Ji Won-woo. What on earth was that? Did a D-class Guide really stabilize me?
However, she had experienced enough to know how cold reality was. Seo-na did not harbor the vain hope that she had found a matching Guide. It would be more realistic to think she had turned into a unique constitution that could self-guide. Still, just in case, she decided she must ask him next time. Seo-na vowed to herself as she headed toward her bike: there are no miracles, so never hope for one.
Sang-cheon did not believe in miracles. That was why he had tearfully sold off his cherished machinery for a cheap price, scraping together every bit of money he could to barely prepare the funds for the loan sharks in a few days. Or rather, that was the plan. If only the loan sharks hadn’t suddenly demanded a different contract.
Thwack!
Unable to dodge the flying fist, Sang-cheon fell over and knelt on the ground.
“Ugh…”
His face was already smeared with blood and groans escaped him involuntarily, but Sang-cheon did not give up on glaring at the person who hit him. If he couldn’t speak, he had to show his will this way. Because the opponent kept talking nonsense.
“Mr. Hwang Sang-cheon, I told you we’d renew the contract, so why do you refuse? Huh? I said we’d give you more money!”
“I said… I don’t want to.”
“Then why don’t you? You’ve been paying back the money so diligently and well that we’re specially offering to lend you more, huh?”
A young guy who seemed to be the leader tapped Sang-cheon’s head with his hand. This was the reason the three gangsters who visited yesterday had stormed back in. They were dissatisfied with the fact that he was paying back the money faithfully.
To them, a faithful person was a target for management, and an unfaithful debtor was a VIP customer. At first, not knowing this, he had diligently paid the interest for over a year and even paid off the principal. Then, at some point, the bastards started showing up and causing a scene whenever the repayment date arrived.
Of course, signing that contract as they demanded would be like letting go of the last branch of a cliff he was barely clinging to, so he had no intention of doing it.
“I don’t want to. I won’t borrow any more money.”
As soon as Sang-cheon spat those words out, a palm flew toward him. With a slap! sound, Sang-cheon’s face snapped to the side. He had been hit so hard that his kneeling body swayed.
“Ah, fuck, I got blood on me.”
The gangster who hit Sang-cheon’s face shook his hand, looking disgusted. Then, he asked mockingly of Sang-cheon, who had been slapped by a twenty-something youth while kneeling.
“What, is your pride hurt? You can’t let your pride be hurt by something like this. Today it ends with me, but next time, an Esper from our company will come. Every time that person raises a hand, one of your limbs will fall off. Do you understand?! So sign the contract change. Then we’ll treat you with a bow, saying ‘Oh, dear customer.’ Now, stop being stubborn and sign here.”
The gangster signaled the other two to force Sang-cheon’s signature. The two gangsters grabbed Sang-cheon from both sides as if binding him and forcibly lifted his hand.
“Let go!”
As soon as Sang-cheon resisted, the gangster raised his hand again.
“You still haven’t come to your senses, you fuck… eh?”
The gangster, who was about to strike Sang-cheon’s face, turned his head with his arm still raised. Someone was holding his arm. A young man wearing a deep hood.
“Who the hell are you, let go… eh?”
The gangster strained to pull his arm away, adding another ‘eh?’ to the end of his sentence. His arm wouldn’t budge. He quickly scanned the opponent. Height about 177 or 178 cm. He was thin and didn’t look bulky. Although the gangster was shorter, he was thick with muscle and fat, so he didn’t feel inferior. Yet, even as he strained until his face turned red, he couldn’t pull his arm from the other’s grip.
“Who the hell are you suddenly… I said let go!”
He shouted loudly and tried to shake off the man’s hand with all his might, but he failed again. Then, he style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[Read on Read BL Novels]asked with a suddenly terrified face.
“Are… are you an Esper?”
In his mind, there was no other answer besides an Esper. Having spent his time tormenting and stepping on people in this line of work, he now viewed ordinary people as a species one step lower than himself. Therefore, the only thing that could overpower him had to be another class: an Esper. When fear appeared in the gangster’s eyes, the other two gangsters holding Sang-cheon also became flustered and took a step back. Thanks to that, Sang-cheon was released, and only then did the new guest open his mouth.
“Are you able to stand up?”
Sang-cheon, unable to even blink his swollen eyes properly, forced them shut and open. No, why is Ji Won-woo here?
“How did you get here?”
“I ran.”
What? As Sang-cheon’s mouth hung half-open, worry filled Won-woo’s eyes.
“By the way, you don’t look okay, CEO.”
“No, well…”
He started to say he was fine out of politeness but paused. Indeed, anyone looking at him would see he wasn’t okay. However, he was more concerned about Won-woo, who was still holding the gangster’s arm, than his own body.
“Can you walk on your own?”
“Ah, yes. But here…”
“Please step back. You might get hurt further.”
Before he could ask what that meant, Won-woo simply twisted the gangster’s arm.
“Aaaagh!”
The gangster, whose arm was twisted, screamed like a child and tried to break free, but Won-woo pushed him away first. The gangster, pushed back as if collapsing, barely regained his balance and asked again.
“You’re an Esper, right? Right? There must be some misunderstanding… ugh…!”
Won-woo approached the gangster’s face in an instant, grabbed his hair, and pulled him down. Then, toward the gangster’s lowered face, Won-woo raised his knee and drove it upward into the face. The gangster, who took a direct hit to the face, couldn’t even scream. He merely stumbled back from the force of Won-woo’s push and collapsed, clutching his face.
“B-Boss!”
The other two gangsters tried to approach him, but there was an obstacle. Won-woo moved faster than they did. While the two were flustered, saying “uh, eh,” Won-woo blocked their path and threw a straight punch, blowing one of them away. The punch, which hit the vital spot accurately, was clean, fast, and powerful.
While the hit person staggered, the other gangster tried to flee, but Won-woo chased him to the door and accurately kicked the back of his knee with his toe. As he stumbled forward with his leg buckled, Won-woo expertly wrapped his arm around the man’s neck from behind and choked him. With a crack sound, his neck twisted, and he fell to the floor completely unconscious.
Silence followed the final thud. It took less than a minute for all three to fall. Everyone who was awake stared at the god of fighting with our site">visit stolen contentour siteblank eyes. Won-woo looked around and stopped his gaze on the gangster leader. He lowered his hood and swept back his messy hair.
“Get lost.”
Contrary to the kindness he had shown Sang-cheon, a void of emotion flowed from his voice. His expressionless face was cold, as if he were a completely different person. The gangster swallowed hard and staggered to his feet. Red blood continued to drip and spread onto his clothes from his nose. He glanced at Won-woo with terrified eyes and, together with the other, forcibly dragged the unconscious guy away.
“Y-you really are an Esper, right?”
Won-woo deliberately just stared at him before saying something else.
“Bring an Esper next time you come.”
“As I thought, an Esper…”
Muttering, he quickly disappeared with his two subordinates, but he didn’t forget to glare at Sang-cheon like a villain before leaving. The interior had turned into a battlefield within ten minutes of their arrival, but that was nothing compared to the chaos swirling inside Sang-cheon right now. He was completely bewildered.
“Ji Won-woo-ssi.”
“Won-woo. Just call me Won-woo.”
“Alright, Won-woo-ssi. I don’t know how you knew to come here, but…”
“I didn’t ‘know’ to come here. And you can speak casually.”
Won-woo cut him off, grabbed Sang-cheon’s arm, and sat him in a chair. Then he returned after finding a first-aid kit.
“We aren’t even close, so I can’t speak casually… No, how did you find the first-aid kit?”
“I saw where it was located when you helped me before. Close your eyes.”
“No, why… ugh.”
Sang-cheon instinctively closed his eyes at the sting of the disinfectant touching his face. And he fell silent at the careful touch disinfecting the injured parts of his face.
“From next time, don’t look the opponent in the eye, and if you get hit once, just pretend to be unconscious and lie still.”
If he had heard this when he was fine, he would have thought it was a ridiculous piece of advice, but to the current Sang-cheon, it was a realistic solution, so a sigh escaped instead of a laugh.
“No, those guys were making such unreasonable demands that I unconsciously… ugh.”
Whether Sang-cheon groaned in pain or frowned, Won-woo did not stop his hand. Though not tender, the touch was careful.
“All done. You endured it well.”
After quickly applying ointment, Won-woo patted Sang-cheon’s shoulder. Sang-cheon looked at him with dazed eyes. He felt awkward being comforted like a child, but the class="wm-strong" style="position:relative;display:inline;">[Read Read on Read BL Novelson Read BL Novels]hand treating the wounds was familiar. Even for a Guide, if they are in a field position, do they get injured often?
“Thank you… for helping me.”
“No. It was nothing. By the way, Nani says he wants to talk to you.”
When Won-woo pointed to the communicator in one ear, Sang-cheon’s face froze instantly.
“…N… Nani does?”
“Yes, it seems he’s worried about Mr. Hwang.”
Bullshit. The word rose to Sang-cheon’s throat, but he barely managed to hold it back. What do you mean ‘worried’ when he’s a guy just waiting for me to be screwed?
“He’s an AI; there’s no way he’d worry about a person.”
“Still, there are times when he sounds quite human and emotional.”
“…When?”
“When he calls your name, Nani.”
Sang-cheon’s hand, which was preparing a speaker to connect to the communicator, [stolen [unauthorized copy]content]stopped in mid-air. Surely [Read on Read BL Novels]he wouldn’t harass me for giving him a dog-like name, right? Unaware of Sang-cheon’s stiff expression, Won-woo sat down and badmouthed Nani further.
“And he gets sulky too.”
He’s absolutely desperate to be caught as a human. To a horrified Sang-cheon, Won-woo gave a little smile.
“You’re trying to collect data by finding moments where a person would respond emotionally, right?”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Oh, by the way, he uses a few inappropriate words.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve written them down, so you can just correct them.”
It was an apology made because there was a chance they couldn’t be corrected.
[Is it absolutely necessary to correct them?]
Suddenly, a crooked voice interrupted through the speaker. Sang-cheon looked at Won-woo and repeated the same words.
“I’m sorry.”
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