Chapter 23 : Rampage (10)

“Gasp!”

Jisung’s body trembled as if having a seizure. Sunwoo, startled, grabbed his body.

“Hyung?!”

“Ugh, ah!”

Sunwoo looked back at the man as Jisung writhed in pain. The man shrugged at his fiercely glaring eyes.

“I told you, it’s painful. I didn’t lie.”

Sunwoo frowned at the man’s nonchalant attitude. He tried to calm the violently shaking Jisung while maintaining his composure, but his strength alone was not enough.

“Yuaan-hyung, help! Jisung-hyung’s wound will open up even more at this rate!”

Yuaan, who was about to go at Sunwoo’s call, momentarily stopped. He stared at the man standing next to him. If he left his post, there would be no one to watch the man. He couldn’t just leave the man, who he didn’t know what he would do, unattended. The man, who had read Yuaan’s thoughts, pointed to his leg and said.

“I can’t do anything with this leg, so don’t worry.”

“You caught up with a moving ambulance with that leg.”

“That’s true. But as I said before, I want Lee Jisung to live. So there’s no reason for me to pull any tricks.”

His voice tone, expression, and heartbeat remained unchanged. But the higher the rank, the more adept one becomes at controlling their own body. Voice, expression, and even heartbeat could be faked. Could he be trusted? Sunwoo shouted at the hesitating Yuaan.

“I’ll take care of him! Hyung, hurry!”

“Ah, alright!”

Yuaan quickly approached Sunwoo and restrained Jisung’s limbs, which were thrashing in unbearable pain.

“Jisung, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Gah, ah!”

Yuaan’s heart ached at the sight of Jisung’s pained face. Thanks to Jisung, Hyunwoo had changed. He had always been worried about Hyunwoo, who had a face that said he didn’t care if he died. There was nothing but emptiness in Hyunwoo’s eyes. He couldn’t feel any lingering attachment to life. It was the same for Yuaan himself. Before Sunwoo appeared, he too had lived, having given up on everything like Hyunwoo.

So he knew well. What Jisung meant to an Esper, to Hyunwoo.

The days he spent at Jisung’s house were enjoyable. When Jisung became a Guide and joined the team, it felt like he had a family again. A precious and trustworthy family that he loved. He had thought it was something he could never have again. But for the past few days, they had really been like a family. It didn’t matter if they weren’t related by blood.

Jisung was his family.

“Don’t die, Jisung. Please don’t die.”

Yuaan squeezed his eyes shut as they filled with tears. A teardrop fell onto Jisung’s cheek.

He didn’t want to lose his family again.

“Jisung…”
“What?”

A reply came to the tearful voice. Surprised eyes stared at Jisung. At that, Jisung smiled with difficulty. ‘Heavy.’ A dry and cracked voice came out of his mouth. At that, Yuaan, startled, moved off of him.

“Are you… okay?”

Yuaan asked cautiously. Jisung slowly sat up and then frowned. The wound throbbed. When he brought his hand to it, it came away with blood.

“Hyung! Are you okay?!”

Jisung gave a small nod to Sunwoo, who had a worried expression. At that, Sunwoo’s face showed visible relief.

“It still hurts a lot.”

“You’d better not move recklessly. A small wound might be different, but something like that doesn’t heal right away.”

“Why are you here?”

Jisung, surprised at the man’s appearance, asked. At that, the man chuckled.

“To save you?”

“Why?”

“It’s a personal feeling. Don’t mind it.”

“It’s very bothersome.”

“It’s okay, don’t mind it.”

Jisung frowned at the man’s dismissive wave of his hand. ‘That makes it even more bothersome.’ Jisung, with a displeased expression, looked around and then tilted his head to the side. The one person who always stuck to him like glue was not to be seen.

“Where’s Hyunwoo?”

As Jisung asked that question, he recalled Hyunwoo’s appearance before he lost consciousness. His face looked like he was about to burst into tears. His heart pounded anxiously. At that moment, a sound of something exploding and breaking, as if a war had broken out outside the ambulance, was heard. Jisung quickly checked outside the window.

“What is that?”

“…Hyunwoo-hyung is rampaging.”

“Because, of me?”

“It’s not because of you, Hyung. This, it’s not because of you.”

At Sunwoo’s contorted reply, Jisung turned his head and looked at Hyunwoo. An Esper’s rampage. The scene he had only heard of was unfolding before his eyes. Jisung clenched his fists.

“They say Espers are mentally weak…”

Jisung, with a bitter smile, said to the paramedic.

“Stop the car, please.”

“Pardon?”

“Stop the car, please.”

“I can’t. An Esper is rampaging outside right now. We have to get as far away as possible. Besides…”

The paramedic’s gaze turned to Jisung’s wound.

“We have to treat your wound properly.”

Jisung carefully touched his side and turned his gaze to Sunwoo.

“Sunwoo, can you bandage this for me?”

“Hyung, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be asking you to overdo it in this state… but you’re the only one who can calm Hyunwoo-hyung.”

“Yeah, I know. So I have to go.”

Jisung, who had confirmed the tightly wrapped bandage, got out of the ambulance. Even though he was far away, a strong wind ruffled his hair. His proposal to have the ambulance take him to Hyunwoo was naturally rejected.

‘I would have rejected it too if I were them.’

The paramedic’s opinion was valid. There was no reason for them to risk their lives to go there. But fortunately, Jisung had another way besides the ambulance.

“Take me as far as you can. After that, I’ll figure it out myself.”

“Okay.”

Yuaan nodded. He glanced at Sunwoo. He was uneasy about leaving him with the terrorist. But it was also dangerous to take him to where Hyunwoo was rampaging. An injured enemy with one leg was a better option.

“I said it’s a truce. I won’t do anything. But I hope you don’t forget the favor of me saving your life.”

“You said it was a personal feeling.”

“That doesn’t mean my act of saving you disappears. That’s that, this is this.”

The man smiled brightly.

“I’m not asking for anything grand. Just that you pretend you didn’t see me this one time.”

‘He wants me to let him go since it’s hard for him to escape with that leg?’

Jisung, who had been blinking blankly, then answered.

“Alright, then.”

“I’m actually surprised you accepted so easily.”

“You saved my life, that much is nothing.”

What the terrorist group was doing was definitely wrong. Innocent people had lost their precious lives because of them. Turning a blind eye to the terrorist in front of him might be the wrong choice.

‘But I’m not a person full of justice, and my life is precious. I have to repay that debt for sure.’

“But this ends my life debt.”

“Isn’t the price of a life too cheap?”

“Letting you go isn’t cheap. I don’t know what kind of annoying things you’ll do later. So it’s even-steven!”

Jisung pointed at the man with his index finger. At that, the man, who had been staring at Jisung blankly, then burst out laughing.

“Alright, even-steven.”

Sunwoo, pushing aside the man who was laughing with his shoulders shaking, said.

“Don’t worry about me and be careful on your way back.”

“Yeah…”

“It’s okay. He’ll know that if he kills me, he’ll die too, and if he had intended to kill me at the risk of his own life, he would have tried it earlier.”

Yuaan reluctantly nodded. He held Jisung and said to Sunwoo, “I’ll be back.” At that, Sunwoo smiled faintly.

“I’ll trust that you’re not a petty and crappy man.”

“Your words are full of thorns. I told you not to worry. If I was going to kill you, I wouldn’t have saved you in the first place. You’re the most annoying one.”

‘That’s true.’

The enemies must have considered him, who had saved the self-destructing Hyunwoo without a Guide, a thorn in their side. He was bothered by why they had saved him, but right now, Hyunwoo was more important than that man. He could find out the reason for saving him later.

As Jisung wrapped his arm around Yuaan’s neck, Yuaan tightened his grip on him. And in one go, he kicked off and moved forward. Sunwoo, who was watching the two of them move away, then turned his gaze to the man.

“Really, you’re so suspicious. What can I do alone with a wounded body?”

“You’re not alone.”

The man frowned and smiled at Sunwoo’s words.

“You noticed?”

“You said it yourself that there’s another ability user. You wouldn’t have come alone leaving your comrade behind. That’s why Yuaan-hyung was worried too.”

“It’s become two from one, but he’s really bad when it comes to combat, so you can trust me.”

“You’ve been forcing trust on me since a while ago.”

“Isn’t it good? How about becoming a meaningful person to me?”

“I’ll refuse.”

“How heartless.”