Chapter 34: Rampage

Hyung, who was worried about my dulled sense of pain, was finally relieved after seeing my expression when the pus was squeezed out.

When Hyung asked if it hurt a lot, I was about to say it was fine but ended up letting out a groan.

‘How embarrassing, in front of him.’

“Is your hand okay?”

Hyung asked gently as I held my hand, from which the stitches had been removed.

It was still throbbing, but it didn’t hurt.

I nodded in response, and Hyung brought his face close to examine my hand in detail.

He looked intently, even though the wound wasn’t visible because of the band-aid.

“They said it could open up again if you don’t take good care of it, so be careful.”

“Don’t use your right hand for a while.”

“Okay.”

“It’s a good thing you’re left-handed, Hyung.”

I was admiring Chul-soo’s high nose bridge, which was now very close, when I paused.

“How did you know?”

“I can just tell by looking.”

Having thoroughly inspected my hand, Hyung picked up his drink with an expression that said it was obvious.

We were sitting at an outdoor table in the Medical Center’s cafeteria.

Since the weather was hot, there weren’t many people sitting outside.

Hyung, who had removed the lid and straw from the cup full of ice, downed the iced tea in one shot.

He also seemed more comfortable in a place with fewer people, as he didn’t suggest we go inside.

“Aren’t you hot?”

Chul-soo popped the ice into his cheeks, crunched it, and looked at my sleeve.

The sweatshirt I was wearing was thinner than the one from home, but it was still long-sleeved.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you very hot?”

“Looking at you makes me hot.”

“Then look at the sky.”

“The sky.”

Hyung, who only pretended to look at the sky before glancing back at my long sleeves, had an uncomprehending expression.

It was true that I was the only one wearing long sleeves in this weather.

“Want to drink something else cool?”

“It’s okay.”

“Seung-jun will be here soon.”

Following Hyung, who was looking at his wrist watch, I also checked the time.

Tae Seung-jun, who had contacted us knowing we were at the Medical Center, had told us to wait at the cafe to see him.

He said he would be here in ten minutes.

It was hot, but I was in a good mood, feeling like I was on a cafe date with Hyung.

How long had it been since I last spent time sitting outside with Hyung on such a sunny day?

If I had known it would be this nice, I would have come out more often.

Looking at the bright sky made me feel at ease.

“Do you like sweet things?”

Hyung, who was deliciously chewing on ice, pointed at the strawberry smoothie in front of me.

“No, I’m just low on sugar today.”

The weather was hot, and I was drained from getting my hand treated, so I had ordered a sweet drink for the first time in a while.

The smoothie, which I hadn’t touched after just two sips, was slowly melting.

Three sips of a drink this sweet was my limit.

Usually, when I drank this much, Hyung would naturally take it and finish it for me every time.

“So you don’t like sweet things.”

Seeing Chul-soo slowly nod his head, I felt a strange emotion.

Ever since we started living together, Hyung had often asked me about myself.

He tried to get to know me step by step, starting with trivial things like my favorite foods or movies and dramas.

While I was grateful for that effort, it was also a little sad.

Every time Hyung asked about me and learned something new, I was reminded of the fact that I was a stranger to him.

It was a feeling I couldn’t quite get used to.

I took a sip of the strawberry smoothie to cool down.

The sweet drink only made me thirstier.

I was debating whether to get some water and buy a snack for Hyung when suddenly, Chul-soo’s expression hardened.

“What’s wrong?”

Hyung silently stared at the large glass window that showed the inside of the cafe.

His eyes sharpened as if he had sensed some energy.

All I could see were people drinking coffee and talking.

Everyone just looked idle.

“Yeong-u-hyung.”

But when Hyung spoke, several people, like him, turned to look at one spot with stiffened faces.

Two of them even got up from their seats, looking around.

Both of them had large builds, so they seemed to be Espers.

Chul-soo, his gaze fixed on the glass window, held out his hand to me.

I stood up from my chair to take his hand without asking why.

As I was about to approach him, I was startled by the sound of the cafe door shattering and ended up misstepping and falling.

“Hyung!”

A large snowball that had broken through the glass door was dragged around by a raging wind.

Shrill screams mixed in from within the now chaotic cafe.

Everyone who had been sitting at the indoor tables began to run toward the hallway in an orderly fashion.

The snowball, mixed with red stains, crashed into the terrace partition and shattered.

The form of a person could be seen inside the fragmented snowball.

His eyes, emitting a rough wavelength, were bloodshot, all the capillaries having burst.

He was an Esper on the verge of a rampage.

“Get inside, quickly!”

The Esper who had created the wind shouted as he rushed out to the terrace.

Behind him, a woman, who seemed to be a psychokinesis user, disassembled the tables and chairs overturned by the wind and built a tower around the snowball.

Inside it, the Esper who had lost his sanity was running amok.

I grabbed the handle of my wheelchair, not Hyung’s hand, and stood up.

The floor around the Esper, who was emitting a threatening wavelength and letting out monstrous screams, was freezing over.

All the people who had been leisurely sunbathing outside had hurriedly taken refuge inside the cafe.

Unfortunately, Hyung and I were sitting in a corner, so we were the furthest from the entrance.

“This way-!”

The psychokinesis Esper saw us and was about to extend her arm but staggered.

Her legs, which were stuck to the ground, were freezing over in an instant.

When the panicked woman tried to break the ice with her fist, her hand froze along with it.

Even the Esper creating the strong whirlwind was just holding on, chipping away at the rapidly spreading ice.

The power of the Cryokinesis Esper on the verge of rampage seemed to be the most superior, as both of them looked overwhelmed.

“Call Tae Seung-jun.”

I handed my phone to Chul-soo and ran, avoiding the ice as much as possible.

The rampage suppression team had probably already been contacted, but there was a chance Tae Seung-jun would get here faster.

I sincerely hoped he would.

“Watch out!”

At the psychokinesis Esper’s shout, Chul-soo, who had immediately gripped the handrims, turned the wheelchair’s direction.

My hand, which was holding the wheelchair handle, was almost twisted along with it.

The moment we turned, a frozen table grazed my shoulder.

If it had hit my back, I would have died instantly.

For a brief moment, it felt like Hyung’s body and mine were floating in the air, and then we fell to the floor.

The psychokinesis Esper had tried to move us but had frozen completely.

“Ha…”

I looked at the woman who had turned into solid ice and started running again.

Thanks to the remaining Esper pushing us with the wind, we got closer to the entrance more quickly.

Without a moment to be flustered by the events that had unfolded in an instant, I just ran, pushing the wheelchair.

Everything happened in a flash.

“Ugh!”

I lost my balance trying to take off my shoe, which had frozen to the floor.

Just before losing my grip on the wheelchair handle, I pushed it with all my might and shouted for Hyung to go first.

“Go, quickly!!”

I clutched my leg, which had already started to freeze up to the ankle, and just repeated for him to go.

The Esper, who had been freezing everything around, finally froze the man who had pushed us with the wind.

Now, only Hyung and I were left.

Except for us, everything on the terrace was frozen solid.

“Just go!!”

Ignoring my words, Chul-soo widened the distance he had just closed with the door and came back to me.

There was no focus in Hyung’s eyes as he rolled the wheels.

Even though I was facing him, it didn’t feel like he was looking at me.

“Chul-soo!”

Hyung, who had fallen over because the wheelchair’s wheels had frozen, crawled toward me on his arms.

Seeing him, tears burst from my eyes, and I just waved my hands toward him.

I couldn’t go; my feet were frozen.

Even though a chill filled the air with ice all around, cold sweat formed on Hyung’s pale forehead.

“Ho-hold on tight…”

Hyung, biting his trembling lips, reached his hand out to me.

He slammed his fist on the ground connected to my frozen feet, shattering the ice.

It all happened in an instant; I didn’t even realize my bound feet were free.

“Don’t let go.”

I could feel Hyung’s wavelength wrapping around my body.

I wrapped my arms around Hyung’s cold neck and immediately closed my eyes.

Reading the amplified wavelength just before teleportation, I pressed our bodies firmly together.

Before I could even answer that I wouldn’t let go, Chul-soo disappeared.

“Chul-soo…”

I fumbled at the now-empty space in my arms and opened my eyes.

The only thing in my vision was Hyung’s wheelchair.

He was nowhere to be seen.

I was left alone.

With the Esper who was approaching, emitting a ferocious wavelength.

F*ck.

The Esper, who had deliberately not frozen only me, erected large ice pillars around me.

I slammed my fist hard against the cold pillar.

Just as I was about to lean my seemingly broken forehead against the ice, my body was forcibly turned around.

The gleaming eyes of the Esper, who was dripping blood, scanned my entire body.

I didn’t care if that b*stard grabbed my ankle or not.

“Haa…”

My mind was filled with only thoughts of Hyung.

‘My hyung must have been so f*cking scared.’