Chapter 27: The Unsettling Calm

‘It’s Ryu Yishin, after all,’ Jung Hanseol thought, echoing the common sentiment. ‘He’ll be fine. Perhaps worrying is more of an offense than a help.’

Just as he settled back into the passenger seat, his mind resolute, a piercing, chilling shriek echoed through the air, tearing at his ears. It was unmistakably the tormented scream of a monster.

“……”

The people who had been chatting moments before scattered in a panic, their faces drained of color. A cold sweat trickled down Hanseol’s spine, making him shiver as he swallowed hard. The monster’s scream likely meant Ryu Yishin had defeated it, yet…

Why did such an unsettling feeling linger in the depths of his heart?

Hanseol exhaled a long sigh, squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, immediately reaching for the glove compartment. Besides the gun and magazines Ryu Yishin had taken, there were several other firearms inside, including the standard-issue pistol from the company.

Recognizing the pistol, Hanseol quickly grabbed it, checked its condition, and tucked it deep into his coat pocket.

“……I don’t know.”

Contrary to his confident promise to return quickly, Ryu Yishin was still nowhere to be seen. The sporadic, pained cries of the monstrous creature continued to reverberate, and an inexplicable anxiety gnawed at Hanseol.

These three factors, contradictory as they were, propelled the timid Hanseol into action.

‘I’ll apologize profusely later for rummaging through the glove compartment without permission,’ he vowed. Though he dreaded the repercussions, he felt an urgent need to see Ryu Yishin with his own eyes to calm his wildly beating heart.

Hanseol patted his chest, took a deep breath, and cautiously stepped out of the car. Since the monster’s scream, the apartment complex had taken on an eerie atmosphere, as if war itself loomed.

Breaking the ominous silence, another shriek erupted. This cry was louder and more prolonged than before, revealing unfiltered agony, sending shivers down his spine.

His heart pounded with increasing urgency. Forgetting his own poor stamina, which tired him so quickly, Hanseol blindly sprinted toward the mountain. Fortunately, the apartment complex had well-placed signs, and the mountain itself boasted a well-maintained walking path, making the ascent easy to navigate.

The only problem was that the higher he climbed, the more intense his nausea became, accompanied by intermittent, sharp pains spreading through his temples.

“Haa, haa…”

This wasn’t a new or unfamiliar pain. Being close to an Esper with unstable waves often meant he would also assimilate, sharing similar sensations. He didn’t know how far away Ryu Yishin was, but the unwelcome pain already suggested that Ryu Yishin’s condition was far from stable.

Hanseol focused on tracing Ryu Yishin’s energy, diligently climbing the mountain. He longed to shout Ryu Yishin’s name at the top of his lungs, but he couldn’t risk provoking any hidden monstrous creatures with the sound.

All he could do was concentrate on the direction his instincts guided him and keep moving.

His breath hitched in his throat, and a wave of nausea threatened to make him vomit everything he had eaten. Just then, a glimpse of pale hair peeking out from behind a large tree caught Hanseol’s eye. It had to be Ryu Yishin; it *must* be Ryu Yishin.

Hanseol swallowed his ragged breaths, gritted his teeth, and ran. In that moment, his only thought was to calm Ryu Yishin as quickly as possible. While the monstrous creatures were certainly terrifying, lately, Ryu Yishin had often been even more frightening to Hanseol.

Therefore, his resolve naturally solidified. The side effects of guiding and even his own safety faded into the background.

Hanseol ignored the throbbing pain that intensified with every step, rushing forward. He urgently embraced Ryu Yishin from behind, just as Ryu Yishin fired a shot at a monster charging from the ten o’clock position. Ryu Yishin’s body was incredibly cold, as if exposed to the elements for a long time, making Hanseol flinch.

Yet, Hanseol didn’t release his hold, pressing closer and struggling to speak. “Team… haa, Team Leader… hooh… Are you alright…?”

At that precise moment, the monster, its head pierced by a bullet, let out a short shriek and collapsed lifelessly. Hanseol, still gasping for air, tightened his embrace around Ryu Yishin and squeezed his eyes shut.

Just as he concentrated all his focus, determined to calm Ryu Yishin through guiding, Ryu Yishin grabbed Hanseol’s wrist and forcefully pulled away. Hanseol, being an ordinary human, was naturally thrown off balance by the strength.

“Ugh…”

His concentration broken, Hanseol failed to properly guide. He stumbled sideways, almost falling, but Ryu Yishin immediately pulled him back with renewed force. Hanseol’s head slammed hard against Ryu Yishin’s chest, making his skull ring, and he found himself tightly held in Ryu Yishin’s arms.

“Don’t ever look back. Just stay still. If our eyes meet, it’s over.”

No sooner had Ryu Yishin’s low, growling voice finished than he fired his gun without hesitation in the direction Hanseol had just been facing, still holding Hanseol in his arms. The monstrous creature, drooling and approaching Hanseol, was instantly killed by a single bullet before it could even exert its strength.

At the creature’s scream, which erupted the moment the bullet pierced its heart, Hanseol, utterly terrified, instinctively burrowed deeper into Ryu Yishin’s embrace.

Was it due to the fear stretched to its limits? Or perhaps it was the vivid sensation of Ryu Yishin’s heart beating, neither fast nor slow? Or was it his arms, wrapped tightly around Hanseol’s waist?

Hanseol remained rigid, feeling only the helpless trembling of his own heart. All the while, Ryu Yishin continued to calmly fire his gun, clearing the surroundings without the slightest tremor of emotion.

Having ended the situation in an instant, Ryu Yishin let out a short breath and casually shoved his gun into his pocket. Only then did Hanseol release the breath he’d been holding, realizing that the headache tormenting him had vanished completely. This meant Ryu Yishin’s condition had stabilized.

“Ah, I’m sorry…”

Realizing belatedly that he had been clinging too tightly to Ryu Yishin, Hanseol hastily pulled away. Even though he hadn’t properly guided him, Ryu Yishin’s unstable waves seemed to have settled, which puzzled Hanseol. Nevertheless, he began to blurt out excuses.

He wanted to get ahead of any scolding—like being asked why he’d bothered to come instead of staying put—because he knew he wouldn’t be able to properly defend himself then.

“I’m sorry, Team Leader… I really just meant to wait in the car… but you took so long to come back… and then I heard the monster screaming, so I got worried…”

“……”

“And this… I’m, I’m sorry for rummaging through your car without permission… I thought I should probably take a gun, just in case…”

He tried his best to speak calmly, but his words came out as a jumbled mess. Thinking back, the very idea of worrying about Ryu Yishin, who could handle things perfectly well on his own, now seemed absurd. If he had encountered a monster head-on while climbing the mountain, he would have only been a burden to Ryu Yishin.

Ultimately, he hadn’t even managed to guide properly, so he felt he had no right to complain if he were scolded. “I apologize…”

In front of the silent Ryu Yishin, Hanseol offered the gun like a sacrifice, bowing his head. His mind grew increasingly blank, and he couldn’t even think of what else to say in his defense.

After a long moment of deliberation, Hanseol decided to check Ryu Yishin’s expression before figuring out how to beg for forgiveness, slowly raising his head. He was prepared to kneel instantly if Ryu Yishin’s face was grim.

But then…

“What are you apologizing for?”

“……Huh?”

“You did well.”

Ryu Yishin spoke with a sense of relief, a faint smile playing on his lips. Hanseol had imagined the absolute worst-case scenario, but Ryu Yishin’s expression was not grim at all. In fact… Ryu Yishin seemed to be in a very good mood.

Maintaining his bright smile, he lightly took the gun from Hanseol’s hand, checked the chamber, and immediately tucked it into his own coat pocket. Then, without a hint of reluctance, he turned and began to trudge down the mountain.

“……”

‘What? Did Team Leader just praise me?’

Despite his earlier pleas for forgiveness, Ryu Yishin didn’t reprimand Hanseol. Hanseol belatedly turned to follow him with his eyes, and Ryu Yishin’s steps somehow seemed incredibly light.

“Aren’t you coming? Are you just going to stand here all day?”

Suddenly, Ryu Yishin turned around without warning, and their eyes met. His face, which had been smiling and praising him as if in a dream, had returned to its usual expressionless state as he urged Hanseol on.

“Ah, no! I’m coming!”

Startled, Hanseol hastily ran, but instead of walking right beside Ryu Yishin, he maintained a distance of a few steps behind him. He briefly paid attention to Ryu Yishin’s aura, which, instead of being sharp, felt remarkably calm.

Then, Hanseol decided to stop overthinking, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He knew he could get seriously hurt if he stumbled while walking absentmindedly.

Hanseol pushed everything else from his mind, quietly engraving Ryu Yishin’s words of praise into his heart, and calmly followed behind him, using Ryu Yishin, who led the way, as his guide. ‘I can take that as a compliment, right?’

He tried to suppress the corners of his mouth, which kept twitching upwards, but he couldn’t hide his buoyant mood entirely. Hanseol persistently kept to Ryu Yishin’s back, ensuring Ryu Yishin wouldn’t see his involuntary smile, and continued walking. Hanseol’s steps, descending the mountain, felt unusually light.