Chapter 31: The Scent of Awakening

It was inevitable that my eyes would be drawn to Jaeyul in the footage.

After all, once that guy Cheol-min entered the alley where our shop was, the only person who came back out was Jaeyul.

“Honestly, the part that raises the biggest suspicion is….”

The man sitting across from me fixed his gaze on me with a deliberately sharp look.

He said it was suspicion, but his expression already held a degree of certainty.

As if doing it on purpose, he paused for a long time before finally speaking.

Because of that, even though I had done nothing wrong, tension crept up.

“I’m thinking it might be you, Jin Se-hyun.”

“…I was just guiding….”

“Right. Just a guide doing some guiding alone.

But… you’re not exactly an ordinary guide, are you?

There are more than a few Espers claiming they were affected by your strange ability.

And always with abilities that support-type Espers would normally use.”

There was no point denying it.

Everyone already knew I had a bad temper.

To prove I wasn’t involved, I would need evidence that the missing guy got out safely, but obviously our place had no CCTV.

Why would an illegal operation install something like that?

I was still thinking how to get out of this mess.

“Ah, I’m not saying you’re the only suspect — just the most suspicious one.

There’s… another one.

Here.”

His finger pointed at Jaeyul in the video.

This was… an even worse development.

The truth was, these bastards didn’t need evidence.

Whoever they believed was guilty simply became the culprit.

And they would never forgive anyone who killed one of their own.

“He’s just a normal student.

If a B-rank Esper was beaten by a high-schooler, doesn’t that sound more ridiculous?”

“Hm… that does make sense, but that kid is pretty good at judo, isn’t he?

Not exactly the build of a ‘normal’ high-schooler.

Whether he’s the culprit or not — we’ll know once we check.”

As if all his business here was done, the man rose from the sofa and straightened his clothes.

“If you even think about approaching that kid, I won’t be this polite next time.

Remember that.”

I stood as well and swept my eyes across the group, delivering a warning.

Even if I awakened as a guide, taking down a few weak Espers wasn’t hard.

In a one-on-one situation, I could even handle a B-rank.

If they laid a finger on Jaeyul, I would tear the Six-Pointed Star apart with everything I had.

I put that vow into my gaze.

“Oh my, scary.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything right now.

Actually, I like you better than Cheol-min.

Even if you or your brother really did kill him — it wouldn’t matter if you became a member of the Six-Pointed Star, right?

We’d be family.

And families cover up ‘small mistakes’ from the past.

So think about it.

I always get what I want — remember that.”

Ignoring my warning, he said everything he wanted with an unchanged expression and walked out.

That too was a warning.

If I didn’t join, they would take me or Jaeyul and turn one of us into a sacrifice.

“…Sigh…”

Only after they all left did the tension drain out, and I collapsed back onto the sofa.

The video they brought made my insides twist.

Honestly, based on the footage alone, it was reasonable to suspect our office.

No direct evidence, but the circumstances were too convincing.

Of course, it could be a trap.

Maybe they orchestrated all of this just to pin it on us.

Or the footage could be fabricated.

“…No way…”

I replayed the tablet video they left behind.

Jaeyul walking out casually.

Could he really have done something like that?

The thought flickered for a moment — but the answer was immediate.

No. Absolutely not.

Even if he trained hard, a high-schooler couldn’t beat a seasoned B-rank Esper.

Espers’ senses were too sharp — surprise attacks wouldn’t work unless the attacker was stronger.

“The next match is….”

While I was absentmindedly staring at the tablet, the black-box footage ended and another video started playing.

Some arena — and I instantly recognized it as Jaeyul’s match from yesterday.

Wearing a white judo uniform, tall enough to stand out among the other athletes.

They must’ve left the tablet behind on purpose, wanting me to see this too.

To show me they had already gotten close to Jaeyul.

“…Ha, f*ck…”

Already in a bad mood because of those Six-Pointed-Star bastards, seeing the zoomed-in footage of Jaeyul sank my heart further.

He was scanning the stands, as if searching for someone.

Left, right, up, down — over and over.

He won the match easily, but even after winning, he continued searching the audience.

His expression wasn’t that of a victor.

His stiff face reminded me of a defeated child — like an abandoned kid desperately scanning a crowd for their parents, unable to find them anywhere.

‘So… I think I’d really like it if hyung came to cheer for me….’

A request he made with such difficulty — and I failed to keep my promise.

He waited for me like that… and I only scolded him for saying useless things.

Is abuse only physical violence or verbal insults?

Maybe leaving a wound on a child’s heart is just as much abuse.

Like the long scar I carved into his memories yesterday.

I couldn’t watch the rest.

I turned the tablet off.

Just looking at it made my heart feel drenched in rain — the same downpour that had soaked the boy waiting for me last night.

Yeah.

Jaeyul wasn’t involved in the disappearance.

If anyone shouldn’t doubt him, it’s me.

Even if — even if he were somehow related…

It wouldn’t matter.

Whatever he became, I would stand beside him.

I came to that conclusion on my way home.

Honestly, it wasn’t something to worry about.

All I had to worry about was making sure those Six-Pointed-Star bastards never touched him.

It was obvious they brought up his name only to force me into that filthy mercenary group.

So it probably wasn’t too serious.

Tap, tap.

As I walked home, lost in tangled thoughts, my senses kept drifting behind me.

Ever since awakening, my senses had sharpened — so noticing that someone was tailing me was easy.

When I quickened my pace, the presence behind me sped up too.

When I slowed down, so did they.

“Those bastards…”

It wasn’t hard to guess who it was.

Obvious — the Six-Pointed Star.

They were planning to stalk and harass me now.

Typical criminal trash behavior.

I pretended not to notice the tail while slowly guiding them away from my house.

Eventually I turned into a small alley on a deserted street.

I pressed my back against the wall and waited.

“Hello?”

Sure enough, the two men followed me into the alley, keeping a short distance.

They hadn’t expected me to stop here — their faces were full of panic.

“What seems to be the—”

Wow. Terrible acting.

They were the same guys from earlier, pretending not to know me.

I grabbed each of their wrists casually and poured mana in.

“U-ugh…!”

“Ghk…!”

Both of them convulsed like they’d been electrocuted.

“This is a residential area. Keep quiet.”

I forcefully disrupted the flow of mana in their bodies, and they collapsed foaming at the mouth as if stunned.

“How lightly must you think of me to send small fries like you?

Tell your boss this: if he keeps playing around, I won’t treat it like a game.”

I held back — I didn’t intend to kill them.

That would complicate things.

“H-haah…!”

“You psycho…! You think our boss will just let this go?!”

“Oh, right. You guys are screwed now.

Two Espers getting beaten up while tailing a guide?

You’re going to get your asses torn apart when you go back.”

Showing weakness would only invite more harassment.

It was better to respond just enough to show I wasn’t prey.

“If you follow me one more time, it won’t end like this.

Pass it on properly.”

I walked away without looking back.

It bothered me that they got this close to my house.

Even when I felt no presence behind me anymore, my nerves stayed on edge.

I circled the neighborhood until I was absolutely sure I was safe, then finally went home.

Tap.

But even inside the house — something felt wrong.

The lights weren’t on.

Under the entryway sensor light, one of Jaeyul’s shoes lay near the door, the other near the kitchen.

The dining table was knocked over, and everything on top of it scattered across the floor.

That meant something unexpected had happened.

At our house.

I waited for the sensor light to turn off.

Then, after letting my eyes adjust to the dark, I stepped carefully inside.

Thud, crunch.

Even the softest sound felt loud.

Even though I’d steeled myself, tension swelled uncontrollably.

I gathered mana, ready to strike down whoever appeared, and stepped into the living room—

Thwap!

Something lunged from nowhere and slammed me to the floor.

“What — who—!”

The strength surprised me.

The weight on top of me felt like a boulder, pinning me in place.

I pushed mana into the hand touching their thigh — but it bounced off.

Meaning this person wasn’t an Esper.

With one hand pressed against my chest, the attacker leaned down slowly.

And only then could I see their face.

“…Sun Jaeyul…?”

He didn’t stop.

He didn’t even seem to hear me.

His face buried into my neck, his hot breath spilling across my skin.

“Hah… haaa…”

Then he lifted his head — and our eyes locked.

But this… didn’t look like the Jaeyul I knew.

His eyes were wild, burning with some feverish intensity.

And the words he spoke next made my breath stop.

“…You smell delicious.”

Only then did I realize.

“It’s so strong I can’t hold back…”

Jaeyul… had entered awakening.