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Join the ServerIn an instant, the tables had turned.
Just as I had seized him by the nape of his neck, Yoon Geon-woo, too, twisted his hand into my collar. As his grip steadily intensified, my windpipe felt constricted, making each breath a struggle.
“Ugh!”
Startled beyond words, I found myself pinned beneath Yoon Geon-woo, my struggles nothing more than timid flailing. Regrettably, given our overwhelming difference in stature, my desperate thrashing likely appeared as little more than a petulant protest.
‘This bastard, where does he get this strength…’
Regardless of his current ill condition, Yoon Geon-woo seemed to be naturally endowed with a powerful physique. The weight pressing down on my entire body was considerable, and on the thick forearm that pinned my neck, prominent veins visibly bulged beneath his skin.
Considering he had manifested as an S-class Esper even before his growth spurt, this raw power was, in a way, only to be expected.
“Yoon… Geon-woo….”
I stammered his name, struggling to free myself from his crushing grip. Despite my best efforts to squeeze out a sound, Yoon Geon-woo merely furrowed his brow, completely ignoring my plea.
On the contrary, he began to exert even more pressure with the hand clamped around my throat.
‘Merciless bastard… Did I do that guiding for my own amusement?’
Intellectually, I understood why he might be enraged. Yet, from my own perspective, having risked danger to initiate the guiding, I couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of injustice.
After all, even if I was an uninvited intruder who had forced the guiding, it was Yoon Geon-woo himself who had been on the precipice of a rampage.
“Wait… this… a little…”
Before I could even attempt to answer him, I desperately needed to convey that I was suffocating to a dangerous degree.
With the most desperate expression I could muster, I scratched at Yoon Geon-woo’s wrist. My short fingernails offered little in the way of effect, but thankfully, I managed to capture his attention.
As if he had finally grasped my unspoken plea, he grudgingly shifted his grip from my neck to my hair. My breathing immediately eased, yet his rough handling made me fear all my hair would be ripped from my scalp.
“Ugh….”
“You, what are you, exactly?”
A pained groan escaped me, a natural reaction to the stinging sensation. Yet, heedless of my discomfort, Yoon Geon-woo pressed his question, his voice laced with what sounded like suppressed irritation.
Only then did I recall that we hadn’t even exchanged introductions. I steadied my head, which felt as though it might be ripped clean off, and stammered out my self-introduction.
“Guide Class 9-3, Sogum….”
Yoon Geon-woo’s expression hardened, as if I had uttered some utterly nonsensical phrase. It seemed he was interpreting the name I’d given him in a completely different context.
Where had that pitiful figure, weeping openly just moments ago while receiving guiding, vanished to? With the last vestiges of the drug’s influence gone, Yoon Geon-woo was now nothing short of a venomous wildcat.
“Sogum is my name….”
Though I felt a surge of tension as he reverted to his usual demeanor, I kindly clarified, “My surname is ‘So,’ and my given name is ‘Geum-i.’” I longed to elaborate further, but his perpetually sour expression kept my lips from forming any more words, merely twitching in hesitation.
As I clamped my mouth shut, rendered speechless as if I’d swallowed honey, and averted my gaze, Yoon Geon-woo continued to interrogate me, pressing relentlessly.
“Did the director send you?”
“…Director?”
When I questioned his incomprehensible words, he let out a loud, impatient click of his tongue.
“How did you get into my room?”
“That’s… because I’m your roommate.”
“Roommate?”
“Hmph… I’m… your temporary… paired guide….”
This time, I genuinely attempted to provide the most detailed explanation possible. Yet, before I could even complete my sentence, Yoon Geon-woo violently twisted my hair once more.
My neck snapped backward, and tears involuntarily sprang to my eyes, so fiercely did he yank that my scalp screamed with pain.
‘You bastard. You won’t take responsibility if I go bald from this, will you?’
“Let go. Ah… it hurts….”
At my desperate plea to be released before speaking, Yoon Geon-woo merely sneered, as if the notion were utterly preposterous. His gaze, piercing down from a breath’s distance, radiated a chilling intensity.
“Who said you could form a temporary pair with me?”
“Who? The school decided it…. Oh, our matching rate is 94%, you know? That’s really hard to get….”
“Shut up.”
As I seized the opportunity to prattle on about the unique aspects of a temporary pairing, raw fury seeped through his tightly gritted teeth.
‘He asked, and now he’s getting angry again…’
Yoon Geon-woo, enraged by yet another unknown slight, had eyes that slanted upwards twice as fiercely as before, and his expression was utterly frigid. Seeing the hot aura rise like a shimmering heat haze behind him, it was clear he intended to use his ability once more.
‘Yoon Geon-woo, you madman! Do you know how hard I worked to lower that contamination level?!’
Was he still not in his right mind? Or had he truly lost it? Just moments ago, he’d been groaning alone, buried under his blanket… Perhaps he was so mortified that I’d witnessed it, he’d simply wiped it from his memory?
Internally, I cursed Yoon Geon-woo, all while reconfirming the contamination level.
[Contamination Level 68%]
It was a figure that had only just barely pulled him out of the high-risk group, and the precariousness of the situation remained unchanged. Yet, if he were to use his ability again, wouldn’t all the effort I’d poured into him be utterly wasted?
‘I must avoid raising the contamination level any further.’
If Yoon Geon-woo were the type to docilely accept guiding after deploying his abilities, I wouldn’t be fretting like this. While he undoubtedly harbored personal reasons unknown to the public, the fact that he consumed forbidden drugs despite enduring horrific side effects only solidified my conviction.
Furthermore, a body sustained solely by medication could hardly be in pristine condition. While infusing his tattered frame with ‘Helper Killer’ might offer temporary relief, relying solely on it was inherently perilous.
After all, every medication inevitably fostered resistance.
If he continued to abuse his body in this manner, a rampage at the upcoming graduation ceremony would be an absolute certainty. Indeed, he might not even survive to see graduation, meeting his end far sooner.
And getting caught up in that disaster would undoubtedly be the fate of the SAA students and myself.
As I was lost in these myriad concerns, the room once again swirled with a suffocating wave of hot air. Unable to stand by and merely observe any longer, I urgently cried out to Yoon Geon-woo.
“No, don’t do that!”
As I pleaded, my voice laced with fervent desperation, Yoon Geon-woo’s eyes wavered for a fleeting moment. Seizing that brief opening, I thrust my cheek towards him.
“If you’re going to use your ability because of me, then… then just… hit me.”
This was a decision I had made the moment I first attempted to guide Yoon Geon-woo. As I squeezed my eyes shut and thrust my head forward, almost challenging him, the hand gripping my hair tightened perceptibly.
‘Yoon Geon-woo has such a powerful grip and large hands; if he misses badly, it could leave a nasty scar, couldn’t it?’
As that thought surfaced, my heart involuntarily began to pound. ‘I hate pain… please, hit me gently…’ I muttered to myself, clenching my molars tightly.
Yet, contrary to my expectations, several minutes passed without any discernible reaction. A suspicious disquiet stirring within me, I cautiously opened my closed eyes and glanced up at Yoon Geon-woo.
‘What’s with that expression?’
The man I faced wore an expression as though he’d just witnessed the epitome of madness; his already pale complexion had bleached to an even starker white. His deep blue eyes, like the abyssal sea, were clouded with confusion and myriad questions.
What on earth was he thinking? I stared at him with an expression that suggested my own curiosity now far outstripped his, but then a ‘what if?’ thought struck me, and my heart plummeted.
‘This… this bastard, surely not….’
Of course, I had deliberately intruded into his room and forced contact guiding upon him against his will… and yes, I was the one who had just told him to hit me! But I had never, not even for a fleeting instant, intended to actually be struck. Any strange misunderstandings were absolutely unwelcome.
“…If the contamination level rises again, you’ll be in pain again, won’t you?”
“What does that have to do with you?”
‘What does it have to do with me? If you rampage, we both die! So, just stay safe, don’t get hurt, and grow into a robust, official Esper!’
I looked up at Yoon Geon-woo, silently offering that fervent wish.
“I’m worried, you know. Even if it’s temporary, I’m still your paired guide for now.”
Had my earnest plea managed to reach him? Yoon Geon-woo’s expression remained as frigid as a sheet of ice, yet the hand gripping my hair had subtly, almost imperceptibly, loosened its hold.
Seizing this opportune moment, I attempted to slowly extricate my hair from his grasp, capitalizing on his apparent confusion. As my fingertips fumbled, trying to gauge the unseen strands behind my head, they brushed against Yoon Geon-woo’s hand.
My fingers traced past the hot, prominent veins on the back of his hand, then encountered his fingertips, rough with hangnails. Did he possess a habit of biting his nails? The hard calluses and scabs on his skin seemed to cause a faint, phantom ache, and Yoon Geon-woo, meeting my gaze, narrowed his brows.
“From now on, call me when this happens. I’ll help you not get hurt.”
‘We have a high matching rate, after all… It’ll be much better than taking medicine.’ I gently patted Yoon Geon-woo’s hand, slowly prying it from my hair as I spoke.
When I offered him a clear smile, as if asking for a little leniency, Yoon Geon-woo looked down at me with a somewhat blank expression. His blue gaze remained fixed on mine for a long moment.
However, he seemed to snap back to reality shortly after, his eyes instantly sharpening.
“Stop talking nonsense and get out.”
Yoon Geon-woo ground his teeth, as if he could no longer tolerate such absurdities.
“Ugh… Hey, where am I supposed to go? I told you, we’re roommates now.”
I desperately clutched at his clothes, resisting. But he ruthlessly grabbed my collar and flung me out the door.
“I don’t need guiding.”
*CRASH—*
With a door slam that sounded like the heavens splitting open, a groan involuntarily escaped my lips. Thrown unceremoniously like useless luggage, I had hit the marble floor face-first.
‘Did I just chip a tooth?’
Before I could even protest, however, Yoon Geon-woo had already retreated into his room. From the way things were going, the situation felt even worse than last time, when we had no connection whatsoever.
Damn it, looks like getting close to him is a bust this time too.
First, a strategic retreat. With my thoughts a chaotic mess, I pressed on my thankfully intact teeth and headed back to the Red Wing, where I originally stayed.
It wasn’t long before I realized I had left all my belongings in Room 714, though…
“Hey, Yoon Geon-woo!”
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Dragon’s Song Echoing in the Heavens. Start reading now!
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