Chapter 53: The Price of Returning

Kwon Yiyul’s face was right in front of mine.

Kneeling before me, he muttered in a sulking tone.

The corners of his lips curved upward playfully.

Though his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“Ah… ah…”

“Why do you keep acting like you’re dying? Breathe. Breathe.”

Unlike usual, Kwon Yiyul wore a dark uniform from head to toe.

Slowly rolling up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, he lightly patted both my cheeks in turn.

Strangely enough, this coaxing attitude felt far more horrifying than if he had simply shouted at me.

Without thinking, I slapped his hand away.

Watching my reaction carefully, Kwon Yiyul clenched his jaw so tightly the veins stood out.

He was desperately holding back his anger.

“So? Was your little rebellion fun?”

“……”

“While some people are out risking their lives in the field, someone else ignores their team leader’s request and runs off here to slack around. The Center’s really functioning wonderfully these days, huh?”

Whip—

His hand suddenly seized my collar.

The violently surging brainwave field trembled directly in front of me.

His rough breathing, harsh enough to grate on my ears, revealed just how hard he was restraining himself.

My feet slowly lifted off the ground.

Unable to breathe, I instinctively clawed at his arm.

Long nail marks—clearly mine—scratched across his pale skin.

“And to top it all off, the bastard who helped the runaway escape turns out to be one of my direct subordinates and my childhood friend. Can you believe that shit?”

No matter how angry he got, no matter how insolent I acted, Kwon Yiyul had never physically hurt me before.

I could openly ignore him, defy his orders, act recklessly, and he would only mock me.

He never laid a hand on me.

Not even a single hair on my body was ever harmed.

But now—

Now he couldn’t stay still for even a moment, repeatedly raising and lowering his hand like someone who had completely lost control.

“Haah… just how f*cking ridiculous do these people think I am?”

He had annihilated this many enemies, and after exerting his abilities for such a long time, even Kwon Yiyul—already dangerously unstable for his power level—had clearly worsened.

“Answer me, Yoon-ah. Just how much of a joke did you think I was to pull something this absurd? Or have I been too nice to you this whole time?”

Throb—

A splitting headache struck me belatedly.

Every time his unstable brainwave field spiraled further out of control, my own body condition fluctuated violently alongside it.

Perhaps because of the overwhelming stress and shock in such a short time, my vision blurred and blood suddenly gushed from my nose again.

The illness that had only just started improving was deteriorating once more.

“Ugh…”

“Ha. Now you gag just looking at my face? You really are something else.”

“…Blegh… ngh…”

It wasn’t pain.

It was dizziness.

It felt like someone had grabbed my head, slammed it into the ground, then shaken it violently over and over.

I writhed helplessly, clutching my head.

I could feel Song Ahyoung slipping from my arms, but I couldn’t help it.

Unless Kwon Yiyul’s brainwave field calmed down, this agony would never stop.

“f*ck, what are you doing?”

I suddenly wrapped both arms around the back of Kwon Yiyul’s neck.

Pressing myself tightly against him, I increased as much physical contact as possible.

Instead of pushing away the very source triggering my condition, I embraced him.

But prolonged suffering was worse.

Even if it came with intense pain, it was better to end it quickly in one blow.

More importantly, Kwon Yiyul’s brainwave field was dangerously unstable.

At this rate, he could easily lose control.

I didn’t know whether Song Ahyoung was still breathing or not, but she was right beside us.

I couldn’t allow him to harm her recklessly.

Enduring pain that felt like my body was splitting apart, I focused on guiding him.

“…What exactly got into Kim Seokhwan to help you escape?”

“……”

“Funny how he never cared about you before, yet even with one of his eyes crushed, he still refused to tell me where you went.”

While I struggled to continue guiding him, Kwon Yiyul looked down at me—essentially trapped in his embrace now—and spoke indifferently.

“Crushed his eye…? Who did?”

“…Ahh. I really tried not to touch him since he’s still on my team. But the way he glared at me, the stubborn way he talked back… every little thing pissed me off so much that before I realized it, I crushed one of his eyeballs completely.”

The way he lazily pronounced Kim Seokhwan’s name sent chills down my spine.

I had expected conflict between Kim Seokhwan, who supported my escape from the Center, and Kwon Yiyul, who wanted to bind me there through a renewed contract.

But I never imagined Kwon Yiyul would actually harm his own teammate.

“Y-you’re lying, right?”

“Well? What do you think?”

As unhinged as Kwon Yiyul could be, he usually followed the Center’s rules quite strictly.

And among those rules, the thing he hated most was conflict between fellow Espers.

He absolutely despised Center-affiliated Espers using their powers recklessly to injure others.

Even against each other.

“……”

“If you’re that curious, go see Seokhwan with your own eyes. Problem solved.”

If one of Kim Seokhwan’s eyes had really been destroyed, then there was no way he was unharmed.

The guilt that my choices had forced him into suffering he never should have endured grew heavier with every second.

Especially because Kwon Yiyul wasn’t someone who lied casually.

If he said he hurt someone—

He hurt them.

“Hahaha. Why are you so tense? Relax. I did damage his eye, but by now he’s probably recovered enough to live normally again. Besides, Seokhwan isn’t some ordinary civilian, is he? He’s an S-Class Esper.”

“……”

“Surprised?”

“……”

“You are surprised. Our Yoon-ie got really shocked because of me.”

Kwon Yiyul casually wrapped an arm around my waist.

Maybe because I wore only a thin, worn-out shirt in the cold weather, his body heat felt unnaturally high.

“Then why bother running away in the first place?”

He pressed his lips near my ear and whispered softly.

The sound of his voice dissolving into the air made strength leave my body entirely.

To keep myself upright, I ended up bracing one of his thighs between my legs.

“If you’d just kept your mouth shut and quietly lived at the Center, neither you nor Seokhwan would’ve had to bleed like this. I even revised the contract terms enough that you could tolerate them, so what exactly is the problem?”

“…Contracts aren’t absolute. You made the offer, yes, but the choice still belongs to me. If I don’t want it, then even you—as team leader—can’t force me into a contract. You know that better than anyone.”

“Right. That’s true. But that’s not the answer I want right now, Yoon-ah.”

Kwon Yiyul gently brushed my overgrown hair behind my ear.

His sharp canine teeth grazed the cold flesh near my earlobe, slowly nibbling at it.

Startled by the wet, unsettling sound near my ear, I pushed against his chest and asked resentfully.

Rain continued pouring endlessly beneath the cloudy sky.

“…Why are you doing this to me? What exactly do you want? If all you want is guidance, there are plenty of other Guides besides me.”

“Well, you’re right. The Center’s overflowing with Guides.”

“……”

“But finding one who matches this well with me is difficult, isn’t it?”

The spot his fingers touched on my swollen cheek burned painfully.

As though he’d completely forgotten the violence he inflicted earlier, his eyes remained fixed on the bruise.

For a moment, his expression resembled a child staring at a broken treasured possession.

Maybe I had finally gone blind too.

His long fingers wrapped around my throat.

“No matter how many times I look at it, it’s fascinating. Other high-ranking Guides all went insane one after another, but you only suffered physical exhaustion. How could I possibly give that up easily?”

“……”

“To be honest, I prefer your guidance over Siram’s. The effects last longer somehow. Compatibility really does matter.”

“……”

“And besides, you can behave as crudely as you want, so you’re practical too. Less effort.”

In the end, Kwon Yiyul’s words boiled down to four simple syllables.

Come back.

“Oh right. Didn’t you just say earlier that even if I make the offer, the choice still belongs to the Guide? Well, not anymore.”

Come back—

And continue being used as a tool to prolong their lives, just like before.

“Unfortunately, if you reject me this time too, then I plan to kill every single person here. You included.”

“……”

“The excuse is simple enough. A Guide with a high flight risk collaborated with rebels and leaked Center information. That alone would justify wiping everyone out here. Nobody would question my motives.”

“……”

“In fact, those old bastards in the council would probably celebrate being able to get rid of troublesome people while they’re at it. Ah… just imagining it makes me sick.”

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