Chapter 60: Nowhere to Turn

After finishing the morning guiding training, I moved to the B-Class training room.
Although the S-Class training room was more pleasant and had newer facilities, the B-Class training room, where I had trained for three years, felt more familiar, and I think I kept going there because my colleagues were there.

Today seemed to be free physical training time, as everyone was training on their own.
I immediately looked for Jihwon.
But unlike usual, he was sitting on a chair with a hunched posture.

“Jihwon.”

Even at my call, he didn’t react, as if he were out of his mind.
In the end, I gently touched his shoulder, and only then did he raise his head and look at me.

“Hyung, you’re here?”

The area under his eyes was dark, and his trembling lips were almost black.

“Are you sick?”

“…I am tired.”

“How about you go to the infirmary? You don’t look well.”

“It’s not that bad.”

Seeing his voice come out more cracked than usual, it was certain that he was not in a good condition.

“Are you really okay? Health comes before training.”

“Thank you for worrying, hyung.”

“Let’s go home early today. I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“Really?”

I was even more worried at his forced smile.
I knew well that when you were judged as a low grade, you developed a desire to keep going up, but he was doing well enough.
He had already been promoted to B-Class faster than before.
So I didn’t want him to be obsessed with promotion to the point of ruining his body.

“Yeah. I’ll go and tell the trainer, so let’s stop by the infirmary and then leave.”

“Hyung…. But I don’t think I can today.”

“Why?”

“There’s a training session I can’t miss.”

“It’s okay, you can miss one day. You have to think about your body first.”

“I’m really fine. And I feel secure because I have you, hyung.”

He said and stood up.
But after a few steps, he collapsed.
I immediately ran to him and held him in my arms, but he had already lost consciousness.

The unconscious Jihwon was immediately transported to the Center hospital.
The test results showed that, like my past self, the guiding machine’s wavelength had entered every corner of his body and was irritating his nerves.
For a moment, I was speechless at the doctor’s words that his nerves would have been damaged if it had been a little later.
The symptoms were too similar to mine before I died.

Seeing that the same side effect was affecting not only me but also him, I thought that he might also be participating in the secret S-Class project.
The question, ‘Did Dr. Yoon really not know about the side effects?’ arose.

If side effects like this continued to occur, the project had to be stopped.

In the end, I couldn’t even see him wake up and returned to the Center.
On my way back to the Center, I checked my phone and saw that a message had arrived from Wonjae.
He must not have heard the news about Jihwon yet, as there was no mention of him, and the message just said that there were a few things to be tested at the Center today, so I should go home first.

In the end, I turned my steps from the Center to my home.
Fortunately, Sung Yohan was not there when I arrived home.

I took a simple shower and sat quietly on the living room sofa.
I was worried about Jihwon’s condition, and Sung Yohan’s actions also kept bothering me.

I thought that a normal life would return once the speculations related to the American Association subsided a little, but it wasn’t so.

The President was still avoiding a meeting with me, and Sung Yohan was also still living with us.
If the Association continued to refuse to talk like this, I had no intention of finding a compromise with them anymore.

Even by the time the housekeeper had made dinner and left for the day, he had not come home.
Worried, I contacted him, but the long ringing tone just continued.
What kind of test was it that was taking so long?
I had to ask him when he came home.

After about 20 minutes, a call came from him.
I answered it immediately.

“Yeah, Wonjae.”

• [Hyung, I think I have to stay at the Center today.]

“Why?”

I asked back at the unexpected words.
No matter what the test was, to have to spend a day at the Center…

• [I still have a lot of things to be tested on.]

“Still, isn’t it too late?”

• [I’m sorry. I’ll contact you as soon as I’m done.]

“No. It’s not something you should be sorry for. Contact me when you’re done.”

After the call, I was even more worried about him, but I wasn’t in a situation where I could be at ease either.
If he didn’t come home today, I would have to spend the night at home alone with him.

Since he hadn’t come home yet, I had no choice but to pretend that he was there.
I didn’t know what he would do if he found out that he was not there.

I immediately went to the shoe rack, put out his shoes, and quickly finished my meal.
And then I went straight to my room and locked the door.

He had never stayed out overnight, so he would surely come home today as well.

After about an hour, I felt a presence and a wavelength, as if he had come home.

“Shinui-ssi, I’m home.”

He always greeted me before going into his room.

“You’re here?”

I said from in front of my door without leaving my room.
Then I heard a knock on the door, and the doorknob turned, but since I had locked the door in advance, it didn’t open.

“Shinui-ssi, why did you lock the door?”

“I was tired today, so I was going to sleep early.”

“You must have been very tired. But where is Joo Wonjae? It’s quiet today.”

I was surprised that he had noticed his absence at once.
But I said as usual so that he wouldn’t notice that I was surprised.

“He’s resting in his room. Didn’t he tell you not to bother him today?”

At my words, he said ‘is that so’ and that he was going to go rest too.
At that, I let out a sigh of relief.
I just hoped that the next day would come like this.

After a few dozen minutes, I heard a knock on the door again, along with his voice.

“Shinui-ssi, please open the door.”

“I’m going to sleep now.”

“…Okay.”

Fortunately, he still didn’t seem to have noticed that he was not there.
Relieved, I sent him a text.

[Wonjae, are you doing okay?]

But there was no reply from him for over 30 minutes.
What kind of test was taking so long?
Thinking it would have been better to do it in the morning, I lay down on the bed.
As it got closer to midnight, I slowly started to feel sleepy.

When I opened my eyes again, I felt a strong pressure constricting my body.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything.
It was strange because I had slept with the lights on.
But I knew immediately that someone was on top of me.

I struggled, but there was no sign of them getting off.

“Joo Wonjae is not here today.”

It was his voice.
At his voice, goosebumps rose all over my body, starting from the nape of my neck.

“Sung Yohan-ssi, what are you doing! Get off me right now!”

“I was wondering why you were only staying in your room. Were you scared of being alone with me?”

I didn’t want to admit it, but as he said, I was scared of being alone with him.
Even though we were both men, he was an S-Class Esper.
The probability of me winning against him was close to zero.

“I said get off!”

“I don’t want to.”

He, who was bigger than me, was pressing down on my upper body heavily like a rock.
I gasped for breath from the pressure that made it hard to breathe and struggled.

“I’ve never been imprinted with a guide before, so I was curious.”

“I said get off me right now!”

Even at my words, he put his hand inside my shirt and kissed my cheek.
The vivid feel of his lips made me shudder.

“You’ve never done it before either, so you must be curious. How about we experience it together this time?”

“I’m not curious at all!”

Heat rushed to my face in shame.
I wanted to get out of this situation right now, but my body wouldn’t follow.

“Don’t be shy. I’ll make you feel good.”

He said, and then lowered his hand towards my pants.

I absolutely could not be imprinted.
I used my legs and arms desperately to attack him, but it seemed to have no effect.
The clear difference in strength made me even more withdrawn and confused.

But what was fortunate was that as my eyes got used to the darkness, I could see my surroundings a little.

His large hand roamed my chest and stomach, and the moment he lowered his face and licked my stomach, I thought that this was really the end.

With my trembling lips tightly shut, I barely managed to turn over.
I tried to escape under the bed, but he grabbed my waist firmly and pulled me towards him.

I kept trying to escape forward, and then I found Minseong’s paralysis chip on the side table.

While he was distracted by my body, I reached out my hand and grabbed the paralysis chip.
And I took off the case and attached it to his neck without hesitation.

His body stiffened for a moment, and all his movements stopped.
I didn’t miss that moment and pushed him away, coming out.

Fortunately, the paralysis chip seemed to have taken effect, as there was no sign of him chasing me.
I barely made it down to the first floor and kept thinking about where to go, but my mind was in chaos and I couldn’t think straight.
Only his face came to mind.
It was because I thought that he would be able to help me.
After all, his house was right next door.

But I could never ask him for help.
I came out of the apartment just like that.

I was hiding in an alley and walking for a while when I suddenly remembered what Sehyun had said, to contact him if anything happened.
Remembering that his house was near mine, I turned my steps.
I thought now was the time to ask for his help.