Chapter 70: The Warmth I Couldn’t Trust

“Jaeyoon!”

As I headed down to the cafeteria for lunch after trying to sort through the mess in my head, Ahn Yijeong — who had apparently been waiting on a nearby bench — immediately ran over and greeted me.

When I thought about it carefully, aside from the time spent guiding the team members, I’d recently been spending most of my days with Ahn Yijeong.

Humans really were foolish creatures.

I’d been hurt and disappointed by people so many times that I thought there wasn’t a single corner of my heart left to give away.

And yet, the moment Ahn Yijeong approached me first and showed genuine interest, I found myself unable to ignore his kindness.

Honestly, being with him made me feel at ease.

Unlike the team members who constantly hurled insults and contempt at me, he was the only one who treated me like an actual person.

“You’re here now?”

“Yeah. Were you waiting long?”

“No, I just got here too. It’s too bad though. If our timing matched better, we could’ve come down together.”

The lingering traces of the nightmare that had tormented me all night slowly faded away.

Even the loneliness that always crept in during cold dawns gradually weakened thanks to Ahn Yijeong constantly talking beside me.

The only problem was the number of piercing stares directed at my back had doubled.

Apparently people couldn’t stand seeing a talented Esper freshly transferred from the Northern Center spending time with a mere B-rank Guide from a refugee background, because whispers immediately spread about what kind of trick I’d used this time to secure a place beside someone so important.

“…Haah.”

For someone like me, whose every day felt like a continuous battle, merely enduring people’s gazes drained an absurd amount of energy.

Honestly, whenever I accidentally made eye contact with those hostile stares, it felt like my lifespan shortened by the second.

I was grateful to have someone easing my loneliness.

And it was true that someone like Ahn Yijeong was far too good a friend for a person like me.

But that was exactly why I needed to rethink this relationship.

Just moments ago, when I walked into the cafeteria and greeted him, everyone pretended not to care while secretly focusing all their attention on us, clearly trying to overhear what we were saying.

As an Esper with senses far sharper than ordinary people, there was no way Ahn Yijeong hadn’t noticed those stares too.

“What’s wrong, Jaeyoon? Why the sudden sigh?”

“I’m just tired. I had nightmares last night and barely slept.”

“Oh, is that okay? Didn’t you say the same thing happened the other night too?”

“Yeah. Lately I’ve even started wondering if I should light sleep candles or drink tea before bed. Not sleeping properly makes it impossible to think straight, and feeling exhausted all day really isn’t sustainable.”

Considering how thoughtful Ahn Yijeong was toward me, I didn’t intend to push him away immediately.

But at the same time, I felt like I needed to prepare myself for the day he eventually left my side.

Breakups you aren’t prepared for leave deeper wounds than expected.

Even if it had only been around two years ago, the younger and far more naive version of myself had become so worn down by people’s indifference that I eventually chose isolation instead.

And habits built back then didn’t disappear overnight just because I was spending more time with Ahn Yijeong now.

I was a coward by nature.

And as I grew older, my distrust toward people only deepened.

That still hadn’t changed.

“In that case, today you should eat whatever you want. I’ll pay. If you’re not even sleeping properly, then at least you need to eat well so you can get through work.”

“Hahaha. The way you talk really reminds me of someone. I got scolded the exact same way this morning.”

“I remind you of someone? Who?”

“His name’s Lee Shinwoo. He’s a friend from my hometown. We’ve been talking a lot lately.”

I barely managed to stop Ahn Yijeong, who looked fully prepared to stand in front of the ordering machine and buy everything on the menu.

It was true I was hungry, but my stomach had grown so weak that overeating would definitely make me throw everything up immediately.

In the end, we compromised on dumpling soup and two warm stews to share.

Ahn Yijeong argued that at twenty-four I should still be eating properly, and since he’d be eating too, three dishes clearly weren’t enough.

At one point he even shoved his card into my hand and told me not to hold back.

Panicking, I immediately stuffed it back into his pocket.

“……!!”

Flinch—

But the moment my hand slipped into Ahn Yijeong’s pocket, I felt his shoulders suddenly stiffen.

From the perspective of a sensitive Esper, even if I was a Guide, unexpected physical contact probably wasn’t pleasant.

Startled, I quickly stepped back and repeatedly apologized to the still-frozen Ahn Yijeong.

“Then let’s eat well. You should eat too, Mr. Ahn.”

“…Y-Yeah!”

Ignoring the sharp stares around us, we sat near the cafeteria window.

Outside, warm sunlight poured over nameless wildflowers planted in the indoor garden, swaying softly in the breeze.

I found myself absentmindedly staring at the oddly calming sight, forgetting even to scoop up the bubbling stew in front of me.

Thankfully, once Ahn Yijeong — whose presence was almost as intimidating as the members of Attack Team 3 — sat down nearby, the others who had been whispering earlier immediately lowered their heads and focused intensely on eating instead.

Only after most of the surrounding employees left their seats did the noisy atmosphere finally calm down.

“Ugh— blegh…!”

The sour taste of stomach acid surged up my throat, and the moment I opened the toilet lid, everything spilled out violently.

My vision suddenly blurred, and the food I’d forced myself to swallow churned painfully inside me.

It felt as though something blunt had smashed directly into my chest, the pain near my stomach unbearable.

Clutching my wrinkled shirt tightly against my chest, I focused entirely on emptying my stomach.

There hadn’t been any major symptoms while I was eating, so I thought I’d be fine.

Apparently not.

Haaah—

I tried standing while gripping the toilet with trembling hands, but my legs shook like a newborn calf’s, leaving me unable to rise properly.

It felt as though my weakening body was forcefully engraving the reality of approaching death directly into my mind.

Creak—

“Jaeyoon, are you alright? Should I rub your back?”

I forced myself to tell Ahn Yijeong — who was speaking from the bathroom entrance — that I was fine.

Wiping away the tears gathered at the corners of my eyes, I held my burning stomach.

“I’m sorry. My stomach’s been really bad since this morning…”

“…Now I feel awful too. It feels like I forced food onto you even after you said no. If I’d known this would happen, we should’ve just eaten porridge or something simple instead.”

“It’s really just because my stomach feels especially bad today, so don’t blame yourself. I ate perfectly fine at the restaurant before, didn’t I?”

Maybe because I vomited so often lately, my throat had become damaged enough that I could taste blood lingering inside my mouth.

Still, I ignored it and calmly brushed my teeth before walking back out with Ahn Yijeong.

“No, this really won’t do. There’s a café nearby, so I’ll go get you something warm to drink. Is there anything you prefer?”

“No, seriously. You don’t need to. Don’t bother dealing with crowded places just because of me. Stay here.”

“You just threw everything up. If you leave your stomach empty like this, it’ll only get worse. It’s not like there’s anything urgent this afternoon anyway, so I’ll just wait in line and grab something quickly.”

After arguing with the stubbornly persistent Ahn Yijeong for quite a while, I eventually gave in simply because I no longer had the energy to resist him.

I asked him to buy ginger tea — the same drink Park Suchang had slapped out of my hand before I could properly drink it last time — and specifically requested that he mix hot water and cold water half-and-half.

Even though I tried not to dwell on the past, the sensation of flesh practically boiling in scalding water was horrifying enough to haunt my dreams.

Honestly, it felt far more painful than the time a steel rod pierced through my arm while protecting Choi Siram.

It made me subconsciously understand why people said burning to death was one of the worst pains imaginable.

“Then I’ll be back soon, Jaeyoon. Just wait here for a bit.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

Ahn Yijeong gradually disappeared into the crowd.

The sticky gazes that had barely faded earlier immediately latched onto me again.

Unable to endure them any longer, I moved toward the quieter area in front of Meeting Room 2 and waited there for him to return.

Meeting Room 2 was regularly used by the center’s executives whenever important meetings were held.

Unless you possessed a fairly high rank, people normally couldn’t even approach the area.

Even I could only stand there because I was the Guide assigned to Attack Team 3.

Honestly, despite how terribly they treated me, the title of exclusive Guide occasionally proved surprisingly useful.

“The council meeting starts in two hours. It’s important, so don’t cause trouble for once and just stay quiet.”

“That depends on how those old council bastards behave. You know my personality. If nobody provokes me, I don’t bother acting up.”

“The problem is your definition of ‘provoking’ changes whenever you feel like it. Stop talking back and stick close to the director. Only answer when spoken to. Reporters are coming in large numbers this time too, so if they catch anything suspicious, both of us are going to suffer for the next two months. Got it?”

“Wow, Seokhwan. The way you talk is so sweet. Anyone listening would think you’re my babysitter.”

The sound of heavy dress shoes echoed through the hallway as two massive figures approached from the opposite end of the corridor.

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