# Chapter 101
Geonwoo’s eyes widened. Shock filled his pupils completely.
Numerous wolves were lunging at Jaehee.
In that terrible situation, Geonwoo immediately approached Jaehee. He wanted to use his ability to eliminate all the monsters rushing toward Jaehee.
But blood suddenly rose in his throat. The wavelength inside his body fluctuated severely. If he used his ability in his current state, he could potentially go berserk. Before saving Jaehee, he might hurt him with his own rampage.
In this frustrating situation with no answer, Geonwoo’s pupils trembled uncontrollably. The situation Kang Dohyun had created, his body that wouldn’t obey him, the anxiety that Jaehee might get hurt… all of these greatly shook Geonwoo’s emotions. A profound agitation was clearly reflected in Geonwoo’s eyes.
“Guide Yoo Jiwoon!”
Dohyun didn’t miss Geonwoo’s agitation. He immediately looked toward Yoo Jiwoon and shouted.
“…!”
Yoo Jiwoon looked at Dohyun, nodded slightly, and immediately released his radiant guiding to the maximum. He had noticed what kind of situation Dohyun was trying to create based on the unfolding circumstances and Dohyun’s call. Soon, Jiwoon’s guiding energy filled the surroundings.
‘So you’re saying he can only choose one of the two.’
Kang Dohyun had effectively given Choi Geonwoo an ultimatum.
‘Whether to protect Lee Jaehee. Or to protect the one-way bond with Lee Jaehee.’
A faint smile that couldn’t be completely hidden bloomed on Jiwoon’s lips as he performed radiant guiding while watching the situation from behind.
Choi Geonwoo needed his ability to protect Jaehee. To use his ability, he needed guiding energy to suppress his potential rampage.
In the end, if he wanted to protect Jaehee, Geonwoo would have to receive Jiwoon’s guiding energy and erase the one-way bond with Jaehee.
‘Then the one-way bond target would automatically change as well.’
From Lee Jaehee to Yoo Jiwoon.
It was a satisfying situation. Jiwoon pressed down the corners of his mouth that were trying to rise.
But Kang Dohyun, the mastermind behind this situation, was extremely tense.
‘He must be worried that Jaehee might get hurt.’
It was just as Jiwoon had expected.
‘Jaehee won’t get hurt.’
Dohyun kept repeating only that to himself.
But at that moment, Dohyun’s eyes widened. The same was true for Jiwoon. Something unexpected happened.
Crunch-!
It was a situation where wolves were lunging and Yoo Jiwoon’s guiding energy was filling the surroundings, so naturally, they thought Geonwoo would absorb the guiding energy.
But Choi Geonwoo ultimately did not absorb Yoo Jiwoon’s guiding energy. He simply used his own body to block the path of the monsters rushing at Jaehee.
The wolf-type monsters’ teeth were powerful enough to pierce flesh and crush bones—so much so that even Dohyun might have lost an arm if he hadn’t removed the control device and used his ability. Yet Choi Geonwoo threw himself at them.
He didn’t choose any of the options Dohyun had presented. Choi Geonwoo chose to protect both Jaehee and the one-way bond connecting them. By sacrificing his own body as the price.
Drip, drip-!
Even for a top-tier Esper with completed physical enhancement, there were limits. The flesh of his shoulders and legs bitten by the wolves was torn, and blood gushed out through the gaps.
But Geonwoo moved even closer to the monsters. He was worried that his blood might splash onto Jaehee, or that the monsters might target Jaehee instead of him. Geonwoo deliberately stood defenseless and stepped back to make all the monsters target him.
“…!”
Jaehee, who was sitting weakly in front of him, had his pupils shake greatly. The blood flowing from Geonwoo’s body seemed unreal. It couldn’t be helped. Because Geonwoo was smiling faintly while looking at Jaehee.
“It’s okay, Guide.”
Geonwoo said affectionately, trying to reassure Jaehee.
Considering this most sensitive period right before manifestation, when even small stimuli could affect the body, Geonwoo was ignoring his own wounds and only caring for Jaehee. He whispered for Jaehee not to be surprised, and that he would absolutely not let him get hurt.
But rather, Geonwoo’s actions shook Jaehee.
Jaehee’s eyes grew hot. His eyes contorted, and tears flowed down his cheeks. He didn’t want to accept the situation before his eyes.
Jaehee just wanted to protect Geonwoo.
But why.
‘Why does it always turn out like this…’
There was only one thing Jaehee had thought about during his regression.
Preserving the original work.
Because he had ruined the original work’s fate and lost Geonwoo, Jaehee didn’t even attempt to change fate in his second life. Since the original work with Geonwoo’s happy future was clearly drawn in his mind, he only obsessed over the original work and kept pushing Geonwoo away.
He believed that was the right answer.
He thought that was the path for Geonwoo.
But…
Is this current situation… really right for you?
He wanted to distance himself for Geonwoo’s sake. It was to avoid repeating his death. It was never intended to hurt Geonwoo. But this situation kept repeating itself. Every time he pushed him away, Geonwoo only got hurt.
Jaehee couldn’t understand this situation or Geonwoo’s actions.
‘We’re only connected by a one-way bond…’
What are you hoping for, why are you so obsessed with me?
Why are you so blind to me?
Why do you try to protect me even at the cost of sacrificing yourself?
Jaehee began to be confused about what the right path was. The entire situation, Geonwoo’s actions, shook Jaehee.
‘…Geon… woo…’
Additionally, his body, which had reached the limit of manifestation, amplified his emotions. He couldn’t stop it.
“…Geon… woo…”
In the end, the call that shouldn’t have been uttered burst out. Honest emotions that had been carefully hidden were embedded in that faint call. The feelings that had to be buried flowed out with his tears.
“…!”
Geonwoo’s eyes widened. Jaehee was crying, with a face that looked more pained at Geonwoo’s pain. Geonwoo’s pupils trembled.
“…Guide.”
He could see Jaehee seeming to worry about him, but he didn’t know if he could believe it.
Because Jaehee hated him. Because Jaehee disliked him. Because Jaehee was the one who had said he deceived him because he wanted to break their bond.
He never expected Jaehee to cry like this over his wounds.
Why?
He wondered. At the same time, a strange sense of fulfillment rose along with guilt. Contradictory feelings coexisted—the thought that he should have hidden his injured appearance from Jaehee if he knew he would cry like this, and the wish that Jaehee would cry more for his sake.
But Geonwoo couldn’t think like that anymore. Because Dohyun immediately approached and lifted Jaehee into his arms. In that moment, Geonwoo’s gaze and Dohyun’s gaze clashed. Emotions that showed no retreat met head-on. Geonwoo’s eyes grew fierce.
But that too soon ended. Dohyun immediately started running at full speed. Firmly holding Jaehee, who was trying to escape from his arms, he gritted his teeth and entered the forest beyond the south entrance.
Dohyun pretended not to have seen Jaehee’s expression just now. He refused to listen to anything Jaehee said in his arms. Dohyun’s hands were trembling. The hands that had trembled with anxiety that Jaehee might get hurt in the situation he created were now trembling for an entirely different reason.
Jaehee had shown his own emotions for the first time, which even he had been busy ignoring and hiding. And he did it in front of Choi Geonwoo.
He had wavered. To Choi Geonwoo, who got hurt instead of him right before his eyes, at his appearance. The hidden emotions had overflowed. Recognizing this immediately, Dohyun took Jaehee away from that place. It was an absurd emotion. It was also an incomprehensible emotion. That’s why Dohyun wanted to disappear completely with Jaehee. Anywhere without Choi Geonwoo.
“Prepare for battle!”
Meanwhile, at the place Dohyun had disappeared from, Geonwoo and numerous Espers surrounding him remained.
Geonwoo couldn’t follow Dohyun. Blood was flowing from the wounds all over his body, and his wavelength was fluctuating. He couldn’t chase after Jaehee in this state.
So he could only keep Jaehee in his sight. He tried somehow to calm his rampaging body. Because only then could he reclaim Jaehee. Because only then could he ask about the meaning of those tears he had just shown.
Moreover, he couldn’t leave Jaehee by Dohyun’s side. The dream scene was a problem, but he couldn’t forget Kang Dohyun’s expression when he had put Jaehee down in front of the wolves.
‘Hurry, I need to get him back.’
For that, he first needed to resolve the current situation. Geonwoo’s gaze turned. He tore off the wolf-type monsters biting his shoulder with force.
‘Now, my Guide is no longer here.’
The only ones here were those who were trying to separate him and Jaehee. In a situation where Jaehee was no longer by his side, Geonwoo had no fear of going berserk. He was only thinking about reclaiming Jaehee.
That’s when it happened.
“Esper Choi Geonwoo!”
The Center Director, who had been standing behind the Espers, stepped forward upon seeing Geonwoo’s eyes gradually turning red. He opened his mouth slowly but firmly while looking at Geonwoo. But Geonwoo didn’t even give a glance to the Center Director.
“Is what you want.”
However, Geonwoo’s expression changed at the Center Director’s next words.
“The death of Guide Lee Jaehee?”
Geonwoo’s gaze sank coldly.
