So that was Ouroboros.
The form of the Ouroboros he searched for was the same as the form engraved on the emblem.
Could Genesis have reappeared?
Onyul fell into deep thought.
If the snake tattoo he saw in his dream was also real, and one of the Espers who entered the Gate with him was also affiliated with Genesis…
‘Are they trying to kidnap children again to forcibly awaken Espers?’
Perhaps someone affiliated with Genesis had already infiltrated the Management Bureau.
It was an unsettling matter, but he was at a loss about what to do.
Onyul wasn’t an ability user affiliated with the Management Bureau, nor did he move for a greater cause.
When he could barely take care of himself, he couldn’t handle things like justice or whatever.
Moreover, the organization he’d be dealing with was far too powerful. There was absolutely no way Onyul could confront them alone.
But what about Gu Baekyoung?
If he told him that the enemy who killed his parents and even the children kidnapped with him had reappeared, would he try to take revenge?
If Gu Baekyoung dreamed of revenge, what should he do…
‘Of course I have to help.’
It was strange. The matter that had been troublesome just moments ago was accepted without hesitation once Gu Baekyoung was involved.
He absolutely couldn’t let Gu Baekyoung go alone. How could he send a kid who didn’t even have a proper Guide alone?
Still, it was too big of an issue.
“Ugh, my head hurts.”
Onyul, whose head became complicated, pressed his forehead. An ominous premonition struck him that his plan to live an ordinary life as Kang Ian had now gone down the drain.
Where did it go wrong…
Even knowing that getting involved with Genesis would make his life more complicated, he worried about how to convey that matter to Gu Baekyoung.
Shouldn’t he talk about it after becoming more certain first?
To do that, he had to find out what the ‘confidentiality agreement’ was at the Management Bureau event that would soon take place.
If Genesis-related content came up there, the snake tattoo he saw in his dream wouldn’t be an illusion either.
Genesis had been involved in the Gate rampage incident that drove Onyul to death, and they might have started moving from that time, or even before.
About a week remained until the Management Bureau event.
Since he had to add therapy energy to some of the items to distribute that day, it seemed right to start preparing for that.
He decided to think about more complicated matters after the event ended.
Onyul first made several highly concentrated energy drinks with excessive therapy energy added.
Naturally, they weren’t for sale, but for use when secretly infiltrating the Management Bureau.
Originally, even good things should be consumed in moderation. If you gulp down too much, your body can’t handle it instead.
Ten years ago, when Onyul had just become an Esper. He had once accidentally poured out too much therapy energy.
At that time, low-ranked Espers and ordinary people started acting silly one by one, and eventually slumped down on the spot.
Their moods were elevated for no reason, and they became hazy as if their minds were melting, ultimately unable to endure and fainting.
Some even said that moment was so excessively sweet that it was rather scary. They said it felt so good it was like going to heaven.
Heaven…
Onyul, who recognized the seriousness, controlled his therapy energy well from that time. Unless it was urgent, he controlled it by subtly flowing the energy.
If you continuously exposed someone to faint energy, it might take some time, but it wasn’t dangerous and their condition could be perfectly recovered.
But at this event, since there were people he wanted to make faint, he planned to pour out the energy for the first time in a while.
If he only succeeded in making the guards protecting the vicinity of the Special Cases Records Archive faint, the rest would proceed smoothly.
He was familiar with the interior of the Management Bureau where he’d worked for 10 years. Onyul knew the location and security situation there.
The Special Cases Records Archive was in a quite isolated place that people didn’t visit often. Therefore, he expected that infiltrating wouldn’t be difficult.
Perhaps because no customers came, he made the highly concentrated energy drink quite smoothly. Onyul stared intently at the tomato juice filled with therapy energy.
‘But it has been too long since I made this. Will it produce the same reaction as back then?’
The incident where Onyul almost sent several people to heaven was a whole 10 years ago.
Since he only had one chance, it would be good to have a test subject…
At that moment, Ji Sanghyeon happened to enter the convenience store.
“Manager, hello! I stopped by while passing.”
Ji Sanghyeon lived near the convenience store, and even when it wasn’t his part-time work hours, he would drop by the convenience store frequently to greet Onyul.
He was dressed neatly today as well. No, rather than neatly, it was excessive.
He wore a leather jacket that fit his body perfectly, and even had sunglasses perched on his head. If anyone saw him, he looked like someone who stopped by briefly during a photoshoot rather than a convenience store part-timer.
But what was even more absurd was that even dressed like that, he didn’t look excessive at all.
‘…Why?’
Onyul pondered for a moment.
It didn’t seem to be a problem with the clothes. In the end, there was only one conclusion. His face did it all.
His face was the plausibility.
“You’re not aiming for a convenience store photoshoot, are you?”
When he spoke jokingly, Ji Sanghyeon smiled broadly.
“If you use me as an exclusive model, I’ll burn this body and shoot for you.”
“Oh my. I’m joking.”
He walked over with his long legs and stared at the tomato juice Onyul had placed on the counter.
“Wow, is this for me? I’m so touched that you prepared this knowing I’d visit. As expected, our manager is the best.”
…Excuse me, I haven’t said I’m giving it to you yet.
Thinking that, Onyul looked at Ji Sanghyeon anew.
‘Test subject?’
Alpha Team including Gu Baekyoung didn’t qualify as test subjects. They were too high-ability.
The target Onyul wanted to make faint was ordinary people, so ordinary people or low-ranked ability users were suitable as test subjects.
“Ji Sanghyeon-ssi, are you thirsty by any chance?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to take just one sip?”
“Can’t I have two sips?”
“No.”
Onyul answered seriously.
If he drank more of the beverage by any chance, something might happen to Ji Sanghyeon, who was an ordinary person.
“Just one sip is a bit disappointing…”
“If you’re not going to have one sip, then forget it. I’ll feed it to someone else. It’s also about time for Yu Wooyoung-ssi to come…”
“I’ll drink it rather than let that gloomy guy have it.”
Deliberately mentioning Yu Wooyoung was a good choice. Ji Sanghyeon responded to Onyul’s provocation.
“Here. But you really have to drink just one sip.”
Ji Sanghyeon, who received the highly concentrated energy drink, nodded his head.
He opened his eyes wide and made an honest expression, so it didn’t seem like he would ignore Onyul’s warning.
Reassured like that, he watched Ji Sanghyeon.
He casually opened the bottle cap and gulped down the tomato juice all at once.
“…!”
I said just one sip!
Onyul hurriedly reached out his hand, but more than half of the tomato juice had already entered Ji Sanghyeon’s mouth.
“You can’t drink a lot!”
“Haha, what does it matter? It’s just a drink.”
He seemed to think Onyul was joking.
Ji Sanghyeon’s body, which had been grinning foolishly, swayed. His eyes looking at Onyul became slightly hazy.
“What is this… Something feels strange.”
The effect seemed to appear immediately.
“That’s why I told you to drink just one sip!”
“I feel… dizzy.”
Ji Sanghyeon staggered and his body leaned toward Onyul. He even rested his chin on Onyul’s shoulder and stuck close.
“Get away. You’re so heavy I could die.”
Onyul grumbled but eventually dragged him and laid him down in the small room inside the convenience store.
“What did I drink…?”
“I don’t know. I also got it from somewhere, but I wasn’t drinking it because something seemed strange about it.”
At those words, Ji Sanghyeon laughed faintly. His eyes were half-unfocused.
“I feel like I’m in heaven…”
Then he smoothly reached out his hand and grabbed Onyul’s clothing.
“Manager…”
His voice was endlessly drawn out compared to usual.
“You’re like an angel.”
“…What?”
“Really.”
Ji Sanghyeon let out a loose smile to his heart’s content. He called him an angel, but Ji Sanghyeon smiling brightly looked more like an angel.
“F-first, let go of this… Oh!”
The moment he tried to remove Ji Sanghyeon’s hand gripping his clothes tightly, he strongly pulled Onyul toward him.
Onyul’s body fell over from that grip strength. He ended up half-embraced by Ji Sanghyeon.
“Don’t go. Stay here.”
“…”
“Being like this… feels so good…”
Ji Sanghyeon, who trailed off his words, tightly hugged Onyul’s back.
For someone intoxicated by a highly concentrated energy drink, his grip was rather strong.
“It really feels like heaven…”
Perhaps because he buried his face in his nape, Ji Sanghyeon’s breath was distinctly felt. Goosebumps rose on his nape from that hot breath.
The feeling was strange, so he tried to push him away again. But he hesitated at the sound he heard at that moment.
“I guess I was a bit exhausted.”
“…”
“I didn’t know I missed another person’s embrace this much.”
Did Ji Sanghyeon, who seemed like he’d only lived a smooth life, also have a story he couldn’t share?
Onyul suddenly became curious about what kind of life he’d lived. He wanted to know what life’s anguish the rich young master harbored.
“Manager, you won’t leave me, right?”
What kind of relationship are we? He was just a part-timer who’d worked for a few days.
Yet the cold words that would normally come out didn’t emerge.
Perhaps it was because Ji Sanghyeon’s voice asking if he wouldn’t leave sounded somehow trembling.
Perhaps because he’d helplessly watched his comrades’ deaths in his past life, Onyul couldn’t abandon or turn away from someone he had a connection with.
“Geez, since it’s partly my fault too, I’ll stay like this for a moment.”
Right, just a moment. Just a very short moment.
There weren’t any customers coming anyway.
…Gu Baekyoung, who was watching the convenience store as if monitoring it, would have to stay quiet though.
