# Chapter 62
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Are Esper Suhyun and Guide Jiwon not hurt anywhere?”
Won Jungyeom, who had received treatment as soon as they left the island, looked perfectly fine on the outside. His wavelength was also stable, which was a relief.
“Well, I…”
“I’m sorry.”
Just as Jiwon was about to say he was fine because Suhyun had been there, Suhyun interrupted. Jiwon closed his mouth as Suhyun bowed his head deeply.
“What do you have to be sorry about, Esper Suhyun? I should be the one apologizing.”
“No. I’m sorry.”
“Come on, I’m fine. I wasn’t even hurt that badly, they say, so there’s nothing to be sorry about.”
As Jungyeom said, his condition wasn’t that bad. Although he had looked serious while bound, he apparently didn’t have many actual injuries.
Suhyun had tried his best in his own way not to hurt him.
“Anyway… the situation has become quite troublesome, hasn’t it?”
Waving his hand as if to say no more apologies, Jungyeom changed the subject. Jiwon smiled awkwardly.
“It is troublesome. They declared they’re evolving.”
“And I’m the one who made that declaration, right?”
“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t you, Esper Jungyeom.”
“But it was said through my mouth. Ugh, it’s creepy. Like I was possessed.”
It was just like Jungyeom to deliberately try to lighten the mood.
“It really did seem like possession. Not by a ghost, but by a monster.”
“Ah, don’t point that out specifically. It’s chilling enough.”
Jungyeom giggled. It was the same laugh, but it sounded completely different from what they had heard on the island.
“Haah, I wish it was just a bluff.”
Jiwon nodded in agreement. He wished they were just trying to scare them by declaring they were evolving. Well, there was more evidence suggesting their evolution was real.
“So what do you plan to do?”
It was a frustrating situation just to think about. There couldn’t possibly be an obvious solution.
“…The Association said we should just wait and see for now.”
That was the conclusion reached after hours of discussion. It was the only answer they could give, but it was somewhat disappointing.
“No, I’m asking Esper Suhyun.”
Shaking his head at Jiwon, Jungyeom looked at Suhyun and asked. Jiwon tilted his head.
“Why Esper Suhyun-nim?”
“The Association saying to wait and see means maintaining the current system, right? But you both know that if things continue like this, Esper Suhyun could fall under Riska’s control again.”
His tone was somewhat irritated. Jungyeom was frustrated with this situation.
“I’m asking if you’re going to continue like this despite that.”
Jungyeom was asking whether they would continue to face a situation that offered no solution and where danger could strike at any moment.
Even though the question wasn’t directed at him, Jiwon stepped in to respond.
“There’s no other way.”
“Hey, I told you I was asking Esper Seo Suhyun.”
“Esper Suhyun-nim will think the same. Even if Riska babbled about evolution or whatever, there’s nothing we can change.”
That was the truth. Even if he didn’t speak up with such heat, the same answer would have come from Suhyun’s lips.
“…There is.”
But Jiwon also knew. Suhyun had more options. Excluding the option that Suhyun would never mention—just abandoning everything and running away—there was still one more left.
“So I’m thinking about it.”
Jiwon’s expression darkened rapidly. Suhyun wasn’t looking at him.
“…Haah.”
Jungyeom let out a long sigh.
“Yeah, I thought you’d be considering it.”
Unable to pass it off jokingly, he couldn’t smile at those words. He closed his eyes, as if deep in thought.
“No. There’s nothing to think about.”
It was Jiwon’s cold voice that interjected.
“Nothing will change.”
He wouldn’t allow even a moment of consideration. It was a completely useless thing to contemplate. Jiwon let out a cold, hollow laugh before shaking his head again.
“Wherever it may be, if Esper-nim goes, I will definitely follow.”
The option Suhyun was considering was simple.
In a situation where Jiwon’s guiding wasn’t effective, if Suhyun didn’t know what would happen to himself… he would think it better not to bring Jiwon along.
Thinking rationally, yes, that could make sense. But Jiwon couldn’t accept it.
“Going alone is absolutely not an option.”
Let Suhyun shoulder the Riska dungeon by himself? Let him face the situation where he could be controlled by Riska at any moment, all alone?
Ridiculous.
“It’s worth considering.”
Suhyun answered quietly. As Jiwon thought, he was indeed considering that it might be better to leave Jiwon behind and go to the Riska dungeon alone.
Jiwon opened his mouth, then bit his lip and turned away. He had so much he wanted to say that he was speechless.
“Come on, let’s not fight. It’s not like he’s decided to go alone right now, he’s just thinking about it, right?”
He hated the very thought of it. No matter how dangerous, Jiwon wanted to be by his side. The rational judgment of Suhyun and Jungyeom turned Jiwon’s insides upside down.
“…Whether to die alone or die with a guide.”
“……”
“Isn’t it too cruel to make someone think about and choose that?”
The Suhyun who was contemplating such things seemed so lonely. Where was the person who said he would be selfish? Anyway, he was far from being a selfish person.
“If Esper Suhyun-nim falls, it’s over anyway. We’ll meet our doom according to their will. That’s what I think.”
Jiwon’s voice softened. He didn’t want to get angry and criticize Suhyun for having such lonely thoughts.
“We’ve had the same dilemma many times. Whether to be together or alone.”
“……”
“The choice was always the former, and we’re still alive and well.”
“……”
“So no matter how many times you ask, I’ll always say that being together is the answer.”
Suhyun had regained his senses after seeing Jiwon even when he lost control. Jiwon firmly believed that his desire to protect Suhyun was making his mental strength even more solid.
That’s why they needed to be together even more. Suhyun needed someone to protect, and no one was more perfect for that role than Jiwon.
“So don’t even think about it.”
Jiwon smiled bitterly.
“It’s lonely.”
***
He had thought it would be nice if the plane just crashed. It was just a fleeting thought born from not wanting to go to his parents.
But as if his wish had been heard, the plane started to crash.
‘Hurg, kuk…’
‘Student! Sit down. First…’
‘Hey! Wake up!’
He vividly remembered the faces of the people who had boarded the flight with him. They were crying, screaming, or trembling in fear.
Standing among them, Suhyun thought:
‘All these people are dying because of me.’
That wasn’t what he wanted. He simply didn’t want to go to America. He hadn’t really wanted the plane to crash.
The memories of that day aren’t clear. Suhyun just hoped the people wouldn’t die. He hoped he wasn’t killing them.
Thankfully, Suhyun didn’t kill any of the people inside.
The moment after the plane landed safely and he stepped on the ground is clear. Suhyun explained apologetically to the man who approached him with a surprised face:
That he had bad thoughts, but he didn’t let anyone die. That everyone was safe.
‘Get some sleep. Everything is fine now.’
The man spoke kindly to Suhyun and embraced him.
‘…It’s okay.’
Although he couldn’t enjoy it for long because he lost consciousness quickly, he definitely remembered how warm the man’s embrace was.
Thanks to that, Suhyun became peaceful and could fall into a sleep that felt like sanctuary.
And when he opened his eyes, Suhyun’s world had completely changed.
Until just a day before, he had been an ordinary student, but suddenly he became an S-class Esper.
People looking for Suhyun were everywhere. After becoming an Esper, Suhyun’s first impression was that the world was noisy.
It was so noisy that he couldn’t do anything. People who kept coming to find him often spouted words he couldn’t understand.
‘That person…?’
In that confusing situation, Suhyun looked for the man who had allowed him to remain in silence. The world was chaotic, so he needed him.
‘Hello, Esper Seo Suhyun-nim.’
Not long after, as Suhyun wished, that man appeared. With a warm smile.
‘I’m Guide Moon Jiwon. We’ve met before, but I’m not sure if you remember.’
‘…I remember.’
‘Really?’
‘…Yes.’
Seeing his face, Suhyun’s noisy world became quiet again.
Suhyun wanted Jiwon to stay by his side continuously. Because when he was with him, the world that had been turned upside down in an instant became peaceful as if nothing had happened.
