# Chapter 70
Suhyun had no intention of pushing Jiwon away anymore. He had struggled to keep his distance, but in truth, nothing had gone as he planned.
Only Jiwon had suffered because of his immature behavior. Both physically and emotionally.
Living with him, Suhyun had come to realize how his actions had hurt Jiwon. He couldn’t continue causing him pain with the ridiculous excuse of hiding his feelings.
Jiwon was different from his parents. Suhyun felt so sorry for ever thinking they were the same.
Suhyun had torn down the wall he’d built so firmly in his heart. He didn’t want to hurt Jiwon any more.
But perhaps due to the sudden demolition of that wall, a desire to be closer to Jiwon was constantly blossoming.
Just a little more. Just a tiny bit more.
Suhyun’s heart was quickly accepting Jiwon, to the point where he felt he might end up completely exposing his feelings.
‘I should go now.’
‘I’ll come too.’
Because of this, he had developed a greed he’d never had before. He was desperate to stay by Jiwon’s side all the time.
His attempt to follow Jiwon to the Association to meet Jo Wooyeon was an unconscious manifestation of these feelings.
‘What for? Seeing as he didn’t mention you, he probably has something to tell just me.’
Only when he saw Jiwon waving his hands in apparent embarrassment did Suhyun realize he might have been too forward. Though he wanted to insist a few more times, he held back for now. Jiwon knew him as someone who wouldn’t act that way.
Lately, he’d often caught Jiwon looking confused by his changed attitude. Insisting in such a situation would be no different from demanding that Jiwon recognize his feelings.
“……”
But perhaps he should have shown his feelings completely. He should have followed Jiwon no matter what, even if it seemed strange.
Why had he given up so quickly? If he had insisted, Jiwon would have reluctantly agreed.
‘Can you come to the Association now?’
The sudden phone call. And a request that the usual Jiwon would never make. An ominous feeling suddenly welled up.
There wasn’t even time to ask why. Suhyun had put on his shoes and rushed out of the house before their call had even ended.
Then he drove like a madman toward the Association. Without even knowing exactly what had happened, anxiety was slowly eating away at him.
In the car, Suhyun called Jiwon several times. But Jiwon remained unresponsive. His anxiety was becoming reality.
“S-Seo Suhyun Esper-nim…!”
And immediately after arriving at the Association.
Suhyun faced the situation he’d dreaded most. Jiwon, who had said he would wait in the examination room, had vanished without a trace.
“…What happened?”
“W-well, we’re not sure ourselves.”
A pungent smell stung his nose. Suhyun surveyed the surroundings with clouded eyes.
People were crowding around, trying to figure out what had happened here.
There were quite a few unwelcome elements mixed in too.
“First, we’ll check the CCTV. If you could just wait a moment… AAAGH!”
Suhyun suddenly attacked an Esper who was grabbing his arm and babbling. A sharp attack shot from his raised hand.
BOOM!
With a tremendous sound, the Esper was slammed into the end of the corridor. People who were startled by the unexpected situation hurriedly distanced themselves from Suhyun.
Their faces showed concern that sparks might fly.
“……”
Suhyun didn’t even look at them. He extended his hand and pulled back the Esper who had been thrown far away. As if caught by something invisible, the Esper slid back smoothly.
The Esper, who had been groaning from the impact of the attack, looked at the approaching Suhyun with terror-filled eyes.
“Where did you take him?”
His dry eyes now held a murderous intent.
Among people who didn’t know what was happening, this Esper had been using trickery to lead him around and keep him occupied. He was clearly one of the gang that had kidnapped Jiwon.
“W-what…?”
The Esper’s lips trembled as he avoided Suhyun’s gaze. But as soon as Suhyun’s fingers twitched, he closed his eyes tightly in fear.
Even though he thought Suhyun wouldn’t kill him in front of so many people, he was gripped by an instinctive fear, like prey before a predator.
“I-I don’t know anything…”
The Esper trembled like an aspen.
He felt pressured that he shouldn’t hide anything. That he should confess everything.
“Really, I don’t know anything… Please spare me…”
He had only been ordered to prevent anyone from entering the 5th floor for a while, and after Jiwon was safely kidnapped, to keep Suhyun tied up here.
He didn’t know where Jiwon was.
“I-I can tell you who ordered this. But, the location…!”
“I already know who ordered it.”
Despite his desperate words, Suhyun didn’t even blink. He looked at the Esper with a cold tone.
“Huk…!”
Though Suhyun merely looked at him, the Esper felt his entire body constricting. The sensation of being crushed by something was vivid. He couldn’t move and could barely breathe.
“P-please… spare me…”
It felt like his limbs would be crushed by something shapeless and he would die.
But Suhyun didn’t even pretend to hear his plea for mercy.
The pressure disappeared for a different reason.
“What is going on here?”
It was thanks to the Association Chairman who had personally appeared on the 5th floor after hearing the news.
“Ugh, kuhak!”
The Esper, suddenly released, writhed in agony, but thinking he would die if he stayed, he hurriedly crawled away from Suhyun.
Suhyun didn’t try to catch him. His gaze turned to the Association Chairman.
“I heard Guide Jiwon has been kidnapped. Is that true?”
The face pretending to be genuinely surprised was disgusting. Suhyun looked away from his face and closed his eyes. Then he searched for Jiwon’s whereabouts.
Fortunately, not much time had passed since he had left this place. He could track him. If so, it would be foolish to waste more time here.
His heightened senses had never been more welcome than today. Suhyun immediately began to move. He felt stupid for not leaving this place sooner, caught up in pointless anger.
“Esper Suhyun!”
Meanwhile, the completely ignored Association Chairman shouted with a reddened face. While everyone else had shut their mouths and were quietly backing away due to the recent commotion, the lofty Association executives seemed to have difficulty grasping the situation.
Suhyun, who was about to leave the Association, looked at the Chairman again.
“I asked what is happening here. And did you just attack another Esper? Do you know how serious that crime is…!”
The Chairman shouted loudly as if he wielded some great power.
“Huk!”
Suhyun had merely closed his eyelids and raised them, yet he was suddenly at close range. The Chairman flinched in surprise as Suhyun gripped his neck forcefully.
“Ugh, kuhak!”
“Ch-Chairman!”
The Chairman, whose neck was instantly seized, struggled without even being able to make a proper sound.
“Hey! Let go right now!”
“Are you crazy? Come to your senses!”
People who had been momentarily frozen finally came to their senses and tried to stop Suhyun. But there was no one here who could restrain him.
Even other Espers couldn’t, let alone ordinary people whose strength was negligible to him.
“……”
Suhyun gripped the Chairman’s neck more tightly as a warning. It was threatening, as if he might break the Chairman’s neck at any moment.
“Kuk, ugh…!”
“N-no…”
“Seo Suhyun Esper. Let go. He’ll really die like this!”
It doesn’t matter.
Suhyun looked at the Chairman and his group with emotionless eyes. The mouths that had been chattering fell silent at his gaze. They seemed worried that Suhyun’s hand might throttle their necks next.
“If.”
Suhyun opened his mouth with an eerie voice.
The traces of Jiwon that remained here. And the energy of an unfamiliar Esper.
Among the Espers in Korea, none had this level of power. It had to be someone from another country.
The fact that they had stormed right into the heart of the Association could only lead to the conclusion that the Chairman was also involved in this.
“If Guide-nim has even a single scratch.”
“Ugh… urgh…!”
“I will kill everyone.”
A huge grinding sound echoed. After delivering his warning, Suhyun threw the Chairman to the floor. The Chairman, who had lost consciousness in the meantime, lay limp without even making a groaning sound.
“Ah….”
Even though Suhyun had released the Chairman, people couldn’t move a single step. The pressure emanating from his anger made it difficult to even breathe.
Suhyun abruptly withdrew his gaze. Then, as if he couldn’t waste any more time, he walked straight out of the Association and closed his eyes. It was to find Jiwon.
‘…He’s still okay.’
Air invisible to the eye moved to search for Jiwon’s whereabouts. And soon Suhyun could even confirm his condition.
In truth, the tracking function attached to the watch was meaningless to Suhyun. He could find Jiwon anytime he wanted. No matter how far apart they were, it was always possible if he wished to find him.
That was fortunate. Suhyun felt a small relief as he immediately began moving to pursue Jiwon.
‘How dare they.’
Suhyun gritted his teeth.
His blood boiled at the fact that they dared to touch Jiwon. His statement that he would kill everyone if Jiwon was even slightly hurt was no empty threat.
Suhyun’s eyes glowed fiercely.
