# Chapter 26
Meanwhile, Hyeono, who had been left alone in the examination room, stared at the door through which Jaehee had just left, recalling what had happened moments ago.
Before coming to the examination room, Hyeono had been dozing off while leaning on a chair. What woke him was the endless ringing of his phone.
He fumbled for his phone without even opening his eyes, clumsily pressing the call button as the sound awkwardly roused him from sleep. Just as he was about to ask who was making such a fuss waking him up, while letting out a long yawn, a suddenly urgent voice came through.
“What, what’s going on!”
Startled, his eyes flew wide open. Any remaining drowsiness vanished instantly. Hyeono, now fully alert, focused on the voice coming through again. It was a familiar voice. Someone immediately came to mind, but he tilted his head in doubt.
He couldn’t be certain because that person wasn’t the type to openly display such anxiety.
Hyeono checked the name on the screen to confirm if it was indeed who he thought it was.
And it was. The caller was Dohyun.
But something was strange. He was different from usual. Dohyun was revealing his fear to an extent that made Hyeono wonder what could have driven him to this state. The man who had never once shown such emotion even in dangerous moments at Gates was now completely exposing his anxiety and urgency, listing his emotions in a disorganized manner.
He said Jaehee wasn’t answering his calls. He asked if something had happened to Jaehee. He demanded to know why he was hearing about Jaehee. He said he needed to leave the Gate to see Jaehee but couldn’t do so right now. He needed to get to Jaehee but couldn’t. He asked if Jaehee was hurt.
All of his questions revolved around Jaehee.
Faced with this rush of emotion, Hyeono quickly told Dohyun to calm down. He assured him everything was fine. That Jaehee was safe without a single injury. He repeated this several times.
Only then did Dohyun’s emotions, which had been pouring out like a waterfall without pause, gradually begin to calm. The sound of rough breathing, raised in excitement, slowly subsided through the phone.
Only then could Hyeono calm his own surprise as well. He had never seen Dohyun like this before. He knew the two were close. Having entered the Center at a young age and growing up relying only on each other, it was only natural they would be closer than others.
So whenever he saw the two together, he simply defined their relationship as:
‘So that’s why they look after each other so much.’
But now, he thought it might not be that simple.
He thought that their feelings might be deeper than he had imagined, or rather, much more than that…
Because otherwise, the emotions Dohyun had just displayed couldn’t be explained.
‘Could it be…’
Suddenly, a strange thought crossed his mind. But as if to block that thought, a new question suddenly came through the phone. Now that he had confirmed Jaehee was okay, Dohyun’s reason seemed to have returned, and he was asking about what had happened.
Hyeono carefully explained what had happened with the Center’s upper management. But in between his explanations, the sound of something breaking came through the phone. That sound revealed Dohyun’s current state of mind.
The sounds coming through the phone seemed like the upper management’s exclusive building was being destroyed. Considering Dohyun’s usual personality, the situation that had happened to Jaehee, and the behavior he had just shown—it all seemed entirely plausible.
While thinking that a commotion was about to break out, Dohyun suddenly thanked him. Hyeono was puzzled.
‘What is he thanking me for?’
That’s when Dohyun said it. He was grateful that Hyeono had protected Jaehee in his place. He said this with sincerity. Hyeono felt awkward at Dohyun’s words.
He wanted to say, ‘It wasn’t me… Guide Lee Jaehee resolved everything himself…’ but couldn’t say it out loud. Because he had promised to keep quiet about Jaehee and his abilities.
So Hyeono, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, rubbed the back of his neck and tried to wrap up the call. Just as he was about to hang up, Dohyun made a request. He said he wanted to talk to Jaehee. So Hyeono had come looking for Jaehee to the examination room and handed him the phone.
Hyeono thought that all problems had been resolved that way.
But a new problem appeared.
It was Choi Geonwoo.
‘When he returns… I don’t think not only the upper management but also Choi Geonwoo will let this slide…’
That’s what Hyeono thought. The reason he thought so was because of how Geonwoo had acted toward him just a moment ago.
Geonwoo didn’t avert his gaze even while looking at him. So Hyeono, while looking at Geonwoo, was quite surprised, though he didn’t show it outwardly.
‘An undeveloped Esper making eye contact with me?’
That was impossible.
Typically, undeveloped Espers couldn’t even properly make eye contact with developed Espers. As the development pain gradually begins, their senses become sensitive and they can feel wavelengths, but physical changes come slowly.
That’s why they become afraid. The strength of the other person is felt directly through their skin, yet they have neither the ability to protect themselves, nor physical enhancement, nor anything else developed yet. So they instinctively bow their heads in fear.
But what about Choi Geonwoo?
Rather than hiding himself, he actually hid Jaehee behind him, saying he would protect him, and he didn’t avoid eye contact with a developed Esper. Instead, his eyes seemed to be trying to overpower. For a moment, it felt like facing a developed Esper rather than an undeveloped one.
‘He’s not a guard dog protecting its owner… No, since he’s not developed yet, he’s a fearless puppy.’
Hyeono mussed his hair. He thought things might get a bit complicated. Geonwoo had shown no fear in his presence. That meant he might do the same with Dohyun. To avoid losing Jaehee.
Though he wouldn’t be able to charge at Dohyun recklessly like he did with Hyeono because of Dohyun’s higher rank, judging by his current behavior, Hyeono expected him to charge in despite trembling with fear.
Then a sudden thought occurred to him.
‘Is his sense dulled because he’s sick?’
That would make sense. When you’re sick, your senses don’t function properly. Moreover, after what the upper management had done to him, his physical condition must be at its worst.
Hyeono turned toward Geonwoo to properly check his physical condition.
A small furrow appeared between Hyeono’s brows as he looked at Geonwoo.
‘…Is there something wrong with my eyes?’
Hyeono blinked several times, trying to confirm that he wasn’t seeing the situation wrong.
But no matter how many times he looked, Choi Geonwoo’s appearance remained the same.
‘No, seriously… why is he like that?’
Unlike before, Geonwoo now had his whole body slumped, appearing utterly dejected.
It was hard to believe this was the same Geonwoo who had glared at him fiercely. He looked like a completely different person.
Geonwoo now wore an expression as if he had lost everything, endlessly staring at the door through which Jaehee had left.
That wasn’t all. Even his hands were trembling slightly. The man who hadn’t felt fear even toward a developed Esper was now trembling in fear simply because Jaehee was gone.
On top of that, the wavelength readings on the examination machine were going crazy. Contrary to his current powerless appearance, Geonwoo’s wavelength readings were fluctuating. And they kept rising the longer he was separated from Jaehee.
Moreover, he didn’t look well physically either. Anyone could see he was in pain.
Only then did the definitive answer come.
‘His senses are dulled because he’s sick.’
Then he should recover quickly before Dohyun returns, or he might charge at him fearlessly.
Hyeono was thinking of such worries as he was about to avert his gaze. But suddenly Geonwoo’s expression changed. Once again to the point where Hyeono doubted his eyes, Geonwoo’s appearance transformed.
‘What’s that now? What’s he trying to do?’
Suddenly, Geonwoo spread both his arms and smiled very brightly.
Why so suddenly?
While Hyeono stared at Geonwoo’s strange behavior as if entranced, he suddenly frowned. On a hunch, he heightened his senses. Then he detected a specific energy. It was Jaehee’s guiding energy, flowing out just a little because he was wearing a control device.
Hyeono turned toward the door. Soon, the examination room door opened, and Jaehee entered.
Seeing Jaehee, Geonwoo greeted him with a face full of smiles.
“Guide-nim!”
Though he wasn’t a child, he was looking at Jaehee with his arms spread wide. And his body language was saying it: Come here quickly. Return to my embrace again. He was expressing that with his entire body.
Meanwhile, Hyeono was frowning as he looked at Geonwoo.
The man he thought had dulled senses had instead detected Jaehee’s energy even more sensitively than himself.
No matter how much sensory perception awakens before ability, he was still an undeveloped Esper. They couldn’t surpass the senses of a developed Esper.
And yet,
‘His senses are more acute than a developed Esper? And to such an extent?’
Hyeono’s gaze changed.
