"Did you think I wouldn't know you spared the child?"
"No, I, cough, didn't."
"So, you think your judgement is better than the orders from above, runaway esper?"
Even though he was over forty, Tae-seok's sturdy hand grabbed Joo-hyun's collar. He pulled Joo-hyun's bloodied, already bruising face close and spoke in a low voice.
"We took in a worthless wretch like you, fed and clothed you, and you never think of repaying the favour?"
"…"
"Don't forget that you're alive because of our mercy. What you've done is enough to warrant an immediate death sentence. I'm not so kind as to keep a useless dog alive."
Joo-hyun's bruises faded slightly due to the guiding emanating from Tae-seok's skin. Although his low grade meant it only healed minor injuries, Tae-seok frowned, displeased at his guiding was absorbed by the esper in front of him.
"…I'll remember that."
"And don't even think of saying anything unnecessary to that mad guide. That guy has connections in annoying places."
The last sentence was muttered to himself, but Joo-hyun's enhanced esper hearing caught it clearly.
Wiping his mouth, he found it stained with blood, whether from a split lip or a nosebleed, he couldn't tell. His body, covered in bruises, hurt immensely, but Joo-hyun's expression remained calm.
"Clean up the floor and go back."
Tae-seok, having thrown Joo-hyun aside, clicked his tongue and headed to the bathroom attached to his luxurious office. The sound of running water indicated he was about to take a bath.
Despite suffering worse than during a mission, Joo-hyun slowly raised his hand. He flipped his middle finger towards the bathroom door and spat out blood-mixed saliva.
Espers were more resilient than ordinary people. Joo-hyun, in particular, was used to being beaten even before manifesting as an esper. So, if getting beaten meant one child could live, it was a fair trade.
He had feared they might send him after the missed target to finish the mission, but it seemed the child wasn't worth the risk.
Joo-hyun let out a small sigh and began cleaning the floor. Just another normal day, nothing out of ordinary.
* * *
"...."
"...."
"If you had something to say, do it."
Unable to endure the silence, or rather, the intense gaze, Joo-hyun frowned and spoke.
Cha In-ho, who had been staring at Joo-hyun's face without blinking, slowly raised a hand to brush back his hair. Even that simple gesture looked like a scene from a film. In-ho, trying to calm his emotions, exhaled a long, deep breath.
In a place where injuries were common, Joo-hyun felt oddly uneasy seeing someone react like this for the first time. Feeling restless, he spoke as if trying to justify himself.
"It's common for an esper to get injured during missions. That's why there are guides to-"
"Are you saying these injuries are from a mission?"
Surprisingly, Cha In-ho's voice sounded angry. His clenched jaw trembled, and his eyes were tense. Even in anger, In-ho was beautiful, but there was an intimidation that Joo-hyun had never seen before.
"Anyone can tell you were punched."
In-ho, having approached without Joo-hyun noticing, cupped Joo-hyun's cheek. His hand, always warm, gently touched the purpled skin.
The guiding energy quickly alleviated the pain. Though a B-grade guide, it would take a while to fully heal, but within a few minutes, the bruises would fade completely.
Joo-hyun looked up at In-ho, whose expression was a mix of anger and worry. It was unclear what exactly had upset or concerned him. As he had said, espers getting injured was routine, and why should In-ho care about the reason?
"What about this cut? Were you kicked?"
"What does that have to do with you?"
In-ho's hand paused. He looked bewildered as if he had heard something incomprehensible. His face grew even more stern, filled with a greater anger that puzzled Joo-hyun.
"What?"
"I asked what difference it makes to you if I got beaten by someone."
It wasn't a taunt or an attempt to provoke; it was a genuine question. Yet In-ho looked more upset than at any of Joo-hyun's previous attempts to irritate him.
In-ho gritted his teeth but continued guiding. His gentle touch on Joo-hyun's bruised cheek was almost ticklish. In a resigned tone, he spoke.
"Is your memory that bad? I'm your matching guide, Shin Joo-hyun. If you get hurt, I have to guide you. So how can you say it's none of my business?"
"…If it's a hassle, you don't have to do it."
"You were there when we signed the contract. Ignoring your injuries is a breach of contract."
It must indeed be a nuisance for Cha In-ho if his matching esper got injured outside of missions. Technically, Joo-hyun's injuries were an extension of his mission, but In-ho wouldn't know that. Joo-hyun nodded as if he understood.
Only then did Cha In-ho look a little softened, but when his eyes met, he tutted audibly. But it was so exaggerated that it didn't seem like it was sincere at all.
Only then did In-ho's expression soften slightly. When their eyes met, In-ho scowled and clicked his tongue in annoyance, but it seemed too exaggerated to be genuine.
"You wouldn't know, but guiding drains all my energy."
In-ho's thumb touched the injury caused by Tae-seok's boot. As it was near his eyebrow, Joo-hyun closed his eyes reflexively.
"Anyway, just don't get hurt."
Joo-hyun opened his eyes to find In-ho had moved away. He was looking at his phone with the usual indifferent expression, as if he hadn't just guided him. It was almost like the touch on his cheek had been a dream.
In-ho's guiding energy was stronger than an average B-grade, enough to make the bruise on Joo-hyun's hand disappear. The cut was healed, though the nails were still broken. Joo-hyun, fiddling with the jagged nails, muttered.
"I'll think about it."
In-ho didn't reply, but Joo-hyun thought he heard a faint chuckle from the man's bowed head.
* * *
Block C could look quite big from the outside, but inside, it was much larger due to the deep basement levels. The basement went down to the third floor; the first floor was for storage, the second was a training area, and the third was a lounge.
Except for the storage, there was a reason why these places had to be on the ground floor. A runaway esper could go berserk at any time possible. Better to have them ran wild underground and get crushed by the building than causing havoc above the ground.
In the past, instead of a storage room, there had been dormitories on the first basement floor, but thanks to newly introduced safety measures, several rearrangements were made, and the most severe restrictions were lifted - that's why espers were able to feel sunlight within their rooms now.
And currently, Joo-hyun was getting his safety device repaired. It wasn't a device to protect him, rather to protect commons from him.
"...."
"Oh, my bad, I'm sorry."
"Don't."
Joo-hyun's response made the repairman's shoulders stiffen. Joo-hyun just shut his mouth and turned his gaze to a distant place. He still felt the trembling touch near his neck.
The safety devices looked like red scarves on runaway espers' necks. More precisely, a device itself was hidden within it; thus due to the various machinery and wires attached, the thick choker around the neck didn't look too nice. Aesthetically, it was a rough design that paid no attention to beauty, but this small device was actually very expensive. It contained a GPS that updated the location every three minutes and could be used as a communication device during missions if necessary.
And the most important function, and the biggest credit to the Block C espers for being able to lie on their beds and look up at the night sky, was the bomb inside.
If an esper attempted to runaway once more, all it took was for someone in authority to press a button. Then, only the head of the person wearing the choker would coolly fly off without affecting anyone nearby.
In other words, the choker was both a safety device to protect civilians from runaway espers and a leash held by the higher-ups.
However, an error occurred in the GPS function of such an important choker, and Joo-hyun's location wasn't being transmitted. Joo-hyun, who was training on the second basement floor at the time, was led to the centre director by an employee who came to find him.
"I nearly pressed it, thinking you were a runaway again."
The centre director was immersed in the newspaper without even looking at Joo-hyun. Seeing him holding a pen, it seemed like he was doing a crossword puzzle. Joo-hyun, who would have had his head blown off if he had gone on a mission without knowing the GPS was broken, stared at the floor without feeling particularly alive.
"Be more careful from now on."
Joo-hyun couldn't understand what he was supposed to be careful about when he couldn't even control the choker, but as always, he obediently replied and left the centre director's office.
And now, he was sitting quietly, entrusting his life to a repairman who looked like he hadn't come willingly.
It was obvious that the repairman, who clearly didn't want to be there, swallowed his spit and connected the wires. In this place with no windows and blocked from all sides, even if a bomb went off or someone screamed, not a single sound would escape.