TTOA Chapter 25

#25

Having finished speaking, Seo Eui-woo slowly, very slowly, reached his hand towards Kwon Jae-jin’s forehead. Jae-jin’s eyes blurred. His fingertips seemed to waver into many. He could feel an invisible power condensing there.

It surged gently, drawing a spiral vortex, gathering into a single point.

It was like a compressed crystal.

Invisible to the human eye, it definitely existed at Seo Eui-woo’s fingertip. An incredibly beautiful and majestic power. A sinister and ominous monster-like power, like a coiled snake.

Kwon Jae-jin, captivated by a strange fascination, blankly stared at Seo Eui-woo, utterly mesmerized.

For a fleeting moment, he thought it would be okay to be consumed by that brilliant terror.

He would be at peace. If he forgot everything.

He could erase all the accumulated old emotions.

And he could start anew from the beginning. Pleasantly.

Soon, Kwon Jae-jin realized how utterly idiotic, moronic, and ridiculously nonsensical that complacent thought was. How could he be so stupid? How could he be so foolish!

“…No, that’s not enough.”

Kwon Jae-jin growled, muttering threateningly.

Guide and Esper.

Business partners who cooperate and help each other. Colleagues. A clean and simple load of crap; such a relationship could absolutely not be established between Kwon Jae-jin and Seo Eui-woo.

“You’re going to end it this easily…? I can’t let that happen. If that’s… If that’s the case, then why, why did I go through all this trouble…? I absolutely, no matter what, can’t end it with that kind of escapist method. I’d rather be torn apart and die.”

Yeah, this won’t work.

Whether it’s lingering feelings, a waste of time, or a waste of emotions,

No matter what.

Even if the future has already completely changed…!

Even if Seo Eui-woo no longer loves Kwon Jae-jin…!

‘I’m screwed, shit!’

At least Kwon Jae-jin couldn’t accept it now. He couldn’t let Seo Eui-woo fade into oblivion like this. That thought alone dominated his mind.

“Don’t do it! Get your hands off me!”

“Jae-jin, it’s dangerous. If you suddenly lash out, you might accidentally touch something else. Stay still and don’t move…”

“No, don’t do it. Stop it right now. Don’t you dare touch my memories!”

Enraged, Jae-jin flung his arm out. Before he knew it, his body moved first. With all his might, he swung his clenched fist and struck Seo Eui-woo’s cheek, and Seo Eui-woo didn’t defend his face.

His cheek, hit by the bare fist, swelled up red.

The blemish on his fair and pale face was distinctly noticeable, even though he didn’t want it to be.

“I don’t want that. I refuse, Seo Eui-woo.”

Kwon Jae-jin breathed roughly and shook his head with firm resolve.

“I clearly stated that I don’t want it. I don’t like it. I hate it. I will find a solution to this situation myself, and even if the only way is to forget, I will forget it myself.”

“…”

“I don’t need Seo Eui-woo’s help. I never asked for your help, so don’t interfere!”

Kwon Jae-jin realized firsthand what kind of side effects choosing an easy and convenient shortcut could cause.

He tried to simply change the future without thinking, and it ended up like this.

Erasing his memories with Seo Eui-woo’s power is the same. He couldn’t solve everything this easily. Even if it’s painful, agonizing, and tiresome, he should think about the problems given to Kwon Jae-jin one by one, move forward, and solve them.

That’s the way Kwon Jae-jin and Seo Eui-woo have been doing things, and that’s how they built their relationship.

“I’m… Am I interfering?”

Seo Eui-woo muttered bleakly without inflection.

“No. Jae-jin is my Guide. You’re the one interfering in our relationship. Don’t you still understand? Or what… Do you like that person so much?”

Even though he was hit in the face head-on with a fist, he didn’t stop his ability.

Seo Eui-woo, who doesn’t even flinch when hit by Kwon Jae-jin, who comes from a civilian background. He just scrunches his nose and snickers.

“They’re memories you can’t go back to, and they’re only painful to recall, but you hate it so much that you’d reject it to that extent? Do you love that boyfriend or whatever so much that you’re dying for him!”

The crystal condensed at his fingertip was spreading even more dazzlingly. Jae-jin’s complexion froze blue.

“That’s not what I meant. You’re misunderstanding, Seo Eui-woo. It’s not that I don’t need Seo Eui-woo, it’s that the act of touching my memories itself is unpleasant.”

“Why? Because if you forget, you can never go back? Were you actually planning to run away from me someday?”

“Memories! Touching people’s heads… I don’t know how easily and conveniently Espers use that mental-type ability or whatever… But ordinary people like me feel repulsed. I’ve never even thought of artificially extracting and deleting things, and it’s unfamiliar to me!”

Jae-jin yelled and pushed Seo Eui-woo away. He kicked him with his knee, fell awkwardly, and crawled away on the floor. The carpet on the floor crumpled.

Seo Eui-woo leisurely moved his steps and chased after Kwon Jae-jin.

“Ah… It’s not that difficult. In battles, you know, when you lose a comrade. There’s a mental shock left, right?”

“What…?”

“If you fall into despair because of such things, you can’t respond to the next battle, so you erase some of it. Dead comrades… Trainees who couldn’t complete the regular training and were disposed of…”

“What is that… What is that…? Can people live like that…?”

“Why can’t they? You have to do what you have to do. If an Esper collapses, humanity will be annihilated. We’re taking on that responsibility.”

A tall wall was visible.

Seo Eui-woo was standing on top of a steep cliff.

He was the apex of Espers, the vanguard of the awakened. The weight of his life, which he had built up, ruthlessly crushed Kwon Jae-jin. The more he saw the duties and responsibilities that Seo Eui-woo had endured without a word, the cruel world that could only be described as unfair from Kwon Jae-jin’s point of view, the more suffocated he felt. His throat constricted, and he felt so frustrated that he wanted to burst.

Why does Seo Eui-woo have to live like this, and why does Kwon Jae-jin have to live like this?

When will the gap between the two people be narrowed?

When will this pitiful dilemma end?

“Now that you understand, really don’t move. I’ve gone through it all, and it’s something that every Esper goes through. I’ll end it quickly.”

Seo Eui-woo walked over.

Then, the entire living room shook.

The lights on the ceiling flickered, and the walls and floor vibrated all at once, shaking like an earthquake.

It felt like a huge darkness was engulfing him. Would this be how it feels to be swept away by a jet-black tsunami?

Kwon Jae-jin opened his mouth to resist to the end and express his refusal. But Seo Eui-woo covered and pressed down on Kwon Jae-jin’s mouth with his palm even faster.

“You know, Jae-jin.”

“Mph…!”

“I 맞춰줬으니 재진 씨도 한번은 내 방식에 맞춰줘도 되잖아요? 네? 우리 좋았잖아요.”

He looked down at Kwon Jae-jin with an expression he himself couldn’t understand, then wrinkled his nose.

“I liked it, and Jae-jin liked it too. I think we can really work out.”

A strong pressure was applied centering on Seo Eui-woo. The atmosphere surrounding him sank ominously, then mercilessly pressed down, making it difficult to breathe. It was as if the air would burst.

“Ugh, Keuk.”

“Because Jae-jin is my Guide. Because the Guide I was looking for is none other than Kwon Jae-jin… I…”

His loosely spread fingertips were approaching Kwon Jae-jin’s forehead.

Now, not just his fingertips, but Seo Eui-woo himself seemed to be wavering. An enormous power was held in his grasp, boiling and overflowing. Seo Eui-woo closed his lips and concentrated like a surgeon performing a highly skilled operation.

His gray eyes cooled and stilled with tension, and a streak of sweat ran down his jawline.

Seo Eui-woo was trying to delve into Kwon Jae-jin’s brain.

“…!”

At that moment,

Just before his fingertip touched the center of his forehead,

Breaking the silence, an emergency call rang out.

A beeping sound rang from the black device on Seo Eui-woo’s belt. A simple and concise sound was heard repeatedly. It seems it won’t turn off until it’s checked.

Cooled Seo Eui-woo breathed out roughly with a stiff face. His concentration was broken.

“Ah…”

The power compressed in his hand scattered like smoke.

As if such a mysterious power had never existed from the beginning, it disappeared without a trace. He brushed back his disheveled hair a couple of times, took his hand off Kwon Jae-jin’s mouth, and picked up the device with indifferent eyes to check it.

An emergency call is the top priority anytime, anywhere.

Until Seo Eui-woo’s breath stops.

“I have to go.”

The emergency call saved Kwon Jae-jin.

Seo Eui-woo, who wouldn’t budge when he was pushed away and rejected so much, easily let Kwon Jae-jin go. He put the device on his waist, stood up and left for the Sterile Transfer Room with an unrestrained pace.

Kwon Jae-jin’s face, watching his back, was terribly distorted.