TTOA Chapter 99

#99

“Haha, instead of that, how about we do the opposite?”

“The opposite…?”

“Yes, the opposite.”

Seo Eui-woo chuckled softly, rubbing his lips against Jae-jin’s forehead. Even in the affectionate gesture, a sense of weightiness was felt.

He had thought that the 2nd timeline Seo Eui-woo would be fresh and innocent, but he realized that could change as rapidly as the situation had. In a way, he might become even more insidious than the 1st timeline Seo Eui-woo.

“Instead of giving up Jae-jin-ssi’s head, we should take control of their heads. There are about a dozen of them, so I don’t know if I’ll succeed properly…”

“……”

“Since they’re people who are expendable anyway, it’s none of my business even if some of them have their brains damaged and become legally incompetent.”

“…So, you’re saying you’re going to use a Mental-type Ability? On the top brass of the military?”

Kwon Jae-jin recalled the explanation he had heard quite a while ago. Seo Eui-woo’s voice replayed in his head like a phantom sound.

“Yes. I’m going to beat their brains and manipulate them.”

Manipulation.

Skilled users can manipulate the subject’s thoughts, actions, and senses…

Is that really possible? Can he actually do that…?

Kwon Jae-jin suddenly raised his head and asked. His voice trembled slightly.

“Can you… do that? Are Mental-type Ability users capable of doing that?”

“No, usually it’s not possible.”

“Yes?”

“Mental-type Abilities are inherently tricky and difficult. Originally, you have to go through strict procedures and permissions and fix them little by little. Like a major surgery, you have to take a long recovery period and repeat it several times. At least 10 times.”

“……”

“Besides, even if it’s manipulation, it’s not absolute. Only simple things like ‘do this’ or ‘don’t do that’ are possible… Moreover, tampering with the brains of general-level officers who are guarded by A-rank escorts is something that ordinary Espers can’t even dream of.”

“Ah……”

“Also, as Jae-jin-ssi knows, using Mental-type Abilities leaves traces on the brain. Someone else can tell right away if they look into it.”

“…But Seo Eui-woo-ssi is saying he’ll do it. He can do it, now.”

Seo Eui-woo let out a deflated sound and chuckled.

“Yes. I’m going to do it. I’m going to rush it all at once, without going through several times.”

“……”

“After all, we’re at a dead end. There’s nowhere to retreat. I don’t intend to retreat either. Besides, there’s no other method as effective as this, is there?”

He had no choice but to agree with that.

This was the weakness of dictatorship.

The more solid and closed off a vertical organization is, the easier it is to take control of the whole thing if you seize the top.

If Seo Eui-woo really succeeded in manipulating the thoughts and actions of the general-level officers, then reforming the military and improving the treatment of Espers and Mutant/Late-Blooming Espers/Guides wouldn’t be an absurd hope. Besides, they would be able to respond to the Creature Wave in advance.

“This is perfect. The wave that Jae-jin-ssi told me about, that will be a perfect cause.”

Claiming that they are doing a major system reorganization to counter the upcoming Creature Wave would be a plausible excuse.

“……Is that so.”

“Yes, Jae-jin-ssi.”

“You’re really doing it.”

“Yes.”

“……”

“Yeah, we’re doing it.”

“……”

Looking back, it was a ridiculously short moment.

Before spring came, before they exchanged rings, their vacation as just the two of them came to an end.

This cruel world never leaves Kwon Jae-jin alone for a moment. Just when he thought it was over, an even deeper abyss was opening its mouth, and it felt like another series of trials was being pushed upon him.

Seo Eui-woo stared at Kwon Jae-jin with deep, dark eyes. He couldn’t take his eyes off the white breath that scattered around his mouth every time Jae-jin breathed.

“Jae-jin-ssi, what are you thinking about right now?”

What am I thinking about…

There were many fragments of thoughts scattered in his head.

The swarming horde of creatures he saw in his dream. The sound of gunfire. 6th Residential District. The tall bamboo forest. Perhaps a small cabin where he could have lived with Seo Eui-woo. The exploding mansion and smoke grenades. The screaming Espers. Those who spat blood and groaned at Seo Eui-woo’s mere glance. Pain. Danger. Crisis. Annihilation. Seo Eui-woo. His omnipotent ability…

At some point, it felt like the bottom of his heart had fallen out.

If he closed his eyes, he felt like he would still see Seo Eui-woo, still drunk on sleep. He would see a pink puppy mumbling and rambling in his sleep, rolling around on the bed. But that wasn’t the case. Seo Eui-woo was here, and moreover, he was baring his fangs at the world.

“Right now… I’m thinking about Seo Eui-woo-ssi.”

He had only heard Seo Eui-woo say that he would kill someone, that he wanted to kill someone, but he didn’t deeply feel the impact of what would happen when he actually took action, how dangerous it would be.

This was because Kwon Jae-jin knew that no matter how great Seo Eui-woo was as an S-rank Esper, a crazy bastard who spewed out natural disaster-like abilities, he could never harm Kwon Jae-jin.

Seo Eui-woo can’t kill Kwon Jae-jin.

Far from killing him, he trembles with fear that Kwon Jae-jin might die.

So it felt unreal.

Espers armed with guns were swept away like matchsticks. They were all trained elite special forces soldiers, but they couldn’t even make a peep and were crushed to the ground. If he didn’t know better, he would have accepted it, but Kwon Jae-jin had already seen Major Ma Tae-o skillfully shoot five wolf-type creatures to death. His shield, which shone in various colors like a bubble, was also very strong.

But to Seo Eui-woo, it all seemed like a game. If Kwon Jae-jin hadn’t intervened and stopped him, Seo Eui-woo would have really crushed all of their Cores.

Moreover, Seo Eui-woo had now even set the same goal as Kwon Jae-jin.

Reform the system. Change the paradigm. He will overturn the world and rewrite fate.

“I think Seo Eui-woo will be able to do it.”

Military generals with stars on their shoulders. One star. Two stars. Three stars. Four stars. He will dig into the heads of brigadier generals, major generals, lieutenant generals, and generals, and manipulate their brains to take control of the military organization. At first glance, it seems like an absurd plan, but it seemed like Seo Eui-woo would be able to do it. He was too great to doubt.

So it was a big deal.

Now that Kwon Jae-jin was out in the world, he had to handle Seo Eui-woo.

Kwon Jae-jin was the only one who could control Seo Eui-woo, and if Kwon Jae-jin mishandled Seo Eui-woo’s reins, to put it slightly exaggeratedly, he even worried that the earth might be destroyed.

To put it bluntly, it’s like some outdated fantasy novel. With a nonsensical title like ‘My S-Class Boyfriend is the Strongest in the World’.

“…Now I realize it. The weight I have to bear. It feels like gravity has become three times stronger.”

Kwon Jae-jin grabbed Seo Eui-woo’s back and muttered to himself. Seo Eui-woo hugged Kwon Jae-jin tightly without any gaps. Both of them were wearing indoor clothes, so no matter how close they were, they felt the chill of the sea breeze. It was still midwinter.

“Jae-jin-ssi, you’re trembling.”

“A little… because it’s cold.”

“Then I’ll warm you up.”

“Huh?”

“Lift your head and look at me.”

Seo Eui-woo swallowed a rough breath. After studying Kwon Jae-jin’s face for a while, he lowered his head and brought their lips together. Their cold, dry lips naturally overlapped.

Seo Eui-woo kissed him languidly until their mucous membranes were warm and wet, then lowered his voice and whispered.

“Stick your tongue out.”

“……”

Jae-jin looked at him with dark eyes. Then he stuck his tongue out a little. His scarlet tongue rested on his front teeth. Seo Eui-woo urged him again, as if that wasn’t enough.

“Stick it out more.”

“……More?”

“More.”

After hesitating for a moment, Kwon Jae-jin obediently opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.

With the deep blue sea in the background, a scarlet tongue was pulled out from a pale face drained of blood. Seo Eui-woo, who was holding Jae-jin’s face with one hand, sucked on the offered tongue. He kissed him endlessly until their saliva mixed thickly and their breaths became hot.

When he rubbed the bottom of his tongue as if scratching it, his lips trembled slightly and his eyes closed involuntarily. Jae-jin, unable to bear it, let out a moan. He tried to pull his head back, but Seo Eui-woo didn’t let go of the hand holding his face.

It felt like Kwon Jae-jin’s entire head was trapped in his large palm. Seo Eui-woo stroked his earlobes with his fingertips as he kissed him. He fiddled with them until his ears turned warm, then dug into the sensitive front of his ear canal and touched it.

“Ugh, um.”

“Haa…”

“Yeah, ah…”

His spine tingled when he touched his ears. A reaction was slowly coming from his lower abdomen, so Jae-jin twisted his head. It was familiar and natural for Seo Eui-woo to cling to him like this, but the situation was what it was. Jae-jin pushed him away again, panting.