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Where did I put the medicine?
It was hard to think clearly with so many complex emotions swirling. The grip on her wrist was strong. The feel of his palm was still rough, and good. Cheon Geon-young’s presence, veiled in moonlight like a funeral shroud, pressed down on her.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
At her warning, spoken through clenched teeth, Cheon Geon-young’s eyes strangely twitched.
“I’m heavily affected by negative emotions. This isn’t a natural wind blowing right now. At times like this, I need to be alone. So, go. It’s dangerous if you stay by my side.”
“You sure have a pretty way of telling me to get lost.”
“Are you sane?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a loud crack echoed from a nearby tree. A thick branch split as if struck by lightning. Moonlight touched its pale, exposed wood. Next, it might not be a tree, but the man in front of me. Yoon Tae-ha’s fear swelled like a flood.
“Please, I’m begging you, leave me alone and go!”
Don’t shout. The more you express emotion, the harder it is to control your abilities. Endure it for others.
A voice, whose owner she didn’t know, buzzed in her ears. Yoon Tae-ha covered one ear with her free hand and hunched over. Gravity pulled her down. Cheon Geon-young caught her falling body in his arms.
“Medicine... I need medicine.”
The limp, weak woman couldn’t lift a finger until Cheon Geon-young leaned her against a tree. In the meantime, Cheon Geon-young reached for the belt pouch at her waist.
“Emergency medicine. Which one is it?”
Two small pill bottles emerged from the pouch. Cheon Geon-young placed a cylindrical bottle in his palm and brought it close so she could see it clearly.
Yoon Tae-ha, unable to speak properly, barely managed to point with her chin to the bottle with a purple string tied around it. Cheon Geon-young took out a small water bottle from his bag and opened the pill bottle she indicated. He swiftly prepared the medicine and water, then pulled Yoon Tae-ha up as if to lift her. His touch was rough, like someone who wanted to crush her with his body rather than treat her.
“Open your mouth.”
The woman, breathing raggedly and exhaling hot breaths, barely opened her mouth. Cheon Geon-young, without a change in expression, placed the pill into her wet mouth. A pill too large to swallow comfortably rested on the tip of her tongue.
He held the water bottle to her lips. Yoon Tae-ha drank, spilling almost half of it. Transparent liquid flowed down her smooth jawline. She swallowed the medicine with difficulty.
It wasn’t powdered medicine, but her mouth felt numb. It was nauseating.
The suppressants taken to prevent rampage often caused nausea. There were days when she would suffer terribly for about two days, like having a severe fever. It was because the medicine dispersed the power that should have been released outwards, instead scattering it internally. But she pushed aside her instinct not to take it and reached out.
“Don’t close it. It’s three pills at once.”
Cheon Geon-young, who had been twisting the lid back onto the pill bottle, looked up. His face showed that he disagreed with her words.
“You read the ingredients list. You shouldn’t take more than three.”
“I’ll burst from a rampage before my stomach gets ruined and I die. Give me the medicine if you don’t want to die a dog’s death with me.”
Burst and die. Yoon Tae-ha was deliberately using harsh words to provoke him. His dark gaze, which had been calmly taking her in, shifted to the pill bottle.
“Wait.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard someone tell an esper who’s swallowed a purple suppressant to wait.”
“You can wait. Because I asked you to.”
Cheon Geon-young, who had issued an arrogant command, returned with the empty water bottle refilled. When he came back, Yoon Tae-ha opened her mouth on her own. Her red tongue was visible through her slightly parted lips. Cheon Geon-young placed the second pill on it. Then he gave her water again and bent down, gently helping her swallow the pill.
Yoon Tae-ha, who had meekly complied, swallowed the medicine and opened her tightly closed eyes. Her gaze met his two eyes, which held a strange excitement. Feeling a burning sensation in her throat, she licked her lips with her tongue, and saw his body tense.
“Is it bitter?”
Yoon Tae-ha, seeing his face stripped of its composure, nodded. She didn’t even have the candy she always carried. She wanted to put anything in her mouth to erase the unpleasant taste lingering on her tongue. She parted her lips slightly. Cheon Geon-young soon realized her distress.
“My tongue is tingling.”
“Are you hurt?”
Her tongue wouldn’t get hurt just from swallowing medicine. It wasn’t like needles sprouted.
“Could I ask for some guiding, please?”
Yoon Tae-ha hesitated, then grabbed his arm and said in a whisper. When did she say she was fine and reject it, and now this?
As she blamed herself for her capriciousness, Cheon Geon-young took her hand. Slowly, power began to flow from him. A cool sensation entered her body, gradually consuming the internal heat. Yoon Tae-ha squeezed her eyes shut.
“I’ll stick to you and guide you as you wish, so stop taking suppressants.”
“Will you keep doing this with me?”
The man, who had placed his forehead on the back of her hand, asked softly.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you going to keep working with me? You know everything now.”
“Since I know everything, I feel like I need to stick closer.”
“...”
“You’re not in a position to accuse me of living dangerously. You’re also exposed to many enemies.”
Cheon Geon-young raised his head, his face a whirlwind of thoughts. Guiding continued from his fingertips. He still wished Yoon Tae-ha wouldn’t be hurt and would be happy. And, to add, by his side. His feelings hadn’t changed, so his guiding hadn’t either.
“I have no intention of breaking the contract. Instead, make one promise to me. Learn how to accept protection from others. You know it’s impossible to fix everything by yourself. No one can do that.”
Yoon Tae-ha desperately clutched her guide’s fingertips. Did she deserve to hear such words from him? As she hesitated, Cheon Geon-young persuaded her in a firm tone.
“You’re not the one who should be held responsible for this situation. While I can’t claim to understand how those people treated you by mere conjecture, I do know for sure that you’re overdoing it.”
“You could get hurt protecting me. Both physically and socially. It can’t be beneficial for you to associate with Yoon Jeong-hoon’s granddaughter.”
“You keep forgetting. From the outside, both you and I are just grandchildren manipulated by greedy old men. We’re just parts to be used and discarded when convenient.”
“Does Changcheon treat you like that?”
“Do you know how many adults spat at me using my grandfather’s name during our first meeting? I was wearing a school uniform then.”
“How could they do that to a child!”
“See? You know too.”
Cheon Geon-young, who had interrupted her, checked her temperature again. While they talked, Yoon Tae-ha had calmed down.
“You’re not Yoon Jeong-hoon’s accomplice. He’s the reason you’ve suffered. You deserve compensation for that.”
“Who would compensate me? By digging up my dead grandfather’s grave?”
“Me.”
“...”
“I’ll compensate you.”
“Is that the right calculation?”
“It’s a good solution, isn’t it?”
“You’re being foolishly stubborn...”
A moment of silence passed. Yoon Tae-ha simply couldn’t bear the weight of the words he was pouring onto her. She felt as if heavy chains had been placed on her ankles, which had been itching to run away.
“At first, I thought of you because of the mission.”
As he spoke, a surging emotion intensely knocked against her.
“Observation is essential before going into an operation, isn’t it? If I looked good, you’d reveal your weaknesses. Then, regardless of the task, the time I spent thinking of you grew longer.”
This was Cheon Geon-young’s answer. His answer to her desperate confession. Yoon Tae-ha was at a loss, overwhelmed by a feast of words far more elegant and refined than her own. She was embarrassed.
“Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I felt rewarded when I guessed what you were thinking, and frustrated when I was wrong. Not knowing you felt like a punishment inflicted upon me. I was jealous of those who knew you more deeply than I did.”
At the same time, a hot surge of satisfaction and elation welled up from deep within her chest. She could picture herself replaying this moment countless times before she died.
“Let me protect you. Tell me what you’re thinking first. That’s the compensation and solution I’ll accept.”
“You’re really bad at calculations.”
“I don’t think so. It’s because you don’t know how much I want you that you can say that. I won’t enter a losing contract.”
He stood up from his seat and slowly helped Yoon Tae-ha up as well. Cheon Geon-young offered his back as if it were the most natural thing. In the end, Yoon Tae-ha gave up on walking and allowed herself to be carried.
“Let’s finish this work and leave together. I think it would be nice to live tucked away on a quiet island, thinking only about whether the sun will rise tomorrow or if it will rain.”
“There’s an island too?”
“Not yet. If you choose one, I’ll buy it.”
“That’s absurd...”
He walked forward without showing any signs of difficulty, pushing through dead tree roots and overgrown grass. All Yoon Tae-ha had to do during their journey to the camp was answer his questions diligently.
The real contract Raphael proposed. Nox’s betrayal. The fight between two outsiders, each claiming to be the second prince. The power of the green feathers.
When she finally mentioned that the Director-General was plotting a scheme using the fissure, she was utterly exhausted. The man’s reaction was simple.
“There’s more than one person to deal with.”
His tone suggested annoyance, as if there were too many bothersome bugs to crush.
Are all the children gathered for the Galatea Project like this? The aggression and rebelliousness that made them bite the neck of the one held in their heart, even if it meant gnawing away at their own lives. All of these traits were closer to espers than to ordinary people.
“I’m going to stop the Director-General.”
Yoon Tae-ha mumbled, hugging his neck, which carried a strong masculine scent.
“When I learned about fissures, what surprised me most was the number of casualties from the Grand Fissure. That man is gravely mistaken. There’s no way he can open and close such a massive gate at will. Only innocent people will be sacrificed. We have to stop it, no matter what it takes.”
“I knew you’d say that.”
“How can you be so sure?”
The silvery leaves around them rustled with a faint breeze. Were the trees feeling the resonance of the man’s voice too?
“I just know.”
Her heart pounded fiercely. She was glad he said he knew. What kind of person am I, the one you know? Yoon Tae-ha wanted to squeeze herself into that image, whatever its shape. It felt like it wouldn’t matter even if she had to cut away flesh and bleed.
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