It feels as though I’m being crushed by a beast.
The moment his grey eyes visibly twisted and distorted, a paradoxical sense of relief rose in Kwon Jae-jin’s chest. He thought that by clashing with Seo Ui-woo, by fighting and hurting each other… maybe this Seo Ui-woo might become a little closer to the Seo Ui-woo of the past. He hoped that even now, after wading through a myriad of emotions, they would somehow connect.
It was nothing more than a fleeting hope without any certainty.
“What… do you want to hear from me, Mr. Seo Ui-woo?”
Jae-jin’s voice emerged, dampened as if drenched in a drizzle. He hadn’t intended to fall so deeply into pessimism, but it was beyond his control.
“If it’s not because of me that you’re acting like this, then tell me what it is.”
Kwon Jae-jin choked back a hollow laugh at the Ouroboros-like question.
Was it because of the first Seo Ui-woo, or the second… perhaps due to someone he was seeing? An ex, or the current one… Should he consider them broken up, or not… It was because of such things.
“Yes, well… it must be because of someone I was seeing. Whether an ex or a current… whether to consider we’ve broken up, or not… that’s the reason.”
“And out of nowhere, when you’ve been fine all this time?”
“Exactly, it’s sudden. That’s why it’s unbearable.”
“…”
“If your curiosity’s been satisfied, can you let me be now? I need some time alone. Please go to work, Mr. Seo Ui-woo.”
Kwon Jae-jin pushed Seo Ui-woo away once more.
However, Seo Ui-woo didn’t even budge. He simply held onto Jae-jin and stared at his expressionless face. His sharp grey eyes glowed without even blinking. Jae-jin’s black eyes, clear without any unnecessary details, rigid nose and cheeks, and lips tightly sealed as if suppressing emotions. Seo Ui-woo, who scrutinized him down to every facial feature, gritted his teeth.
Veins throbbed in his neck, and his eyes flickered worryingly.
Having been lost in thought for a long time, Seo Ui-woo slowly opened his mouth. A low voice resonated as if scratching the floor with a claw.
“…I’ve been agonizing over whether to tell you this. That I can help you, Kwon Jae-jin.”
You can help?
Impossible.
“No, this is my personal matter. Don’t worry about it.”
“I want to help because I want to help. You guide me and help me, I want to be of help too.”
Jae-jin’s eyes crinkled. He had forgotten that refusing Seo Ui-woo could be the most difficult thing in the world.
“Ha… Don’t you understand what I’m saying? I said it’s personal. It’s none of your concern, Mr. Seo Ui-woo.”
“No. The one who doesn’t understand is you, Kwon Jae-jin. You don’t know because you’re ignorant. Just leave it to me.”
“What in the world are you persistently…!”
Unable to contain himself, Kwon Jae-jin’s eyes flared up. His gaze collided mid-air with the undulating eyes of Seo Ui-woo. They intertwined fiercely, pulling each other into a parallel rise of passion.
“I can cleanly carve out that person from your head if it’s me.”
Kwon Jae-jin was angered, and so was Seo Ui-woo.
“I’ll erase them from your memory as if you’ve never met them before. I’ll rip out their very existence from their roots and eliminate them.”
Seo Ui-woo smiled slowly, curling his lips. The sound of his voice was strangely affectionate, yet it sent shivers down the spine. It was as calm as if he were patiently explaining to an ignorant child.
“…Mr. Seo Ui-woo. What do you mean by what you just said?”
To carve out from the head?
Eliminate one’s existence?
“Psychic abilities. I can interfere with the brainwaves of living creatures. A skilled user can manipulate thoughts, actions, and all five senses. Of course, reading and erasing memories are also possible.”
“…Ah.”
“There are many restrictions and you need authorization to use it, but hiding Kwon Jae-jin here is already a criminal act, so it couldn’t get much worse than tampering with a few memories.”
Seo Ui-woo. 20 years old. The first S-class Esper.
A multiple psychic power user with unparalleled strength unprecedented to follow.
“By now, in the 6th residential area, Kwon Jae-jin would have been processed as missing or dead, and that boyfriend of yours will believe you’re dead. There are countless victims each year who suddenly fall prey to creatures, their bodies never found.”
Why did I overlook Seo Ui-woo’s omnipotence?
I thought I had learned enough about his transcendental powers, but that too was presumptuous.
Kwon Jae-jin still didn’t fully know Seo Ui-woo.
He didn’t know that Seo Ui-woo could use psychic abilities, let alone that such powers existed in the world. It meant that awakened individuals, once authorized, could even dominate ordinary people at will, and if such a fact had been known to the public, it would have caused a huge commotion.
“Holding onto this sentiment and struggling alone is just a waste of time and emotion. Trust me. I’ll lightly touch your memories and erase everything for you.”
“…”
“You’ll feel at ease. No more extraneous thoughts, just focused on the greater cause. And by doing so, we will become stronger.”
“…”
“Kwon Jae-jin as the guide of Seo Ui-woo, and Seo Ui-woo as the Esper of Kwon Jae-jin.”
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧