Mr. Seo Ui-woo, you are making a big misunderstanding right now. It’s not that you are not needed; it’s the act itself of tampering with memories that I find unpleasant.”
“Why? Because you can’t go back once you forget? Were you planning to run away from me someday?”
“Tampering with memories! Messing with someone’s head… I’m not sure how easily and casually Awakened with mental abilities handle this… but for ordinary people like me, it’s repulsive. I have never even thought of forcibly removing or deleting memories; it’s unfamiliar and strange!”
Jaejin lashed out at Seo Ui-woo, pushing him away. He kicked with his knee, fell roughly to the ground, and crawled away to escape. The carpet on the floor crumpled.
Seo Ui-woo followed Jaejin leisurely, with unhurried steps.
“Ah… it’s not that difficult. In battle, you see, when you lose a comrade. You’re left with mental trauma, right?”
“…What?”
“To prevent falling into despair from such events and to be able to respond in the next battle, some memories are erased to a certain degree. Dead comrades… classmates who didn’t finish their regular training and were disposed of…”
“What is that… What are you talking about… How can people live like that…?”
“Why can’t they? We have duties we need to fulfill. If an Awakened falls, humanity perishes. We carry such responsibility.”
A towering wall appeared.
At the top of a sheer cliff stood Seo Ui-woo.
He was the zenith of Espers, the leader among the Awakened. As the weight of the life he built pressed down mercilessly on Jaejin, the duties and responsibilities that Seo Ui-woo bore with ease became all the more unbearably cruel from Jaejin’s perspective. The increasing pressure made it hard to breathe, as anger and frustration welled up.
Why must Seo Ui-woo live this way, and why must Jaejin live this way?
When will the gap between them ever close?
When will this acute dilemma ever end?
“Now that you understand, please don’t move at all. I’ve been through it all too, and it’s something every Awakened goes through. Let’s finish this quickly.”
Seo Ui-woo approached.
Then, the entire living room shook.
Ceiling lights flickered, walls and the floor vibrated as if an earthquake had hit.
It felt as if a massive darkness was engulfing everything. It was as if being swept away by a pitch-black tidal wave.
Jaejin tried to resist till the end, attempting to voice his refusal, but Seo Ui-woo covered his mouth with his palm before he could speak.
“You know, Jaejin.”
“Mmph…!”
“Since I’ve already adjusted to your way, you could try to adjust to mine for once, right? We were good together.”
He looked down at Jaejin with an indiscernible expression, then wrinkled his nose.
“I liked it, and so did you. I really think we can work out well.”
A strong pressure surrounded Seo Ui-woo; the atmosphere around him settled ominously and pressed down cruelly, making it hard to breathe as if the air itself would burst.
“Ugh, choke.”
“Because you are my guide. The guide I was looking for… is none other than Jaejin… I am…”
His loosely spread fingertips reached toward Jaejin’s forehead.
Seo Ui-woo himself seemed unstable, immense power boiling over in his grasp. His grey pupils cooled down, froze with tension, as a trickle of sweat ran down his jawline.
Seo Ui-woo was intent on delving into Jaejin’s brain.
“…!”
At that moment,
Just before the fingertips made contact with the center of the forehead,
An emergency call broke the silence.
Beeps emanated from the black device strapped to Seo Ui-woo’s belt. A monotonous and concise sound repeated, indicating it would not stop until checked.
Seo Ui-woo’s focused expression shattered as he exhaled a rough breath.
“Ah…”
The power concentrated in his hand dissipated like smoke, vanishing without a trace as if such a mysterious force had never existed in the first place. He brushed back his disheveled hair, removed his hand from Jaejin’s mouth, and looked at the device indifferently.
Emergency callings are always a top priority.
Until Seo Ui-woo’s very last breath.
“I have to go.”
The emergency call saved Jaejin.
Seo Ui-woo, who had not budged despite Jaejin’s rejection and resistance, easily let go of him. Fastening the device to his waist, he rose swiftly and walked away without looking back, heading toward the sterile transit room.
Jaejin watched his back leave, his expression painfully contorted.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
