DB Vol 3 Part 2

Why did he leave in such a hurry? As soon as Won-woo left Sang-cheon’s lab, Gye Yoon stood up as if to follow him. At the same time, Sang-cheon grabbed his arm.

“That’s a breach of contract!”

Gye Yoon could easily shake off Sang-cheon’s hand, but he just glanced down at it.

“What is?”

“Following him. No stalking. It’s written in the contract.”

Gye Yoon, who had intended to follow, tilted his head to the side.

“I’m not going to follow him.”

“No, I don’t believe you. The only thing I believe is the contract.”

When Sang-cheon immediately caught his lie, Gye Yoon’s eyebrows twitched.

“You’re really milking that contract, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m going to milk it like bone broth from now on. If you don’t keep it, I’ll self-destruct, and if you become my enemy, you’ll be saying goodbye to Won-woo forever.”

Forever. This word’s warning seemed to sink in as Gye Yoon clenched his jaw as if swallowing a curse.

“Fine, let go of my hand.”

“I told you. I don’t believe y—”

“Believe me, will you? I’m being serious.”

Pause. Surprised by the unexpected response, Sang-cheon almost let go.

“…Really? Why?”

“What do you mean why? You told me not to become your enemy.”

That’s right. But his threat was nothing more than a bluff of the weak. He had to prevent him from following Won-woo somehow. But he’s just going to listen? Then suddenly he realized. He could easily push him away with force, but he was just asking verbally to let go without shaking him off. Sang-cheon let him go and blinked.

“You really won’t go to Won-woo-nim?”

“I won’t.”

Though his voice was indifferent, it didn’t sound like a lie. Sang-cheon’s mouth half-opened at his quick surrender. Why is this brute… yielding so easily? Under his piercing gaze, Gye Yoon showed his irritation.

“What?”

“Hey, you… don’t you curse?”

“Want me to?”

“Not really. Hey, you.”

Something feels awkwardly normal? Sang-cheon couldn’t bring himself to say more, afraid he might really get cursed at. So he could only blankly see Gye Yoon off as he left. Does Won-woo’s guiding wash brains too?

Adopted son. Won-woo could fully understand that Sang-cheon might have family. This is a different world, after all. He must have had another life. And that life must have brought other connections. It’s surprising that connection is with the Gye family, but perhaps Sang-cheon didn’t have the opportunity in Won-woo’s world because the Gye family collapsed early there.

So he knew he shouldn’t feel hurt, but he couldn’t stop his mood from sinking. Won-woo knew too well the reason for these complex emotions he was feeling. It was because he had now clearly realized that this Sang-cheon was a different being from the one he knew.

Won-woo had found a reason to live again after coming here, but he shouldn’t be entirely happy. Through this incident, it felt like God was coldly warning him. The dead are just dead. No matter how he tries to replace the precious ones lost in the previous world like this, it doesn’t change the reality. His reason for living is useless.

It was a cruel warning from reality, but Won-woo wanted to make excuses. He knew it. Nevertheless, he wanted to hold onto new people by overlaying them with shadows of the past. He was a weak human who found it difficult to easily shake off lingering attachments to the past.

But now he had to clearly recognize it. Even if he meets people he knew from now on, they would be different beings. The aunt too, and him too. Won-woo sighed deeply, recalling Sang-cheon’s adopted son with eyes similar to his. When death came so casually from his mouth, Won-woo had unconsciously recalled the past him.

It’s because of those eyes. Those eyes that look exactly the same.

Won-woo tried hard to forget Gye Yoon, making excuses about his eyes, but the more he tried, the more clearly he remembered those eyes. He couldn’t shake off the jealousy that he was Sang-cheon’s adopted son, and the fact that he reminded him of the guy from the past made him feel even more repulsed.

”I’ll just die, that’s all.”

Gye Yoon’s tone was indifferent, but it felt like glimpsing death deeply rooted within. Like someone who could easily die anytime. Even though it was just similar eyes, his heart had sunk as if the person he knew in the past had spoken those words. Won-woo tried to shake off this feeling by judging coldly.

Get a grip. Gye Yoon is not the guy from the past. This was certain. Because that guy was a D-rank Esper.

Won-woo had suspected that his injuries might have been due to a rampage. When he held his hand, he tried to read his energy, but it was completely empty. It was so empty that he suspected even the core had disappeared. As if he was just a shell with all power truly gone.

As far as Won-woo knew, the only case where an Esper’s power core disappeared without a trace like that was a rampage. And only D-rank Espers could survive a rampage.

If C-ranks or higher went on a rampage, their body would literally be torn apart like paper, and they could never survive. So he couldn’t be Gye Yoon.

He must be living well somewhere in this different world. Not like Gye Yoon who can’t even receive guiding and only has revenge left, but as an ordinary person, happily.

He repeated the last wish like a mantra. He’ll definitely be happy.

The Gye family once had as many Espers and Guides as any other family. Now, there are not many Espers because there are no Guides, but instead, it is filled with those who manage this huge mansion and those who manage the Gye Family’s business.

Many of these were ordinary people, but they knew the dangers of Espers better than anyone. That’s why even Espers revered S-ranks Espers as godlike beings. And that S-ranks was right here in the Gye family.

Especially since he usually couldn’t receive proper guiding, they had always been educated never to irritate him. Even now, wasn’t there an ominous rumor circulating that he had killed an important Guide as soon as he got out of prison?

So when he appeared, people parted like the Red Sea, disappearing all at once to avoid him. But today, an employee working in the information team didn’t have the luck to avoid him. Because he was riding the elevator, and when the doors opened on the first floor, the one who appeared was none other than Gye Yoon.

The employee held his breath and quickly moved to the corner of the elevator, pretending to be invisible. But Gye Yoon didn’t seem to intend to get on, just standing in front of the open door looking down at his own hands. As the doors were about to close, the employee habitually pressed the open button.

But Gye Yoon was still just looking at his hands. Should I ask if he’s not getting on? The employee wanted to ask but couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth. But just closing the doors and going up first seemed like an arrogant thing to do. As he was agonizing over this, opening the doors that were trying to close for the second time, Gye Yoon fortunately got on the elevator. The employee quickly stood in the corner, trying to become an unobtrusive presence, even holding his breath. But it was useless.

“Your heart is really noisy.”

Gye Yoon’s faint mumble was clearly heard. The employee instinctively raised both hands to press on his chest. Heart, be quiet! But beneath his pressed hands, his heart beat even louder, oblivious. You must not irritate an S-ranks’s nerves!

It was when they finally reached the 4th floor, which felt like the 40th. Drrr, at last the elevator doors opened and Gye Yoon slowly started to move. The employee was still standing in the corner like a part of the elevator, and only when Gye Yoon was halfway out did he try to finally breathe in. But suddenly Gye Yoon turned his head and looked at him.

Gasp!

As the employee tried to swallow his startled sound by inhaling, he heard those words.

“Aren’t you getting off?”

“What? Ah, no, I’m getting off at the 3rd flo-floor…”

Even as he answered, the employee thought he was dead. What if he wondered why he followed him to the 4th floor when he was on the 3rd floor, and cut off his head?

“Well, since you’re more im-important, Vice Head, I just thought I’d let you get off first…”

His excuse came out as a mumble, trembling too much. The employee glanced up in fear and met those cold eyes. Eek! As he was screaming internally, he heard a completely unexpected word in his ear.

“Thank you.”

“Wh-what?”

“Take care.”

A moment later, as the elevator doors closed, the employee realized his words had been a greeting. Huh? Did the Vice Head just…to me?!

Chief Jung heard that unbelievable story just as he was leaving his office. He was about to go meet Gye Yoon after hearing he had returned. Did he manage to get the Alpha seed from Hwang Sang-cheon? As he was walking quickly out of curiosity, the information team manager he met on the way relayed strange news.

“I wonder if the Vice Head is sick somewhere?”

That brute is always sick. Because he can’t receive guiding. Chief Jung asked back, not thinking much of it.

“Why?”

“Well, both the front gate security guard and our team employee… They said they just met the Vice Head and he was acting strange.”

Pause. Chief Jung finally turned to look at him with serious eyes.

“Are there signs of a rampage?”

“No, not that. More precisely, they say he said strange things.”

“What did he say?”

Ah, well. The manager kept tilting his head in disbelief, frustrating Chief Jung.

“Did he threaten to kill them?”

“Not at all. He just greeted them, saying thank you.”

“They must have misheard.”

“Both people heard the same thing?”

They must both be mistaken. It was impossible. But when the same answer came out after checking several times, Chief Jung couldn’t help but worry. Is talking nonsense a new symptom of rampage?!

Sound was always one of the biggest factors that troubled Gye Yoon. The ability to hear better than anyone else becomes poison if not properly controlled. What he particularly disliked was the sound of children crying. That’s why he never even tried to properly see his niece after she was born.

His niece always cried from the pain of not receiving guiding, fell asleep exhausted, got irritated and cried again, repeating this cycle.

‘Waaah―’

The child’s cry leaked through the thick door. It was the first time Gye Yoon had been this close to his crying niece. But this time, he didn’t avoid it and kept standing there.

Just then, someone came running breathlessly and stood beside him. Even the panting breath, which would have been so irritating and annoying before, was now surprisingly unbothering. Sound without pain was just ordinary noise of daily life.

“Yoon, when did you come?”

Gye Yoon didn’t take his eyes off the door despite Jae-hak’s question. Jae-hak carefully spoke again with worried eyes.

“Is Hwan’s crying loud? Please bear with it for a few days. As you said, we’re looking for a Guide with the Alpha seed, and I think we can bring one soon.”

“Where’s Noona?”

“Ah, she is pretending to recruit another Guide to deceive the Ji family… Wait, did you just call her Noona?!”

Jae-hak asked in surprise as he was explaining, and Gye Yoon finally turned to look at him.

“She is Noona.”

Of course, she’s Noona. But the problem is that he hardly ever calls her Noona. Of course, that Noona has never called her little brother ‘dongsaeng’ either. Usually, they exchange curses.

Only then did Jae-hak notice how calm Gye Yoon’s atmosphere and voice were. Is this another symptom of rampage?! As he was observing his brother-in-law with suspicious eyes, he heard Gye Yoon mumbling while looking down at his hands, his mood strangely changed.

“I need to hold on tight.”

It was a calm voice, but Jae-hak could detect the longing underlying it. Jae-hak looked at Gye Yoon with pitying eyes.

“Hold what? Is there something you want? Just say it. I’ll buy you anything.”

Gye Yoon slowly raised his head. Seeing the eyes full of disdain, Jae-hak realized his mistake. He has a lot of money too.

“Is it a hard-to-get limited edition?”

“Why on earth did Noona marry you, hyung?”

“Haha, well, your Noona fell for my charm… Huh? You called me hyung?!”

Jae-hak’s eyes widened in surprise once again. How long has it been since he heard this form of address? When young, Gye Yoon used to follow him around calling him hyung, as he lived with the Gye family and Gye Yoon only had a sister. But after the tragedy struck the Gye family, he completely changed and never used family-like terms of address again.

Of course, he understands. He probably can’t trust anyone. The tragedy of the Gye family started when a Guide working here betrayed them. So while he felt choked up at being called hyung, he also felt bewildered. At the same time, his worry grew.

“Yoon, are you sick somewhere? Has you finally gone mad?”

“It’s not me who’s gone mad, it’s the Gye family.”

Jae-hak’s eyes, which couldn’t get any wider, trembled like candle flames. The cold voice came out without curses. Why? How much brain damage must he have suffered? Just as Jae-hak was unable to speak from shock, Chief Jung arrived. Noticing Jae-hak’s frozen state, he asked quietly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yoon is acting strange.”

“Ah, I heard.”

Chief Jung nodded and quickly turned to look at Gye Yoon. As he was checking for any symptoms of rampage, he only heard a calm question.

“What did you hear about me?”

“That you thanked a few people. Is that right?”

“Has the rumor spread already?”

“Yes, probably…”

Surely he won’t flip out thinking we’re gossiping about him carelessly? As worry took precedence, Gye Yoon turned his body to look up at the empty air. Just as the two were wondering what he was trying to do, their expressions immediately froze. Their ears became muffled. This was one of the rare symptoms that could be felt when near Gye Yoon using his great power.

However, he can’t use such great power at any time. He only uses it when controlling the sound of the entire vast Gye family estate. When that happens, Gye Yoon could dominate all sounds in that area. He could even hear ants crawling.

But using power he can’t properly control so recklessly? Gye Yoon’s mumbling resonated in the ears of the two surprised people with a buzzing sound.

“See, I told you the Gye family has gone mad. It’s overflowing with spy bastards.”

As the cold voice disappeared, the two felt a pressure pressing down on their entire bodies as if they had entered water. The only part of their bodies that could move was their eyes. They could only see Gye Yoon staring into empty space with an expressionless face. He lowered his gaze as if concentrating, then closed his eyes slightly. At that moment, a pain spread through their heads as if a dish had shattered with a clang!

Ugh!

The two groaned, clutching their heads that felt like they were about to split, but the pain disappeared quickly as if it had never been there. That wasn’t all.

“Chief Jung.”

Along with Gye Yoon’s calling voice, all restraints were lifted as if waking from a dream. Only then did the two exhale with a “haah” and first checked Gye Yoon’s ears. Using power like this. What if he goes on a rampage…

However, none of the numerous suppression piercings on Gye Yoon’s ears showed any abnormality. Moreover, there was no trace of pain on Gye Yoon’s face.

“Yes, yes, Vice Head.”

As Chief Jung belatedly answered as if coming to his senses, instructions were immediately heard.

“For the next few days, I’m going to sweep away all the trash. Tell everyone. The first ones to run away will be blown up first. And when the cleaning is done, you spread the proper rumor.”