TDG Ch 6

This guy’s got every main-character buff imaginable—S+ class looks, a tragic air about him, and a dangerously aesthetic allure. Yet, he smiles like a baby. Where the hell did he learn to smile like that? Just one smile and he’s out to bewitch people on the spot.

In the original story, Han Jihyuk is described as a mesmerizingly handsome man with a tall, lean figure and a well-toned body, especially those melancholy eyes that no one can look away from. He captures the gaze of men and women alike, young and old. Reading it on the page was one thing, but seeing it with my own eyes made me finally get what that meant.

The strange part is, even though he’s taller and sturdier than me, he somehow triggers this instinct to protect him. His face, often tinged with a subtle, delicate vulnerability, constantly makes him look pitiful and unstable, like he needs someone to keep watch over him. It makes you feel like you need to protect him, and that thought alone is maddening.

Thanks to this bewitching charm buff, most characters in the story treat “You’re so handsome” like a standard greeting when they talk to him. Even the obsessive female supporting characters praised his face as “one that called for a kiss from every angle.”

The thought of Kwon Minwook scarring that perfect face suddenly made me angry all over again. Sure, sometimes a man’s scars become badges of honor, but that’s only if his face wasn’t this exceptional to begin with. Anyway, that bastard is someone who’d even have Satan serve him as an elder brother. Looking back, there’s not a single negative detail about Han Jihyuk where Kwon Minwook doesn’t show up. The guy had more presence than the actual female lead, Jung Ahyoon.

“Hyung. Here.”

Jihyuk gently placed a plump, deboned piece of white fish on top of my rice.

“You eat it. You don’t have to take care of me.”

“No, Hyung has to eat it. You’re all dried up with only bones left. You’re way too small.”

…Hey. It’s not that bad, okay?

Anyone standing next to you would look small and scrawny by comparison.

“You just haven’t noticed the hidden muscles on my body.”

Han Jihyuk suddenly burst out laughing. Laugh—huh? When I gave him a sharp glare, he quickly composed himself, but he couldn’t quite hide the way his lips trembled as he bit the inside of his mouth to hold it in.

Hey, seriously, you little punk… It’s not cool to treat your hyung like this, got it? I should tear into you, but I’m holding back because the muscles I need for that are currently on leave. Once they’re back, you’re toast.

Huffing to myself, I shoved a spoonful of rice into my mouth and scooped up another. While I did that, Jihyuk quietly placed another thick, boneless piece of fish on top of my rice. Then he smiled sweetly.

“Tastes good, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Fish that had passed through the hands of the protagonist had a flavor all its own.

* * *

After breakfast, Han Jihyuk was immediately called back to the lab. In the morning, he underwent brainwave and aptitude tests, and in the afternoon, they relocated to another facility for practical training.

This new building, about three times the size of a soccer field, was filled with support facilities designed for Espers’ training and convenience.

– Beginning the test. Please focus on the target.

Han Jihyuk broke the record from the very first test. Even with all sorts of suppression devices strapped to his hands and feet, he showed off his skills without hesitation. The researchers seemed visibly impressed.

See? My boy’s that amazing. Who cares about those damn suppression devices? Strap on hundreds of them if you want, but no matter how many suppression devices are attached, they can never hide the brilliance of a protagonist who is loved by all the exception laws.

Alone again, out of habit, I felt overwhelmed and then waved my hand vigorously at Han Ji-hyeok, who was turning back. Maybe it gave him a boost because the flames swirling around his body grew even more precise and intense. The guy dashed across the massive training ground, about the size of a soccer field, with complete ease. His stamina, without a trace of fatigue, naturally drew admiration.

Officially, Jihyuk’s revealed ability was fire, but true to his role as the protagonist, he had a hidden trump card: telekinesis. It was a power he wasn’t even aware of until he awakened it in a desperate attempt to save the female lead, Jung Ahyoon. The moment itself was incredibly dramatic, and the thought that I’d soon get to see it happen in real life made my heart race.

Anyway, watching him run around like that reminded me of a puppy excited on a snowy day, except what he was doing was on a whole different scale.

Multiple targets exploded every few seconds. Surrounded by flames, Jihyuk moved with effortless control, looking like a literal god of fire. At this point, his movements were too fast for the naked eye to follow. Only the precise beeps from the monitoring equipment confirming his hits could keep up with his performance.

The sound of the score updating, piercingly loud like an explosion, made me swallow hard.

That’s my boy. As expected of the world’s only L-rank rising star!

While still racking up points, Jihyuk turned to look at me again. Seeing his eyes light up with the hope of praise, I clapped as enthusiastically as I could and cheered for him. It was honestly amazing how he could still land every target accurately while being so easily distracted.

At first, he just aimed directly at the targets, but before long, his movements turned into something like a performance. It was clear he had a natural gift for moving his body. His rhythmic and spectacular movements drew the eye like a well-shot action movie, and they were utterly captivating.

When the “Testing in Progress” light finally turned off, Han Jihyuk ripped off the electrode pads stuck to his body in one swift motion, threw them aside and ran straight toward me.

“Uwah!”

I wasn’t sure if my ribs would survive the impact. Still, it was kind of cute how he instinctively eased up just a bit before hugging me, as if trying not to hurt me.

I hugged Han Jihyuk and patted his back, praising him.

“Well done. At this rate, our Jihyuk will break all the records in history.”

Jihyuk flashed me a wide smile.

“I will, if that’s what you want, Hyung.”

No, no. You can’t be this sweet. Hyung’s heart gets all soft and melty when you’re like this. Fine, screw it. Our Jihyuk’s gonna take it all. He’ll smash every international record under the OEC (International Esper Federation).

I’ve got to raise him right—kind, upright, pure and clean—so I can send him off to Jung Ahyoon. I’m so excited for the day they meet that my swelling heart doesn’t deflate.

Suddenly, a playful thought struck me.

“Han Jihyuk, don’t forget Hyung once you make it big.”

Jihyuk looked confused, like he had no idea what I meant.

Yeah. You don’t have to know just yet, you adorable punk.

While Han Jihyuk went to change clothes for his next training session, one of the researchers approached me.

“Guide Seo Juwon. For the next training round, would you mind waiting outside?”

So it was time already.

It looked like they were starting the phase where they would train him to keep a distance from me.

“Do you think that’s okay?”

“This level of score is sufficient.”

That’s not what I meant. It’s just… our Jihyuk has Guide dependence. And it’s serious.

But I couldn’t bring myself to actually say it out loud.

In front of the people who quantified Jihyuk’s condition more thoroughly than anyone else, there was no way I could start spouting the novel’s setting about his awakening tearing apart his ego. So I shrank back and obediently stepped outside. 

However, this attempt met fierce opposition and was aborted.

It was because of Han Jihyuk’s rampage.

When I got the urgent call to return, I threw aside the coffee I was drinking and ran, only to find chaos in the lab. Han Jihyuk was rampaging like a madman.

The flame waves radiating from him were so intense that even the supposedly S-rank-resistant interior materials of the building began to melt and crack. What’s going on all of a sudden? Did his suppression device get removed? But no, that wasn’t it. He still had it on. For him to unleash this kind of power with the device on was hard to believe.

It had only been 15 minutes since training resumed. I couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened in that time to make him snap like this.

The lab had become a total inferno from the fire he’d released. But the biggest crisis wasn’t the blazing flames or the delicate machines melting like sugar; it was the possibility that the researchers trapped inside could die. I had to stop him.

I rushed to the lab window and pounded on the glass.

“Jihyuk!”

Han Jihyuk, who had his back to me, suddenly spun around. Gone was his usual gentleness. His eyes blazed icy blue like a tiger’s, so fierce they made my legs weak just looking at them. That wasn’t the Jihyuk I knew, the one who was always so docile toward me.

As I watched, his twisted expression slowly eased into stillness. I closed my eyes for a second against the heat, and when I opened them again, Jihyuk was standing right in front of me, as if a frame of film had been cut and skipped.

Before I could even react, I was pulled into his arms.

“Hyung…!”

He grabbed me with much more force than usual, holding me so tightly it felt like he was trying to merge with me. I tried to shift my body to breathe, but he held on so firmly that my toes lifted off the ground. Still clinging to me, Jihyuk pressed his lips against the nape of my neck hurriedly, almost greedily.

The heat and the raw sensation of his mucous membrane made my arms break out in goosebumps.

Even while holding me, he did not calm down easily. His breathing was loud and rough, and bursts of flame continued to flare and snap around us.

I realized I couldn’t provoke him any further. Fine. Do whatever you want, just return everything to normal once you’re done.

“Alright, alright. Hyung’s here now. Everything’s okay. So just calm…”

“Where did you go?!”

Jihyuk pulled away and stared directly into my eyes, his voice sharp as a blade. I had the distinct feeling he wouldn’t let me go unless I answered.

“Uh, I was nearby.”

“Nearby where?”

“Right out front. Close enough to come running the second you called.”

“……”

I kept my tone as casual and cheerful as possible, not reacting to his agitation. His eyes, which moments before had seemed ready to stab anyone out of sheer anxiety and distrust, visibly softened.

In the original story, Jihyuk’s Guide dependency spiraled into the abyss because of Kwon Minwook. But later, once he met Jung Ahyoon, the symptoms lessened, which meant it probably wasn’t that severe to begin with. Still, he clearly had tendencies toward anxiety and obsession, so he needed to be handled with care.

I glanced at the researcher, collapsed in the background, covered in soot and looking pitiful.

Not the right time yet.