IDSEGI Chapter 68

Chapter 68

At the sudden question, Yoon Geon furrowed his brows.

“No. Why?”

“What have you even been doing all this time without that? An Esper should at least be able to teleport as a secondary ability.”

Since awakening abilities wasn’t something one could control at will, he sighed while grumbling at Yoon Geon. Ihan ran a hand through his hair in irritation and asked,

“You’re fast on your feet, right? Don’t tell me you can’t run a hundred meters in under five seconds.”

At that speed, it would be almost no different from teleportation. While Espers had far superior physical abilities compared to normal people, the standard Ihan described was not something one could easily achieve.

But by Ihan’s standards, anything slower than that meant you hadn’t trained enough. He was fond of saying things like,

“If you can’t even do this, you’re not an Esper—you’re trash.”

In fact, all Zone 1 Espers could run the hundred meters in the five-second range. How much hellish training it took to get there was more than could be explained in a day and night.

Ordinary Espers who hadn’t trained under Ihan naturally couldn’t reach that speed. But the opponent here was S-class Esper Yoon Geon.

As if it were obvious, Yoon Geon nodded lightly. Ihan gave a short hum and raised his eyebrows.

“Not ideal, but that’ll do…”

“What’s this about all of a sudden?”

“If you think Yeoul’s in danger, you take him out no matter what. The moment you even get a hint of it—immediately.”

The playful glint that had been in his eyes just moments ago sharpened into a cold gleam.

“Yeoul has to survive, no matter what.”

“Got it.”

Yoon Geon’s answer came without hesitation, and Ihan gave a satisfied look before turning away without lingering.

“That’s all I had to say. I’m going.”

“Yoo Ihan.”

Waving a hand as Yoon Geon called after him, Ihan replied,

“If you can’t sleep, sing yourself a lullaby. And stop throwing my name around so casually.”

Yoon Geon ignored the joke and asked bluntly,

“If that’s what you’re worried about, why aren’t you taking Esper Kim Yushin?”

Ihan didn’t answer, just gave a short, mocking laugh over his shoulder.

“Not Yushin. To him, my life would be top priority. He’d just drag me down.”

This was the real reason Ihan didn’t take Zone 1 Espers with him.

If both Yoo Ihan and Han Yeoul were in danger, they would choose Ihan. And that could keep him from saving Yeoul in time.

As he was about to step through the front door, Ihan looked back at Yoon Geon.

“If I die… take care of Yeoul.”

Then he smirked.

“Not that I will. The odds of me dying are as slim as the odds of you ending up with Yeoul. So if you were hoping for that, give it up. You’d be better off buying a lottery ticket.”

Yoon Geon shot back without missing a beat.

“Even if I never win the lottery, I make enough to spoil Han Yeoul for life.”

He tossed a towel at Ihan.

“When you come back, we settle this once and for all. No interruptions this time.”

Ihan slung the towel over his shoulder, snorted, and raised his middle finger.

“Yeah, bastard. Be ready to lose an arm when I’m back.”

Now truly finished with his business, Ihan returned to Yeoul’s side.

May 12th.

Whatever the outcome, the day that would never be forgotten was about to dawn.

* * *

Early in the morning, the three of them set out for the cave—only to be surprised by the large crowd gathered there. All of them were Espers from Zone 1 and Zone 5.

“Hey, finally showed up?”

“Late, late. You should be here on the dot!”

“You think you’ve got more than one life? Quit showing off. Ihan, I didn’t say anything. This guy’s the one who rushed you.”

“You traitor! Hey, Yoo Ihan, earlier he called you a love-crazed idiot!”

“What, was I the only one? The only one?”

The Zone 1 Espers were as loud and rowdy as ever. The Zone 5 Espers, looking at them with pity, soon turned to Yoon Geon and bowed respectfully.

“Team Leader, we’d like to help as well.”

“Please take us along. We can be of use.”

“Yoon Geon sunbae, if you leave me behind, I’ll be really upset!”

Their manners differed, but both groups were of the same mind—lend their strength to their leader. Everyone here was prepared to risk their lives.

“Die together, live together! Right? Espers have to stick to their code!”

At one person’s shout, both Zone 1 and Zone 5 members nodded in agreement. It was then that Ihan’s voice boomed through the air.

“You idiots all lost your minds? Get back to your own zones right now. We give you a paycheck from taxpayers’ money so you can protect civilians, and here you are slacking off?”

Yoon Geon also addressed the Zone 5 members with stern authority.

“Return to your posts. Your duty is to protect Zone 5. Don’t be foolish enough to abandon that duty to follow me.”

Ihan kicked one of the Espers standing in the front row and shouted.

“And what was that? ‘If we die, we die together’? There’s a technical term for that—dying like an idiot, you moron. Who the hell gave you the right to drag anyone else into it?”

Straightening his shoulders, Ihan took a deep breath and roared.

“I’m Yoo Ihan. I’m not going there to die—I’m going there to kill. So sit tight and wait!”

He glanced around and smirked like a villain.

“And skipping training to come here? I’ll make sure you pay for that when I get back, so be ready.”

Seeing the Zone 1 Espers go pale, the Zone 5 Espers felt a sense of relief.

‘At least our team leader’s not like that.’

But Yoon Geon promptly crushed that hope.

“Everyone here today will be disciplined. Wait for it.”

The Zone 5 Espers’ faces soured too. Watching this, Yeoul felt his eyes sting with gratitude and his heart ache at the same time.

Because Ihan and Yoon Geon had chosen to abandon these people for his sake.

Sensing his thoughts, both Ihan and Yoon Geon took one of his hands each. Then they spoke the same words to their comrades.

“Wait. We’ll be back.”

But if they had been the type to step back easily, they wouldn’t have shown up in the first place. They blocked the gate, insisting on being taken along.

Ihan, who had been threatening only verbally until now, and Yoon Geon, who had been calmly persuading them, were both starting to lose patience. Just as Ihan was about to use his ability to force them back, a gate suddenly tore open in the air and poured out monsters.

“Kiiiiiyaaah!”

Insectoid monsters emitting strange cries swarmed toward them, and both Zone 1 and Zone 5 Espers immediately moved into battle formation.

“Yoo Ihan, we’ll handle things here—go in.”

“Sunbae, trust us and go ahead! We’ll follow soon.”

Yushin showed a reassuring back to Ihan, and Hyunho did the same for Yoon Geon. Trusting their comrades, the two leaders turned around.

“Let’s go, Yeoul.”

With both men holding his hands, Yeoul turned to look back. Many people were fighting for their sake. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Yeoul shouted loudly to them.

“I’ll bring them back for sure! Please wait for us!”

Tightening his grip on both of them, Yeoul led the way toward the cave.

“Let’s go now. Come on, hyung.”

Leaving behind the sounds of fierce battle, the three entered the cave.

They walked for a long while. It had been hours since any sound from outside could be heard. But ahead was only endless darkness, with nothing appearing.

Glancing at Yeoul, Yoon Geon tightened his hold on his hand.

“Lean on me while you walk.”

He wanted to just carry him, but figured Yeoul wouldn’t like it, so he held back. Then, under the flashlight’s beam, Yeoul’s expression seemed oddly sulky. Just as Yoon Geon was wondering why, he noticed something.

Yeoul’s feet were floating off the ground. With a resigned sigh, Yeoul muttered,

“…Ihan insisted that no matter what, he’d be the one to carry me…”

Ihan, looking proud, was holding Yeoul around the waist, lifting him completely off the ground so his legs dangled in the air.

So that’s what the two of them had been quietly bickering about earlier.

At a loss for words, Yoon Geon simply looked at them.

Not long after they’d set off, Ihan had insisted on carrying Yeoul. When told to either be carried in his arms or on his back, Yeoul had offered a compromise.

“I’ll hold onto your arm and walk.”

Meaning he’d lean on Ihan while walking on his own feet. But instead, Ihan had wrapped an arm around his waist and hoisted him up.

“What are you doing? Put me down!”

“Hm? I’m just letting you hold my arm like you asked. Is there a problem?”

After a long, pointless argument, Yeoul had ended up being carried just as Ihan wanted.

Looking smug, Ihan shot a provoking glance at Yoon Geon. Strangely, Yoon Geon felt a surge of irritation in his chest. For someone with slow emotional shifts, it was rare for him to get this worked up. Ihan had a knack for getting under even calm, composed Yoon Geon’s skin.

At that moment, a sharp metallic screech rang out ahead, rapidly approaching. The source came into view within the flashlight’s range—a swarm of bat-like monsters, not just a few but in a mass.

Just as Ihan was about to step forward, Yoon Geon blocked his path.

“Wait.”

In an instant, a wall of water rose in front of Yeoul. Glancing at him briefly, Yoon Geon added casually,

“This won’t take long.”

Then he stretched out his hand toward the incoming swarm of bats.