SOG Ch 148

Should he call it “of all things” or should he call it “as expected”?

Though there was no earthquake, Jae-chan nearly lost his footing while standing. For a moment, his vision blurred.

“……”

Meanwhile, Woo-jin sighed at the lack of response.

He had just finished VIP security and contacted Jae-chan from inside an armored vehicle. Through the circular opening above, the sky appeared as if it had been cut out like a round piece of paper. The sky, blotchy and indistinct, was neither day nor evening.

He had thought it was perfect. That the subtle issue between them caused by Jae-chan going to District 5 was a thing of the past.

But then Gyeong Hye-in had dropped a huge bombshell.

‘About Guide Jae-chan. It seems he likes someone else besides you? You know how some people are. They like both persimmons and cucumbers.’

At that moment, all the things Woo-jin had dismissed as nothing came crashing down on him. Han Tae-hoon, whom Jae-chan had first marked as a potential sponsor, or Guide Nam Hae-sol, for whom he had carefully chosen a dress after days of consideration. Buried questions rose up inside him.

Does he really like someone else besides me?

Who could it be? Han Tae-hoon? Nam Hae-sol?

Or someone else entirely?

It was the moment when his formless anxiety materialized due to Jae-chan’s silence.

“No, I like you more.”

Jae-chan’s belated, urgent voice pounded in Woo-jin’s ears.

“……”

Meanwhile, Jae-chan was in a half-panicked state.

Honestly, he had foreseen this situation from the moment Gyeong Hye-in started provoking him. Before that, he hadn’t imagined she would run and tell Woo-jin everything said during their drinking session.

But facing his own terrible mistake directly was a different dimension from anticipating it. His heartbeat started racing uncontrollably. The blood coursing from his heart rushed at top speed, sending a tingling sensation to his fingertips as he nervously ran his hands through his hair.

And Jae-chan realized he had made another big mistake.

-So you do like someone else.

It was because of Woo-jin’s sunken voice.

‘Ah…’

To say he liked Woo-jin ‘more’.

How could he make such a mistake?

“…”

It was a mistake made because he had been unconsciously seeing pre-regression Woo-jin and post-regression Woo-jin as separate entities. There was no room for excuses.

Damn it. Why had he been treating them as different people? Jae-chan cursed at himself.

But on the other hand, part of him understood.

‘They do seem… different.’

If he told his pre-regression self about his romance with Woo-jin, he’d be beaten up and told to stop lying. The pre-regression Woo-jin was like a completed winter, while the current Woo-jin was like a hot summer.

Nevertheless, he had desperately longed for that winter-like Woo-jin too. He couldn’t deny that he had liked him.

“…”

Jae-chan’s breathing quickened slightly as his face heated up in confusion. A suffocating feeling knotted between his deeply furrowed brows.

This isn’t right. You’re the one I like. The past you is also you… but I can’t just tell you about the regression.

As his thoughts were consumed by confusion, for a moment, he even blamed and resented Woo-jin. Then you should’ve loved me in the past too! Of course, I didn’t deserve to be loved… However, he didn’t utter any of these thoughts because he understood Woo-jin’s feelings. What if their positions were reversed and Woo-jin had said, “I haven’t forgotten the person I dated before, but I like you more”?

…He would’ve just been a jerk.

“You’re the only one for me.”

Seon Jae-chan barely managed to say.

He took a deep breath, struggling to maintain a confident tone in his voice. Even though Woo-jin wasn’t physically in front of him, he ran his fingers through his short hair and straightened his shoulders.

“In the past and now, there’s only you. …Really.”

I really like you. Seon Jae-chan, who was about to stammer softly, bit his tongue hard. Even to his own ears, it sounded childish, irresponsible, and insincere, like saying ‘Don’t you trust me?’ He couldn’t let what should be a precious confession come across as a makeshift solution to the situation.

After a moment, Jae-chan finally regained his composure. He swallowed his silent sigh and spoke firmly.

“I’ll come to see you tonight.”

Gyeong Hye-in was useful sometimes. She had told him where Woo-jin would be now.

“You’re in Zone Z, right?”

-…

“The lockdown’s been lifted. I’m coming.”

-No, you don’t have to come.

Was he saying he didn’t even want to see his face? Seon Jae-chan’s heart sank, but as he listened closely to Woo-jin’s breathing, Woo-jin let out a small laugh, as if admitting defeat.

-I’m feeling better now.

“…”

-Because you said you’d come…. I’m feeling better. It’s hard for you, isn’t it? Why bother coming all the way here?

You’re the one having a harder time. Because of me. Jae-chan swallowed his rising emotions. No matter how much he felt a damned sense of kinship with Gyeong Hye-in, he shouldn’t have recklessly drunk and blabbed.

How precious Woo-jin was. He should’ve only given him the best, and yet he made a ridiculous mistake. Unable to make amends immediately, he was anxious. Seon Jae-chan paced back and forth in the narrow space and then spoke resolutely.

“Are you tired of me coming? If not that, I want to see you today. It’s not hard at all. I want to see your face and talk. …I miss you.”

His serious voice continued gently. Though it wasn’t fully conveyed over the phone, Woo-jin’s face eventually softened considerably, and he surrendered.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Jae-chan ended the call. He immediately texted his temporary superior in District 5, the Team 3 leader.

[Team Leader, I’d like to take my first day off tomorrow. I’ll only work until 19:00 today.

05:35 PM]

He wanted to rent a car and go straight to the airport, but given the day, he’d have to endure until work time ended. He felt slightly concerned about the seemingly exhausted Esper Chae Seong-hwan, but it couldn’t be helped.

He also contacted Investigator Kwon Joon-young to postpone their appointment. While it was important to help Investigator Kwon gather clues about the serial killer and uncover the connection with Lee Yun-do, Woo-jin was far more important to Jae-chan.

An hour later, a reply came back from the team leader, who was out at the hospital, saying it was okay. Work was wrapping up, and he heard from the emergency center manager that the fog-induced pile-up had concluded with a 168-car collision.

Just as the situation seemed to be settling, at least preliminarily:

“Emergency here! Emergency! Someone please help!”

A group of Espers came in carrying a pregnant woman. Yu-ram, who had just finished guiding near the entrance and was putting away the wavelength measurement device, immediately went to the emergency bed.

Everyone in the center instantly turned their gaze towards them. Jae-chan also closely observed the unconscious pregnant woman and the three or four Espers who brought her in, then approached Yu-ram.

“I’ll do the guiding.”

He said, gently taking the measuring device.

“We’ve also run out of electrode pads in the emergency storage. Could you bring some?”

He casually mentioned, as if the thought had just occurred to him. Yu-ram quickly lifted her head. She had a tendency to believe whatever from people she trusted.

“I’ll go get them!”

In an instant, she dashed out of the emergency center, and Jae-chan measured the wave stability without changing his expression.

“…This person isn’t an Esper.”

Feigning surprise, he looked back at the suspicious Espers.

“She’s not? She said she was.”

“That’s right, she told us. What, did she lie to get rescued quickly?”

The Espers murmured amongst themselves, clearly intending to be heard. Seon Jae-chan noticed the unnatural smudges of dirt and dust on the shoulders and knees of some of the District 5 members he’d seen around before, then he pushed the bed.

“What are you doing?”

“We need to transfer her to the hospital. She came to the wrong place.”

Jae-chan replied. Yet his mind was complicated. Due to the accident, calling an ambulance would be difficult. The same went for official vehicles. What to do now? He was anxiously looking for someone who might have a car.

“She should have been taken to a general hospital right away. She’s pregnant.”

A very familiar, thin voice to Jae-chan’s ears criticized the Espers.

“Even if there was a possibility she was an Esper, you know there are guides assigned to them too.”

It was his mother, Gu Ji-young. Having received guiding and simple wound treatment, she stood with her arms crossed among worried people.

For a moment, Jae-chan was flustered. He never thought his mother, who was indifferent to surrounding events, would interfere.

“Step aside.”

To make matters worse, his mother pushed through the people and came close to Jae-chan.

“This is my specialty. Regaining consciousness or stabilizing panic states.”

As Gu Ji-young was unbuttoning her sleeve, the pregnant woman regained consciousness.

“Ah…”

The pain must have been severe, as she swallowed a groan and immediately clutched her belly.

“The baby’s coming. The baby… the baby’s coming out.”

“This place looks like a hospital, but it’s not a hospital.”

Gu Ji-young, who had been standing by the bed and was suddenly grabbed by the pregnant woman, said clearly.

“I’m telling you the baby’s coming…!”

“…It probably won’t come out that quickly.”

“…Aagh! I’m telling you it’s coming! Do something…!”

Gu Ji-young’s light brown eyes rolled in bewilderment.

“I’m not a doctor, I’m an Esper. So I’ll at least try to calm your mind. That’s my specialty. I was even famous for it once.”

Gu Ji-young raised her chin primly and shyly.

And then it was suddenly chaos.

“…!”

The pregnant woman suddenly grabbed Gu Ji-young’s shirt and yanked her hair hard. The woman, who already had negative feelings about psychic abilities, had her antipathy maximized by Gu Ji-young’s attitude.

n an instant, her already disheveled hair turned into a complete mess. Seon Jae-chan, his mouth agape, momentarily forgot about keeping the suspicious Espers in check and focused on rescuing his mother’s hair.

During this, a loud “Boom!” suddenly resonated from outside, but the center staff, including Jae-chan, were too busy trying to stop the commotion.

“Hey…! Let go of this!”

Gu Ji-young, tangled up with the pregnant woman like one body, shouted with difficulty while trying to pull her long neck free.

“No matter how bad the labor pains are, it’s still no excuse for such uncivilized behavior…!”

“Civilized? Civ-i-lized? You think you’re so high and mighty?!”

“This woman, seriously…!”

Gu Ji-young panting and with a shrill voice, finally regained her composure.

“Please, just trust me this once! I’ve had a child before…! This is my son, you know? Are you going to keep pulling my hair in front of my child…?!”

Gu Ji-young shouted incessantly in a frail voice.

The pregnant woman hesitated at the words “pulling hair in front of my child.” Gu Ji-young barely managed to free her disheveled hair. Jae-chan supported his panting mother. Just as the situation seemed to be stabilizing:

Wee-oo! Suddenly, a sharp emergency alarm sounded throughout the building.

At the same time, the emergency guiding center door flew open.

“Run away…!”

Yu-ram, the one who came barreling in, stumbled and leaned on a nearby emergency trolley to steady herself before shouting.

“Evacuate…! We need to evacuate immediately! The nuclear power plant… The nuclear power plant has exploded…!”