SOG Ch 33

Jae-chan had escaped from the bunker and returned to his dorm. It was his room where he stayed for 10 days on Mentosa Island.

He looked around in disbelief. The disheveled bed sheets, the guide conquest he’d taken off hours earlier, the crookedly closed nutrition caps, and the unrealistic amount of space left for living.

He squeezed and unclenched his sweaty, calloused palms. His veins, constricted by the strain, were beginning to pulsate with blood. However, all sorts of thoughts were running through his head.

How… Why did Go Woo-jin?

Why did he barge into the explosives bunker?

Jae-chan stood still and raised his confused gaze. As he looked at others, he saw Go Woo-jin, who hadn’t left yet. He had been exchanging whispers with another soldier.

Ten minutes ago. He had pulled himself out of the crumpled heap in the corner of the bunker. He’d separated from Nam Myung-seong and was dragged here earlier.

Could this guy be a Black Swan?

Could it be that he was involved with them even before his regressing?

His blood vessels seemed to dry up again. The nerves in his brain seemed to be paralyzed strand by strand.

‘… It’s too early to conclude.’

The bomb disguised as a briefcase was a common tactic used by other terrorist groups. The only thing that was certain now was that Go Woo-jin has a deep connection to the mass bombing incident. Everything else was speculation.

He didn’t want to stress himself by jumping to conclusions that might not be true. He forced himself to calm down.

“…”

Meanwhile, Go Woo-jin, who had finished whispering with the soldier, also became silent.

He had brought Seon Jae-chan here like a prisoner, but Woo-jin didn’t even make eye contact with him. But he doesn’t leave the room either.

Go Woo-jin, who had been silent, undid the buckle on his leather glove quietly. Jae-chan noticed him looking flustered. He shifted his gaze to the unfamiliar soldier in the back after inspecting the plaster-hardened side of his face.

Go Woo-jin’s two collaborators were reduced to one in the bunker. The one who disappeared took Nam Myung-seong, who was on the verge of passing out. He wondered where they belonged and why people he’d never seen before or since were following Woo-jin around like henchmen.

It was for a while that he was engulfed in various questions. Jae-chan shook off his thoughts and stared straight ahead again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Go Woo-jin’s hand. A hand that was too white and neat to be the hand that skillfully manipulated the bomb.

He stared further. The taller Go Woo-jin and the shorter Seon Jae-chan locked eyes. Go Woo-jin frowned slightly, but didn’t avert his gaze any further. He spoke after meeting the gaze, which seemed darker than usual in the dimly lit room.

“What about the man who was with me? What happened to the soldiers?”

Seon Jae-chan remembered a clear gunshot ripping through the air in the bunker. Under the circumstances, it was highly likely that the soldiers were shot, but he wanted to make sure.

“Safe. It will be still safe in the future.”

Go Woo-jin took a moment to answer.

There was a brief silence between them. Seon Jae-chan was looking for a clue. His eyes were unwavering, and his mouth was firmly set. His nonverbal expressions of confidence in the safety of Nam Myung-seong and the soldiers’ brought a small sense of relief to his heart.

“What about the bomb, are you going to explode it?”

As an extension of that feeling, Jae-chan asked a few questions comfortably.

“No.”

This time, the answer came back immediately.  He let out a light sigh without realizing it. Seon Jae-chan rubbed his chest with the palm of his hand, sensing his anxiety fading.

Only then did he remember the image of Go Woo-jin he had known. An S-class Esper who is generous and compassionate. A person who will not tolerate injustice. He recently took risks in order to save the people of Siren Village.

Such a person could not have been a member of a terrorist organization that would choose violence under the pretext of getting justice done.  Of course… It was too early to confirm.

While Seon Jae-chan was lost in his thoughts, Go Woo-jin was also deep in thought.

‘I’ll get into trouble if he tells Director Yoon Seo-mi.’

It was the concern conveyed by the helper he had been talking with a while ago. There was only one week left until the 30th-anniversary ceremony. The timing of the discovery of the bomb was also “scheduled” right before that. The timing was carefully designed to leave no room for Director Yoon Seo-mi to escape.

This was a situation in which information should never have been disclosed to his stepmother. Seon Jae-chan was Director Yoon’s person. He also restrained two soldiers and a landscaper, but he couldn’t let Jae-chan go.

“If you find it difficult, I’ll take care of it.”

When Go Woo-jin did not move, the waiting soldier rolled up his sleeves. Seon Jae-chan, not knowing what the situation was, became suspicious. It was when those round eyes were filled with apprehension and fixed on an unknown man approaching him. The soldier’s footsteps were soon stopped.

“No. I’ll do it.”

Go Woo-jin shook his head as he stretched out his hand to block it. A brief exchange of glances occurred between the two. The returning soldier quickly closed the door and exited the room.

Go Woo-jin tossed the glove he was wearing. The thick leather was clinging to the table. He sighed slightly. He approached Seon Jae-chan, who was still standing at a distance with doubtful eyes.

“…”

Jae-chan’s shoulders shrank reflexively as Woo-jin approached. Of course, he’d be dead in the bunker by now if he’d meant any harm, but he’d been in such a difficult situation today that he was easily on alert. The atmosphere was also influenced by Go Woo-jin’s imposing physique, which seemed to approach too closely.

Before he knew it, the edge of the bed touched behind his knees. In the end, a hand reached out at a distance that was so close that it was not even a step. At the same time, a hard palm touched his body at once.

For a moment, he was so surprised that he flinched. It was only when Woo-jin calmly checked his thighs and back pockets with his unwavering hands that Seon Jae-chan realized the meaning of the search. It was like defusing a bomb with a dry touch. He only managed to calm down for a brief moment.

“-Hey. Wait for a moment…”

Go Woo-jin was about to snatch his phone from his pants pocket. He tried blocking him but to no avail. As if opening the lid of a pot, Woo-jin easily removed Seon Jae-chan’s hands and snatched the thin small device.

There was a brief struggle between the two, no, a one-sided futile toss and turns for a while. Go Woo-jin grabbed Seon Jae-chan’s wrists with one hand and tripped over him, knocking him onto the bed. Woo-jin put the confiscated cell phone in his back pocket as if nothing had happened. Then he bent down again and continued the search. He was looking for another means of contact.

A ragged gasp escaped from Seon Jae-chan’s mouth, who rebelled. Haah. No matter how different the grades were. How could there be such a big difference in strength between the two Espers?

It was at this point that Jae-chan let out a dejected sigh. Seon Jae-chan’s eyes rolled awkwardly as he grunted and tried to break free from the rock-like grip on his wrist.

“…”

Woo-jin was on one knee on the bed before he knew it, his hands moving down to his calves and ankles. It was a quick movement, just like Seon Jae-chan had learned about the body search route, but it felt a little… ticklish.

“…”

He tried to hide his flinch, but there was no way that Go Woo-jin couldn’t notice it. And the wide, squeezing hand stopped checking his body. The dark eyelashes were also lifted at the same time. Jae-chan, who had been looking at him inadvertently, made an excuse to the black eyes that looked at him.

“-That’s because it’s ticklish.”

“…”

“It’s because it tickles me.”

Even though half of it was true, Jae-chan’s throat became congested. Go Woo-jin’s eyes loosened slightly and blinked once.

After a while, despite the embarrassment on the other side, the hand continued. Woo-jin’s hand climbed back up and grabbed his shoulders and forearms once over his coat.

Maybe it was just his feeling, but Woo-jin seemed to be checking him less carefully than usual. However, when examining the sleeves, he hesitated.  At first glance, there was a red handprint on Jae-chan’s wrist. It was because his skin was weak by nature.

Jae-chan shyly lowered his sleeve to cover it, and the hand that had stopped moving this time moved slowly back to the back of his shoulder.

“…”

Inevitably, the two became very close for a while.

It was only a moment, but Seon Jae-chan’s eyes widened at the hugging posture. The cool body scent, combined with the scent of the wind, gently touches the tip of his nose before dissipating. He tried not to think about the wide shoulders and neat nape that approached him.

Finally, the large grip that had been checking by tightly gripping the wing bones, chest, and waist came off over the loose top. Jae-chan, who had suppressed his breath to avoid the tickle, was relieved. The shadows and warmth that had been cast in front of his eyes like a warm curtain were also getting away.

“Stay in your room until the ceremony.”

Instead, Go Woo-jin’s voice filled the void.

“You can’t get out of here.”

Woo-jin’s voice, lower than usual, sent a chill down his spine.

“…”

It was expected. Taking his cell phone meant blocking contact with the outside world, so of course he would have intended to keep him in custody as well.