SOG Ch 76

In the event of the gas attack, the principle was to block the respiratory system until rescued, but Jae-chan’s mental manual had evaporated long ago. Due to the symptoms of poisoning, his brain was getting foggy, and veins popped on his forehead, but he paid no attention. He tried his best to push the desk.

Eventually, the desk began to move.

The edge of the documents became visible. For a moment, the top shelf caught his dizzy vision. It was an email address.

—–Original Message—–

From: “Mirth” <mirth008@umail.ur> (…) A sparkle passed through Jae-chan’s eyes. Soon, a smile slowly spread across his pale lips.

Well, I’m really glad I became a hostage.

Even though he felt his vision tightening, he couldn’t hide his smile.

After checking the document with the black mark on it, he folded it tightly into his pants pocket. It was only after closing the zipper on the pocket that he belatedly covered his respiratory system.

I’m sure I won’t lose it.

He barely managed to breathe. Whether it was a dream or reality, figures with gas masks entered the study as the collapsing view came into focus. Only then did he feel relieved and lowered his head.

Saturday, June 12th, 3:02 AM. Seon Jae-chan was rescued by the military that rushed to the fishing spot.

It had been about 3 hours since he was abducted, and 9 hours and 26 minutes since he had been held hostage.

*

At some point, he briefly regained consciousness.

Seon Jae-chan was being lifted and carried by someone. His vision was spinning like a marble of melted ice cream. Where he was, what condition he was in—everything was chaotic. Even the noise reaching his ears only reverberated without forming any sound.

Enduring the dizzying nausea, Jae-chan narrowed his eyebrows to check who had rescued him.

He thought it was Gyeong Chang-hyun. Because he had a location tracker.

Trying to somehow see what was in front of him, Jae-chan recalled the time when he handed over the jaguar necklace to Chang-hyun.

‘I have something to give you. I’ll be in front of your house later.’

It was the seventh day since Jae-chan started clocking in at Universal Park every day.

After leaving the theme park, Seon Jae-chan stopped by No. 68 Bridge, the largest illegal electronics shopping mall in the union, and visited Gyeong Chang-hyun, who was living alone. Despite being scolded for being late, he apologized and handed over the Jaguar necklace along with an apology.

Chang-hyun took the necklace and asked with a puzzled expression.

‘What is this?’

‘Location tracker.’

Gyeong Chang-hyun’s face became even more puzzled. Seon Jae-chan pretended to look around and lowered his voice.

‘I’ve been getting stalked lately. In case I get kidnapped, you have to find me.’

It was a lie. While Jae-chan was wondering how he could naturally hand over the location tracker to Chang-hyun, he made up an excuse, referring to an incident experienced by his roommate, Jeong Noah.

Seon Jae-chan also slightly slid open his shirt to show the same necklace. Inside the pendant-type necklace was a linked location tracker. It was an item he had attached back at No. 68 Bridge.

Gyeong Chang-hyun, with a childish curiosity, liked Jae-chan’s secretive tone, as if disclosing his hideout. Tapping his elbow, he said, “Yeah, sure. But you owe me a favor.” He muttered a bit and then willingly accepted the necklace.

The next day, Jae-chan also gave the jaguar necklace to Yu-ram and Jeong Noah.

It was a precautionary measure just in case.

The reason he focused the most on Gyeong Chang-hyun was because he was connected to Han Tae-hoon. Yu-ram or Jeong Noah would likely inform their team leader, and such a route would not have been faster than Han Tae-hoon taking the initiative himself.

Seon Jae-chan thought back to the last time he saw the clock. 3:02. Nonetheless, the military arrived far too quickly. Was Gyeong Chang-hyun really that capable?

Jae-chan absentmindedly noticed the silhouette of the person carrying him.

He was wondering if the gas was causing him to have hallucinations. That’s because the person who was holding him looked like Go Woo-jin. A somewhat frighteningly hardened face was reflected against the dark blue ridge of Mt. Owol.

‘It’s not strange for this guy to be here…’

Well, it would be even stranger if Chang-hyun had rushed to the forefront. The gas must have gotten to him. Seon Jae-chan smiled weakly but didn’t know that he was truly in a state affected by the gas. Also, his mouth and hands were moving as they please.

The next moment, when Jae-chan regained consciousness, he was inside an emergency boat. Whether it was a hallucination or reality, he saw Woo-jin providing him with an oxygen respirator.

“With this, Director Yoon Seo-mi… No, Yoon Seo-mi, feed her some shit.…”

In discomfort, Seon Jae-chan muttered as he moved his head back and forth to avoid the transparent respiratory mask.

Go Woo-jin sighed and grabbed his little head that was trying to escape. He placed the respirator back with the other hand.

It had been five minutes since Jae-chan, who appeared to have been involved in a gunfight with criminals, was rescued.

Perhaps because of inhaling too much gas, Seon Jae-chan was in this state every time he regained consciousness. He took a bunch of crumpled papers from his pocket and kept trying to give them to Woo-jin while mentioning his stepmother.

It must be the side effect of the gas. The gas mixture developed by the military caused individuals to say and do strange things involuntarily.

“Hurry up with this….”

As if on cue, Jae-chan once again extended the bundle of papers.

In an unceremonious moment, his upper body staggered forward. Woo-jin hastily supported him, and in the meantime, a piece of paper fell. Woo-jin had no choice but to put it in his pocket.

It seemed better to just think of him as a drunkard. It was the moment when Go Woo-jin lightly rubbed Seon Jae-chan’s back and let out a short sigh.

“…”

He flinched. Woo-jin abruptly turned to face Jae-chan, his dark brow furrowed. Jae-chan was guiding him while their upper bodies were touching.

When Woo-jin looked to the side in surprise, he noticed that the quivering pupils were significantly narrowed. Perhaps it was an unconscious guiding. Although he received guiding from Jae-chan, it wasn’t a situation where he could guide someone else.

Woo-jin, who was trying to take Jae-chan off, stopped. Seon Jae-chan’s emotions were conveyed through the guiding.

“Woo-jin… Ms. Yoon Seo-mi…”

Originally, Seon Jae-chan’s thoughts and emotions transferred during the guiding sessions were sporadic and superficial. Like a reef briefly revealed beneath the surface when the waves surged, then obscured again as they settled.

However, even amidst the truth and falsehood, there were things that were distinctly conveyed. While before, the predominant sentiment conveyed through guiding felt like an extension of selfishness and twisted possessiveness, for the past year, the main sentiment transmitted through guiding has been warmth.

It remains the same at this very moment.

Seon Jae-chan’s emotions as he kept talking to him about his stepmother and flipping through a stack of documents were pure joy.

There was no need to guess what the intention behind the action was. Seon Jae-chan really seemed to think that he could overthrow Yoon Seo-mi with that piece of paper. Also, he sincerely hoped only for his happiness. Even though he was actually dying.

“Han Roy… the kid…What about Han Roy?”

Moreover, he was now looking for the kid who was also kidnapped.

“He’s fine, so don’t worry about him.”

When team leader Jin Dae-ho discovered the child, he let out a loud shout and immediately reported it to superiors, so those on the scene had a rough idea of who Han Roy was and what was going on.

Seon Jae-chan only smiled after hearing Go Woo-jin’s somewhat cold answer. His round eyes folded into a crescent moon, and his puffy mouth and cheeks rose to the point where anyone watching would burst out laughing. It was an extremely comical sight, but rather than finding it funny, Go Woo-jin was infuriated inside.

“Guide Seon Jae-chan, are you okay now?”

An emergency paramedic who had been moving back and forth among the gas-exposed patients returned at that moment. After checking Jae-chan’s unusually high body temperature again, he frowned.

“It’s strange. Even with the oxygen respirator, his condition isn’t improving. Seeing him conscious should mean he’s getting better by now… Huh, Esper Go Woo-jin?”

The paramedic stood up hesitantly. Esper Go Woo-jin was suddenly taking off the patient’s oxygen mask. Then, he put his hand between his armpits and held him as if he were carrying a child. Since the patient was suffering from gas poisoning, it was right to lift it like that to prevent suffocation.

“Where are you going? We need to lay him down and let him rest.”

“I know my guide well.”

Go Woo-jin answered, ignoring the paramedic. He knew how strange it would look, but it couldn’t be helped. Just like that, he picked up Seon Jae-chan and got off the emergency boat.

“Woo-jin… Woo-jin-ah, Yoon Seo-mi…”

The entire time they were crossing the dock, Seon Jae-chan placed his chin on Go Woo-jin’s shoulder and babbled next to his ear. Even though Woo-jin had decided to think of him as a drunkard, he couldn’t help but be concerned as his voice gradually lost its strength.

“I understand, so stop talking. …Stop talking.”

He anxiously repeated, urging him to stop talking. Now Seon Jae-chan’s body was trembling intermittently. Even though Woo-jin knew it wouldn’t help, he hugged his skinny body tightly as if to reassure him. Then, as if realizing that he couldn’t let Jae-chan guide him like before, Woo-jin adjusted his posture and hugged him again.

Abnormal fever, trembling, and the subtle reverberation that was being conveyed—all pointed to one thing.

Guiding.

Seon Jae-chan needed guiding.