TS 059

It was an unidentifiable feeling of displeasure.

『Hm?』

Christina tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand what he was saying.

『I was talking to myself.』

『She’s a Guide, right? That woman. I heard Espers know instinctively.』

『Probably.』

『Hmm, a thought just occurred to me, it must be inconvenient. When Espers fall for each other.』

It was rare for Espers to fall for each other. The need for a Guide was a secondary issue. It was extremely rare for someone to overcome the instinct of restraint and hierarchy engraved in their genetic factors and fall in love.

『How about you, Yoon?』

How about me?

『Do you think it’s possible for Espers to fall for each other?』

Yoon Taehwa twisted the corner of his mouth. The mole below his lip twitched, and his straight lips parted slightly.

『If it’s possible, they’d both be crazy bastards.』

Even as he was leaving the hall, the unpleasant feeling did not subside. Yoon Taehwa irritably tried to sweep his hair back, but he flinched and stopped. It was because he remembered he was wearing a mask.

He wanted to throw away the cumbersome object right now, but now was not the time.

‘I’ll tell you which room Elijah is in. Go check it out if you’re interested. You never know, you might get something more. Oh, and you might see a sight you don’t want to see, so be prepared.’

It was better to move his body than to let his mood be ruined by the unidentifiable emotion that was creeping up.

Yoon Taehwa walked through the silent corridor, replaying the path Christina had told him. The annex, a good distance from the main building, exuded a gloomy atmosphere like an uninhabited old castle.

‘He’s here.’

The chandeliers had long lost their light, along with the smell of damp dust. Yoon Taehwa walked, stepping on the moonlight that filled the room through the huge windows.

“..…”

It was when he was turning a corner in the L-shaped corridor. He abruptly turned his body, grabbed the man who had been following behind him by the collar, and slammed him against the wall. Then, he pushed his leg between the other’s thighs and pressed his whole body against him. His lips were drawn into a long line, and his jaw twitched.

“Our little Suryeon…”

A hand, etched with fine scars, casually removed the white mask. The texture that touched his fingers was as soft as rabbit fur.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

The gray eyes looking down at him were boiling fiercely, as if feverish.

***

Han Suryeon wore a bored expression. A masquerade ball, of all things, in a foreign country, not even a regular party. He was on the verge of getting goosebumps from the childish idea, but thankfully, the mask covering half of his face hid his expression.

Although he maintained a rather close relationship with Hernandez Inc., he hadn’t attended to maintain his friendship with Elijah. He needed a deception, and it just so happened that the timing was right.

‘Boring.’

He wondered what Yoon Taehwa was doing. Since he hadn’t shown his face for a week, he thought he would be annoyed to the brim. It wasn’t that he had disappeared from the Center simply because of his argument with him, but it was highly likely that it would look that way in his eyes.

‘Well, I guess that’s about half right.’

He had also been curious as to how Yoon Taehwa would react if he disappeared.

“If he doesn’t care, I think that in itself would be annoying…”

Han Suryeon muttered to himself with a smooth pronunciation and leaned his arms on the railing. When he looked down with his chin in his hand, the wide garden spread out before him. As he looked around the garden without any particular meaning, he frowned for a moment.

“..…”

He saw a man with a back that was very similar to Yoon Taehwa’s. It was a silhouette that he couldn’t possibly not know, as he was always following him.

“No matter how I look at it…”

He looks like my Team Leader.

It was the first time he had seen him in a suit, not an Esper uniform or casual clothes, but it was definitely Yoon Taehwa. His height, which was tall even among Espers, his straight, broad shoulders, his moderately cinched waist, and the long legs that stretched out below it, was definitely Yoon Taehwa.

His observing gaze stopped when he discovered a hand entwined with the black suit. It was a woman in a blue dress. He thought he knew who she was just by looking at her back.

“Ah…”

His long-drawn-out voice was laced with annoyance. It was at the same time Yoon Taehwa bent his waist towards the woman.

Han Suryeon, without a second thought, tousled his perfectly set hair and bared his teeth fiercely.

“I didn’t know our Team Leader would even use his handsome face as a weapon?”

His expression was not visible, but his taut jaw represented his mood.

A pale arm, like a snake’s, pushed Yoon Taehwa into a space in the corridor. It was a square-shaped space carved out in the middle of the path to display sculptures.

Han Suryeon lowered his eyelids and began to count.

Around the time the pace gradually slowed, he saw the hem of a blue dress leaving the space. Her updo was slightly disheveled, and her lipstick was smudged. Han Suryeon immediately recalled the woman’s name.

‘Christina Hernandez.’

If Yoon Taehwa’s choice was that person, his intuition was ridiculously good. Not many people knew Christina’s face.

‘Was that Christina’s type?’

His mind was in turmoil, he didn’t even know what he was thinking. One thing was for sure, Yoon Taehwa was trying to get something he wanted through her.

‘There’s a high probability that it’s data about the bomb.’

The bomb that had blown up the Center’s Wing H was a new weapon developed by Hernandez. The items Pavel had stolen from his guild were only two, and both had been used, so there must have been another source for the bomb used at the Center.

Though he had never imagined that Yoon Taehwa would be so interested in that information that he would even use his handsome face as a weapon.

‘Should I have slowly crawled in instead of avoiding him.’

There had been an unavoidable reason for him to be away, but it was also true that he had deliberately kept his distance. He had played a trick, hoping his absence would be noticed, and to think it would come back like this.

Han Suryeon observed the man who came out a little later than Christina.

“Ha.”

His perfectly drawn lips curved up into a cynical smile. It was at the same time a vein bulged on his forehead, hidden under the mask. Yoon Taehwa’s lips were clearly stained with lipstick.

The moment he recognized the alien red color, their eyes met.

The man who had caught Han Suryeon’s gaze walked with a steady pace. The black mask, black suit, and black shoes suited him like a picture. It was static and quiet, but it was an attire that revealed the raw self hidden within.

Yoon Taehwa accepted a glass of champagne and then stood leaning against the wall. Then, tilting the slender glass, his lips twitched into a smirk. His slightly parted lips closed again, clearly revealing the trace of another.

『Should I just do it… like this.』

His true feelings, which he had been hiding all along, popped out.

Whether he knew of the fierce conflict or not, Yoon Taehwa was just elegantly drinking his champagne. Their entangled gazes intertwined stickily.

『Would you like some champagne?』

An employee, who had checked his hair and eye color, spoke to him in English. Han Suryeon accepted the champagne. If he didn’t do something, he felt like he would rush over to Yoon Taehwa right now, force his mouth open, and chew on his tongue as he pleased.

‘I have to endure…’

Since he was in his sight, it was still fine. His slowly parting lips swallowed the champagne in Yoon Taehwa’s place.

It didn’t take long for Christina to join him. After she had moved her lips a few times, Yoon Taehwa bent his waist. A hand that had extended without hesitation reached near his cheek.

‘Ah, I don’t think I can take it.’

Han Suryeon put strength into the hand holding the champagne flute. If it weren’t for the employee who had just passed by, he might have shattered it. It was a hardness that was too fragile to withstand the grip of an Esper.

Countless people passed before his eyes, but only one person came into his view. After they had exchanged some words, Yoon Taehwa touched the corner of his mouth and smiled loosely. It was exactly where the lipstick was smeared.

『Our Team Leader seems to have had a good time…』

When their eyes met, Yoon Taehwa’s lips curled up. His mind, which had been boiling with various thoughts, went blank, and a single obsession took its place.

I have to pull him to me right now.

If it weren’t for the body heat that had touched his arm just before his body moved, he would have done it right away.

『Why is your wavelength like this?』

Han Suryeon suppressed the urge that had surged momentarily and lowered his gaze. Even though it was covered by a mask, a familiar face was staring intently at him.

It wasn’t difficult to spot the blue dress disappearing outside the mansion. Han Suryeon, only after confirming that Yoon Taehwa was disappearing into the hall, familiarly followed behind him. The distance that had been maintained at a regular interval narrowed closely when he entered the annex.

Han Suryeon, who had completely killed his presence, revived it to a suitable level. It was a childish scheme to be noticed.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Being grabbed by the collar like this was also something he had wished for to some extent. Han Suryeon stared at the man who had pushed him against the wall and created a thread-like smile.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here, Team Leader.”

It was a chilly smile that exuded a different atmosphere than usual. Yoon Taehwa, unconcerned, put a little more strength into his arm. Their bodies were naturally pressed together.

“You should have just gone on your way.”

“I can’t do that.”

When the other moved his leg, the different colored suits tangled messily.

“How would I know where our Team Leader is playing around with his dick.”

“Ha.”

Yoon Taehwa let out a hollow laugh. It seemed he had misunderstood after seeing him and Christina, but he had no intention of playing around with his dick here, and even if he did, it was none of Han Suryeon’s business.

“I thought I told you to be jealous of something worthwhile.”

“Jealous? I haven’t fucked you yet, Team Leader, so I don’t even have a clue how to be jealous of that…”

For someone who had parted on cold terms, it was a very Han Suryeon-like reaction. Yoon Taehwa wrinkled the bridge of his nose. He felt even more heated at his calm reaction, as if nothing had happened, when he had been with a Guide. He was dumbfounded that he had been overly conscious of the past week.

“Why did you follow me?”

“Why else?”

The face he hadn’t seen in a long time was crinkling its eyes in a full smile.

“In case the Team Leader gets tangled up with some other bastard…”

At the elegantly curving eyes, the pupils within were momentarily hidden. There was not a hint of laughter in his irises.

“I came to watch you.”

Yoon Taehwa twisted his lips and pulled at the collar he was holding.