Chapter 90:
Her receiver emitted a loud alarm at that moment.
【Overload Progress — 72%】
【Danger! Danger!】
【Overload level has exceeded 70%! Cease using your ability immediately and evacuate the area!】
But Seo Jae-yi continued to mutter, as if she couldn’t hear anything.
“I have to save them quickly, before more of them die.”
The scorching heat within her, consuming her life force, intensified. Her body temperature rose, her heart pounded, and blood trickled from her nose and mouth.
Whoosh! And then, the heat that had been slowly subsiding vanished in an instant.
Huh, this is strange. Using my ability suddenly feels easier.
【Overload Progress — 73%】
【Overload Progress — 75%】
【Overload Progress — 78%】
Beep, beep, beep.
The receiver frantically displayed warning messages, but they didn’t reach Seo Jae-yi’s ears.
Her mind was consumed by the single thought of extinguishing the fire and saving everyone.
Her ability to think rationally was deteriorating as her overload level spiked, but she didn’t realize it.
“Seo Jae-yi!”
A familiar voice called out. Seo Jae-yi, who had been moving instinctively, extinguishing every flame she saw, stopped in her tracks.
‘This is…’
She recognized the voice, but she couldn’t see anyone.
Dangerous flames were still raging around her. This was bad. She couldn’t let him get hurt.
Seo Jae-yi raised both hands, about to extinguish all the surrounding flames, when…
“Seo Jae-yi! Stop! That’s an order!”
She instinctively froze. A man wearing a gas mask was running towards her through the flames.
“Kwon Yi-soo…”
She frowned. That wasn’t the right name. She had called him something else, but she couldn’t remember.
So she called him by a more familiar name.
“Pretty Oppa, why are you here? It’s dangerous!”
It was a friendly nickname and tone she had used during her teenage years, before Kwon Yi-soo became the Center Head.
Unlike Han Sung-woo, who was bewildered, Kwon Yi-soo immediately understood the situation. It seemed like she was on the verge of overloading.
‘Her level must be close to 80%.’
He cursed Jang Woo-seok inwardly.
That bastard, sending Seo Jae-yi here alone without Baek Joo-won.
“Go back. The fire will be extinguished soon. It’s almost done.”
“I’ll leave the rest to the other Espers. You can stop now. It’ll be a bigger problem if you overload.”
He reached out to her.
“So stop using your ability and come here. I’ll Guide you.”
“No, it’s dangerous now. You might get hurt, Pretty Oppa. I promised I wouldn’t let you get hurt.”
Kwon Yi-soo bit his lip at her words.
You still remember that…
“…A Guide. Right, I think I have someone else to Guide me. Where is he? Where’s my Guide?”
Why don’t you understand that those words hurt me?
Kwon Yi-soo closed his eyes at her muttering.
“…He’s not here now. He’s far away. So I’ll Guide you until he arrives. You’ll overload if you continue.”
Seo Jae-yi finally moved at the word “overload.” Her figure was clearly visible as she stepped out of the ash-covered darkness.
Her hair was disheveled, her cardigan was torn and scorched, her jeans were ripped, revealing her skin, her entire body was covered in ash, her skin was red, as if burned, and bloodstains were smeared on her nose, mouth, and clothes…
The traces of her hours of struggle were evident all over her body. Kwon Yi-soo’s jaw clenched, seeing her horrifying state.
“…Come here, Seo Jae-yi.”
She took a step towards him, and then…
“Huh?”
She stopped abruptly and turned her head sharply. Footsteps were approaching.
Perhaps Kim Yoo-sung and Baek Joo-won had arrived. It seemed likely, judging by her reaction.
But the person who appeared wasn’t either of them.
“Jae-yi Noona!”
Kwon Yi-soo frowned, hearing Gong Ju-hyun’s voice. The unsettling feeling he had felt from him intensified.
Why was Seo Jae-yi, whose mind was clouded, reacting to Gong Ju-hyun?
“Noona…!”
“You.”
Seo Jae-yi reached him and grabbed him by the collar. Things were taking a strange turn.
“N-Noona?”
Kwon Yi-soo shouted urgently as the flustered Gong Ju-hyun tried to move.
“Don’t move! Seo Jae-yi is experiencing pre-overload symptoms!”
Gong Ju-hyun held his breath, realizing the danger of provoking an Esper in this state.
Seo Jae-yi was scrutinizing him like a predator assessing its prey. He gulped, meeting her gaze, her eyes red from the pre-overload symptoms.
“Why do you have my energy?”
Kwon Yi-soo’s eyes widened at her words.
“This is clearly my heat. How is it inside your body?”
What was she talking about? Gong Ju-hyun, a Guide, having Seo Jae-yi’s heat within him?
But Gong Ju-hyun didn’t seem surprised. He answered in a low voice, careful not to provoke her.
“Noona, I’m a Guide. Someone worthy of becoming your exclusive Guide.”
“You? My Guide?”
“Yes. So let me Guide you. I’ll free you from that terrible heat. I’ll resolve it all for you.”
But Seo Jae-yi scoffed, as if he had said something ridiculous.
“Guiding with your weak ability? Don’t talk nonsense and get lost. If you don’t want to get hurt.”
She released his collar and turned away. Gong Ju-hyun quickly grabbed her hand as she walked towards Kwon Yi-soo.
“It’s true! I can really Guide you…!”
And the moment he Guided her, ignoring Kwon Yi-soo’s warning…
“…Huh?”
Gong Ju-hyun’s face turned pale. An even more intense heat than he had felt in the dungeon, an even more boundless darkness, surged through his hand and engulfed him.
It wasn’t Reverse Guiding. It was just beyond his capacity.
“Aaargh!”
Gong Ju-hyun screamed and collapsed. He couldn’t breathe properly, as if his entire body was burning, even though there was no actual fire.
Han Sung-woo quickly rushed over and pulled him away, seeing him clinging to Seo Jae-yi’s hand.
Gong Ju-hyun trembled, as if he had experienced the most terrifying horror. Tears, or perhaps blood, streamed from his wide eyes.
“You idiot!”
Kwon Yi-soo cursed and rushed towards them.
It was one of the worst things a Guide with a low Matching Rate could do – Guide an Esper experiencing pre-overload symptoms.
It was like popping a balloon with a needle instead of slowly releasing the air.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Seo Jae-yi’s receiver blared frantically.
Her overload level had exceeded 85%.
“Calm down, Seo Jae-yi!”
A shimmering haze appeared around her. She hadn’t completely overloaded yet, so Kwon Yi-soo quickly started Guiding her.
“…Ah.”
A sliver of light returned to her eyes, which had been almost completely consumed by flames.
She could still be controlled. It was fine.
Kwon Yi-soo pulled her into his arms. The heat, not yet fully subsided, was scorching, but he didn’t let go.
“Calm down. Take deep breaths. Match my energy.”
He poured his Guiding energy into her. Their Matching Rate wasn’t high, but she had been receiving his Guiding for ten years, so she followed the familiar energy that warmed her body.
She felt a gentle sensation, like being enveloped in a soft cloud. It felt like hugging a pile of stuffed animals, or perhaps being held in a warm embrace.
It was Kwon Yi-soo’s unique Guiding, a gentle energy that didn’t match his nickname, the cold dictator.
“Ah, Pretty Oppa…”
Seo Jae-yi, a sliver of her rationality returning, called out to him and sank to her knees.
Kwon Yi-soo also lowered himself and continued Guiding her. He poured in far more energy than usual.
But her eyes and skin, reddened by the heat burning within her, didn’t return to normal. Her overload level, which had briefly decreased, remained stuck at 70%.
That was his limit.
He hadn’t been unable to lower her overload level a year ago because he hated her, as people assumed.
This was all he could do.
‘…Why can’t it be me?’
Kwon Yi-soo looked at Seo Jae-yi’s face, contorted as she struggled to suppress her power.
He had always wondered. Why was their Matching Rate only 37%? Why couldn’t he be her Pair?
Why couldn’t he be her only Guide?
He had known she was his Esper from the moment he saw her.
His finger traced her cheek, his gaze fixed on her lips. He took off his gas mask and slowly leaned down.
“…You foolish girl.”
But his lips landed on her forehead.