Chapter 98:
Kwon Yi-soo told Gong Ju-hyun he could leave the detention center, but he remained curled up in a corner, as if he didn’t want to see anyone.
So the three of them left him there and returned to the first floor. They would move him to another room later when he calmed down.
“What are we going to do about Gong Ju-hyun?”
“First, we need to see if we can break the artificial Imprint.”
As the Center Head, he had to take responsibility for this situation, which had occurred because he hadn’t dealt with Park Jung-soo properly.
“It would be impossible if it was a real Imprint, but it might be possible since it’s an artificial Imprint.”
“Contact me if you need my help.”
Baek Joo-won nodded silently.
“What about Park Jung-soo?”
“We’ll issue a warrant for his arrest. But that perceptive bastard probably already disappeared.”
He might be hiding in a safe house provided by the government.
But they would find him. He was already displeased with him for experimenting on Seo Jae-yi in the past, and now he was continuing his experiments using what he had extracted from her.
The mere fact that he possessed a part of Seo Jae-yi was infuriating.
“Let me know if you find anything. I’ll crush him this time.”
Seo Jae-yi also clenched her fists, sharing his sentiment. A cracking sound emanated from her hand, the hand that had easily dented a metal door.
“Then we’ll be going.”
“…Seo Jae-yi.”
Kwon Yi-soo stopped Seo Jae-yi, who was about to leave.
He glanced at Baek Joo-won, who was constantly by her side.
“Are you really okay?”
He had realized that Baek Joo-won was a suspicious individual on Mount Taebaek. Seo Jae-yi wasn’t the type to be easily manipulated, but he couldn’t help but worry.
“Can you trust the person beside you?”
He asked directly. He felt like it would be better to be upfront.
Seo Jae-yi blinked, surprised by Kwon Yi-soo’s wary attitude towards Baek Joo-won.
She looked back and forth between the two and then nodded firmly.
“I’m fine. Better than ever. I trust him more than anyone.”
“…Okay.”
Kwon Yi-soo silently accepted her answer.
She then said goodbye and left with Baek Joo-won. They even stopped by the cafe on the first floor to buy drinks.
The chocolate drink she loved.
“…”
Kwon Yi-soo watched her go, unable to leave his spot.
He had suggested it, hoping to alleviate her dislike for the Center, and it seemed to have worked.
‘That’s enough.’
It didn’t matter that her gaze was directed towards the suspicious man beside her, not him, that she would never look at him that way.
She was alive because of him. That was why he had pushed the man he suspected next to her.
Seo Jae-yi being alive was enough.
He might be tormented by jealousy and endless frustration, but that was nothing.
It was a trivial pain compared to her death.
Kwon Yi-soo turned away from the door Seo Jae-yi had exited. He was left alone in this tall tower he had seized to give her freedom.
He had to stay here to protect her freedom, so he willingly chose to live a lonely life here.
[The Central Center has issued a warrant for your arrest. It would be best to lay low for a while.]
Park Jung-soo stared at the message from his informant.
Seo Jae-yi was alive, and Gong Ju-hyun and Chu Sung-won were detained. He was even more disappointed to hear that it was Baek Joo-won, not Gong Ju-hyun, who had saved her.
“It seems experimenting on Guides alone wasn’t enough.”
He wished he had come up with the hypothesis sooner. Unfortunately, it had been after Kwon Yi-soo became the new Center Head, so he couldn’t experiment on Seo Jae-yi or any other Espers.
Unlike the previous Center Head, who had fully supported his research, Kwon Yi-soo hated him, so his position had become increasingly precarious, let alone his research.
He had eventually been fired.
He was most disappointed that he could no longer experiment on Seo Jae-yi.
“I thought he would be happy to hear about artificial Imprinting…”
Center Head Kwon Yi-soo’s strange obsession with Seo Jae-yi.
Only Park Jung-soo knew about it.
No, was it even an obsession?
To Park Jung-soo, it also seemed like an Imprint. Unfortunately, it was a one-sided Imprint.
So he had thought Kwon Yi-soo would be interested in his research. If his research succeeded, he would be able to possess Seo Jae-yi, whom he so desperately desired.
“He’s a different breed.”
But he had been rejected outright and even fired. The human heart was truly a mystery.
Park Jung-soo looked around his home lab one last time before leaving. His hand, caressing the metal stool in the center of the lab, was filled with regret.
He remembered the time he had experimented on Seo Jae-yi.
He had been happy back then. He could control the incredibly powerful Esper as he pleased under the pretense of research, and no one dared to question him.
It was thrilling to see such a powerful being rendered helpless before him.
But he had also felt a sense of catharsis when he saw the defiance in Seo Jae-yi’s eyes, even after all the experiments she had endured.
‘Defiance. That’s good too. But you haven’t forgotten that you’re still not good at controlling your ability, have you? Everyone here will die if you make even the slightest mistake, Esper Seo Jae-yi. Even your father’s friend at the Center. Are you okay with that?’
He had whispered those words to her whenever she tried to resist.
How beautiful it had been to see her struggle and then eventually close her eyes and endure.
Ah, his lovely test subject.
“If only my Matching Rate with her had been higher, I could have completely controlled Seo Jae-yi.”
But his Matching Rate with her was a mere 8%. He couldn’t subdue her with Guiding; it would only endanger him.
If the experiment on Gong Ju-hyun had succeeded, he would have experimented on himself next. It was a shame.
Park Jung-soo, after a final, regretful glance at the metal stool, put on his coat and left the lab.
Both Kwon Yi-soo and Seo Jae-yi would know the truth now, through Gong Ju-hyun. They would be searching for him, so he had to hide for now.
Until the opportunity to experiment on Seo Jae-yi arose again.
“Baek Joo-won… If it weren’t for him, I could have seized that opportunity this time.”
Why did Seo Jae-yi’s Guide, who hadn’t appeared for eleven years, have to appear now?
“Ah, right.”
A new research idea popped into his head as he was about to leave the house.
Guides, like Espers, also had Awakening Factors. What would happen if he extracted it and injected it into another Guide?
Would their energies merge? Would the recipient possess both energies?
If the injected energy was stronger, would the original energy disappear?
“Hmm, good. I’ll research that this time.”
He took out a notebook from his pocket, jotted down his new research topic, and looked up.
A man in a suit was standing before him. The gold badge on his left lapel gleamed in the darkness.
“Researcher Park Jung-soo, we’re here to escort you.”
Park Jung-soo smiled, seeing the man opening the car door for him.
He was still alive, and he had sponsors, so he could continue his research.
He would eventually obtain what he ultimately desired.
Seo Jae-yi left the Center and headed towards her flower shop. She wanted to see Airok, who would be worried.
“Master!”
Airok flew into her face as soon as she entered the greenhouse. Something warm and wet splattered against her face.
He must have been watering the flowers with his tears.
“I heard you almost overloaded! Are you okay? Are you hurt or in pain? Sob, sob, sob! I was so worried!”
“My body’s fine. I received Guiding. But my heart is breaking.”
“What?! What do you mean?!”
Seo Jae-yi grabbed Airok by the scruff of his neck and pulled him away from her face.
“Airok.”
“W-what? Why are you calling me that?”
Airok, not Logi? She had never called him by his full name before! He trembled, fear creeping up his spine.
“This Master is disappointed in you. I loved you, cherished you, showered you with affection, and you’ve been deceiving me all this time!”
“Deceive you? What are you…”
Airok, flapping his wings in denial, suddenly glanced behind her.
Baek Joo-won was looking at him with a strange smile.
Airok, recognizing the familiar smile he had seen for hundreds of years, realized in a flash.
He was doomed. Seo Jae-yi had finally discovered his true identity.
“Master! I was wrong!”
He immediately clasped his front paws together and started begging. He would have knelt if Seo Jae-yi wasn’t holding him.
“I didn’t mean to deceive you! I thought he would kill me if I told the truth!”
He desperately pleaded his innocence, saying Baek Joo-won had threatened him and would have sealed him back in the egg if he hadn’t obeyed.
But that only shocked Seo Jae-yi even more.
“Oh my god! You thought I would lose to Baek Joo-won? I’m even more disappointed, Airok!”
“B-but he’s your Guide now, Master! What if you only side with him? You need him, Master!”
Tears welled up in Airok’s eyes.
He had a point. She had bribed Baek Joo-won with gifts and flowers, diligently visited the Center, and even fought with the government to win him over.
It was understandable for Airok to think that way after all they had been through. But…
“So you’ll keep deceiving me if this happens again?”
“No, never! I’m not hiding anything anymore, and even if something like this happens again, I’ll tell you everything! This will never happen again!”
Seo Jae-yi finally released him after he swore multiple times. He had cried so much that his body felt warmer than before.
“I heard you extinguished the fire on Mount Taebaek. Good work, Logi.”
Airok sighed in relief, hearing his usual nickname.
“The government will give us a reward for extinguishing the fire, and the Guild Leader said he’ll give you his share. In magic stones.”
Magic stones! Airok’s tears stopped instantly. His blue eyes sparkled, wet with tears.
Wait, this wasn’t the time to be blinded by magic stones.
“Speaking of which, what are you going to do about the government? This is all their fault.”