FETCH 78

“Kang!”

Jaechan ran toward Han Kang like an arrow. The intense training came to a sudden halt. The sweltering heat was pushed away by an erupting wavelength and transformed into a chilling cold. A frigid aura began to pour out violently from around Han Kang, who lay motionless on the floor after his fall.

It was a rampage.

No sooner had he realized it than a broadcast announcing Han Kang’s rampage began to blare from the speakers inside the training room.

[Rampage warning, rampage warning.]

“Fuck.”

Just as he let out a curse and placed his hands on Han Kang’s body.

[<!> Esper Han Kang: Level 2 Rampage Detected]

Beep, beep. The watch began to cry out noisily.

Han Kang had seemed quite stable lately, but a sudden rampage had started again. Jaechan hurriedly shed his own clothes and stripped Han Kang of his top.

He placed his trembling hands on the thick, violently heaving chest. Even though he patted him as if to calm him down, Han Kang’s breathing did not improve in the slightest.

Aside from the chill weighing down the surroundings, Han Kang’s face gradually grew flushed as blood rushed to it. The veins bulging along his handsome neckline and the sinews standing out on his forehead showed a glimpse of his agony.

As if he were enduring with all his might, the sound of his teeth grinding could be heard through his clenched jaw. And then there were his fingertips, scratching at the floor.

Even though the floor was covered with soft mats, his fingernails could not be stronger than the material, and scars began to form beneath his nails.

Having confirmed that much, Jaechan threw his arms around Han Kang.

“Please, please, Kang. Snap out of it. Look at me.”

Jaechan pulled Han Kang’s upper body up and held him. Just as Han Kang always did to him, Jaechan forced the heavy body onto his lap and then stroked his body with care.

He kissed the nape of his neck and stroked the broad back. Nevertheless, far from improving, the ability wavelength grew increasingly violent. Judging by the incessant vibration on his wrist, the rampage level seemed to be rising steadily.

No, fuck. No…

Jaechan, who had closed his eyes desperately, was finally reaching for his pants buckle when it happened.

“Everyone, get out!”

At Ji Sangtaek’s single command, every Guide and Esper inside the training room left in an orderly fashion. Even though insertion guiding happened pervasively within the Center, they didn’t do it in front of others, so it seemed he was trying to provide them cover.

Even in his breathless state, Jaechan cast a grateful look toward Ji Sangtaek. As the last to leave, Ji Sangtaek even left behind the words, “I’m turning off the CCTV on my way out.”

“Tea, Team Leader!”

Jaechan caught Ji Sangtaek by the ankle. Ji Sangtaek, who was about to close the door and leave, spun around to look at him.

“Can the Guides please wait outside? Just in case?”

“What do you mean?”

“…It’s, it’s been a while since I stopped taking the medicine. Just in case something happens, please.”

Jaechan spoke desperately.

Was it because he was conscious of the fact that the rampage, which had seemed to quiet down slightly, had started again? He had no confidence that he could guide him properly.

His lips kept curling inward and his throat felt parched. So he looked at him with such desperation and sincerity despite the urgency that Ji Sangtaek, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, eventually nodded.

“Still, you do your best. He’s your Esper, and you’re already a Guide.”

“Yes, yes.”

Jaechan was so preoccupied with the feeling that the guiding wavelength wasn’t taking hold no matter how much he guided that he just nodded his head in vague agreement.

Hearing the sound of the door thudding shut again, he unbuckled his pants. Before lowering his zipper and stripping them off completely, he also unfastened Han Kang’s buckle.

For the sake of easy guiding, the instinctively swollen dick was the first thing to catch his eye. Even amidst that, the sounds of gasping and groaning continued, forcing Jaechan to fumble several times.

“Hu-ugh…!”

The moment he grasped his dick, Han Kang let out a massive moan. By now, there should have been a sensation of the wavelength being sucked away, but there was still no feeling at all.

Jaechan bit his teeth in anxiety and climbed on top of his waist. He took off his pants immediately and gripped his dick. His expression completely distorted as he pushed it firmly between his buttocks.

There was no time to feel pleasure. Even if it hurt, he shoved it in. His job was to calm Han Kang down, and right now, Han Kang’s stability was the top priority.

If the rampage level rose and eventually caused harm to civilians, nothing would be a greater disaster. If his participation in the Olympics was restricted because of this, he felt he would truly resent Han Kang for telling him not to take the medicine and his own foolish judgment for following those words blindly.

Jaechan clenched his fists tight and slowly lowered his hips. After swallowing the dick carefully and letting out a deep sigh, he began to move his waist slowly.

.✦ ݁˖

“Seongbin, wait a second.”

Ji Sangtaek called out to Kim Seongbin, who was about to leave the training room and return to the dormitory. As per Jaechan’s request, the expressions of the Guides waiting in front of the training room were set in hard lines.

Strangely enough, the moment Han Kang rampaged—having shown no signs of it throughout the training—the ability wavelength Kim Seongbin had been emitting vanished in an instant.

It was as if it had been devoured by Han Kang’s ability.

Ji Sangtaek looked at Kim Seongbin with a solemn expression. Kim Seongbin approached with a heavy trudge, his face completely flushed. He looked both dazed and startled.

Then again, if someone who had shown no signs suddenly rampaged and started trembling, anyone would be startled. Even for him, whenever the Han Kang he had seen for so long suddenly rampaged, he would be flustered and at a loss for what to do.

“I’m not doubting you. I’m not scolding you, either. I’m just asking things to grasp the current situation.”

“Yes.”

“Your wavelength suddenly disappeared earlier. Did you drop it on purpose because Han Kang acted like a dick to you since this afternoon?”

“Ah, no, sir…!”

“Why did the wavelength disappear suddenly? You should have been supporting him. Kang suddenly plummeted.”

He said he wasn’t scolding, but it sounded close to an interrogation. However, grasping the situation took priority over managing his tone. Ji Sangtaek looked at Kim Seongbin with intensity in his eyes.

Though he was a rookie who hadn’t yet adapted to the team, Kim Seongbin was also an Esper very adept at handling his abilities. No matter how outstanding a person’s ability was, a raw greenhorn who had just manifested was never recruited into Team Zero; it was a place one could only enter after having their abilities recognized both internally and externally.

Also, no matter how surprised he was, he must have experienced various things while going through different matches; thus, the sudden disappearance of his wavelength was not easily understood.

Whatever his ability might be, if he was someone who harmed a teammate he would be competing with, it was only right to exclude him from the team, so Ji Sangtaek stared at him sternly.

At that, Kim Seongbin flailed his arms as if it were truly unfair.

“Really, it’s really unfair. I don’t know why that happened suddenly, either. I felt the wavelength going out, but when I looked, hyung was falling. I tried to lift him again, but it didn’t work at all. Hyung’s wavelength grew even larger…”

Perhaps he was startled himself, as Kim Seongbin’s speech became increasingly slurred.

Thinking that hearing the rest would just be rambling, Ji Sangtaek summarized the situation in a cold voice.

“So. You’re saying the more you used your ability, the stronger Han Kang’s wavelength became? You’re saying that despite being on a team, you two had a power struggle with your wavelengths.”

“I, I’m not sure about that. But I really didn’t do it. Team Leader, you know, I’m a fan of Kang hyung.”

He wondered how desperate the kid was to say something like that. Ji Sangtaek relaxed the intensity in his eyes and looked at him.

Indeed, what Esper could help but admire Han Kang? Having manifested at a young age, there had been no decline in his Esper life from start to finish. He was an Esper who received much jealousy and faced many checks, but at the same time, he was the Han Kang that many Espers admired.

Besides, they were on the same team now. A cooperative relationship where they had to win medals together. There was naturally no reason to attack Han Kang now.

Ji Sangtaek let out a deep sigh.

His head grew complicated.

With only about three months left until the Olympics, the abnormal symptoms seen in Han Kang had become an anxiety factor clutching the ankles of Team Zero.

The simple solution would be to exclude Han Kang and compete in the Olympics, but there was no Esper to replace Han Kang. That was the problem.

Ji Sangtaek waved his hand toward Kim Seongbin, saying he understood for now. It was a sign for him to leave.

“Team Leader, the relationship between our kids is fine. It’s just that Kang is a bit prickly, but he’s a good kid despite how he expresses himself. He gets along well with the team members. There is no one inside who would harm Kang.”

Even Kang Chanbit, who served as the Esper Team Leader, came over to defend Kim Seongbin. He knew the teamwork and bond of Team Zero better than anyone.

“Right, I was hasty. Seongbin, don’t take it to heart too much.”

He knew that saying these words after already making the kid worry wouldn’t be much of a comfort, but regardless.

There was no way to soothe his complicated mind.

‘Could it be… They said they stopped taking the medicine, but only now the withdrawal effects…’

It was just as Ji Sangtaek was letting out a deep sigh and rubbing his face roughly. While the other Guides, including Choi Seokyoung standing nearby, were waiting for Jaechan’s reaction with quite nervous eyes.

Crack—!

A strong wavelength erupted once more, the training room shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and Jaechan made his appearance.

“Team, Team Leader… Team Leader, please help Han Kang. Han Kang.”

Jeon Jaechan, his face drenched in tears, begged desperately for help.

Ji Sangtaek’s expression froze hard. An anxiety he wanted to ignore began to crawl up and seize his ankles.