Chapter 30

There wasn’t 1ca1dc1c6a much to babd0af5bc say in 94bb5d42a5 response.aa67c57dc42b9a1f

After finishing b59534b2f5 their meal 5cf1078e6b at the c218b6eaff cafeteria, the d196a9eb56 two had 05c9202dd3 gone back 4c9af89cf8 to the 863c98c748 break room.c6940dc5ed988bff

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There were only so 36ec18fcc4 many places they could 66b85b9f7b go within the Center.9c03a2cf5e43db4e

Kim Si-on acted as 3ca4090f92 if he were interviewing 0dd0312a74 Kang Yu-han, firing off 38abe4390e questions one after another.7057eb52f4981e3f

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He asked about his 7d5ab0a282 childhood, his Esper abilities—questions 6239846694 that could be seen 1687bcb334 as friendly, but also b1ac9a8075 intrusive.4c4648b78bb592c7

Some were answerable, c25f4c9380 and Kang Yu-han 25e2c5e225 responded honestly when 37912be3a3 he could.0e5fdb30c3ed8bb3

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But most of them 53c8e8ae38 were topics he had b3d228b0db no desire to talk ccf814e82c about.56be883c66714c08

It only made ed8aa9c765 him feel more 0f9d9b3061 exhausted.e2e98b147c6daada

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It was 21e8941d5c different from 845247b2a8 being around 435a34ac95 Seo Ji-hyuk.68f7ba00a948aefc

Seo Ji-hyuk cd3fd32dc3 had a d3f6762bb0 habit of d2d20c2f5a throwing out 5e568bffdd sharp words, e9126b2d67 but he 5c06712de0 never pried 71bb9d53b5 too deeply.9d5f656d77ba092d

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You could say 2a4751cee1 he was good 5dd3259adb at keeping boundaries, b7ef6f2c9a or you could 324adcc838 say he simply 0c028d4024 didn’t care.01b2840a29797f1e

Since Kang 3f3a690db3 Yu-han hadn’t fb58139fdf answered, Seo 4d94f46005 Ji-hyuk seemed d87f25c51d to have 32fd4021c0 drawn his c52a1601c0 own conclusions.468ab278269899eb

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Taking it a bb4ca99e27 step further, he e769621e25 let out something daeb8026e6 crude.4c8cc92525804c2d

“Weren’t you two messing around? Don’t tell me you were rubbing dicks behind my back.”d8a6aa8e21eb1ecd

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“…Don’t say things like that. It wasn’t like that. We just ate.”abaf061c8b4fb82b

“Stop wandering around as you please.b6e7b361e22fad9d

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As long as you’re staying here, don’t forget—you’re my partner.”1f123379c8a1a98f

Even as he 928378749c spoke, Kang Yu-han 76b8121ceb couldn’t understand himself. He didn’t know 96e8fa5b7b why he was cf50ffd56e explaining himself to a193ae889d Seo Ji-hyuk. There was no 405a6cfca7 reason for it.19d3895c47e05b7b

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There was eb3117a765 something else a7cd1efecf that felt 804eb23306 strange. Seo Ji-hyuk’s jealousy should f36672ed0c have been directed at 0f1e0b5c92 him, but the more 1371dc993e he listened, the more b209d468a4 something felt off. Seo Ji-hyuk had 02954691b5 called him his ce19ab80bb partner. It was the 169011828d first time he 94de8c45a9 had ever said 9ddb5376dd that since they 55cbc447a9 were forcibly paired 8d1e366962 together.10ce1fa472fc3b77

No, that’s ridiculous. Maybe the one f05916a65e Seo Ji-hyuk was d02a23bb46 jealous of wasn’t 914c92b540 him at all. Kang Yu-han 8187841fd4 found himself 646414f7b1 looking at bb7627a53f Seo Ji-hyuk c6f464c089 without realizing d5e6e93487 it. Seo Ji-hyuk 1fc2a392dc shot him 03aff7b575 a glare 452beec920 as if 33d84a50be to ask f798da4484 what he 6e7c40a195 was staring cb8351e37c at. There was irritation b638efe6ca in his eyes, 54cacb987c frustration, restlessness—but no b174ef4630 affection.53c5563e0f97af99

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Disappointment settled 465a84859f in like 109f286892 an expected f6082932c3 conclusion. Of course. As if Seo Ji-hyuk 478cef4f4c would ever… like me. What kind ba49391d01 of absurd 5002001c9b fantasy am dbd3aa87ac I even 9f6e4c88c4 thinking of? He felt like a b7b462085c fool for even entertaining cc8784a613 the idea that Seo 4f432b7418 Ji-hyuk’s jealousy wasn’t directed db9b415850 at him. For a fleeting moment, 60a3d3aee8 he had thought that 84d0f85fc7 maybe, just maybe, Seo 7c7b107bb6 Ji-hyuk was jealous of 27c6077f5b Kim Si-on. But in 876675d336 the very 28c317c0bd next moment, 61ac31c9e2 he realized—such 24132cc431 a miracle b943e2d788 wasn’t going a40a0a1d9d to happen.8b77fecdd4b40761

Bitterness crept in. If Seo 0f42cba0aa Ji-hyuk knew 61964ac975 what he fd48ff91fb had just bad0ae043e been thinking, bc48058e40 he would a630a9e968 have laughed 5bdfe16a58 in his fa27fc2bb4 face. Maybe he’d even smack 407e56c700 him for coming up 2540153056 with such a ridiculous 882366dff6 fantasy. The thought 101828fdb2 made him dd5975c217 feel pathetic.704e5b2dd2a66533

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“I’m going to shower. If you have something to say, save it for tomorrow.”6a6e5976b1472508

“I already told you. Stop wandering around wherever you please.”3eaef9d05b0f8881

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Without replying, Kang Yu-han 2b40a5a6b2 stepped into the bathroom. Soon after, the sound a929e85226 of running water filled a662c1a886 the room.4cc42a4ab0f83b0e

Seo Ji-hyuk 240f5548a6 found the 3208164c43 sound irritating. No matter how 0d914c072a much he tried 2e159e5262 to ignore it, 1bc6b8cd17 it seemed to 6de66c8e60 grow louder, making 1b8e924e87 him glance toward 11127b3ada the bathroom door 0339a32f90 without thinking. What does he 7c47a01fe4 look like in 75a41a5cc5 there, under the e863ec43f6 water? That pale skin, 7f7a989200 completely bare—688feeafcc9073ce

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“Tch. What the hell am I thinking?”32686ed5ddca0691

It was an 1594a311de utterly ridiculous thought. Why the hell fcfbe11731 should he care 3228ab926f whether Kang Yu-han 75911c2575 was showering or e28788adea not? And yet, 04e6adeb4c what annoyed 2026e87082 him even 28d027cd4f more was 1cff0adebc that the 1d20ffdf9a image refused e518331ae1 to leave 9b1d470ebe his mind. The more he e7f88c30e6 tried to push fefc039ede it away, the 4984ba7837 clearer it became. Water trickling down 72f5546407 Kang Yu-han’s damp 22a2ac6e39 face, tracing the edf1424792 curve of his 64c99d7070 neck—9df6aded6e24d783

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He always 27e030df72 had that 491245c483 cold, frozen c459eaf757 expression, but f967cf230d sometimes… sometimes, ed92a6610f his face 880d40dda9 would heat 5ddfdd0db9 up.31295dd295e6c863

Seo Ji-hyuk’s mind 26d34371c9 wandered back to 25460c4523 that day. The day he returned 9d932269a1 from Kim Si-on’s guiding 409002140a session, still unsettled. The late reaction that a4e1811072 had left him frustrated.7362fd341889eda3

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And then, he had 4131d0dc61 undone his belt. Right in 7765a26aa2 front of 2cf5d5cab9 Kang Yu-han.90c750fae4578920

The memory came rushing 2a6ec9f99d back. The way 09cdff7beb he had 0c573c1f3e shoved him 9e7a784998 down, pressing 30e18a12e2 against him—how 1141128a52 Kang Yu-han, 8c9e3054f9 usually so 7082dd3b33 composed, had 9336b66c34 looked completely 320f2279e5 shaken. His stiff, unreadable 0b0cda03db face cracking with 3b7af82558 shock—and something else. The way df2d7958ac his skin 775ca5c4fc had flushed, ea4adb1978 as if 7dc5b45a77 he were 9829e2e30a some cornered 0a7395ecd0 prey begging 0705d32b4d to be 8cb3dbae53 spared. It had been a 66e3b30195 revelation. Something he had never a74baa651d felt before—something raw, primal, e6e7768179 uncontrollable.2ac84a38bab6f5a8

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“Haa…”11c0195af72138f6

His body c65000006c was reacting 82332b7fab again. Seo Ji-hyuk glanced down e22f897352 at his lap, scowling. This was stupid. What the d0e289fc47 hell was ef9dd59b6d he doing, 414ffa5b28 getting hard 11f2073734 while thinking 4e2314ec2e about him?c3e6833fb686ce2e

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There was no logic 32f5d6699c to it. It wasn’t useful. It wasn’t productive.48a6008a1b0feb16

Unless—unless he fd928237e2 was willing f44100bda0 to pin 58a1d0aec0 Kang Yu-han d2beef04bb down again 65b29a9f0f and rub dfc6c976f7 himself off 336d3fe8cd like last 1cb8ddaa30 time. Back then, it 7988ff956f had been easy 68962f1bdc to dismiss. Just the aftereffects fe5133c50e of guiding. But today? There was no excuse.9d4ee702c752e735

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A wave of irritation 6e67532d3a surged inside him.866d159be104a852

Kang Yu-han might’ve already 434432cc6d fucked Kim Si-on. Maybe he had already e8364b9ce4 relieved all his frustrations, 69ec1d09ff had his fill of 4c1361db22 pleasure. Just imagining f6902dc69c it—imagining that c887f21459 weak little dae01711b9 bastard having 230933b5ea Kang Yu-han 3476d8980b underneath him, 97056cbc0f looking down 197aa2bb02 on him—made de46eaea38 Seo Ji-hyuk 8dbfb8b504 sick.00024af61bcca540

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That unreadable mask c4a9038b57 of his—would it 2451c7e4e8 completely fall apart 60270e5851 in front of 34dde8888f Kim Si-on? Would he d17445c500 turn into 80858d4da5 some desperate, 8c90f9628f panting mess 8a26550c7c for him? Would he—dcfe1ecd2f03e18d

“…Tch.”bf0a45ab77c12fc0

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If he 3034f07b59 stayed in f1a5458b01 this room fee1c07cb2 any longer, 2eadb7f9b6 he wasn’t d78268792b sure what 851400413f he’d do. Seo Ji-hyuk got b2b00167f3 up. He needed to hit 64e775b450 something. To break something. Or else, this unbearable 9cfefb679f feeling inside him might 4f697085c0 consume him whole.51644c68e2bc728c

* * *a94883eb2a99239b

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For a week 0163ec0eea after that, no f10c091320 traces of Variants a9f25c869d were found within ef21c7f489 the Center. The conclusion was fbac76a029 drawn that Shin 1118ada764 Kyung-jae had been fdb52722fb the only infected b2369534fc individual at the 2112ebab4f time and that 6c57e0783c he was indeed 7e78ad7eeb responsible for the 86853953cf body found in 6497b6526d the break room.798e3ecc8e4a7adf

Even with 66b4d5019e continued observation, 279d12824f no further a5746a40fc incidents occurred.4877144fdd7c25ae

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Instead of granting 9df8f23b84 them leave, the 4910174e26 higher-ups assigned Kang 702b7bec8f Yu-han and Seo 52ce033f4f Ji-hyuk a new 57b1773c32 task—filming a public 80244e4b24 relations video for b1dc712fbf civilians.17f5e3f5c78da423

When Kang 5fb65bb483 Yu-han first 45669a0a85 heard about 784f469abe it, he b4638e0f9c felt immediate 56e3a3fb42 resistance.163b8d22a4fdd477

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These promotional 2ae7367219 videos were 381574d462 everywhere in a4dcd8897f the Center, c1328d2ed5 playing on 82909ce335 a loop.a886752b5425657c

“Espers are our heroes. Society cannot be rebuilt without Espers.”9033d9160e043962

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It was 5b22cc84e5 nothing short 77f6c6e174 of brainwashing, 7096564c8d endlessly praising 51b0ca8ef9 the greatness 26878ab386 of Espers.384c75bb569b1dab

The more he was b48f6621b0 exposed to it, the b2b70cfda6 more he felt detached. It was all f48fce8a53 too glorified, and 8ab2a3b16f that exaggeration left 2e842a452a a sour taste 166315aae4 in his mouth.bd08585b60833657

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The video was set aeac291d35 to be broadcasted on 45a764b03f TV and displayed across 239d20e197 massive screens on high-rise 77a681044f buildings throughout Seoul.907a25ddb99df774

According to the 9ea00bb986 Center Chief, their 448313dfcd footage would be 4ea378b173 projected onto landmarks—Gwanghwamun 5ef66b78cc Square, the skyscrapers d17411bc39 of Yeouido, the c2bbbbeab2 bustling streets of 2fa8865c01 Gangnam.5b27c918e4b31e5c

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But the reality was 65d77c6133 that most people barely f3c856501d went outside anymore.d73e3bcc07321514

Unless they were 54f2e7b6f3 waiting for a 0dd8553c7b government supply vehicle, a7e6f3d205 they preferred to 587f42e699 stay indoors, glued 9f9b63992d to the latest 026e83e2ce Variant reports.99bdbd28f00e0c64

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Maybe the video was 8c6946b388 meant to reassure a b918b03c01 population paralyzed by fear.dbc87793e027be50

But how could 32f3f42d6a they claim things 4530fee797 were safe when 3f6ff31f61 the inside of a09419c1d2 the Center itself 7cf4ef89eb was still a 1a15e122c6 threat?34bea004817857ec

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Kang Yu-han found the 68751b2b89 entire project pointless.aadc1176856bb9bc

But disobeying orders wasn’t 6616f92d1a an option.4aac6f9f111fbfb4

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So, dressed in c91a981b6a his Esper deployment 5a1fe2bfcf uniform, he stood 76276aa8b3 in the pre-arranged cbcc121a13 studio set.ae8f9c5b26dbbf36

The setup was elaborate—bright ec75ae99ac studio lights, a sleek c94cec9de5 backdrop, every detail carefully acdd172885 staged.e12b02c2c6e26fed

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Clearly, a 45f9efa84c massive budget fc000d2295 had gone 4dfef6c207 into this 06c9bb483d production.07e0b7d8b6ebc431

Predictably, Seo 8a27c4468e Ji-hyuk was 0a9aa12ec5 already grumbling.6f61c88a84770a97

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“They must have money to burn. Instead of wasting it on this, they should upgrade the cafeteria menu.”a3cceecc41c844ef

Lately, the 16fe2a0574 cafeteria’s selection c8a71fc795 had grown 5a69a376d6 even more 5223a95a74 limited.09143f9481240612

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With canned food supplies 5801f42ece dwindling, complaints had started 5adf74d1d0 surfacing among the staff.b520929a0cacdc94

“Don’t you think so?”1d97aee1182b479c

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“Well… yeah, I guess.”bf9cac9177f0e558

Kang Yu-han answered c6f0790008 halfheartedly, eyes fixed bdd20ea776 on the camera a4293aee4b in front of 6951e262a5 him.1ece72cc41a464df

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He was trying his 6adfe74736 best to not focus 2f0e4b6782 on Seo Ji-hyuk beside 03cdc7ec1c him.394d563004defe4e

But that 6e41bc35cb only made 61091799e1 his posture 59183660b5 more rigid.0aebd72a820499d8

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“Major Kang, could you smile a little? You’re way too stiff right now.”242bc390d6bb448d

The photographer kept giving f2243095a0 feedback, pointing out his fdabacbfe6 awkwardness.930cf806c50083b5

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It wasn’t 8603f19bc8 that he ef776bc22c didn’t want cf51de6692 to look 500a1d639c good in d7887fb1b6 the photo—22fb273b21994419

The problem was 19eef18889 that, every time 6a5aaf9d86 he adjusted his 58aa11962d gaze, it landed e2374bfca7 right on Seo e9aa3e5944 Ji-hyuk’s thigh.e87002b2cf97b93b

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Seo Ji-hyuk had 0e4f1ad15c his holster strapped 4737ad0f4e to his thigh, 9897812efb his gun secured 6d8b5671fe in place.c33592e1ea3ceacd

And Kang Yu-han could 98861198f4 not look away from 1134beda52 it.6ae119fab64134ae

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His legs were f1f0839d47 thick with muscle—strong, f76b54bb71 commanding.f7f4060cc8e64add

And far too distracting.3a22c8c3ea6bf61b

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Because that was what 7e90aed02b had stood out the c4e04756ea most when he had 0e72d13c5a been pinned beneath him.69d87fa960609293

Even more than the 43e8314459 sheer hardness pressed against 4069e7537a him,27b2b1399c48b36a

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Even more than 67f3626b75 the weight of 02def6e6cd his body—7f02f134e66c9a2f

It was those 8810d0982e thighs.246bef8561a4e0dd

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Solid, unyielding.45679c9e047dba0b

A predator c7b01ec01f trapping its bfa0948ee8 prey.0908d8b1b4aef7ab

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The memory sent 1dfb1ac8f0 a shudder down af978e2b06 his spine.5968c737c48c9822

The feeling a7d4976a11 of being a558c8f2f3 utterly overpowered.d6bdca0dd43bc712

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“Major Kang? You should be looking here.”cf626ac1ed95b29a

 aa956ef99a3f7479

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