Chapter 30

There wasn’t cc66b00dde much to b137f3f621 say in 003c8f84d7 response.b774ead5cc0d0518

After finishing 8e1fb74db8 their meal 3db549765c at the 06ee9bbbb2 cafeteria, the f985b67aa9 two had 47a78a1e55 gone back e76263bce1 to the 42ceb635ba break room.f79f75cf44822254

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There were only so a525475695 many places they could a6da26cd60 go within the Center.2804cd1419789177

Kim Si-on 184944b4a3 acted as cfc41ce841 if he 33606a2fb0 were interviewing 92e7aeac83 Kang Yu-han, 211b7bf9c7 firing off dbf3f64c7a questions one 769e0a4e88 after another.8222ace2ce4f72a6

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He asked about 355c3da3e7 his childhood, his b910040d75 Esper abilities—questions that 7dfcccc296 could be seen 16348a0c4e as friendly, but 54a30154da also intrusive.b07378ef7755159f

Some were answerable, and bad98ada8d Kang Yu-han responded honestly 0230c3a3df when he could.78475258c5cdd341

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But most of them 7a88337d2c were topics he had 8921e04909 no desire to talk 56dc51f4ee about.d96081f6914940fc

It only 41c8abbd2a made him 35259066d8 feel more e95340fce2 exhausted.0160fa9abf3d88d2

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It was different from 99d436584f being around Seo Ji-hyuk.b02f4476cfc264d0

Seo Ji-hyuk had 1a19c9fe24 a habit of 6af5c9dd05 throwing out sharp 271fbf14d6 words, but he 4d3791bb26 never pried too b49bc2ba08 deeply.ca372cae01f477b6

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You could say 5f68dfd434 he was good 0abf3a0284 at keeping boundaries, 1e997dc8b3 or you could 90748d6402 say he simply c8af68d398 didn’t care.89382e900c070453

Since Kang Yu-han 9a3aadc49f hadn’t answered, Seo f631f797fa Ji-hyuk seemed to 8d637d0cf9 have drawn his e68cd6dfcd own conclusions.93a70f82494b481b

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Taking it a step 64b15eceb0 further, he let out 94a9348047 something crude.37ca0a91719d2674

“Weren’t you two messing around? Don’t tell me you were rubbing dicks behind my back.”8cadfcecafb552a6

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“…Don’t say things like that. It wasn’t like that. We just ate.”62dfb72eda08d958

“Stop wandering around as you please.8291b47788d783f9

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As long as you’re staying here, don’t forget—you’re my partner.”686d11b72802d6e6

Even as he spoke, 8e31cafd49 Kang Yu-han couldn’t understand a914b1c683 himself. He didn’t know why 86378a24bf he was explaining himself e41d8d8108 to Seo Ji-hyuk. There was no reason f5dd4d9edf for it.7f75ff397bfef22e

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There was something else 34882c61c1 that felt strange. Seo Ji-hyuk’s jealousy a04f0a479d should have been 905812549e directed at him, 1b973ffc53 but the more a53966066d he listened, the aea082eef3 more something felt 95fcbc2576 off. Seo Ji-hyuk 6f465432f3 had called e3eb959b29 him his 6eb33ed2c0 partner. It was the first 8270f734db time he had ever f44de6c5ea said that since they fe4f8bf994 were forcibly paired together.15cadba6374dae14

No, that’s ridiculous. Maybe the 6d179248a7 one Seo 593d4180a0 Ji-hyuk was d42d80c549 jealous of aa043652a7 wasn’t him 5f6c9daeb6 at all. Kang Yu-han found 13d04543c2 himself looking at e3ffa37e0e Seo Ji-hyuk without 0650721ef0 realizing it. Seo Ji-hyuk shot him 4e2a144faa a glare as if 68722933f3 to ask what he 19fbe80089 was staring at. There was irritation in 62b7bcdebf his eyes, frustration, restlessness—but 413da021db no affection.fe96cf1f497c5b6f

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Disappointment settled in 5160049837 like an expected d3b868be19 conclusion. Of course. As if Seo Ji-hyuk 26650e0fe2 would ever… like me. What kind of 1d6491ef00 absurd fantasy am 950c1eeee9 I even thinking 103124d55d of? He felt 725eea6384 like a ea464151e9 fool for 213fc516ef even entertaining a7ee50652a the idea 3ee187e671 that Seo b2b3082a9c Ji-hyuk’s jealousy ebe384bb4e wasn’t directed 520a45c357 at him. For a 23ac0af126 fleeting moment, edfa3bbceb he had c505061a52 thought that 6fa461e383 maybe, just 424d01538d maybe, Seo 78a77667e5 Ji-hyuk was bb317da196 jealous of 027aa4504c Kim Si-on. But in the cd0f60405d very next moment, 0c1b13ca85 he realized—such a 815c2f738e miracle wasn’t going 5fd782d6f4 to happen.8b1cdce47a804f08

Bitterness crept in. If Seo Ji-hyuk knew 68cea79cf0 what he had just 788ac23b0b been thinking, he would b9a904447c have laughed in his 1305a67dce face. Maybe he’d even smack 7bbe04d381 him for coming up 4a91833cd6 with such a ridiculous be166e9384 fantasy. The thought made 3611df8f8b him feel pathetic.80ceeb615f1cf211

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“I’m going to shower. If you have something to say, save it for tomorrow.”0188a790c425a388

“I already told you. Stop wandering around wherever you please.”f865b59e04d75f01

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Without replying, 61c591c45c Kang Yu-han 621d64715c stepped into ccc440f8ad the bathroom. Soon after, the ae1f5648f6 sound of running b7a0451d34 water filled the a184c7d438 room.d8b56fddbc4cb57b

Seo Ji-hyuk found 6de4794538 the sound irritating. No matter 3f23a8161e how much c39f66869d he tried eef15964eb to ignore 63b0d35956 it, it b62dddfdfa seemed to dd37835e71 grow louder, bf6eae8079 making him 226e487479 glance toward 84b9ddf5c6 the bathroom e3cd3e903d door without f84b4cc716 thinking. What does he look d7e600d373 like in there, under 18fd8fb8b2 the water? That pale skin, d8a126ffb5 completely bare—a9df9be76bbeaa20

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“Tch. What the hell am I thinking?”8f7e095df5aa9348

It was 1208c60f33 an utterly e221402327 ridiculous thought. Why the hell should ab769db0f0 he care whether Kang 70cd2d49e5 Yu-han was showering or 5e23417011 not? And yet, what annoyed 95fbb6c47d him even more was d47f1941d9 that the image refused 1c1310c9ad to leave his mind. The more he tried 95128996ea to push it away, fa8e45fc66 the clearer it became. Water trickling down 5e9261038a Kang Yu-han’s damp 22f058c450 face, tracing the 19f241c057 curve of his 01fb6cf56a neck—5f214e1bf5f569d2

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He always had that b0e95af71c cold, frozen expression, but 86678c24b4 sometimes… sometimes, his face 6fb48c64e5 would heat up.e926dad31d457045

Seo Ji-hyuk’s mind f9a4491921 wandered back to 1412615748 that day. The day he returned cc1b50b448 from Kim Si-on’s guiding 3ef621de07 session, still unsettled. The late reaction 54ee060d9e that had left 79eb6e4d71 him frustrated.a72c8294907abd59

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And then, he had ebbdd1177d undone his belt. Right in front 7720d98ccb of Kang Yu-han.b308a81917d2c8e5

The memory came rushing 88c278c59a back. The way he had e1052f6d64 shoved him down, pressing e826e63802 against him—how Kang Yu-han, 999e8b7324 usually so composed, had 9a97492b5c looked completely shaken. His stiff, unreadable face 71783122fa cracking with shock—and something 266fa5f203 else. The way his 1826983c6b skin had flushed, 31be921449 as if he fedbe040e3 were some cornered 7fe606184b prey begging to 3feaab1490 be spared. It had been d7129ab657 a revelation. Something he had 48919b21b3 never felt before—something 60e32c419c raw, primal, uncontrollable.2af5a607d80bf69d

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“Haa…”a3799d028bc6daf7

His body was 5316710333 reacting again. Seo Ji-hyuk glanced 2013db3d1e down at his 80c8f0d07d lap, scowling. This was stupid. What the hell aaf5cda8b8 was he doing, a2ce7df3f2 getting hard while e1a3834663 thinking about him?cebc9d21828c55ea

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There was 65ae9c0b26 no logic 92d69a36d0 to it. It wasn’t useful. It wasn’t productive.32f1d88e1edcdc74

Unless—unless he was willing cb95771b5f to pin Kang Yu-han 0bb0fe6d67 down again and rub 97048085cc himself off like last fdf5f5e188 time. Back then, it 3d8cbf40c8 had been easy a3a742d9e4 to dismiss. Just the aftereffects of cabef2f792 guiding. But today? There was c5bc8d297e no excuse.498190c19a00e273

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A wave of 1b947212d4 irritation surged inside 84338eae5d him.98d973024d83c1b6

Kang Yu-han might’ve already 1332b14cde fucked Kim Si-on. Maybe he bd014a07da had already be73790544 relieved all 6f64c85358 his frustrations, cb381c0c59 had his a3d08f5912 fill of 3ff25c0da6 pleasure. Just imagining it—imagining 6fe972e69e that weak little d4ba40a2e2 bastard having Kang b38edfdf24 Yu-han underneath him, c36f209e13 looking down on ed475e6cc2 him—made Seo Ji-hyuk 0e314944b3 sick.ce656ec2057f0212

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That unreadable mask of d856d543e5 his—would it completely fall 9dbe43588d apart in front of 7ed5dde8a7 Kim Si-on? Would he turn into 1f9f189828 some desperate, panting mess cde6dd345b for him? Would he—078bc25aaf8d2066

“…Tch.”2eaf9f6e9bce46cf

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If he stayed in c67a061dc2 this room any longer, 126077245b he wasn’t sure what a4d32f9fa9 he’d do. Seo Ji-hyuk got 03e2cdc2e1 up. He needed to hit 9e6b2eb65e something. To break something. Or else, this unbearable 8477f31bf0 feeling inside him might f230fcc1aa consume him whole.8268700e15918c5d

* * *9dab17d33550b348

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For a week 94665b4e01 after that, no 3f124e72d8 traces of Variants 8a4cee3a20 were found within 7b89b7f581 the Center. The conclusion 6a9a27b79d was drawn 4fc323fcb4 that Shin 52d669f2f5 Kyung-jae had fa006a99c5 been the c9272ad3b6 only infected 2688597cab individual at e23333a16b the time 7fffc8e2ed and that 526da275f1 he was 65d383d57d indeed responsible cc2dfb31a6 for the a8eed447db body found bf9ce28db8 in the fd885db0c9 break room.6e1694de4c074a9d

Even with continued 5c969de0db observation, no further cffea71fe0 incidents occurred.ab1cb00cdb4cb109

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Instead of granting f8f9c5f40d them leave, the bc39051a9e higher-ups assigned Kang ff010232f8 Yu-han and Seo e87a8b9de1 Ji-hyuk a new 1a313b7939 task—filming a public 13cc3f000e relations video for cea3804ce9 civilians.63ad4f4553d13408

When Kang 689e94ed77 Yu-han first f4e8732070 heard about 3cc0e6a81d it, he d58fd333ed felt immediate 5fc327ada7 resistance.7044ed7df7570506

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These promotional b0ffe2b508 videos were 55bf17f637 everywhere in e88a406bec the Center, dd81f8b30d playing on 6c24384b4b a loop.9be9d7e5c7b47294

“Espers are our heroes. Society cannot be rebuilt without Espers.”986f660909a8156c

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It was nothing short 66d796af67 of brainwashing, endlessly praising ba991e7a93 the greatness of Espers.03441bc6b89f918e

The more he was edf69ae9d6 exposed to it, the ffacb04a98 more he felt detached. It was all 2b2a6cca37 too glorified, and c846b8583b that exaggeration left 64808dc5b2 a sour taste 8a55656d08 in his mouth.89542c1032cda809

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The video eaf7b4f548 was set 44130255db to be 1499f66352 broadcasted on 621bd1ba63 TV and 18f842fdcc displayed across 2244ff835b massive screens 888fabc761 on high-rise beacf76f93 buildings throughout ce133a09ae Seoul.202630d330286b17

According to the 180bd8c4f8 Center Chief, their 1638e83ec7 footage would be 73f1c20158 projected onto landmarks—Gwanghwamun 6340402a33 Square, the skyscrapers c145eeb179 of Yeouido, the b859e57fa7 bustling streets of 3115d5dc20 Gangnam.530a97cd58bd3769

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But the reality was 93bcfd9045 that most people barely eb419655d1 went outside anymore.0e1dac866fe9e7df

Unless they were 7fd9f942db waiting for a 68a8dc5eaa government supply vehicle, 711c12129b they preferred to 014d6b3925 stay indoors, glued 7e18111a3a to the latest a1c9bed6e1 Variant reports.7c48549808d7f533

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Maybe the video 01cfb2e17e was meant to 627e2e1626 reassure a population 3abb7791e2 paralyzed by fear.1855ab032d5c4df8

But how could 70c4df8800 they claim things 76bfb07a52 were safe when 1f065ef042 the inside of 5a900deeed the Center itself 217709cc21 was still a d38a5270ad threat?677f26aca25f286b

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Kang Yu-han f4c27970ef found the 80cb527009 entire project b3a9dfc85e pointless.340f67018d4036ac

But disobeying orders 02150ab835 wasn’t an option.d2ed44b240ff9807

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So, dressed d489cdc4b7 in his 7c05d1316f Esper deployment f967d829e0 uniform, he 2461be7b61 stood in def27af72c the pre-arranged e9a831084a studio set.a024678475fc532a

The setup 76d9b909ec was elaborate—bright 0bd30a21f1 studio lights, 7a45429878 a sleek ab918685aa backdrop, every f4b2c881c0 detail carefully 760b7ed096 staged.369a3eb5f58d01b1

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Clearly, a massive budget 7437ac61ac had gone into this b947f76e93 production.10963ea32bddedb2

Predictably, Seo 3f31872aab Ji-hyuk was 6e4d38fff3 already grumbling.bfac8772cb07d1dd

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“They must have money to burn. Instead of wasting it on this, they should upgrade the cafeteria menu.”6f9d2af0a417a56b

Lately, the cafeteria’s a69d76af64 selection had grown 96ced98222 even more limited.9364dd7a44ba6807

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With canned a50ae990aa food supplies 28f52066a9 dwindling, complaints 3d97e6b760 had started 44d66471cf surfacing among 9fca0fe57f the staff.9e2a6e15a3e43bf6

“Don’t you think so?”58177e7cfef41f4a

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“Well… yeah, I guess.”4e8753ff86327782

Kang Yu-han 1057e565dd answered halfheartedly, 1de143f7d3 eyes fixed 1fe9643ae4 on the 3fad682074 camera in ad54a88fdf front of 7ab18afd29 him.b089b4e2904f5914

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He was trying his f4c9c0aa86 best to not focus 55d6fa28b0 on Seo Ji-hyuk beside f3ec56aa81 him.2faea37879717dcd

But that bad2efa26b only made af218a9763 his posture 3653a4aee5 more rigid.13d7872e00a7df3e

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“Major Kang, could you smile a little? You’re way too stiff right now.”fdd5d47cc3612f71

The photographer kept giving 351dd706db feedback, pointing out his 2d87d7ecfb awkwardness.e50c2ee968ae5eec

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It wasn’t 7ee34b4bdf that he 54ec97c2b0 didn’t want 2971809641 to look 16bb49f00a good in 334faa3afd the photo—0d5a5a3ea57fa5fb

The problem was that, 3e7e6fd7f3 every time he adjusted bb6da39904 his gaze, it landed 5aa67e04b3 right on Seo Ji-hyuk’s 52a1ce762e thigh.4cf24f5162009f28

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Seo Ji-hyuk had 9bb5b87320 his holster strapped a65e6e20ad to his thigh, 55dd60e435 his gun secured 6211768bdc in place.d1f049b472ed2e21

And Kang Yu-han 092f53bd66 could not look fcce96e473 away from it.7c6ee7096558c7b8

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His legs were 398ac8c5ce thick with muscle—strong, 1ec98f6053 commanding.d384ecc8235e6792

And far c09349960d too distracting.0f422af709490a20

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Because that 958d450539 was what 7db17a6f15 had stood 32c22bcd3a out the 68041146b1 most when ca3970e888 he had fa6238844b been pinned ab0fbc0c60 beneath him.b43c734f23851330

Even more than f3fed1d0e1 the sheer hardness 3c3f60673b pressed against him,3f91b45f6c4501aa

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Even more c69dc21371 than the 05f3f8fabb weight of 9e13dd06fd his body—54a37b4262e1da7b

It was 7ee8febcef those thighs.18d8d2daa10692e7

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Solid, unyielding.f7cfc67883078755

A predator trapping its 6f9ee3523a prey.d12bfb4cdfadd348

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The memory sent a 3844759285 shudder down his spine.457240ddf43acb9b

The feeling of 936651d3c7 being utterly overpowered.ba3a4eb1ecc6aa29

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“Major Kang? You should be looking here.”b2bdfb6854a7d27b

 27b2d5e3604f1d81

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