TSCEIAB Ch. 45

 

Dad’s eyes widened at the sudden words.

 

“Huh? What are you going to do?”

“Homework. I have some research to do. It’ll be quick.”

“Oh, right. Homework. Yes, you should do it. Take your time.”

 

Dad’s face lit up.

He was worried that I might quit school, but he seemed relieved when I brought up my homework.

 

“Thank you.”

 

After a brief thanks, I immediately ran into my dad’s study.

 

Click- Click-

After a few clicks of the mouse, a familiar search bar popped up. I hesitated as I stared at the flickering cursor, then typed on the keyboard.

 

 

[Esper Hugo]

 

 

I was just searching for the name, but my fingertips were shaking.

As soon as I pressed the Enter key, related posts were listed.

 

‘The news story must be accurate.’

 

There were countless articles containing Hugo’s name. I clicked on the article at the top.

Only after closing all the pop-up ads did the content come into view.

The article stated that Hugo was in dangerous state, on the verge of a rampage, and that he was being taken into custody and hospitalized at the Arizona Center.

 

‘…… Really in dangerous state?’

 

My heart sank. I calmed my trembling heart and checked the date of the article.

 

‘Three days ago…….’

 

It was the day I got a call from Hugo.

There were no other follow-up articles regarding his condition.

 

“Detained and hospitalized. What happened after that?’

 

The word ‘detained’ bothered me.

I remembered Hugo being subdued by armed espers as a child.

The memory that I had deliberately avoided was vividly etched in my mind. I could no longer maintain my composure.

I grabbed Dad’s car keys from the neatly arranged items on his desk.

Then I violently opened the door and ran out of the house. I ignored the slight pain in my ankle.

 

“Haley? Haley! Hey! Where are you going?”

 

I heard my dad calling from the living room, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to respond.

Before he could follow me out, I jumped into his car and sped away.

 

Vroom –

I don’t know what I was thinking while driving.

About two hours later.

I was able to get to the Awakening Management Center in Arizona, which I had only seen on the news.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

‘What now…….?’

 

Having driven to the center, I found myself unable to get inside and instead lingered nearby.

I couldn’t move rashly because if I wanted to go inside and find Hugo, I would have to reveal who I was.

If I had brought my cell phone, I could have called Hugo.

I didn’t know if I calling Melissa would have gotten me any help.

I blamed myself for coming out empty-handed without a plan.

How much time has passed?

 

“You’re really came.”

 

As I stood helplessly with my back to the center, I heard a low, raspy voice.

Startled, I turned around to see Hugo with his hat pulled low like any other day.

 

“…….”

 

He wasn’t wearing a muzzle or restraints, nor was he locked up somewhere being subdued.

His complexion was very pale, but he didn’t seem to be on the verge of going berserk.

 

‘Did you trick me again……?’

 

I hardened my gaze as I looked at Hugo. He then called my ‘name’ with a somber face.

 

“Yiseo.”

“Don’t call me by that name.”

“…… Please, Yi-seo.”

 

His whisper was more like pleading. My emotions surged up.

 

“I hate that name.”

 

My nose tinged and heat rose in my eyes. Hugo stepped closer and reached out with his hand, but his hand did not reach me.

I had stepped back.

 

“…….”

 

He didn’t come any closer. As if dealing with a sensitive stray cat, he kept his distance while watching me.

 

“If you prefer the name Haley, I’ll call you that.”

“…….”

“Haley. If you dislike me, can’t you a least listen to me?”

 

Ha. A dry laugh escaped my lips.

 

“Are you trying to make excuses for playing with me?”

 

My words came out sharp. Hugo drooped his eyebrows and shook his head.

 

“I wasn’t playing with you, but I think I had to make an excuse.”

 

There was no sign of backing down. Even if I didn’t like it, it felt like he would stubbornly stick around.

Despite wearing a hat to cover his face, there were glances directed at Hugo.

It was late, but there seemed to be a lot of reporters and people snooping in front of the Awakening Center.

 

“Ha…….”

 

I wanted to avoid being spotted by reporters and appearing in the news alongside Hugo.

 

“Please, Haley.”

 

Still, it troubled me to leave him with a desperate look on his face.

Despite standing firmly on his two feet, Hugo gave off a precarious vibe as if he might collapse at any moment.

 

“…… Let’s talk in my car.”

 

In the end, I threw out the short words and turned around first.

Hugo soon followed closely behind me.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hugo, who got into the passenger seat, looked around the car for a moment.

He seemed to have noticed it wasn’t my car.

I pretended not to know it and crossed my arms. I kept my head up while keeping the cold atmosphere in the car.

 

“Go ahead, make your excuses.”

“…….”

 

He seemed to have a lot to say.

He kept his mouth shut as soon as he was given the opportunity.

With a confused expression, he seemed unsure of where to start explaining.

I didn’t press him. For a moment a heavy silence fell upon both of us.

Then Hugo spoke.

 

“First of all, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to deceive you…….”

“You didn’t mean to deceive me? You’ve recognized me from the start. Yet you acted like you did not to know me, approaching me and playing with me. Is there anything wrong with what I said?”

“…… Yeah. It’s true that I had deceived you. But I didn’t play with you or anything like that.”

“…….”

“I was afraid you’d leave me again. I’m scared……. I want to be by your side, Yi-seo, no, Haley. I’m afraid you’ll avoid me……..”

“Hah.”

“I’m sorry. I was careless.”

 

After his apology, silence fell in the car once more.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to quell my simmering emotions.

Fortunately, the deep breathing worked, and soon my pounding heart soon calmed down.

 

“Did you know it was me from the start?”

“Yes, I knew the moment I saw you.”

“Was it a coincidence tha twe ran into each other?”

“…… Yes. It was a coincidence.”

 

Hugo’s answer sounded hesitant. I couldn’t tell if it was true, or if he was hiding another secret.

Seeing my skepticism, Hugo apologized again.

 

“I’m really sorry, Haley.”

“Wait. What about Melissa?”

“Huh?”

“You sent Melissa to me. Why did you do that?”

 

Hugo’s eyebrows went up. I guess he didn’t expect me to notice.

My eyes sharpened again, and he hurriedly replied.

 

“Melissa has wide feet. You seem to be having a hard time adjusting to school, so I asked for some help.”

 

That’s all Hugo wanted. Just stay with them until they get used to it.

After that, it was up to Melissa.

So, having lunch with Olive every day and going to parties – things like that.

 

“Melissa thought of you as a friend. It’s true.”

“That’s a stretch considering she was worried about you a lot.”

“Huh?”

 

Hugo looked at me as if he didn’t understand. After hesitating for a moment, I brought up a conversation I had overheard between the two of them.

 

“Back then, weren’t you talking about me? It seemed like Melissa wanted you to beg me for my guiding.”

“…… Actually, Melissa is the niece of Gary, my guardian.”

 

Hugo continued to explain.

Melissa is like a cousin to him, and Melissa was just anxious after hearing about his condition from Gary.

The explanation puzzled me.

 

“What’s wrong with your condition? I’ve heard that a newly developed drug was suitable for you.”

“That’s right. But it doesn’t last long.”

“……?”

“I have a unique constitution……. I tend to develop resistance quickly. There were a few medications that worked for me before, but I developed a resistance within a month, so I had to look for new ones.”

 

He added that he was developing resistance to his current medication, so he tripled his dosage.

Even so, he wasn’t getting as much guidance as before and was barely managing to control himself without going berserk.

 

“…… So you were going to ask me to guide you?”

“I didn’t mean to do that right away. I was going to tell you slowly once you got used to school.”

“You need guidance?”

 

Hugo looked hurt at my sharp words.

Shouldn’t it be me feeling hurt?

 

“…… Yes. I need guidance, and I was wondering if you could form a pair contract with me?”

“I can’t guide.”

“I don’t expect much. Just radial guiding would be enough.”

 

Radial guidance was something I could manage. The problem was I had to reveal that I was a guide to be his pair.

Hugo solved my dilemma right away.

 

“I’ve finished negotiations with the Arizona center director. Your identity will be thoroughly protected. No one will know that you were a ‘Guide Sophia.'”

“…….”

“If you want, I can keep the fact that you’re a guide a secret. You’ll go to school normally like before and graduate. You can occasionally give me radial guidance without anyone knowing.”

 

He assured me that my life wouldn’t change much.

Judging by this, he must be really desperate for my guiding to go this far.

After thinking it over, I then point to the watch on his wrist.

 

“What’s the reading now?”

“Hmm, just a moment.”

 

He turned on the watch. The corners of my eyes squinted.

 

“You weren’t supposed to turn that off.”

“The alarm was too loud, so I turned it off.”

“Alarm?”

 

My confusion were quickly resolved.

As soon as the watch was turned on, a red exclamation mark appeared on the screen, followed by a loud warning sound.

 

Beeeep- beeeep-

Seeing me startled, Hugo said,

 

“It’s because of the guiding numbers. Rest assured, it’s not something to worry about.”