TSCEIAB Ch. 40

40. The Hidden Story (1)

 

 

* * *

 

 

The day before the Halloween party.

The school was abuzz with Halloween talk.

I arrived early, parked in the first parking lot, and attended my morning classes.

At lunch, I had a fun time with Melissa, who had already come dressed as a vampire, and I finished the afternoon class without any issues.

 

‘Today is a bit chaotic.’

 

Maybe I got swept up in the hectic atmosphere?

Somehow, it felt like the day had gone by in a hurry.

I walked to the parking lot to go home after finishing all my activities.

It was the end of the school hours, so there were a lot of kids heading to the parking lot.

 

‘I might get stuck in traffic.’

 

Since the Halloween party was tomorrow, I had to go home early today and rest.

I didn’t want to get stuck on the road in a traffic jam.

 

‘I should hurry.’

 

My pace toward the parking lot quickened. Just as I was about to pass the entrance to the parking lot.

 

Rumble-

 

There was a strange sound coming from somewhere. It sounded like something was breaking or spilling.

As I tilted my head in confusion, the floor I was standing on suddenly shook violently.

 

“Uh-huh……!”

 

My body swayed. But that was only the beginning.

 

Rumble-! Crash!

 

“Gah!”

 

“Ugh!”

 

The shaking intensified, and the ground rose and cracked. I and all the other kids around me fell to the ground and crouched down instinctively.

 

‘What’s going on? Is this an earthquake?’

 

I think I twisted my ankle when I fell. My face grimaced in pain.

 

What if it’s an earthquake? Should I evacuate? Where to?

 

I was engulfed by confusion.

 

Screeech-

 

There was a creepy siren sound.

The source of the sound was my cell phone.

 

 

[Emergency Situation Alert!]

 

 

As I pulled my phone out of my pocket, there was another red alert.

It was a warning message telling me to be cautious as a gate was being created.

 

‘Wait, a gate being created……’

 

The kid’s expressions instantly filled with horror as they checked their cell phones.

Then, someone screamed.

 

“I-it’s a gate!”

 

All eyes turned in one direction.

In the middle of the first parking lot, a crack appeared in the air.

 

“Run!”

 

“Report it! We have to report it first!”

 

“Someone must’ve already done that! Hurry up!”

 

The earthquake had weakened even more than before. Taking advantage of the opportunity, everyone started to run away in a hurry.

I, too, tried to get up to escape before the gate burst open, but my legs wouldn’t listen.

 

‘Please……!’

 

I had lost my strength. Even if I had gotten up, I wouldn’t have been able to get away since I sprained my ankle.

 

Rumble-Thud-! Boom!

 

As I was writhing on the ground, a second earthquake struck.

With a loud noise, the surrounding trees began to be uprooted and fell.

 

“Watch out!”

 

“Huh……?”

 

It was too late when I realized a large tree was leaning toward me, .

A girl nearby shouted deperately at me.

 

Move, roll over here! Quickly!

 

I thought that was what she meant, but my head went blank that I couldn’t tell if I understood it correctly.

The tree falling on me seemed to be in slow motion.

 

Would I survive being crushed by a tree? No, if the gate burst open before then, won’t I die anyway? If I don’t make it, what would happen to my mom and dad? I’m their only child…….

 

My ears were ringing. Now I couldn’t even hear the screams of the children.

I became detached in the face of inevitable death.

As the shadow loomed closer, I huddled down and tightly shut my eyes.

 

“Yi-seo ……!”

 

Amidst the rumbling, there was a voice that penetrated my ears clearly.

 

Grab.

 

Something firm wrapped around my waist. It snatched me up and carried me away.

 

“Ugh……!”

 

Thud! Bang-!

 

The sensation of being thrown to the ground, the shock ran through my body. A soft, warm sensation from a hot breath reached my ear.

 

“Haa, haa…….”

 

Someone was holding me tightly. The hands around my waist trembled.

I opened my eyes and looked up.

I saw a white, sharp jawline.

 

“…… Hu-go?”

 

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? What were you doing there……! No, never mind. It’s all right. You’re safe now. I’m sorry. I should have come sooner…….”

 

It was Hugo who wrapped his arms around me. Once he was sure I was okay, he pulled me back into his arms.

My cheek pressed against his chest. The rapid beating of his heart showed how he felt.

 

‘Is he shocked? No, wait… earlier, he …….”

 

My face furrowed. In that brief moment, I remembered the voice I had heard before facing death.

 

<Yi-seo……! >

 

He called me Yi-seo. Hugo did.

 

‘He knows me?’

 

As I was organizing my thoughts, Hugo seemed to be calming down. He let me go and looked at me.

 

“Hey, Haley.”

 

“You…. called me ‘Yi-seo’ earlier. Didn’t you?”

 

“…….”

 

Did he expect me not to remember amidst all the chaos?

Hugo’s expression darkened noticeably. I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the change.

As it turned out, I was right. Hugo had known from the start that I was Kang Yi-seo.

That time when he first tied up my shoelaces, the word “still” I heard was not an illusion.

Now I understood why he wanted to be close to me for no reason, why he followed me around, and why he occasionally looked at me with longing eyes.

I felt sick to my stomach for a moment.

I couldn’t breathe as I remembered what I had done to him when we were younger.

 

“Haley. Let’s talk later. It’s dangerous here, so let’s evacuate first…….”

 

“Don’t touch me.”

 

I uttered sharp words in a trembling voice. Hugo stiffened.

He rubbed his eyes for a moment, then opened his mouth with a sigh.

 

“Okay. I’m sorry. Still, it’s better get out of here first.”

 

He then called the kids nearby who were evacuating and left me in their care.

I glanced back as I was helped out of the parking lot by them.

I saw Hugo’s figure running toward the gate that had just started to open.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

<I want to stop now. I can’t do it anymore…….>

 

With a fragile whisper, Hugo was abandoned. By his one and only guide.

He couldn’t say anything to the child who was crying and struggling.

Even the fact that he had imprinted one-sidedly on her.

After the young Yi-seo locked herself in her room, Hugo went through difficult days.

The guiding waves ran wild, increasing the risk of a rampage.

 

“Sedative! Administer the sedative!”

 

“B-but it’ll put too much strain on his body ……. .”

 

“Put him to sleep, now!”

 

At least when unconscious, things were a little better. Thanks to the fact that his emotions didn’t fluctuate according to his thoughts.

The researchers injected Hugo with sedatives to calm him down, and the time he spent asleep grew longer than when he was awake.

 

“It’s too dangerous. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no way.”

 

“But he’s still young…….”

 

“Just because he’s young, should we leave him like this? He’s an S-class! If he goes berserk, do you think it’ll just end up killing one or two people? It’ll better to just deal with him……!”

 

The researchers who had first tried to fix Hugo now turned their backs one by one.

Hugo had now become a dangerous entity.

An uncontrollable esper is dangerous. The rule was to eliminate them if they didn’t calm down.

 

“Deal with him? Did you just say to eliminate? You’re talking about that child!”

 

“P-please calm down! Director Donovan!”

 

“You want to kill the child, and you’re telling me to calm down?!”

 

“T-then let’s just observe for a bit longer.”

 

Thanks to the outburst of Hugo’s guardian, Gary, Hugo’s disposal was put on hold.

But Hugo was slowly dying day by day.

 

Then one day, three months had passed.

Due to the strain caused by sleeping pills and sedatives, the medical team raised concerns so they decided to temporarily stop the medications.

Thanks to this, Hugo finally woke up with a clear mind and was looking out the window for the first time in a while.

 

“Hugo.”

 

Step- Step-

 

The sound of someone’s footsteps drew closer. He didn’t have to look to see who was calling him.

 

“Kid. I have something to tell you.”

 

The weary voice belonged to Gary.

He came to Ohio as the center director of Texas.

Only for Hugo, whom he raised and taken care of alone.

 

“…… What is it?”

 

Hugo turned his head toward the sound. In fact, he had lost his sight due to a lack of guiding.

Unfocused eyes wandered the air. Gary hesitated at the pitiful sight before finally speaking.

 

“…… Don’t you miss Sophia?”

 

“…… Yi-seo?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Hugo’s eyes faltered. The whites of his eyes became red, and the corners of his eyes also reddened.

He couldn’t help but hold back my tears.

The blue eyes were still unfocused, but in an instant, the darkness that had once settled seemed to light up with something else.

 

“Don’t get excited, just listen. Actually, Sophia…….”

 

Gary, though worried about Hugo’s condition, quickly began explaining.

As his explanation went on, Hugo’s wavelengths grew wild.

But Hugo took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

If he caused trouble again like this, he would have to sleep for days without seeing her.

 

‘Yi-seo…… Yi-seo …….’

 

He closed his eyes.

The face of the young Yi-seo, smiling brightly, came to mind clearly.

A tear fell from his twitching eyelids.

Finally, Hugo opened his eyes and spoke in a clear voice.

 

“I want to see her.”

 

“…….”

 

“Please let me see her.”

 

It’s been three months.