Save Him Part I.

That wasn't him. That wasn't the man.

"Quiet."

Le An looked at the owner of the hand that had closed over his face. He didn't know this man, but from the touch alone, he could feel he was an esper too. Frozen in place, he watched as the man tilted his head, listening to the downstairs with his senses. His pupils quickly darted back to Le An.

"Three people are coming upstairs," he said. He grabbed Le An's chin tightly. "You're going to hide us, do you understand? If you tip them off in any way, I'll kill every single one of them. Don't think I won't. At least one is a guarantee."

Without trying to remove the hand on his face, Le An nodded. His gaze drifted to the man lying on the ground. He was covered in blood. In front of him, the man who had just threatened him shook him again, gripping his chin.

"If you don't guide Taras right now, he'll go into rampage, and we'll all die anyway. Do you understand?"

Taras. The man's name was Taras. Still caught in the shock of learning the man's name, Le An nodded again. The man then let go of his chin and went to the door, locking it.

Standing in front of the door, with his hands on his hips, he watched Le An. Now, even Le An could hear the footsteps approaching the door. A moment later, Theo's voice arrived; he sounded panicked.

"Le An?" Theo tried to open the door. As he was about to push harder, Le An responded.

"It's locked, Theo."

The man nodded at Le An in approval. Theo asked at the same time, "Why?"

"I…" Le An looked around the room, searching for an excuse. "I'm changing clothes."

"Are you okay? We heard a thud." That was Emerald.

"I'm fine, I just stumbled and fell. T-there's nothing wrong…"

"…" They didn't reply for a few seconds. "Can you open the door, then? So I can see you?" Theo asked again.

The man looked into Le An's eyes. Le An looked into his. Then his gaze drifted back to the unconscious man lying on the floor, Taras.

I can scream, ask Theo for help, or… continue lying.

Le An swallowed hard. That vague thought that had flickered through his mind before sleep earlier returned, but this time with a sharper sensation. If this hatred is justified, if I deserve this, if he lost someone, or something because of me…

Then I owe him at least this much. I owe him his life.

"I… I'm not available right now," He said as his voice trembled. Trying to sound more convincing, he shut his eyes tightly and muttered a few more things. "I just got out of the shower and uhm… I'm totally fine. You can go back to what you were doing. I just slipped."

With his heart pounding wildly, he opened his eyes to look at the threatening gaze of the man in front of him, while waiting for Theo's response.

"You weren't well, Le An. Is this dizziness related to how you worsened last night or-"

"I really just slipped, Theo," Le An said. On Theo's face, was there also a hint of suspicion or doubt now? Could he tell that Le An was lying? Le An wrapped his arms around himself; lying to Theo left a tightness in his chest.

"Alright," Theo said. "If you're okay, then… good night." His tone gave away nothing.

"Good night," Le An replied.

The man locked his eyes on Le An again, listening to the downstairs until the sound of footsteps faded away. Then, with a relieved breath, his eyes turned to Le An's pheromone room. "Unlock that door. You'll guide Taras in there."

Le An hadn't yet processed the decision he had just made, but he walked quickly toward the room and entered the code in a panic. The door opened. The man lifted Taras and carried him inside, laying him down.

If I close the door behind them now, I could trap them here.

Le An held the metal door tightly, his knuckles turning white. He hesitated again.

The other man called out to him. "What are you waiting for? For him to die? Move!"

At that moment… Le An realized he could now… see his face.

How hadn't he noticed earlier?

The black strings normally hiding the man's face were gone. In their place was a pale, angular face…. Cut in places, smeared with blood. Even unconscious, his expression was furrowed and tense.

This man choked me to death just yesterday.

But as Le An watched the blood trailing down from his closed eyelids like tears,

He found himself wishing he had never seen his face. Because now, this man, with a name and a face, carries a cold kind of sorrow. He was a human in Le An's eyes now.

Le An stepped inside and closed the door.

As he crouched next to Taras, the other man stared at him with a wild look. "Start," he said first, then asked, "How is he?"

Le An placed his trembling hand over Taras's, and at that same moment, a dark, burning sensation seeped into every nerve ending, making him pull back in shock. "H-he's on the edge…"

The man looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Le An clenched and opened his fist to stop the tingling in his fingertips and took a deep breath. "His body is in shutdown mode, trying to prevent a rampage. He's at level… eight. I can't even see his vitals. Without those, guiding him is extremely dangerous."

To give guiding energy without seeing his vitals was like dealing with a bomb that could explode at any moment. But it was obvious the man didn't care.

"Too bad. But you're the only option."

Le An looked at this unfamiliar face. Did he have shadow abilities too? "Why did you bring him here?" he asked.

"Taras brought us here. I think he came here on instinct, to get guiding from you."

Did Taras come here unconsciously? Le An didn't want to believe that. Especially when Taras had told him earlier today that he wouldn't be coming…

Looking at the blood pooling beneath Taras's torso, panic began creeping into him again.

"I'm starting," Le An said.

He felt insane. Just yesterday, this was the man who had crushed him with such violent intensity, the one who had crushed him under a killing oppression.

He was going to save him.