The Last Esper [BL]
Chapter 28: I need you

Chapter 28: I need you

Caelan was the first to cross the front door, his steps hurried and his brow furrowed. Jae followed close behind, his breath labored from the chase. Rhys arrived last, carrying Eun-woo in his arms, drenched in sweat and dust.

"Grab all the supplies you can, we’re leaving in ten minutes," Rhys ordered as he left Eun-woo standing on the ground.

Caelan nodded and headed immediately to the kitchen. He began opening drawers, searching every nook and cranny for groceries, water, and useful utensils. Meanwhile, Jae disappeared down the hallway, toward the basement, probably in search of the box of canned food.

Rhys, for his part, hurriedly searched the living room’s shelves, stuffing everything useful into his backpack: plans, maps, an old radio transmitter, and notebooks of records.

Time was running out, and everyone knew it. If Arthur had already sent his report, the house would soon be filled with soldiers.

Eun-woo stood at the bottom of the stairs, unsure what to do. He needed to move, to do something, anything.

He climbed the steps silently, one by one, holding onto the railing with trembling fingers. He didn’t have a clear plan, but in his mind he kept telling himself that he didn’t want to be a burden.

Although he didn’t know exactly what to look for in his room, the mere thought of remaining motionless while the others prepared to flee filled him with anxiety. He had to be useful.

"Eun-woo?" Rong Ye’s voice echoed from behind the bathroom door. It was weak and hesitant, nothing like his usual strength. "Is that you?"

Eun-woo froze for a second. A pang of guilt shot through his chest. It wasn’t until he heard his voice that he remembered Rong Ye was still there.

How could he have forgotten him?

How had he not noticed his absence until that moment?

"Yes," Eun-woo replied.

The door opened slowly, revealing two things that immediately shocked Eun-woo.

First, a sweet, nauseating smell escaped from inside the bathroom. A warm mixture that made his stomach churn. Then, he saw Rong Ye. His eyes were glassy, heavy with fever, as if he were about to burst into tears. His hair dripped with sweat, sticking to his face, and he was breathing heavily, making small moans with each exhalation.

"Are you okay?" Eun-woo asked in alarm as he tried to get closer, but Rong Ye stopped him.

"Don’t come any closer!" Rong Ye shouted, struggling to stay on his feet. "Unless you want to..." Rong Ye bit his lip.

Eun-woo took a step back, feeling the air thicken around him. He had to brace himself against the wall to keep from wobbling. A strange dizziness ran down his spine.

Since he’d destroyed the creature and closed the Rift, something inside him had never been the same. As if a door had opened deep within his mind, revealing fragments of something ancient and familiar.

He didn’t know if someone had ever taught him this or if he had simply always carried it in his blood, waiting to awaken, but now he understood.

He had to bond.

It wasn’t just what Milo and Gunnar had told him. They’d given him words, but what he felt went beyond that. It was instinctive. Like hunger. Like the need to breathe.

And he also knew he wanted to do it with Rhys.

But now, standing in front of Rong Ye, his body was reacting in a way he didn’t quite understand.

Rong Ye was a Guide and issued a non-verbal call, which felt like an invisible string pulling Eun-woo towards him.

Rong Ye also needed a bond, and since Eun-woo didn’t have one, he was vulnerable to that instinctive pull.

He squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his fists, and held his breath. He fought the urge with nothing but willpower.

He’d already chosen someone to bond with. He didn’t want to be dragged down by a biologically imposed need. He didn’t want to bond with someone just because his body demanded it.

He just wanted Rhys.

Only him.

Eun-woo opened his eyes.

"I’ll tell the others what’s wrong. They’re downstairs now getting everything ready for us to leave, but..."

"No!" Rong Ye exclaimed. "They can’t find out I was lying to them... They don’t know that I..."

"You need help, they’ll know what to do."

"I know what to do," Rong Ye sobbed. "I need you... I know I haven’t been good to you, but I need you, and you need me..."

Eun-woo approached carefully. He looked at him gently.

"I’m sorry," he said softly. "I... I still don’t fully understand what I am. There are things that have awakened within me, but I can’t name them yet. I don’t know how this works... not entirely. But there is one thing I do know."

Rong Ye raised his eyes, trembling, searching for hope in his gaze.

"Even if we want it, even if we need it, I’ve already chosen someone..." Eun-woo continued.

I chose Rhys.

Rong Ye’s face broke, accompanied by a soft sob, as if something was being torn from his chest.

"I’ve waited so long for you," he whispered through tears. "All my life, I’ve felt this emptiness, this... insatiable hunger. And only near you does it dissipate.... Only you can calm it."

Eun-woo took a step closer and stroked Rong Ye’s cheek with his fingertips, with a sad tenderness.

"I’ll help you," he promised. "But not the way you want. Not with a bond."

Rong Ye stared at him, his eyes burning with fever and pain. He didn’t say anything, but Eun-woo knew he understood.

"If you don’t want others to know what you are," Eun-woo added, "I can keep your secret. Stay here, in the bathroom. I’ll get something to help you calm down."

Rong Ye closed his eyes for a moment.

"I’ve already taken painkillers," he confessed. "Sleeping pills... even muscle relaxants. But having you around..." he inhaled sharply. "It upsets me."

Eun-woo looked down thoughtfully. Then his eyes narrowed with a barely formed idea. An image flickered insistently in his head. A flower. He didn’t know its name, or why he was seeing it so clearly, but he visualized it clearly. Elongated petals of a pale blue, almost white, emanating a fresh, metallic scent.

Without anyone telling him, he knew that this flower could appease the needs of an unbound Guide.

"I think I know something that might help you, but I need to look for it. Can you wait here for me?"

Rong Ye nodded slightly. Eun-woo was about to head downstairs when, at the top of the stairs, Rong Ye’s voice stopped him once more:

"You chose Rhys to bond with?"

Eun-woo slowly turned his face and nodded.

"But..." Rong Ye frowned. "He’s not a Guide."

Eun-woo blinked, confused.

"Yes, he is."

Rong Ye’s face paled further. His lips slowly parted until another question escaped his mouth.

"If you had met me before Rhys... would you have chosen me?"

Eun-woo thought about how he felt when he first saw Rong Ye, how he used sarcasm to hide his pain, how he always seemed to be fighting something inside himself.

"I don’t know you well enough," he replied softly. "But I do know we can be friends," he added immediately.

Rong Ye looked at him as if he had just been insulted.

"Nobody wants to be my friend."

"Why?"

Rong Ye shrugged, but his gaze was fixed on the ground.

"Because I have a shitty temper. Because I say things without thinking. Because... I push people away. I don’t know how to stop it."

Eun-woo watched him closely. His tense features, the way he hugged his elbows as if trying to shrink. In that moment, he stopped seeing the intimidating Rong Ye and started seeing the sad, lonely Rong Ye crying out for someone to hold onto.

And in that broken image, Eun-woo saw himself reflected.

He remembered the nights when he, too, would hold himself like that, trying to contain something inside himself that threatened to break him. He remembered the desperation of feeling misunderstood, the anguish of being alone all the time. He remembered the days when he would have done anything to have a hand that wouldn’t let go. For a voice that told him..."I’m here".

"Caelan and Jae appreciate you," he replied.

Rong Ye gave a bitter laugh.

"But Rhys hates me."

Eun-woo smiled sweetly.

"I’m sure Rhys was only acting that way because he somehow felt you wanted to bond with me."

Rong Ye looked at him with wide eyes.

"Was he jealous of me?"

Eun-woo blinked, not entirely sure what that word implied, but he understood the emotion behind it. So he nodded.

The silence stretched as Rong Ye processed the idea. His face went from disbelief to bewilderment to something almost resembling hope.

"Maybe..." he murmured. "Maybe we can be friends."

And with those words the door closed with a soft click.