Vicious Darling

[28]

As Yuri exited the police station, a black car was waiting for him right in front.

Yuri, who had been taught in his childhood not to get into just any car, raised one eyebrow.

“It’s sent from your former workplace,” snapped the officer who had followed him out, as if to monitor Yuri, who was now free after signing the papers.

“I see.”

Seeing the driver with reddish-brown hair glimpsed through the darkly tinted window, Yuri nodded slightly and reached for the back seat door.

But just as he put his hand on the handle, it opened with a click.

Yuri got into the car without showing any slight disturbance.

As soon as the door closed, a silver wolf that had been crouching in the seat next to him pounced on his body.

If asked if he was scared, he would say no. But if asked if it was heavy, he would have to nod.

The car started smoothly.

Before Yuri could roll his eyes and snap at the beast to get off because it was shedding, the animal transformed into a human body.

“Yuri-nim.”

Chris, looking paler than expected, was embracing Yuri.

Normally, he would have made him kneel on the floor, but Chris’s back rose and fell greatly as he took deep breaths with his arms around Yuri’s neck.

‘All this over that brief separation.’

The man who thought coldly with his purple eyes lowered, instead of pushing him away, opened his mouth.

“Yuri.”

Chris suddenly raised his head in confusion when Yuri said his own name.

“Didn’t I tell you to call me Yuri?”

“…Ah.”

Despite being told to call him by name long ago, his anxiety had automatically made him revert to the original form of address.

“I’m sorry.”

Chris murmured as he slowly withdrew his arms and moved back.

Is this what it feels like when even a person’s voice can lose its vitality?

‘He must have been terribly frightened.’

Yuri inwardly clicked his tongue.

“Wow. You really walked in there and walked out.”

The driver in the front seat, Peter Garrett, who had been quietly observing the conversation between the two, spoke in a lively tone.

“Nothing happened. They were only forceful until they dragged me in, but halfway through, a city investigator named Abigail Chung intervened.”

“Abigail Chung?”

“Why, is that name not in your database?”

“…Well, I’m sure it would come up if we searched.”

Peter, who had hesitated a bit, smiled brightly.

Yuri let it pass.

The Barrel Society’s information network is more dense and solid than he knows. They probably know something about Abigail Chung too.

‘They must have judged it’s not information worth sharing yet.’

“According to that investigator, illegal immigrants have caused serious financial leakage in the Spring Continent. That’s why reconstruction is slower than in other continents… She said they want us to take responsibility for this.”

“Bullshit.”

Peter growled while gripping the steering wheel.

Due to his agitation, the driving became rough for a moment and the car shook. Chris sighed and used his ability to take control of the car’s steering and brakes.

“Huh?”

Surprised by the car suddenly moving on its own, Peter met Chris’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Those eyes looked even bluer than usual.

Peter slowly took his hands off the steering wheel and rubbed his face.

Having barely composed himself, Peter raised his head and hesitated.

As his anger cooled, he got goosebumps anew at the steering wheel turning smoothly without him moving a finger.

“…You’re quite skilled at driving.”

It’s called driving, but it’s essentially hijacking.

No matter how you look at it, this isn’t the skill of someone who’s only done it once or twice.

Peter’s eyes lowered. The stronger telekinesis is, the harder it is to handle.

Handling a glass of water and handling a ton of water are completely different issues.

One might be good at destruction, but with that power, one couldn’t caress a flower. However, Chris didn’t break or dent the steering wheel, which was fragile compared to him.

The invisible force that turned the steering wheel as flexibly as someone who had been driving for ten years frightened Peter.

‘If he were just an Esper with brute strength, he probably wouldn’t have made such a name for himself.’

As if answering Peter’s inner thoughts, Chris said,

“You’re not the first person to take such a dangerous drive with Yuri in the back seat.”

The stiff and businesslike voice that came back indicated that Chris had regained his composure.

“I see… It must have been quite, no, extremely turbulent.”

Peter struggled to hold back the hollow laugh that was about to escape.

It was because the man acting so sensibly now seemed unfamiliar after thinking about the half-crazed madman who had rushed to procure a car and come to the police station.

‘Does it mean he honed that tremendous power solely to protect someone?’

Peter glanced at Yuri.

The beautiful person sitting with a cold expression must know well that what he’s dealing with is not an ordinary dog, but something closer to Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the gates of hell.

Yet it seemed strange that he could throw himself into danger so nonchalantly.

‘I wonder which one is crazier.’

Espers who lose their minds over their Guide’s safety are a dime a dozen. But a Guide who doesn’t hesitate to throw himself into the fire knowing the Esper will go berserk?

This is terrifying in its own way.

‘A dangerous person, but equally precarious.’

He must have risen to that position by making decisions others wouldn’t, but that also means he’s crossed lines others wouldn’t dare to.

“If you’re going to drive, I’d appreciate it if you kept your eyes on the road.”

Yuri pointed out in a calm tone when Peter didn’t avert his gaze.

His perceptiveness was uncanny.

Peter, who had barely put his hands back on the steering wheel, felt Chris’s telekinesis gradually withdrawing as he resumed driving.

“Anyway. That investigator’s words are bullshit. The reason finances are leaking in the Spring Continent is because those who have connections with the mayor are gnawing at the coffers like rats.”

“And they’re filling that void with the labor of illegal immigrants?”

“Yes.”

A faint hatred tinged Peter’s voice.

“Especially the local influential figures…”

Yuri’s eyes deepened.

The Barrel Society seemed to know well about the injustices prevalent in the Spring Continent.

They must have heard it from those directly involved.

“Interesting story.”

At that response, Peter bit his lip as if realizing he had said too much.

The Barrel Society had decided to cooperate with Baekyah, but they weren’t complete allies.

As the most talkative Peter fell silent, silence descended in the car.

Chris was the first to break the silence.

“So there are people benefiting from the existence of illegal immigrants.”

“…Yes.”

“What did they do to you?”

“Me?”

Peter chuckled.

“No way. I’m a coward, so I always ran away faster than anyone else.”

Even the ability he awakened later was related to movement.

Peter didn’t think it was mere coincidence.

“I wasn’t an Esper from the start, but I was damn lucky, so someone else always sacrificed themselves for me.”

There was a sharp edge in his eyes.

“…You may have been lucky, but you must have been very unhappy.”

“Even if I want to go back, I can’t.”

Peter laughed bitterly, saying it seems he left his senses behind when he ran away.

“Since I can never repay those debts, I swore to join the Barrel Society and live helping others. People like me and my friends.”

“Illegal immigrants.”

“That’s right.”

Peter nodded slowly.

“But the Barrel Society is large, and yet there are more people who need our help than the number of active members. Naturally, there will be areas where management becomes lax.”

Chris nodded slowly.

“People disappeared from those places again. Chris. Do you understand?”

It must feel like their sanctuary has been violated.

“I swore to help those people, but I lost them again.”

Peter, who had completely let go of the steering wheel, buried his face in his hands.

“Uncle Juan, Grandma Rosemary, Jun, Thomas… little Ginger…”

The man who recited those names slowly raised his face, seemingly having calmed down a bit.

“I remember every single one of them. I’m going to find them all. Every single one.”

“…”

Chris silently watched Peter.

There was a certain determination in his dry eyes without a single tear.

“And I’m going to make them take responsibility, every single one of them, without exception.”

Yuri, who had been quiet as if thinking about something, suddenly spoke.

“Is it because of citizenship that no one protests?”

“Yes. People who have built a foundation here and made new connections fear deportation the most.”

Yuri wrinkled his nose. The Spring Continent was treating illegal immigrants almost like livestock.

Deportation was the stick, and citizenship was the carrot.

“Why are they doing this in such a bountiful land?”

Chris couldn’t understand at all.

In the Winter Continent, conflicts arose easily because people had nothing. So he thought there would be fewer conflicts in a place as abundant as the Spring Continent.

Of course, people seemed peaceful. Except for the fact that illegal immigrants were being squeezed behind the scenes.

“I think they might have been less corrupt if the environment was harsh and survival was the top priority.”

Peter’s expression looked very complicated.

He started focusing solely on driving and became extremely taciturn.

Before long, the car arrived at their lodgings.

Peter said he had something to report and drove away with the car.

Back in the room, Yuri finished preparing to wash up.

Seeing Yuri take out a towel, Chris spoke up.

“I want to wash together.”

Yuri rolled his eyes at Chris’s request.

It’s unlikely he suddenly became bold with that personality. Rather…

‘He’s probably doing this to check if there are any injuries on my body.’

It’s not like this was the first time.

“It seems you have no intention of believing me even when I say nothing happened.”

Chris pressed his lips tightly.

“It’s because I know Yuri’s… patience well.”

“Your tongue has become quite smooth.”

Yuri reached out and cupped Chris’s chin, pulling him closer, then pressed his thumb firmly on his lower lip.

As Chris opened his mouth, Yuri peered inside carefully.

Chris lowered his eyes with his hands behind his back.

Yuri’s touch was slow as he turned Chris’s jaw left and right. It felt similar to checking the teeth of an animal at a livestock market.

‘Bare skin.’

It was difficult to insist on leather gloves even in the Spring Continent. So lately, Yuri had been going around with his hands completely exposed.

Every time he casually touched Chris, Chris would be startled.

It felt like an unexpected stroke of luck.

“Stick out your tongue.”

At Yuri’s words, Chris immediately stuck out his tongue.

It’s the most pinkish and tender skin on his body. But even if a needle were stuck in there, Chris wouldn’t flinch.

Yuri pulled his beast closer and kissed him.

“Ah, haah…”

At first, Chris was confused and didn’t know what to do, but soon a sweet moan escaped from his throat.

Chris’s mind and body were completely dragged along by the skilled tongue rubbing against sensitive spots, and the stinging pain when Yuri bit his lip at just the right moment as he was about to lose himself completely to pleasure.

In fact, even when Yuri was much more clumsy than this, Chris felt extreme pleasure. To the point where he could sell his soul for just one kiss.

As the kiss deepened and lengthened, the guiding that flowed in made his body languid.

It felt like his legs might give out at any moment. Yuri slowly parted his lips, raised his right hand to press against the front of Chris’s shoulder, and pushed.

Chris sat down with a thud without resistance, startled by the creaking sound of the bed mattress.

He knew he had been gradually pushed back during the kiss, but he hadn’t realized he had come this far.

“Wait quietly.”

With those words, Yuri disappeared into the bathroom.

Chris thought as he waited quietly with his eyes lowered.

‘In the end, he didn’t show his body.’