* * *
“Those who have should give.”
This was the Hooper family’s creed.
If you gain wealth or power, it’s not yours to keep; it’s given to you by the world, so you must give some back.
Elliot had been taught this from an early age, and as he’d awakened as an Esper, the expectations from his family to act charitably had intensified.
Espers wielded great power, which could intimidate ordinary people, so they believed he should always do good to foster a sense of trust.
When he was sent to Korea, they even arranged for him to run a welfare foundation.
Charity was second nature to him, so… the idea of being the child’s “father”—while it had an odd undertone—wasn’t something he couldn’t handle.
He saw it as a sort of charity.
Heewoon had nothing.
But he had such a generous heart, so willing to give.
The problem was that Heewoon’s generosity wasn’t just limited to a single infant.
To Heewoon, Elliot was always at the very end of the line.
He’d overlook himself and constantly care for others.
And by ‘others,’ Elliot was one of them.
Heewoon was truly… an infuriatingly selfless man.
Perhaps that’s why Elliot couldn’t get him out of his mind.
“Eli, promise me one thing.”
“Never do anything to make Heewoon regret this. Be good to him! Absolutely! Don’t let pride lead you to do something you’ll regret. Promise me!”
Recalling his childhood friend’s earnest face as he’d pleaded with him just before he left, he rubbed his eyes.
“…How am I supposed to ‘be good’ when he won’t even pick up my calls?”
He missed Heewoon.
To be honest, the first time he tried to reach out, it had nothing to do with the child.
He wanted to know if Heewoon was okay.
If he was eating well, sleeping well—he wanted to see his face, touch him, and even…
“Seriously, this is humiliating… Why am I even…”
If he were to be honest, Elliot envied Rex.
Deeply, infuriatingly so.
If only he could casually kiss Heewoon whenever he wanted… if he could hold that thin body close and comfort him.
He pressed his palm against his eyes and took a deep breath, then called again, hoping Heewoon would answer this time.
But he barely let it ring twice before ending the call, distracted by the sound of urgent footsteps approaching.
“Are you the guardian of Huimang?”
A terrible feeling began to settle in.
He had been steadily declining.
There were no major symptoms, but he was sleeping longer and longer.
It had already been the case that he was asleep more than awake, but at some point, the few hours he’d been awake were cut in half.
It wasn’t so much living anymore as it was just “existing.”
But he’d held on until Eunsoo’s college exam day.
The day before, he’d mustered the strength to help make a lunchbox for Eunsoo for his exam day.
Of course, Eunsoo did most of the cooking, but he helped with the simplest tasks, slicing ingredients and decorating, even if it was just drawing a heart with ketchup.
Now, with the exams over, Eunsoo was preparing for essay tests and enjoying the last days of school.
He’d done quite well on the college entrance exam, apparently enough to apply to nearly any school, yet he insisted on preparing for essays as well.
“My Eunsoo is so ambitious.”
And that was what made Eunsoo amazing.
He was perceptive.
No matter how much effort I put into hiding it, he must have realized something was wrong when my waking hours halved.
But he kept doing what he needed to do, grounded in his pride and determination.
“It’s okay. I like watching you sleep, so don’t worry and just keep resting.”
He’d offered such kind words with a calm smile.
Really, Eunsoo was such a deep-hearted kid.
It seemed that he was more worried than he let on.
He had almost entirely abandoned his own room, spending nearly every night in mine.
At first, I tried to send him away, but at some point, I just gave up.
I lacked the strength to express much affection, so I figured the least I could do was hold him as we slept.
“Uncle, I love you.”
“…Mm… I love you too…”
As if in response to my diminished affection, Eunsoo started kissing me more often, pressing his lips to my cheek or forehead nearly every morning and night, accompanied by sweet words of love.
This was a bit surprising.
I had expected him to grow distant as he went to school and made friends his own age.
But instead, he showed even more affection.
Maybe he felt sorry for me, seeing how I was always tired and struggled to stay awake.
‘Could he really be thinking about kissing me at this rate…?’
Either way, it was a strange situation.
I began to feel a twinge of fear.
Kissing him?
That was out of the question.
It would feel way too strange.
He is just a minor.
No matter how temporary my role as his guardian is, and even if he’s not my biological child, he’s still my kid.
Any guardian who’d kiss their own kid like that… would be failing as a guardian.
I thought it would be better to start creating some distance, reducing physical affection.
But I couldn’t think of a natural way to push Eunsoo away.
‘Well… by the time Eunsoo’s an adult, I won’t be around in this world anyway… so I guess it’s fine…’
Each time I pondered this, I always came to the same conclusion.
I was just too sleepy to think straight.
In a hazy, half-asleep state, with bleary eyes refusing to shut, a thought suddenly came to mind.
‘Come to think of it… this is around the time when Yang Heewoon died…’
It was likely late November or early December.
It’s practically here.
Maybe it’s time to stop putting things off and truly prepare to leave.
How can I wrap things up in a way that will cause the least pain for Eunsoo and the people I care about?
With a sigh, I forced my heavy body to get up and looked for my device.
“Oh, it’s dead again.”
I’d been so absorbed in sleeping at home that I often forgot to charge it.
And for some reason, it kept ending up in strange places—sometimes in a corner of the living room, sometimes hidden in the hallway or under the stairs.
With it out of sight, I kept forgetting to charge it, and with it uncharged, no alarms would go off, making it even harder to remember.
‘Am I developing memory issues…?’
That would actually be welcome.
I’ve come to terms with dying, but I just want to go peacefully without burdening anyone around me.
Aside from my device mysteriously disappearing, I didn’t seem to have other concerning symptoms, but it was worrisome.
Yang Heewoon’s body had a way of deteriorating in strange ways.
I’m just grateful I’m still breathing.
With a sigh, I connected the charger.
Watching the charging light come on, I pressed the power button and collapsed onto the bed.
- Ding. Ding. Ding!
As soon as I lay down, the sounds of message notifications pierced through my drowsiness, shaking me awake.
I reluctantly opened my eyes.
“What’s going on…? Why are there so many messages?”
The messages were all from none other than Elliot.
I had dozens of missed calls, too.
My heart nearly stopped.
I quickly checked for any gate alerts or calls from the Bureau, but there were none.
There was nothing from Cha Junseong’s side, either.
Apparently, it wasn’t work-related.
Then, just as I was thinking this, my phone started ringing.
It was Elliot, who had been trying to reach me all this time.
“H-hello…”
- Why are you only picking up now?
“Oh, well, I was asleep…”
- Asleep?
“Yes… Is it urgent?”
As soon as I spoke, I regretted it.
Of course, it must be urgent if he called me so many times.
That was a stupid question.
But I was so exhausted.
The saying that kindness requires a certain level of energy to extend felt true.
Right now, I was completely drained.
I ran a hand over my face.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that my health lately…”
- Look, I knew what I was signing up for when I offered to be Huimang’s dad. I don’t mind being taken advantage of. But… you can’t do this to the kid. Am I the only parent Huimang has? I don’t expect you to visit, but at least care about the treatment. Why aren’t you answering your phone at all?
Right.
Eunsoo wasn’t the only child I needed to care for.
Since I didn’t have to worry about medical bills and I wasn’t the only one looking after Huimang, I had been negligent.
I’d been ignoring my responsibilities.
To both Huimang and Yang Heewoon—and even to Elliot, who’s been trying his best.
“I-I’ll be there. Where are you? I’ll head to the hospital…”
I scrambled up from my bed, but my vision swam, and I lost balance, collapsing toward the floor.
“Oh, no… Ah…”
In my rush to stand, I’d overexerted myself, losing control and crashing against the floor, scraping myself painfully.
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I forced myself up.
I searched for my phone, which had flown off and landed somewhere, finally clutching it in my hand. But the call had already ended.
“Phew…”
Seeing my own face reflected in the dark screen, I felt a brief wave of self-pity… but I overcame it.
I changed quickly, washed up, and found two potions, downing them in one go.
I didn’t know if consuming them like this would even help, but I was desperate.
Just this once, I wanted to stay awake. Even a placebo effect would do.
‘Driving… probably isn’t a good idea…’
I called for a taxi.
It was a relief, at least, that I didn’t have to worry about money.
* * *
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