* * *
“It’s not literally poison just because it’s called strong liquor. It’s still alcohol, so if you drink too much, you’ll get drunk—though only in the way it affects Espers.”
“You’ve tried it?”
“Hmm, yeah. I was curious when they first made it. It’s not bad. Just… different from normal alcohol.”
According to her explanation, one of the ingredients affected the Esper nervous system, tricking them into feeling drunk without actually harming them.
It didn’t work on non-Espers at all.
The researchers had worked hard to develop it, but since it wasn’t actual intoxication, Espers didn’t really seek it out.
So they had handed Jin Seyoung a few bottles, asking her to put them to good use.
And now, she figured this was the perfect time.
Jin Seyoung handed the bottle to Haebom and told him, “You don’t drink it. You give it to Wonho. Once he’s a little tipsy, have a real conversation with him.”
“Wait, wait, Team Leader! I can’t even get him to look at me—how am I supposed to make him drink this?”
The issue wasn’t having a serious conversation.
It was that Wonho wouldn’t even face him in the first place.
Haebom stared at Jin Seyoung, his eyes pleading.
She, however, patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.
“Just trust me. I’ll make sure he’s home by 7 PM tonight.”
She hadn’t expected Wonho to avoid Haebom this much either, so she’d simply been watching until now.
After all, an Esper wouldn’t just ignore a highly compatible Guide.
But then again, Wonho had never been a normal Esper to begin with.
He wasn’t as extreme as Haebom, but his compatibility rate with Guide Choi Yoonseo had been high enough—yet he had still given her up to another Esper without hesitation.
That was far from ordinary behavior.
They had tried to question Wonho about why he was avoiding Haebom, but he hadn’t given any answers.
He was never the talkative type, but this was the first time his silence had felt so frustrating.
“Go home. I’ll make sure Wonho gets there somehow.”
“…Alright.”
Haebom hesitantly took the bottle from her, still not entirely convinced.
Jin Seyoung clenched her fists, as if to cheer him on.
The goal was to have an honest conversation.
But for that to happen, the person he needed to talk to had to be willing to open up first.
Getting him drunk for that wasn’t exactly an ethical method, but there weren’t many options left.
Waiting around wasn’t working—Wonho’s condition was only getting worse by the day.
It was impressive he had even lasted this long in that state.
The real problem was that Haebom had no idea why he was holding out like this.
Haebom gripped the bottle tightly and trudged out of the center, heading home.
Could he even call it home, though?
They technically lived together, but they had never eaten a meal together.
Catching a glimpse of each other even once in the morning or evening was rare.
Haebom had no clue why Wonho was avoiding him so much.
And that was exactly why he had taken this bottle.
When he got home, he figured he should at least set the mood for drinking.
He’d never really had drinks with friends before, so he wasn’t sure what kind of atmosphere to create.
But if he was going to drink, he should probably have snacks, right?
“Hmm, let’s see…”
Haebom flopped onto the first thing he had bought for this place—a couch—and started scrolling through his phone.
He’d lived alone for a long time, but he only knew how to cook for survival, not for enjoyment.
Luckily, there was an app that Jin Seyoung had recommended, and he had already relied on it quite a bit this past week.
Actually, he was still relying on it.
“Alright… what kind of snacks should I make?”
As he scrolled through the app, he looked for food that could serve as a side dish.
Since he had barely ever drunk alcohol before, he wasn’t sure what to order as a drinking snack.
But then he thought, does it really matter?
Just ordering what he liked should be fine.
So, he mainly picked things that Haebom liked.
For a moment, he wondered if it was too much for just the two of them, but he figured that if anything was left over, he could just store it in the fridge for later.
The fridge was the second thing Haebom had bought after the sofa.
Both the sofa and the fridge had been quite the financial burden, but he considered them essential.
He hadn’t dared to get a bed yet, so Haebom slept on the sofa.
Then, the next day, money was deposited into his account by Wonho.
He had no idea how Wonho had even gotten his account number.
The amount was too large to ignore, and he wanted to ask what it was for, but the person he needed to ask wasn’t home.
He considered calling, but knowing even his phone number felt too much like a stalker move.
Then again, he already felt like a stalker.
After all, he went wherever Wonho was.
At least, as long as it was inside the center.
But before he could ever get close, Wonho would always disappear, as if he had never been there in the first place.
There were so many things he needed to ask—about the money, about why Wonho kept avoiding him.
His mind was full of questions.
He placed the order quickly and unfolded the small folding table, setting the bottle of alcohol on top.
He had wanted to buy a proper coffee table to match the nice sofa, but after spending so much on the fridge and sofa, he had to settle for a cheap folding table.
Technically, he had the money Wonho had deposited, but he couldn’t bring himself to use it without asking first.
It just felt… uncertain.
Like money from an unclear source.
Since he didn’t own any proper shot glasses, he brought out a mug instead.
That, too, was something he had bought himself.
Just like the chopsticks and spoons.
“Hmm…”
There was still more than an hour left until Wonho arrived.
Other than following him around during training or waiting for him like this, there wasn’t much Haebom could do in this world.
Even looking into the Gate situation was something he had no idea how to even begin.
They were a bonded pair, living together, yet he wasn’t doing anything useful.
It made him feel like a freeloader.
He missed his small one-room apartment, the one he had worked so hard to earn.
As those gloomy thoughts crept in, his eyes naturally landed on the bottle of alcohol.
Before he realized it, he swallowed dryly.
He was incredibly curious about how it tasted.
It was an Esper-exclusive liquor, but supposedly, for a regular human, it just felt like a slightly stronger version of soju.
And since Guides were basically ordinary people aside from their guiding energy, one drink should be fine… right?
Just waiting for Wonho was getting too boring.
Lying on the sofa, staring at the bottle, Haebom suddenly sat up and planted himself on the floor.
Then, he reached out toward the unknown bottle.
And with that, he knocked on the door to an unknown world.
* * *
