* * *
Yihan rubbed his eyes as if doubting whether what he was seeing was reality.
Then, he asked blankly:
“What are you guys… doing…?”
A suffocating silence filled the air.
Three pairs of stunned eyes flew toward Suhyeon and Hajin, who were sitting close together.
The sweltering heat and atmosphere that had lingered just before the door opened had long since been shattered.
Suhyeon blinked for a moment, wondering if this was real, tilted his head, and then his face turned bright red—for a completely different reason than before.
He hurriedly fumbled for the blanket and pulled it up to cover his body.
While he was at it, he covered Hajin’s body a little as well.
It wasn’t that they were naked, but they were in a state that could be described as “barely dressed.”
Facing others in this state was a bit… very… embarrassing.
It wasn’t just Yihan; his brother and even the Association President—who was practically a stranger—were there.
It wasn’t that he lacked a sense of shame; the heat rushed to his face intensely.
Out of the five people—three standing stupidly at the door and two in the room—the first to snap out of it was Yihan.
“……Su, hyeon……ah.”
He was so shocked he stammered Suhyeon’s name.
Even though he hadn’t exactly done anything wrong, Suhyeon rolled his eyes like a child caught misbehaving and peeked at Yihan’s reaction.
As the situation gradually sank in, Yihan’s face began to redden slowly until it turned a shade of crimson that looked ready to explode.
Suhyeon had felt that Yihan had changed quite a bit since their reunion, but seeing him—someone who usually maintained a calm face—look like this made Suhyeon flinch instinctively. Soon, Yihan’s arm began to tremble as he raised it.
And then.
“You…… YOU!!!!!”
Yihan’s finger, shaking violently, pointed directly at Hajin.
It seemed his reason had flown out the window, honorifics and titles be damned.
“YOU!!! TO MY BROTHER!!!!!”
From the bed, even Suhyeon could see Yihan’s arms and body shivering from a distance.
Suhyeon’s eyes shook along with them.
“You……!! You……!!!!”
Yihan clutched the back of his neck.
He looked as if he might collapse from high blood pressure at any moment.
Suhyeon glanced at Hajin right beside him.
Hajin’s face was becoming more and more distorted with annoyance.
“Wow, crazy…… my eyes…… ugh…….”
“Ooh…… This is youth!”
Almost simultaneously, Yihan and the Association President seemed to regain their senses as they muttered nonsense.
With the situation turning into a mess, Hajin’s expression was now completely scowling.
Still holding Suhyeon in his arms, Hajin leaned toward the nightstand next to the bed.
By the time he returned to an upright position, a black plastic water cup was in his hand.
“Get out.”
“MY BROTHER!!!!!”
“Ack, that guy again!”
A friend is a friend, after all; Yihan was the first to sense the danger.
Hajin’s arm, driven by his immense irritation, swung faster than the speed of light.
Almost at the same moment, Yihan grabbed Yihan’s arm—who looked ready to charge into the room—and hauled him out of the room, slamming the door shut.
Thud, roll, roll, roll…….
The plastic cup hit the closed door and rolled across the floor.
—Let go of me!!! My, my brother, Suhyeon!! Suhyeon!!
—I mean, they are lovers!!! They, f**k, they can do that! Though Shin Hajin doing it is seriously gross!
—Hahaha, it’s youth, I say!!!
Yihan’s voice, having thrown his reason outside the door, mixed with Yihan’s cursing and the Association President’s booming laughter, echoed loudly through the house.
—Hey!!! Wash up quickly and bring Suhyeon downstairs!!! Argh, that guy…….
With Yihan’s final shout, the sounds of the three men gradually grew distant.
It seemed they had gone downstairs.
Yihan’s shouting only served to further stimulate Suhyeon’s embarrassment.
With a flushed face, Suhyeon stared blankly at the closed door for a long time.
Only then did it truly sink in, and the situation felt so ridiculous that he let out a short laugh.
When he let go of the blanket he had pulled up, Hajin looked at him.
He wore his usual expressionless face, but somehow, Suhyeon could tell he was sulking.
It felt like he had become able to read all of Hajin’s expressions at some point.
Suhyeon let go of the blanket.
As his eyes met Hajin’s, the man, who had been watching him for a while, let out a smirk mixed with a sigh.
Do Yejun had long since vanished from his mind.
The morning sunlight shone warmly upon them.
After roughly cleaning up the situation, washing quickly, changing clothes, and being carried downstairs while clinging to Hajin—
“I am sorry.”
He saw Yihan and Yihan, who were still huffing but seemed relatively calm, along with the Association President.
As soon as they sat down across from them, the President stood up and bowed deeply toward Suhyeon.
Receiving a sudden apology the moment he sat down, Suhyeon—with Hajin’s arm still wrapped around his waist—blinked blankly and asked a beat late.
“……Pardon?”
“I am speaking of the fact that you were attacked despite using the medical wing within the Association. I am truly ashamed.”
The President spoke without straightening his back.
‘Attack?’
Since the aggressive word didn’t bring anything specific to mind, Suhyeon blinked again before realizing this was about the conversation regarding Do Yejun, which made him a bit flustered.
Taking Suhyeon’s silence as a sign, the President continued in a low, heavy voice.
“I thought I had assigned enough guards, but I did not expect a high-ranking Esper to intrude so openly. No, even that is an excuse. I am truly ashamed and sorry for failing to stop that Esper before he harmed you, and for failing to handle the aftermath properly. With such a thing happening before we could even discuss the contract, I cannot even lift my head.”
Suhyeon, who never imagined he would receive such a solemn apology, instinctively looked around.
Not only Hajin, but even Yihan and Yihan were looking down as if this were only natural.
It seemed Suhyeon was the only one not following the gravity of the situation.
As he looked around the three men once more, his eyes met Yihan’s, who gave him a slightly weary smile.
“Failing to protect an S-class Guide, especially a high-ranking Guide who underwent an unprecedented awakening, is entirely the Association’s responsibility. I also…… didn’t know enough, and I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, Suhyeon.”
He expected help, but even Yihan, with a somewhat sorrowful look in his eyes, ended up apologizing.
Suhyeon’s lips moved silently a few times as he realized this situation would continue until he settled it.
And he realized once again the fact he had forgotten—that he was now a high-ranking Guide.
So many overwhelming things had happened that he had forgotten it again.
Suhyeon intentionally blocked his mind from becoming complicated and let out a small sigh.
“First, please stand up.”
The Association President, who had seemed nothing but boisterous when they first met and when he was laughing at the door earlier, slowly straightened his back.
His expression was grave.
“If you wish for compensation, the Association will gladly provide it, and I promise this will never happen again.”
With the repeated apologies, the initial flustered feeling vanished, replaced by a bit of pressure.
“Nothing major happened, so it’s fine. It’s a bit overwhelming, so you can stop now.”
Sensing that the President’s apology might go on forever if he didn’t stop it here, Suhyeon uncharacteristically expressed his feelings clearly.
“……I understand. I am truly sorry, Suhyeon.”
Fortunately, it worked, and the President ended it there. Suhyeon let out a small breath of relief.
An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment, with no one speaking.
Only Hajin’s fingers were tickling Suhyeon’s waist.
Naturally, Suhyeon didn’t want to think about Do Yejun anymore, so he lowered his gaze.
After a long silence, the President cleared his throat with a “hmmm, ahem, well,” and peeked at Suhyeon.
Suhyeon, who had been uncomfortable with the unexpected apology, looked at the President, relieved that the heavy atmosphere was lifting slightly.
“I feel embarrassed saying this right after apologizing, but have you happened to think about the proposal?”
Hajin’s face and Yihan’s face scowled almost simultaneously.
“It’s only been two days,”
“Is that something to say right now—”
“No, no-no-no-no,”
The President, who was about to face the stinging glares and anger of two men, hurriedly waved his hands to clear any misunderstanding.
“I-I am absolutely not rushing you. This incident occurred, and although the cause has been removed, of course……”
The President’s eyes briefly swept past Hajin and Yihan.
“It is because it is difficult to guarantee that something like this won’t happen again.”
‘Something like Do Yejun happening again?’
Suhyeon’s brow furrowed sharply.
“I think it’s fine for now since Suhyeon hasn’t hit the media yet…… but Suhyeon caused a rampage at the Association, and a high-ranking Guide like Suhyeon is a target for other Ability Users just by existing. You two know this, don’t you?”
The atmosphere around Yihan and Hajin, who looked ready to rise up, instantly settled. It meant they agreed.
“I’ve done what I can to keep it quiet for now, but as soon as you sign a contract as an Association Guide or a dedicated Guide, the range of security personnel the Association or the state can provide becomes much wider. I hope you can decide as quickly as possible.”
It was a sentence delivered before the dust from the Do Yejun incident had even settled—a declaration that the world Suhyeon would live in from now on would be truly different from the one he had known.
* * *
