* * *

There was no way Eunsoo, who had been so focused on searching for me, could have a lover.

Even if he had one, they would have broken up.

How could anyone search for the corpse of their first love while being in a relationship?

Once I made up my mind, my eyes kept drifting to Eunsoo’s lips.

Though his features had matured into a more masculine and rugged appearance, his lips remained just as red as they were in his childhood.

As if entranced, I stared at Eunsoo’s lips and inched closer to him.

My hand brushed against his chest.

At that moment, a jolt of electricity surged through me, and my heart thudded loudly as if it had malfunctioned.

“Stop it.”

Just as I closed my eyes, stood on my tiptoes, and was about to press our lips together, Eunsoo pushed me away.

It wasn’t a forceful shove, but because I had relaxed, assuming he’d accept me, I stumbled back several steps before regaining my composure.

“Huh? You don’t want to?”

“You don’t see me as a man, do you? What kind of ‘father’ would want to kiss his kid? I get it, so you don’t have to force yourself.”

“Fa… ther…”

Not dad, not protector, but “father.”

There was only one reason why Eunsoo would use that word.

I’d been found out.

Not by Elliot or Cha Junseong, but by Eunsoo himself.

My head felt like it was steaming.

‘Ah… Of course, he’d know.’

Eunsoo had been using my old phone as his personal device for the past five years.

Maria must have sent it with my belongings, and through it, Eunsoo likely learned about my past activities while grieving my loss.

Even if that wasn’t the case, he could’ve pieced things together from the access records.

Understanding the situation didn’t make the embarrassment any less excruciating.

When someone dies, shouldn’t their shameful history be erased automatically?

Why hadn’t the universe preserved my dignity?

‘I want to cry…’

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve lived more quietly.

I should’ve only done things that wouldn’t embarrass me, even if I were anonymous.

‘But those trolls provoked me first!’

Even if I went back, I’d probably act the same way.

Maybe that meant I had no real regrets. I wasn’t wrong, was I?

Still, my passionate outbursts felt humiliating in hindsight.

They had crossed lines and insulted Eunsoo unreasonably, so my anger was justified.

I had no shame about defending him so fervently!

But it remained a part of my history, and now I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear…

‘I wish I’d been a more eloquent keyboard warrior. That would’ve been nice…’

Other reincarnators seem to be great at subtle jabs—why wasn’t I?

If I lacked physical combat skills, I should’ve at least been gifted with a sharp tongue. How tragic.

“Still, if you really want to… you can kiss me,” Eunsoo said suddenly.

“W-What? No! It’s just… I remembered you wanted to before, so I thought… If you don’t feel like it, it’s fine!”

“…I see. Of course.”

Eunsoo’s hand reached for my cheek but hesitated, pulling back.

I let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that Eunsoo had uncovered my “father” phase was so mortifying that I couldn’t even look at him, let alone kiss him.

I desperately needed time to myself.

Perhaps sensing my feelings, Eunsoo turned away.

“I’ll cook you something quickly. Just rest for a moment.”

---

Eunsoo’s cooking was astonishingly delicious, even better than I remembered.

The taste had evolved over five years, becoming richer and more complex, and it filled me with pride.

My Eunsoo had grown.

I emptied my bowl in no time and eagerly went to refill it.

Seeing Eunsoo grinning ear to ear as I ate made me want to eat even more.

“Ah… I can’t eat another bite…”

Only when my stomach was round and full did I finally set my spoon down.

It had been so long since I’d eaten this well and felt this satisfied.

Maybe I wasn’t cut out for living abroad after all.

With a cup of tea Eunsoo prepared, my body felt warm and content.

“I’d like to let you rest, but as soon as you digest, we need to head out.”

“Huh?”

“Shopping. We need to strike while the iron’s hot and throw a party tomorrow.”

“Oh… I wasn’t planning to host it at home, though.”

“We should. It’s your return party—it has to be here.”

The Eunsoo I remembered at 19 hated having Espers in his home.

I had planned to host the party elsewhere for that reason.

But now Eunsoo was suggesting hosting it here.

If he was okay with it, so was I. It meant we could buy lots of tasty food.

And now, I could even drink with Eunsoo.

“Also, we need to replace your clothes, shoes, and bedding—all of it.”

“Why? Everything seemed fine… well, I guess it’s pretty old.”

Eunsoo’s glare was intense, as if asking, ‘Are you serious?’

My instincts told me that refusing him would lead to trouble.

Well, I wasn’t terminally ill anymore, so getting new things was reasonable.

“I’ll just take a quick shower!”

I fled to the bathroom.

Reaching for my toothbrush, I froze.

The house was so familiar that I’d forgotten most of my personal items had been taken or disposed of when I left.

“I’ll need to grab a new one… huh?”

There were two toothbrushes in the holder. They weren’t new, but used.

My heart sank.

‘Did he have a live-in lover?’

Had I misread the situation when I tried to kiss him?

But the house was unchanged, frozen in time.

Could Eunsoo, while consumed with searching for me, really have developed such a close relationship?

“Why are you just standing there?”

Eunsoo appeared behind me, following my gaze to the toothbrushes.

“Oh, that’s Junseong’s. You should use a new one. I’ll grab it for you.”

“Junseong’s?”

His casual tone caught me off guard.

I hadn’t heard him refer to Junseong so familiarly before.

“Has Junseong been coming here often?”

“Well, yeah. You gave him the house password, remember?”

“Right, I didn’t change it either.”

“I didn’t want you coming back one day and being locked out.”

“I see… he must’ve visited a lot if he left a toothbrush here.”

That implied he had stayed over, multiple times.

The old Eunsoo would’ve found this unthinkable.

He’d scolded me endlessly for sharing the house code with Espers on his birthday.

“I was traveling a lot, searching for you. He’d come by to take care of the place and taught me some cooking while he was at it.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

No wonder Eunsoo’s cooking had changed. It was thanks to Junseong.

I glanced at Eunsoo’s reflection in the mirror.

“Are you… close with him?”

My chest tightened, an unpleasant unease settling in.

How odd—seeing them together used to make me smile, but now…

Eunsoo handed me a new toothbrush with a small chuckle.

“Don’t overthink it. We were just like puppies waiting for their owner to come home.”

“Puppies? What puppies?”

“That thing, you know. When a dog is left alone without its owner, people think bringing in another dog will solve the loneliness, but instead, they just end up lonely together. It’s exactly like that.”

His lips trembled.

What a cute metaphor.

You could almost picture two massive dogs sitting quietly, staring at the door, feeling lonely together.

…The thought that they might be waiting for me is, well, oddly disconcerting.

“So, if you like that hyung, you don’t need to be concerned about me. If you say you like him, Junseong-hyung would probably start planning the wedding tomorrow.”

“…What?”

“He’s a bit timid, but once you get to know him, he’s solid. Considering the state of his family, they might not like the idea of a male partner moving in as the head of the household, and they’d probably pressure you to have kids… but in this day and age, there are plenty of ways to have children.”

Eunsoo grabbed his toothbrush, squeezed some toothpaste on it, and then did the same for mine.

Such a casual and mundane scene.

His expression betrayed no special emotion.

It was astonishingly transparent.

“Not that I’m only rooting for Junseong-hyung, though. Elliott took good care of Heesu when you weren’t around, and Rex… well, he might seem reckless, but when it matters, he knows how to handle things. He’s sharp, too.”

But unlike Eunsoo, I was lost in a state of confusion, to the point that his voice became background noise, just a hum in my ears.

What am I listening to right now?

Am I really awake, experiencing reality?

I stared blankly at Eunsoo with my mouth open.

Before I could react, he casually began brushing his teeth and then popped my toothbrush into my open mouth.

Startled, I bit down on the toothbrush and sluggishly began brushing my teeth.

“Having an S-Class Esper like me might feel overwhelming for you, but once we imprint, it’ll probably be fine. And if anything happens, I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt. I already brought you back from the brink of death once, so if I help, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

* * *