* * *
“Joo Youngha… do you really not remember anything? Nothing at all?”
Back at the table, Seo Jaewon held his head in his hands again.
He had said he would try again, but now that it came down to it, he was struggling because he couldn’t think of a way.
What kind of confidence made him say he’d retry?
His ideas had already run dry by the time they reached the strawberry dessert.
“I don’t.”
Joo Youngha gave the same half-hearted answer as before.
“No, I mean, how can a person not want a single thing?”
“Does there have to be something else?”
Looking at Joo Youngha’s blank face made a fire rise up inside Jaewon.
On top of that, his heart ached when he thought about his holiday wasting away for nothing.
Joo Youngha rolled his eyes as if thinking hard, then said primly:
“If I had to pick, this isn’t so bad either.”
“Ha….”
‘Patience, I can’t just hit him…’
Instead, Seo Jaewon drained the wine glass he was holding in one go.
The sweet liquid flowed down his throat along with a heavy aroma.
He had ordered something light and sweet for Joo Youngha to drink, but Joo Youngha hadn’t even touched it.
Instead, Seo Jaewon was drinking it all because he was annoyed.
Joo Youngha, who was watching him with his chin resting on his hand, suddenly asked:
“Jaewon, are you going to keep drinking that? Your face is red.”
It was pathetic how he acted like he was worried.
Since when did he care?
He didn’t give a damn if Jaewon rolled around, fell over, or was left alone, but now he’s acting like this just because of a little alcohol.
“My limit is twelve bottles of soju, you jellyfish bastard….”
In terms of wine… how much was that?
He didn’t know.
Anyway, he had drunk about three glasses.
Joo Youngha blinked his long eyelashes.
“Am I a jellyfish?”
“What else are you if not a jellyfish?”
“A person?”
“What kind of person acts like that?”
The more Jaewon spoke, the angrier he got, and he slammed the table.
With his weak fist, only the empty pasta plate rattled slightly.
“You’re a person, so why is there nothing you like? Is that really how a person lives?”
No favorites, nothing he wants to do….
Just drifting along without any motivation like a jellyfish pushed by the waves until he just dies.
I’m working so hard to keep you alive.
Joo Youngha laughed softly.
Amidst the noise of the restaurant, only that voice reached his ears softly like velvet.
“Jaewon is very drunk. You’re cute.”
“I told you I’m not drunk!”
“Keep talking. This is fun.”
For some reason, the guy was observing Seo Jaewon with sparkling eyes.
“Is it fun? Is this fun for you?”
“Yeah. It’s fun. I’ve never seen Jaewon act like this.”
Now he says it’s fun.
Even though he was indifferent all day! I wasted so much effort because you said it wasn’t fun….
In reality, it was definitely not going to be fun.
“You bad bastard….”
“Ah, now I’m a bad person?”
“Of course it’s you, you… you….”
Seo Jaewon glared at Joo Youngha with a feeling of resentment.
He wanted to swear, but nothing appropriate came to mind.
“You’re so young!”
Joo Youngha tilted his head.
The candlelight cast soft shadows and a strange sense of detachment on his handsome face.
Suddenly, he looked like a very old portrait.
A being from another world, another time.
Someone who wouldn’t be reached no matter what you said from this side….
The strange distance narrowed sharply with a single flutter of his eyelashes.
“Jaewon, we’re the same age.”
“Does a twenty-three-year-old seem like an adult? The blood on your head isn’t even dry yet.”
Adding up his previous life, Seo Jaewon’s age was thirty-eight.
That wasn’t very old either, but twenty-three was too young.
Looking at his peers after returning to the past made it feel more real.
It was an age where people usually focused on hobbies or dating, but Joo Youngha acted like an empty shell.
As if everything was boring and he could find nothing of value in life….
Still, Seo Jaewon thought that Joo Youngha was a human who could at least feel something like friendship.
Right?
If not, why did he stay with me for years?
But Joo Youngha threw even that away in the worst possible way.
Well, if he’s a guy who throws away his own life, friendship is nothing.
Seo Jaewon let out a low sigh.
He didn’t want to dwell on gloomy thoughts.
Having it confirmed again through this quest that he was nothing to Joo Youngha made his mood turn damp.
Joo Youngha was just scanning Seo Jaewon slowly, as if he were looking at something unfamiliar.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but we close at 11:00….”
“Wh-at?”
Closing?
What did that mean?
For some reason, he couldn’t understand the words well.
Come to think of it, the face of the employee looking at him also seemed blurry and dim.
He was about to ask what was going on when a soft voice intervened.
“Jaewon, shall we go home now?”
“Whaaat.”
Joo Youngha approached, gently grabbed Seo Jaewon’s arm, and stood him up.
Seo Jaewon was tall and had quite a bit of muscle, but the guy didn’t seem to be struggling at all.
“Let go.”
“Mm-hmm, in a little bit.”
“I said let go….”
He tried to resist slowly, but he couldn’t budge.
Why was his body like this?
It felt like the ground beneath his feet was sinking.
‘This bastard Joo Youngha, is he stealing my guiding again?’
When he sent a suspicious look, Joo Youngha looked at him and smiled.
“I’m not.”
“…Can you read minds too?”
“Jaewon, you said out loud, ‘Are you stealing my guiding?’”
“Ah?”
His body didn’t listen to him at all.
His mind, his mouth….
He felt like something was about to come up?
Just in case, Seo Jaewon covered his mouth.
“You can say more though?”
Joo Youngha said with a smile.
‘Not a chance, you punk….’
After that, his memory flickered a few times.
Before he knew it, they were standing on the side of the road, and a large hand lightly covered Seo Jaewon’s head.
“Yes, to the Yongsan Dungeon Management Bureau dormitory, please.”
“Taxi? Taxiii? It’s a 15-minute walk….”
“You can’t walk right now, Jaewon.”
Seo Jaewon tried to protest, but since his body had no strength, he had no choice but to be pushed into the car.
Joo Youngha, who followed him in, sat him up straight and opened the window.
“Sleep if you’re tired.”
“I’m not sleeping.”
‘Why would I sleep? Who knows what you’ll do again….’
However, when he closed and opened his eyes, the car was already running over a bridge.
Seo Jaewon hung there in a confused mood for a while, looking out the window.
Something was strange.
His body felt heavy, and his head felt like it was floating in hot air….
It was unpleasant.
Then he suddenly realized that his field of vision was empty.
Joo Youngha was gone.
As soon as he realized that, Seo Jaewon jumped up from his seat.
His head hit the ceiling of the car with a loud thud.
“Where did Joo Youngha go?!”
“I’m here.”
The voice came from right nearby.
When he turned his head, Joo Youngha was looking up at him from the seat next to him.
His lips were curled up enough to show his dimples, looking like he was having a lot of fun.
“Jaewon, do you know that’s the third time?”
Joo Youngha grabbed Seo Jaewon’s wrist and pulled him down.
Seo Jaewon sat down powerlessly with a thud.
“I don’t know, you punk…. You keep disappearing.”
“Me?”
“Don’t really do that this time…. Stay right by my side.”
“Where did I go?”
“Ha…. This bastard Joo Youngha is really driving me crazy.”
Joo Youngha laughed out loud as if something was so funny.
Then, with a smile, he said as if sighing:
“This is bad, it really is nice….”
Joo Youngha’s hand pulled Seo Jaewon and made him lean on his shoulder.
‘Say things so people can understand, you jellyfish….’
Seo Jaewon thought that in his flickering consciousness.
Then he fell fast asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the dormitory.
The plain white ceiling was familiar.
However, the feel of the blanket touching his body was strangely unfamiliar.
It was cool, smooth, and soft, and it felt very good as it wrapped around his body.
‘I don’t think this is my bed.’
Come to think of it, the direction of the sunlight coming through the window and the sense of space were different.
Did I sleep in Joo Youngha’s room?
“Ugh…. My head hurts.”
Furthermore, his limbs were heavy and his stomach felt sour.
Why on earth was he like this?
Seo Jaewon thought back to yesterday’s events while thinking for a moment.
He drank alcohol, and it seemed like he got back to the dormitory somehow… is this by any chance a hangover?
“Aaaaaah….”
A hangover?
For an Esper?
Ah, I’m not an Esper anymore…. Espers don’t even get drunk easily.
Seo Jaewon curled his body while holding his throbbing head.
Even in the midst of that, the blanket was perfectly cool and rustled softly, and his back was warm….
…Warm?
“Are you awake?”
He felt Joo Youngha’s breath on the back of his neck.
And something soft and warm rubbed against him.
‘What is this…?’
When he lowered his gaze while frozen, a hand with smooth knuckles was wrapped around his waist.
“What the, Joo Youngha.”
‘Why are you sticking to me here?’
Seo Jaewon turned his body around in a daze and looked back.
The first thing he saw was the crown of a head covered with smooth, soft hair.
That head looked up and stared at Seo Jaewon.
Even though it was a messy face from sleep, it was unbelievably soft and sparkling with a rosy glow.
His hair, which reflected the morning sun and looked glossy, and his exceptionally long and slender limbs were all beautiful without a single flaw.
He’s a guy who makes everything around him turn into a background.
It felt like this world was a stage for Joo Youngha.
‘Even celebrities wouldn’t be like this.’
The world is unfair…. Seo Jaewon let out a sigh and grabbed Joo Youngha’s wrist.
“Let go, it’s creepy.”
Of course, he didn’t let go easily.
“Ah, come on.”
Seo Jaewon gave up quickly even as he got annoyed.
He didn’t even want to think anymore because his head hurt.
This headache, maybe… it seemed like it was indeed a hangover.
What do you do for a hangover?
He didn’t know because he had never experienced it in his life.
Maybe it would get better if he went out and ran for a bit.
Usually, things get better when you exercise, right?
And wasn’t there some kind of medicine that normal people took at times like this….
“Get up, Joo Youngha. I’m leaving now.”
Aside from the hangover, he had a lot of work to do.
He had to write the attack report and submit the training ground usage plan.
He also had to check the state of Hwi Sara’s wrist….
She would be fine by now, though.
However, instead of moving out of the way, Joo Youngha shamelessly moved one leg and wrapped it around Seo Jaewon’s lower body.
“I don’t want to….”
“Hey, you…. Huh?”
‘Press.’
…It was then that he felt an unignorable presence from the lower body pressed against him.
* * *
