* * *
At Seo Munhyuk’s cocky response, Haegum put down his spoon.
“Your face shows exactly how annoyed you are.”
“I never thought that.”
Seo Munhyuk also put down his spoon and stared at Haegum.
His brows furrowed slightly, as if he were deep in thought.
“Annoying. Are you really Seo Munhyun’s brother? You look exactly the same, but your personalities are completely different.”
“…….”
“I should stop thinking, so Seo Munhyuk can’t read my mind.”
Haegum, with a hardened expression, averted Seo Munhyuk’s gaze. He bit the inside of his mouth, feeling a dull ache.
‘He doesn’t seem to be in my head, but how…?’
Haegum narrowed his eyes and asked Seo Munhyuk.
“…Do you have mental abilities too?”
No matter how hard he tried to be polite, Seo Munhyuk could tell he was a bit rattled.
Even though his expression remained largely the same, he could see the subtle signs of his surprise.
Seo Munhyuk, making sure Haegum didn’t notice, slightly curled his lips into a smile.
Instead of answering his question, Seo Munhyuk resumed eating. Despite his crude words, his table manners were impeccable.
Feeling embarrassed by his own clumsy chopstick use, Haegum carefully picked up his side dishes.
“Did you get excited because I look like Seo Munhyun?”
In the middle of their quiet meal, Seo Munhyuk suddenly threw out a random comment.
“…What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Your guidance was leaking earlier during training.”
“That’s because….”
Haegum clamped his mouth shut like a clam when Seo Munhyuk hit the mark.
His guidance was so low that he could immediately notice the slight leak that escaped from Haegum in his unguarded moment.
“I’m better than Seo Munhyun in many ways.”
Haegum stared at Seo Munhyuk, who maintained a composed expression.
His gaze seemed to scream, “Stop talking nonsense.”
“…….”
“What’s Seo Munhyun to you, anyway?”
“…He’s like a father to me.”
“Director Lee Jonkwon said he’s like your father in that interview a few days ago.”
Seo Munhyuk recalled Director Lee Jonkwon’s interview that he had read recently.
“Oh… but it’s different.”
“Guide Yeon Haegum eats with someone who’s like his father?”
Haegum’s eyes flared as he glared at Seo Munhyuk, who casually said this while sipping his water.
Aside from the tanned skin and small scars, he looked exactly like Seo Munhyun, but his words carried no weight.
Another difference was the red warning symbol that occasionally appeared on the wristband Seo Munhyuk was wearing.
“…No, I don’t.”
“Well, Seo Munhyun is a bit eccentric.”
Seo Munhyuk raised one eyebrow.
“…….”
“If Seo Munhyun is like your father… does that make me like an uncle?”
“Well… you could say that. He practically raised me, since I have no memories.”
Saying this out loud made it sound like a trivial relationship, and Haegum felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
“It’s a bit odd to eat with someone like a father. How about eating with an uncle instead?”
The way Seo Munhyuk spoke, as if eating with an uncle made things more ethical, left Haegum speechless.
Standing up, Haegum returned his tray and left the cafeteria. Seo Munhyuk followed after him.
“I’m desperate, that’s why, babe. You get it?”
“If you’re so desperate, why do you talk like that?”
Haegum stopped and turned around to ask Seo Munhyuk, genuinely curious.
His response, as expected, was playful.
“If my words offend you, I shall from now on speak with utmost politeness.”
“Ugh, so annoying. Stop following me.”
“Oh, you’re too cute. Must be because you’re still like a little kid.”
Despite Haegum’s direct expression of annoyance, Seo Munhyuk didn’t seem fazed.
Instead, Haegum’s face grew redder with frustration.
From a distance, they could hear the footsteps of people leaving the cafeteria after finishing their meal.
“I’m not a kid.”
“You are. A kid.”
“…….”
“Little brat. Kiddo.”
One, two, three…
Just as Haegum was trying to suppress his mounting irritation, he snapped his head up.
But it wasn’t just his head.
Her middle finger was raised high.
It was Haegum’s ultimate expression of anger.
Seo Munhyun had never taught his any curse words or foul language, so he had learned it on his own, in secret.
“Guide Yeon Haegum.”
Seo Munhyuk’s face turned serious as he called out his name.
His demeanor was completely different from when he was being playful.
Haegum instinctively tensed as Seo Munhyuk slowly approached him, his footsteps steady.
“…….”
“…….”
The two locked eyes midair.
It was Haegum who first broke the gaze, as if ending the silent examination between them.
Seo Munhyuk, who had been looking down at him, briefly licked his lips.
Then, in a low voice and with an expressionless face, he said, “Rainbow bounce.”
“…”
What did I just hear? Haegum, doubting his ears, began to blush. This time, he raised not one, but two middle fingers high in the air.
It was the most extreme display of anger he had ever shown. Just then, there was commotion behind him.
“…Did Haegum just flip someone off?”
It was the voice of Ji Seowon, a mental Esper. Unfortunately, standing behind Haegum wasn’t just one of Ji Seowon’s Espers.
“Wow, unbelievable.”
“Esper Seo Munhyuk, what on earth have you been up to?”
“And not just one, but a double middle finger? I might cry.”
Espers and Guides alike, who had witnessed the rare sight of Haegum’s anger, burst into laughter. As Haegum sighed, a familiar voice spoke up from behind him.
“…Haegum.”
It was Seo Munhyun.
Haegum quickly lowered his offending hand and hurried over to Seo Munhyun, relieved to have found an ally. Drawing out his words in a long tone, he called to him.
“Hyuuuung.”
A sigh escaped Seo Munhyuk’s lips, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Haegum immediately informed Seo Munhyun of his twin’s misdeeds.
“Esper Seo Munhyuk picked a fight with me first.”
“When did I do that?”
As Seo Munhyuk tried to deny it, Haegum stood on tiptoe and began whispering something in Seo Munhyun’s ear. As he listened, Seo Munhyun’s eyes grew colder and colder.
“It seems like Esper Seo Munhyuk is at fault.”
“I think so too.”
“Yeah, it does seem that way.”
Even the Espers who were on good terms with Seo Munhyuk found the situation amusing and chimed in with their own comments, laughing. With more people taking his side, Haegum grew bolder and wore a triumphant expression.
“Esper Seo Munhyuk.”
Seo Munhyun called his older brother’s name in a stern tone. Despite their identical appearance, the atmosphere each brother projected was vastly different.
“What?”
“Don’t bully Guide Yeon Haegum.”
Upon hearing Seo Munhyun’s warning, Seo Munhyuk let out a breathy chuckle. His eyes flashed for a moment, but he quickly hid the fierceness within him and spoke playfully.
“Didn’t you see that Guide Yeon Haegum flipped me off first? And not just one finger, but two.”
At Seo Munhyuk’s rebuttal, Seo Munhyun let out a short sigh.
“…Hah.”
Though Seo Munhyuk didn’t have their father’s ability to read minds, he was at least able to clearly understand the meaning behind his brother’s expression.
‘Are you seriously spouting that nonsense right now?’
A short silence followed, then Haegum, standing awkwardly beside Seo Munhyun, finally spoke up.
“…Originally, I only gave him one, but Esper Seo Munhyuk said ‘rainbow bounce,’ so I did two.”
After finishing his sentence, Haegum bowed his head in embarrassment.
Back in his room, Haegum, still fuming, struck his pillow with a clenched fist. The pillow, which had slightly deflated from the impact of his soft punch, quickly regained its shape.
“Hoo—.”
After taking a deep breath, Haegum opened his laptop. The camera embedded in the center scanned his iris, and only then did the screen turn on. Haegum opened the Ability Integrated Information System.
“Hydra.”
* * *
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