* * *
With a slight furrow of his brows, Haeram hesitated, lips fumbling, before finally voicing the question that had been nagging at him.
“Teacher, are you… seeing anyone lately?”
“…What?”
Seo Jungwoo blinked, clearly taken aback. Haeram, pleased that he’d caught him off guard, pressed on.
“Are you dating someone?”
The truth was, Haeram had seen something earlier when the lights had come on.
Sometimes, in the span of a moment, certain things flash so vividly into view.
That had been one of those moments.
A small photo frame on the desk, smaller than a palm. In the picture, Seo Jungwoo had his arm around someone’s shoulder.
Their bodies were close, and his slightly tense expression felt unfamiliar—an expression he’d never once shown Haeram, which might be why it struck so clearly.
Every time he came here, he only ever saw Jungwoo on the sofa or at the desk—so it was the first time he’d seen the photo.
The person in the picture, the one with the shoulder in Jungwoo’s arm, had a face that was oddly blurred—but seemed to be a slender, handsome man.
“…Teacher?”
When no answer came, Haeram tilted his head in confusion.
Just then, a flash of light—blue or violet—glinted briefly in Jungwoo’s dark eyes.
It lasted only a second, but it was so intense that Haeram flinched.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“I—I didn’t mean to pry. I was just looking to see if you were inside the room, and the photo happened to catch my eye…”
“Ah, so you saw the picture.”
“I’m sorry.”
If someone asked, ‘Does seeing it mean you get to ask about it?’—he’d have no defense.
Haeram murmured, voice small.
“It’s nothing to apologize for. I left it out in the open, didn’t I? Of course you might ask.”
“…”
“We’re close enough to ask stuff like that, aren’t we? It’s okay, Haeram. Stop walking on eggshells.”
But the slight tremble in their clasped hands said otherwise—it didn’t feel okay.
Haeram was startled when Jungwoo dropped his gaze and avoided eye contact.
Life in a hospital, repeating the same dull routine, wasn’t exactly fun.
The same old TV shows were boring. Even the Gate news outside—where people died by the truckload—felt like someone else’s business now.
Haeram had little chance of manifesting as a Guide anyway.
Maybe that’s why gossiping about someone’s love life was so interesting—like some nosy old man.
Okay, maybe not old man—but it felt a bit like being a high schooler begging his teacher for a first-love story.
“I’m not seeing anyone. It’s just…”
Haeram, feeling guilty, tried to steer the conversation away, but Jungwoo unexpectedly spoke first.
Still, for someone who started talking, his words trailed off uncertainly.
“Ah…”
Haeram let out a soft sound without meaning to, from the tight grip on his hand.
Jungwoo quickly, apologetically, stroked his hand—but it didn’t erase the strange feeling that had settled.
“Is that person… a Guide?”
“How about we start training now? Looks like we’ve gone over time.”
He changed the subject so quickly and firmly, Haeram didn’t get a chance to ask again.
With a composed smile, Jungwoo looked back at him.
That flicker in his eyes, that unrest he couldn’t hide—it had been brief, but so powerful that it left Haeram stung by the way Jungwoo shut him out. Ridiculously enough, it made him feel rejected.
His throat tightened, his chest ached. He regretted asking, and hated himself for such a stupid question.
He had a life outside the hospital.
The rest of the therapy session felt different. Haeram couldn’t focus.
He spaced out, answered Jungwoo’s questions with nonsense.
Still, Jungwoo didn’t push or scold him like Sim Jihye usually did.
He just let out a soft sigh, and quietly observed him.
Three hours passed in no time.
All Haeram had to do was get up and go back to his room, but he dawdled.
Jungwoo took off his coat, hung it up, raised the blinds, and opened the window.
The breeze that came through brushed past him and reached Haeram.
“…Must be nice.”
His voice was so quiet, a regular person probably wouldn’t have heard it.
But the man in front of him had his back turned—and was an Esper.
“What is?”
Jungwoo turned around, asking gently.
Haeram wasn’t the type to dodge questions.
There might not be another chance to say this later.
“Living normally. Just… manifesting, doing what you’re meant to do. Whether you’re an Esper or a Guide. Living out there in the world like that—it must be nice.”
“…It’s not that great.”
The backlight cast a shadow over his face, making his expression unreadable.
Haeram frowned slightly, unsure what his answer really meant.
Jungwoo took long strides toward him.
Now that he was up close, Haeram could see his expression clearly—yet still couldn’t tell if it was a smile or a grimace.
His dark eyes shimmered strangely, shaking Haeram’s focus.
He raised a large hand, gently brushing Haeram’s bangs from his forehead.
“To be honest… it’s not all that great. Becoming a Guide.”
“…”
“…”
A moment of silence passed. Haeram narrowed his brows and stared at him, and before he knew it, the words escaped his lips.
“What kind of… bullshit is that?”
Because if I want to survive, I have to manifest. I have to become a Guide.
Even in front of someone incredibly handsome—no, especially in front of someone that good-looking—there were things you could tolerate for the sake of keeping up appearances for a year… and things you just couldn’t let slide.
“You really don’t hold back, do you? Even in front of a terminal patient. Then why don’t you switch places with me?”
At Haeram’s sharp tone, Seo Jungwoo’s eyes widened for a moment, then he chuckled softly.
“Sorry. That was out of line.”
Ugh… Haeram’s cheeks puffed up, tinged a light pink.
“Don’t laugh. I’m really not in the mood.”
“I get it. It’s only natural you’d feel that way. I wasn’t being considerate enough.”
“……”
“I really am sorry.”
His face made it hard to even stay angry.
Like a balloon losing air in an instant, Haeram’s frustration deflated.
When Jungwoo reached out to touch him again, Haeram swatted the hand away with a sharp slap and gave a polite bow.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Even if he was upset, skipping a day of treatment wasn’t an option.
Whether it was because of the hope that this would somehow lead to breaking free from his terminal diagnosis, or because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing Seo Jungwoo, whom he’d seen every day for the past year… Haeram himself wasn’t sure.
- When Haeram first saw Seo Jungwoo—the Esper, the healer—he genuinely thought there was a halo shining behind him.
Later he realized it was just the round ceiling light in the ICU where he’d been lying, but even after he’d come to his senses, looking at Jungwoo’s face made him think… maybe it had been a real halo after all.
When his condition, which had suddenly deteriorated, miraculously improved enough to come off life support and breathe on his own, the medical staff introduced Jungwoo as his new “therapist.”
And honestly, just looking at his face made Haeram feel like he was being healed—so in that sense, it was effective.
* * *
