* * *
“Hmm, I think we can consider you in a stable state now.”
The thick IV needle, which had been stuck in him ever since he came out of the gate, was finally pulled out.
His hand felt quite awkward with nothing attached to it, so Suhyeon absentmindedly rubbed his pale skin.
Yihan looked through the medical chart and nodded. It was a sign that he could leave.
Suhyeon was picked up and carried away by Hajin just like that—
“Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve been to the Association.”
They arrived at the Association building.
He had seen the building a few times on the news, but this was his first time seeing it in person.
It was so high that seeing it from a distance was just a part of daily life.
Suhyeon looked up at the incredibly tall building.
The structure pierced through the sky, and he couldn’t even see the top from below.
“Suhyeon-ah!!!”
As soon as he stepped into the entrance lobby, Suhyeon saw Yihan running down the stairs in a huge hurry.
Yihan rushed to Suhyeon in an instant, not even noticing the people around him who were glancing their way.
“Wait, Director!”
Behind him, several people were panting as they followed from a distance.
Suhyeon had thought it might be rude not to contact them while coming to the Association, so he had reached out, but he was starting to regret it a little.
It was very clear that Yihan was acting strange.
“Suhyeon, are you—”
“Why don’t you just carry a banner around while you’re at it?”
Before he could say anything, Hajin, who had watched Yihan run toward them from Suhyeon’s side, crumpled his face and spoke sarcastically.
It was only natural that Yihan’s eyes began to twitch.
“You seem quite ill-mannered, Esper Shin Hajin, preventing someone from even welcoming their own brother. I guess your bad reputation exists for a reason.”
“That’s news to me. Would you like to explain why I’m like that?”
I didn’t expect them to fight again.
Watching Yihan and Hajin growling at each other once more, Suhyeon quietly moved away from them.
The gazes that were just glancing at them earlier had now turned into blatant staring.
Feeling the eyes on them, Hajin clicked his tongue.
Suhyeon tried to back away as if he wasn’t part of the group, but Hajin reached out and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him back into the middle.
Their eyes met, and a crease formed between Suhyeon’s white, soft brows.
“Stop fighting.”
Hajin stared down at Suhyeon for a moment before nodding obediently.
Only after Hajin calmed down did Suhyeon relax his body and stand by his side.
It was then that he realized the surroundings had become quiet.
The lobby, which had been filled with the low hum of voices even if it wasn’t loud, was now silent.
Suhyeon tilted his head.
The looks on the faces of the people watching them in the lobby were filled with shock.
What is it?
“……Suhyeon-ah?”
Suhyeon, who had been standing there blankly while held by Hajin, turned his head.
Yihan’s gaze was directed at him just as before, but to be precise, it was slanted slightly downward.
More specifically, toward Hajin’s arm wrapped around Suhyeon’s waist.
“Why is Esper Shin Hajin holding you…?”
Ah.
“I decided to date Hajin.”
Yihan stood to the side with a pitiful expression, shaking his head.
Yihan’s face twisted strangely.
Suhyeon realized it was time to clear up the misunderstanding he had been holding onto.
“I broke up with Do Yejun. Why—”
“Ah, you were here, Suhyeon.”
Just as he was about to ask why Yihan hadn’t mentioned that he and Do Yejun broke up, the man who had previously handed Suhyeon a business card approached, cutting him off.
“We didn’t receive notice in advance, so you will have to wait a bit for the Guide registration and ID issuance procedures. I will contact you once it’s ready, so please wait with Esper Shin Hajin.”
The man, who spoke only of business in a stiff manner, looked tired today as well, with dark circles under his eyes.
“……Ah, yes.”
“I will guide you then. Director, it is time for you to attend the meeting. You must come with me.”
The tired-looking man dragged the stunned Yihan away with a practiced hand.
Yihan was dragged off while stammering, “Uh, uh, Suhyeon, uh-uh-uh?” It was a series of déjà vu.
“Suhyeon.”
It was Hajin who called out to Suhyeon, who was blankly staring in the direction where Yihan had disappeared.
When he turned his head, Hajin’s blue eyes curved.
“Let’s go up.”
Where?
Ah, right. They said Hajin was a really famous Esper.
Suhyeon realized this once again as he watched Hajin naturally pass through areas where only Association employees went and lead him into an elevator.
Following close behind Hajin, they arrived at a spacious office located on a high floor.
It seemed to be his private office, featuring a desk piled with documents, a few large sofas, and a table.
The large window at the back was made of glass, letting in plenty of sunlight.
It created an illusion that light was pouring down on Hajin as he stood for a moment, flipping through a few documents.
Sitting on the sofa as Hajin signaled, Suhyeon watched the scene blankly before suddenly speaking.
“Hajin.”
Hajin looked up and stared at him.
As if the documents he had been reading until just now weren’t important, he immediately walked toward the sofa where Suhyeon was sitting.
“You’re a high-rank Esper, right?”
One of Hajin’s eyebrows went up at Suhyeon’s question.
Acting as if it was obvious, he took his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a card.
S-rank Esper, Shin Hajin.
It was a special identity card like the one he had seen once before.
Suhyeon himself would likely receive one of these soon.
Suhyeon stared at it. In his daily life with Hajin, he didn’t particularly feel the fact that Hajin was an Esper.
If he had to describe what an Esper felt like, well—.
—He’s my exclusive Guide.
Suhyeon traced the part where the letter ‘S’ was written.
This thought occurred to him as he suddenly, abruptly became aware that Hajin was an Esper.
Do Yejun and Lee Jaeram stuck to the corners of Suhyeon’s mind like gum that had been chewed and spat out, refusing to fall away.
“Don’t you receive guiding?”
Suhyeon eventually asked.
“Pfft—”
Before Hajin could even open his mouth, a coughing sound erupted from the side.
Yihan, who had been sitting on the sofa with Suhyeon, had been drinking water and choked on it severely.
Suhyeon stared blankly at Yihan.
What kind of reaction is this?
“Geh, cough, cough, Suhyeon-ah.”
Yihan coughed and caught his breath.
Haah, having finally stopped coughing, he took a deep breath.
“That guy only receives radiation guiding. He can’t receive contact guiding.”
Suhyeon’s eyes widened. Yihan seemed to guess why he had asked that.
“Ah, pfft, to think someone would ask Shin Hajin if he receives guiding, cough!”
……It didn’t seem like he was just snickering.
“Agh!!!!”
Was it an illusion that he heard a sound like a head splitting open?
Yihan ended up getting hit on the head by Hajin and tumbled onto the floor.
Suhyeon looked up at the shadow falling over him.
Hajin stood right in front of Suhyeon and looked down at him.
His blue eyes wavered.
“I am normally unable to touch people, Suhyeon.”
Suhyeon blinked. Huh?
Hajin held up one hand.
As always when he went outside, his hand was covered by a black glove.
“That bastard has a germ phobia, AGH!!!”
Thud!
Yihan, who tried to cut in and add another word, was once again struck down by Hajin’s kick.
However,
“It’s only you.”
Suhyeon, who reflexively looked back at the many memories of being carried around in his arms, froze.
Hajin kept his blue eyes fixed on Suhyeon and used his teeth to pull off the glove he was wearing.
Drop, thud.
The gloves that had been on both hands fell to the floor.
“When you first fell into my arms,”
Hajin stroked Suhyeon’s cheek. Suhyeon looked at Hajin as if possessed.
“I thought either I had gone crazy, or Suhyeon was a mental-type ability user.”
Suhyeon looked at him. Hajin’s hand skillfully and familiarly slid between his fingers.
“The only one I can touch and hold like this, and the only one who can touch and hold me like this, is you.”
Suhyeon, who had been letting Hajin hold his hand, felt his heart drop at some point.
Suddenly, heat began to rise in his cheeks.
A flush bloomed on his white skin.
If he said it like that, it made meeting Hajin seem like… destiny.
He wasn’t a fatalist, but the nuance of that word was quite… enough to make even Suhyeon feel embarrassed.
Suhyeon eventually turned his gaze away from Hajin, who was looking at him.
The gaze touching his cheek felt hot.
The anxiety that had briefly surfaced melted away without a trace.
He felt Hajin kneel on one knee in front of the sofa to roughly match his eye level.
Suhyeon willingly let his face get closer and closer.
Ring-ring-ring—.
“……Ah.”
However, the budding atmosphere was broken by the ringing of the bell from Hajin’s phone.
“What are you guys doing……?”
And also by Yihan’s horrified voice, looking over here as if he had seen the most disgusting thing in the world.
A crease finally formed between Hajin’s brows, and,
“AAGH!!!!”
A clearer sound than usual echoed through the room.
* * *
