“Would they still open the door if I stepped out for a bit?”
Lee Haru scratched the bridge of his nose as he stared into the now-bare refrigerator. He was not someone who could live with unpaid debts—it gnawed at his conscience.
He had even confidently told Yu Je-hyun he would restock everything he ate.
More than anything, no one in this house seemed even remotely interested in replacing the lightbulb in his room. So he figured he would just have to do it himself. Kang Min had nodded like he understood, but maybe that had not meant agreement—maybe it was just his way of saying, “Do not bother me.”
His room was practically empty, as bare as a storage closet—no blankets, no bedding. Like it or not, this was going to be his home for the next six months, and if he was going to stay here, he needed to make it livable.
With a trace of unease lingering in his chest, Haru left the mansion.
He hailed a cab and headed for a nearby shopping mall. One thing led to another, and before he knew it, he had an armful of bags.
A full bedding set, extra lightbulbs, a spare desk lamp just in case, a flashlight, and a wide assortment of ready-to-cook meals and groceries.
“Huff… huff… I am dying here…”
He looked like someone heading off on a camping trip. People walking past cast curious glances at both him and his mountain of bags.
His pale face, perched on top of the wrapped blanket like a defeated soldier, looked so exhausted it was almost comical—like he had just come back from survival training.
With hands trembling uncontrollably, Lee Haru called a taxi. Before long, a car marked Reserved pulled up in front of him.
The driver, who had been waiting in his seat, got out when he saw Haru and the sheer volume of luggage.
“Whoa. That is a lot of stuff.”
“Hahaha, sorry. If you could just pop the trunk, I will move it all myself.”
Haru wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and gave the driver a polite bow.
He was starting to regret his ambition. Trying to take care of everything in one outing had been a bit much.
The real problem was his new body—it was far too weak compared to the one he used to have, which had been toughened by hard physical labor.
Just carrying everything out of the mall had drained him. Despite his big talk, Haru trembled like a soaked puppy every time he lifted a bag.
“What kind of guy is this scrawny? How are you supposed to get anything done?”
The driver’s tone was gruff, but he still helped Haru load the bags into the trunk himself.
“Thank you, sir.”
Haru looked up at him with sincere gratitude in his eyes.
It might have been a trivial act of kindness to some. But after the cold treatment he had received from Espers lately, the driver’s help felt like a rare warmth—a flicker of compassion that shone like a halo from behind the man’s back.
“You just reminded me of my youngest, that is all.”
Slightly overwhelmed by Haru’s overly moved expression, the driver quickly loaded the last of the bags and headed back to the driver’s seat.
“Please take this.”
“What’s all this for? Well, thanks.”
Haru took a bottle of fresh fruit juice from a separate bag and handed it to the man.
The driver accepted it without hesitation.
“Take care! Thank you again for everything today!”
“Next time, buy a reasonable amount.”
During the ride back to the mansion, Haru learned that the driver had two sons and one daughter, had worked at a solid company until retirement, and now drove a cab to keep busy.
It had been a long time since Haru had a pleasant, down-to-earth conversation like that. His genuine interest and cheerful attitude had made the driver smile—and Haru felt a little better too.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
Back at the mansion, Haru began unloading the bags one by one. Thankfully, he had managed to scarf down some bread in the cab after asking for the driver’s permission.
His limbs were still wobbly, but he felt considerably stronger than he had before.
“Ugh, it is already getting dark. That is not good.”
He had a long to-do list once he got inside, so Haru pressed the doorbell in a hurry.
“Is no one home?”
He waited after ringing once, but when the door showed no sign of opening, he started jabbing the button repeatedly.
“Took them ten tries to open the door last time too. How are they all Espers and still this slow?”
He was in a rush—he had to change the lightbulb before the sun went down. His fingertip burned from how hard he was pressing the bell.
―…Do you have no patience?
“Esper Yu Je-hyun! You are home!”
Overjoyed, Haru leaned in toward the red-glowing intercom.
―Ah, fuck. You scared the hell out of me!
“Ack!”
The sudden outburst of profanity startled Haru right back. Apparently, this body was just as sensitive to shocks as it was weak to physical labor.
Rubbing at his pounding chest, Haru whispered under his breath.
“Please open the door. Pretty please.”
Pressing his palms together, he looked up at the glowing red light with wide, pleading eyes. A faint sigh came through the speaker—then the door finally unlocked.
“Ah, my hands are numb.”
Relieved, Haru started hauling his bags inside one at a time, opening and closing his fists as he went.
A towering shadow approached silently from the side.
“You moving in?”
“Huk—!”
“What the hell was that sound?”
Yu Je-hyun stood right next to him, shirtless and with damp hair still clinging to his forehead. Lee Haru, already worn out from the constant shocks to his system, had to take a deep breath to steady his thumping heart.
“You scared the life out of me. Could you at least give some warning when you walk up? My hearing is totally normal, so I cannot pick up on Esper-level presence like yours.”
At this rate, he really would not survive to the end of his term. Well—he had already died once. But he had been granted a second shot at life, and he had no intention of wasting it. Dying again was absolutely not on the agenda.
“If you’re struggling to adjust, just go back to the Association now. Tell them the Espers are being assholes and you can’t stay in the same house. Ask them to cancel the six-month exclusive Guide contract.”
“…I will manage.”
What a petty bastard.
Haru deliberately turned away and resumed unloading, ignoring the self-satisfied gleam in Yu Je-hyun’s eyes.
Watching those thick muscles flex every time the man spoke was… unsettling, to say the least.
It was a body that made him feel utterly defeated. In truth, Haru had always been proud of his physique. Built from real, everyday labor, his body had earned stares of admiration anytime he took his shirt off.
This guy’s in a whole different league.
Just like how you could not compare an average person to a professional athlete, Yu Je-hyun was in another class entirely. Broad shoulders, a sculpted chest, and abs defined in clean, hard sections—he looked like something out of a bodybuilding magazine.
“Move. At this rate, you’ll still be out here tomorrow.”
Just when Haru thought he was going to leave, Yu Je-hyun made his move. Haru had been grunting and straining to carry just one or two bags at a time, but Je-hyun effortlessly picked up three with one hand.
All of a sudden, Haru was left holding the lightest bag.
He followed behind, chuckling as he looked at Je-hyun’s back.
So he’s nicer than he lets on. A total tsundere, huh?
He used to have a friend like that, which made Yu Je-hyun feel oddly familiar.
I wonder how those guys are doing.
His friends’ faces surfaced one by one—those who had probably been devastated by his death.
He had never had much luck with family, but when it came to friends, he had been truly blessed.
…I wish I could at least let them know I’m okay.
Even if it was someone else’s body, he was alive. Nobody here liked Lee Haru, but this kind of hardship was nothing. He had once gone nearly a week living on nothing but water.
It’s probably time to start clearing up some of the misunderstandings.
Haru firmly believed that Lee Haru was not as terrible as everyone made him out to be.
Yes, he had seen it with his own eyes—the suicide attempt. But did that really justify the scorn and contempt everyone directed at him? Haru did not think so.
Come to think of it… what happened to the real Lee Haru?
Everything had happened so quickly after he woke up here, he had not had time to reflect on it.
…Did Lee Haru really die after slitting his wrists?
That would explain how his own soul ended up inside this empty body. Just like in those novels.
But this is not just some story. I’m living it now.
It felt disturbingly real—far more vivid than anything he had ever imagined while reading fiction. Sure, he had fantasized about becoming a character in a novel before, but this was something else entirely.
“Why are you just standing there staring into space? Not coming in?”
He had drifted too deep into thought. Haru snapped out of it to find himself rooted at the foot of the stairs.
Yu Je-hyun stood at the front door, glaring at him in annoyance.
“Of course I’m coming.”
Shoving the complicated thoughts aside, Haru beamed brightly. Yu Je-hyun’s face immediately crumpled in distaste like he had seen something grotesque, which only made Haru’s grin grow wider.
Maybe his sense of beauty is broken.
Anyone with a decent eye should be disarmed by a smile like his. Even Haru found it baffling every time he looked in the mirror—how could someone be this naturally pretty?
“Oh, by the way, have you had dinner yet?”
“No. What time do you think it is right now?”
Yu Je-hyun’s voice was thick with disbelief, but Haru simply nodded without a word.
The clock in the living room read 16:01. By the time he finished unpacking, it would be the perfect time to start cooking.
“Just sit tight and stop snacking on random stuff.”
