Chapter 12
Dowoon decided to keep quiet and leave things be for now. If he brought it up and Seoyul disappeared like last time, he’d be the one losing out.
‘What’s the principle behind this? Could it be that?’
He could see guiding energy bubbling out and leaking every time Seoyul put a piece of food in his mouth.
Perhaps the condition for guiding wasn’t simply being hungry, but desperately wanting to eat something?
Since he was hungry, he might have been thinking about how much he wanted to eat something.
“Umm… Esper-nim. Are you not feeling hungry?”
Seoyul realized he was too absorbed in the food and blushed. At that moment, the guiding energy that had been flowing out disappeared, and Dowoon licked his lips.
“I was just about to eat. Eat as much as you want.”
“Yes!”
When Dowoon picked up his chopsticks, Seoyul finally relaxed and began loading up on food.
This dish, that dish, even the water—everything was so delicious.
‘This is incredible!’
The cafeteria at the Center was plenty good, but this place was simply shocking.
Seoyul ate until his stomach felt like it would burst. He wanted to eat more, but he could feel the food sloshing in his throat, making it impossible to eat any more.
“Ugh. I feel like my stomach’s going to explode.”
A voice filled with the contentment of someone who had eaten their fill reached Dowoon’s ears. Dowoon could still feel the guiding energy leaking out and thought to himself.
‘I’m certain of it.’
After observing him while casually eating his meal, Dowoon felt strongly convinced.
“I think I’ve found it.”
“Huh? Found what?”
Seoyul stroked his bloated stomach and sat up straight. Dowoon looked at him with serious eyes and spoke.
“The activation condition, I mean.”
“Activation condition?”
To think he’d been contemplating such things during their meal. Seoyul felt embarrassed that he’d been mindlessly eating without a single thought.
But what was more important was what Dowoon was saying.
“It’s certain that you’re a Hidden Guide. Until just now, energy was leaking out from you.”
“Really?!”
The leaked energy had led to radiant guiding. Perhaps the first time he felt it wasn’t direct guiding but radiant guiding as well.
Dowoon briefly recalled that time and continued speaking.
“Do you leak energy every time you eat?”
“What? E-every time I eat?”
Seoyul’s face turned bright red at those words. It was embarrassing enough that he’d eaten so mindlessly, but now this had to happen.
Still, he couldn’t help feeling happy deep down. Now he could truly be of help to Dowoon.
“I’m certain. You become a Hidden Guide every time you eat!”
“…”
Dowoon shouted with certainty. But Seoyul felt something was off and rolled his eyes.
If he really became a Hidden Guide every time he ate, why hadn’t it happened before?
Reading his thoughts, Dowoon continued to explain.
“It seems more important that you’re eating something delicious, rather than just eating anything.”
“Something… delicious?”
“Yes. You like the food at the Center, right?”
“Um… yes…”
Seoyul had some reservations but nodded obediently. As Dowoon said, he did enjoy the food served at the Center’s cafeteria.
“I’m certain! The reason we haven’t discovered this until now is because you weren’t in a state of desperately wanting to eat.”
A state of desperately wanting to eat?
Seoyul didn’t understand what that meant, but Dowoon excitedly explained.
“You said you were hungry earlier, right? So how about this—when you’re hungry, wouldn’t you desperately want to eat food? Then it would definitely taste delicious, right? That means you become a Hidden Guide when you eat delicious food!”
“Ohh!”
Seoyul finally understood and was amazed. Now that he thought about it, that made sense. Humans are creatures who find food more delicious when they eat while very hungry.
Dowoon had never experienced this himself, but he knew it well because Sunjeong always complained whenever she had to skip meals due to research.
So he firmly believed this must be the case for Seoyul as well.
“Good. Let’s come here again tomorrow and eat. If you can guide the same way tomorrow, then this is definitely your condition!”
“Yes!”
Seoyul’s eyes sparkled as he replied confidently. And he didn’t forget to praise Dowoon, saying he truly was an Esper-nim.
* * *
Feeling good, Dowoon’s pride swelled and he shrugged his shoulders. It was thanks to the S-class Guide’s radiant guiding that he received throughout the meal.
Feeling elated, he immediately went to the research lab to share this good news with Sunjeong.
Then the next day.
“Why…? It definitely worked yesterday…”
Dowoon buried his head in the sofa, utterly bewildered. They had returned to the restaurant with confidence, but the same thing didn’t happen.
“Tsk tsk. I knew it when you started acting so hasty.”
Sunjeong clicked her tongue and nagged him.
“Don’t get the kid’s hopes up unnecessarily. When you get all excited and then deflate, Yuli gets hurt even more.”
That was true. When it didn’t activate again, the most disappointed person was Seoyul.
He had put the first spoonful of food in his mouth with enjoyment, but as soon as he heard it was different from yesterday, his shoulders slumped with disappointment.
It was obvious that he was barely eating, digging himself into a hole of great disappointment.
“Ah, I get it now, so stop lecturing me.”
Dowoon raised his upper body irritably. A guide who was hurt and disappointed created major repercussions for Dowoon as well.
The slumped shoulders, the face on the verge of tears—he didn’t like any of it. As she said, he had been too hasty and realized he had shown too much emotion, unlike his usual self.
“You’re usually so good at controlling your expressions, but why can’t you do it at all in front of Yul-i?”
That was what he wanted to know. Why couldn’t he control his expressions at all when he was with Seoyul?
He thought maybe it was because Seoyul was the type whose emotions flowed out easily, or perhaps because this was his first guide.
Since Dowoon was experiencing this for the first time as well, he simply felt perplexed.
“Ah, seriously. I didn’t come here to get nagged at. What do you think is the problem? He definitely ate deliciously, you know? He ate deliciously yesterday and deliciously today too.”
“Are you sure?”
Sunjeong asked without taking her eyes off the monitor.
“I’m… pretty sure?”
Seoyul’s expressions were very clear. When he took his first spoonful, his expression was definitely the same as yesterday.
Though from the middle, his expression completely died due to disappointment.
“Then maybe it stopped being delicious?”
“Stopped being… delicious?”
“Even the most delicious thing becomes tasteless if you eat it every day.”
Dowoon was taken aback by Sunjeong’s words.
“Is that so?”
Dowoon, who had never thought of food as delicious, didn’t know such things. He only knew what he’d heard—that food tastes best when you’re hungry.
“What would someone without a sense of taste like you know?”
Sunjeong clicked her tongue again and continued nagging. She even said discriminatory things without hesitation, like how the tongues of ordinary people are this sensitive, and that he, not being ordinary, wouldn’t understand.
“Ah, seriously.”
Dowoon frowned harshly in irritation, but it didn’t work on her at all.
“So what do you want me to do!”
Yes, what was the conclusion here? He had come despite the hassle, hoping to get something useful. He didn’t want to leave without any results.
“What else can you do? Go on a food tour or something.”
“Food… tour?”
A food tour…
It was a phrase he had never considered before.
A food tour in Cha Dowoon’s life.
‘Because of him, I’m doing all sorts of things I’ve never done before.’
Haah…
Dowoon sighed softly, yet his fingers moved busily. Just a brief search yielded a stream of food destination lists.
* * *
“A food tour?”
Seoyul tilted his head at the unexpected word.
He had been greatly disappointed when he realized that even though the activation condition was related to food, it didn’t work right away.
And now suddenly, a food tour?
“It seems like it’s not just about eating something delicious, but eating something incredibly delicious.”
“What…?”
Seoyul tilted his head again, but thinking about it carefully, it did seem right. When he first ate with Dowoon at the Korean restaurant, he was so happy because it was delicious enough to make him feel like flying.
But on the second day, although it was still delicious, it wasn’t enough to make him feel like flying.
Perhaps the condition for activation wasn’t simply “eating deliciously” but “eating incredibly deliciously”?
“I think you’re right, Esper-nim!”
“Right? Let’s go right now. I’ve found everything.”
Dowoon confidently led him to the first restaurant. The place they arrived at was a famous restaurant near the Center.
“Wow!”
Last time it was Korean food, but this time it was Western. Seoyul was so awestruck by the completely different atmosphere that he couldn’t close his mouth.
“They say the meat here is incredibly delicious. Usually, you have to wait about a month to eat here.”
“A month?!”
A restaurant where you have to wait a month! How delicious must it be to require a month’s wait?
Seoyul’s heart pounded with excitement. Additionally, he was genuinely impressed by Dowoon’s ability to make a reservation at such a place immediately.
“You’re amazing, Esper-nim.”
“Aren’t I?”
Dowoon was also satisfied that his guide seemed very pleased. He had a good feeling. It seemed like the activation condition was indeed related to fine dining.
And that feeling was right on target.
“Wooow…”
As soon as Seoyul put a cut piece of steak in his mouth, guiding energy began to bubble out of him again. Dowoon’s eyes momentarily glazed over at the exquisite sensation.
But he quickly shook his head and surveyed his surroundings.
This place wasn’t a small establishment like the Korean restaurant they had visited before—it was a large restaurant occupying an entire floor. Moreover, being near the Center meant many of the patrons were Espers.
In such a place, an S-class Guide’s radiant guiding flowing out naturally made him cautious as an Esper.
‘Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be leaking too far.’
It was extremely fortunate that this was a VIP room. He checked to make sure the energy wasn’t leaking through the walls—the bubbling energy remained within the room, guiding Dowoon.
Every time the guiding energy entered his skin, he felt so euphoric that it was difficult to maintain his composure.
“Esper-nim, perhaps…”
Seoyul, once again completely absorbed in the food, hesitated and looked at Dowoon. Seeing no wrinkles on Dowoon’s brow, he felt hopeful that perhaps the guiding was working.
“I think it’s working. So don’t worry about me and eat a lot. A lot.”
Dowoon, sensing that the radiant guiding disappeared whenever Seoyul became aware of him, urged him to keep eating.
At that, Seoyul’s face turned white with joy.
“Haah. This is driving me crazy.”
—THUD!
“E-Esper-nim?”
Dowoon collapsed onto the table, hiding his flushed face.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
