Chapter 57
Seoyul recognized that his body was reaching its limit.
‘I can’t keep avoiding this forever.’
He had thought things would get better with time, but he could feel his body and mind becoming increasingly worn out.
‘Esper-nim must be worried too.’
He had told him that he couldn’t come over for a while due to work, but Dowoon had always worried about his heavy workload.
And now, there was no way he wouldn’t be concerned about Seoyul working overnight.
‘What should I do…’
But there wasn’t really a solution. Seoyul still lacked confidence in performing S-class Guiding and wanted to continue avoiding it if possible.
“Guide Seo.”
Just then, he encountered an unexpected person. It was Sunghun.
“You’ve been troubled lately, haven’t you?”
“What? How did you…”
Since he’d been deep in thought about Dowoon, honest words slipped out of his mouth without thinking.
Seoyul hastily covered his mouth, but Sunghun had already heard everything.
“I thought so. Dowoon has been making such a fuss about being worried about Guide Seo.”
“Esper-nim… has?”
He couldn’t help but speak when Dowoon was mentioned. So he really had been worried about him.
“Yes. That’s why I wanted to at least talk to you, but you look more troubled than busy.”
“Am I… that obvious…?”
Seoyul carefully asked. It was full of things that shouldn’t be discovered, but if his expressions were so easily read, he couldn’t face Dowoon.
However, instead of answering, Sunghun smiled and pulled Seoyul along.
“Guide Seo. Excuse me for a moment.”
“Huh? Ah?!”
He was only holding Seoyul’s sleeve, but Seoyul had no choice but to follow Sunghun’s lead weakly.
“Um, where…”
“Just trust me.”
Their destination was the rooftop at the highest floor of the Center.
“Aah…”
The wind blew through his hair across the open view. A single ray of sunlight in the cold air, along with the deep blue sky, momentarily made him forget his troubled mind.
Only then did Seoyul realize that he had been walking with his eyes fixed on the cold ground, not seeing even a bit of sunlight.
When all he needed to do was turn his eyes slightly to see such a beautiful blue sky.
“I don’t know what’s troubling you, but I sometimes come here when I’m having a hard time.”
“……”
Seoyul silently listened to Sunghun’s words.
“Coming here improves my mood and helps me recharge.”
Just as he said, Seoyul felt his frozen mind slowly starting to work again. The tangled worries seemed to unravel gradually, leading toward a solution.
“I don’t know if this will help, but if there’s anything I can do, please tell me. I’m Cha Dowoon’s friend, but I’d like to be friends with Guide Seo as well.”
Friends.
Seoyul pondered that word and thought of Minjun. The person who had supported him when he was troubled about Yeon Jiwoo in the past.
He had listened to his concerns and given advice. That was the day he learned that simply sharing your troubles with someone could help, whether their answer was right or wrong, rather than suffering alone.
Minjun was the first friend he made after deciding to change, and now here was someone else wanting to be his friend.
It was touching.
‘Could I… get some advice?’
He hesitated since Sunghun was also Dowoon’s friend. But he didn’t want to reject this kindly extended hand.
He wanted to share at least a little with Sunghun, who had helped calm his troubled mind.
“I do… have something on my mind…”
Seoyul struggled to begin. Sunghun, who had been waiting for this moment, replied with sparkling eyes.
“I’m a great listener! And I’ll never tell Dowoon! I’ll keep it a secret forever!”
Seoyul was grateful for Sunghun’s reassurance. The story he was about to tell was something only Sunghun, who was closest to Dowoon, could answer, so it seemed alright.
Seoyul slowly opened his mouth.
“Well… I heard that Esper-nim had a pair in the past.”
“What? A pair?”
Sunghun opened his eyes wide at the unexpected comment. Then, realizing that Seoyul was referring to Team 1’s Leader Shin Yujin, he nodded.
“Ah, yes, he did. Despite Dowoon never having a suitable Guide, he’s still S-class. But how did you know about that? It’s been quite a while since that pair broke up, so not many people would know.”
As he said, there were now more people who didn’t know than those who did. Although they had been paired, it was closer to a formality.
But Seoyul, unaware of this fact, hesitantly opened his mouth.
“Well, I’m currently in Team 1. So I found out by chance…”
“What? Team 1?!”
Team 1? How did he end up in Team 1?
Sunghun clicked his tongue, remembering that Yujin was Team 1’s leader. If Dowoon had known, he would have made a fuss, but it seemed he hadn’t paid enough attention to this detail.
‘But why suddenly bring up Leader Shin…’
Having thought this far, Sunghun’s mouth opened slightly as if he had realized something. But Seoyul, not noticing his expression, continued with difficulty.
“Well, L-Leader Shin said that he and Esper-nim… were… you know… that kind of relationship in the past…”
“…Pardon…?”
Sunghun’s eyes widened. This was news to him.
* * *
‘Um… I don’t think I should be the one to tell you about this. Why not ask him directly?’
Sunghun advised. He said it would be fine to go and ask.
“Haah…”
But Seoyul only let out a long sigh. What had he wanted to hear? A denial? That it never happened?
Given how Sunghun responded, it seemed there had been something between them.
‘Still, I feel a bit more clarity now.’
This wasn’t something that would be resolved by simply ignoring it. What would jealousy of Dowoon’s past accomplish?
The past wasn’t important—the present was. Following Sunghun’s advice, he felt a bit of courage to have a conversation with Dowoon.
Although he still wasn’t sure what answer he wanted, he had a feeling things would be better after they talked.
‘Right. I can’t keep running away!’
Even though he reminded himself of this daily, he foolishly realized it again. That he was a coward who always ran away.
He runs from the truth out of fear and avoids reality. Despite knowing how bad the consequences are, he repeats the same mistake.
Seoyul quietly changed his steps, resolving to leave work early today and have that conversation.
‘Time seems… to be dragging today.’
Once he made this decision, time seemed to flow slower. His focus was scattered, probably because all his nerves were elsewhere.
‘I haven’t been sleeping well…’
Seoyul thought he needed to regain his focus, even if it meant relying on caffeine. Fortunately, after drinking three cups in a row, he felt more alert.
‘Okay! Let’s do this!’
Cheering himself on once more, he committed fully to his work. In truth, his voluntary overnight work hadn’t been entirely due to a heavy workload—he had somewhat artificially extended his hours. So once he decided to leave, he could easily clock out on time.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Maybe it was because he drank too much coffee? Seoyul was aware of his unusually pounding heart, along with a floating sensation.
Still, feeling like it was now or never, he boldly stood up from his seat.
“I’ll be heading home now.”
“Oh! Guide Seo is finally leaving on time today?”
“Yes, you’ve been working too hard lately. Go home.”
“Rest well and see you tomorrow.”
The others, still having work left to do, smiled and sent Seoyul off. He felt a bit guilty about leaving before them, but there wasn’t much for him to do if he stayed.
Seoyul bowed once more and left the office. And with his heart still pounding, he began walking.
Bang!
Just then, a loud noise pierced his ears, stopping him in his tracks. It sounded like someone was banging on a steel door.
‘What’s that?’
It was coming from the emergency stairwell. That area wasn’t frequently used, which made it all the more concerning.
—Bang!
The loud noise was heard again. He thought about just walking past, but somehow felt he shouldn’t.
‘It could be an emergency.’
It might be someone’s distress signal. There was a Guiding room nearby, so it could be someone who collapsed while rushing to get Guiding.
‘Alright. Let’s just check quickly.’
Seoyul carefully walked toward the emergency stairwell. Not knowing what was happening, he opened the door carefully and looked inside.
‘Is there… no one?’
Contrary to his expectation, there was no one on the stairs. Just as he was about to turn back with relief—
—Bang!
That mysterious sound was heard again. It was coming from upstairs.
Hearing it up close, he could tell it was definitely someone pounding on a door.
Seoyul went in and climbed the stairs. A wave of fear swept over him, but he suppressed it and looked up.
‘Huh…? People.’
He saw four legs. Both people appeared to be standing fine, so they didn’t seem to be in any danger.
In fact, the situation appeared to be the opposite of what he had thought. The reason for this conclusion was that the two people’s feet were overlapping, front to back. It was such an intimate distance, only possible between lovers, that his face heated up.
‘Ah… I should leave quickly.’
Seoyul turned around, hiding his flushing face.
‘Wait a minute…’
Just then, something flashed through his mind. One of the pairs of shoes he had just seen looked too familiar.
‘No way…’
Thinking it couldn’t be, Seoyul turned back and quietly climbed the stairs.
One step. One step. One step.
Climbing up the stairs like that, he confirmed the faces of the two people facing each other.
‘Ah…’
One man had another man pinned against the wall, their faces pressed together. And they were…
People Seoyul knew all too well.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
