# Chapter 56
Zap.
Static electricity sparked from my fingertips. It didn’t hurt, but the tingling sensation bothered me. I frowned and repeatedly clenched and unclenched my stiff fingers.
Zap—!
“Ugh!”
This time, the static electricity ran not through my fingers but along my spine. The stimulus was much stronger than before. The static electricity, which had only sparked on my fingers and back, suddenly wrapped around my entire body. Perhaps because of this, I felt nauseous stomach pain, like a stomachache.
“Urgh…”
As I groaned, clutching my stomach, someone slipped their hand under my T-shirt and caressed my abdomen. Startled by the cool body temperature, my waist jerked up involuntarily. I heard a soft chuckle at my surprised reaction.
Who is it?
I tried to open my eyes to see who it was, but I couldn’t pull my foggy consciousness to the surface. It felt as if a heavy weight had been attached to my awareness, dragging it deep below the surface. I felt sleep paralysis with my eyes closed. When I struggled weakly, whoever was touching me lightly pressed on my lower abdomen.
“Shh. It’s okay.”
A low voice, impossible to identify, faded like mist near my ear.
Is it Heerim?
Ah. Yes. It must be Heerim.
It had to be Heerim, as there was no one else who would touch me like this. Relieved, I relaxed my tense body.
The person I presumed to be Heerim slowly caressed my body, perhaps wanting to receive Guiding from me. Now familiar with how to perform Guiding, I transferred the energy I possessed to him.
“…?”
Expecting the sensual pleasure that typically came with Guiding, I sensed something strange and shuddered.
It wasn’t Heerim.
“Huu, ugh…!”
“Ah. Is it because there’s no resonance? This isn’t easy.”
When I flailed my arms, the person clicked their tongue and pressed down on my chest with their palm.
“Ugh.”
It was different from the usual Guiding. It felt like my energy was being forcibly drained by the other person. Nausea rose, and my head felt like it was about to split. Moreover, they were pressing hard on my chest, making it difficult to breathe properly.
“This is my first time receiving Guiding from a pure Guide.”
“St… stop. Huff.”
I barely managed to open my mouth, but my voice wouldn’t come out properly as I was suffocating. Still, they seemed to understand what I was saying and removed their hand from my chest.
“Haa, gasp.”
I burst out with the breath that had been trapped and tried to open my eyes. But the more I tried, the heavier my eyelids became, and a terrible drowsiness gripped my ankles, pulling me down into a deep abyss.
“You know what? It’s possible to force Guiding even without resonance. But to make that possible, you need to be at least an A-class Esper.”
“Ugh, uh.”
“How does it feel? Giving me Guiding?”
“S-stop. Huff, ugh. Stop it.”
“Alright. I’ll stop here for today. Today isn’t the only day.”
I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I simply surrendered my body to my sinking consciousness, wanting to escape this situation.
“Ugh… ugh.”
A groan that sounded like it could come from a zombie escaped my lips. Is this what it feels like to be run over by a 1-ton truck? I couldn’t quite come to my senses due to this terrible hangover, the first of my life. Thinking it would be better to sleep a bit more, I tossed and turned, seeking the most comfortable position when I heard a familiar voice above my head.
“Damn. Son Jaeo. You’ve done well for yourself.”
“…Huh?”
Opening my eyes, I saw Son Jaeyeon looking down at me with her arms crossed. Her cold gaze was similar to the one I’d seen when we talked about the Sea Squirt Man.
“What do you mean ‘huh’? After rolling around at home all day, you come back drunk late at night?”
“Jaeyeon, how did I get home?”
“Sigh. You don’t even remember that? You were carried by someone who said they were your friend! Ugh. It’s so embarrassing.”
Judging by Jaeyeon’s reaction, it seemed that Ha Suan had brought me home. Seeing that I was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, I must have been quite drunk, though I had no memory of it.
“Why did you drink so much? Don’t tell me…”
“I told you I didn’t get fired.”
I preemptively answered what Jaeyeon was about to ask, but seeing the way her eyes narrowed, she didn’t seem to believe me. I couldn’t tell her, “They told me not to come because I’m interfering with work,” so I changed the subject.
“But what about school?”
“After living like an unemployed bum for days, you’ve lost track of dates. Today is Saturday.”
Jaeyeon clicked her tongue and left my room. Still feeling the effects of alcohol, I lay there blankly for a while, trying to recall the previous night that I couldn’t remember.
But due to my hangover, my head just throbbed, and I couldn’t remember anything. I had a feeling that something had happened during my memory blackout, but not knowing what it was made me uneasy. This wasn’t the time to just lie around; I should contact Ha Suan and ask him.
Fumbling by my bedside for my phone, I finally remembered that I’d put it in my back pocket from yesterday’s pants. Worried that the screen might have cracked from being pressed against my body, I hurriedly pulled the phone out of my pocket. Fortunately, the screen was fine.
“Huh?”
The screen was intact, but the phone wouldn’t turn on. For a moment my heart sank, but then I realized that I’d turned the power off at the movie theater yesterday and had forgotten about it until now.
Recalling why I’d turned off the phone, I rubbed my parched face. The thought that I still had unresolved issues with Heerim made the alcohol’s effects dissipate completely.
Could Heerim have contacted me?
After yesterday’s incident, I wanted to talk to Heerim yet also wanted to run away. My hands holding the phone were sweaty with tension. I took a deep breath and turned on my phone. After a rather long wait, the loading finished, and the standby screen lit up.
[2 Unread Messages]
I immediately tapped the notification that appeared on the standby screen and entered the messaging app. The topmost message was from Ha Suan. Just as I was about to feel greatly disappointed, I noticed another message right below it. It was a message from Heerim.
A complex emotion that I couldn’t identify, whether anxiety or relief, made me frantic. I clicked on the message from Heerim with a heart that felt like it might burst at any moment. I didn’t even notice Ha Suan’s message.
[Heerim: Would you like to see me?]
Checking the time the message was sent, it was when I was drinking heavily with Ha Suan.
I hope he doesn’t think I’m ignoring him on purpose?
Feeling anxious, instead of replying to Heerim’s message, I immediately tapped the call icon. The call to Heerim connected quickly.
“It’s me, Heerim.”
-Yes.
I heard Heerim’s soft voice through the speaker. At the sound of his voice, which seemed like I hadn’t heard it in a long time, I felt like I might cry again, but I held back and spoke.
“I just saw your message…”
-Can we meet now?
“Now? Oh, yes.”
-Then I’ll come to your place.
“No! There’s a big café right below my apartment? You’ll see it right away. Let’s meet there.”
-Okay.
After a brief conversation that was almost embarrassingly short, the call ended. I thought about how Heerim’s voice had sounded. Was it indifferent? Or was it a bit shaky?
The call was too short to figure out what state Heerim was in. No, that wasn’t the issue right now. I needed to prepare to meet Heerim immediately.
I splashed cold water on my puffy face and showered with bathwater that hadn’t warmed up yet. The cold water friction that tingled down to my scalp made me shiver involuntarily, but I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the water to warm up.
To remove any lingering alcohol smell, I used more body cleanser than usual and carefully washed my body before coming out.
After washing, I took out the most presentable clothes I owned and put them on. Although I didn’t know what conversation I would have with Heerim, I just wanted to look neat and tidy for him. I didn’t want to pathetically shed tears like yesterday.
“Oppa, where are you going?”
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just nearby.”
Jaeyeon suddenly popped out of her room and looked strangely at me as I prepared to go out. I ignored her gaze and left the house.
It was hot inside, but it was even hotter outside. I walked down the hill at a rather quick pace under the blazing sun.
The café where I was meeting Heerim was the only large franchise café in our neighborhood. Upon arriving at the café, I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and tidied up my appearance.
“Welcome!”
Greeted by an energetic part-timer, the inside of the café was cool enough to make my spine tingle.
Looking around the café, it seemed that Heerim hadn’t arrived yet. I ordered an iced Americano for myself and a Frappuccino that Heerim liked, and sat down. I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about what to ask Heerim.
Why he had been ignoring my messages. Who the person I saw yesterday was, and why he was receiving Guiding from that person instead of me.
These were all things I needed to ask, but I was afraid to hear the answers, so I sighed.
“Heerim! Over here!”
Not long after receiving the ordered drinks, I saw Heerim entering the café. To hide my nervousness, I unnecessarily called out to Heerim in a loud voice. Heerim sat down with an unreadable expression. Finally seeing Heerim properly after more than ten days, he seemed to have lost some weight.
“Jaeo hyung, I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you properly all this time.”
“…What happened during that time?”
I waited for Heerim’s answer, crumpling the innocent straw in my hand.
“What happened… nothing on my end.”
“…?”
“Jaeo hyung.”
Heerim’s voice calling my name seemed to tremble slightly. Looking closely, the corners of Heerim’s eyes were tinged red.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry about?”
I tried to make eye contact with Heerim, but he bowed his head deeply, avoiding my gaze. He seemed uncomfortable somehow.
“Heerim. What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
Just as I was about to reach out toward Heerim, he lifted his head and looked at me. He had indeed lost some weight.
After briefly making eye contact with me, Heerim ran his hand through his hair and turned his head away. His attitude of avoiding me made my chest ache.
“Hyung.”
Heerim moved his lips and paused for a moment, then soon let out a sigh and spoke.
“Please don’t come to the office anymore.”
“…Pardon?”
“Hyung, as of today, you’re fired.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
