# Chapter 79
Even while Hajin was getting his outerwear, the contest remained undecided. They instantly dealt out new hands until there was a tie or a clear winner.
The speed was impossible for Hajin’s tracking vision to follow, so he could only wait for the result.
“Aaargh! Let’s go again!”
“What are you talking about? Losers get out!”
The first person to be eliminated was Han Seungho.
Clenching the fist he had thrown out, he trembled and shuffled toward Hajin. His plan was to get some consolation for being eliminated.
“Damn… This was a chance to spend time with hyung after so long.”
Hajin patted Han Seungho, who was leaning his large frame against Hajin’s shoulder.
“We’ll go together next time.”
“Really? You promise? Next time I get to be first, no matter what.”
“Sure. Let’s do that.”
Han Seungho grinned broadly at the gentle voice and nuzzled his face against the shoulder he was leaning on. The time they had lost Hajin had been terrible, but it was nice that after his return, he had become more lenient toward them.
‘I was worried he might have found someone he liked there, but fortunately that didn’t happen.’
They were people who deserved to die, but what if Hajin had taken a liking to one of them? Han Seungho enjoyed Hajin’s warmth, smiling with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the winner was decided.
“Ah! Team Leader didn’t even help with the food!”
“That’s so unfair…”
Ignoring the attacks from the two, Cha Jinwoo approached Hajin. He detached Han Seungho, who had somehow managed to hug Hajin tightly, and wrapped his arm around Hajin’s shoulders as they headed to the entrance.
“Make sure to finish the dishes properly.”
The three ground their teeth at his behavior of irritating them to the very end, but the growls of the losers held no fear for him.
Hajin gave the remaining members a goodbye glance with his eyes and moved his feet. He wanted to get out and walk as quickly as possible because his stomach felt bloated.
The sun had set, and a cool breeze brushed against Hajin’s body as it passed by. Though the weather had become quite chilly, Hajin welcomed the cold air gladly.
As he repeatedly inhaled and exhaled, he felt his stomach settling down.
When Hajin let out a deep sigh, Cha Jinwoo spoke to him in a voice tinged with laughter.
“Is your stomach okay? The food didn’t seem good.”
“I won’t get indigestion… Was it that obvious?”
As Hajin turned his head in surprise, Cha Jinwoo finally burst into laughter. The wide eyes filled with surprise were indescribably adorable.
But Hajin, worried that the other three might have noticed too, urged him to answer.
“Was it really obvious? Do you think they realized I was forcing myself to eat?”
Not knowing what was going on in Hajin’s mind, Cha Jinwoo couldn’t help but laugh more the more questions Hajin asked.
Finally, after laughing for a while, Cha Jinwoo stopped when he saw Hajin’s eyes narrowing and spoke.
“It wasn’t obvious. Those guys were too distracted by watching you eat well.”
“Then how did you know, Cha Jinwoo-ssi?”
“Because I only had to focus on you. Unlike those guys who had to worry about whether the food suited your taste or whether you would like it.”
Hajin scratched his cheek awkwardly, embarrassed that someone had been observing him eating. Then he pouted slightly and grumbled.
“Then why didn’t you help? Don’t tell me you deliberately let them torment me?”
“Of course not. I didn’t know what level their cooking skills were at either.”
When asked if the food was really that bad, Hajin drew out his voice.
Should he be honest, or should he sugar-coat it a bit? He finally chose the latter.
“It wasn’t so bad that it couldn’t be eaten.”
It was an answer based on fact. After all, he did eat enough to feel full.
Though of course, he wouldn’t want to eat it again. Noticing the wordplay, Cha Jinwoo spoke with a voice still containing traces of laughter.
“I’ll stop them next time. Should I prevent them from entering the kitchen altogether?”
“Hmm… if possible, yes.”
Cha Jinwoo laughed loudly at the honesty that finally escaped. As the laughter subsided and he calmed down, Cha Jinwoo quietly observed Hajin beside him.
‘This is real, right…?’
Despite knowing it was reality, he felt an unnecessary anxiety. He was afraid of losing Hajin again so futilely, even though he was right beside him.
After hesitating, Cha Jinwoo carefully reached out and took Hajin’s hand. The touch of cold fingertips from the evening air made everything feel more real.
At the sudden action, Hajin turned his head to look down at Cha Jinwoo’s hand holding his.
It wasn’t a firm grip but a careful touch of fingertips, an embarrassing action. But the warmth touching his fingertips made his stiff shoulders relax.
Hajin stayed still for a moment, as if savoring the warmth, then interlaced his fingers with Cha Jinwoo’s.
‘It would be quite a funny sight if others saw us.’
Where else could you see two men over thirty holding hands cutely?
Hajin walked, leading the joined hands, with a small smile at his private thoughts.
“You can just hold my hand directly.”
As he let Guiding flow little by little through their joined hands, Cha Jinwoo made a sound as if he was in pain and firmly gripped Hajin’s hand.
Hajin was relieved by Cha Jinwoo’s action of only holding his hand a bit more strongly despite receiving Contact Guiding.
Only after feeling relieved did he realize he had been tense.
‘Well, I did go through quite an ordeal.’
Especially the final moments could have caused trauma for an Esper, which wouldn’t be surprising. Fortunately, Seo Jihan had helped, and Hajin’s strong mentality had created a fighting spirit that pushed him to escape.
Hajin deliberately held Cha Jinwoo’s hand more tightly to shake off the unpleasant memories that were resurfacing.
Even when Hajin stopped sending Guiding, the two continued walking for a long time, holding each other’s hands firmly.
During that time, Hajin discovered that the four hadn’t even had dinner, so they searched for an open restaurant.
They bought four boxed meals and hurried back to the lodging. The moment they opened the door and entered, three people rushed out and gathered around Hajin.
“Hyung! Why did you eat that!”
“I’m sorry, hyung… To have fed you such tasteless food…”
“You’re not having indigestion, are you? Should I go buy some digestive medicine?”
Despite hoping otherwise, it seemed they had tasted the remaining food. Fortunately, their taste buds were functioning properly, as the three worried about Hajin’s tongue, asking how he could eat such things.
‘Wait. My tongue is fine, so why did such food come out?’
“I’m curious, did none of you taste the food while cooking?”
When he asked, they all avoided his gaze, seemingly embarrassed.
“Umm, well…”
“It wasn’t deliberate, but I got so focused I forgot…”
Unlike the sheepish Han Seungho and Lee Doyoon, Baek Jaan was still so downcast that he couldn’t even meet Hajin’s eyes.
“I… I did taste it.”
“Huh?”
The gazes of the two beside him also turned to Baek Jaan. They seemed to have tasted his food as well.
“You tasted it and still made it that sweet?”
“Hyung, you’ll get diabetes that way… Oh, but hyung is an S-rank, so maybe it’s okay? Then Hajin hyung will get diabetes.”
Despite the teasing opportunity, Baek Jaan couldn’t say anything. The shock of not properly preparing food for Hajin seemed that great.
“I won’t enter the kitchen anymore…”
But Hajin thought differently. Unless he really didn’t want to do it, it seemed a waste for Baek Jaan to give up entirely after one failure, especially since among them, his skills were the best.
If he could just control the amount of sugar, he could be said to be quite good at cooking.
Hajin decided to encourage Baek Jaan, though the other two might whine a bit. In truth, there was nothing special to it. He was just telling the truth.
“I think Baek Jaan-ssi just needs to control the amount of sugar. It was tasty except for being too sweet.”
At those words, Baek Jaan bloomed brightly, like a withered flower reviving after absorbing water.
“Really? If I make it properly next time, will you eat it again?”
“Why would that be difficult?”
Hajin nodded readily. But that wasn’t all.
“If tasting is difficult, would you like me to taste it with you?”
“Really?”
The self-loathing of having fed Hajin garbage disappeared, and expectation for their time together filled him. Just the two of them cooking in the kitchen. Wasn’t it like a newlywed couple?
“What about me? Teach me too.”
“Hyung, me too.”
But the other two wouldn’t just let happy Baek Jaan be. Baek Jaan glared coldly at the pair who, like predators, wouldn’t miss an opportunity, but they paid no mind and clung to Hajin.
“If you teach me too, I can make it tastier.”
“I tried hard too, you’re not trying to leave me out, are you?”
Hajin looked at the two attached to either side of his now-heavy shoulders. Both had made food that looked decent.
Especially Lee Doyoon’s porridge, which crumbled as soon as it entered the mouth, had clearly been boiled for a long time, so it was amazing it maintained its form.
And in Lee Doyoon’s case, since it was white porridge, he hadn’t seasoned it at all, so there was actually room for improvement.
“Han Seungho-ssi is…”
As Hajin trailed off, Lee Doyoon burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Seungho hyung is completely hopeless?!”
“Hyung!”
Having eaten his own cooking, Han Seungho shouldn’t have anything to be upset about, but being singled out in front of everyone made him feel sad and wronged.
Seeing that he might actually cry, Hajin hurriedly comforted Han Seungho.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
