31
Jihwan stared at Taehyun who was glaring at the cafeteria menu board.
“It doesn’t seem like the menu has changed much?”
Jihwan mumbled softly.
“That’s why it’s fucking frustrating.”
“Ah.”
Jihwan nodded.
Why are you still contemplating after 10 minutes when nothing has changed? Jihwan wanted to ask but held back. It was because Taehyun’s expression looked quite fierce.
“Hyung, just eat curry.”
“Okay.”
Jihwan waited another 10 minutes before speaking again. Surprisingly, Taehyun nodded compliantly. He didn’t seem like the person who had been contemplating the menu with such a grim face.
Jihwan looked at Taehyun with slight disbelief, then chose the same menu item and entered the cafeteria with his meal ticket.
“Did something bad happen?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“What is it?”
Jihwan asked as he placed the food-filled tray on the table and brought Taehyun some cold water. Taehyun downed the cold water in one go.
Jihwan briefly stared at the empty cup before bringing another cup of cold water. Taehyun thanked him, glanced back and forth between the cup and Jihwan, then shook his head slightly.
“No, what is it?”
Jihwan felt somewhat hurt. As he pouted, Taehyun pointed at the food in front of Jihwan with his spoon.
“Just hurry up and eat.”
Jihwan picked up his utensils and started eating. However, despite having agonized over the menu so much, Taehyun was merely picking at his food. Occasionally, he would stare blankly elsewhere.
The sound of joyful laughter and affirmative responses could be heard from a nearby table. Hearing the quite loud voices, Jihwan looked up from his meal and turned toward the source. It was Sunbae Eunjeong and Guide Lee Seoyeon.
“They seem really close.”
After mumbling this, Jihwan suddenly turned to look at Taehyun. Taehyun’s gaze was fixed on Eunjeong. It was quite a sharp stare.
Jihwan looked back toward Eunjeong and Seoyeon. Eunjeong was putting something on Seoyeon’s tray. And she was attentively taking care of her throughout the meal, doing things like tucking Seoyeon’s hair behind her ear. Both of them had smiling faces the entire time they were eating, as if they were having so much fun.
Ahaha. What’s that? Seoyeon laughed cheerfully, perhaps having heard something amusing.
Since Seoyeon had returned to the Center, it wasn’t uncommon to see the two of them like this in the cafeteria. Eunjeong and Seoyeon seemed to share every meal together.
“…It’s probably because they’re a pair.”
Taehyun said in a low voice.
“Are all pairs like that?”
“Well, I guess so.”
Taehyun gave an ambiguous response to Jihwan’s question. His gaze was still fixed on Eunjeong and Seoyeon.
Are those two somewhat special? Jihwan wondered. And then he thought of Minjae.
When was the last time I saw Sunbaenim? I think it was last week. It’s been too long since we met. Sunbae Eunjeong gets along so well with her pair. I guess meeting often is how you get that close.
Jihwan recalled the flight demonstration training he did last week. He had thought he’d gotten a little closer to Sunbae Minjae then, but seeing Eunjeong and Seoyeon, he realized he was still far from that level of closeness.
Is it because one of them is a guide? Come to think of it, both Jihwan and Minjae were espers despite being a pair.
“How do you become that close?”
Jihwan mumbled.
“Usually, espers go looking for guides. To get guiding.”
Taehyun answered. For some reason, his tone seemed sarcastic. You’re an esper too, aren’t you? Jihwan asked, but Taehyun didn’t answer. He just irritably stirred his curry. He seemed angry, or perhaps like he was holding something back.
“I get why you’re angry, hyung.”
Jihwan said. Taehyun looked at him with a somewhat surprised face.
“Wh-what?”
“You fought with your noona, right?”
“……”
Taehyun’s face went blank. I knew it. Hit the nail on the head. Jihwan thought.
“You were so worried when she was away on a business trip. Be good to your noona. They say you should treat your family well while they’re around.”
“…Wow.”
Taehyun softly exclaimed. I’m right, aren’t I? Jihwan shrugged his shoulders. Taehyun quietly looked at Jihwan for a moment before bursting into a small laugh.
“You really are… in this way…”
“Huh?”
“Not bad.”
“What’s that, an insult?”
“It’s a compliment.”
Taehyun smiled at Jihwan and started eating his now cold curry. What kind of bland compliment is that? Jihwan grumbled, waiting for Taehyun to finish his meal.
Once Taehyun finished eating, Jihwan planned to look for where Minjae was.
***
Minjae rubbed his eyes and got up from bed. It was 4 PM.
Yesterday at dawn, Minjae had received an emergency call from the Guide Room. After reconnecting a mangled esper’s leg and dragging his tired body back, he had downed some alcohol and gone to sleep.
The fatigue hadn’t subsided even after sleeping. Minjae turned on the TV with the controller next to his bed. On the news channel, an anchor was speaking into a microphone.
[The number of parents refusing esper manifestation probability tests for their children is increasing. They are rejecting the tests conducted every semester for kindergarten and elementary school students, claiming they violate parental rights.]
Bullshit. Minjae muttered.
[Currently, esper manifestation probability tests are recommended, not mandatory, making it difficult for schools to proceed with testing if parents refuse. The Education Office…]
Even before manifesting as espers, some children absorbed small amounts of guiding.
Interestingly, not all children who absorbed guiding became espers. They just had a higher probability compared to those who didn’t absorb it.
So for children who absorbed guiding, after providing sufficient explanation to parents, a small amount of emergency guiding potion was given as part of the probability test. It was an attempt to reduce disasters caused by manifestation outbursts.
Why? It’s not even a full-fledged esper test. A parent who participated in the interview said they didn’t want to live in anxiety because the probability test has a high error rate.
The increase in such parents was essentially the same as saying The Crow believers were increasing.
We don’t want this to grow any larger. Minjae thought.
Minjae dragged his heavy body out of bed and opened the blackout curtains. Then he came face to face with Jihwan who was hovering around near the window.
“…What?”
“Oh? Hello!”
After looking around and spotting Minjae, Jihwan’s eyes widened in surprise before he greeted him with a smile. Minjae slightly opened the window.
“…What are you doing here?”
“Ah, I… was just flying around? What a coincidence to meet you like this, Sunbaenim!”
What is he saying? Is he crazy? Minjae was at a loss for words. He had been about to close the blackout curtains, but instead pulled them back again. Jihwan was still looking at Minjae with a smiling face. Is this a thriller? Minjae muttered.
Sunbaenim? Seeing Minjae’s expression, Jihwan approached the window with a worried face.
“Are you sick?”
“…I have a headache.”
“What? Why?”
Minjae didn’t answer and looked at his own face faintly reflected in the glass window. His face was pale white, like he’d seen a ghost.
Are you okay? Jihwan stuck his face in through the window as if to check Minjae’s condition. Minjae quietly reached out and grabbed Jihwan by the collar.
***
Jihwan was thoroughly scolded by Minjae. He was even warned that if he was ever caught lurking around the dormitory windows like a pervert again, he would be immediately removed from Team 1.
Jihwan was now banned from flying within the Center without a special reason.
I was just roaming around the floor where Sunbae Minjae was, and we really met by coincidence. Of course, I did want to run into him! Jihwan felt a bit wronged, but under the pressure of Minjae’s angry aura, he had no choice but to nod.
Though flying was prohibited, Jihwan didn’t give up and ran around looking for Minjae. Jihwan spotted Minjae walking down the corridor and quickly approached him.
“Sunbaenim! Hello.”
Minjae, seemingly tired, nodded while pressing his temples.
“I didn’t fly. I ran here.”
“…?”
Minjae looked at Jihwan with a puzzled expression for a moment. Jihwan wondered if Minjae had forgotten his own instructions. Does that mean I can fly around again?
“I can see how you got here. No need to report.”
Ah. So he just couldn’t believe it.
“R-right. Haha.”
Jihwan gave an awkward laugh. Minjae was about to walk past Jihwan but stopped and let out a small sigh.
“It’s up to you whether you fly or not, but don’t hang around the dormitory. Got it?”
“…Yes!”
Jihwan nodded vigorously. Minjae also nodded and started walking in the opposite direction of the corridor.
I guess seeing each other often makes forgiveness come quicker? This seems to be working? Feeling excited, Jihwan started following Minjae with his feet slightly lifted off the ground.
Minjae headed straight for the library, looked through some materials, and then headed somewhere else. Seeing Minjae pass by the cafeteria near the lobby, Jihwan slightly narrowed the distance.
If he goes in to eat, I’ll follow him in right away and pretend to accidentally sit together! That was his plan, but Minjae didn’t go in to eat. He changed direction and headed to another building.
“…What are you doing?”
Taehyun asked Jihwan, who was tracking Minjae’s direction from behind a building pillar. Startled, Jihwan grabbed his chest and took a deep breath when he saw Taehyun.
“Hyung, make some noise when you walk around!”
“What am I supposed to do? Walk around making the ground shake?”
“Yes!”
Taehyun looked at Jihwan with a lost expression and then disappeared. Because of this, Jihwan lost track of where Minjae went.
Oh no, this won’t do. Jihwan quickly flew in the direction Minjae had been heading. However, there was no sign of him.
Jihwan started to deduce where Minjae might have gone, like a detective.
The first place he went was the Guiding Room. There, a guide who had given him guiding before greeted him.
“Oh? Jihwan-ssi!”
Startled, Jihwan put his index finger to his nose and made a shushing sound. After desperately shaking his head, the guide hunched her shoulders.
“What’s going on?”
The guide whispered in a hushed voice. Did Sunbae Minjae come here? Jihwan asked. The guide nodded.
Jihwan thanked her and started wandering around the Guiding Room, with both feet hovering off the ground.
“Why are you here again?”
A youthful voice came from a corner of the Guiding Room. The tone was quite prickly.
“I came to visit you. It’s what friends do when someone is sick.”
It was Minjae’s voice. Jihwan flew toward a partitioned area with a curtain drawn around a makeshift bed, ears perked.
“I’m not sick.”
“Yes, you are. You keep taking bitter medicine because you refuse to receive guiding and get sick. Yesterday, your arm was bleeding, and it hurt, didn’t it?”
Minjae’s voice was gentle. Although the content was somewhat blunt, he was continuing in a very affectionate, coaxing manner.
“But…”
“But what?”
“What if I keep taking medicine and never get to go home?”
“……”
“Am I far from a hundred nights?”
Jihwan watched the silhouettes faintly visible through the white curtain. Minjae was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking toward a small figure.
So there’s a child who doesn’t like receiving guiding. Is he scared because he’s still young? Jihwan tilted his head slightly as he heard the youthful voice.
He didn’t know that such young espers were also affiliated with the Center. Come to think of it, he had heard that there was a separate space for young children to receive education.
“It’s still far off. If you don’t listen to me, I won’t let you go home even after a hundred nights.”
“I don’t want that!”
Small hands could be seen pushing Minjae, causing his upper body to be shoved and fall onto the bed. Oh! Unsure what to do, Jihwan considered whether he should pull back the curtain.
“…Does it hurt?”
The child asked.
“Yes, it hurts.”
“…Hurry up and do that thing. The light. Do it.”
The child seemed to be pestering him. Minjae slowly got back up.
“Then promise me you’ll play with me here once a week.”
“Play? What will we do?”
“…Rock-paper-scissors?”
That’s no fun. The child murmured glumly. Minjae’s voice could be heard insisting that it would become fun as they played. It’s such a warm scene.
Jihwan thought he should quietly leave to preserve this moment of friendship between the child and Minjae. That’s when it happened.
“Ghost!”
The child screamed. The curtain was quickly pulled aside.
“…You again?”
Minjae looked at Jihwan with an expression that said he was losing his mind.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
