A Lifelong Love Affair at Work 13

Over the next two days, Ho-eun sat through theoretical training sessions and finally got to focus on the workouts he hadn’t managed to keep up with since arriving.

The gym, which he visited for the first time, was better equipped than he’d expected, and he threw himself into long-overdue strength training. His body had been in rough shape lately—no wonder his mental state had been off, too.

Friday night.

After wrapping up his workout, he packed his things to head home for the weekend. Weekday outings were prohibited, but as long as you submitted a request in advance, you could leave on weekends. It felt like some annoying high school rule, but considering the nature of the job, he decided to just deal with it.

Being isolated in a place like this, Ho-eun couldn’t help but feel like his thought patterns were starting to shift.

Were they like this, too?

The senior interns who used to torment Do In-ho probably hadn’t been like that from the beginning. They must’ve changed after realizing just how much power Guides held over Espers’ lives. Still, once they were out in the world, there were no Espers or Guides—just regular people.

Ho-eun figured he needed to reset as well. Not as Guide Kwon Ho-eun, but as the ordinary guy Kwon Ho-eun.

The next morning, he slung a lightly packed bag over his shoulder and headed toward the front gate. Getting here had been easy, thanks to Paul’s teleportation ability—but getting home now? That felt more complicated.

The Incheon Branch was nestled in a quiet area, surrounded by woods. He had no clue which direction led to public transportation. Following the path the guard had pointed out, he walked for about ten minutes before reaching a road marked by a long yellow line drawn horizontally across it.

“What the heck is this line? It’s not even a lane marker.”

Just as he started wondering if he’d taken a wrong turn, he felt someone approaching from behind. Guess he was on the right path after all.

He confirmed there were no bus stops nearby and walked up to the strange, yellow-marked road.

The moment he stepped over the line, a loud honk exploded in his ears. A gust of wind strong enough to blow his bangs back made him instinctively shut his eyes—and when he opened them again, he was standing somewhere completely different.

It was the entrance road to Incheon Airport.

He stood at the crosswalk, glancing around in confusion. Everyone looked like ordinary civilians—no one gave off the vibe of having used any special ability.

Despite his sudden appearance, none of the people waiting for the signal spared him a glance. Which meant… he hadn’t fallen from the sky or anything—he must’ve just appeared like he’d been there all along.

That’s when he noticed the traffic light beside him.

It looked totally ordinary—just a gray pole with a light on top. But the longer he stared, the more something felt off. Then, as he kept watching, the pole began to turn yellow.

Just as he realized something was happening, the person who had been behind him earlier appeared beside him.

“So this is it.”

An Ability Tool made from an Esper’s crystal. The traffic light was one of them.

The realization left a heavy feeling in his chest.

He hadn’t expected to encounter an Ability Tool firsthand—especially one that anyone could use, whether they were a Guide, Esper, or civilian.

The pedestrian signal turned green. With a deep breath, Ho-eun stepped forward.

After a long hour and a half on the subway and bus, familiar streets finally came into view.

When he reached his neighborhood, he could finally let go of the tension in his body.

He still had the Guide Watch strapped to his wrist and that mysterious necklace around his neck, but without any Espers or Guides nearby, he felt a little more human.

As he opened the front door, the smell of home-cooked food hit him. Seemed like his parents had gone all out knowing their son, now gainfully employed, was coming home.

“I’m home.”

He was warmly welcomed and immediately ushered to the dining table.

Now free from the constant pressure of “watching what he said,” Ho-eun ate until he was stuffed. Afterward, he even made up a few tales about work to reassure his parents that things were going well.

Later, still unsatisfied from his time at the Esper Corporation—where ordering delivery was off-limits—he splurged on a round of spicy delivery food to make up for lost time.

It felt like all he’d done was eat all day, but time flew by like it was mocking him.

“I’ll come back again soon.”

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, he said his goodbyes.

For his last stop, he dropped by his favorite dessert shop and picked up a whole strawberry shortcake.

Sure, there were dessert shops inside the Corporation, but none of them could beat this one—not in his experience.

Fighting the urge to keep glancing at the cake box, he made his way to the Incheon Airport crosswalk where he’d warped the day before.

Watching the gray pole slowly turn yellow again, he closed his eyes.

The crisp scent of forest air hit his nose. When he opened his eyes, he was back—standing in the middle of the road leading to the Esper Corporation’s Incheon Branch.

Ugh. One week and he was already sick of this place.

Moving quickly to the sidewalk, he hurried toward the dorms, praying the cake’s intended recipient was still home.

***

When he arrived at Do In-ho’s dorm, Ho-eun rang the bell.

He figured In-ho would obviously be home on a Sunday—and he was right. The door opened smoothly.

Do In-ho stood there in a plain white T-shirt and black cotton pants, yet still managed to look sharp. Probably thanks to that killer physique. His golden eyes were just as captivating as ever.

“What brings you here…?”

“I know it’s late, but I wanted to officially say hi—y’know, now that I’ve moved in!”

“?”

In-ho gave him a look that clearly said, What does that have to do with me?

Right. He’d forgotten for a second that Do In-ho had zero social skills.

Luckily, that wasn’t the only reason he’d come.

“And I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day. I was out of line. I’m really sorry.”

“……”

Ho-eun paused, then took a deep breath.

His conversation with Kim Se-hee had made it painfully clear just how rude he’d been.

“I think I crossed a line. I’m truly sorry—for everything I said and did. I was way too flippant. I just couldn’t understand it… how someone completely healthy could suddenly be treated like they’re living on borrowed time.”

The words poured out of Ho-eun in one breath.

It had been Thursday night. He’d kicked at his blankets for hours in bed, unable to sleep.

He felt nothing but shame thinking back on how he’d tried to treat Do In-ho’s life like something that belonged in his palm.

And along with the shame came guilt.

Maybe Do In-ho was used to being treated that way. But Ho-eun wasn’t the kind of person who could watch someone get hurt because of him and just let it go.

Even though In-ho hadn’t seemed particularly hurt back then, Ho-eun wanted to offer a real, honest apology.

“As a peace offering, here—please accept this.”

He shoved the cake box into Do In-ho’s reluctant hands and quickly turned around.

Since his dorm was just across the hall, he had no choice but to show the incredibly awkward sight of himself scurrying back home after his dramatic exit.

“…If it’s alright with you, would you like to share it with me? It’s a bit much for one person.”

“……!!”

Ho-eun whipped around, stunned.

The guy who seemed to have zero social instincts had just said that?

Sure, the polite thing might’ve been to decline. But Ho-eun licked his lips and stepped inside without a second thought.

Truth be told, a whole cake was a lot for one person to finish alone. And cake didn’t keep well. On top of that, the shop only allowed one cake per customer—if he didn’t eat it now, he’d have to wait until next week to get another.

Right. Let’s not waste good cake.

After mentally justifying it to himself, Ho-eun took a seat at the kitchen table.

In-ho placed the cake and two small plates on the table, then brewed a pot of coffee. He slid a mug of Americano in front of Ho-eun with practiced ease.

Watching him move so naturally made Ho-eun wonder—how did someone this socially awkward know how to host like this?

“Thanks for the food.”

Ho-eun scooped up a big bite of cake with his fork. The soft whipped cream, the juicy strawberries, the fluffy sponge—it all came together in perfect harmony, spreading happiness through his mouth.

As he cheerfully worked through his first slice, Do In-ho just sat there fiddling with his fork.

“Not a cake fan? This place is amazing. Seriously, once you try it, you’ll be begging me to tell you where I got it.”

“Ah… sure.”

Pressed by Ho-eun’s hopeful expression, In-ho reluctantly picked up his fork.

Three more weeks, he reminded himself. Three more weeks and he wouldn’t have to deal with Ho-eun trying to get close anymore.

He took a small bite.

It had been years since he’d eaten real food.

Ever since his Guiding percentage had dropped below 50%, eating had become unbearable. Every nerve in his body was hypersensitive. Even the best food tasted like garbage.

He glanced at his Guiding level—20%.

“It’s good, right?”

He had planned to just say yes out of politeness. No matter how well-prepared a dish was, it would still taste like trash to him.

And yet—he swallowed.

“How is it?!”

It didn’t taste like garbage. It was… sweet.

Is this what sweet really tastes like?

In-ho took another bite.

It was delicious.

But why?

As he puzzled over the sensation, he realized something: the air around him was thick with Broadcast Guiding—Ho-eun’s unconscious emission.

Ah.

It wasn’t the cake.

It was the Guiding.

So impossibly sweet.

Looking up at Ho-eun’s face, lit with pure excitement, In-ho slowly set his fork down.

“…It’s sweet.”

Ho-eun, mid-bite on his third slice, scrambled to chew and swallow.

“They’ve got other flavors too—like their mango one, or the chocolate truffle, oh, and—”

As Ho-eun rambled on about cake, In-ho felt something he hadn’t in a long time.

Comfort.

Normally, he would’ve never let someone into his space like this. He didn’t even know why he was making an exception today.

Maybe it was the cake. No one had ever given him one before.

If Ho-eun hadn’t come in with him, he probably wouldn’t have opened the box at all.

Thanks to that little whim, he found himself in this moment—and it wasn’t bad. The man in front of him was strange. He didn’t look at In-ho with fear. He didn’t look at him with disdain.

“…You’re… a bit odd, Mr. Ho-eun.”

“Me? Oh, because I eat too much? Yeah, I’ve got a massive appetite.”

The completely off-base reply made the corners of In-ho’s mouth twitch upward.

“Huh? You smiled! You should smile more, In-ho. You’ve got a killer face—if you smiled more, even guys would fall for you.”

“……”

His chest fluttered. He tightened his grip on the fork and lowered his head, ears burning red.

Seeing that, Ho-eun burst into laughter.

And so, Sunday came to a close.

***

The second week of internship training began.

The three interns gathered at the usual location before heading off together to the new training site.

The place they arrived at was unfamiliar—a facility located in the same building as the gym.

No matter how many times he looked at it, the building looked more like a sports complex than anything else.

Employees wearing black ID badges came and went in a steady stream.

Caught in the middle of that crowd, the intern Guides looked like baby chicks waddling after a hen.

Author: Levia