105
An invisible energy swirled inside Siwoo’s hospital room. This was Geonho’s wavelength.
Taebeom approached the bed one step at a time, reading the wavelength Geonho had left behind. It wasn’t a wavelength that affected guides. It was more like a pheromone-like energy that Espers emit when asserting their power and territory to each other.
Geonho’s wavelength had a strong presence, befitting his high rank. Even in his absence, it felt as if he was still in the same space. He had deliberately left his wavelength behind to achieve this effect.
Taebeom, standing a few steps away from the bed, lowered his gaze. Siwoo was asleep again today, his body curled up in a ball.
Near his pillow, small snacks were piled up like a low hill. He must have fallen asleep while eating, as there were crumbs all over Siwoo’s mouth and his white hand that was exposed outside the blanket.
Taebeom looked at this with a calm gaze, then pulled out a tissue from the bedside table and wiped off the crumbs. Very slowly, so as not to wake Siwoo up.
After wiping off all the crumbs, he pulled the blanket that had slipped down below Siwoo’s chest up to his chin. He should have withdrawn his hand then, but…
“…”
As his gaze fell on the bruised neck, his straight fingertips moved on their own. Taebeom touched the marks he had left on Siwoo with his fingertips. Of course, it was his left hand.
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, Siwoo’s slightly parted lips moved. Taebeom withdrew his hand, looking at Siwoo who had opened his eyes.
Siwoo had been pretending to be asleep. He had been eating snacks to his heart’s content when he heard footsteps approaching the hospital room and quickly closed his eyes. He had a feeling it would be Kang Taebeom, and if it was him, there was something he wanted to confirm.
The mysterious cold touch on his cheek during his hospital stay. As expected, it was Kang Taebeom’s hand.
It seemed he had visited his hospital room at this late hour without making a sound then too. Without anyone knowing. It was typical of a man with many secrets.
Siwoo, raising his upper body, scratched the neck where Taebeom’s hand had touched. It wasn’t unpleasant. Although touching a sleeping person’s body was certainly something to be angry about, since it was Kang Taebeom, he decided to let it slide. He probably didn’t touch without reason.
“Sit down.”
Siwoo broke the awkward silence first. In fact, he had been waiting for Kang Taebeom to come.
“Did you get examined?”
Siwoo looked up at Taebeom, who remained standing despite his words, and moved his eyes busily. Outwardly, he looked fine as usual. He didn’t look like someone who had collapsed while bleeding.
“I asked if you got examined. You lost a bucket of blood, didn’t you?”
Judging by the lack of response, it seemed he hadn’t gone. Siwoo deliberately let out a deep sigh.
“Should I tell Secretary to make you get examined?”
He intentionally pushed harder. He wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Suppressing the embarrassment he felt about facing him, he straightened his shoulders and pretended to be tough.
“Sit down for now. I have something to talk about.”
He was worried Taebeom might just leave, but fortunately, he sat down in the chair. It was a relief that the threat worked.
Siwoo looked at Taebeom, relying only on the moonlight seeping through the window. He wanted to check his complexion too, but he didn’t want to turn on the lights. If he saw him too clearly, he felt like he would be reminded of what they had done together. Even now, he was trying to erase the scenes that occasionally flashed through his mind.
“I apologize.”
Just as Siwoo was starting to scratch his unaffected cheek out of embarrassment, Taebeom suddenly apologized.
“…For what?”
Taken aback by the sudden apology, Siwoo swallowed hard. The tip of his chin, which he had been working hard to raise, lifted even higher as if to pierce the ceiling. He didn’t know it would be this difficult to have a conversation with the person he had his first sex with. It was terribly embarrassing.
“For everything.”
In contrast, Taebeom was the same as usual. They had done embarrassing things together, but it seemed only Siwoo was conscious of it, which hurt his pride. Siwoo wished he could be as calm as Taebeom. Compared to him, he felt like such a child.
There was an atmosphere about Kang Taebeom that Siwoo couldn’t imitate. Was it because of the life he had lived?
“Are you going to keep hiding that you’re sick?”
Siwoo, who had been scrutinizing Taebeom’s weighty face, brought up the question he had prepared.
“You’ll find out anyway.”
“Does that mean you should hide it?”
“It doesn’t change anything even if others know. I’m receiving all the treatment I can.”
Taebeom’s low voice continued for quite a while. It felt strange to have such a proper conversation with him for the first time. At least it seemed he was receiving treatment. He didn’t seem like the type to make up lies.
“So don’t tell anyone.”
“You’re not dying, are you?”
Siwoo asked sincerely. When he had collapsed leaning against the desk, he had looked no different from a corpse. It was amazing that a person could survive after losing so much blood and still be fine.
“Espers don’t die easily.”
Well, that’s true. He’s not an ordinary person after all. An Esper who recovers on their own in a few days even if their flesh is torn or bones are broken. But that doesn’t mean they can’t die.
“Receive guiding every day.”
Siwoo narrowed his eyes sharply. He even clenched his fist, his face clearly warning. He looked ready to hit if Taebeom refused.
“Come for guiding even if your wavelength is fine. Otherwise, I’ll tell everyone about you coughing up blood and collapsing.”
Taebeom’s black pupils moved slightly, scanning Siwoo’s face and neck. The movement was so subtle that Siwoo didn’t notice. He was busy thinking of the next threat in case Taebeom refused. But there was no need for that.
“Every day is not possible.”
Taebeom said as he stood up from his seat. He continued, saying he didn’t have time to receive it every day, but he would come when Siwoo called.
Siwoo momentarily froze at his strangely changed tone. His voice was still cold, but somehow he felt subtly different. Even though he was leaving for the door without saying goodbye just like before, why did it feel different?
“W-wait a moment!”
Siwoo reached out his hand and quickly called out to Taebeom before he could open the door. He still had something to ask.
“Where is Ha Seojun? Can’t I meet him now?”
He asked quickly, worried that Taebeom, who looked busy, might leave right away. The answer that came back was typically Kang Taebeom-like in its brevity.
“Don’t meet him.”
The sound of the door closing punctuated the end of the conversation. Siwoo lost the will to argue against the sharp order that came back.
Left alone in the hospital room again, Siwoo lay down on the bed with a thoughtful expression. After Taebeom left, the silence felt even more profound, to the point where he became conscious of his own breathing.
Looking around the quiet hospital room, he deliberately chewed his snacks more loudly. Crunch, crunch. The sound of thin, hard snacks breaking continued until dawn.
Even after finishing all the snacks, his eyes gradually closed as he glared at the door that showed no signs of opening. Siwoo buried his face in the pillow, recalling the faces of his busy Espers one by one.
* * *
Siwoo’s hospital stay had continued for a week.
His body, overworked by excessive guiding, couldn’t avoid catching a cold. After his fever had risen and fallen repeatedly, it had finally subsided to a low-grade fever.
As Jihan had said, the hospital stay wasn’t uncomfortable. Meals were provided on time, and someone came to clean. Siwoo finished his meals without leaving a single grain of rice. He forced himself to eat even when he wasn’t hungry, because they said he would have to receive IV fluids if he left food.
“Ah… I’m so full.”
Siwoo, who had eaten three full meals today as well, rubbed his slightly bulging stomach. Although Siwoo never refused food, eating regularly at set times was quite bothersome.
Moreover, the hospital food was excessively healthy. Siwoo wanted to eat stimulating foods that would whet his appetite. Something like Churu, for instance.
Thinking of Churu naturally reminded him of Kang Geonho. At the same time, the corners of Siwoo’s mouth twisted.
“This guy and that guy, all pretending to be so busy. As if they’re handling all the world’s affairs.”
Today too, the only guest in Siwoo’s hospital room was boring silence. Siwoo had been spending a lot of time alone lately. He spent more than half of each day passing time by watching TV or looking out the window.
Kang Geonho came very occasionally, just to drop off an armful of snacks before leaving, and Yoo Jihan didn’t show his face at all. The same went for Secretary. The youngest and the leader didn’t show even a hair.
Could there be a problem with the gate? Siwoo, still unaware of the situation in the field, could only wonder. Even when Geonho came, he only checked on Siwoo’s condition before leaving immediately, so there was no chance to ask.
For the past week, Siwoo had focused primarily on recovering his physical strength. Although they said there was no problem with his health, strangely, he was losing weight even though he ate every meal. The doctor emphasized only sufficient rest for Siwoo. They said avoiding stress was the most important thing.
Siwoo, fiddling with the TV remote, let out deep sighs. No matter how he thought about it, the hospital stay seemed to be the main cause of stress. Siwoo missed the cozy room in his dormitory.
He wanted to return to the dormitory even if there was no one to take care of him, but he held back. He didn’t want to worry the busy Espers and Secretary unnecessarily.
“Time is dragging so damn slowly.”
He kicked the innocent pillow with his foot while admiring the blue sky outside the window. The September sky that had arrived before he knew it was excruciatingly beautiful. The clouds looked magnificent, as if molded by the hands of God himself.
While admiring the autumn sky, Siwoo picked up the pad placed next to his pillow. Checking the Espers’ wavelength readings had become a habit. It seemed like it might be okay to do some guiding soon.
Knock knock.
Siwoo, who was pressing the pad screen, turned his head at the faint sound of knocking. It was such a small sound that he wondered if he had heard wrong.
Was it his imagination? It didn’t seem like anyone was standing in front of the door. There were no footsteps to be heard either.
Tilting his head in confusion, he first slowly approached the door. If it were Kang Geonho or Yoo Jihan, they would have come in without knocking. The only ones who might knock so timidly were the remaining two: Kang Taebeom and Ha Seojun.
“Who is it!”
He tiptoed to the door and flung open the sliding door with all his might. He intended to startle whoever was standing there without making a sound, confusing people.
However, there was no one outside the door. Instead of a person, there was some food placed on the floor. A red apple and a small acorn.
A big question mark appeared on Siwoo’s face. He stared blankly at the food neatly placed on the floor before bending down.
An apple and an acorn. What kind of combination was this?
Siwoo first picked up the appetizing-looking apple and smelled it. It was an ordinary apple. Despite being full, he almost bit into the apple, enticed by its subtle sweet scent.
Next, when he picked up the acorn, his eyes narrowed slightly. He couldn’t say for certain, but… it felt subtly different from the apple. Somehow, it didn’t seem like an ordinary acorn.
It wasn’t that he felt any energy from it or that the texture was special, but strangely, he had that feeling. It was a special feeling he couldn’t express in words.
“What’s wrong?”
It was when he had been crouching on the floor examining the acorn for a while. Suddenly, someone grabbed Siwoo’s shoulder and pulled him up.
“Are you dizzy? Are you in pain somewhere?”
The voice sounded very flustered, as if they thought Siwoo had collapsed. It was definitely a familiar voice, but…
Siwoo’s head tilted even more as he blinked his eyes. He was greatly surprised internally as he looked at the appearance of the man who had helped him up. If he hadn’t heard the voice, he might have kicked him in the solar plexus.
“Ha Seojun… is that you?”
