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Siwoo narrowed his eyes, staring intently at his phone screen. Since last night and throughout today’s training, he had been having a staring contest with his phone whenever he had a moment. As if there was a desperately awaited contact.
Siwoo glared at the silent phone with displeasure and threw a punch into the air.
“Ah, this is infuriating.”
No matter how long he waited, there was no reply from Taebeom. Not even a read receipt had disappeared.
He promised he’d come if I called.
Siwoo, who had returned to the dormitory after finishing training, was exhausted again today. He stared at his phone for a long time with a tired face before giving up and deciding to take a shower.
Even as he entered the bathroom and undressed, his attention was still on his phone. Thinking a reply might come while he was washing, he quickly finished his shower and checked his phone again.
“Jerk.”
He threw a tantrum, scratching at the persistent read receipt with his fingernail. He planned to go find Taebeom himself if there was still no reply by tomorrow.
“Should I just tell everyone?”
Siwoo had leverage over Taebeom. He was the only one who knew about Taebeom’s physical condition. If Taebeom tried to avoid or ignore him, Siwoo was ready to reveal the secret. After all, it was something everyone should know anyway.
Letting out a deep sigh, he roughly dried himself with a towel and flung open the bathroom door. At the same time, Secretary Nam Dongkwon, who had just arrived at the dormitory, looked startled.
“Guide! You need to put on clothes! Clothes!”
The moment Siwoo saw the secretary covering his eyes, he quickly shut the door. Distracted by his phone, he had forgotten to dress and walked out naked.
Damn. To think I showed my naked body even to the secretary.
Scratching his wet hair in embarrassment, he put on clothes and went out. The secretary, sitting on the living room sofa, smiled as usual to prevent Siwoo from feeling awkward.
“Haha, there should be a bathroom inside the room. It must be inconvenient, right?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Siwoo quickly shook his head, fearing the secretary might try to find him separate accommodation. He now had no desire to live anywhere else.
“That’s good then. But please, always remember to wear clothes properly.”
The secretary emphasized his words, pressing his palms together as if praying.
“There are four espers here who like you. Not just one or two, but four. Four.”
He spread four fingers with a serious face. Siwoo stared blankly at those fingers while rubbing his chin with the towel.
I don’t think it’s four. Maybe three. Ah, is it four including the secretary?
“How’s the training going? It must be tough, right?”
Siwoo, who had been lost in thought for a moment, shook his head sharply again. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t hard, but even he thought he was doing quite well. Moreover, tomorrow would be the last day of training. Just one more day to endure.
“If it feels burdensome, you can rest anytime. Don’t overdo it.”
It was a phrase he heard so much from Geonho, Jihan, and even the youngest that his ears were ringing. Siwoo responded with a casual “Okay” and sat on the sofa. Since the secretary was here, he wanted to ask about Kang Taebeom.
“Where’s the leader now?”
“He’s out in the field. He should be wrapping up soon as it’s almost time for a meeting.”
So he goes straight to meetings after managing gates. Siwoo was slightly surprised by Taebeom’s tighter-than-expected schedule.
“Is he that busy…?”
It was a question with an obvious answer. Nevertheless, the kind secretary answered in detail. He was endlessly grateful to Siwoo for caring about Taebeom.
“He has so many responsibilities. But don’t worry too much, I’m regularly checking on his condition.”
That’s a relief then. Siwoo set aside some of his worries, trusting the secretary.
“I came today because I have something to deliver to you.”
The secretary took out a small box from his bag. Inside the palm-sized box was a shimmering stone.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a barrier stone.”
Siwoo tilted his head at the unfamiliar term and just blinked. It looked like an ordinary stone. Except for the slightly shimmering gray, bumpy surface, it didn’t seem special.
“It’s not well-known in our country, but it’s quite famous in countries with many rare ability users.”
The secretary placed the barrier stone in Siwoo’s palm and continued his explanation.
“As the name suggests, it’s a stone imbued with barrier abilities. If you hold this, you can block monster wavelengths and attacks.”
“This?”
Siwoo examined the stone closely with a curious expression. It was as light as a common pebble and didn’t feel special. Yet it was said to contain barrier abilities.
“There are espers who can replicate abilities and transfer them to objects. Unlike Jihan’s copying ability, they can’t use the abilities directly, but they can imbue them into objects.”
The more he heard, the wider Siwoo’s eyes grew. He had never heard of such an ability. There are still so many amazing beings in the world.
“It’s a rare ability possessed by only two people worldwide. It’s such a tricky power to handle that they mainly make barrier stones. I heard they rarely replicate other abilities because it’s too dangerous.”
Their rare ability, spread by word of mouth, was traded for astronomical sums. Due to the difficulty in making them, they were now unobtainable even with money.
“It’s truly a precious item. I’ve heard about these but never thought I could get one.”
Taebeom had procured the barrier stone as soon as Siwoo declared he would do field guiding. The secretary, who learned about this belatedly, couldn’t help but admire. Unlike himself who only worried verbally about the guide’s safety, Taebeom had sought a solution right away. As expected of their leader. That’s why they could only trust and follow him.
“Is it really that precious?”
“Yes, of course.”
The secretary explained more details about the barrier stone to Siwoo. The one Siwoo was holding was the highest-grade barrier stone, traded at the highest price.
“They say if you grip it tightly in your hand, your body heat seeps in and strengthens the barrier. Try it.”
Siwoo gripped the stone tightly as the secretary said. Soon, the surrounding sounds became muffled.
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
The secretary knocked on the transparent reinforced wall surrounding Siwoo, smiling and asking if it wasn’t impressive.
“This should keep most espers from approaching.”
“Did you get this, Secretary?”
“No, no, I can’t get things like this. The leader searched for it himself.”
Siwoo’s long eyelashes fluttered slowly. He stared blankly at the barrier stone, feeling a faint warmth.
Kang Taebeom got this for me. That busy guy.
The secretary stood up from the sofa with a satisfied smile. The barrier stone put his mind at ease. With this, there should be no risk of physical harm. Of course, caution was still necessary.
“I’ll be going now. Good luck with your final training tomorrow.”
The secretary looked at Siwoo fiddling with the barrier stone, said goodbye, and headed to the entrance. Just as he opened the inner door and was about to put on his shoes, the front door burst open with familiar footsteps.
“Is Han Siwoo inside?”
Geonho carelessly kicked off his sneakers and rushed in without waiting for an answer. Seojun, who came with him, greeted the secretary and tidied up Geonho’s shoes. Thanks to wearing bracelets, they had more free time and could meet Siwoo in the mornings and evenings.
“Han Siwoo! I’m here!”
Geonho, with arms wide open, rushed towards the sofa where Siwoo was. Siwoo smacked Geonho’s broad back, yelling at him to speak more quietly.
“It’s good to see this.”
The secretary smiled warmly, looking at Geonho and Siwoo sitting close together. Seojun, who had entered the entrance hallway, pretended not to hear his words and didn’t react.
“You showered. Want me to dry your hair?”
“It’s fine. It’ll dry on its own.”
Siwoo shook his head, roughly shaking off the moisture. Seeing this, Seojun moved faster than Geonho.
“You’ll catch a cold that way. Let me dry it for you.”
Seojun ran to the bathroom to get a hair dryer. However, just as he was about to grab it, the dryer disappeared before his eyes. It wasn’t Geonho who snatched it, but Jihan.
“Here, Guide, lean back comfortably.”
Jihan, who suddenly appeared out of thin air, waved the cordless hair dryer and touched Siwoo’s wet hair.
“You! When did you get here!”
Although Siwoo shouted angrily, he didn’t reject the hand touching his hair. Jihan knew exactly how to touch to make Siwoo feel good. Thanks to his innate instincts and experience, he gripped the hair with just the right pressure and adjusted the direction of the dryer.
Geonho glared at Jihan with fierce eyes before massaging Siwoo’s swollen legs. Again, Siwoo accepted the touch. His tired body had widely opened the door to his sensitive heart.
Seojun, who had lost all opportunities to his hyungs, wandered around the sofa before changing course to the kitchen. He took out a glass he had prepared in advance from the refrigerator and brought it over.
“Guide, drink this.”
Siwoo took the glass Seojun handed him and sipped it without hesitation. He thought it was strawberry juice just by looking at the color, but the moment he swallowed, he recoiled.
“Ugh!”
It wasn’t juice, but mare’s milk. The slimy texture made him nauseous even before he could finish drinking.
“I said I won’t drink this! I hate it!”
He had already been forced to drink it once before. He had said he would drink it just once and never again, but now they were trying to make him drink it blended with strawberries. Who do they think they’re fooling?
“Just drink it. It’s good for you.”
Even Geonho didn’t take Siwoo’s side and encouraged him to drink the mare’s milk. To think they would make him eat something so disgusting. Siwoo glared at Geonho with a face of great betrayal, telling him to drink it himself.
“I don’t need this stuff. You drink it all.”
“No. It tastes bad.”
“Guide, tomorrow’s your last day of training. Shouldn’t you drink this to get more strength?”
When even Jihan joined in, Siwoo clutched the glass with a pitiful face. There were three espers, but not one of them was on his side. What’s so great about this mare’s milk?
Siwoo shut his eyes tight and gulped down the disgusting mare’s milk. He held his nose while forcibly swallowing the slimy texture that couldn’t be masked by the strawberry flavor.
“Oh, well done. Our guide is the best.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Guide, there’s a little left.”
Siwoo stood up from the sofa, avoiding the noisy espers, and swallowed his saliva. He wanted to hit them for making him drink mare’s milk when there were plenty of things that were both healthy and tasty.
The three espers closed their mouths, watching Siwoo’s reaction. Siwoo rubbed his mouth vigorously and put his hands on his waist.
Right, since I ate something healthy, I should put it to use. With this surprisingly diligent thought, he returned to the sofa. He had wanted to practice what he learned in training today anyway.
“I’ll guide one of you before you go.”
He had learned something quite useful today. He was curious if it would actually work. Three would be too much, but he thought he could handle just one person.
“Who wants to receive it?”
Before Siwoo could finish speaking, answers flew in. As if they had rehearsed, simultaneously.
“Me.”
“Me!”
“Me.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
