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Seojun failed to manage his expression. It was because the bracelet around his wrist had been bothering him the whole time.
Even when he tried not to pay attention to it, his wrist felt heavy whenever he was about to forget. The cold of the hard metal seemed to poke at his mental strength, as if testing it.
“I told you. It’s just a bracelet,” Jihan spoke first in a nonchalant voice. He lightly disinfected Siwoo’s arm where scratches remained and applied some ointment.
Meanwhile, Siwoo checked their reactions with suspicious eyes.
Yoo Jihan and Kang Geonho showed little change, but Ha Seojun’s eyes wavered slightly as if momentarily flustered. Now he was even avoiding eye contact altogether.
What on earth is that bracelet?
“Let me try it on. I want to wear it too.”
“It’s nothing special. And it’s heavy.”
This time Geonho stepped in. He spoke as if the bracelet was no big deal, just like Jihan. He took Siwoo’s injured arm much more seriously.
It was a great relief that the skin hadn’t split from the whip. It was fortunate that Siwoo was physically weak. If an Esper had wielded it, bones would have been broken.
While Geonho was worrying about Siwoo’s arm, Siwoo suddenly reached out to touch his bracelet. His hand, stretched out as if to forcibly remove it, was quickly caught by Jihan.
“Guide.”
Suddenly, Jihan’s voice dropped coldly. As if giving a warning.
Startled by this, Siwoo pulled his hand back first. He was a bit surprised to see Jihan angry for the first time.
“…”
An awkward silence lingered for a moment. Even though Jihan had only grabbed his hand, Siwoo habitually rubbed his own hand as if he had been hit on the back of it. It was a heartbreaking sight.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll be honest,” Jihan suddenly raised both hands and let out a deep sigh.
“Jihan hyung.” Seojun gently grabbed his arm to stop him. Geonho indifferently covered his own bracelet.
“Guide, don’t be upset when you hear this. It’ll hurt us more if you are. Okay?”
Siwoo nodded as he looked around at the three of them. Seeing Jihan speak like this, it seems it’s indeed not an ordinary bracelet.
Could it be something dangerous? Like a control bracelet or something.
“It’s our friendship bracelet.”
Silence fell with Jihan’s answer. Siwoo opened his lips as if dumbfounded, then immediately frowned.
“…A friendship bracelet?”
“Yeah, sorry. We couldn’t tell you because we were afraid you’d feel left out.”
Jihan’s eyebrows drooped into a ㅠ shape. Seojun, who had been holding his arm, loosened his grip and let out a small sigh. It was a sigh of relief, but Siwoo didn’t know this.
“We got them before you joined us. We were going to order an additional one, but…”
Jihan trailed off, his face genuinely looking troubled. With an expression tinged with slight embarrassment, Siwoo’s eyes wrinkled even more.
“It’s quite expensive, you see.”
In short, it meant they couldn’t buy more because it was too costly. Hearing this, Siwoo’s head tilted reflexively.
The Baekya Guild, of all guilds. Does it make sense that they couldn’t afford a bracelet? Didn’t Kang Taebeom even buy a barrier stone by himself?
Recalling the barrier stone hidden somewhere on his body, he soon swallowed his doubts. Maybe they spent all their money buying this barrier stone. Kang Taebeom might have bought it with guild funds.
Thinking this way, he felt a bit sorry for forcibly prying into the reason.
These guys… I guess they’re not as rich as I thought.
“We’re trying to find something as similar as possible. Just wait a little bit.”
“It’s fine. You don’t have to buy it.”
Siwoo waved his hand, saying it wasn’t necessary, afraid they might spend money unnecessarily. They should have been honest from the start. What’s so embarrassing about not having money?
“Now go and work.”
Siwoo pushed them away and packed up the first aid kit himself. He ran off energetically, saying he wouldn’t leave the barracks so they shouldn’t worry.
The three left behind watched together as Siwoo entered the barracks alone.
“His mouth is savage,” Geonho muttered, waiting for the barracks door to close. Though it sounded like an insult at first, it was actually praise. Seojun too was inwardly impressed watching Jihan smoothly lie like flowing water.
“Seojun, you go and stay with him.”
“Yes.”
Seojun immediately followed Jihan’s words and headed to the barracks. They never left Siwoo alone. No matter how much Siwoo insisted he was fine with the barrier stone, they persistently stayed by his side.
“Did you meet hyung?”
Geonho looked at Jihan with his hands in his pockets. He knew that Jihan had visited Taebeom’s office for a report. It was he who had relayed the report content to Jihan.
“Did you tell him? What did he say?”
“No, I forgot.”
Jihan answered in a languid tone while scanning the exterior of their barracks. Geonho watched his brazen attitude with an incredulous expression, then suddenly changed his question.
“Is something up with our hyung?”
Though he seemed simple-minded, Geonho was also an Esper. His instincts, sharp to the point of being tiresome, were more sensitive and keen than a beast’s. There were many things he came to know even when he didn’t want to.
“He’s exactly the same as usual.”
Jihan massaged the back of his neck and said something ambiguous.
“The problem is he’s too much the same.”
He took a deep breath as if exhaling cigarette smoke and stretched. His expression, which quickly brightened, seemed to say:
It’ll work out somehow. Somehow, it’ll work out really well.
“For now, let’s solve this problem among ourselves.”
Jihan lightly patted Geonho’s shoulder and then disappeared. He merely concealed his body with invisibility rather than teleporting.
Geonho felt Jihan’s waves calmly moving away and finally stared around their barracks. With eyes fiercer than a beast before its prey.
Then he lightly fiddled with his bracelet, which Siwoo had almost touched.
* * *
Siwoo sat on the sofa, pouting his lips. His expression was full of discontent.
“Making such a fuss when I said I could be alone…”
He grumbled, glaring at Seojun who had followed him into the barracks unnecessarily. He was gradually building up complaints against his Espers who wouldn’t leave him alone for a moment.
“You should just go and work too. The gate is busy, isn’t it?”
“Geonho hyung is enough by himself.”
Seojun silenced Siwoo with words that were hard to refute. His lips, at a loss for words, protruded even more sulkily. He looked like a rabbit when he was jumping around excitedly, but now he looked like a sulking duck.
This isn’t why I came out here. Siwoo felt complicated every time one of them stayed by his side. He came out to help them, but it felt uncomfortable, as if he had only increased the number of people to protect.
“I won’t talk to you, so just relax.”
Seojun found something to do to respect the alone time that the cat beastkin Siwoo needed. Without bothering him, he quietly opened the shelf and prepared dinner.
A guy who should be killing monsters is holding a kitchen knife and chopping ingredients. Siwoo just scratched his head vigorously as he watched Seojun.
“It’s dangerous to be alone,” Seojun said firmly as he skillfully transferred the chopped ingredients to the pot.
“It’s fine because I have the barrier stone.”
“It might block monsters. But if a high-ranking Esper decides to attack, that little rock won’t stop them.”
Seojun wasn’t saying this because he didn’t know the value of the barrier stone. He had heard enough explanation about the barrier stone through Jihan. He had said the same thing.
“Guide, remember this.”
Seojun put down the kitchen knife and looked at Siwoo.
“People are more dangerous than monsters.”
He emphasized that humans are scarier and more dangerous than the gate, so it would be engraved in Siwoo’s mind. Only then did Siwoo stop grumbling and sink back into the sofa.
Well, that’s true. The barracks aren’t guaranteed to be safe either.
As he organized his thoughts internally, he rubbed his cheek against the soft sofa. Though not as much as the bed, the sofa was comfortable too. Touching the sofa, which was clearly expensive, suddenly reminded him of Kang Taebeom again.
The shabby barracks he used must have left a strong impression. The creaking noise of the bed, too, was not easily forgotten. How noisy it was every time Kang Taebeom changed his position…
“Ah, shit.”
The curse came out involuntarily at the flesh-colored scenes that naturally followed. As he was about to bury his face in the sofa cushion to shake off the suddenly heated feeling, a loud presence was suddenly heard from outside the door.
Thud!
It was the sound of a heavy object hitting the door. The door seemed to shake slightly.
Siwoo got up from the sofa, seeing Seojun’s back as he stood in front of the door at the same time as the presence was felt. Seojun, who had instantly blocked the door, stretched his arm back.
He signaled Siwoo to stay still, then took a step towards the door. And before he could grab the doorknob, the door opened first.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
