87
“What?”
Geonho, with a haggard face, slumped down in front of the bathroom door. The fact that he sat on the floor instead of the perfectly good bed suggested he was still feeling unwell. His body seemed ready to dash to the toilet at any moment.
“What… no, what… what the hell?”
Jihan watched the dazed Geonho, waiting for him to accept the facts. He had just told Geonho what he had done to Siwoo.
“I… did that…?”
In truth, Jihan didn’t know the details either, as he had heard the story from the youngest, Seojun. However, just knowing that Siwoo had performed guiding on the deeply sleeping Geonho was enough to infer plenty about the situation.
“His hands were even trembling, they say. Pinned under that big body of yours.”
Geonho’s red eyes shook violently, like dry leaves about to fall. With each blunt word Jihan threw, Geonho’s pale complexion darkened further.
“He was cooped up in your room the whole time while you were sleeping. He’s still in his room now.”
“Then… what about food?”
Even in this confused state, he’s worried about food, huh?
“Didn’t you feed him? Has he been starving this whole time?”
Jihan shook his head as he watched Geonho, who looked out of it but was still going on about food.
“Of course we made sure he ate.”
Since Siwoo wouldn’t even enter the kitchen he used to frequent, they left meals in front of his door. Jihan, Seojun, and the secretary took turns ensuring Siwoo’s meals.
“But it seems he throws up everything he eats.”
Geonho’s face, which had been showing relief, contorted even more severely than before.
“Throwing up…?”
“He’d rush to the bathroom every dawn.”
This too was information from Seojun. While Jihan was on dawn duty, Seojun guarded the dormitory, staying on the living room sofa. He monitored the situation, alternately watching the doors of Geonho’s and Siwoo’s rooms.
Every time Siwoo rushed to the bathroom, he was covering his mouth. Even without asking, it was easy to guess his condition.
“They say cats often vomit when stressed.”
“What about the hospital?”
“He stubbornly refused to go, so we couldn’t take him.”
“Still, damn it, you should have taken him.”
Geonho raised his voice and then squeezed his eyes shut. Just raising his voice brought a pain that felt like it would split his skull in half.
“What if forcibly taking him there caused more stress? It’s better to let him rest for now.”
Geonho, clutching his head, couldn’t continue speaking. His thick Adam’s apple kept bobbing, as if he was swallowing back nausea.
Cold sweat beaded on Geonho’s forehead and neck as he suffered from the side effects of the sedative. His body temperature was abnormally high right now. His hot head, throbbing with a headache, wasn’t functioning properly.
However, he clearly recognized the fact that he had hurt Siwoo. He could picture Siwoo trembling in fear. He had hurt that small body again.
Geonho rubbed his eyes where sweat had rolled in. Jihan, who had been quietly observing his shocked state, tossed him some medicine.
“For now, wash up and come down. Take the medicine first.”
It was painkillers and guiding medication. Geonho only chewed and swallowed the guiding medication.
“By the way, Geonho.”
Jihan, who had placed the painkillers Geonho had thrown away back at his feet, asked casually.
“Exactly how much do you remember?”
Geonho, who had been pressing his mouth to avoid throwing up the medicine, swallowed dryly and answered.
“The living room sofa.”
As I thought, the last thing he remembers is falling asleep on the sofa. Nodding at the expected answer, Jihan turned towards the door.
“Try hitting your head hard once.”
Before closing the door and leaving, he left one last remark.
“That sometimes helps me remember.”
It was nonsense disguised as friendly advice, but the simple-minded Geonho immediately put it into action.
Behind Jihan’s back as he closed the door, the sound of a head hitting the floor rang out. As expected of an SS-class esper, the impact sound was tremendous.
“Are you up?”
Hearing the loud “Bang! Bang!” noise, the secretary who had been downstairs rushed up.
“Yes, I was throwing up for a while, but I’ve calmed down now.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
The secretary, as if he had been waiting for this moment, rolled up both sleeves, showing off his solid arm muscles. He looked ready to throw a punch at Geonho. Jihan gently blocked him from rushing into Geonho’s room.
“Calm down. Geonho is already in bad shape.”
“When has he ever been in good shape? Don’t stop me today.”
The secretary had been itching for Geonho to wake up. How dare he hurt the weak guide again. He had even lost sleep worrying about Siwoo, who was holed up in his room.
“Geonho is reflecting on it enough.”
Jihan gestured towards Geonho’s room door. From inside, loud “Bang! Bang!” sounds kept ringing out. At this rate, even the memories trying to return might flee. The sound of Geonho’s brain cells diminishing spread to the living room.
In the end, the secretary went back down the stairs, rubbing his face. Anyway, Geonho was bound to get a thorough scolding from the leader. There was no need for the secretary to step in.
“How about we inform our leader a bit later?”
Jihan asked as he followed the secretary down the stairs. After a moment’s consideration, the secretary agreed. Although Taebeom had said to inform him as soon as Geonho woke up, they decided to give Geonho some time until his condition improved.
“Is he in very bad shape?”
“He’s not good, but it’s not as serious as before.”
Jihan answered with a smile. Thanks to this, the secretary’s growing worry diminished a little.
Geonho had already received special sedatives several times before. The Baekya Guild had all witnessed him suffering from the severe side effects.
“Um, Esper Yoo Jihan.”
The secretary, trudging down the stairs, cautiously began.
“Well… if even you, Esper Jihan, could get along well with the guide, it would be a great help…”
Jihan immediately understood what the hesitant secretary was implying.
“You’re right. It’s not easy.”
Jihan also wanted to get along well with Siwoo. If he could have his way, he’d be sitting right next to Siwoo’s bed now, nursing him. But he was currently persona non grata.
“I guess we’ll have to wait until he feels better.”
Seeing Siwoo openly express his discomfort, Jihan didn’t push as he usually would. He quietly just took care of meals, giving Siwoo space.
“I’m worried sick that he might fall ill. He’s so delicate and sensitive, both physically and emotionally.”
The secretary, who had come down to the living room, glanced at Siwoo’s closed door in the distance.
“He throws up everything he eats. I saw him going to the bathroom briefly yesterday, and his face looked like it had shrunk to half its size.”
The secretary pressed both his cheeks hard, imitating Siwoo’s gaunt face. Jihan’s smile faded slightly as he watched this.
His already thin body has become even more emaciated. Could there be more distressing news than that?
“Well then, I’ll be going now. Esper Jihan, you’ll be at the dormitory until this evening, right?”
“Yes, you should go now.”
Jihan was also assigned dawn duty today. Until then, he needed to stay at the dormitory and catch up on sleep.
“Please text me when Esper Geonho comes out of his room.”
The secretary left the dormitory, still concerned about Geonho and Siwoo until the end. He seemed reluctant to leave, going back and forth between the entrance and living room several times. Jihan personally escorted him to the entrance and even opened the door for him.
With the chatty secretary gone, the dormitory became quiet again. In the calm silence that spread through the dormitory, the sound of Jihan’s small sigh intruded.
He quenched his thirst with cold ice water from the kitchen, then looked at Siwoo’s room door. He didn’t approach closely, just lingering around with his gaze before heading to the living room.
He needed to get some sleep before going out to the field. But like the secretary, he couldn’t leave the living room and just sat on the sofa.
He was curious about Siwoo’s condition, whose face was said to have shrunk to half its size. Although it had only been two days since he last saw him, it felt like it had been over two weeks.
Is he sleeping now?
Not even the sound of the TV could be heard from Siwoo’s room. He wondered what Siwoo was doing in that small room. Maybe he should have put in a few books. For comfortable reading in bed.
Lost in these trivial thoughts, he found himself in front of Siwoo’s room door. He had no intention of knocking. He just wanted to check if Siwoo was really in there.
Jihan, with his hands in his pockets, pressed his ear close to the door.
“…”
It was so quiet that he wondered if Siwoo wasn’t inside at all. But since the youngest had seen him going to the bathroom during the day, he probably hadn’t left. So was he sleeping?
Just as Jihan was narrowing his eyes, straining his hearing to catch even the slightest sound, the door suddenly flung open.
Startled, Jihan’s body froze. Like someone caught in the act of mischief.
Then, seeing the pale face revealed through the opening door, he frowned. It was an expression unlike him.
