What Kind of Relationship (4)
The uncomfortable silence was broken by my mother’s laughter.
“Hahaha! You like our Do-min that much? Well, how much do you like him?”
“I don’t have words to express it…”
Sa Hae-geon couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the mischievous question. Even so, Hae-geon’s pronunciation remained clear and precise. It felt strange yet intriguing to see him speaking so properly in front of my parents when he usually mumbles endlessly when talking to me. I wondered if he always pretends to be this normal in front of other people.
While I was lost in thought, my parents and Hae-geon continued their conversation.
“Ah, yes. It’s truly a good time, a good time. Isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right. We can tell just by how Cream follows him, you know.”
“How often must you have seen each other for Cream to follow you like that? Right? You’ve seen Cream often, haven’t you? She’s not the type to act like that with just anyone. She’s still shy even with us, and we’ve known her for a long time, you know?”
“Ah…”
Hae-geon hesitated to answer. I pretended not to be interested in their conversation while observing Hae-geon’s expression. Contrary to my expectation that his face would be filled with embarrassment, it was surprisingly peaceful. My parents, thinking Hae-geon was feeling shy, quickly changed the subject.
“What do you two do for fun when you meet? Our Do-min doesn’t know much about that kind of thing, so it must be boring to play together… Maybe it’s because he’s been working as a Guide from such a young age, but he doesn’t even have any notable hobbies.”
I just fiddled with my cup of citron tea, pretending not to hear my mother’s somewhat bitter voice.
“…We watch movies and play games.”
“Oh my, isn’t that a perfect date course?”
As soon as my eyes met my mother’s sidelong glance, my mouth moved on its own.
“Mom, even friends do that these days… It’s an era where there are too many entertainment options, that’s the problem.”
“I didn’t ask you, kid.”
“Mom, Dad, why are you acting like you’re greeting your son’s marriage partner? Why don’t you ask what his parents do while you’re at it?”
At my words, my father cleared his throat awkwardly, and my mother shook her head while crossing her arms. Hae-geon’s face turned red as he rolled his eyes around. I thought I heard my mother muttering something about me not understanding their parental intentions to help, but it wasn’t important.
“We should get going now. I need to rest, and so does he.”
“You’re leaving already? Weren’t you kidnapped? Are you going back home?”
“Well, no…”
“Do-min, you don’t know how harsh and scary the world is these days. Espers used to be cautious and mindful before, but not anymore. It’s practically lawless when it comes to Guide kidnapping and confinement. I heard that recently, even a Guide with a paired Esper was kidnapped. Though the Esper was low-ranked.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You should stop this kidnapping vacation or whatever it is. Don’t leave any openings for the Ability Department to pick on. And the world has become too dangerous for that. Instead of that, just take a vacation or leave work early without worrying about others. I’ll cover for you. Okay?”
I just smiled at my mother’s serious advice. As my mother said earlier, times have changed a lot since the days when Espers would kidnap secretly while being cautious. The same was true for Center work.
It might have been possible to take vacations and leave work early without worrying about others during my mother’s time, but if I did that at the Center now, not only would I face public criticism, but my team members would also be dissatisfied. Perhaps because I’ve been working as a Guide from such a young age, as my mother said, I couldn’t help but be conscious of others’ eyes and my reputation among them.
Maybe it’s not the world lacking Guides that created this boring, tiring daily life, but me. If I had lived doing what I wanted without worrying about others’ opinions, would others’ expectations of me have decreased? Would I be more at ease now if I had done that?
With these thoughts, I left my mother’s house with Hae-geon and Cream. I thought they wouldn’t let us go until we had dinner and dessert, but surprisingly, we were able to get in the car without much difficulty. Just before we completely left the gate, my father’s meaningful words kept bothering me.
‘Be honest, be honest. If you get used to hiding too much, you’ll have to live a tiring life forever. Live comfortably, son.’
I thought I was already living honestly enough. In fact, I was really being honest with Hae-geon. Except for the emotional synchronization issue and when I was laying the groundwork for my escape. But even with Hae-geon, it was difficult to open up completely about the emotional synchronization.
It wouldn’t be easy to explain this phenomenon one by one and list the fragments of emotions I’ve glimpsed so far. And I was also worried about how Hae-geon would react if he found out.
As I sat blankly for a while after fastening my seatbelt, I heard a pure exclamation.
“But your parents seem really kind.”
“…What?”
As I turned my head with a bewildered face, Hae-geon blushed and smiled shyly.
“They’re such wonderful people.”
“Oh… really? I thought they were being mischievous since it’s the first time I brought someone home. Was it okay?”
“They were being mischievous? I thought they were kind.”
“Well, being mischievous doesn’t mean they’re not kind. I thought you were having a hard time because they asked many difficult questions. Wasn’t that the case?”
“It wasn’t hard at all. I just enjoyed it.”
Hae-geon said this as he gripped the steering wheel. He was about to start the car and leave right away, but he flinched as if remembering something.
“Why?”
“Then… does this mean we’re a couple acknowledged by your parents?”
“What, what acknowledgment?”
I opened my eyes wide at the strange words coming from Hae-geon’s mouth. What kind of acknowledgment did we receive? We just got teased a lot. Seeing that I was dumbfounded, Hae-geon mumbled as if he was about to say something, but then turned his head away.
“What kind of acknowledgment did we receive?”
Even at my question, Hae-geon pretended not to hear and didn’t give an answer. He just focused on driving silently. Throughout the drive home, Hae-geon remained silent with a subtle expression.
After driving in silence for a while, we returned to Hae-geon’s house. I put Cream in my room and came out to the living room. Hae-geon was sitting blankly on the sofa, just blinking. I was about to say that I would go to my house for a while, but my lips closed tight as soon as I saw his serious expression. So I headed to the entrance without saying anything.
Then Hae-geon, whom I thought was lost in thought, came running out in a hurry.
“Wh-where are you going?”
“Me? To my house.”
“Why?”
“Why? Do I need a reason to go to my own house?”
Hae-geon looked at me as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying. I felt strange as I met his gaze full of shock, astonishment, and betrayal. Was it such a big mistake for me to go to my own house?
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Wrong? Why suddenly talk about doing something wrong? I’m just going to get some clothes.”
“…Clothes? Why clothes?”
“Look at the pajamas in your house. They’re all weird, just like you.”
“I chose ones that suit you. Of course, you’d look good in anything.”
“Yeah, I do look good in anything, but since I’m human, normal clothes suit me best.”
“Then I’ll go with you. I don’t want to send you alone.”
Perhaps because my leaving the house today was very shocking, Hae-geon waited for my answer with fluttering eyelashes. He seemed worried and anxious that I might try to leave him again. Since creating such a memory for him wasn’t pleasant for me either, I had no choice but to nod.
Hae-geon’s face immediately brightened as he followed me out. As we crossed the short corridor, it felt funny to be entering the door code in front of Hae-geon. I also wondered how the situation had come to this.
I wasn’t sure if this situation should be considered progress or regression… As I opened the front door and went inside, unlike Hae-geon’s neatly organized house, I had to face my own house that looked as if it had been hit by a typhoon.
