Not Imprisonment, but Living Together (7)
During our conversation, the car drove quickly, soon arriving in front of what I assumed was Sa Hae-geon’s family home. Just like his appearance that suggested he was a well-raised young master, Sa Hae-geon’s house was magnificent. I’d heard somewhere that many wealthy people lived near the Ability User Training School, and it seemed that was true…
While I was busy admiring it, Sa Hae-geon drove through the wide-open main gate, parked the car, and met my eyes.
“Hyung, can we get out now?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, let’s get out.”
After unbuckling my seatbelt and stepping out of the car, I saw an interior garden with a neatly trimmed lawn. And in the distance, someone was walking toward us.
“Hae-geon!”
It seemed to be Sa Hae-geon’s mother. Now I understood why Sa Hae-geon had acted so awkwardly and nervously in front of my parents before. I hadn’t been particularly tense during the drive, but now, just before meeting Sa Hae-geon’s parents, my heart was racing.
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Sa Hae-geon gently grasped my right hand and asked:
“Are you nervous too, hyung?”
“That’s something everyone experiences, isn’t it…”
“I thought you wouldn’t be. I thought you’d always be composed.”
“…Seriously. What exactly do you think I am?”
Sa Hae-geon remained silent, but during that brief moment, the tension that had been choking me eased a bit. Thanks to that, I was able to meet his mother with a somewhat calmer mind.
“Hae-geon, you… Oh my.”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother, who had been approaching with a momentum that suggested she was about to severely scold him, spotted me and stopped in her tracks. Then, looking at me and Sa Hae-geon with surprised eyes, she covered her mouth in astonishment.
“Oh my… Aren’t you Guide Chae Do-min?”
“Yes, that’s right. Hello.”
“Could it be… the ‘hyung’ Hae-geon mentioned in his text was Guide Chae Do-min?”
“…Yes. Please feel free to speak more casually.”
“Ah, I will. I never imagined Hae-geon would come with Chae Do… no, with you, Do-min. How on earth did you two meet…”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother gave him a not-so-angry glare before speaking again.
“Let’s go inside first. There’s a lot to check.”
We awkwardly followed her. As I was taking off my shoes at the entrance, I belatedly realized that Sa Hae-geon and I were still holding hands, and I quickly withdrew mine.
‘…Did she see?’
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I felt like a scoundrel who had seduced the innocent son of this palace-like home.
I didn’t have a chance to look around the interior of the house. Sa Hae-geon walked toward a room inside, seeming familiar with it. Left alone in the confusion, I stood still, trying to read the situation, when my eyes met those of Sa Hae-geon’s mother, who was approaching me.
“Well, come sit over here for now.”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother guided me to a quiet reception room. After sitting on a single-person sofa and waiting briefly, a warm cup of tea was quickly placed in front of me.
“I think I was so surprised that I didn’t properly greet you.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“I’m glad it’s fine. I’ve wanted to meet you, but I never expected to meet like this. It’s nice to meet you.”
Just as I was about to take her hand and bow my head, someone knocked on the reception room door.
“It’s Dr. Lee Cheol-min. The test results are out.”
“Ah, yes. Doctor, please come in.”
As the reception room door opened, Dr. Lee Cheol-min with his graying hair entered. His expression was serious. At this, Sa Hae-geon’s mother jumped to her feet and approached him.
“Hae-geon…”
“He’s still in the examination room. The test results are, contrary to our expectations, too…”
The two conversed in low voices, seemingly conscious of my presence. Could it be that something was very wrong? Even though these test results weren’t mine, I felt my mouth going dry. After several exchanges that lasted a moment, the conversation ended, and soon the doctor returned to the examination room with a brief greeting.
Sa Hae-geon’s mother, holding the test report, gave me an embarrassed smile.
“I’m sorry. We had something to discuss and it took a bit longer than expected. So, are you close with Hae-geon?”
To be honest, since we hadn’t met through normal means, it was difficult to answer. However, I decided to give an answer that wouldn’t hurt Sa Hae-geon’s feelings if he heard it, and that would be appropriate for the current situation and acceptable to myself.
“…Yes. I consider us to be very close.”
“Oh, really? So our Hae-geon does have a friend. How fortunate… Thank you.”
“Pardon? Ah, no, not at all.”
“I’m sincere. Anyway, that’s not the important part…”
After taking a moment to choose her words, Sa Hae-geon’s mother carefully began speaking.
“Though you might already know, Hae-geon has been maintaining his wavelength by taking regulators and suppressants until now.”
“Yes.”
“So his wavelength has always been unstable, and his readings abnormally high. That’s why his ability user registration process was delayed. Because Guiding had to be substituted with regulators and suppressants.”
“…Ah.”
“The doctor always advised that we should be prepared for Hae-geon’s end… but today, something completely unexpected happened. To be precise… something that shouldn’t be possible happened. Hae-geon’s wavelength readings have stabilized to an unbelievable level.”
“…Yes.”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother’s eyes were now glistening with tears. She pulled a tissue from the box on the table and wiped her eyes. I waited for her to calm down a bit before carefully asking:
“But why is it impossible for Hae-geon’s readings to improve…?”
“Hae-geon… is an Esper who awakened through imprinting, so there’s only one Guide whose wavelength matches his.”
“…What?”
As I asked back, Sa Hae-geon’s mother looked at me with a hopeful gaze. My mind went blank.
‘Sa Hae-geon… is an Esper who awakened through imprinting? Is that possible? No, more importantly, Sa Hae-geon imprinted on me?’
So that’s why he had been enduring with regulators and suppressants without receiving Guiding. Because there wouldn’t have been any Guide with a matching compatibility rate to begin with. Why didn’t Sa Hae-geon tell me such an important thing before bringing me here?
“Is, is that really possible? Cases of awakening through imprinting… aren’t common.”
“Yes. The doctor mentioned it’s an extremely rare case. That’s why we were more desperate. We couldn’t just helplessly lose our only son. We wanted to try everything possible so there would be no regrets…”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother’s gaze kept turning toward me. I could only clench my fists and close my eyes tightly at the expectation contained in that gaze. There was a reason why my compatibility rate with Sa Hae-geon seemed abnormally high.
If he had imprinted on me, of course it would be high. And hadn’t I experienced the emotional synchronization that occurs when the compatibility rate is very high? To think that the reason Sa Hae-geon was so confident our compatibility would be very high was because he had awakened through imprinting…
“Since we’re on the subject… would you like to take a matching test with Hae-geon?”
“Pardon?”
“I know it’s presumptuous… but somehow, I feel that your compatibility rate with Hae-geon would be high.”
“…”
“Am I wrong?”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother seemed to have not just expectations, but certainty. Unable to move either way, I only rolled my eyes before hesitantly answering.
“I… I’ll take the test.”
“Thank you. The results should be out by tomorrow morning… Ah, yes. You can have breakfast before you leave.”
“…What?”
“Since you’re here, take a look around Hae-geon’s room too. This is the first time Hae-geon has brought someone else home.”
Sa Hae-geon’s mother was speaking with a hint of laughter in her voice when she suddenly froze.
“Ah, but surely… Hae-geon didn’t do anything strange or, well, bad to you, did he?”
I almost nodded, but instead shook my head vigorously and defended Sa Hae-geon. I never thought the day would come when I would defend Sa Hae-geon with my own mouth, and it felt strange.
“No, not at all. The Hae-geon I’ve seen is more diligent, thoughtful, and capable than anyone. So much so that I’d like to take him to the Central Center to work with me…!”
“Oh, really? Ah, that reminds me. I think I saw that you were reported missing… Could our son have…?”
“What? No, not at all!”
I jumped up from my seat in denial, and Sa Hae-geon’s mother burst into laughter.
“I just, just took an unauthorized leave.”
“I see. That can happen. That’s how things work in the Ability Department, after all. You must have a difficult job, Do-min. Get some good rest at our house. I’ll keep it a secret that I saw you.”
I nodded as I watched Sa Hae-geon’s mother speaking with a smile. Of course, I didn’t forget to add words of gratitude. I hoped Sa Hae-geon would appreciate these efforts of mine… I kept sighing.
