Since Gi-chan hadn’t been told about the bathhouse when Butler Kwak gave him a tour of the mansion, his face was full of suspicion.
“Where does the water come from? Don’t tell me it’s a hot spring?”
Min-hwan asked hopefully, seeing the cloudy color of the water in the hot bath.
“That’s right, a hot spring! Haraboji discovered it while building the center.”
“Wow…!”
The fact that it was used as a private bathhouse made them wonder how much it had been utilized all this time, and they were also envious that it could be maintained. Well, even so, the center was facing a financial crisis due to the dungeon incident.
Team Leader Kye hadn’t heard the details from Dr. Oh, but he roughly knew that Ye-sol was helping to cover some of the debt while working full-time as a guide. Among the Jibural team members, he was the only one who felt sympathetic towards Ye-sol.
Slide.
“This place looks good.”
Unusually proactive, Jae Gi-chan looked around various parts of the bathhouse before finding a suitable spot. It was the body scrub room.
The long central table used for scrubbing customers also looked very sturdy enough to lay Ye-sol on. The floor, being in a bathhouse, was equipped with drainage systems that could handle water brought in by the truckload. Indeed, this was the optimal place where all kinds of waste could be released.
“Well then, let’s wash up first.”
Team Leader Kye Sung-gi seemed to have already made up his mind, as he promptly stripped off his clothes and turned on the shower. Following his lead, the other team members also took off their clothes and slowly started washing. It was a very solemn preparation for the upcoming urine party.
Splash.
“Ah, that feels good…”
After soaping his entire body and rinsing it clean with water, Ye-sol entered the hot bath. Despite the temperature approaching 40 degrees Celsius, Ye-sol cut through the hot water and sat down inside where bubbles were rising.
“Ye-sol Hyung, don’t stay in the bath too long. You’ll get overheated.”
“Okay, I got it. Do you want to come in too, Min-hwan?”
“I can’t stand hot things…”
That appeared to be true. Just being near the hot bath made Ye Min-hwan’s skin turn reddish.
Splash…!
Meanwhile, Esper Hwang Dong-jeong entered the cold bath opposite them. Perhaps because of his size and considerable weight, water overflowed like a small waterfall when he got in.
“Puha!”
Hwang Dong-jeong submerged his head underwater, sat cross-legged, and then suddenly began swimming through the water. Still, the bath was much narrower than a swimming pool, so he only managed to go around a few times.
“Does that guy think this is a swimming pool?”
Ye Min-hwan who was watching spoke with an unpleasant tone, but Ye-sol didn’t feel the same way. With sparkling eyes, he moved toward the cold bath.
“Dong-jeong! You’re really good at swimming!”
When Hwang Dong-jeong raised his head above the water near the edge of the cold bath, Ye-sol, who had been waiting, sat in front of the cold bath and cheerfully called out. Perhaps not realizing Ye-sol had been watching, Hwang Dong-jeong’s face turned bright red.
“Dong-jeong, where did you learn that? You were really like a dolphin.”
With the repeated praise, Hwang Dong-jeong’s face flushed even redder, as if he were in the hot bath. Feeling he couldn’t continue like this, he splashed cold water on his face several times before stuttering:
“Th-thank you… Um… I, actually… was in the swimming club until high school…”
“Gasp, really? Were you a swimmer?”
“Not quite a swimmer… I quit after awakening as an Esper… But I still swim as a hobby at the center sometimes… Hyung?”
Splash!
“Ye-Ye-sol Hyung…!”
“…Ah!”
Ye-sol suddenly jumped into the cold bath. As soon as he entered like a falling bomb, water splashed in all directions. The Jibural team members who were washing up looked toward the cold bath.
“Hyung! You shouldn’t jump into water like that!”
Hwang Dong-jeong shouted, his face turning pale. He had good reason to. Ye-sol had jumped right in without thinking and was now struggling in the water. Anxiously pushing through the foam, Hwang Dong-jeong noticed Ye-sol wasn’t surfacing.
“Ye-sol Hyung!”
Hwang Dong-jeong hurriedly went underwater. As he also submerged deep into the bath, water overflowed like a waterfall again. The drainage pipes made gurgling sounds from the rushing water.
“Ah, those guys… give it a rest…”
Jae Gi-chan, who was washing his hair, clicked his tongue and muttered. He had reason to complain. Due to the two of them, the water level in the cold bath had already been reduced by half.
“Puhaah…!”
Shortly after, Hwang Dong-jeong pulled Ye-sol out of the water. Fortunately, Ye-sol wasn’t in bad shape. He kept coughing on Hwang Dong-jeong’s broad shoulder, possibly from swallowing water.
“Hyung! How could you jump in so dangerously!”
Hwang Dong-jeong’s booming voice echoed throughout the bathhouse. Although it wasn’t as dangerous as the sea or a valley, one always had to be careful in water. Even in a bathhouse, one could get seriously hurt if careless, which is why Hwang Dong-jeong became fiercely angry.
“Ah… sorry…”
“You should be even more careful in places like this! You could have really gotten into serious trouble!”
“Yes… I was wrong…”
“Haah…”
Ye-sol apologized repeatedly with a sad face. Seeing Hwang Dong-jeong genuinely angry, Ye-sol became dejected but thought it was much better than seeing his naive side.
“Hyung, you must never do that again. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand…”
Even while responding, Ye-sol didn’t seem particularly concerned. Then, as if remembering something, he splashed the water with his palms and said:
“But Dong-jeong, I also learned to swim a little when I was young.”
“You learned to swim, Ye-sol Hyung?”
“Yes!”
Hwang Dong-jeong was surprised by this unexpected revelation. Judging by Ye-sol’s body shape and his struggling in the water, he had appeared to be completely unable to swim.
“But there was a drow… drowning accident with a guide back then, so my grandfather wouldn’t let me continue. It was fun though…”
“A drowning accident?”
“Yes, something like that.”
Ye-sol vaguely brushed off the topic and smiled brightly, as if the point was that he had tried swimming before. Belatedly realizing this, Hwang Dong-jeong carefully asked:
“…Can you dive?”
“Yes! Want to see?”
It seemed he had been waiting for that question. Ye-sol confidently swam beneath the surface, moving his body flexibly. Each time, his large chest rippled back and forth. But it didn’t look obscene or funny. Perhaps because Hwang Dong-jeong already had blinders on, but it looked stunningly beautiful.
‘Ye-sol Hyung…’
If he was a dolphin, Ye-sol was like a beluga. Come to think of it, they looked very similar. The cute and cheerful face of a beluga with snow-white skin.
“Puha…!”
He was watching Ye-sol swim freely underwater. Suddenly, Ye-sol came up to the surface and created a fuss.
“Kung! Kuung! Wa-water went up my nose…!”
Ye-sol held his nose and suffered with a red face. Hwang Dong-jeong urgently approached Ye-sol and without hesitation pressed his lips to Ye-sol’s small nostrils.
“Khop…!”
Ye-sol’s eyes widened at the sudden action. Hwang Dong-jeong was trying to extract the water from inside Ye-sol’s nose.
It was something not even his grandfather had done when he was very young. Even when he had a cold and his nose was blocked, he would take medicine or go to the doctor to use a device to clear his nose. No one had ever sucked on another person’s nose this way, especially not a grown man’s.
“Do-Dong-jeong…!”
Despite Ye-sol pushing away his thick shoulders in embarrassment and bewilderment, Hwang Dong-jeong remained stubborn, as if he wouldn’t detach until all the water was removed.
“Kek, kek…! Hauu, uuu…!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
