# Chapter 42
What was that?
It was just a momentary feeling, but it was intense enough to make the hair on my entire body stand on end. When I showed a surprised expression, Ha Suan also looked at me with wide eyes as if startled. It seems he felt what I felt too.
An awkward and strange silence passed, and Ha Suan was the first to speak.
“Must be static electricity.”
“Ah… yes.”
I gave a vague smile before getting out of the car. While watching the vehicle leave, I repeatedly clenched and unclenched my hand. The back of my hand that had touched Ha Suan still tingled. It wasn’t particularly dry weather, so there was no reason for static electricity to suddenly surge like this.
Though faint, the feeling was almost like…
“Guiding.”
Even though I was the one who said it, I shook my head because it didn’t make sense.
I didn’t Guide Ha Suan. Espers can’t be that common in society, can they? As he said, it was just static electricity.
“Hahah.”
A dry laugh escaped me involuntarily. Just because I Guide Heerim doesn’t mean I can Guide everyone. I must have gotten cocky without realizing it.
“What’s the point of NECC… I should just get some regular certification.”
I had briefly gotten caught up in dreams of grandeur. The stable life that suited me wasn’t working at an impressive place like the NECC, but rather living on a steady monthly salary from a small company. I had foolishly become arrogant just because I was Guiding Heerim, as if that made me something special. How stupid.
***
“Wow. Did that guy take these photos? Insane. They don’t even need editing. Tell him to debut as a home master right now.”
As soon as she got back from school, Jaeyeon alternated between swearing and exclaiming in admiration while checking the photos Jeongmun had sent. Even though the Rift had appeared before the stage performance properly began and there shouldn’t have been many photos worth saving, the pictures Jeongmun took were perfect.
“You only care about the photos when your brother almost had a serious accident.”
“The NECC Espers resolved it in 10 minutes, right? What’s the problem?”
“…”
“Come on, lighten up. You weren’t hurt, were you?”
Seeing my furrowed expression, Jaeyeon seemed embarrassed and got angry instead. Finding her insufferable, I flicked her forehead with my finger.
“Ow! Why did you hit me?”
“Sorry. It’s so wide I thought it was a soccer field, but it turns out it was just your forehead.”
“What? You want to die?!”
Jaeyeon covered her forehead, which now had a red mark, and fumed. If I teased her any more here, the chances of physical retaliation would be high.
“I’ll let it slide since you brought back good photos of my baby.”
But I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
“Who’s your baby? Hey, isn’t he older than you? He’s probably eaten hundreds more bowls of rice than you have.”
“Argh! Are you picking a fight?! Do you want to fight me?”
“Sorry, I’ll shut up. But now that I look at it, you actually seem to have a higher face value… Ow!”
I ended up getting hit on the back by Jaeyeon. She had quite a strong hand. A burning sensation rose on my back, making my eyes water a bit.
Jaeyeon was acting as if nothing had happened, even though her only blood relative had almost been caught in an accident. However, I wasn’t angry about her nonchalant attitude. We might be bickering now, but considering the dozens of messages and missed calls she’d left a few hours ago, I knew she had been very worried about me. Even now, Jaeyeon was watching me cautiously after hitting me. Suppressing the smile that was about to form at that sight, I tapped her shin lightly with my foot.
“Hey. It’s 11 o’clock. Put your phone down and go to bed now.”
“Argh! Stop nagging!”
Jaeyeon went into her room, shuddering in exasperation. Feeling like the winner, I got up triumphantly. Now that I’d handed over the photos to Jaeyeon, I should wash up and go to bed too.
“Hey! Son Jaeyeon! I’m using the bathroom! Don’t come…”
BANG!
A loud noise cut off my words as I was calling out to Jaeyeon in her room.
BANG! BANG!
“What, what’s that?”
I thought it might be the wind, but someone was pounding on our aluminum front door—too flimsy to even be called a proper entrance.
“W-who is it?”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Instead of answering my question, the person outside kept banging on the door as if they were trying to break it down. This didn’t seem like a normal visit.
“Son Jaeyeon! Don’t come out!”
There were often drunk men who climbed up the hill and caused a scene in front of our house. Preparing for any possible trouble, I shouted loudly and grabbed the shoehorn I kept next to the shoe rack. I was ready to swing it if necessary.
Gripping the shoehorn tightly with both hands, I flung the front door open forcefully to prevent the person from ambushing me.
“Who…!”
“Hyung.”
The person wearing a hat pulled low called me in a quiet voice. It was a familiar sound.
“Heerim?”
For some reason, Heerim was standing in front of our shabby aluminum door with his head bowed low.
“What brings you here so suddenly? Without any warning.”
“I did… message you.”
“What?”
Heerim raised his head. Maybe because our entrance was small, his build seemed even larger today. In contrast, why did his face look so dejected?
“I sent you texts. Many… many times.”
“Texts? Ah, I left my phone in my room, so I didn’t see them.”
Unlike Jaeyeon, who never let go of her phone, I tended to leave mine anywhere and only check it when I remembered. After arriving home and changing my clothes, I had left my phone in my room and hadn’t checked it since.
“Did you have something to tell me?”
“Just…”
Heerim mumbled his words. I cautiously observed Heerim, who seemed different from usual. The Heerim before me had a heavier, more subdued atmosphere than normal.
“I missed you.”
“We saw each other this afternoon.”
“Even so…”
“…!”
Heerim swayed slightly before embracing me with firm hands. Wondering if he needed Guiding, I checked his hair. Heerim’s hair maintained its deep black color. That meant he wasn’t in a state that required Guiding.
“Heerim.”
As I was trying to gently push away Heerim, who was hugging me, I smelled alcohol on him.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Yes.”
Heerim hugged me even tighter.
How much did this guy drink?
The smell of alcohol was so strong that I wondered why I hadn’t noticed it immediately. Heerim buried his face in my shoulder and groaned. I should have pushed him away right then, but my heart was dishonestly stirred by his words about missing me. I hadn’t realized it until now, but I was weak to Heerim’s childish behavior.
“What kind of alcohol did you drink before coming here?”
Even as I scolded Heerim, I gently stroked his back as if soothing a child. Though I wasn’t performing Guiding, a strange feeling came over me.
“Jaeo hyung.”
“Yes, Heerim.”
“It’s good to see your face…”
The drunken mumbling of Heerim tickled my ear, and a warm breeze enveloped Heerim and me through the open door. The heat rising to my face must be because of this. Just as I was beginning to feel embarrassed and trying to subtly move back…
“Heerim. First, let go of this…”
“Oppa! Who’s there? Can I come out?”
“Gasp. Come here!”
Startled by Jaeyeon’s shout from her room, I ended up pulling Heerim inside the house.
“Ugh… dizzy.”
“Shh!”
I shoved the drunk and staggering Heerim into my room and hurriedly tidied the entrance. With perfect timing, Jaeyeon peeked her head out.
“What’s going on? Who was it?”
“Nothing. Just a drunk man making a scene, so I sent him away. Nothing to worry about.”
“Was it the man from downstairs? He does that sometimes. So annoying. I should talk to his wife.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to bed now.”
“You’re going to sleep without washing up?”
“Yeah, I’m a bit tired today…”
“Ew, gross. Then I’ll use the bathroom?”
There was no real need to hide Heerim from Jaeyeon, but in my panic, I acted like someone caught cheating. But now that I’d missed the timing, introducing Heerim now would look very strange.
After confirming that Jaeyeon had gone into the bathroom, I quickly entered my room. I was worried that Heerim might come out of the room while I was talking with Jaeyeon, but Heerim was lying quietly on my narrow mattress.
“Haah. What is this… Heerim. Get up. Heerim!”
“Nnngh.”
“…”
Having fallen asleep already, Heerim let out a groan mixed with sleep complaints.
“Heerim! Wake up!”
Even though I shook Heerim’s body, he was immovable. This was troublesome. I couldn’t raise my voice because Jaeyeon was outside.
“Ah. I give up.”
After a few more attempts to wake Heerim, I gave up and squeezed in beside him on the bed. I might wake up Jaeyeon by trying to wake Heerim and sending him out. Since Jaeyeon goes to school early in the morning anyway, it seemed like we just needed to stay quiet until then.
The broken springs creaked just from my slight movement. The old and narrow mattress was filled with the two of us.
“…”
I could see Heerim’s sleeping face right next to me.
In the dim light, Heerim’s face up close was mysterious. He looked both like a strong man and a fragile boy. When I first saw him, I just thought he was pretty and handsome, but now my heart was racing. Who would have thought I’d get butterflies looking at another man’s face? That made me even more upset.
“I really don’t know anything about you.”
Come to think of it, I didn’t even know Heerim’s last name. Since everyone just called him Heerim, I had somehow gone along without knowing until now.
“I’ll ask tomorrow.”
Surely he won’t refuse to tell me his surname.
I imagined surnames that might suit Heerim’s name while exhaling in rhythm with the breathing I heard beside me. Gradually, drowsiness came over me.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
