# Chapter 64
## 21. Suspicious Gate
The day before a sudden gate appeared.
With work increasing daily, Jaeyoon frequently returned home late at night and found it difficult to wake up in the morning.
With his late rising, the sound of knife chopping on a cutting board reached Jaeyoon’s dazed ears. Though his body was tired, he woke up pleasantly to the everyday noises Jaeha was making.
“This is it. This is what I wanted when I came back.”
While he could sensitively detect mana flow and wake up immediately for that, his brother’s small sounds felt comforting like a lullaby. Judging by the sweet and spicy smell already in the air, Jaeha seemed to be cooking.
Recently, Jaeha stayed here except when visiting next door for guiding practice. After Lee Youngwoo used bombs and joined the villains, Jaeyoon had warned his brother to be careful. Fortunately, his brother didn’t feel too confined. Though sometimes he cooked excessively.
“Hmm, I’m seriously tired.”
Helping with second-generation awakened training until late at night reduced his sleep time, making each day burdensome. At times like this, eating a Black Pig would boost his energy significantly, but he hesitated remembering how his brother seemed to find a baby Black Pig cute when he saw one.
“If you’re up, come out quickly.”
His brother somehow always knew when he got up, even without making a sound. Happy at the thought of having a home-cooked meal again today, Jaeyoon headed to the kitchen and was surprised to see rice cakes swelling in a large pot. It seemed like too much even for a restaurant.
“Hyung, are you planning to sell this at the employee cafeteria?”
“Is it too much?”
“Not just too much – it’s way too much.”
It was far too much to deny. Jaeha stirred the pot with a ladle while looking slightly embarrassed.
“I ordered rice cake for tteokbokki, but they sent a large quantity. The refrigerator here is small and it’s hard to store separately, so I thought I’d cook it all and share it.”
Jaeha had always been generous and was used to sharing with others. After taking out a small pot and portioning some for Dojoon, he looked for a container to give some to Jiho and wondered how to share with Haeil.
Seeing this, Jaeyoon raised both hands in surrender.
“Invite them over.”
“Huh? Really? You don’t like Dojoon coming over. That’s why you don’t let Jiho visit either.”
While Jiho lived next door and they saw him daily, only Haeil had been granted access.
Jaeha also knew the main reason Jaeyoon was particularly wary of others visiting was because of Dojoon.
“It’s fine. This is also where you live. I think I’m getting a bit more comfortable seeing them often.”
“Right? After all, seeing their faces helps resolve the discomfort.”
At Jaeyoon’s calm tone, Jaeha excitedly sent messages to everyone. He felt relieved thinking Jaeyoon’s attitude had softened due to their frequent encounters while cooperating for his safety.
About an hour later.
The Espers, each with their own commitments, arrived one by one at Jaeha and Jaeyoon’s dormitory.
“Sorry I’m late, Jaeha.”
“You’re right on time. Oh, but do you eat tteokbokki, Haeil hyung?”
“Yes, I eat everything.”
Haeil apologized as he entered despite being the first to arrive.
“Can I really come in?”
“Yes, come in. Our prickly one has changed.”
Dojoon was cautious, knowing Jaeyoon disliked him but only guessing at the reasons.
“Wow, what’s that smell? It smells really delicious.”
“School food stall tteokbokki.”
And then there was Jiho, entering without any hesitation.
This was still a peaceful time. Those who had taken turns making sure Jaeha was never alone gathered in one place.
Though they had gotten busier with second-generation awakened training, increased field staff meant the original Espers could have moments like this if they coordinated their schedules well. Though it was more likely they had dropped everything to rush to Jaeha’s call.
Just looking at the monster fluid on Jiho’s sleeve, one could guess where he had been. But he showed no sign of it as he clung to Jaeha, watching him cook.
“Oh? These are wheat rice cakes?”
“School food stall tteokbokki uses wheat rice cakes. Right, Dojoon?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s quite sweet and has egg in it.”
With confirmation from Dojoon, the original next-door neighbor, Jaeha proudly shrugged his shoulders. At this playful gesture suggesting he was right, Jiho just smiled as if finding it cute and continued the conversation.
“The food stall at our school used rice flour cakes. The owner also ran a rice mill, so they would give us freshly made garaetteok right into our mouths. I never knew rice cakes could be so soft and nutty until then.”
Jaeha’s imagination bloomed at the mention of fresh rice cakes from a mill.
“Wow… that must have been really delicious. Next time I’ll make it with rice flour cakes.”
“Senior, it’s these kinds of things that make you cute.”
“What part of this conversation is…?”
“Wow, are you asking me to praise your cuteness? I won’t be able to hold back.”
“Geez, just keep your mouth shut.”
Jiho quickly attached himself to Jaeha, Dojoon peeled boiled egg shells without being asked, and Haeil moved the table to make space for all four people – each revealing their personality and relationship.
Jaeyoon wished Haeil would be more proactive. But in the small stories his brother had shared over the past few days, Haeil was just being himself.
Unlike Jiho who used guiding control as an excuse to cling excessively to his brother, Haeil only held hands and took guiding control practice seriously. Perhaps because of this, while Jiho had grown closer to his brother, Haeil showed no signs of increased intimacy.
“Haeil hyung, could you move the pot please?”
“Senior, I can lift it too.”
“You, back off a bit.”
Fortunately, his brother seemed to rely more on Haeil. Though this gradual trust-building might not be bad as it is, guiding inevitably reaches a moment when the final line is crossed.
Actually, too much trust might make things difficult with Kwon Haeil. Perhaps Kyun Jiho would be better as his brother’s main Esper, as he had initially thought. Though it was concerning that Jiho couldn’t distinguish between guiding and his own emotions to the point of breaking up with his girlfriends, thanks to Jiho’s behavior of sticking close and borderline crossing lines, his brother, who used to be uncomfortable even holding hands, had grown desensitized to most skinship.
“I’ve finished peeling all the eggs, Jaeha.”
“Great, very neat. Oh, and I made a non-spicy portion for Dorim separately, so take it when you go. She looks for snacks when she comes home from kindergarten.”
“Okay, I will.”
Joo Dojoon, whom he had been most wary of, was calm. He was straightforward in a way that made his behavior from before the regression unbelievable. Except when guiding, he kept a distance that would make anyone see them just as friends. Initially he had acted provocatively as if he would take his brother, but then suddenly became well-behaved and hadn’t changed since.
Jaeyoon found it hard to believe, even as he watched, that three Espers and one guide could share such an ordinary daily life like this.
‘This is truly a rare sight.’
When he decided to go back in time, he couldn’t have imagined this situation.
The current combination was surprising, but above all, he couldn’t believe he was now cooperating with someone he had once wanted to finish off with his own hands.
‘It’s all because of my inadequacy…’
Jaeyoon felt frustrated by his own predicament.
He wanted to protect his brother up close more than anyone, but what he considered the second-best option required keeping close the very person he wanted to stay farthest away from.
Until his awakening after the regression, he had no intention of being separated from his brother at all. He was happy to see his brother whole again in the home he had returned to, and grateful for his warm body temperature. He welcomed his brother’s grumbling, neither feverish nor coldly stiff.
But after awakening, his efforts to quickly establish himself and secure his brother’s safety rapidly depleted his mana. Though the tangled and heavy sensation was familiar enough to endure, he found himself involuntarily backing away from his brother’s naturally approaching guiding.
Before the regression, he had no memory of receiving guiding from his brother. But despite only catching parts of Lee Youngwoo’s numerous experiment videos, it had been mentioned several times.
Dojoon’s vile smile as he offered to lend his brother was still vivid in his memory. But the current Dojoon smiled so kindly it seemed impossible he could even imagine such a thing.
His relationship with his brother remained close friends. He had saved his brother from danger many times. Not knowing the terrible events that only Jaeyoon remembered, his brother looked comfortable and happy when with Dojoon. Each time he saw his brother’s bright expression, he was convinced this choice was not wrong.
He was even relieved that he hadn’t shared the details of what happened before the regression since it would never happen now.
However, these were all things he had actually experienced. Despite Dojoon showing consideration and giving trust when dealing with his brother, it still felt disgusting.
Nevertheless, with Lee Youngwoo as a new variable, Joo Dojoon was the best option.
‘I know. I know, but… did we have to bring him into our space?’
He wanted to see his brother happy. He wanted to tell his brother, who was mindful of him being uncomfortable with Dojoon and drawing a line with him, that he didn’t have to be. He harbored a weak hope that he might be able to accept Dojoon a little since the situation had changed.
“I can’t stand it…”
It was too much after all. Letting Dojoon into his and his brother’s space was a chillingly painful thing. He had managed to endure in other spaces, but it was impossible here.
Even knowing Dojoon was the one who had saved his brother from Lee Youngwoo’s threat, it was hard to endure with nerves already sensitized by insufficient guiding.
Jaeha was the first to notice Jaeyoon’s discomfort. He became worried seeing his brother, who would usually hover around offering to set out utensils, now standing against the wall with his eyes closed. Jaeha approached and tried to place his hand on his brother’s face.
“Hey, what’s wrong with your face? You’re turning blue… Ah!”
“S-sorry.”
The gloved hand that reflexively knocked away Jaeha’s approaching hand frantically examined his hand. Using Esper powers without awareness could easily injure an ordinary person. Fortunately, there was only some redness with no serious injury, which relieved Jaeyoon’s tense expression slightly.
“I’m sorry, hyung. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”
“Hey.”
When Jaeyoon looked up nervously at this short call, Jaeha tilted his head at an angle. He had been patient so far, but it was hard to tolerate when his brother acted this way.
“I admit it’s embarrassing to hold hands. But is it necessary to overreact this much when I just want to check your forehead?”
“I didn’t avoid you on purpose.”
When Jaeha slightly increased pressure on the gloved hand he was holding, Jaeyoon was startled and tried to pull away. Jaeha’s patience instantly evaporated at this unreasonable wariness.
“You’re saying this wasn’t on purpose?”
“Hyung, wait.”
As Jaeha firmly grasped the retreating hand and took another step closer, Jaeyoon, with nowhere to escape as his back was blocked, pressed himself tightly against the wall.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
