# Chapter 51
Lately, Jeongyun was deeply feeling how happiness and anxiety could exist together.
Since they started doing Guiding at home instead of headquarters, Domin had changed a lot. He didn’t say sharp words, didn’t push too hard, and became infinitely gentle.
Even though Jeongyun knew he shouldn’t misunderstand, his heart trembled when he saw Domin’s changed gaze. He thought he had finally put away his feelings, but they were sprouting again with new hope.
“…I shouldn’t be like this.”
His head knew better, but his heart kept swelling uncontrollably. That’s why these days, Jeongyun felt both extremely happy and anxious.
Because he didn’t know how long this time would last.
Before, he used to wait in the Guiding room for Domin who might come at any time, but lately, he couldn’t put down his pager even at home. It felt like he spent the entire day just waiting for Domin.
Whenever he heard movement beyond the front door, he would hope it might be Domin, only to be disappointed when it wasn’t.
Only after midnight passed, when Jeongyun realized Domin wouldn’t come today either, could he finally put down the pager he’d been holding.
Another week passed like this.
Even though Domin didn’t come to headquarters, Jeongyun still had to go to work as usual. Last night too, he had tossed and turned waiting for Domin who didn’t show up until after midnight.
Dragging his tired body to the Guiding room in the morning, Jeongyun first looked for his Center access card on the desk. Now he had to go perform Guiding for Hwayeon.
“At least I have this to do.”
After Domin started coming to his home, Hwayeon’s Guiding was the only work Jeongyun did at headquarters. Without this, he would have had to sit in the stuffy Guiding room all day with nothing to do.
Someone might ask if he wasn’t happier now with more free time than before when he was endlessly busy, but the reality was different. Being stuck in the Guiding room with no work sometimes made him feel useless.
No, truthfully, sitting blankly in the Guiding room often made him feel that way. Sometimes he felt depressed watching Wooyeon working busily.
Domin came for Guiding at most once a week. Even that was now done at home rather than headquarters, so Jeongyun thought about asking for more work during his free time.
“Should I mention it?”
But Jeongyun hadn’t even told Domin that he was doing Guiding for Hwayeon.
To be precise, the timing had been missed and it had just slipped by, but if he wanted more work, he needed to tell Domin about this first.
Though Domin probably wouldn’t care anyway.
“I can tell him next time.”
Jeongyun planned to tell him later about both doing Guiding for Hwayeon and wanting more work. He was about to leave the Guiding room to get to the Center on time when a call arrived.
Focus returned to his dull eyes. Could it be Domin? With an excited heart, Jeongyun quickly pulled out the pager from his pocket.
“…It’s not him.”
Contrary to his hope, it wasn’t a call from Domin but a notification to go to the Center.
After pressing the confirmation button, Jeongyun couldn’t hold back a sigh. As his expectations faded, his fatigue felt doubled. He left the Guiding room with heavy steps and headed to the Center. His steps felt particularly heavy today.
Following the now-familiar path out of headquarters, Jeongyun arrived at the Center. As expected, Hwayeon had come out to the main entrance to meet him.
“Jeongyun hyung!”
Hwayeon shouted loudly, bouncing up and down like a puppy welcoming its owner. Jeongyun, who had been feeling down, could only brighten his face when he saw Hwayeon waiting for him.
“I told you not to wait outside. It’s getting cold.”
“It’s not cold at all.”
The clothes worn by Espers at the Center were very thin. Even though winter was approaching and the wind was quite chilly, Hwayeon smiled innocently, saying he was fine.
“Let’s go inside quickly.”
“Okay.”
Hwayeon stuck close to Jeongyun’s side and fidgeted with his reddened fingertips.
Noticing Hwayeon subtly moving closer, Jeongyun offered his hand first. Hwayeon, with wide eyes, asked if he could really hold it.
“Just until your hands warm up.”
“Okay, I will.”
Hwayeon smiled brightly and grabbed Jeongyun’s hand.
Jeongyun knew he shouldn’t be too lenient with physical contact with an Esper, but he had a particular soft spot for Hwayeon. Perhaps it was because he reminded him of a younger brother.
“Oh, right. I have something to show you.”
Hwayeon stopped in front of the training room, let go of Jeongyun’s hand, and rummaged through his pocket. Then with a “ta-da” sound, he showed Jeongyun a Polaroid photo smaller than his palm.
“The teachers threw a party for me to celebrate getting my choker.”
Just as Hwayeon said, the photo showed him smiling brightly in the center, surrounded by researchers wearing party hats. A4 papers were plastered all over the wall saying, “Congratulations on Hwayeon’s Esper Registration Party.”
“Was this yesterday?”
“Yes! I’m now officially a government Esper. Soon I’ll be assigned to a team, get my own place, and be allowed outside the Center.”
Hwayeon’s face was full of excitement as he chattered away. But Jeongyun couldn’t just smile along with him.
They said that Hwayeon, an A-class Esper with attack-specialized abilities, had a high probability of being assigned to the Gray Team where Deputy Director Hyun Semin belonged. It was a place all Espers dreamed of, but it was also a dangerous place.
Though they said he would become an adult in a few months, Hwayeon still seemed too young in Jeongyun’s eyes. He worried whether such a young person could properly fight terrorists, whether he might get hurt—he was concerned even though nothing had happened yet.
Moreover, once Hwayeon officially joined a team, he would need Guiding from the Guide assigned to that team, but so far Hwayeon had shown aversion to all Guides except Jeongyun.
“We’ll need to fix that first.”
Jeongyun was already Domin’s dedicated Guide, so he couldn’t follow Hwayeon into the team. Though it would be more accurate to say that the Gray Team wouldn’t accept someone like him who was only C-class.
“At the party, I ate cake, drank soda, and then…”
Hwayeon suddenly stopped his excited explanation and turned around. He put his hands in both pockets and started searching for something.
Soon, he pulled something from his right pocket and slowly turned back around. Unlike when he showed the photo earlier, his cheeks were now flushed with embarrassment.
“Um… my teacher gave this to me.”
“What is it?”
“This…”
Mumbling uncharacteristically, Hwayeon handed Jeongyun what he had been clutching tightly. It was a ring-shaped candy jewel, the kind Jeongyun had only eaten as a child.
“I wanted to give this to you.”
Though it was puzzling why Hwayeon was so shy about giving a piece of candy, Jeongyun thanked him. Whatever it was, he appreciated that Hwayeon had kept it with him in mind.
“They say you can wear it as a ring too.”
“Yeah, I know. I ate a lot of these when I was young.”
“…Oh, really?”
Hwayeon’s eyes widened at Jeongyun’s words. He must have thought that since this candy was new to him, it would be new to Jeongyun too.
“On that hand…”
“You want me to try it on?”
Hwayeon nodded vigorously.
It didn’t look like it would fit at all. After some hesitation, Jeongyun unwrapped it and slowly pushed the ring onto his pinky finger.
Though it was a tight fit, the ring fit perfectly on Jeongyun’s pinky. He showed his ringed finger to the expectant Hwayeon.
“It’s so pretty!”
“…Is it?”
Even though it was just a toy ring, Hwayeon genuinely liked it with flushed cheeks. Seeing him like that made Jeongyun feel proud, as if he had successfully played with a younger sibling.
“Guide Yeo Jeongyun.”
Just then, a researcher approached the two standing in front of the training room and called for Jeongyun. Hwayeon’s previously bright expression suddenly turned sharp, but Jeongyun didn’t see it as he had turned toward the researcher.
“The Center Director is calling for you.”
“Ah, I’ll visit him right away.”
Since starting Guiding for Hwayeon, the Center Director would occasionally call for Jeongyun. Most times it was to ask him to taste some new tea he had brought, so Jeongyun thought today would be the same.
“It’s burdensome.”
Meeting high-ranking people like the Center Director was quite a hardship for Jeongyun. But for some reason, the Center Director seemed to feel a strong sense of kinship with Jeongyun.
“Did he say I seemed to know the taste of tea?”
In truth, Jeongyun couldn’t even tell the difference between the expensive tea the Director served and the burdock tea in the break room. He just went along with whatever the Director said.
“Do you have to go?”
Hwayeon grabbed Jeongyun’s collar and asked. Jeongyun brightened his expression and patted the shoulders of Hwayeon, who looked as sad as a puppy caught in the rain.
“I’ll be back before your training ends. Don’t worry.”
Unlike before, Hwayeon nodded obediently. After sending the disappointed Hwayeon to the training room, Jeongyun removed the ring from his pinky finger.
“It left a mark.”
Sure enough, the ring designed for a child was too tight, leaving a deep mark on his pinky finger.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
