Chapter 77
Ji Yeohoon’s home was an unusual one.
He wasn’t the only child born between an Esper and a Guide, so just looking at the family composition, his household didn’t stand out that much.
Of course, since there’s no guarantee that supernatural abilities are inherited, Ji Yeohoon manifesting as an Esper was indeed a special case.
But what I want to talk about isn’t the uniqueness of Ji Yeohoon manifesting as an Esper despite being an Esper’s child.
Successful parents, wealth so abundant it was overflowing, the freedom that came with it, and even honor—Ji Yeohoon had everything except for one thing: he didn’t receive his parents’ attention in a normal way.
At first, I thought that Ji Yeohoon’s parents cherished their son greatly but just didn’t have time to be with him.
With people managing the house and drivers coming to pick up Ji Yeohoon, I thought this could happen in an affluent but busy household.
But my thoughts changed after sensing a peculiarity that repeated several times.
‘Taking a taxi again today?’
‘Yeah. The driver’s child isn’t feeling well…’
I thought it was understandable that a driver who was raising a hospitalized child alone would prioritize his own child over Ji Yeohoon.
After all, he needed to take care of his sick, beloved child. Ji Yeohoon said his parents understood this too.
But in cases like this, wouldn’t well-off parents hire another driver or someone to look after their son?
Ji Yeohoon would nonchalantly get into the taxi his parents had supposedly called for him and head home.
Wasn’t that dangerous, even if it was a company that had direct contact with his parents? He was just a kindergartener, or at most a lower elementary school student.
At first, I just hung out with him thinking it would be easier if we became friends, but as time passed, I ended up going to Ji Yeohoon’s house almost daily for this reason.
I thought it was a house that seemed ideal, but was so ideal on the surface that it actually didn’t look normal.
‘They don’t have much time to be with me. That’s why.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. They told me I should learn a lot from adults because being alone could make my personality bad. That’s why everyone speaks formally to me. They said I should do the same.’
‘I see.’
It was so strange to me. It seemed like they were raising a good son without having to care for him themselves.
Almost like creating an image of a child growing up without incidents.
Does it make sense to give a child that kind of explanation? Conversely, does it make sense for a child to understand such words?
I know I shouldn’t apply my own suspicious standards to an ideal and happy family, but that’s how it looked to me.
I knew the reason.
Since it was one of the things that happens between Esper and Guide couples, it was clear to me, having worked at the Association.
Ji Yeohoon’s parents should be viewed not as a typical family or ordinary couple, but as an Esper and Guide whose emotions for each other were so deep they had tried to imprint on each other.
They showed only as much as others would to a child born between loved ones.
And as it happened, Ji Yeohoon was a perceptive child who was sensitive to affection but couldn’t openly demand it, one who knew how to package himself as good.
So, contrary to my initial resolve to do something with these kids for my own safety, at some point I started hanging out with them purely for Ji Yeohoon’s sake.
He was cute, following me around calling me “Hyung,” but it seemed pitiful that such a pretty kid was sticking to me out of hunger for affection.
Of course, it was a bit peculiar that this affection was directed only at me in a straight line, not reaching Yoon Cheong who was with us.
“Hyung, what are you thinking about?”
Ji Yeohoon was sensitive.
He responded very sensitively to my emotions and expressions.
He was keen with others too, but I could see that he reacted even more strongly to me.
“What do you think I’m thinking about?”
“I think you’re thinking about me first. So I feel a bit happy.”
These were things Ji Yeohoon had seen and learned. Everything—from the way he spoke to the way he smiled affectionately as if imitating what he had seen—was what Ji Yeohoon’s beloved parents had taught him.
These were all the things that his past self thought were perfect, and these were the aspects of Ji Yeohoon that I found strange.
“Anything uncomfortable? You’ll be in high school soon.”
“You’re in the same grade as Yoon Cheong Hyung, so you’re often together. I’m in a different grade, so we’re always apart… When you’re with me, I hope you’ll look after me like you are now. Other than that, nothing’s uncomfortable.”
“Don’t you miss your parents?”
“Hmm… a little? But I’m fine. I have you, Hyung. And there are other friends at school.”
‘Because you ruined my perfect family.’
A leisurely stretching voice still full of childishness overlapped with a twisted adult voice.
Back then, Ji Yeohoon referred to his family as perfect.
But for Ji Yeohoon, his family had never been perfect.
He just lived that way.
I don’t want you to go back to speaking in that voice.
“Just fight a little less, okay?”
“If Yoon Cheong Hyung wouldn’t start fights…”
I wanted to make sure time would never merge with the original timeline.
I wished for Ji Yeohoon to remain as he was now—not the S-class Esper who sneered with a fake gentle voice, but the Ji Yeohoon I cherished and adored, who truly knew how to put kindness in his eyes and affection in his heart.
“Let’s call Yoon Cheong for dinner.”
“Can’t we eat just the two of us?”
“Yoon Cheong will be upset. He’s surprisingly sensitive.”
“That Hyung’s pretenses are all revealed…”
“The same goes for you.”
“Really? Hyung, do you know all my pretenses?”
Ji Yeohoon, who had been pressing his hands while asking “Really? Really?” smiled with his eyes curved.
I know you both know I’m weak to your faces and that you deliberately blink your eyes.
I knew he was expressing “Please look at me” with his whole body while also being anxious that my affection for him might weaken.
How could I leave a kid like this alone?
“Don’t worry, I’ll still be with you even when you’re not pretending. Have I ever left you behind and gone somewhere?”
“Hmm… when you transferred schools?”
“That was me coming first. Not leaving you behind.”
“That’s true.”
Ji Yeohoon always tilted his head slightly and looked at me as if wanting to confirm my presence.
Rather than staring from a close distance, he moved his head as if trying to prevent me from getting farther away.
It was a gesture that appeared occasionally, though much less now.
“You don’t need to check; I’m right here.”
“Hyung, sometimes you speak as if you know what I want to hear.”
“How many years have I known you?”
“But it seems like you don’t really know what I want to hear.”
“I can only know that if you tell me.”
“No. You’ll know someday. Oh, right, Hyung. Should we have snacks for dinner? Since it’s annoying to clean up when we spread things out in the room, let’s invade Yoon Cheong Hyung’s room.”
“Without asking that Yoon Cheong Hyung’s permission?”
“If you knock on the door, he’ll open it.”
We need to eat proper meals.
We’re Korean, we need to live on rice power, don’t we?
Seeing his wheedling expression full of aegyo, I just smiled a little.
“Fine, today let’s do what you want.”
It would be noisy with the two of them bickering in the room, but what I needed right now was the guys as they are now.
“You’re really not going to contact Yoon Cheong?”
“My screen is broken… I’ll just open the door, whatever.”
Why is your screen broken? I wondered, but I nodded and returned to the dormitory.
* * *
“I didn’t hear the door open since we left earlier.”
“You don’t need to hear it anymore.”
“Did you find him? Is he outside?”
“Yeah. He’s over there.”
Ji Yeohoon, leaning against the window, looked down with emotionless eyes.
Yoon Cheong, who had been standing by the door as if not wanting to be close, approached reluctantly with a resigned expression.
They could see Moon Soo-young’s fine hair being tousled by the wind.
He seemed to be asking something to the pink-haired Esper, but they were quietly waiting in the room, afraid that if they eavesdropped like before, they might really incur his anger this time.
Unlike his brother, this Esper’s emotions were already directed at another Guide, so they let it be. If that hair color had been silver, they would have prevented the meeting from the beginning.
He could have told us what this is about.
The two Espers watched Moon Soo-young with eyes full of unspoken worry.
Their small Guide, who had seemed so large when they were young, looked shaky throughout the conversation, anxious about something.
Outwardly, he maintained his usual composure, but they had spent time together for 9 years already.
There was no way they couldn’t tell.
“Did you find out?”
“Ye Han-seo contacted me. Hong Yun-hak. Twenty-one years old. Seems like Chaehwa is protecting him because of his special ability. The ability itself isn’t much, but his personality is weird.”
“Moon Soo-young really gets entangled with strange guys.”
“Including you?”
“Including you, I guess.”
They looked at each other with incredulous expressions before turning their heads again.
Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon trusted their Guide.
Moon Soo-young, who had never once withdrawn his affection from them, had always moved for their sake despite his annoyed expression.
This precious Guide, who treated them like children with a strangely mature demeanor, often seemed to forget how weak and small he actually was.
Perhaps that’s why he kept taking the lead in strange situations.
Of course, they knew that most of these strange situations were for their sake.
So, standing at the closest distance to protect him from getting hurt, broken, or shattered was the best they could do for their anxious Guide.
Still, I wish he’d stop acting like a protector now.
“What kind of ability does he have?”
“The ability to turn back time.”
“How does he use it?”
“Normally, he can go back about 20-30 minutes. According to Ye Han-seo’s findings, he can go back as long as an hour at most. I guess his mind got a bit twisted along with turning back time—he’s a weirdo who thinks it’s okay to fight with people and then rewind. He’s apparently done that several times.”
“If time goes back, how do others know?”
“He’s stupid. To the point where he carelessly tells others about what he’s done.”
“We need to be careful.”
“We should keep an eye on him. Don’t leave him alone. I can block the Ye Han-seo side. You watch that pink-haired guy carefully.”
“He’s fine. He’s agreed to only do things that help Moon Soo-young. The conversation is already over.”
The conversation seemed to continue a little longer, then silence fell again.
Ji Yeohoon, who had been watching Moon Soo-young’s expression, detached himself from the window sill first.
“I’m going to get him.”
“Come straight back here, don’t go anywhere else.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You bastard.”
“I recorded that.”
When Ji Yeohoon waved his phone, Yoon Cheong attacked it with his telekinesis.
As the screen broke, Ji Yeohoon left the room with an irritated face, slamming the door.
“Yoon Cheong, that ill-mannered bastard.”
As Ji Yeohoon muttered, a muttering sound was heard from inside the door.
“That ill-mannered bastard.”
It was a pact between enemies that had been going on for years, but they remained displeased with each other.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
