# Chapter 31
“What is it?!”
Startled by the sudden loud noise, Haegang rushed out of his room, still drenched in sweat, thinking there might be a terrorist attack. Wearing only his lower garments, Haegang’s eyes widened at the sight of fire on Dohyun’s sleeve, quickly finding a fire extinguisher and spraying it.
“Is it a terrorist attack?”
Haegang asked with a serious expression, but Dohyun just shook his head blankly, staring at his own hand.
The water wasn’t red. It was pink, similar to Handam’s hair color. Seeing Dohyun’s silence, Haegang slowly waved his hand in front of Dohyun’s face. Soon, his previously blank gaze returned.
Dohyun slowly turned his head and met Haegang’s eyes with an expression that suggested he couldn’t believe what he had just done.
“Esper Baek Dohyun.”
Whatever had happened, if it wasn’t an attack from outside, Dohyun needed treatment now. While ordinary burns wouldn’t take long to heal due to an Esper’s natural recovery abilities, Dohyun’s arm wasn’t healing quickly. This only happened when attacked by another Esper or by monsters inside a gate.
“This, I did this.”
“…You?”
Haegang looked at Dohyun with an expression that seemed to ask what nonsense he was talking about, but Dohyun, as if entranced, stood by the sink again. He turned on the water, filled a bowl, and summoned his power. The water gathering at his fingertips quickly turned red. Dohyun’s expression brightened at the sight of the crimson potion.
“Looks like you’ve got the hang of… Esper Baek Dohyun!”
With a voice mixed equally with surprise and joy, Haegang called out as Dohyun’s wobbling body fell backward.
A broad chest caught Dohyun from behind.
❖ ❖ ❖
Dohyun woke up and felt that his body was fine, unlike before he collapsed. The last thing he saw before fainting was Haegang splitting into multiple figures. The image of Haegang looking relieved as Dohyun showed him the potion spun around before his eyes and then blurred. Then there was complete darkness.
Because he hadn’t properly noticed that something was wrong with his body in the final moment, it took him a while to understand why he had awakened in bed.
“Are you awake?”
Turning toward the presence, Dohyun saw Haegang standing outside the door looking at him. Guessing that Haegang had laid him on the bed and waited outside, respecting their personal boundaries by not entering each other’s rooms, Dohyun found it a bit absurd that he turned away without waiting for an answer.
‘Why ask a question if you’re not going to wait for the answer?’
Soon Haegang reappeared holding a cup of water. Hiding his bewildered expression, Dohyun quietly looked up at him, and Haegang silently entered the room. Should he question why he was coming in as he pleased?
Wait, this was Haegang’s house to begin with. As someone temporarily staying here, Dohyun decided to be understanding. Now that he could use his ability, he would be able to leave this house soon anyway.
Besides, hadn’t he come in to check on his condition? Dohyun felt slightly more generous, sensing that his body was completely fine, suggesting Haegang had already performed Guiding.
If he could just properly make potions, he could supply them to the guild, and once the money was settled, he could find his own place. Finally, he could have his own home.
Feeling at ease, Dohyun didn’t refuse the water Haegang offered and naturally brought it to his lips.
“We should go to the guild first.”
“…?”
At the sudden statement, Dohyun looked up at Haegang with the cup still at his lips. Haegang was holding a glass bottle filled with red liquid. Haegang’s hand looked red through the crimson water.
Dohyun instinctively knew that his power was contained in that water. Thank goodness, it was properly made. He felt somewhat relieved that his memory from before collapsing was accurate.
“We need to check if it’s the same as before. While also checking Esper Baek Dohyun’s condition.”
“Me?”
“If you collapse like this every time you make it, that’s a problem.”
He hit the mark. This was the second time he had successfully made a potion. For Dohyun, it was actually the third time, but since the potion that had exploded like Handam’s ability wasn’t seen by Haegang and only Dohyun knew about it, he decided to keep it hidden for now.
“The amount is significantly less than last time. Yet you still collapsed. We need to verify both your maximum and minimum capacity so that Esper Baek Dohyun can be more comfortable.”
Was he somewhat concerned? Dohyun nodded at Haegang’s words.
“Of course, for my sake as well.”
Ah, because of the Guiding.
“Though I’m sure Esper Baek Dohyun wouldn’t want my Guiding.”
There it is again, that old story he brings up just when you think he’s forgotten. It was getting to the point where he was sick of it. Denying it now would only invite more sarcasm.
‘Well, why would Guide Choi Haegang worry about me anyway?’
Dohyun decided to investigate thoroughly, thinking that if he used his ability randomly, he might lose control without proper Guiding.
“Is it difficult for you to get up now?”
“Ah, no. I can get up.”
“I mean going out.”
“It’s fine. I can move around right away.”
“Then get ready and come out.”
Having confirmed that Dohyun’s condition wasn’t bad, Haegang left the room, saying they should go to the guild immediately.
Dohyun naturally rose and looked at his arm. He had definitely suffered burns. Since the explosion was also caused by his own energy, it wouldn’t heal easily. And yet…
“…That’s strange.”
It was completely healed. As if he’d just received treatment.
Dohyun recalled the bottle Haegang had shown him. There was quite a difference from the amount he had made before collapsing. Had he fed him some? Since the potion had been in a large bowl, it would have been easy to administer.
Rising from the bed, Dohyun removed his shirt to check. It was full of burn marks and probably unwearable now. Since it was one of the clothes Haegang had bought for him, he felt somewhat strange about it.
“Esper Baek Dohyun. Are you ready…”
“No!”
Startled by the suddenly opened door, Dohyun grabbed the doorknob. He was still shirtless, checking the condition of his clothes. When Dohyun quickly gestured, Haegang confirmed he was undressed and closed the door.
He had tried not to mention it, but though it was Haegang’s house, he felt he should ask him not to just open doors without warning.
❖ ❖ ❖
Dohyun was perfectly aware that Handam’s ability had manifested in his potion. But as any proper Esper should have a secret ace up their sleeve, he didn’t tell anyone and underwent the guild’s examination in silence.
What was curious was that although Dohyun hadn’t said anything, Haegang, who had been looking at him with questioning eyes, seemed to have noticed something was off but didn’t comment on his condition.
“Now, we’ll have a demonstration of Esper Baek Dohyun’s ability!”
“Wow!”
This is embarrassingly mortifying. Dohyun kept his head down and his gaze fixed on the small water tank in front of him, avoiding all the eyes on him. How did Somyeong Guild manage to gather so many extroverted people?
Dohyun placed his hand on the glass of the tank and inhaled as deeply as possible. The pain would return after this was over. Sitting in a chair in preparation for collapsing again, Dohyun gathered his energy.
“Wow…”
Someone in the lab made an exclamation of admiration. The power flowing from Dohyun’s body didn’t immediately seep into and flow through the water; rather, once a certain amount of energy was injected, it fused with the water. As if a certain threshold of power was required to infuse energy into the water.
Starting from where Dohyun’s hand touched, the color changed like red dye spreading. Only after confirming that all the water in the tank had turned red did Dohyun remove his hand. As he swayed in his chair, Haegang approached and let him lean against his chest. Soon, Vigor flowed into Dohyun like water. It was an incredibly pleasant sensation, but he didn’t feel good about it.
‘Having to receive Guiding helplessly still doesn’t sit well with me.’
But it wasn’t as painful or difficult as he had expected. Whether his body was growing accustomed to the pain or gradually adapting to using his ability, Dohyun thought he was doing quite well.
“I’ll transfer the potion now~.”
One of the researchers turned the tap attached to one side of the tank. The red potion that filled the 150ml bottle resembled strawberry juice. After filling three glass bottles, tension filled the expressions of those watching the remaining potion, which was about a third of the tank.
“Now I’ll add water.”
Was infinite multiplication possible? This was what the lab staff were most curious about. Recalling the day when Dohyun first demonstrated his ability, the potion had remained red even after water was added for a long time. Everyone was tense about this experiment, which was based on that observation. If it really worked, they could produce large quantities of potion.
In this tense atmosphere, a bottle of clean water was poured into the tank. When water was added to the potion that remained one-third full, the amount of potion increased by that much.
“Now, the next bottle.”
At the research team leader’s command, a staff member added another bottle of water. Instantly, the water returned to its original clear color.
“It looks like we added about twice the amount.”
The staff moved busily to measure the energy. Dohyun couldn’t escape the sensation he had felt. When the water was in potion state in the tank, he strongly sensed his power gathered inside it. He could feel the energy, and also a sense of connection. Now he felt like he could control his ability.
Haegang, who had finished Guiding and stepped back, stared at Dohyun for a moment before saying something out of the blue.
“You’re smiling.”
“Pardon?”
Dohyun, who had been lost in thought, came to his senses at the sound of his voice. Smiling?
Dohyun instinctively touched his cheek. There was a slight feeling of his mouth corners being pulled up.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
