# Chapter 53
Dohyun blinked at the unexpected words.
“Mr. Baek Dohyun is the one making them. You can be more demanding. You can make fewer and fluctuate the prices too.”
“…Isn’t that wrong?”
“It’s a monopoly to begin with, so what does it matter? Without Esper Baek Dohyun, production itself would be impossible. You can afford to be confident and assertive, it doesn’t matter. What I mean is, don’t approach this with a subservient attitude. There’s no need for that. If you know your ability is extraordinary, you should act accordingly. Your value is this high, so there’s no need to lower it. Be confident, be confident.”
Dohyun had always felt that he only had value if he was useful in some way. He would only feel at ease if he was working somehow to earn a living, or showing his friends that he was living diligently. When people said, “You don’t have to live so hard,” Dohyun considered it the thoughtless concern of young friends who had guardians and whose lives weren’t difficult.
But after awakening, when he expected to become busier, he instead found more leisure. He had naturally expected to have more financial freedom, but he never thought he would have more time as well. The one who steadied Dohyun when he was anxious wasn’t his friends or the guild members, but Haegang.
To put it nicely, Haegang had confidence in everything; to put it badly… he was arrogant. But words that could easily come across as haughty actually gave Dohyun a sense of stability.
Though his nagging was a bit excessive.
Sure enough, as soon as they returned home, Haegang listed things to do.
“Tomorrow is garbage day, so empty your room’s trash bin. And as I mentioned before, the trash bin bags are black. Don’t take the white ones.”
Is that really important? We’re going to put them in standard waste bags anyway, aren’t we? Dohyun had plenty of retorts that came to mind, but he kept his mouth shut. Haegang was the owner of the house, and the designated color of the bags was part of the fastidious Guide Choi Haegang’s routine.
Seeing Dohyun nod, Haegang raised his left wrist. After checking the time, he made a slightly displeased expression. It was the look he showed when things deviated from his planned schedule. Dohyun quietly waited for Haegang to speak.
“We went straight to dinner from the guild today, so we missed Guiding.”
“Ah… I’m fine, though.”
“Esper Baek Dohyun can’t properly assess his own physical condition, so that won’t do.”
Sometimes Dohyun wished Haegang would speak less directly. People can be a bit insensitive to their own illness… When Haegang reached out to Dohyun, he instinctively took his hand. A Guiding session, shorter than usual, followed.
“Oh…”
“Your energy situation is certainly better than usual. We’ll do a longer Guiding session tomorrow.”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“No.”
Dohyun thought about Haegang’s habits and nodded with an “Ah.” Haegang usually reads a book or takes a walk after meals, but couldn’t do so today. That meant the house would be quiet for a while now.
Dohyun watched Haegang go upstairs before getting up. Recently, he had developed a habit of filling water bottles—not for making potions to sell, but for self-protection. He naturally filled bottles with water and put them in a small bag so he could easily take them when going out. He took out the water bottle he had carried but not used during today’s outing, washed it clean, and placed it upside down on the drying rack. After finishing his preparations for going out, Dohyun plopped down on the bed with his phone.
Should I sleep even though it’s early? Dohyun thought he was just like an unemployed person. Just eating and sleeping, isn’t that exactly what it was? While having these bland thoughts, Dohyun blinked slowly.
A curious thing Dohyun realized after staying at Haegang’s house was that he, who always used to curl up on his side to sleep, now comfortably lay on his back looking at the ceiling. He could sleep without curling up and pressing against the wall.
“Let’s just sleep…”
Slowly blinking his eyes, Dohyun drifted off to sleep.
❖ ❖ ❖
Haegang went upstairs but came back down to the first floor about 10 minutes later. Though it was early, he thought it wouldn’t matter if Dohyun slept early. Dohyun, so fastidious, seemed unable to sleep when Haegang was on the first floor, as if he was being considerate. He wasn’t sensitive to his own physical condition but was acutely responsive to others’ feelings. So Haegang vacated the space to allow Dohyun to sleep comfortably.
Fortunately, it was different from the time when Dohyun, unable to properly use his abilities and anxious, would escape into sleep. Though it was a bit early, it was within the normal range. He might feel uncomfortable sleeping right after eating, but being an Esper, he should be fine.
The clock hands pointed to 8:30 PM. It wasn’t Haegang’s usual bedtime of 11 PM. But Haegang had decided that Dohyun, at least, needed to get some sleep, even if early. Even for an Esper, sleeping ‘like that’ couldn’t be restful.
Normally, this would be Haegang’s reading time. Typically, after finishing morning work and having lunch, Haegang would take a short walk and do light exercise. After dinner, he would have a reading session, even if brief. But when Haegang came downstairs, there was no book in his hands. He just stared intently at Dohyun’s door.
“Sigh… He’ll be coming out soon.”
Haegang sighed while looking at the clock. As if hearing those words, about 5 minutes later, Dohyun’s closed door opened, and he walked out with slow steps. Haegang, who was sitting on the sofa, stood up to observe Dohyun’s actions.
Walking toward the living room, Dohyun bumped his arm against a drawer but continued walking as if he didn’t feel it. Haegang quietly watched him. If he touched him now, he would show ‘that behavior’ again.
After walking into the living room, Dohyun looked out the window. Only then did Haegang approach him, take his arm, and roll up his sleeve. There was a bruise on the arm that had just been hit hard. Now familiar with the routine, he rubbed ointment on the arm and lowered his hand.
Though such injuries would heal quickly for an Esper, Haegang couldn’t just ignore them. Even as Haegang tended to his arm, Dohyun continued to gaze out the window for a long time.
On Dohyun’s right hand was a watch stopped at 3:10. Haegang pretended not to notice the many scratches on the watch.
He didn’t wake up the still-sleeping Dohyun.
❖ ❖ ❖
It had been just one day. The previous day at dinner, they were told to be careful. But they couldn’t just not go out. After returning home, Dohyun had a somewhat serious conversation with Haegang, and the next day he registered at a driving school.
‘I’ll bring the car. Please wait a moment.’
‘Yes.’
Whenever Dohyun observed Haegang’s actions, he thought he was such a curious person. He was self-willed yet oddly affectionate in unexpected ways. It happened earlier too. Though they could have headed to the parking lot together after class, Haegang deliberately went to get the car alone. His manner of moving as if trying to inconvenience others less was strangely familiar. An arrogant person with good manners in unexpected places.
‘Surprisingly, you two are getting along well.’
The Guild Master’s voice penetrated his mind. Yes, getting along with the Guide… that’s a good thing.
The last memory was seeing Haegang walking away. He hadn’t lost consciousness, but Dohyun was unable to respond to the cloth touching his nose and something like a bag being placed over his face before being dragged away.
‘Surprisingly… I’m not nervous.’
Oddly enough, that’s what Dohyun thought. If there had been even one Esper nearby, he wouldn’t have failed to sense the waves of energy they possessed. But there was no sensation, so Dohyun realized there were no Espers near him.
There were many ways to escape. Since there were no Espers, there would be no hindrance when using his abilities, and since those who had kidnapped him didn’t properly know Dohyun’s abilities, he wouldn’t be restricted at all.
The problem was that Dohyun hadn’t yet obtained a driver’s license, so even if he subdued these people, it would be difficult to drive away.
“Is he really asleep?”
“The drug is a bit strong, so it will take some time for him to wake up.”
Why would they kidnap an Esper? Dohyun quietly assessed the direction while relaxing his body in the bumpy car. The movements since boarding the car were clearly remembered in his mind. Since only a few minutes had passed, it was awkward to pretend to be awake, so Dohyun pretended to sleep while tightly hugging his bag to keep it close to his body. The water bottle in the bag made a sloshing sound with the car’s movement, reassuring Dohyun.
“Anyway, he’s a Guide, so it’s fine. There’s nothing better than a contracted Guide as bait for an Esper.”
Huh? Dohyun was dumbfounded by the kidnappers’ words.
“Geez, I was so nervous thinking they might have ordered us to kidnap an Esper, damn it.”
Excuse me. I am that Esper…?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
