# Chapter 60
At first, Haegang thought Dohyun was just an annoying kid who needed to be taught many things because he hadn’t been an Esper for long and thus knew relatively little. Though Dohyun had a timid personality that made him overly conscious of others’ reactions, he seemed unable to form smooth relationships due to his awkwardness with people. Still, the reason Haegang continued the contract was partly because of Dohyun’s definitely milder temperament compared to other Espers, and partly because Dohyun didn’t show any resistance to the conditions Haegang set.
Haegang had proposed the arrangement thinking that Dohyun, who hadn’t contracted with other Guides, would do as he wanted, and at first, it worked out fairly well. He didn’t have to deviate from his routine, and Dohyun moved according to Haegang’s wishes. Although it was somewhat frustrating that Dohyun showed no facial expressions and spoke little, as time passed, Haegang became accustomed to reading Dohyun’s eyes. It was convenient for Haegang that he could easily read Dohyun’s thoughts just by the movement of his pupils.
‘He’s thinking something random again.’
At first, Haegang thought it natural that Dohyun would be mindful of him. Although he had said it was fine, he knew that in the position of someone staying at another’s home, Dohyun couldn’t act as if it were his own house. He also knew that even after some time had passed and Dohyun had become familiar with Haegang’s home, Dohyun wasn’t the type of person who could shed that awkwardness.
From Haegang’s perspective, it was quite significant that this Esper, whose meals he worried about, this young Esper who was insensitive to pain, had gone from being “Esper Baek Dohyun” to “Baek Dohyun-ssi.”
Until now, what had been important to Haegang as a Guide was the clear distinction between Esper and Guide. Even without the troublesome mindset that a true Guide should want to move their Vigor and provide Guiding when seeing an Esper, Haegang was still a Guide. He could provide Guiding and function as a Guide even without such a mindset. Of course, until now, he hadn’t been very happy with his relationships with Espers, so most had ended in premature termination.
Although the title of Guide was one he’d been forced to take due to his genes, Haegang had fulfilled his minimum duties as a Guide in his own way. Since Dohyun listened well and tried to avoid actions that would irritate Haegang, he thought it would be fine to continue the contract. That was all. He hadn’t intended to care too much.
After finding out about the part-time job, Haegang’s image of the unstable Dohyun changed 180 degrees after he moved into Haegang’s house.
The situation occurred when Dohyun, who hadn’t gone to his part-time job for a while after moving into Haegang’s house, started working again and his living pattern became completely different from Haegang’s.
‘Esper Baek Dohyun?’
After finishing his morning exercise, Haegang was moistening his throat in the kitchen when he called out to Dohyun, who had opened his door with unfocused eyes. Since Dohyun had come home around 8 AM after working an overnight shift, he would have been in bed for less than 5 minutes. Why had he come out?
‘Did you come out to get some water?’
Haegang remembered how Dohyun used to freeze and flinch involuntarily whenever Haegang called him or their eyes met. But Dohyun seemed not to hear Haegang’s voice and walked straight ahead. Only after bumping his arm against a dead-end wall did he shift his body slightly to the side, and similarly, only after colliding with the living room table did he turn his body.
‘What are you doing?’
When Haegang, who was dumbfounded, grabbed Dohyun, something even more bewildering happened. Dohyun knelt down and placed his hands on his knees. As if begging for forgiveness. Then, with an expression full of fear, he closed his half-open eyes.
People tend to freeze when they’re too confused. Should he help him up? What should he do?
The bizarre confrontation was only resolved when Dohyun opened his eyes again, rose smoothly, and went back to his room. Not even 5 minutes had passed—no, not even 3 minutes.
‘What on earth did he see?’
Haegang was confused. It felt like being possessed by a ghost. The Esper bumped into walls and tables without considering his pain, then knelt before him and left? It was a situation that defied common sense.
Haegang opened the door to the room Dohyun had entered. He was sitting on the bed, not lying down. After staring blankly at the empty air for a while, he plopped his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes.
Shortly after, when Dohyun opened his eyes and saw Haegang standing in front of the door, he was startled. It was like he had just woken up after sleeping.
‘Why, why… do I need to get up?’
‘…No.’
Dohyun’s puzzling behavior continued afterward.
After going to bed, he would come out after some time had passed and gaze out the living room window. It was impossible to know what he was looking at.
Haegang discovered that if he touched Dohyun while he was walking out, Dohyun would kneel and tremble in fear, but if he was standing in front of the window, he wouldn’t show any reaction even if touched or grabbed.
When there was no sign of this habit being corrected, Haegang finally chose a different approach. He moved the living room table, which Dohyun’s knees kept hitting, into the spare room on the first floor. Of course, Dohyun immediately noticed and wondered where the table had been placed, but Haegang kept his mouth shut.
Espers healed from most injuries quickly. But Haegang couldn’t just leave Dohyun’s growing injuries. Haegang had been injured quite frequently while swimming and training his body. Since many of his friends who had become rivals also carried injuries, he had felt compelled to treat them somehow.
Haegang searched for quite a lot of data to find out what had happened to Dohyun in the past, but it was difficult to confirm. In particular, the orphanage where Dohyun said he had initially stayed had disappeared without a trace, to the extent that even the guild couldn’t find any records.
‘If he’s unconscious, he doesn’t get up.’
Haegang couldn’t understand why he had become so concerned about Dohyun. He had only taught him various things because Haegang himself wanted to be comfortable due to not knowing anything, and he had only taken care of Dohyun because he got into more trouble than expected. At some point, Dohyun had become a ‘precarious’ Esper to Haegang.
How many times had he been hurt? When an Esper gets injured, their body uses energy to recover. When energy is used, naturally, Guiding is needed. Haegang had only been trying to maintain Dohyun’s condition, since Dohyun seemed unaware that the more energy used, the more Guiding needed.
When meals are skipped, energy is likewise used to overcome that hunger. Therefore, he thought it would be more beneficial to preserve energy by feeding him rather than letting him go hungry and becoming troublesome…
“…Are you really okay?”
In any situation, Dohyun didn’t cry. Haegang found this aspect of Dohyun ironically poignant. Whether talking about the pain experienced at the orphanage, about his adoptive father, or about today’s story, Dohyun’s face remained composed.
Rather, it was Haegang who felt like his usual expression might break at that composed voice. Looking at the face without any trace of tears made him sick to his stomach. Clearly, Dohyun had drunk most of the alcohol, and Haegang had only taken a single glass.
Haegang rose from his seat. Looking at Dohyun, who was leaning over the table, Haegang sighed and picked him up. After providing Guiding by transferring his Vigor to Dohyun, who had his eyes closed, Haegang gently laid him on the bed.
Emotions that couldn’t be released through tears were bound to fester inside. Although Haegang considered himself quite stoic emotionally, now that he had come to know Dohyun’s festered and crumbling insides, he was concerned about how to treat him.
Even now, I’m already being swept along by this Esper who’s like a sharp-edged kitten. It seems like more time will be needed.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Ha…”
Opening his eyes, Dohyun recalled how much alcohol he had drunk the night before. What had he said, and how much? There was no hangover, but remembering the previous night made his head hurt.
Since he couldn’t possibly bring up the topic in his right mind, he had tried to get drunk and ended up consuming all the alcohol in the house. Recalling Haegang, who had gone back and forth several times to retrieve alcohol from the refrigerator, Dohyun covered his head with the blanket up to his hair and twisted his body. Thud, thud. After struggling inside the blanket for a while, Dohyun eventually relaxed his body.
“I hope I didn’t cause any trouble?”
Nothing must have happened. No, nothing should have happened. Although he believed all his memories were intact, he couldn’t ignore the influence of alcohol. Thinking that there might be something he didn’t remember, Dohyun couldn’t venture outside the bed.
‘Outside the blanket is dangerous.’
Thinking of this sentence as an eternal truth, Dohyun quietly looked at the pattern on the blanket covering his face. Feeling like he needed to do something, he counted the leaves embroidered on the blanket.
After being like that for a while, Dohyun held his breath, pretending to be asleep under the blanket at the sign of the door opening. The only person who would come in was Haegang.
“If you’re awake, why are you like that instead of coming out?”
It was a mystery how he could tell when his face wasn’t visible. As Dohyun slowly lowered the blanket, Haegang was standing in front of the open door, looking down at him.
“…Good morning.”
“Yes. Come out quickly.”
After giving a short answer, Haegang turned his back and walked away. Couldn’t he at least respond to the greeting? Dohyun watched Haegang’s retreating figure, who had replied to the greeting with an answer, then got up from bed with a slightly sulky face.
With his brow slightly furrowed due to the lingering traces of alcohol that seemed to remain in his body, Dohyun went to the bathroom and washed himself first. It seemed like Haegang had woken him up for breakfast, but more urgent than the meal was getting rid of the alcohol smell that seemed to emanate from his entire body.
“You could have just given it to me as is.”
With a towel around his neck, Dohyun was surprised by Haegang’s action of reheating the soup for him as soon as he entered the kitchen. However, Haegang stood silently in front of the pot.
Sitting down awkwardly, Dohyun recalled his memories from the previous night again.
What did I do yesterday? I seem to have just fallen asleep after finishing speaking, but did I black out? Since it was Guide Choi Haegang who prepared the drinking table, should I have done the dishes before going to sleep?
Unlike Dohyun, who was thinking all sorts of thoughts, Haegang’s face was no different from usual.
“When you’ve had a lot to drink, you should eat properly. Even if you recover quickly because you’re an Esper, it’s better not to skip meals.”
A clear soup filled with shellfish was neatly placed in front of Dohyun. After swallowing the soup, which was a bit saltier than usual, Dohyun unwittingly let out a loud exclamation.
“Is it refreshing?”
At the strangely teasing tone, Dohyun raised his eyes and then bowed his head deeply. How embarrassing. It was because he had suddenly come to understand the meaning of the adults’ exclamation “Siwonhada” (refreshing/satisfying) that he had previously never grasped. Had he grown up?
After the meal, which somehow perfectly suited Dohyun’s taste, Dohyun raised his hand saying he would do the dishes, but Haegang shook his head.
Then, as Dohyun was quietly lowering his hand, Haegang was heading to the sink when he suddenly turned his head and said with a smile:
“I think it’s good to drink alcohol occasionally.”
“…What did I do yesterday?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why?”
“Because you slept well.”
“…?”
It was a statement whose meaning was impossible to grasp. Dohyun always slept well.
Was there something different about today compared to usual?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
