Chapter 7
Bang!
“Ah, Handam hyung! Lower your energy!”
“Does Esper Baek Dohyun look like a normal person to you?”
“But he just manifested recently!”
“My ears, they’re stinging… Please… go away…”
Dohyun was standing in one corner of the guild’s training room, responding to an Esper’s attack.
Dohyun stared blankly at the fireball that exploded with a bang near him. He could see a friend standing on one side with a worried expression, but he decided to ignore him for now. He was already busy enough preparing for that attack.
Ye Handam, a high-grade explosion-type Esper. When he was introduced, Dohyun had just thought, “I see,” but he gradually remembered more. High-grade Espers are so rare that they’re like celebrities to the public. Among them, Esper Ye Handam was particularly well-known for his flashy appearance and explosive ability.
To think such a person came directly to the Association just for his onboarding… And that he was making time for training, it felt almost too much. It was increasingly burdensome. He was accumulating too many debts to the guild.
As Handam moved his hand, another bang echoed through the room. Occasionally, sparks flew and created small wounds on exposed areas like his face or hands, but a healing Esper on standby treated them easily.
It was amazing how little pain he felt—injuries that would have been painful before his manifestation could now be ignored with just minor irritation.
“You’re hurt again!”
“Hah… If you’re that anxious, why don’t you ask Esper Baek Dohyun?”
As Chan kept panicking, Handam sighed and pointed to Dohyun.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“Ugh…”
You coward. Chan saw Dohyun clicking his tongue and sat in the corner with his lips pouting.
“Esper Baek Dohyun. Do you feel anything different?”
After several explosions, Handam asked. His wounds had long disappeared, and his clothes were a bit tattered, but he didn’t feel anything particular. After looking himself over, Dohyun shook his head. Handam and the healing Esper exchanged glances and shared an awkward smile.
“Should I have felt something?”
“Usually, you can feel how much another Esper’s energy reaches you. Both with my explosions and when receiving treatment, people normally feel something…”
In the end, this meant his reactions were different from a typical Esper’s. The guild master watching from the side nodded.
“We have non-combat Espers in our guild too. Since they’re not in the country right now, you can ask them various questions when they return… Shall we finish for today?”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thank you for your effort, Handam. Esper Baek Dohyun, contact us if you get hurt anywhere.”
It seemed they were wrapping up as the guild master and Handam exchanged farewells. Chan approached and handed Dohyun the wristwatch he had loosened. After naturally placing the watch on his right wrist, Dohyun turned to the guild master.
“Um, can I really go home now?”
“Yes~. Come back to the guild tomorrow.”
“…Could I come in the afternoon?”
“There’s no conquest scheduled, so come at a convenient time. Your Guide is also scheduled to visit tomorrow, right?”
“……”
His head ached as he recalled the Guide’s face, which he had momentarily forgotten. Having unintentionally been rude, it was clear the Guide’s feelings toward him wouldn’t be positive. The thought of those sharp eyes looking down at him again made him want to avoid the whole situation.
“Since there are things to check tomorrow too, you can go to the research lab on the first floor. Until you get used to the guild, Sa Gongchan will be Esper Baek Dohyun’s designated staff.”
“I look forward to working with you, Esper Baek Dohyun.”
Dohyun stiffened at his friend’s formal speech.
“Disgusting.”
“…That’s a bit harsh.”
After bowing, Dohyun headed outside, and Chan quickly followed.
“You’re taking the bus, right? You’re not going to say nonsense about walking home, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Bbakdo. Don’t leave the group chat again.”
Dohyun waved his hand dismissively, telling him to get lost. Chan smiled brightly, saying even when he worried about him, he acted like this, then turned around abruptly saying it was cold, without even saying goodbye.
“Ah!”
“What?”
“The guild master is my mom.”
Suddenly stopping his steps, Chan dropped this bombshell. Dohyun stared blankly at Chan’s back as he slipped back into the guild building after detonating this bomb.
That… that crazy guy.
❖ ❖ ❖
Not telling me such important information, I really made a mistake in choosing friends. Lamenting this, Dohyun moved on, seemingly ignoring Chan’s request. Since he had unexpectedly spent money on a taxi today, it was better to walk home to save on living expenses.
As Dohyun recalled the ingredients in his refrigerator, he changed his direction. Since he was running out of water, he needed to stop by the mart. Though he often made do with convenience store lunch boxes or triangle kimbap, cooking for once wouldn’t be bad.
“……”
And Dohyun unconsciously stepped back when he encountered a not-unfamiliar face at the mart.
“Are you following me?”
I’m not. Why would I follow you? Dohyun wanted to refute immediately, but his mouth remained tightly closed. Looking down at him as if he’d seen a troublesome person, he could only swallow his breath, frozen.
“There are so many annoying people. Pretending not to know, then appearing nearby.”
“That’s not, it.”
Despite his effort, his voice came out as a small denial, but Haegang seemed to take it as an excuse.
“How else would we meet like this?”
Of course, it was his first time at this mart. Since it was his first visit to the Somyeong Guild. So encountering Haegang was purely coincidental. He wanted to say that, but Haegang’s large body felt threatening, making him freeze.
Nevertheless, as time passed, the tension gradually eased. It was a positive function of having a Guide with good matching rate nearby.
“Did you follow me from the Association?”
“…I didn’t.”
“Then what? Did you track my whereabouts?”
Why would I track your whereabouts? Would I even find you if I looked? Dohyun shook his head, drained by the self-important Guide’s words. Until just now, he had felt a little sorry, but that feeling completely disappeared.
“I just came to the mart. I didn’t even know you were here.”
“How could you not know that?”
What nonsense is this? As Dohyun frowned, Haegang instead made an expression of disbelief. It was a face asking how he could not know that he was here. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
Well, he was a high-grade Guide. Remembering that Haegang was an A-grade Guide, Dohyun revised his thinking, acknowledging that such people could exist. It’s a world where even where awakeners go for their honeymoon becomes an issue. If a Guide is high-grade, they’ve probably made multiple TV appearances or interviews…
“He might have celebrity disease.”
“What?”
“…I’m sorry. Did I say that out loud?”
Dohyun bowed his head. In any case, it was his fault, so he apologized, bending at the waist.
Let’s just never see each other again. Seeing how incompatible they were, it seemed highly likely that the Guide coming tomorrow wouldn’t be Haegang. After all, didn’t he misunderstand earlier that Dohyun didn’t want to contract?
Having that large person nearby was just uncomfortable for Dohyun. When he went to the guild tomorrow, Dohyun planned to check which guild-affiliated Guide had the highest matching rate with him.
“……”
Still, he felt bad about making him interpret his words as not wanting to contract. No, of course he didn’t want to contract. But it wasn’t just because it was Haegang.
Dohyun didn’t care how others thought of him, but he strongly disliked causing trouble for others. Even if it happened due to not knowing, he had made a mistake from their first meeting… After hesitating, Dohyun made a big decision and opened his mouth.
“Um… Earlier, I…”
“Enough.”
Why? Dohyun firmly closed his mouth that he had opened to apologize. He couldn’t think of how to respond to such a definitive answer. It was a clear rejection.
“Do I need to hear obvious reasons from someone who deliberately stuck around? I have no interest in hearing excuses, so please continue on your way.”
But I’m not. I’m just apologizing since we met. Dohyun had no idea what to add to this assertive man who was treating him like an annoying paparazzo with his sharp face.
“Then… I need to buy some things and go home, so I’ll go first.”
Dohyun walked away from Haegang with quick steps. From a short distance, Dohyun called out to Haegang.
“And I didn’t follow Guide Choi Haegang…”
This is a mart, you know! Dohyun checked that Haegang had turned his head with an incredulous expression, then immediately moved on. This one statement was all Dohyun could muster the courage to say.
❖ ❖ ❖
Waking from sleep, Dohyun let out a deep sigh. His dreams had been troubled lately. Perhaps because he couldn’t sleep properly, his head would throb when he woke up. Feeling this pain for the first time in a while since manifesting, Dohyun scratched his disheveled hair and headed to the bathroom.
It was an irritating dream. A dream where memories from years ago burrowed into him.
‘Seonwoo.’
At the voice lingering in his ear, Dohyun turned on the cold water and stood under it. Though the cold water poured from the top of his head, he didn’t feel cold. Even though it must surely be ice-cold.
‘Han Seonwoo.’
Dohyun clenched his teeth. He resented the improved memory that came with becoming an Esper. Bad dreams wouldn’t erase from his mind.