#107
“I’m… fine.”
Reflexively, Ho-woo looked at the body of the young man standing in front of him.
He would surely ask to swim together, but being next to someone like that would only invite comparisons.
Do Espers turn everything they eat into muscle?
Ho-woo narrowed his eyes. The only bare bodies he had seen were Oh-yul’s and Moon Jin-hyuk’s, but both had solid, muscular bodies without an ounce of fat.
“Even though you can only swim in the sea here?”
Moon Jin-hyuk, who was roughly drying himself with a towel Priya had handed him, looked at Ho-woo questioningly, but Ho-woo shook his head firmly. It wasn’t because he felt ashamed of his own body that lacked any muscle.
Well, definitely not.
“Seems like we’re done swimming, shall we move on?”
Ho-woo lightly agreed to Hyun-hwi’s suggestion.
“Sure.”
That day, Moon Jin-hyuk, who had swum in the sea and not washed off the salt, complained of discomfort all day, but no one listened.
***
Ho-woo awkwardly scratched his cheek among the many Espers. The clothes he was wearing felt uncomfortable. The uniform he had to wear as part of the delegation, as per Baek Sang-jin’s instructions, was too white and burdensome.
Needlessly dusting off his clothes, Ho-woo looked around. The expressions of those gathered were bright. There was even a vague sense of expectation. While it was a return for him, it was a departure for them, so it made sense.
Ho-woo kicked the ground lightly with his toes, looking around.
“Who are you looking for?”
Moon Jin-hyuk, who had approached in the meantime, had a regretful look. He seemed to find it hard to believe that the two-week sweet vacation was over.
“I was wondering if Hyun-hwi and Priya came.”
Though it was a short time, he had grown fond of them and felt regretful to leave without saying goodbye. It would be nice to at least say a final farewell, but they were nowhere to be seen in the crowd.
“They probably couldn’t come even if they wanted to.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes, civilians can’t come here in the first place.”
Moon Jin-hyuk shrugged lightly. The place they were in was an area connected to the outside in the outskirts of the city. Their guides, though under the protection of the Corporation, were civilians, so it would be difficult for them to come here. Ho-woo clicked his tongue in unnecessary regret.
“More importantly, we’re already going home. Swimming in the sea was really great, but you never got in the water till the end, hyung.”
Ho-woo stared blankly at Moon Jin-hyuk. The two-week vacation had been so enjoyable that Moon Jin-hyuk’s cheeks were glowing. In contrast, Ho-woo had tanned a bit more than when he first arrived.
Though it looked like he had enjoyed it more than anyone, in reality, Ho-woo hadn’t enjoyed it much. The guides showed them around the city for three days a week and gave Ho-woo and Jin-hyuk free time for the remaining four days.
Ho-woo, not particularly fond of going around, had intended to take leisurely walks around the hotel or spend time in the room. However, Moon Jin-hyuk, insisting it was a chance that wouldn’t come again, dragged Ho-woo to the sea.
Of course, if Ho-woo had firmly refused, Moon Jin-hyuk would have given up sulkily. But Ho-woo didn’t. Spending time on the beach with a book, his skin tanned slightly even with sunscreen. Yet Moon Jin-hyuk, who had splashed around in saltwater all day, showed no change at all.
Rather, he had gained a bit of weight over the two weeks and was glowing radiantly.
“I didn’t swim, but I got a good tan thanks to someone.”
Moon Jin-hyuk, that someone, flinched and hunched his shoulders, grinning sheepishly. He knew himself that Ho-woo had given in to his insistence.
“I’ll do my best to serve you on the way back.”
“We’re going by car, aren’t we?”
“I mean I’ll protect you first if any monsters appear!”
“If you say so.”
Ho-woo looked in the direction Moon Jin-hyuk was staring, as he stiffened up trying to make a good impression. Baek Sang-jin was approaching them with leisurely steps. He even waved slightly when his eyes met Ho-woo’s.
“Did you have a good time?”
Baek Sang-jin gave a light greeting and looked Ho-woo up and down, then let out a small laugh.
“Looks like you did well. Seems you didn’t apply sunscreen well.”
He had applied it well, but still tanned.
It was all because of Moon Jin-hyuk. Ho-woo stepped firmly on Moon Jin-hyuk’s foot, who was standing next to him with a tense, straight back. Knowing his mistake, Jin-hyuk awkwardly smiled and quickly left his spot at another Esper’s call. Ho-woo, who had been watching this for a moment, turned his gaze back to Baek Sang-jin as he continued speaking.
“I’m glad you seemed to get along well with the guides too.”
“Thanks to them, I comfortably toured the city. Thank you.”
Baek Sang-jin pulled up the corners of his mouth in satisfaction at Ho-woo’s polite thanks.
“It will take about 5 hours to arrive. It’s better to say in advance if you get motion sickness. We can’t get medicine in the middle of the trip.”
“Then I’ll ask for one medicine, please.”
Though not prone to severe motion sickness, Ho-woo didn’t hesitate to ask.
“I’ll send it through Moon Jin-hyuk Esper before departure. Well then, take care.”
Baek Sang-jin walked with leisurely steps towards the group of other Espers. He looked very busy, fitting for the person in charge. After watching his back giving instructions for a moment, Ho-woo neatly packed the bag that also contained Moon Jin-hyuk’s luggage. When they came, he had nothing, but now there was enough luggage to fill a large carrier.
However, most of the luggage in the bag was Moon Jin-hyuk’s. He had bought so many souvenirs, including a useless seashell keyring, that Ho-woo almost fell over. When Moon Jin-hyuk subtly encouraged consumption by asking if Ho-woo wasn’t buying souvenirs too, Ho-woo had to gather his wits.
Frankly speaking, Ho-woo was already bankrupt not only for this month but also for the next, and even his savings account, just from buying clothes. He had bought them because he needed clothes to wear immediately, but he didn’t want to increase his debt further.
Moon Jin-hyuk looked at Ho-woo, who was worried about money, as if he was being excessive, but he didn’t try to persuade or encourage him further. He just happily used the card connected to Oh-yul’s salary.
Ho-woo pushed the bag into the trunk and got into the car. The driver, already in the car, was wearing the same guide uniform as Ho-woo. Seeming quite taciturn, he greeted Ho-woo with a nod, which Ho-woo returned before resting his chin on his hand and staring absently out the window.
Meanwhile, the Espers had gathered around other cars, having seemingly finished preparations for departure. Moon Jin-hyuk, returning from a mission briefing, lightly tapped on the car window where Ho-woo was sitting, holding a box of motion sickness pills and water.
“Hyung, do you get motion sickness?”
Ho-woo nodded slightly as he took the medicine and swallowed it with water.
Clicking his tongue, it seemed that in Moon Jin-hyuk’s eyes, Ho-woo looked even weaker than a reed.
“Tell me if it gets tough.”
“Never mind that, you get in the car if you get tired. There’s plenty of room here.”
“If I can’t run for 5 hours while facing monsters, I shouldn’t call myself a hunting team Esper anywhere.”
Moon Jin-hyuk was burning with enthusiasm. His eyes were overflowing with intense determination not to be looked down upon by Espers from other cities. Hearing Moon Jin-hyuk’s words, the Espers from the Southern City could be seen secretly clenching their fists. Ho-woo thought it was a useless pride competition, though.
“Uh… yeah. Good luck.”
Moon Jin-hyuk walked away with a cold look as Ho-woo stared at him with an unenthusiastic face. Ho-woo watched the slowly opening gate. Light flooded in through the gap like an overflowing wave. Sparkling fragments of light painfully pricked his eyes.
As Ho-woo blinked his stinging eyes a few times, frowning, the car that had started moving passed through the half-open huge gate and sped along the straight road outside the city. The Espers ran briskly, vigilantly surrounding the car in a circle. Ho-woo read freedom on their faces. They laughed like beasts, radiating their abilities to the limit.
Moon Jin-hyuk also smiled broadly, his eyes gradually turning green. In the midst of this, when his eyes met Ho-woo’s, he bounced around excitedly, as if extremely pleased.
He looked so gloomy until departure, but now he seems happy at the thought of going back.
It was a smooth start without any problems. When enough time had passed for boredom to appear on the faces of the Espers who had been so excited at first,
Ho-woo saw it flying through the window.
A giant bird, so large it made him gasp, was gliding leisurely through the sky. Its wings were so enormous that, with some exaggeration, they could cover half the sky. Moreover, its head was that of a deer with antlers. The teeth visible between its beak were densely packed and jagged like a saw.
The creature, looking like a haphazard combination of various animals in one body, let out a long howl.
Wooooo-
A low vibration shook the air. Though its appearance was grotesque, the monster’s wingbeats were graceful. Its strong blue feathers swayed in the fierce wind, and its long tail feathers, as long as its body, captured the gaze.
The monster circled above them. The Espers watched the sky with their muscles tensed to the maximum, under the fierce killing intent that seemed about to plunge to the ground at any moment.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
