#119
“There’s not much I can tell you.”
“It’s an old story, after all.”
Lee Ho-yeon gave a bitter smile at the response implying that it was understandable since 18 years had passed. Unlike Ho-woo’s assumption, the memory was as vivid as if it happened yesterday. The guilt was just as fresh. He carefully examined his son’s face. The once youthful face had now become that of a full-fledged young man sitting across from him. However, a faint anxiety filled those eyes.
He knew one of his son’s bad habits.
Ho-woo tended to avoid things he thought he couldn’t handle. Even now, he probably wanted to run away. But Ho-woo clenched his fist tightly and continued firmly.
“Please, even if it’s just a little.”
“……”
Lee Ho-yeon took a deep breath.
“That day started like any other morning.”
The same farewell greeting every time, telling him to have a good day. If he had known it would be the last, he would never have let them go. Even now, the memory is this vivid. Not faded or disappeared.
‘Have a good day. I’ll take Ho-woo with me today.’
The brightly smiling face resembled the son sitting across from him now.
“That afternoon, after saying my final goodbye and going to work, I received a call from the management corporation.”
“……”
“They said there had been an accident involving Na-yeon.”
An accident.
Ho-woo read deep sorrow in Lee Ho-yeon’s face as it contorted in grief. However, that sorrow also seemed like reopening a very old wound. Because of him, because Ho-woo had asked about that painful memory, Lee Ho-yeon was digging up an old wound to provide an answer.
“I rushed there as soon as I got the call. Since Na-yeon had clearly said she would take you that morning, I ran frantically thinking I might have lost you both. And what I saw was only Na-yeon.”
“So did Mom leave me at home and go to work?”
“There’s no way she would have left a seven-year-old at home alone.”
“Then…”
Was I found near the accident site?
As Ho-woo harbored this natural question, Lee Ho-yeon let out a long sigh and rubbed his face with his hand.
“You were found at home.”
“But you said there’s no way she would have left me at home.”
“Right, because I even received a call when Na-yeon left for work. But you were at home. After I collected Na-yeon’s body and frantically searched for you, when I finally returned home after three days, I was shocked to find you there.”
He finished speaking and touched his forehead as if he had a headache. His furrowed brow, eyes, and forehead were covered in cold sweat.
“It seems I can’t say more.”
As if continuing was difficult, he swallowed a small groan. Ho-woo looked worriedly at Lee Ho-yeon, whose complexion had suddenly turned pale.
“It’s okay.”
Even what he had said so far must have been quite taxing for Lee Ho-yeon. Ho-woo calmly accepted the facts.
“Ho-woo. Even if I can’t tell you much, I’ll always respect your choices.”
“Father…”
“I’m sorry I’ve never been a good parent.”
Lee Ho-yeon bowed his head deeply.
“It seems I have nothing more to tell you, so you should go home. I need to rest too.”
Having received this dismissal, Ho-woo left the house and let out a long sigh. Though Lee Ho-yeon’s story was very brief, a few things became clear.
Since they received a call from the management corporation, it was certain that Ho-woo’s mother, Yeo Na-kyung, had died in an accident involving an esper. This also clarified why Lee Ho-yeon hated, even despised, espers until now.
But that incident happened when he was seven years old. Why did he lose his memories only three years after that event? Was the esper who erased his memories the same one who caused the accident?
Even as he found answers to one part of the maze, a new maze unfolded before him. Ho-woo vaguely guessed that this maze would probably only end when he opened the black door at the end of the corridor.
“Was the conversation enjoyable?”
Ho-woo turned his head towards the familiar voice. It wasn’t so surprising anymore. It was obvious how he had found him. There was a tracker on his wrist that could trace him anywhere in this city.
“No, it wasn’t very productive.”
It was the only clue, but he hadn’t gained much. Instead, he felt sorry for stirring up his father’s bad memories. Still, he had learned the exact time of the incident his mother was involved in. With this, he could look into a few more things without necessarily opening the door of memories.
“Are there any records of accidents caused by espers in the corporation?”
“Of course there are.”
“Can I see them?”
“Of course…”
Oh-yul smiled brightly.
“Not.”
His smile was so fresh that Ho-woo didn’t even realize for a moment that he had been denied.
“Oh, I can’t?”
“No, you can’t.”
Unlike Oh-yul’s usual lenience towards Ho-woo, a firm answer came back. When Ho-woo’s shoulders drooped dejectedly, Oh-yul patted them and suggested an alternative.
“How about looking for old newspaper articles instead?”
“…Oh.”
“There might be something left there.”
Old newspaper articles. It was certainly a possibility. Ho-woo straightened his shoulders as if he had never been dejected and smiled brightly. He hugged Oh-yul tightly, rested his chin on his chest, looked up at him, and grinned.
“That’s right. Thank you.”
“…It’s nothing.”
“But, did you wait long? You know this is the perfect time to catch a cold, right?”
Feeling Oh-yul’s cold hands, Ho-woo glared at him.
“You’re probably the only one who worries about such things.”
“Why, don’t espers catch colds?”
“I certainly haven’t experienced one.”
“That’s cheating.”
Ho-woo grumbled as he held Oh-yul’s hand and shoved it into his coat pocket.
“Hm?”
There’s something in the pocket?
It was a small, square box.
“!”
Isn’t that just the size of a ring box?
Ho-woo looked up at Oh-yul quietly. His lover was looking down at him nonchalantly. His calm face without any agitation made Ho-woo uncertain.
Should he pretend not to notice, or is it okay to ask? As these thoughts swirled through Ho-woo’s mind in an instant, Oh-yul placed the small box that had been rolling around in his pocket into Ho-woo’s hand.
“This…”
No matter how you look at it, it seems like a ring box.
Ho-woo took the box out of his pocket with a dubious face. Although it was slightly larger than a typical ring box, it was just about that size.
“It’s not much, but it’s a gift.”
Oh-yul gestured as if to say ‘open it quickly’.
Right, there’s no way he’d give a ring like this. Even if I’ve never dated before, there’s such a thing as common sense…
With a lightened heart, Ho-woo opened the box and blinked at the small mechanical device placed on what looked like a soft cushion inside. The small screen of the device had the word ‘ON’ written on it, and below it was just a single button with a transparent cover.
“…What is this?”
“It’s a magic button.”
Ho-woo looked back and forth between the button and Oh-yul.
“What kind of magic button?”
“It’s a button that helps you gather your thoughts.”
Thinking he might be joking, Ho-woo examined Oh-yul’s expression, but it was calm and a gentle smile played on his face.
Blink-
The word on the screen blinked briefly. Whatever it was, it seemed to be working.
“Is it okay if I press it now?”
“No. This button is really important, so you should press it carefully.”
He covered the button with his hand as if to caution.
“If you ever become troubled because of recovered memories.”
His deep blue eyes rippled like a deep sea.
“Then it will help you gather your thoughts.”
Seeing his genuinely serious face, Ho-woo nodded heavily. At that small movement, the esper linked pinkies with Ho-woo and even firmly pressed their thumbs together to seal the promise.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Ho-woo put the button back in the box. Clatter- The small sound of the button shaking in the box seemed particularly loud.
***
Ho-woo rubbed his tired eyes as he checked a site with newspaper articles organized by date during his breaks. Though his eyes, strained from working all night, were complaining of extreme fatigue, Ho-woo kept moving the mouse busily, reading through the articles he had searched without rest.
Oh-yul’s guess that traces of old newspaper articles, especially those related to espers, would remain on the internet was correct.
At least, there were scattered records from that time. Even if not in detail, Ho-woo extracted several incidents from there. And in the process, he also discovered an unexpected article.
[Taeho Group, Chairman and Wife Die at Home Due to Esper Rampage]
The article’s headline encapsulated everything. The chairman of Taeho Group and his wife were found dead at their home along with their household staff due to their then 9-year-old child’s esper manifestation rampage, and the youngest esper to manifest was found and taken care of by the management corporation.
There was only one person in this city who manifested as an esper at the youngest age of 9. His esper and lover, Oh-yul.
Upon discovering this article, Ho-woo somewhat understood a conversation he had once had with him. Oh-yul, who had said he killed all his family members with his own hands. Was he still suffering from guilt?
