#66
In stark contrast to the two, the eyes of the young man who had just shed his boyish appearance seemed eerily cool, with a deep, dark blue sea swirling within them, making one’s skin crawl.
It was that photo posted on the Management Corporation’s website. The photo Ho-woo had seen on the day he first recognized Oh-yul and looked up information about Espers.
Ho-woo looked at the photo and then turned to his lover standing beside him. Yul was gazing at his own photo indifferently, but sensing Ho-woo’s gaze, he crinkled his eyes and let his lips curve slightly.
He smiles so well now, so why do all his old photos look like that?
Ho-woo strongly disliked the photo that looked like a well-made doll without any emotion. With the reckless confidence that he could take a better photo than that, Ho-woo pulled out the couple phone that had been quietly sleeping in his pocket.
“Bend your waist a little.”
Stretching his arms forward, Ho-woo tried to capture the two of them in the small frame. Responding to his earnest movement, Yul willingly bent his waist deeply and rested his chin on Ho-woo’s shoulder.
A smile that bloomed as brightly as a spring flower soon filled the screen with a clicking sound.
“Ah, it’s blurry.”
Should I delete it and take another? The slightly blurred photo wasn’t terribly bothersome, but there was a peculiar sense of disappointment.
“Please send me this photo too.”
Yul, who was looking at the slightly blurry photo together, chuckled, saying, “It came out cute.” His gaze swept over Ho-woo in the photo.
Indeed, Ho-woo had slightly furrowed his brow and pursed his lips like a duck, probably because he was more focused on the phone than his own expression while taking the photo.
Still, Ho-woo thought it wasn’t an ugly face, but next to the radiant Esper emitting a halo, he looked quite unattractive.
“…Let’s take it again.”
“I like this photo. Send it to me now.”
Ho-woo quickly tried to delete the photo. However, his attempt was thwarted by the Esper gently wrapping his hand around Ho-woo’s wrist.
“Were you trying to delete it?”
“Of course, do you think it’s okay if only you look good?”
“Ho-woo looks cute too.”
“Where?”
Even as Ho-woo grumbled and pouted, Yul held both of Ho-woo’s wrists with one hand and politely took the phone with the other, sending the photo to his own phone.
Ho-woo, who ended up decorating the first contact record with his lover on his newly bought phone with an unflattering photo, made a sulky face.
What kind of strength is this?
He didn’t think he was weak, but this brief experience made him realize how far removed Espers were from ordinary humans. The short experience ended quickly.
Yul, who was about to return the phone to Ho-woo after just sending the photo, unintentionally read the message popup that appeared on the screen.
[Did you ask that man?]
It was Do-hyun’s message with a hint of question. Yul, who had returned the phone to Ho-woo, furrowed his brow, which had been relaxed, at Ho-woo’s expression of sudden realization after checking the message.
“Right… Do-hyun must have been waiting.”
Ho-woo berated himself for forgetting such an important matter. How could you forget something so important, Lee Ho-woo?
Do-hyun’s parents, who worked at a small research branch of the Management Corporation, adored Ho-woo tremendously. When Ho-woo visited Do-hyun’s house, although they didn’t meet often due to their busy schedules, on the rare occasions they did, they were good people who quietly listened to Ho-woo’s words despite him being their son’s friend who might have felt awkward.
“Who do you mean by ‘that man’?”
Not realizing it referred to himself, Yul bristled like a wary cat. His raised eyes and narrowed pupils scrutinized Ho-woo, who was smiling awkwardly.
“Well… it’s you, Yul.”
The man who had unintentionally directed his jealousy at himself exhaled briefly. Though barely noticeable, a hint of bewilderment settled at the ends of his eyebrows.
“Is there something you need to ask me?”
“Well… I was wondering if it’s okay to ask about this kind of thing.”
The man standing before him was at the center of the recent unfortunate incident. Feeling embarrassed to bluntly ask, “My friend’s parents are moving jobs because of this incident, is that okay?”, Ho-woo hesitated for a moment.
Although it might have been frustrating, Yul calmly waited for Ho-woo to organize his thoughts and ask the question. Encouraged by this kind patience, Ho-woo finally opened his mouth.
“Do-hyun’s parents are actually researchers.”
“Ah.”
Yul responded nonchalantly, as if it wasn’t a significant matter. His reaction was so calm that it seemed like he already knew this fact.
“I heard that many researchers were among those who left the city with that minister, and they received an offer to come to the Management Corporation. They’re considering whether it’s okay to move. Since they’re quite important to me too, I said I’d ask you…”
The end of his words, which sounded like an excuse, gradually faded. His head, bowed in embarrassment, looked adorably round.
“It’s a good opportunity.”
“…Really?”
“The position of research director at the corporation is currently vacant, so it might be worth a shot if they have the chance.”
The man who was to become the representative of that corporation lifted the corner of his lips crookedly while stroking his chin. It was a terribly mischievous smile, but Ho-woo, with his head bowed, didn’t see it.
“I’d really like to work with them. It’s true that many capable researchers have left, so if they’ve been contacted, they must be excellent.”
“I don’t know much, but they are good people.”
Ho-woo, not hiding his joy, quickly replied to Do-hyun and shoved the phone back into his pocket before taking Yul’s hand.
Although he had been dragged here without much explanation, thinking that this place held traces of Yul’s childhood made it an excellent date location.
It would be nice if there were photos from even younger days than those hanging on the wall.
Leaving this strange regret behind, Ho-woo entered the central part of the building past the spacious lobby and encountered exercise equipment lined up in a large space and a floor covered with soft mats. The space, which looked like a gymnasium to anyone, showed clear signs of use.
Am I really going to learn self-defense?
While his athletic ability wasn’t particularly outstanding or poor, it was still burdensome. Noticing Ho-woo’s worried expression, Yul gently reassured him that it wasn’t that difficult.
“You just need to work hard for about two months. That should be enough for the corporation to grant you a guide qualification.”
Goodness, I didn’t know even being a guide required qualifications.
Ho-woo was quite shocked to learn that even professions that seemed innate required certifications. Even for jobs that one had to be born with, there were certifications. Being a guide wasn’t an easy job after all.
The corner of Yul’s mouth twitched as he read Ho-woo’s expression, which clearly revealed his thoughts.
“What’s the point of me getting a guide qualification?”
“…”
Ho-woo looked at Yul with round eyes. What was the point of him getting a guide qualification?
After all, the only one he could guide was Oh-yul.
In response to Ho-woo’s questioning look, Yul smiled shyly and gently caressed the back of Ho-woo’s hand.
The man, his eyes tinged with a slight blush from the elevated feeling, moistened his dry lips with the tip of his tongue and whispered affectionately.
“I was being greedy, hoping you’d always be by my side, whether as a lover or as a guide. For now, you need the qualification to be officially introduced as my guide.”
His gaze was desperate, like a puppy about to be abandoned. Ho-woo’s answer to the man saying he wanted only Ho-woo to be by his side was predetermined from the start. Rejection was never an option on his answer sheet.
“Okay.”
The petty Lee Ho-woo was also quite jealous. Now that he would be a guide too, he had no intention of letting another guide stand beside Yul if he could help him.
If there was one worry, it was that the guide with a good matching rate that Oh-yul had met first might suddenly appear and push him aside.
He seemed to miss that person.
Having started this relationship with difficulty, Ho-woo had no intention of backing down easily.
Having made a firm resolution without Oh-yul knowing, Ho-woo stood close enough for their arms to touch.
“I’ll work hard. I’ll definitely get the guide qualification and guide you a lot.”
If the matching rate between an Esper and a guide was poor, they both suffered. Ho-woo, who had witnessed this up close, looked even more confident as he opened his eyes wide. His eyes were filled with determination.
When Ho-woo was guided by Oh-yul, he didn’t feel any pain. Rather, it felt good, as if he was floating gently in water. Since it didn’t hurt, he assumed the matching rate must be good. The ordinary person who knew nothing made a guess close to the correct answer.
This should give me a chance, right? In response to Ho-woo’s words, which were like a pledge directed at an opponent whose face and age he didn’t know, Yul laughed, his throat vibrating.
“You’ve made a promise.”
“A man doesn’t go back on his word.”
“…That’s reassuring. Shall we go look at the other buildings then?”
The tour of the training facility, which felt like a short date, didn’t last long. As they exited the building where Ho-woo would receive his training, the pager on Yul’s wrist began to ring loudly.
Glancing at the pager making the sharp noise that was now familiar to Ho-woo, Yul said he had to go back and retraced their steps to Sa Jin-hyeok’s office, from which they had been chased away earlier.
