#71
Among the subtly cunning S-class Espers, Ha Eun-chan was uniquely pure and innocent.
“If it’s about guides, it’s good that I brought Geon-woo hyung. Since we’re Espers, our answers would have been limited and not very helpful.”
Cha Geon-woo, who had been watching Ha Eun-chan chirp brightly with a proud expression, maintained his gentle smile as attention turned to him. He calmly placed both hands on the table.
“Is there something you’d like to know?”
With his friendly demeanor, the handsome man seemed to have a good personality too. Although looks aren’t everything, he appeared likely to answer questions sincerely and thoroughly.
In fact, he was showing a moderate liking towards Ho-woo just because of his acquaintance with Ha Eun-chan. However, Ho-woo found it difficult to speak up.
Knowing little about guides, he was at a loss for where to start asking questions. After all, to ask questions, one needs to know at least a little about the subject.
Ho-woo began with the most important introduction.
“I recently became a guide.”
“It seems you had a late manifestation. Congratulations.”
Although Cha Geon-woo looked surprised, he sincerely congratulated Ho-woo on his manifestation. Is this something to be congratulated for? The momentary doubt was quickly buried by his next words.
“Are you staying at the training center now? It must be quite tiring to live with all those energetic young people.”
Since all Espers and guides in the city must go through the training center, Cha Geon-woo naturally brought up the topic, assuming Ho-woo was receiving training there.
“Is Director Sa Jin-hyeok still the same?”
“Well, I’m not staying at the training center, so I’m not sure.”
“You became a guide but aren’t staying at the training center?”
Unlike Cha Geon-woo’s puzzlement, the gazes of the two quietly seated Espers intertwined in the air.
Joo Si-yeo, who had fully anticipated how Yul would react, took Ha Eun-chan to the counter and ordered four non-coffee drinks. The old cafe owner slowly prepared the drinks without questioning the extra order.
The loud sound of the mixer drowned out Cha Geon-woo’s serious voice. Finally, after waiting for the noise to subside, he asked about the most important aspect of being a guide.
“Then how are you training for guiding…”
Ho-woo’s light brown eyes sank deeply. It was no coincidence that both Sa Jin-hyeok and Cha Geon-woo asked the same thing as guides.
It must be that important.
But Yul had decided that Ho-woo didn’t need this crucial step.
What could it mean?
Although he didn’t think Yul would do anything bad to him, the fact that he hadn’t explained made Ho-woo feel uneasy.
He felt like a small boat drifting aimlessly on a choppy sea, enveloped in thick sea fog.
“No. To be honest, I asked to meet today because I’m curious about this guiding. I don’t know anything, so I wanted to ask.”
Knowing nothing and wanting to know, stirring up those who seemed to know was all Ho-woo could do now.
At least until now, Lee Ho-woo, who had existed outside their world, had few opportunities to slip in without Oh-yul’s notice.
“Sigh… A guide trying to ask Espers about guiding.”
Cha Geon-woo gave an incredulous look, as if he’d heard the worst joke ever. But he soon extended his hand with a small sigh.
“Would you like to hold hands?”
“Hands?”
“You said you were curious about guiding. Usually, guides learn like this from senior guides during training.”
Ho-woo obediently placed his hand on Cha Geon-woo’s. Cha Geon-woo’s palm, which looked rough at first glance, had firm calluses. That hard, rough hand firmly grasped Ho-woo’s.
He didn’t rush, holding Ho-woo’s hand while trying to calm the nervous man.
“It’s nothing strange, just a way to roughly sense how to efficiently draw and purify an Esper’s energy. Even though guides don’t have as much energy as Espers, we do have some of our own.”
Despite the explanation, Ho-woo’s brow remained furrowed. Energy? Did he really have such a thing? The idea of moving it sounded incredibly far-fetched.
Thinking Ho-woo’s furrowed brow was due to tension, Cha Geon-woo gently patted the back of Ho-woo’s hand with his free hand.
“Relax. If you’re tense, the channel closes and it’s hard for both of us.”
“―!”
Before Ho-woo could ask what the channel was, he bit his lip hard as he felt a tingling sensation inside his body. It was bearable at first, but soon Ho-woo panicked and shook off his hand at the creepy sensation of something crawling inside his blood vessels.
“Ah…”
“…”
Cha Geon-woo, whose hand was suddenly pushed away, looked at Ho-woo with a very strange expression. His gaze, staring as if looking at something that shouldn’t exist in this world, persisted.
“I’m sorry. The feeling was strange…”
Even after Ho-woo’s belated, awkward apology, Cha Geon-woo alternated his gaze between his rejected hand and Ho-woo for a long time before speaking.
“Are you really a guide?”
His voice was heavy with doubt.
“Yes, I saw it myself. I saw the eye color of the Esper I guided change.”
Ho-woo nodded lightly. The change in Oh-yul’s eye color when they held hands that day was certainly not an illusion.
And the incomprehensible phenomenon occurring in his own body was too vivid to dismiss as mere fantasy.
Ho-woo firmly believed that the creepy sensation he felt from holding hands with Cha Geon-woo was also proof that he had become a guide.
“You’re saying an Esper was really guided?”
Cha Geon-woo extended his hand again, as if he had heard an unbelievable story.
“May I check again?”
At Cha Geon-woo’s suggestion, Ho-woo’s hand trembled slightly. The feeling of insects crawling under his skin wasn’t particularly pleasant.
“Um…”
After hesitating for a long time, Ho-woo was about to extend his hand when he froze in that position as a brown tray was set down on the table with a thud.
“I’ll vouch for him. Ho-woo is definitely a guide.”
Joo Si-yeo sat down, rolling her snake-like yellow eyes indifferently. From the tray containing two yogurt smoothies, a cup of black tea, and a green tea latte, she picked up a smoothie.
As Cha Geon-woo and Ha Eun-chan took their drinks, all that was left was the black tea with a cheap tea bag steeping in it.
Ho-woo, who didn’t particularly like black tea, briefly interrupted the conversation to ask Joo Si-yeo about the remaining cup.
“Is this for me to drink?”
“No.”
She checked the time on her pager while sipping her smoothie nonchalantly.
“It’s almost time for him to arrive, so I ordered in advance.”
Her and Ha Eun-chan’s gazes simultaneously turned towards the large glass window. The corner of Joo Si-yeo’s red lips twisted slightly.
“Perfect timing.”
As she spoke, a man dressed in a black uniform alighted gently like a feather onto the street where the old cafe was located. The long coat tails swayed flexibly like wings.
Stepping on water briefly formed in mid-air from the sky, he landed on the ground with slightly bluish eyes and immediately located Ho-woo.
His eyes, tinged with coolness, scrutinized his pair closely. The gleaming eyes, devoid of emotion, were clearly seen by the other S-class Espers for a moment.
The muzzle of a beast baring its dark teeth, filled with anxiety and obsession.
However, it was a fear based on love and close to a pitiful struggle.
‘He really is a romantic, after all.’
In her opinion, there was no word more fitting for him.
Unaware of Joo Si-yeo’s thoughts, the man entered the cafe, tidying his slightly disheveled clothes. The small bell sound that rang again filled the silent space.
Ho-woo belatedly greeted him with a dazed expression. Yul held a bright smile on his lips as he met the light brown eyes tinged with slight doubt.
Pulling up a chair to join the table, the man casually claimed the coffee cup Ho-woo had pushed aside as if it were his own.
Of course, after taking a sip and furrowing his brow deeply, he gave up on the cold coffee and naturally pulled the lone cup of black tea in front of him.
This behavior was so natural that Ho-woo thought he had invited him to the appointment.
“I hope I’m not an uninvited guest?”
At Yul’s words, Ho-woo rolled his eyes. He had only told Oh-yul that he had an appointment with friends, not exactly where they were meeting.
Did Joo Si-yeo or Ha Eun-chan call him? But it didn’t seem so. They were nonchalant, but not in a way that suggested they had invited him.
Unable to hide his expression of lingering discomfort, Ho-woo finally lowered his eye corners and asked his gently smiling lover:
“How did you come here?”
“I was passing by and felt a familiar presence, so I came to check.”
At Yul’s excuse, Joo Si-yeo silently mocked him with just her expression. If that radius was “nearby,” the entire city would be nearby. The words she couldn’t bring herself to utter swirled around in her mouth.
