#81
“More importantly, I smell alcohol.”
The Esper standing an arm’s length away tilted his head slightly, frowning one eye while keeping his smiling face. His expression clearly showed his displeasure.
Ho-woo laughed awkwardly at Oh-yul’s words, who had noticed despite the deodorant spray. Somehow, he felt strange, like a child who had done something wrong. The blue-tinged eyes looking down at him silently conveyed reproach.
“I just had a light drink.”
“…Light?”
Oh-yul’s gaze lingered persistently on Ho-woo’s face, as if trying to discern the truth. Ho-woo emphasized his normalcy with the most brazen face he could muster. Although his stomach was still churning and he still had a headache, he tried his best not to show it. Perhaps thanks to this effort, Oh-yul withdrew his suspicious gaze and checked the time on the pager hanging from his hand.
“If you start preparing now, you won’t be late. Due to the lack of time, I’ll personally escort you today instead of using a car.”
“What?”
“You should be able to change clothes at least. Change into comfortable clothes and come out.”
I was going to change clothes anyway, so that’s fine, but we’re not going by car?
Ho-woo looked at him with a disbelieving expression, but Oh-yul seemed to have already made up his mind, tapping his pager with his finger.
No time.
It was clearly an action saying this.
“Wait a minute. I’ll go by car…”
“If we get any later, my speed will increase.”
“……”
Seeing Oh-yul’s resolute face that wouldn’t accept any objections, Ho-woo moved quickly. He hurriedly returned home, changed clothes, and grabbed the pager he had deliberately left behind, strapping it to his wrist. When he came out, only about 5 minutes had passed. Panting from the sprint, Ho-woo looked up at Yul desperately.
“Good.”
He said it was good, but his eyes didn’t look pleased at all.
No, why is he throwing a tantrum now when he knew I was going out and let me go?
Ho-woo grumbled inwardly, but since he had indeed snuck out, he kept his mouth shut obediently. Resisting here would be like stirring up an angry beehive. Having run with all his might to make it on time, his stomach, which had just settled, started churning again.
Am I really going to throw up from running?
With this reasonable doubt, Ho-woo entrusted his body to the arm that came under his knees. Oh-yul carefully embraced Ho-woo. The reassurance provided by the arm supporting his body was extraordinary. Based on the trust that he would never drop him, Ho-woo leaned his body completely against Oh-yul.
I never even looked at rides, but thanks to my lover, I’m experiencing something like a ride… It wasn’t very pleasant. One experience was enough.
Oh-yul held Ho-woo tightly and leaped upward. It didn’t seem like he used much force, but in an instant, their bodies shot up into the sky and then quickly plummeted back down.
“Ugh…”
Feeling his heart skip and malfunction, Ho-woo hugged Oh-yul’s neck tighter. The feeling of falling was never welcome, no matter when it was felt. After a moment of free fall, Yul stepped on water that quickly gathered in mid-air and moved forward.
The time the water appeared and floated in the air was just a fleeting moment, but the man timed it perfectly, treading on the water and propelling his body forward.
It was a remarkable control of ability that would impress even fellow Espers. The higher the rank of an Esper, the more energy they possessed. However, this also made detailed control more difficult. That’s why half of what people talked about on the internet was close to unrealizable.
People said that Espers who manipulate water could use their ability to do dishes, clean, or even do laundry, but unless you wanted to break all the dishes and destroy all the furniture, it was better to put aside the idea of using abilities in daily life.
It’s not that Espers hadn’t tried. Rather, they were educated to control energy in detail from their time in the training center. Yet, Espers who actually applied their power to daily life were rare.
Even Oh-yul had great difficulty controlling this energy when his water and ice freezing abilities manifested as his second power. Even if he used very weak force, his power had long surpassed the human category, so the objects he had destroyed could probably be piled up like a mountain.
Other Espers were satisfied when they reached a certain level, but Oh-yul never knew satisfaction. He had a reason why he had to bring all of his sea-like energy under his control.
Oh-yul glanced sideways at Ho-woo, whose face had turned pale. Even after changing clothes, Ho-woo still smelled of alcohol. His pale face and tightly pressed lips didn’t look good for someone who claimed to have drunk just a little.
Although he had let Ho-woo go last evening to give him some freedom, seeing him return after drinking so much made him uncomfortable. And with that Kim Do-hyun, no less.
He was just an irritating guy. It would be satisfying to get rid of him, but it was regrettable that he couldn’t do that anymore.
Oh-yul checked their destination and slowly lowered their altitude. Landing in front of the training center, he slightly raised the corner of his lips as he watched Ho-woo trying to stand on his trembling legs.
“Are you alright?”
Even though Ho-woo didn’t look fine at all, Oh-yul deliberately asked. Ho-woo pouted his lips but tried to maintain a steady attitude. Having been here once before, Ho-woo confidently passed through the training center entrance and headed towards the training ground, receiving glances from young Espers and Guides.
Following leisurely behind, Oh-yul released his energy around him threateningly. He was repelling those who approached out of curiosity, but when he noticed someone approaching despite this threat, he clearly showed his displeasure even with a smiling face. Despite seeing this expression, Cha Geon-woo approached with a bright smile, waving his hand.
“Ho-woo!”
He briefly made an ‘ugh’ face towards Oh-yul standing behind Ho-woo, then crinkled the corners of his eyes amiably.
“Hello.”
Ho-woo’s face brightened as he greeted him warmly. Meeting a familiar face in an unfamiliar place seemed to make him even happier, his pouting lips relaxing completely. His gentle eyes crinkled, creating a friendly smile.
“Did you get home safely yesterday?”
Saying this, Cha Geon-woo glanced at Oh-yul.
“Did you resolve things well?”
Did I get home safely and resolve things well?
Ho-woo smiled awkwardly, unable to shake off the sticky uneasiness clinging to his feet. Once broken trust was not quickly restored. Even though he acknowledged that Oh-yul hadn’t spoken for his sake, the lingering feelings remained like sediment, adding a heavy weight to the bottom of his heart.
He still liked the person he had given his heart to without even realizing it. He wanted to believe his words and understand him. He wanted to pretend everything was fine.
Is this expression okay?
Although he was surely smiling, unsure if the smile was natural, his head slowly bowed.
“Oh, I shouldn’t have asked. Anyway, you came for training, right?”
Cha Geon-woo changed the subject in response to Ho-woo’s reaction, speaking in a slightly louder voice than usual. His voice was cheerful, deliberately exaggerated to sound bright.
“That’s right.”
Although it was embarrassing to call it training, Ho-woo nodded as he answered. It felt sorry to keep being gloomy in front of Cha Geon-woo, who was trying hard to lift the mood.
“Then let’s go together. It’s almost time for firearms training.”
Firmly believing that Ho-woo would receive the same training as him, Cha Geon-woo gently tugged on Ho-woo’s arm. Pulled a few steps by that force, Ho-woo’s lips moved in a bewildered expression.
“Uh, um… I…”
Having never heard about receiving firearms training, Ho-woo turned to look at Oh-yul as if seeking help. Oh-yul, with one hand in his pocket, stared blankly at the wrist Cha Geon-woo had grabbed, then, as if feeling Ho-woo’s gaze, showed a seemingly painted-on smile towards Ho-woo.
“Do you want to do it?”
Seeing that Oh-yul looked ready to let him participate in the training right away if he wanted, Ho-woo hesitated for a moment before nodding. He was going to become a Guide in the future, and he didn’t want to fall behind other Guides.
Although he couldn’t directly guide Oh-yul, he wanted to be equal to other Guides in other aspects at least.
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go. As Guide Cha Geon-woo said, we should hurry as time is a bit tight.”
This easily?
Ho-woo followed Cha Geon-woo in a daze, moving his feet quickly. At the shooting range set up in a wide open space a bit away from the building where Ho-woo had been doing physical training, there were makeshift booths and ear protectors prepared. Far away, panels that looked like they had been directly transplanted from grotesquely shaped monsters were set up one by one, looking quite realistic.
The Guides who had gathered first greeted Cha Geon-woo, who had joined late, warmly, but gave curious glances to the unfamiliar Ho-woo. Then, upon noticing Oh-yul standing behind him, they turned pale and quickly turned their heads away with an audible whoosh.
“What’s this, why is that guy here? Why did he come along?”
A Guide grabbed Cha Geon-woo and whispered softly, constantly glancing at Ho-woo and Oh-yul. His face wasn’t welcoming. This was understandable, as there wasn’t a single Guide affiliated with the Management Corporation who hadn’t experienced Oh-yul’s reverse guiding at least once. The first rite of passage when newly assigned to the Management Corporation after leaving the training center was Oh-yul’s reverse guiding.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
