I naturally dodged Yang Garam as he tried to embrace me with open arms, making his hands swipe through empty air. Yang Garam looked at his empty hands with a dumbfounded expression before turning to me.
“I feel like I’m dreaming right now. Hyung, this isn’t a dream, is it? You actually came to my school to see me.”
When I saw Yang Garam staring blankly at my face talking about dreams, despite having excitedly rushed toward me just moments ago, my hand rose unconsciously. I grabbed his pale, soft cheeks and stretched them sideways, bringing focus back to his eyes.
“I came to bring you an umbrella, and this is how you act? Have you lost your mind?”
“Hyuuung.”
Yang Garam looked at me with moved eyes and clung like a puppy to my hands touching his cheeks.
I wanted to knead his chewy, rice cake-like cheeks more, but I quickly lowered my hands because of the female student watching us with eagle eyes. Yang Garam’s cheeks quickly turned red from my stretching, and my face heated up from embarrassment under the student’s gaze.
Trying to act natural, I cleared my throat softly and handed Yang Garam the spare umbrella.
“Don’t walk around in the rain. Attend the rest of your lectures well. I should get going now.”
Yang Garam, who had been staring at my face with a completely smitten expression as if he might not even understand what I was saying, suddenly became serious and grabbed my hand when I mentioned leaving.
“Why are you leaving so soon?”
I was already aware that a group of people who appeared to be his friends had been watching us with curious eyes. Unlike the crowd that had poured out after the lecture, they maintained just enough distance not to interrupt our conversation while constantly observing us, making them impossible to miss.
I shook my head while removing my hand from Yang Garam’s grip.
“You only have an hour break before your next class, right? Your friends are waiting, so hurry along. I have an appointment too.”
“They’re not my friends. And I don’t have any more lectures today. They’ve all been canceled.”
“Wow, look at that crazy Yang Garam. He’s skipping classes again.”
If not for the voices of his friends whispering behind us, I might have been fooled by that innocent face.
“Stop talking nonsense and go. I have an appointment too, so I need to leave right away.”
“Okay.”
Though his shoulders, eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth all drooped, Yang Garam was obedient to my words.
I smiled bitterly and stood on tiptoe to ruffle Yang Garam’s hair.
“We’ll see each other at home later anyway.”
“Alright.”
Because of the rainy day, Yang Garam’s naturally curly hair was fluffier than usual, and my actions only made it messier. But with his good looks, even disheveled hair looked cute on him.
“Let’s go, Oppa.”
The female student approached and reminded me while I had been admiring Yang Garam’s face despite saying I would leave. Only then did I realize that I had talked too long after saying I’d just deliver the umbrella.
“Right, let’s go.”
Yang Garam seemed to have just noticed the female student’s presence as he slightly furrowed his brow, but I didn’t have the courage to casually tell him that this student was my fan who had followed me here. I avoided Yang Garam’s expectant gaze, which firmly believed I would introduce them, and left Sejong Hall with the student.
Fortunately, Yang Garam didn’t follow us, but I felt a tingling sensation on the back of my head until we left Sejong Hall completely.
‘I can explain to him when I get home later.’
Since I had given Yang Garam an umbrella, the student and I ended up sharing one. This wasn’t particularly problematic, but being under the narrow umbrella meant our shoulders inevitably brushed and our arms bumped despite trying to keep distance.
“Should we buy another umbrella from there before going to the snack shop?”
I had tilted the umbrella as much as possible toward the student, but it was quite uncomfortable. Spotting a convenience store next to the back gate, I made the suggestion, and the student made an apologetic face when she noticed my soaked shoulder.
“Your shoulder is all wet because of me. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“The snack shop is just around the corner when we enter this alley. Let’s go in and order first, and in the meantime, I’ll go to the convenience store and buy an umbrella.”
I thought it would be better to stop by the convenience store right now rather than going to the snack shop and coming out again, but I let it slide thinking maybe this student considered tteokbokki extremely important.
However, I should have been suspicious when she guided me down a deserted alley claiming it was a hidden gem, when she suddenly offered to hold the umbrella, when she subtly linked her arm with mine and leaned into my body.
“…”
I had gone to eat tteokbokki, yet somehow I found myself standing naked and alone in the mountains. The sensation of raindrops on my bare skin confirmed this was reality, but the scene surrounded by trees in every direction was so jarring that it was hard to regain my composure.
‘To think she was a teleportation Esper.’
With a blank expression, I lamented my situation of being dropped on a mountain. Whether intentionally or simply due to unstable teleportation abilities, all my clothes had disappeared, and only my body had been transported. If it was deliberate, it would be fair to say she had a natural talent for controlling her ability.
‘I guess it’s somewhat fortunate that I landed in the mountains rather than in a crowded place.’
I wasn’t sure why this situation could be considered fortunate, but when I imagined the worst-case scenario, I found myself nodding automatically. Sometimes, the shame can be greater than life-threatening situations, and this was one of those moments.
‘This isn’t the time for such useless thoughts.’
Being stranded naked in the mountains was so surreal that my thoughts kept wandering.
“It’s just as well I’m a fire-controlling Esper; that little miss is unbelievably brazen.”
Honestly, I wasn’t unaware that she was an Esper. It wouldn’t make sense for me, an S-class Esper, to fail to notice the wavelength of those around me. But she seemed no higher than B-class at best, and her age was too young to use her abilities. Of course, she could use them if she wanted to, but considering that practical training usually begins at age 20, I naturally excluded the possibility of being attacked by her immature abilities, which could also harm herself.
‘I was careless.’
Even if the student were to use her ability on me, I had the implicit confidence that she couldn’t harm even a single hair on my head since I was an S-class Esper. That was the main reason, but I stopped my thoughts there. The situation had already occurred, and I now knew that one could find oneself in trouble even without being physically injured, so I would take it as a painful lesson.
Since my life wasn’t in danger, wandering the mountain naked wasn’t such a big deal. This much could be seen as a mild inconvenience.
“First, let’s get out of here.”
Thinking optimistically, I stepped forward aimlessly, passing through knee-high grass and wildly grown trees. The idea was that if I kept going, I would eventually find a path.
“Am I even going the right way?”
I anxiously looked back at the path I had taken and surveyed my surroundings from where I stood. Even though I was using my ability to evaporate the raindrops that touched my body, strangely, I felt cold sweat running down my back.
‘The sun is already setting.’
The rain had subsided, but the sun was setting. Though I seemed to have walked diligently without rest all this time, I hadn’t discovered any hiking trails or traces of human presence.
‘Maybe I was thinking too simply.’
Come to think of it, I didn’t even know which mountain this was. It certainly wasn’t abroad, but it definitely wasn’t a small local hill either.
“I told Garam I’d see him at home.”
The thought that I wouldn’t be able to make it home today suddenly made me extremely depressed.
I shouldn’t have said I’d see him at home.
I could vividly imagine Yang Garam’s face as he waited for me, restlessly pacing like a puppy that needed to pee.
“The other Guides must be worried too.”
The fact that there was a home where someone was waiting for me felt touching, but as I recalled the worried faces of those concerned about me, my heart ached.
‘Let’s keep going a bit more.’
With renewed determination to get home no matter what, I moved my legs vigorously.
But eventually, the sun set completely, and everything was shrouded in darkness. I had been floating fire to illuminate my surroundings since sunset, but further movement was impossible.
‘Looks like I’ll have to spend the night outdoors.’
Since it was still raining, I walked around looking for a suitable rock or cave that could shelter me from the rain. Luckily, I found a large rock. The rock had a crack in the middle that widened toward the bottom, creating a gap large enough for a person to enter.
I crouched as much as possible and entered the rock. The space inside was wider than the entrance, giving it a cozy feeling.
‘It looks like an animal might have lived here, but it should be fine, right?’
Looking at the smooth floor and polished rock surface, I became slightly anxious, but I just sat down anyway.
Using my ability continuously to maintain body temperature had made me mentally exhausted.
Especially considering the terrain surrounded by trees, which was incompatible with fire and posed a risk of forest fires, I had to remain constantly vigilant. Although the amount of ability used was minimal, my mind was quite tired.
‘I’ll just get a little rest and start moving again when the sun rises.’
But sleep didn’t come easily, and my mind was complicated.
Would I be able to escape this mountain tomorrow? I hope the rain stops. Where exactly am I? What grudge did that student have against me to do this?
‘Everyone must be looking for me.’
While thinking about various things with my eyes closed, the last thing I imagined was the Guides waiting for me at home.
My heart ached, and tears suddenly welled up.
It might have been because these were faces I had taken for granted just this morning.
‘I want to go home.’
My arms and legs were fine, and my life wasn’t in any danger. I was confident that I would definitely be able to return home tomorrow. But emotions that felt like someone was stirring my chest kept rising, making my throat burn with a stifling, sorrowful feeling. Since moving into that house, I had always been with the Guides. During training, at home, on missions, even until falling asleep.
Even when I lived with my younger sibling, I never had someone by my side to this extent. That’s why, despite it being just half a day without seeing their faces, I was feeling the emptiness more intensely.
“When did I come to rely on them so much?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
