I had to cover my mouth at the sight of the table laden with food. Not just the seafood stew, but also butter-grilled abalone, neatly prepared oysters, and even boiled pork with three kinds of wraps. I thought a feast had broken out while I was sleeping.
Naturally, I broke into a cold sweat thinking about how Jeong Seyeon must have worked so hard to prepare all this by himself. I nudged Woo Jeonghyun in the side as he stood there grinning stupidly at the dining table.
“You went grocery shopping with him just for this, didn’t you?”
“No, he offered to cook for us first.”
“And I bet you kept saying things like ‘this is delicious’ and ‘I like that’ the whole time.”
I must have hit the mark because Woo Jeonghyun’s mouth clamped shut like a clam. I swallowed a sigh and turned my head to look for Jeong Seyeon. Like it or not, Woo Jeonghyun was currently the only family I had left. Though I knew my mother was alive, her whereabouts were unknown, and that fact hadn’t changed. It was only natural that my heart went out to Jeong Seyeon, who took care of my brother like his own family, even though I hadn’t done much for him in my life.
“Seyeon hyung.”
He looked back at me as he finished setting the table and took off his apron. Though I had seen his face just this morning, my heart swelled as if I were seeing a long-lost loved one.
“Thank you for all the preparation. I know you’re already busy with work, and I’m sorry to have troubled you.”
“It’s nothing. I did it because I wanted to.”
Though Jeong Seyeon’s monotone voice didn’t reveal any emotion, his eyes looking at me held a warm light. Compared to Yang Garam who transparently showed his emotions as they were, or Do Wonjin who expressed his desired emotions at will, this was a very small and clumsy change, but the temperature of his feelings was gradually warming my heart.
“Thank you, hyung.”
I meant it sincerely. But even after expressing my sincere feelings, I wasn’t completely at ease. As my gratitude grew, so did my sense of guilt.
‘I always seem to just take from you, hyung.’
Jeong Seyeon handled everything perfectly without my help. Even if I offered to help, I would just be in his way, so I couldn’t readily step forward. My S-class ability was somewhat better, but when I tried to use it in daily life, it seemed too trivial and insignificant. I wished I could be of help to him, wished he would come to me first for something. As I swallowed these feelings of regret, Jeong Seyeon’s hand wrapped around my shoulder.
“Woo Jeongjae-ssi, may I ask you for one favor?”
My heart pounded thinking he might have read my inner thoughts, but I asked calmly.
“Yes, anything is fine. What can I help you with?”
“Come to my room before going to bed.”
Several question marks appeared in my head. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine what I could help him with in his room before bedtime.
“Tonight?”
As I asked to confirm the date, the hand on my shoulder tightened.
“Yes, and if possible, I’d like to ask this of you every day.”
‘What could it be?’
Just as I was about to ask out of curiosity, Yang Garam’s voice cut in.
“Since everyone’s here, why don’t we talk while we eat?”
I couldn’t continue the conversation in front of Yang Garam, who had come looking for us since we were the only ones not at the dinner table. He stared intently at the shoulder Jeong Seyeon was holding, then grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. With that momentum, Jeong Seyeon’s hand fell from my shoulder, and Yang Garam then rubbed my shoulder with his own clothes, as if wiping it clean. I looked at him questioningly, but he made a face like an abandoned puppy, so I decided not to say anything.
The dinner was more satisfying than ever. It was so enjoyable that I almost forgot Joo Seolhyeon was joining us at the dinner table—except for the part where Woo Jeonghyun, smitten with Jeong Seyeon’s cooking skills, tried to convince him to come live at his house.
“You’re really leaving right away.”
“I have to. I’m already staying later than planned.”
“Since when did you become so responsible?”
“Hyung, you should really be grateful that you were born as the older brother.”
Woo Jeonghyun prepared to go home immediately after finishing dinner. As everyone was seeing him off, I also put on my slippers.
“I’m fine, you don’t have to come out.”
Woo Jeonghyun stopped me as I was about to follow, but I had something to tell him before he left. The reason I asked Serubi to wake me up was because I needed time to talk with Woo Jeonghyun alone before dinner.
“I’ll just watch you get on the bus.”
Seeing me follow him stubbornly, Woo Jeonghyun shrugged as if to say ‘do as you please,’ and once we were some distance from the house, I immediately got to the point.
“I found her.”
“What?”
“Mother.”
Woo Jeonghyun, who had been walking silently, stopped. I also stopped and looked at him. His blank face muttered ‘Mother?’ as if repeating what I said, and then his face instantly filled with shock.
“How? No, where is she now?”
Looking at Woo Jeonghyun’s bewildered face, I pulled his arm into a deserted alley.
“So, you’re saying you’ll help with this?”
“Yes.”
After hearing my full explanation, Woo Jeonghyun exhaled deeply. As we talked, I realized we were sitting on the same park bench where we had talked yesterday, in the exact same position.
I looked at Woo Jeonghyun with mixed feelings. I thought he would be happy that I had brought an opportunity to find our mother, but the more he heard my story, the darker his expression became. Now he was frowning deeply, suppressing his anger.
“Do you not even consider the possibility that this person might ask you to do something dangerous?”
“I’m an S-class Esper, I can take care of myself.”
“That’s the problem. Does being an S-class Esper give you nine lives? You still have just one heart, one lifeline—why do you jump in like a moth to a flame?”
“I know, but this is a chance to see Mother again. Should I have refused?”
I knew Woo Jeonghyun was angry because he was worried about me, but hearing his words, I also couldn’t help but respond harshly.
“I’ve already had too many regrets in my past life. I don’t want to live helplessly like that again.”
I didn’t want to repeat losing my brother, being dragged around and used by the government, or stupidly waiting for Joo Seolhyeon to Guide me.
At my words, Woo Jeonghyun’s eyebrows drooped. He turned his head with a deflated face.
“I know, I was just worried. From now on, do as you see fit. But don’t go looking for danger, and don’t come back hurt.”
“Thank you, Jeonghyun.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m not completely over my anger yet.”
Seeing my sulking brother, I felt playful and pressed my face close to his, asking “Why? Why?” Woo Jeonghyun pushed my face away with his palm, saying it was gross.
“I might have done the same in that situation, but you just don’t think about those around you enough. You’re not alone, but you keep trying to shoulder everything yourself. I don’t know about the past, but if something happens to you now, there are quite a few people who would be devastated.”
My playful smile stiffened slightly.
“Who else besides you?”
“Wow, are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”
“Just tell me.”
“Who else? Your Guides, of course.”
My heart sank.
“How do you know that after seeing them for just one day?”
I could tell from his eyes that Woo Jeonghyun wasn’t joking, but accepting them and how I fit into their lives were different matters. I didn’t know what Woo Jeonghyun had seen in them, but I couldn’t believe he had discovered in a day what I hadn’t seen in a month of living with them.
“Time doesn’t matter. Even if it had been just one hour, I would have noticed.”
As I listened to Woo Jeonghyun’s confident words, I clenched my fist as my stomach fluttered. It felt as if someone was tickling my heart with a feather.
“I was relieved when I saw them this time. They all genuinely care about you. I understand why you were hesitating about the dedicated Guide contract. Though it seems you didn’t realize it.”
As Woo Jeonghyun continued speaking, my heart began to beat faster. Thump, thump—the sound of my heartbeat reached my ears, becoming quite troublesome, when Woo Jeonghyun clapped his hands once.
“Ah, right. I had something else to tell you.”
I was pressing on my chest to calm my heart, and just raised my head to look at Woo Jeonghyun.
“About Joo Seolhyeon.”
My brow furrowed involuntarily at the mention of Joo Seolhyeon, who had been particularly talkative with Woo Jeonghyun during dinner. To my eyes, it seemed like he had shifted his focus to Woo Jeonghyun because his relationship with me, his father’s son, had soured.
“Oh, what about Joo Seolhyeon?”
Although I wasn’t particularly curious, I decided to hear him out since he had brought it up. Woo Jeonghyun made a pained sound with a serious face.
“After hearing your story yesterday, I was thinking—the Center Director said he would help you get revenge on Joo Seolhyeon, right?”
I nodded, and Woo Jeonghyun folded one finger.
“And you decided to terminate your contract with Joo Seolhyeon tomorrow.”
“That’s right.”
Woo Jeonghyun folded another finger.
“You said it didn’t seem like the Center Director brought up revenge for your sake? That he seemed to be using you because he already planned to get rid of Joo Seolhyeon.”
“Correct.”
Woo Jeonghyun folded his third finger and looked at his hand with an uneasy expression.
“Then tomorrow could become Joo Seolhyeon’s memorial day.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Center Director said he would help with revenge against Joo Seolhyeon, but you said you wouldn’t take revenge. If he plans to get rid of Joo Seolhyeon regardless of your answer, the Center Director will look for an opportunity. When would be the best time?”
“That would be the moment my contract with him is terminated.”
“Exactly. While you have a temporary Guide contract with him, it would be difficult to make a move recklessly. If an accident happens, you would be implicated too, which would be quite troublesome even for the Center Director.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
