Chapter 15
Dowoon and Seoyul headed to a famous amusement park the very next day. Fortunately, the park wasn’t crowded. The major event was scheduled to begin the following week, and since it was a weekday, there weren’t many visitors.
“Wow! There are so many people!”
However, even this seemed quite crowded to Seoyul. The amusement park was filled with an exciting atmosphere created by families, couples, and groups of friends.
Seoyul soon caught the mood, looking around excitedly and taking everything in.
‘I guess this was the right choice after all.’
Dowoon smiled slightly at the sight of Seoyul, who seemed to have cast all his worries far away.
“Esper-nim! Esper-nim!”
Just then, Seoyul tugged at Dowoon’s sleeve with a flushed face, as if he had discovered something.
“What?”
“Over there… over there!”
The Guide, whose excitement had been infectious to those around him, pointed to a specific spot with a bright face.
“Let’s get those too!”
“…”
To Dowoon’s eyes, they were just childish animal headbands.
“It seems everyone buys them when they come here!”
Looking around, he noticed everyone wearing those headbands. Dowoon felt a sense of dread and couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Such a childish headband on Cha Dowoon? It would surely become a laughingstock that would follow him for life.
But if he shook his head, he could already picture the Guide’s disappointed, dejected face.
‘Haa. Damn it.’
The answer was already decided.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Really?!”
Seoyul was visibly delighted. Now that they were here, he was truly enjoying himself.
The surroundings were filled with the amusement park’s unique cheerful atmosphere, and the quaint buildings made it feel like they had stepped into a fairy tale.
Everyone seemed to be having fun with bright smiles, and Seoyul too was infected by the mood, his face full of smiles.
“I want this one.”
After careful consideration, Seoyul chose a penguin headband. The penguin standing tall in the middle of the headband was cute.
‘Of course he would choose something like himself…’
The innocent eyes of the penguin closely resembled Seoyul’s. Dowoon observed him as he carefully put on the headband while looking in the mirror, and reminded himself of the reality he was in.
“Esper-nim! How does it look?”
Seoyul seemed quite satisfied, smiling brightly. It suited him… quite well.
“It looks good.”
“I chose it because it’s cute, but it’s a shame I can’t see it myself.”
Seoyul genuinely seemed to regret this as he touched the penguin on top of his head. Dowoon decided to be generous once more.
“Then you can choose mine too.”
“Really?”
What harm could it do? To Dowoon’s eyes, everything displayed here looked the same. Meaning that no matter what he wore, it wouldn’t suit him like it did Seoyul.
“I’ll pick one that suits you well.”
Seoyul deliberated very carefully, choosing the headband with great consideration. But unable to make a decision easily, he hesitated and spoke.
“Esper-nim…”
“What?”
“Um…”
Seoyul fidgeted nervously, then held out a headband and asked:
“C-could you try this on to see if it suits you?”
“…”
What he was holding out was a cute panda headband. Before him, Dowoon saw the wide-eyed panda, the penguin, and Seoyul looking at him expectantly.
‘Sigh… why am I…’
A surge of self-loathing hit him, but since he had already agreed, there was no choice. And besides, this wasn’t the Center anyway.
He’d also put on a mask just in case, so no one would recognize him.
“Give it here.”
He snatched the headband and put it on with feigned indifference, causing Seoyul’s face to brighten immediately.
“It suits you so well!”
…As if.
Dowoon thought his Guide’s aesthetic standards were completely wrong. But Seoyul didn’t stop there.
After Dowoon silently obliged, Seoyul became excited and asked him to try on various others. His face was so bright with that innocent smile.
Already resigned… Dowoon indulged his requests until he was satisfied.
“The panda definitely suits you the best.”
After trying on several headbands, Seoyul concluded that the first one was indeed the best, smiling with satisfaction.
At that moment, a pleasant energy began to bubble out of Seoyul’s body.
It was an S-class Guide’s Guiding.
‘Huh? Why…’
Dowoon widened his eyes in surprise. He had clearly thought food was the trigger condition, but all Seoyul was holding now was a headband.
‘What is it?’
Realizing that his assumption was wrong, he became confused.
“Esper-nim?”
Just then, Seoyul’s puzzled voice reached him. At that moment, the Guiding stopped abruptly.
“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Dowoon naturally took Seoyul’s hand and pulled him along.
‘Let me observe for now.’
As he moved forward with that thought, Seoyul was secretly glancing at Dowoon and smiling slightly.
‘He’s cute.’
Though he had done it on impulse, caught up in the moment, now that he thought about it, seeing Dowoon wearing a cute headband was quite remarkable.
‘Esper-nim is being considerate of me.’
It was clearly just for his sake, as Dowoon obviously showed no interest in it. Yet he had readily agreed.
That warmth made his heart beat pleasantly. The hand holding his was so warm and nice that the smile wouldn’t leave his face.
“Esper-nim. Let’s go over there.”
From a distance, he could hear people’s excited screams. There was definitely something fun there. Seoyul, with a flushed expression, pulled him along.
The large body followed his small movements well. It felt like walking a large dog, which was amusing.
Meanwhile, Dowoon was thinking the same thing. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was walking an excited puppy.
‘He’s really excited.’
Since his emotions were so readable on his face, Dowoon had no choice but to follow him obediently. And there was one more reason he had to follow obediently.
‘The Guiding keeps leaking out.’
Every time Seoyul looked at him and smiled, Guiding energy bubbled out.
‘Why?’
So Dowoon followed him quietly and observed Seoyul, trying to figure out what was triggering the Guiding.
But that thought didn’t last long. Because he was intoxicated by the Guiding, his mind kept going blank.
“Esper-nim. Let’s go ride that.”
“Esper-nim. Look at that.”
“Esper-nim. Esper-nim.”
Seoyul, seemingly tireless, ran around enjoying the amusement park all day. Dowoon, though initially indifferent, ended up thoroughly enjoying himself, caught up in the Guiding and the atmosphere.
‘The day…’
Was it always this short?
Under the dark sky, colorful fireworks were bursting brilliantly.
“Wow. It’s so beautiful.”
Seoyul murmured, unable to take his eyes off the sight. His body was still continuously emitting Guiding energy.
Dowoon, quietly observing him, once again pondered what the common factor might be between the current situation and the restaurant.
But he still couldn’t figure it out. So this time, he decided to ask directly.
“How do you feel right now?”
“Right now?”
Round eyes turned towards Dowoon. Like the exploding fireworks, Seoyul’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes.”
For some reason, there was a tension in the air. But Seoyul, unaware of it, smiled brightly and said:
“It was so wonderful. Today is truly a happy day.”
—Splash!
‘Ah…’
Dowoon, feeling the tremendous energy bursting from Seoyul, realized it.
South Korea’s only S-class Hidden Guide.
His activation condition was “happiness.”
“…That’s good. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Seoyul answered energetically and began walking. In the sky, countless fireworks were bursting, as if signaling the grand finale.
On the way back.
‘Have I ever played so excitedly before?’
As far as Seoyul could remember, this was the first time. He had always lived covered in worries and obligations.
‘To think things could change like this…’
His dark past flashed before his eyes. But he quickly shook his head and looked at Dowoon. The cute panda was still on his head.
‘He must have forgotten.’
At first, he seemed conscious of it, but now he appeared completely unbothered.
Seoyul thought about telling him but kept quiet, wanting to savor the feeling a bit longer. However, he fell asleep on the way back and also forgot about the headband.
In the end, both of them realized the existence of the headbands when they saw themselves in the mirror upon reaching their accommodation.
“Ah…!”
“…”
Seoyul had an “oops” moment, while Dowoon grimaced and thought:
‘Damn it.’
He dreaded what he would hear the next day.
* * *
“Bwahaha!!”
As expected, rumors had spread throughout the Center. Cha Dowoon wearing a headband that only children would wear, wandering around the Center.
Only a few employees working overtime had seen it, but one surprised employee had taken a photo with their phone, causing it to spread completely.
“Wow. Did you really walk around like this all day?”
“Shut up.”
Dowoon didn’t want to come here for fear of this, but he needed to discuss yesterday’s events with Sunjeong, so he had no choice.
“Wow. You must have really liked it. Why didn’t you wear it today? Wear it today too.”
Seeing her laugh out loud, a vein popped on his forehead. If only the photo hadn’t been taken, it would have been buried. But why did someone have to take a photo?
“Delete it now! Isn’t this an invasion of privacy?!”
Dowoon frowned in annoyance. Sunjeong, wiping away tears, replied:
“I’ve already taken care of it. What would happen to your image if this spread? Not just yours, but the Center’s reputation would plummet, so I’ve already deleted everything.”
“Manager Lee, you delete it too, right now!”
“This? Call me Noona. Call me Noona and I’ll delete it.”
“…”
Dowoon scowled at Sunjeong, who clearly had no intention of deleting it.
They had been like older sister and younger brother for a long time, but seeing her annoying attitude every day made it difficult for him to say it.
“Ah, forget it. Keep it to yourself if you want.”
Since she said she had prevented it from spreading, only she would see it. He would be teased for a while, but if he didn’t react, it would soon die down.
“Anyway, about Seoyul.”
“Pfft. What about Seoyul?”
Sunjeong asked, still chuckling while looking at the photo.
“I think I figured out his activation condition.”
“Hmm…”
Sunjeong seemed skeptical. But Dowoon was certain.
“It’s happiness.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
