Chapter 34
“You! First treat him, then we’ll talk!”
Sunjeong took a step back, gathering the researchers to lay Yeon Jiwoo on the bed. Seoyul stared blankly at the scene before his emotions suddenly burst forth. His anxious heart, stirred by Yeon Jiwoo’s words, was rapidly stabilizing, causing his emotions to overflow.
He had thought there was no place for him, but Dowoon had given him that place as if it were the most natural thing. The sense of security this provided was tremendous. Seoyul tried to suppress his emotions, but they had already grown too large and collapsed before he could do anything about it.
“Huu…”
Once the dam broke, there was no stopping it. As tears began to fall drop by drop, Dowoon noticed and exclaimed in surprise:
“Huh, what?! Seoyul! Why are you suddenly crying?!”
He urgently turned Seoyul around and wiped his tears. But tears continued to pour endlessly from the broken dam. Dowoon became even more flustered, and in his confusion, began spilling out incoherent words.
“Why, why are you crying? Don’t cry. Ah, is it because I acted scary? I won’t do that to you. Look, see? I’m fine now, right? There’s no way I’d do that to you, so don’t worry. Okay?”
Dowoon held Seoyul’s face, making eye contact to assure him that he was harmless.
His voice was incredibly warm, and his eyes were filled only with confusion and concern. But confirming this about him made it even harder for Seoyul to control his emotions.
“Huuuaaahhhh…”
Finally breaking into audible sobs, Seoyul began to drop tears sorrowfully.
Dowoon was in a near panic state as Seoyul not only started crying loudly but showed no signs of calming down despite his attempts to console him.
“S-sorry. It’s all my fault. Don’t cry. Ah, please. Seoyul. I said it’s all my fault, didn’t I? I won’t do it again. This won’t happen again. Okay?”
Though he had done nothing wrong, he willingly apologized and tried to comfort him. His warmth and kindness were so overwhelming that Seoyul didn’t know how to respond.
“Hey! What did you do to Seoyul! Why is he crying?!”
At that moment, Sunjeong, who had discovered the crying Seoyul, shouted loudly.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“As if you didn’t! You must have done something wrong! Apologize right now!”
“Ah, really! I’m already doing that!”
Dowoon shouted back at her, but Sunjeong clearly didn’t believe him. Even that was so touching and pleasing that Seoyul cried harder. Dowoon then wiped the falling tears and said:
“Come on. I said I’m sorry, right? Okay? Stop crying? You’ll collapse if you cry this much.”
But the more he said such things, the more tears came. Because Dowoon’s heart was so warm, so good.
Why was he such a fool even in moments like this?
Seoyul disliked this about himself, but crying like this somehow made him feel relieved.
“Hic. Sniff. Ugh.”
After some time passed like this.
As his tears gradually began to stop, Dowoon finally let out a sigh of relief and sat down.
‘If there are bad kids, just tell me. I’ll scold them all.’
Dowoon’s words from before flashed through Seoyul’s mind. He had thought they were just empty words then, but Dowoon had actually followed through.
Without even asking why, he had gotten angry on Seoyul’s behalf, stood on his side, and punished the person who had spoken ill of him.
He had never dreamed that such blind faith and trust could make someone feel this way.
The fact that such a reliable person was on his side gave him tremendous reassurance. It was a sensation he had forgotten for so long, so it felt both unfamiliar and warm.
“Don’t cry anymore. Got it?”
Saying this, his expression somehow looked sulky.
Seoyul then realized one more thing.
That Dowoon was still holding his hand. That hand was also so warm and cozy that Seoyul quietly closed his eyes.
Then he felt Dowoon’s warmth. That warmth circled through Seoyul’s entire body. It felt like Dowoon was embracing him tenderly.
But Dowoon, thinking he was crying again, became flustered and hastily spoke:
“Hey, you’re not crying again, are you? Right?”
Gentle fingers brushed his face. Seoyul surrendered his face to the touch and opened his eyes.
“I’m not crying anymore.”
“Haah. Really, don’t cry again from now on. Understand?”
He scolded with a stern face. Seeing that Seoyul truly showed no more signs of crying, he seemed relieved.
Even such a voice felt warm, making Seoyul burst into laughter.
“Haa? You’re laughing? You’re laughing now?”
Dowoon gave a bewildered look at Seoyul, who had gone from crying to laughing. Even that was pleasing. So when Seoyul smiled even more brightly, Dowoon also couldn’t help but break into a smile.
‘Ah, yes.’
Seoyul could clearly feel it once more.
‘Esper is truly…’
The one who brought him happiness.
* * *
Yeon Jiwoo’s body recovered quickly. But as soon as he recovered, he quit school. He had switched to a guild affiliation.
Perhaps he judged it would be difficult to continue facing Seoyul.
‘Well, I would’ve done the same.’
After declaring his confidence so assertively, he had then coughed up blood right in front of the person concerned.
Moreover, Yeon Jiwoo seemed like the type with a strong pride. So he would probably dislike seeing Seoyul even more.
‘He’ll continue to dislike me in the future too, won’t he?’
Seoyul had a feeling he would meet Yeon Jiwoo occasionally. But his heart wasn’t as uncomfortable as he had expected.
It was thanks to Dowoon. His trust made Seoyul feel okay. Though Dowoon could be quite forceful at times, since it was a trait Seoyul lacked, he found it appealing.
‘Hehe.’
Seoyul grinned as he thought of Dowoon. Just thinking about him warmed his heart.
Now, it seemed he could effortlessly draw out S-class energy.
“I should also thank Minjun hyung.”
It felt like he had been able to take another step forward thanks to him. So he thought that even a hundred thank-yous wouldn’t be enough.
“As expected… corn cream bread would be the perfect gift, right?”
Seoyul made the big decision to buy four corn cream breads. One was for himself, and three were for Minjun.
With light steps, he climbed the stairs. Minjun was in his usual seat.
“Oh! Seoyul!”
He was already chewing on a corn cream bread, munching noisily.
“Hello.”
“Mmm. Yeah. So I heard you did something big?”
“Pardon?”
Did something big?
Tilting his head in confusion, Minjun continued to explain:
“The rumors are everywhere. They’re saying Yeon Jiwoo quit and went to a guild because of you?”
“What…?”
The incident had happened in an empty building, so no one should have seen it. How did such a rumor spread?
Seoyul’s face filled with confusion.
“What? Is it true?”
“Pardon…?”
This time, his face twisted in perplexity.
“Ah, what? So it’s true! I was just fishing, but it’s actually true!”
“Uh, uhh…? UHH!!”
Seoyul finally realized that Minjun had just thrown out bait.
“Ah, I’m really hurt, really hurt. After giving you such earnest advice, you didn’t tell me anything.”
“W-well…”
There was no way he could have told him. If he did, he would have had to explain what Dowoon had done, and how could he say that he had made someone cough up blood?
So he had been internally relieved that the rumor hadn’t spread.
“The rumor is already circulating. They’re saying Yeon Jiwoo was bullying you, then Cha Dowoon Esper caught him, so he ran away.”
Well… that was somewhat similar. But it didn’t feel like such a simple incident…
‘I should tell Minjun hyung after all, right?’
It seemed a bit wrong to hide it from him too. Come to think of it, was this why Dowoon had said those words?
Seoyul recalled what Dowoon had told him a few days ago.
‘If anyone asks, you can tell the truth.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I’m telling you this because I’m worried you’ll keep it to yourself. I’ve done this more than once, so it’s okay to just tell them.’
‘What? But…’
‘Make sure you tell them! Say that Cha Dowoon coughed up blood while being Guided. Say that only Seoyul can Guide Cha Dowoon. Got it?!’
‘Esper, you say such embarrassing things so casually…’
Seoyul barely calmed his face, which was threatening to flush, and opened his mouth.
“Well, you see…”
After telling Minjun the truth, Seoyul felt somewhat relieved. Of course, he didn’t say the last part that Dowoon had insisted he mention.
“Wow. So it’s true that Guiding Cha Dowoon Esper isn’t easy.”
“Yes. He said it’s because his energy is particularly rough…”
“But you can do it, right?”
“I… guess so?”
Seoyul looked away, feeling somewhat embarrassed. But Minjun’s eyes sparkled as he exclaimed:
“That’s awesome! That’s so cool!”
“Cool…?”
Was it really something that cool? Seoyul continued to feel inexplicably embarrassed.
“Of course! He’s been living without proper Guiding all this time, and then you appeared at just the right moment! Doesn’t it feel kind of fated and cool?”
“I guess…?”
Minjun was someone who believed in fated meetings. He gave a lengthy speech about how perfect the timing was and what Guides meant to Espers.
“I haven’t found my perfectly matching Guide yet either, but I’ve heard it’s amazing. They say you just feel it. Your eyes light up, and bells ring in your head.”
That… sounds like a different kind of metaphor…
Seoyul had a puzzled expression, but Minjun continued without concern:
“Even now, receiving Guiding feels good. After all, Guides are our lifelines. But to think of not being able to receive that… ugh. It’s unfathomable.”
Had Dowoon endured that unfathomable time, bearing it all?
In his previous life, he had eventually lost control and lost his life while enduring it.
‘Come to think of it.’
Even in the past, Dowoon couldn’t find a Guide who matched him. That was a clear fact.
Thinking about it now, it wasn’t something unknown, so he wondered why he had been so anxious.
“Haha. You’re right. Maybe it is fate.”
Seoyul said with a clear smile. How else could this situation be explained if not for fate?
He had returned from the past, discovered he was an S-class Hidden Guide, and Guided Dowoon. As a result, Dowoon was further from the danger of losing control and could live a normal life.
Wasn’t that enough to call it fate?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
