“Yoo Ji-ho, um, this…”
“……”
“If you’re worried it might take too long, you really don’t have to. It won’t.”
Even with a reassuring smile, he still gave no response. His hand, which had seemed like it might let go any moment, remained tightly wrapped around Hye-seong’s arm.
“Yoo Ji-ho?”
“……”
By now, his arm should’ve gone numb—but something felt off.
As the silence stretched and their gazes remained locked, Hye-seong’s face twisted in discomfort from the increasing pressure in Ji-ho’s tightening grip.
“Ow, that hurts…”
Only after Hye-seong’s shoulder flinched did Yoo Ji-ho release his grip. As the hand finally fell away, Hye-seong rubbed his arm and searched Ji-ho’s face.
“Yoo Ji-ho, what’s wrong?”
“You’re really set on going, huh.”
“Well, yeah… but are you not feeling well? If you’re still low on guiding, I can—wait, no, you shouldn’t be low, right?”
Puzzled, Hye-seong tilted his head. They’d done plenty of guiding yesterday. At that level, Ji-ho shouldn’t need him while he was out, not for the short time he’d be gone.
Maybe he’d run into some emergency—like a monster—on the way back from shopping?
“Or maybe you just need a bit more before I go—”
“Hye-seong.”
Just as he was speaking, Ji-ho, who’d been frowning in thought, finally opened his mouth with a much softer expression.
“Then let’s go together.”
“Huh?”
He sounded like someone who’d finally made up his mind. His tone had relaxed, and he gently took Hye-seong’s hand again.
“If you have to go, then I can just come with you, can’t I?”
“Uh…”
“I want to go to your place, too.”
Tilting his head with a soft hmm?, Yoo Ji-ho smiled faintly. Hye-seong blinked slowly, dazed.
***
Hye-seong pushed open the familiar gate and let Ji-ho inside.
“I really could’ve come alone…”
“But I can come with you.”
What kind of boss does this, seriously?
He was completely at a loss. Not long ago, this was someone he’d admired only from afar. And now Ji-ho had come all the way out here just to help him move his stuff?
While inspecting the newly installed door with some curiosity, Hye-seong pulled out the spare key from under a flowerpot and fiddled with it. He’d always needed that key to unlock his front door, but now it had a digital door lock.
This was the house where he’d lived for years—ever since he moved in with his grandmother, and even after becoming alone again. Among the tightly packed multi-family units in the neighborhood, his was the oldest and most worn-down.
When Ji-ho had offered to fix the broken front door, and even replace the rusted main gate, the elderly couple who owned the building and lived upstairs had politely declined the repair company’s help. After all, that rickety gate had somehow held up for over a decade with a broken lock.
“Just press it now.”
“Ah, okay.”
Ji-ho had unlocked the temporary passcode and gestured. It was time for Hye-seong to enter his own four-digit PIN.
“Hmm…”
Hesitating over what numbers to use, Hye-seong pressed the digits without a hint of suspicion. He ended up entering it three times just to confirm it worked.
“Oh! It opened.”
Seeing the door unlock with the code he’d chosen, Hye-seong grinned. Ji-ho asked dryly,
“Is it your birthday?”
“…How’d you know?”
“Let’s go in.”
At Hye-seong’s startled expression, Ji-ho let out a small laugh and pulled the door open.
Following him into the house, Hye-seong felt a little awkward—he’d never invited anyone over except friends.
Last time Ji-ho barged in, it had been too chaotic to process. But this time, it felt like he was actually hosting someone important.
“When did you move in here?”
“Since middle school. I used to live here with my grandma. Ah… there’s nothing to drink…”
It would’ve been nice to at least have some juice. What should he do? After glancing at the fridge in dismay, he poured a cold glass of water and handed it over.
“Thanks.”
Thankfully, Ji-ho smiled and said he’d enjoy it. Relieved, Hye-seong smiled back, then hesitated before cautiously speaking.
“Um, Yoo Ji-ho… Have you ever been to this neighborhood before?”
Ji-ho frowned slightly, clearly trying to remember, but came up blank.
“Not at all. Why?”
“No reason. I’ll just pack my stuff—feel free to look around!”
Waving it off, Hye-seong quickly darted into his room.
Seven years ago, he’d been rescued by Yoo Ji-ho right here in this neighborhood. It was on his way home from school that he’d run into a monster in this quiet alley.
That incident was, without exaggeration, a turning point in Baek Hye-seong’s life.
If it hadn’t been for Ji-ho, he might never have taken an interest in supernatural powers. His college major, his entire path—it all would’ve been different.
Still, maybe I would’ve become a Guide anyway?
He’d asked on the off chance that Ji-ho remembered something—however vaguely. But since he hadn’t really expected much, he wasn’t surprised or disappointed.
Ji-ho had probably traveled all over the place since he was young, as an Esper. A crumbling neighborhood like this wouldn’t have left even a faint impression.
Left alone in the small living room, Ji-ho looked around before heading toward what appeared to be the bedroom.
The room held just a single bed, a desk, and a short bookshelf—yet it was so cramped there was barely any space to move.
It was tiny and a little shabby. More than anything, it was deeply personal.
Normally, he wouldn’t even have wanted to go near such a place.
And yet, Ji-ho stepped inside willingly.
Maybe it was the neatness—the overall sense of order and cleanliness despite the age of everything.
Thinking how the room seemed to resemble its owner, he crossed the threshold.
“So he really was top of his class.”
He let out a small laugh and looked around.
Books were everywhere. Stuffed into the little bookshelf, stacked high on the floor—there were enough to be sick of them.
“……”
As he scanned the room, Ji-ho tilted his head.
Amid all the things that failed to interest him, one item in particular caught his eye.
***
Just as Hye-seong was folding clothes and packing his bag, he suddenly snapped his head up.
“…Wait a sec.”
It was too quiet. That made him uneasy.
Whenever they were at Ji-ho’s house, they never stayed apart for long. Ji-ho had this subtle habit of nudging or teasing whenever someone was nearby—he never really left Hye-seong alone.
“…Yoo Ji-ho?”
Feeling an inexplicable tension, Hye-seong left his room and looked around.
He spotted Ji-ho standing in front of the desk, his back to him.
“Yoo Ji-ho, what are you doing?”
Ji-ho didn’t answer. Head slightly bowed, he seemed to be looking at something.
No way…
Hye-seong’s heart pounded.
He rushed over, just in time to see Ji-ho slowly turn around, holding something up with a smug little lift—yet his eyes remained fixed on the item.
Gasp…!
As Hye-seong drew a sharp breath, Ji-ho’s lips curled up in a triumphant smile.
What he was holding… was a binder.
A binder filled with clippings and articles about Yoo Ji-ho.
Even though Hye-seong had drunkenly confessed to being his fan…
There was no way he’d been ready to show something like this.
Face flushing, he fidgeted helplessly, unable to snatch it back. Eventually, he burst out in a timid protest.
“Give it back!”
“Nope.”
“……”
The blunt refusal left him speechless.
Hye-seong gathered his courage again.
“Give it!”
He reached out, but Ji-ho raised the binder even higher.
When he stood on his toes to grab it, Ji-ho casually floated it into the air with his ability.
Hye-seong instinctively looked up.
“Ugh…”
The binder was now circling above his head in midair.
Staring dumbly at it spinning above him like some kind of joke, Hye-seong finally snapped out of it and glared at Ji-ho.
“You can’t just… go looking through people’s stuff without permission!”
“You told me to look around comfortably, so I did exactly that.”
Right. Comfortably.
Why did I say that?!
Even as Hye-seong shot him a resentful glare, Ji-ho calmly continued browsing the floating binder.
Following the subtle movement of his fingers, the pages turned in midair. With no choice, Hye-seong ended up watching too.
The next page revealed a pamphlet from a campaign shoot Ji-ho did years ago—a precious gift a friend had picked up near Yeouido.
After flipping through in silence for a while, Ji-ho murmured,
“You say it’s yours, but it all looks like mine.”
“Huh? Why?”
With wide eyes, Ji-ho answered sincerely,
“It’s all pictures of me. So it’s mine.”
“…It’s still mine though…”
I collected all of it…
Muttering under his breath, Hye-seong bit his lip and looked up at the binder with sorrowful eyes, just barely out of reach.
He stood quietly for a moment, gazing at it, until Ji-ho suddenly burst out laughing at the sight.
Startled by the warm laughter, Hye-seong looked back at him.
“If I keep this up a little longer, I bet you’ll start crying.”
“……”
“Hmm.”
Hye-seong froze, eyes going wide.
Ji-ho looked like a kid debating whether to keep teasing or not.
