They had dinner together the next day, and the day after that as well.
There wasn’t much to the conversations they shared.
“I trained.”
“I had an evaluation.”
“I went to check the current gate activity zones.”
That was Han Ju-oh.
“I tried the company cafeteria. It was good.”
“I got my combat suit for Guides. Looked cool.”
“They gave me a pad, a stun baton, and a radio. Pretty neat.”
That was Baek Seo-ha. Everything was short and to the point—more like status updates than real conversation.
Seo-ha went around the company, adjusting to the environment, while Han Ju-oh spent most of his time in the training room. He’d thought they should be spending time together, but after realizing how impatient that attitude was, he let go of the notion.
Just because they had formed a pair didn’t mean their relationship had suddenly deepened. He had rushed things.
“You’re really gonna keep spending all your time just training?”
Seo-ha mumbled with his chopsticks still in his mouth. When Han Ju-oh only looked at him without replying, Seo-ha continued.
“I mean, I get that you’re not using your ability, but still, shouldn’t you be taking breaks? You’re made of flesh and blood too, you know…”
Han Ju-oh muttered something, then held out his watch. The numbers were the same as the ones Seo-ha had seen two days ago. He held back the urge to tell him to just accept a Guiding session.
Maybe there was a reason Han Ju-oh refused to be Guided. That’s why Seo-ha brought up the importance of resting—not as a Guide, but as a human being.
Han Ju-oh picked at his food and finally spoke.
“When I rest, I start thinking too much.”
“Well, if you sleep, you stop thinking.”
“I’m not used to staying still.”
“You didn’t flinch even when you were glaring daggers at me though?”
“……”
“Come on. Spill it.”
Seo-ha had said he wouldn’t rush him—but that didn’t mean he’d smile and accept everything without question.
“…I’ve been sleeping okay.”
Han Ju-oh admitted it more easily than expected, though with a trace of discomfort in his expression.
“Yeah? I’ve been sleeping well too. Having curtains really helps—it’s not blinding in the morning.”
As Seo-ha dipped a piece of beef in ssamjang and popped it into his mouth, he casually mentioned the curtains they’d had installed the day after putting in the order.
“I swear, getting proper sleep really changes your whole life.”
There were still plenty of things they needed to buy, but overall, the new living arrangements weren’t bad. Han Ju-oh’s silence, though, made things a bit awkward.
“What?”
Seo-ha made a lettuce wrap and handed it to him, saying he should just speak his mind.
“Are we going to eat like this tomorrow too?”
Han Ju-oh pointed to his mouth with a finger, just as Seo-ha shoved the wrap in. It had two pieces of meat in it, making it pretty hefty, but Han Ju-oh still spoke clearly. Seo-ha calmly chewed his own piece of meat.
Tonight’s dinner: white rice, beef, ssamjang, lettuce, kimchi.
Yesterday’s dinner: beef, ssamjang, rice, lettuce, kimchi.
Tomorrow’s dinner will be: ssamjang, lettuce, rice, kimchi, and beef.
“Yeah, we’ll be eating like this tomorrow too.”
“……”
“Why are you eating like that all of a sudden? You’re chewing like a cow.”
He was clearly chewing just to get through it, and mid-bite, there was a piece of lettuce sticking out of his mouth. He was doing this on purpose. It was obvious he was annoyed from eating lettuce wraps every day.
“You said you’re not picky. You’re the one who said you just walk into whatever restaurant you see.”
“So this is what you meant when you said, ‘If something’s good, I eat only that for a while’?”
“Yup.”
Seo-ha replied without hesitation and happily kept gobbling down beef.
“I’m gonna eat this until I get sick of it.”
Han Ju-oh put his chopsticks down and picked up a bottle of water. There were cups, sure, but washing them was a hassle, so Seo-ha had just written his name on the bottle. If you’re eating here, drink from your own bottle—that was the rule.
Funny thing was, by the time dinner was over and Han Ju-oh was getting ready to leave, the bottle was always empty.
‘Guess I didn’t really need to bother after all.’
“I’d really like to start talking about work soon.”
As Han Ju-oh swished water around in his mouth, Seo-ha’s eyes narrowed. He was trying to figure out if the guy was changing the subject just to stop eating, or if he was being serious.
Could be a bit of both.
“Let’s talk after we finish eating.”
Seo-ha had actually been planning to bring it up around this time anyway, so he didn’t hesitate and continued eating. Since Han Ju-oh wasn’t picking up his chopsticks, he even busily made wraps and stuffed them into his mouth.
“Don’t swallow—chew it properly!”
***
After dinner, Seo-ha grabbed a beer, and Han Ju-oh wandered over to the kitchen.
He hadn’t gone back to Han Ju-oh’s place since his first visit, but it was obvious he opened the fridge here far more often than at his own place. Watching him stand there with the fridge door open, clearly deliberating over what to take out, Seo-ha lost interest and turned away.
He cracked open a beer and took a long swig—the sharp carbonation burned its way down his throat.
“Khhuu.”
The refreshing fizz swept away the greasy taste of the meat in an instant, making him squirm with satisfaction. Next to him, Han Ju-oh also took a drink, tilting his head back even longer than Seo-ha had.
His Adam’s apple bobbed dramatically as he chugged, yet there was no sound of swallowing. Weird guy.
“Is it good?”
Did he really need to say it out loud? Watching Han Ju-oh’s expression soften was somehow ridiculously funny.
“If you like it, grab a few cans before you leave.”
He wasn’t against drinking alone, so he casually offered. Han Ju-oh gave a nod.
“Wait—did you just nod? You’re actually gonna take some?”
“Just two.”
Considering Han Ju-oh had said he didn’t care about food or drink, this little moment of indulgence was kind of nice.
“See? Everything tastes better when you eat with me.”
Seo-ha shamelessly took full credit.
After that, the silence stretched on again. Honestly, they had more to say back when they were clashing.
Now wasn’t the time for that kind of tension. Instead, it was a period where they were supposed to try and understand each other…
‘This is awkward.’
There was this weird pressure like he had to force something out of his mouth.
“So, uh… yeah! You mentioned training, right?”
Seo-ha scratched at his neck as he awkwardly brought the dropped topic back up.
“You’ve got wind affinity, so you fly around, right? Then I should just stay out of your way in a corner or something?”
“It’s the opposite. You should stay somewhere visible.”
“Why?”
“So I won’t ignite that area.”
“Oh… I see.”
That was… a little scary to hear, but it did make sense.
“So I just need to read the room, huh. Oh—should the sleeping bag be thick?”
“……”
Han Ju-oh raised his brows like he hadn’t quite understood. Was the question too much?
“When we run dungeons, it can take several days, right? If I pack a sleeping bag ahead of time, it’s way more comfortable when we sleep.”
This wasn’t something only an Esper-paired Guide would know. It was a method Seo-ha had used before, even when requesting match tests with other Espers.
He was saying this based on experience—having brought along two sleeping bags and a few other things. But Han Ju-oh didn’t respond right away.
“Why are you worrying about my sleeping bag?”
“What do you mean why? You like sleeping on the bare floor?”
If they ended up in another desert, lying on a thin mat over sand wouldn’t be so bad, but if they hit a frozen glacier, it’d be a whole different problem.
“But why are you trying to pack my stuff for me?”
Han Ju-oh repeated himself, and the fact that he said it twice in the same way meant he clearly wasn’t happy. Seo-ha stared at him, startled by the possibility.
“You don’t like it when I pack things for you?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then is it because you feel like you’d be treating me assome errand boy?”
“……”
Bingo.
“I only asked that ‘cause it looked like you weren’t the type to prepare those kinds of things. It was fine last time because it was just one night in the desert, but imagine if we stayed out there all night. And I don’t usually get drained from Guiding, so I can afford to handle other stuff.”
He was saying that since he could conserve his strength, he might as well handle some of the little things. What was so wrong with that?
“Have you always done it that way?”
“Only when I felt like it. And for the record, no one ever told me to. I did it because it made my life easier.”
Seo-ha sipped his beer as he talked, but Han Ju-oh didn’t seem to be listening at all.
This weird tension that started over a damn sleeping bag soured the air. Seo-ha clicked his tongue and took another long drink.
He kept insisting it didn’t bother him, but now he was the one annoyed.
“I won’t pack your sleeping bag.”
If the guy didn’t want help, there was no point forcing it just for him to feel offended later.
“None of the other guys I’ve looked after ever said no, you know?”
With just a few words, Han Ju-oh had thrown away something other people never even hesitated to accept—and just then, a chill ran down Seo-ha’s spine.
“What the… What’s this?”
Was it just the cold beer? No. The real reason was Han Ju-oh’s icy glare. Seo-ha scowled right back.
“Who have you looked after?”
“Well, there was Esper Lee Gyu-han, the one you saw last time, and Esper Kim Kang too…”
As he listed names that came to mind, Seo-ha suddenly froze.
“You’re… not gonna call them to the training room or anything, right?”
No way, right?
He only asked because he remembered what happened last time—Han Ju-oh had gathered all the Espers who badmouthed him and summoned them to the training room.
But it was already too late.
“Pack mine too.”
Han Ju-oh stood up, set his empty can on the table, opened the fridge, and started stacking beer cans into his other arm. Then, right before heading to the front door, he looked down at Seo-ha.
“I’ll carry them myself.”
As if this were his own version of compromise, he said it and left without waiting for a reply.
Seo-ha stared blankly at the spot Han Ju-oh had disappeared from.
“You said you’d only take two…”
He took five.
