“You know, Roi.”
Feeling as relaxed as a daughter-in-law returning to her parents’ house, Seo-ha stared up at the ceiling as he spoke, only for Moon Roi’s blunt stare to poke at his cheek like a finger. Probably meant he should talk while looking at people’s faces—but he didn’t have the energy.
“Did you know a day actually has 48 hours?”
“You’re back to spewing nonsense, so that means you’re fine. Totally normal.”
Moon Roi pointed it out with the sincerity of someone who’d known him forever.
“I’m serious. My day still isn’t over.”
That included the time he’d spent pounding away with Han Ju-oh. He couldn’t exactly say it out loud, but with a friend, it was okay to just say what he wanted and leave it at that.
“So that’s why you’re sprawled there like roadkill?”
Sure, being friends meant putting up with the occasional insult, but oh well.
“I’m exhausted. I could literally pass out mid-sentence.”
His matching rate had gone up, so he’d visited Guild Leader Kim Mi-yeon first thing in the morning, guided Esper Baek Jong-hoon to verify some lingering questions, and even went on a date with Han Ju-oh on top of all that. Now, all he had left was just enough energy to breathe.
“If someone saw you, they’d think you just came out of a gate or something.”
Moon Roi walked over to the sofa Seo-ha was lying on and shoved his ass in, claiming some space for himself without a care. The couch was just the right size for one adult man to lie down comfortably, but with Moon Roi sitting, it became cramped. Seo-ha shifted to the side, turning his body to make room.
The reason was simple—he had no chance of winning in a strength contest with Moon Roi.
“Why the hell are you so big and bulky?”
“What? You think you’re petite or something? You’re a whole hill.”
Moon Roi snorted. Not all Guides were like that, but generally speaking, they weren’t known for being large. Just like Espers rarely came in small sizes, Guides also followed that trend.
Among them, Moon Roi and Seo-ha were both on the tall side. Moon Roi stood at 185 cm, not much shorter than Han Ju-oh. Seo-ha was smaller than both of them but still over 180 cm. Well, it’s not like becoming a Guide was something he’d chosen; it had just happened. Strange, but whatever. Seo-ha was fairly big compared to most in his line of work.
Moon Roi began aggressively rubbing his wet hair with a towel, and the water droplets sprayed onto Seo-ha’s face.
“Go dry your hair over there. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? I told you I’m exhausted today.”
Seo-ha didn’t even bother wiping the droplets off his face, just flapped his mouth.
“Then why come here instead of going home?”
“Because I have something to say. If I contact you tomorrow, you’ll definitely be all sulky.”
“Baek Seo-ha, what do you take me for—”
“My matching rate went up.”
Moon Roi froze mid-towel scrub. He seemed to be processing the words, but then casually resumed drying his hair.
“Didn’t the hospital say that?”
“Yeah, they did.”
Seo-ha nodded readily.
“But…”
Not in the mood to explain everything, Seo-ha abruptly dropped his wrist down. His arm flopped off the couch, and Moon Roi glanced at him with a What are you doing look, before finally noticing the watch.
“Huh? Ten percent…”
“It went up, right?”
Moon Roi nodded in response to Seo-ha’s question. But his expression was oddly noncommittal. It had increased, sure, but not to a ridiculous degree, so the reaction was lukewarm.
“Still, it’s kinda amazing seeing a different number on your wrist for once.”
He tried to sound as positive as possible while lightly dabbing the water droplets off Seo-ha’s face with the towel.
“It was sixty-five percent this morning.”
“……”
Moon Roi said nothing. Somewhere else in the room, something fell with a hollow thunk.
“I took a photo on my phone, but showing you sounds like a pain. If you really want to see it, dig through my pocket yourself—mmph!”
Seo-ha suddenly choked when Moon Roi began rubbing his face hard with the towel. On top of that, his words came out garbled from the pressure, and he flailed to push the towel away.
He slapped Moon Roi’s arm—damn it, this guy was freakishly strong!
“What the hell are you doing!”
He yanked the towel away and hurled it aside with a shout. He hadn’t even stayed still when Roi first tried to wipe him. His face had to be completely scrunched up and red now.
But Moon Roi, the one who’d done all that, didn’t say a word.
“You…”
“What about me!”
Lying back on the couch and blankly staring at the ceiling again, Seo-ha watched as Moon Roi suddenly shoved his face right into his.
“What’s with your face? Move it.”
“Are you serious? Like… really? It went that high?”
It wasn’t just Moon Roi’s hair that was wet—his eyes were, too.
“Yeah.”
So instead of telling him to move, Seo-ha just answered. Honestly, he hadn’t not expected this kind of reaction. He figured Moon Roi would be happy for him. Just… he hadn’t thought it would be to the point of actual tears.
“Baek Seo-ha, you…”
Moon Roi’s eyes sparkled like he wanted nothing more than to hug him—and then he suddenly buried his face straight into Seo-ha’s chest.
“Ugh!”
Seo-ha let out a pained breath and yanked ruthlessly on Moon Roi’s hair.
“Ow! Hey. I was hugging you because I was happy.”
“Yeah right. I know you slammed into me on purpose.”
“How are we supposed to share emotional moments if you’re just gonna twist everything!”
“We can do that from a distance. Now back off.”
He shoved Moon Roi away without hesitation, and this time, Roi didn’t resist and just rolled off him.
It was such a random scene that Seo-ha couldn’t help feeling thrown off, but seeing Moon Roi’s face still flushed with emotion made him decide not to scold him further.
“I came straight here to tell you.”
He hadn’t gone home and collapsed into bed because he’d wanted to say it first to the one who’d gone through all the mental anguish with him. To tell him it was okay to stop now. To let him know there was no need to feel guilty anymore about Seo-ha guiding other Espers right in front of him, and that he shouldn’t keep burying the grief for his brother.
“I’m just a regular Guide now.”
Regular. Not something most people would brag about, and yet here he was, saying it like it was an accomplishment. But he’d always wanted it, never once tried to hide it. So the words came easily.
As Seo-ha puffed out his chest and made his declaration, Moon Roi, who looked like he was about to argue more, paused—then let out a small laugh.
“Can’t believe you’re actually proud of that.”
Picking up the towel from the floor, Moon Roi’s face looked noticeably lighter. Seo-ha could tell—he’d finally set down a burden he’d been silently carrying. That alone made Seo-ha feel a little more at peace.
That was when—
“Why the hell are you doing this here?”
Someone suddenly cut in.
“Because this is the most comfortable place for me.”
Seo-ha laced his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes. He rubbed around lazily for a moment longer before trying to sit up—only to notice the sound of someone breathing like they were ready to kill. He swung his legs off the sofa.
“I was in the shower when he texted me saying he was here.”
Moon Roi ratted him out.
“I get it, now get the hell out. You bastards think this is your damn bedroom?!”
Director Kim Beom-hak shouted as he started hurling whatever he could get his hands on.
***
“Hey, Ju-oh!”
Ian waved as he called out, and Han Ju-oh headed over immediately. But apparently Ian wasn’t satisfied with how slowly he was walking, because he practically ran up to him and threw his arms wide to pull him into a hug.
“I missed you.”
At nearly two meters tall, Ian’s embrace practically swallowed up the already tall Han Ju-oh.
Han Ju-oh stood there motionless. It was just his personality not to return the hug, but the fact that he wasn’t shoving Ian away said enough.
“I kept trying to contact you.”
Ian affectionately ruffled Ju-oh’s hair and clapped his shoulder a few times, lavishing him with affection.
“I was busy.”
Ju-oh replied curtly and took a seat. Ian had suggested they meet at a café and had already ordered drinks ahead of time.
While Ju-oh drank his coffee, Ian beamed at him, grinning from ear to ear as he stared at his friend’s face. Whatever it was about Ju-oh’s bluntness, it made Ian keep smiling.
“I volunteered to come here just to see you.”
An S-Class Esper offering to come in person—of course they’d welcomed him. To them, the reason didn’t matter; what mattered was that he was coming.
“If your business is done, go.”
But Ju-oh wasn’t moved in the slightest. If anything, he was barely refraining from telling Ian to get lost now that the job was over.
“You haven’t changed a bit.”
Ian didn’t look disappointed at all. He shamelessly pushed ahead like it was nothing. Ju-oh, watching him with a strange look, suddenly let out a chuckle. It was brief, and with his head down—but Ian didn’t miss it.
“Was that because you’re happy to see me?”
“No. Seeing you just reminded me of myself.”
“Hmm. No way you’d be clinging to just anyone like that… is it a partner?”
Ian’s fluent pronunciation of the English word rolled off his tongue, but Ju-oh didn’t answer. He figured Ian must’ve heard something about it somewhere. Whether or not he responded to questions about Seo-ha was entirely up to him.
“Come to think of it, you didn’t bring your partner with you? I really wanna meet them.”
Switching smoothly back to Korean, Ian asked directly. At that, Ju-oh’s face remained indifferent but now carried a subtle layer of caution.
“Stay away from my partner.”
“But I want to see them.”
“Don’t expect anything. You’re not meeting them.”
“My friend getting his first partner… wow. What a trip.”
The two had been friends for quite a while.
