105.
It hadn’t been long since he properly started rehabilitating the injured muscles and ligaments that had been practically neglected. One reason for the delayed rehabilitation was that the injured person himself was inherently unable to show pain.
Standing beside Ryu Ho-yeon, who was groaning and sweating profusely, holding a towel to immediately wipe his sweat and bringing lukewarm water had become Choi Jae-won’s daily routine and joy. Sometimes when Ryu Ho-yeon’s movements slowed down as if his motivation was waning, Choi Jae-won found it adorable and couldn’t help but laugh, which was purely enjoyable.
However, contrary to this surface-level enjoyment, Ryu Ho-yeon’s condition wasn’t very hopeful.
The limbs that had stiffened and rusted after years of damage were unlikely to fully recover their original function no matter how much Ryu Ho-yeon sweated—without the help of a Healing Esper, that is.
The competent medical staff that Choi Jae-won had brought in at great expense unanimously agreed:
Nothing beats a Healing Esper’s abilities when it comes to treating bones, joints, or external injuries, though perhaps not for chronic internal damage or disease. With Choi Jae-won’s connections and wealth, hiring a skilled Healing Esper wouldn’t be difficult, so why not bring one in soon?
Everything they said was correct. There would be no difficulty in bringing in a skilled Healing Esper, and there would certainly be no difficulty in having such a Healing Esper heal Ryu Ho-yeon completely.
Hadn’t this already been proven through one hand that had healed cleanly?
But paradoxically, it was precisely because of this that Choi Jae-won couldn’t call a Healing Esper. He didn’t want to.
It wasn’t like commissioning work from a skilled plastic surgeon—he couldn’t selectively request to heal this part but not that part.
Even to Choi Jae-won himself, the image of trying to withhold Ryu Ho-yeon’s once-radiant appearance just to keep him to himself while maintaining the confidentiality of his survival seemed excessively disgusting. But what could he do? Choi Jae-won thought this was good enough. Even though he had rotted and decayed inside, having survived those years without Ryu Ho-yeon was enough to warrant some leniency.
If Ryu Ho-yeon had more actively hoped for treatment and begged for it, would Choi Jae-won’s actions have taken a somewhat different direction?
Whether it was to evoke more tender feelings or for some other reason, Ryu Ho-yeon never once begged, even after seeing his hand that had healed cleanly from the Healing Esper’s touch. He would only stare at it occasionally. Even then, he did it secretly, trying not to be caught.
The uneven size of his eyes and the grotesquely curled skin tissue—objectively speaking in terms of beauty and ugliness—were now much closer to the latter. Nevertheless.
‘…’
His pupils, which gazed up at his hand with an unwavering steady gaze, still sparkled like glass beads.
Choi Jae-won was going crazy with guilt over this. He still didn’t want to provide treatment, though.
His daily, untiring, attentive nursing and massages were more like stubbornness. The stubbornness that no matter how much Ryu Ho-yeon suffered, he would never again let him be taken away to somewhere else outside.
All of this might be unfounded fears. It might be a product of his megalomaniacal imagination, long since departed from sanity. Even if Ryu Ho-yeon regained his former position, perhaps no one would try to separate them anymore, and all that lay ahead was a pure white happy ending. In fact, rationally speaking, this probability was higher.
But regardless of the rational conclusion, it was also an undeniable fact that as long as Ryu Ho-yeon’s survival was revealed, there always lurked the tiny possibility that he might leave Choi Jae-won someday. In any case, if Ryu Ho-yeon’s memory returned, it was clear that Choi Jae-won would be expelled from this small Eden he had created, so he wanted to hold out as long as he could.
Even if it meant crushing Ryu Ho-yeon’s hand with a stone as he reached for the forbidden fruit.
Not knowing that Ryu Ho-yeon actually had all his memories and was just pretending to be deceived.
Choi Jae-won calmly organized his unconsciously self-deprecating thoughts. Ryu Ho-yeon would be coming out soon, and he couldn’t show even the slightest vulnerability.
Putting the well-roasted coffee beans into the grinder and grinding them produced a familiar aroma that tickled his nose. The ripples that had risen in his mind also calmed down.
Whether his taste remained the same despite losing his memory, Ryu Ho-yeon still loved the warm hazelnut latte that Choi Jae-won brewed for him the most. So there were still things he could do for Ryu Ho-yeon? Choi Jae-won seemed to feel at ease only when he was moving his body solely for Ryu Ho-yeon.
He had just finished brewing the coffee and was about to warm the milk when the front door burst open and security guards protecting the island’s borders rushed in urgently. Choi Jae-won merely frowned without turning to look at them.
“Young master, young master!”
“What’s the matter? I believe I told you not to enter this area unless called first.”
“We apologize. It’s just so urgent… Have you received any contact regarding outside visitors today? I’m reporting that a boat is rapidly approaching with this island as its exact target. At this rate, it will arrive within 30 minutes.”
Since Choi Jae-won had purchased this as private property and erased all official addresses and map locations, it was practically impossible to know the location this accurately. Unless they had been invited and given the coordinates in advance.
That was probably why the security guards came to confirm with Choi Jae-won rather than simply turning away the unidentified visitors from the beginning.
“Well, I’m not sure if this is the time to be calmly reciting all this to me.”
“Pardon?”
“You should go right now and either chase them away or find out who they are. If you want to earn your salary. Don’t you think?”
“…Yes, yes! Understood. We’ll take immediate action!”
But even that was not Choi Jae-won’s concern. He still didn’t turn his gaze and focused all his attention on creating a rich, soft milk foam. Because there were only a few minutes left until Ryu Ho-yeon would come out after finishing his rehabilitation.
* * *
“Hmm hmm, hmm hmm…”
Song Won-young hummed a tune to his heart’s content. On any other day, he would have cringed at the blazing sun that stung his skin and the salty smell that seemed to stick inside his nostrils, but today was different.
If he considered this the preliminary to the meeting he had so eagerly awaited, it all just felt romantic.
“Esper, we should arrive within an hour.”
“Really? Everyone’s going through such trouble because of me. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, not at all! How can you say that! Compared to the favor you did by treating my mother, this is nothing! Please let me know if you need anything in the future. There’s nothing I can’t do in this area.”
“It’s reassuring just to hear that.”
The person driving the small boat, normally used for fishing, was a well-connected fisherman who was quite influential in this area. His elderly mother had fallen in the bathroom and injured her hip, unable to undergo surgery and just waiting for her last days while suffering. Just a few hours ago, after seeing his mother completely healed by Song Won-young’s touch, he immediately volunteered to be Song Won-young’s devoted worker. This wasn’t anything special for Song Won-young.
This was generally how Song Won-young’s daily life had been since awakening as an A-class Healing Esper.
Was it the year before last? After instantly healing the Center Director’s only son who was on the verge of death from a traffic accident, life became even easier. Even though the Center’s influence had diminished considerably compared to before, it was still a government institution. In any case, thanks to the Center Director, he was able to easily discover Choi Jae-won’s whereabouts, which everyone was desperate to know.
While reluctantly revealing the information until the very end, Song Won-young confidently told the unenthusiastic Center Director that he wasn’t like other ordinary Espers. He claimed that he was the only one who could capture Choi Jae-won’s heart.
After receiving the coordinates and coming down, he found that all institutions and individuals with boats in this area were cowering in fear of Choi Jae-won, so he immediately began inquiring about homes with sick people. It might be unfortunate for them, but the invalids sitting in every household were very useful tools for Song Won-young to manipulate people as he pleased.
“Please wait just a little bit, Guide Choi Jae-won. Whether it’s your body or your heart, I’ll come quickly and fix it for you.”
Why are there so many sick people in the world, it’s truly sad… Song Won-young clicked his tongue in apparent sympathy. He didn’t mind at all as the small boat rocked unsteadily in the surging waves.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
