46.
When they landed at the airport, Lee Han-seo was already there to greet them. Ryu Ho-yeon’s face, having received a completely unexpected surprise gift, was overflowing with boundless joy. Since he’d been told that Lee Han-seo would likely be at another site by the time he arrived in Germany, and that coming out on the same day would be difficult even if he tried his best, the joy of seeing a familiar face after so long was all the greater.
“Han-seo!”
“Ho-yeon!!”
Of course, this scene wasn’t entirely pleasant for Lee Han-seo’s Esper and Ryu Ho-yeon’s Guide, as the two had completely forgotten the existence of their respective pairs standing right beside them.
Embracing each other as if they were trees with tightly intertwined roots, the two were too busy celebrating their reunion to even think about leaving the arrival hall.
“Honey, how long are you going to stay like that?”
While it had also been a long time since they’d met, was Park Woo-jun trying to advertise that his only purpose for coming here was to follow Lee Han-seo? Park Woo-jun didn’t even offer any greeting to Ryu Ho-yeon or Choi Jae-won, just sulkily puffing his cheeks. Just as he had before they left two years ago, he was fully exercising his rights as both Lee Han-seo’s official pair and private lover.
Perhaps it was because he often saw them playing games with voice chat whenever their schedules aligned, but there wasn’t even a hint of awkwardness between them. Choi Jae-won momentarily felt as if he had time-traveled back to their early days at the facility. Though the spatial setting had changed from South Korea to Germany, the dynamic was startlingly identical—two friends who were suspiciously devoted to each other, and their pairs who were simply displeased with that fact. It even felt exactly like the old days, right down to his envy of Park Woo-jun who could openly express his discontent.
“Tsk. Did you agree to behave or not?”
“I did…”
“Then should you be interfering with my greeting Ho-yeon or not?”
“Not… I don’t know, I want to interfere! Will you stop clinging to him already?!”
Though his usual posture was somewhat hunched, when Park Woo-jun straightened his back and shoulders, he easily reached 190 centimeters. He pretended to whimper ridiculously and lifted Lee Han-seo up abruptly. He pulled him up swiftly, like harvesting radishes during the farming season. Lee Han-seo immediately shouted in protest.
“Hey! Put me down! Do you want to die? Put me down! I’m talking to you, put me down now!!”
“Ahhh, I don’t know, I don’t know, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you! You’re going to scold me later anyway. If that’s the case, I might as well do what I want!”
They were truly a pair overflowing with affection. As their activity stage had shifted internationally, both Lee Han-seo and Park Woo-jun had gained quite a high level of recognition, and people were beginning to recognize them. Of the two, Lee Han-seo was the one who at least knew what embarrassment was. He suddenly stopped flailing his legs, demanding to be put down, and chose to stay still in Park Woo-jun’s arms. If people recognized them, they would also know they were an Esper and Guide, and might think their embrace in public was necessary for urgent guiding. (Whether this matched reality was irrelevant. If he didn’t think this way, Lee Han-seo felt he would die of embarrassment and need to find a drain to bury his face in immediately.)
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Following a bit behind the boisterous pair, Choi Jae-won finally asked the question, genuinely concerned.
In the past, whenever Lee Han-seo and Park Woo-jun displayed such overwhelming affection, Ryu Ho-yeon would show signs of dejection. As if endlessly measuring what he lacked as an Esper for Lee Han-seo, despite having stayed by his side from when they were seven or eight until they were twenty.
After not seeing such a spectacle for a while, suddenly witnessing it again might be even more shocking than before. Choi Jae-won couldn’t help but worry.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
However.
“Do I need to be not okay about something? Why are you suddenly asking that?”
The Ryu Ho-yeon who would silently sink into melancholy when asked if he was okay, making onlookers’ hearts ache, was nowhere to be found.
Looking at Park Woo-jun and Lee Han-seo walking ahead, he merely shuddered with an “ugh” as if disgusted.
“Even after all this time, he’s still such a weirdo. What does Han-seo see in him?”
His lips, habitually muttering complaints and criticism, were still infused with a lively mood. Not dejected, not melancholic, not soaked in defeat. The emotions filling his sparkling eyes were the same—anticipating his first trip, longing for tomorrow. Happy eyes.
Choi Jae-won suddenly felt irrepressibly cheerful. While it was clear that they were still far from the finish line, it seemed they had somehow passed the halfway mark. Though he might be overestimating himself, Choi Jae-won was surely the one who had contributed most to Ryu Ho-yeon’s change. This much was fine, wasn’t it? As stated several times before, the privilege of an inflated ego was always reserved for those floundering in the swamp of unrequited love.
* * *
The International Association headquarters was quite far from the city center. Both the Seoul Central Branch in South Korea and the International Esper Association headquarters were located in outskirts for cheaper land—was this the fate of all public institutions?
Sitting in the back seat of the car driven by Lee Han-seo, watching the scenery gradually take on a more rural atmosphere, Choi Jae-won felt the familiar traces of capitalism.
Ryu Ho-yeon, who had pored over all sorts of guidebooks like “Go Go Berlin,” “Let’s Travel Western Europe Together,” and “Wow, Germany Travel Cheaper Than Tires!” and had bookmarked numerous tourist spots in the city center, seemed a bit deflated as the vehicle moved further and further into the outskirts. Despite the elegant scenery of tall trees lining both sides of the road, Ryu Ho-yeon’s face clearly displayed the message: “How is this any different from Olympic Park?”
Noticing Ryu Ho-yeon’s expression in the rearview mirror, Lee Han-seo reassured him that once they were completely inside the headquarters grounds, there would be large-scale commercial areas, and they would be free to travel to the city center during their stay. Naturally, his previously deflated face like a steamed bun that had lost its air began to radiate excitement again.
Upon arriving at headquarters, they first visited the office to complete identity verification and guest registration. When Ryu Ho-yeon wrote “materializing, S class” in the field for the Esper’s ability type and rank, the staff processing the registration was startled and looked back and forth between Ryu Ho-yeon and the document several times. They seemed so incredulous that the situation was only resolved when Lee Han-seo finally shouted at them for not processing quickly enough.
After successfully completing the registration, the two followed Lee Han-seo’s guidance to the quarters where he and Park Woo-jun were staying. Though they had awkwardly missed mealtime, Park Woo-jun, who had given in to Lee Han-seo’s badgering days before, had prepared a table that might not break its legs but would certainly bend under the weight of the food.
“Eat up, eat up. Ho-yeon, you need to gain more weight.”
Though still thin, if one had to choose who had lost more weight over the years, it would be Choi Jae-won rather than Ryu Ho-yeon. It was the aftermath of continuous experiments. Not even noticing his cousin’s gaunt cheeks, Lee Han-seo was busy pushing all the meat dishes in front of Ryu Ho-yeon. Since Choi Jae-won wasn’t the type to eat much anyway, he wasn’t hurt by this. However.
“…This is delicious? Why, why is it so good?”
“What do you mean ‘why is it delicious’? I worked hard to prepare this. Hey, if you’re envious, just don’t eat!”
“Honey, Han-seo. I’m fine, so let’s sit down and eat. Calm down, calm down!”
Though he hadn’t expected much since Park Woo-jun had prepared the food himself, everything was delicious. That was a bit shocking. Judging by appearances, he hadn’t seemed particularly talented in kitchen work. Maybe it was his imagination, but Ryu Ho-yeon seemed to be eating better than he usually did with the meals Choi Jae-won prepared.
There was bound to be a significant difference in culinary skill between Choi Jae-won, who had started cooking a few years ago out of a desire to share meals with Ryu Ho-yeon, and Park Woo-jun, who had mastered survival cooking skills early on since living alone in high school. Unaware of this fact, Choi Jae-won privately burned with competitiveness.
It felt somewhat disappointing that their first meal in Germany was a well-prepared traditional Korean meal, but at least it was satisfying. After making plans to meet again the next day, Choi Jae-won and Ryu Ho-yeon moved to their assigned guest quarters. It definitely felt more spacious than the Seoul Central Branch. It was also somehow fascinating that the people they encountered on the way were of very diverse ethnicities.
He had thought that foreign travel wouldn’t be that exciting unless it was with Ryu Ho-yeon, but it was indeed interesting. In Seoul’s center, filled with Koreans, Ryu Ho-yeon’s exotic appearance had stood out distinctly, but against this background, he didn’t look particularly exotic. Though he was still exceptionally beautiful.
“Ah, that must be our building. We’re almost there.”
Choi Jae-won folded the pamphlet he was holding, tucked it into his back pocket, and turned to look at Ryu Ho-yeon. Just a few minutes ago, he had been busy looking around with interested eyes, but now he had a calm expression while tears streamed down his face.
“Hyung! What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly crying? Is something going on that I don’t know about?”
His drowsy eyes from jetlag suddenly flew wide open. Choi Jae-won was so startled that he nearly jumped in place, making a fuss without making a fuss, while the person actually crying just calmly wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and said:
“Oh. I really am crying. Why am I crying…?”
“Ho-yeon hyung!”
Thanks to that, only Choi Jae-won was left in shock.
