Chapter 107: One Cup

“I had some coffee I bought, but I can’t find it.”

“You bought coffee? When?”

Tae Hwan placed the eight cups of takeout drinks on the kitchen table and approached, naturally stepping between Bodam and Ji Oh, intending to help find the coffee.

“It’s fine. I think it was thrown away.”

But Bodam’s gaze was fixed on Seung Ho.

It was the coffee he had bought on the day he first saw Han Seung Ho.

In celebration of his first day at work, he had intentionally bought a large-capacity one, thinking of the Espers with large appetites.

‘It’s not that important anyway.’ Bodam closed the cabinet he had opened.

He did feel it was a waste of the unopened coffee box.

It was a large size and a premium brand, so it was quite expensive… it must have been thrown away.

‘There’s no way Han Seung Ho drank it.’

“I drank it all.”

Bodam, who had closed the last cabinet and lifted his head, tilted his head at Tae Hwan.

“You did?”

He thought Tae Hwan, who was right next to him, had said it.

But Tae Hwan just looked at Seung Ho, who was walking into the kitchen, instead of answering.

With a strange expression, as if Seung Ho had just barked.

“I’ll buy the same one.”

Seung Ho, who passed by his team members who were each doubting their own ears, operated the coffee machine in the back of the kitchen.

Bodam, who ended up standing closest to him, asked back with a surprised face.

‘He seemed uninterested back then.’

“Did you really drink it?”

Seung Ho showed his back as he got a coffee cup.

He leaves an affirmative “yeah” in a voice that’s barely audible.

“…Was it any good?”

Bodam, who couldn’t believe it even after hearing it, continued with a meaningless question.

He found it strange that Han Seung Ho had drunk all the coffee he had bought without leaving any.

“I enjoyed it.”

‘My goodness. So he can say things like that.’

“I want some too! What is it?!”

Bodam’s shoulders flinched at Ji Oh’s voice, which suddenly boomed from behind.

“Stop yelling!”

Bodam, who raised his voice as well at the volume he could never get used to, turned around.

Then, Tae Hwan, who was standing in front of Ji Oh, came into view.

He gently held Bodam’s jumped shoulder and led him to the table.

“Drink this.”

Tae Hwan pointed to the eight drinks on the table and told him to choose one.

Following Bodam’s preference for sweets, he had only bought drinks that were not lacking in sugar.

“Hey, why did you buy so many? You don’t eat sweets.”

“You drink it all.”

“Am I an Esper? One cup is enough.”

Bodam, who carefully chose one of the delicious-looking sweet drinks, said he would enjoy it and patted Tae Hwan’s shoulder.

Ji Oh, whose eyes had sharpened at the friendly distance between Tae Hwan and Bodam, cut in.

“Give me some too.”

“Eat it all.”

Since he was going to throw it away if Bodam didn’t drink it, Tae Hwan handed the remaining drinks to Ji Oh.

Ji Oh, who liked sweets as much as Bodam, emptied the various shakes and Frappuccinos as if in a fit of anger.

‘When did those two get so close?’ He knew that Yoon Bodam was most comfortable with Lee Tae Hwan, who was the same age, but now, the way he looked at him was completely different.

“Did you finish the cake?”

“There’s still some left. I’m going up to eat it now. Do you want some?”

“No. You eat it all.”

Bodam, who snickered, thinking that the words “eat it all” were coming out of Tae Hwan’s mouth a lot lately, slurped his milkshake.

The cookie crumbles seemed a bit large, as they got stuck in the straw and didn’t come out well.

As he held the straw with his hand and sucked hard, pursing his lips, the sharp gazes of the three Espers focused on him.

“Pfft.”

Unable to stand the burdensome gazes, Bodam spat out the drink.

Three Espers simultaneously held out their hands to the coughing Bodam.

Seung Ho had a handkerchief in his hand, and Ji Oh handed over a whole box of tissues.

Tae Hwan, who moved the fastest, wiped Bodam’s mouth with his bare hand.

“Are you okay? Did it go down the wrong pipe?”

Bodam, who had entrusted his face to Tae Hwan while coughing, belatedly refused his hand and grabbed his shake.

He thought that if he drank any more here, it would be a series of chokes, so he planned to go up to his room quickly.

Before that, Seung Ho blocked Bodam’s path.

“Take it.”

He, who held out a freshly brewed cup of coffee, still had one arm missing.

Bodam, whose gaze was stolen by Seung Ho’s left shoulder, was half-forced to take the cup.

The smooth coffee cup in his hand was warm.

“Cut down on the sweets.”

Seung Ho, who had no interest in Ji Oh who had finished seven drinks, looked down at Bodam.

The white face, receiving all his attention, shook slightly up and down.

Bodam was only looking at Seung Ho’s empty left shoulder.

“Do you have time for guiding? Now.”

Seung Ho, who recognized where Bodam’s gaze was, answered slowly.

“You said you were going to eat cake.”

“…Let’s start in 3 minutes.”

Bodam, for whom a small piece of cheesecake was a 1-minute cut, went up the stairs.

Seung Ho also followed him.

“…Yoon Bodam is a bit.”

Ji Oh, left alone with Tae Hwan, opened his mouth as he stared at the stairs.

“Isn’t he only weak to the team leader?”

Ji Oh lowered his voice so that those upstairs wouldn’t hear.

‘It’s probably because he’s the team leader, but there was a feeling that he was particularly concerned about him from before. It was especially worse in the beginning.’

Like secretly glaring at the team leader for a long time, or stubbornly volunteering to do the guiding he hated.

‘…Come to think of it, it doesn’t seem like there was anything good, so my mood has lifted.’

Ji Oh, flushed from excessive sugar intake, left the kitchen, and Tae Hwan, left alone, muttered softly.

‘You just figured that out?’

***

Bodam kept contemplating.

“Team Leader Han-nim.”

‘Should I ask? Should I not?’

“Are you right-handed?”

‘This isn’t what I really want to ask.’ Bodam, who couldn’t suppress a sigh, was openly frustrated.

In fact, he wanted to ask about his shoulder.

Why it still hadn’t regenerated.

And what it meant for his ability to disappear.

“…No.”

“Are you left-handed?”

“Yes.”

The puzzled Bodam lifted Seung Ho’s right hand, which had seemed skilled in its use.

He had been holding his hand for guiding.

“Can you use chopsticks?”

“What are you curious about.”

Seung Ho, who had hit Bodam’s mark, asked.

As if telling him to ask the question he really wanted to ask.

“Just say it. Don’t be so self-conscious.”

Bodam, who blinked his flustered eyes, hesitated for a moment before asking his question.

“Team Leader-nim’s left arm, is it not coming back?”

“It’s regenerating.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“No.”

“Why is your ability disappearing?”

“Because I’m too strong.”

At the unexpected reason, Bodam lost his reaction and studied Seung Ho’s expression.

It was an answer that, if someone else had said it, he would have retorted with “oh, is that so?” as a joke.

‘There’s no way he’s joking, so it must be true.’

“How is your body.”

While Bodam was choosing his words, this time Seung Ho continued with a question.

“It’s fine.”

“The sensation connected to Kang Yi Jun.”

“Ah, it’s lessened a bit. He doesn’t appear in my dreams anymore.”

“…He used to appear?”

Seung Ho’s dark eyebrows moved minutely.

Because they were sitting close for guiding, even small changes in his expression were visible.

‘I always thought his face was coldly frozen.’

“How is Kang Yi Jun? The guiding machine won’t be enough.”

Bodam, who skipped over the dream story, changed the subject.

He was trying not to think about the dream in which Kang Yi Jun had appeared.

It wasn’t a story worth telling others anyway.

“It’s enough. Don’t worry about it.”

Bodam, who nodded at the firm answer, focused on guiding.

‘So he’s recovering well on his own. That’s a relief. The natural imprinting will break soon too.’

“Yoon Bodam.”

Bodam’s eyes widened as he focused on Seung Ho’s hand.

He was startled even though he had just called his name.

Because it reminded him of the desperate voice he had whispered countless times on Han Seung Ho’s bed.

“Y-yes.”

“If it’s uncomfortable to live in the waiting room, tell me. You can move to the dorms.”

Bodam, whose surprised heart had calmed at the calm, emotionless voice, shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s fine. I’m only going to be here for a short while anyway.”

When he first told Seung Ho he would return to Attack Team 3, one of Bodam’s conditions was to live in the waiting room.

He had refused the offer to be provided with a dorm of his choice.

A space where he would stay for a short while and leave without any lingering feelings was enough.

It was also annoying to commute for guiding that didn’t even last a few hours.

“It’s comfortable for now.”

Instead, at Bodam’s words to give him the largest room, Seung Ho had gotten a duplex waiting room.

He even hired a helper to stock the refrigerator from time to time.

Even now, if he opened the refrigerator, it was full of fresh fruits and side dishes.

Since he had never seen them eat in the waiting room, it seemed like it was all food just for Bodam.

Thanks to that, Bodam was gaining weight day by day.

His cheeks had already filled out long ago from Tae Hwan’s dessert gifts.

“That’s a relief.”

A gentle force entered Seung Ho’s hand, which was holding Bodam’s.

The days had changed since Yoon Bodam returned.

Even those brown eyes he saw every day felt new.

The meticulous gaze, which had always been observing the Esper’s complexion, was now properly visible.