Chapter 115: Finding the Way Back

After moving to the Awakened protection zone, I obtained a personal guide license from the International Awakened Organization through Sehyun’s introduction. Thanks to this, I was able to receive their protection.

There was a condition that I had to be dispatched to a gate more than twice a year, but considering I used to go to gates all the time when I was with the Korean Association, twice a year was really easy.

Information about the International Awakened Organization was not available on the internet, and the people around me didn’t know much about it, so I was bound to be ignorant. I was fortunate to have been able to obtain a personal guide license thanks to Sehyun.

I was staying at a guest house run by a Korean-American Awakened couple. Everyone here knew me. It seemed I had become a global issue again after my activities at the Korean S-Class gate, following the American S-Class gate. As Sehyun had said, I could no longer return to being an ordinary person.

Still, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t live a normal life. People would just recognize me when I passed by.

Life here was peaceful. It wasn’t a gate occurrence area, so there was no risk of a gate appearing, and it was a protection zone, just as its name suggested.

In the mornings, I worked as an instructor, teaching guiding methods at an Awakened school. But that would also end in two weeks.

After class, I bought groceries for lunch at the supermarket and headed home. But in the first-floor common area, I saw a familiar face. It was Sehyun.

“Sehyun!”

I had heard he was coming this week, but I didn’t think he would be here so soon.

“Shinui, it’s been a while.”

Sehyun visited here once a month. Siyun was also under protection here and attending school, and it seemed he came to visit whenever he had time, worried about him.

“You’re here early this time. Have you had lunch?”

“I came without eating so we could eat together.”

“Is omurice okay with you?”

“Yes. I feel bad for always getting free meals from you when I come here.”

“You can get free meals from me for the rest of your life.”

It was Sehyun who had found the weakness of the devil that tried to kill me, and who had helped me leave the Association. In addition to this, the many favors he had done for me were too numerous to repay in a lifetime.

I quickly made omurice, and we talked as we ate.

“You’re coming back to Korea after your instructor job is over, right?”

“Yes.”

Originally, I had planned to stay here for only a month and then return to Korea, but at the time, my mind wasn’t completely made up, and a one-semester instructor offer came up. The instructor job would also end this month, so it was time to return to Korea.

“Where are you planning to stay when you go back?”

“I’m thinking of going back to the house I used to live in.”

“I see. You’re still in contact with Esper Hyun Taewoon, right?”

I just nodded and poked at the egg with my fork. Once a week, Hyun Taewoon and I would exchange messages about how we were doing. Just one message. Nothing more.

“Hyun Taewoon’s reputation in Korea has gotten better. He’s been behaving well at the gates, and it seems he’s on good terms with the reporters now.”

I also used to look up his life on the internet, curious about how he was doing. He had become a hero in Korea for his role at the Devil’s Gate, and no one looked at him with a negative gaze anymore.

He was changing, just as he had said he would. To become a better person for me.

As I was talking with Sehyun, Siyun’s school dismissal time was already approaching.

“I’ll see you in Korea next time.”

“Yes. I’ll call you when I get there.”

After Sehyun left, I checked the date of my return to Korea. It was the last Friday of the month.

It took me a long time to admit my feelings.

Not a day had passed since I came here without me thinking about and worrying about Taewoon. Come to think of it, I had been thinking about him all the time even after my regression. Back then, it might have been hatred, but now it was filled with worry and a very small amount of affection.

They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but that wasn’t the case for me. After coming here, I admitted that I missed him.

He had constantly apologized to me. When I returned to Korea, I wanted to accept his apology. And I wanted to apologize for hurting his feelings too. Now, I wanted to go and find the happiness he had talked about for myself.

The people at the protection zone wanted me to stay longer, but I missed Korea and was curious about how Taewoon was doing, so I boarded the plane without any regrets.

The entire flight back to Korea, I was trembling with the thought of meeting him. The only people who knew I was returning were Sehyun and Jinseok. I wanted to keep it a secret from Taewoon and appear like a gift. It was an uncharacteristic thing to do, but I wanted to do it now.

To keep my promise to meet him first when I returned, I found out his location from Jinseok as soon as I arrived in Korea. He was currently giving a gate lecture for Espers at the Center, and he would have a lunch break in 30 minutes.

It seemed that his break would coincide with my arrival at the Center. Since he didn’t need to eat, he would probably be spending his break in his private underground training room.

I stopped by the Center in advance to get a visitor’s pass and went down to the basement. As soon as I arrived at the Center, my wavelength began to search for his, as if it had been waiting. Taewoon probably already felt my wavelength.

The elevator doors opened, and as I was walking towards his private room, I saw him coming out of the room. At that sight, I hurriedly hid around the corner of the hallway. Perhaps because it had been a long time since I had seen him, my body was trembling with nervousness and anticipation.

As expected, he also felt my wavelength, and his own began to run wild. I watched his movements. He looked around the hallway and then called someone. He was probably calling Jinseok.

I slowly walked up behind him without making a sound. The moment our wavelengths touched, his head turned back.

As soon as our eyes met, he froze like someone who had seen a ghost. When I gave him a gentle smile, he ran towards me as if he had been waiting and embraced me.

“…I’ve been waiting. I missed you so much.”

His facial features were sharper, and his aura was colder than I remembered, but his gaze towards me was as gentle as ever.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Don’t be sorry. I can wait longer. Are you back in Korea for good?”

“Yeah. I just got back a little while ago.”

“Have you found a place to stay?”

Originally, I was planning to go back to the house I used to live in, but the words that came out of my mouth were completely different from what I had thought.

“I don’t know.”

“…If it’s okay, would you like to come to my house? Your room is still there.”

I nodded slowly at his trembling voice. When I agreed, his tense face quickly relaxed.

“You must be tired, let’s go home and rest.”

He sent a notification that he was leaving and headed to the underground parking lot with me. We didn’t exchange a single word in the car. We just felt each other’s wavelengths.

When we arrived at his house, I slowly looked around the interior. Nothing had changed since the last time I was here, but unlike then, it had a brighter and warmer atmosphere.

“Shinui.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I hug you?”

He looked nervous. As if he was hoping to hear my answer to the confession he had been waiting for all this time.

The answer was already decided, so I walked up to him. As I got closer, his face looked like he was about to cry.

When I was right in front of him, he carefully hugged me. His wavelength touched mine and began to stir, as if in greeting.

His heart was also racing like his wavelength. My heart was also pounding. I thought I would never feel this way again. Through him, I was once again feeling the emotion of excitement.

He wrapped his arms around my back. I also wrapped my arms around his back, as if to return his feelings. I finally felt like the twisted things were returning to their original place.

I used to think that there was always a coldness around Taewoon, but now a warm and gentle energy lingered.

When I first returned to Korea, it was awkward being with him, but gradually the awkwardness disappeared, and I became comfortable.

We started having skinship under the pretext of guiding, just like when we first met, and a few days ago, we started sleeping together. It was just sleeping next to each other, but sometimes I would get so nervous that I would stay up all night with my eyes open.

In the past, I was afraid that he might change suddenly, but now, I had no such fear. It was probably because of my trust in him.

He always confirmed his feelings for me through his words and actions. At that, my heart also began to open up to him. And once I admitted my feelings for him, my heart became incredibly calm.

And so, we were living together as a couple, even though we had never officially said that we were dating.

While he was at work and the house was empty, I would rest and then help the housekeeper with the cleaning in the afternoon. I was starting to get tired of just being at home. I thought it would be good to go on a dispatch if a gate opened nearby.

Not long after the housekeeper left, it was time for him to come home.

I was flipping through the TV channels to pass the time when the remote suddenly stopped working. It seemed the batteries were dead.

I remembered seeing a charger in the living room cabinet, so I opened the drawers one by one. Then, I found a pale yellow envelope with a ribbon on it.

Curiosity arose at the unusual envelope. I opened it to see what was inside and found a folded A4 paper. When I unfolded it, it said ‘Pledge’ at the top.

In an instant, my heart began to pound loudly. I carefully examined the pledge and saw his handwriting. My name was also written in his handwriting. I stared at the pledge for a while.

I had already made up my mind to spend this life with him. I also wanted to give him assurance, so I brought a pen.

Without hesitation, I filled in my personal information one by one in the empty space next my name. With each letter I wrote, my heart pounded with anticipation. After I finished, I put it back where it was.

I didn’t know when he would give me the pledge, but I decided to wait for the day he would. When I received it, our feelings for each other would be even stronger.

I heard the sound of the door lock unlocking, signaling his return. I hurried to the entrance to greet him. Perhaps because of the pledge, a warm smile lingered on my lips.

“Did you have a good day?”

At my question, he also answered with a bright smile and hugged me. He was like a cat seeking affection.

“I missed you.”

I also replied that I missed him and led him to the living room, still holding him. It was still awkward to speak my mind so frankly, but he was also changing for me, so I wanted to change too.

We held each other for a while like that. Like ordinary lovers.

When I looked up at his face, he had his eyes closed deeply, leaning on me with a peaceful expression. Seeing that comfortable look, I hugged him tighter, strengthening my grip on his waist.

This was the ordinary and happy daily life with him that I had been wishing for.

The S-class guide is now resigning. The end.