Chapter 14: Seventeen-Year-Old Hyung

The next morning.

I woke up falling out of bed.

Hyung threw me, and it was my mistake.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course.”

It happened because I had hugged Hyung in my sleep out of habit.

A flustered Hyung had tried to push me away but couldn’t control his strength and ended up throwing me.

I wasn’t surprised since I’d experienced it before.

“Are you really okay?”

Perhaps because of the loud noise when I fell, Hyung was more surprised than I was.

It was my fault for hugging him without warning, yet Hyung apologized.

“I’m perfectly fine. I learned how to break a fall.”

“But why didn’t you do it?”

“…I did.”

That’s a lie.

I had learned it, but it had been a long time since I’d forgotten.

I had no reason to use my body since I was always at home, so I had forgotten all self-defense skills except for the most basic ones.

“I’m stronger than I look.”

I understood why Hyung was worried, as I had lost the most weight recently.

Moreover, Hyung had seen my naked, bony body, so he would think I was even weaker.

“This is all muscle, you know.”

I stretched my arm to reassure Hyung, showing off my own humble muscles.

I didn’t have visible muscles like Hyung, but I had enough survival muscles to breathe and live properly.

My immune system was also quite strong, and I had only caught a cold a few times.

“Are you really sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Then try to get up.”

Hyung leaned his arm on the edge of the bed and looked down at me.

I couldn’t get up from the floor, and under Hyung’s persistent gaze, I finally confessed the truth.

“To be honest, it hurts a little. But I think I’ll be fine if I lie down for a moment.”

My back was throbbing, but it didn’t hurt severely.

I was just sprawled out for a moment because I thought I would get dizzy if I got up right away.

“I’ll call a doctor.”

“No! I don’t want to!”

I waved my hand at Hyung, who was about to press the nurse call button.

I wasn’t hurt enough to call a doctor, and I felt like I would just get an earful about how it was dangerous to be with Hyung.

“I just need to lie down for a few minutes.”

“Then lie on the bed.”

Hyung, looking down at me worriedly, held out his hand.

My heart wanted to grab that hand, which was telling me to hold on and get up, without a second thought, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, seeing the bandages still on it.

“Doesn’t your hand hurt?”

“It’s all healed.”

As I just stared at the bandage that covered his hand completely, Hyung clenched and unclenched his fist to show me its condition.

At that, I was relieved and took Hyung’s hand.

Thanks to Hyung slowly helping me up, I didn’t feel dizzy, but my back hurt more than I thought.

I bit down on my molars to keep an unnecessary groan from escaping and sat next to Hyung.

“Thank you.”

I reluctantly let go of Hyung’s hand and smiled.

I was about to lie down right away, but I liked sitting face to face with Hyung, so I stayed still for a moment.

It was even better because it was on the bed, not the sofa.

“Turn around.”

As I was unconsciously tensing the corners of my mouth to keep from smiling, Hyung pointed to the pillow.

It seemed he wanted me to sit that way, so I turned around without asking why.

“Let me know if it hurts.”

Hyung said, and at the same time, placed his hand on my lower back.

“Ah—”

A thin moan escaped my lips as my back twitched as if a button had been pressed.

It was my most sensitive spot, so my lips parted as soon as Hyung’s hand touched it.

“…Does it hurt?”

Hyung was about to take his hand away, so I quickly shook my head.

His hand had only touched me, so there was no way it could hurt.

“I-It’s fine, so keep touching it.”

“……”

“I’m really fine.”

As I offered my back and swayed my upper body, Hyung’s hand slowly approached and carefully pressed my lower back.

“I guess it’s not sprained.”

Hyung confirmed that I wasn’t in pain, then got into a proper position and even started to slowly massage it.

His hand, applying pressure along my spine, was skilled.

“You know how to do that too?”

I asked, even though I already knew.

Hyung, who learned everything quickly and mastered it perfectly, was as good at massages as a professional.

“I’m the captain of the soccer team. I thought it might come in handy, so I learned from YouTube.”

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

Right now, he was at the level of just giving a refreshing back rub, but the thirty-something Chul-soo Hyung used various techniques, as much as a professional masseur.

“Wow, that feels really good. Ooh, yeah.”

As I marveled at every spot he massaged, Hyung’s hands moved more actively.

The young Hyung seemed to be weak to praise.

Just as it was starting to hurt a little from the gradually increasing pressure, the sound of the hospital room door suddenly opened.

“Breakfast has arrived!”

At Esper Hwang Gyu-tae’s voice, Hyung and I, who were sitting with our backs to the door, turned our heads together.

Esper Hwang Gyu-tae, holding heavy bags in both hands, froze upon seeing us sitting close together on the bed.

“Knock, you punk.”

Tae Seung-jun, who appeared, smacking the back of Esper Hwang Gyu-tae’s head, also paused upon seeing us and then closed the door again.

“…Why is he leaving?”

I tilted my head along with Hyung, who was sitting behind me and pressing my back.

Why did he just leave when he came to give us food?

“D-Did your memory come back, by any chance?!”

Soon, Esper Hwang Gyu-tae, who had opened the door a crack, asked loudly.

Hyung, who met my eyes at the sudden question, took his hand off my back and answered slowly.

“No. Not yet.”

The door opened immediately at Hyung’s low answer.

This time, it was Tae Seung-jun who opened the door.

“Then what are you doing on the bed? You’re still wet behind the ears.”

“A massage.”

“Well, look at you.”

Tae Seung-jun picked up the bags that Esper Hwang Gyu-tae had dropped on the floor and chatted naturally with Hyung.

Esper Hwang Gyu-tae, who followed him in, had a somewhat gloomy face.

He had been happy, thinking Hyung’s memory had returned, and was now disappointed.

I empathized with his feelings and swallowed a bitter smile.

“Are you the patient?”

Tae Seung-jun approached the bed, clicked his tongue at me, and picked a fight again.

He really picks a fight whenever he gets a chance.

“Get down. This is a single bed. Can’t you see this size?”

Tae Seung-jun drew a large circle around Chul-soo Hyung and made me get up, saying the hospital bed would collapse.

This bastard, he’s a hindrance instead of a help. I glared at Tae Seung-jun, who was chatting with Hyung after I was kicked off the bed.

“Are you eating now? Or later?”

“I’ll eat now.”

“Then set the table.”

“Am I the only one eating?”

My eyes narrowed as I listened to their smooth conversation.

Hyung seemed to treat Tae Seung-jun more comfortably than me.

“We have to go soon. You two eat.”

“We just came to drop off the food. You two eat comfortably!”

The two said they had to leave soon and only asked simple questions about Hyung’s legs and condition.

“You’re leaving already?”

I asked Tae Seung-jun, who was heading to the door first, out of courtesy.

“Yeah, f*cking busy.”

“Then you didn’t have to come.”

“Gyu-tae, get the food. He says he’s not eating.”

“No, I’ll eat it!”

I stopped Tae Seung-jun, who was trying to give and then take away Hyung’s breakfast.

He grumbled, asking where my thank you was, so I even forced myself to say it.

“Thank you so f*cking much for coming even though you’re busy.”

“Forget it. Come out for a sec.”

Tae Seung-jun left Esper Hwang Gyu-tae in the room and brought only me out.

It was perfect, as I had something to ask him anyway.

“You’ve been in the hospital room since yesterday, right?”

Tae Seung-jun moved to the end of the hallway, a little away from Hyung’s room, and started to speak.

Thinking something important was about to come up, I nodded and listened intently.

“Did you two sleep together?”

“Yes.”

“You slept together?”

“Did you call me out just to ask that?”

Tae Seung-jun looked over my disgusted reaction, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall.

“It’s only been three days since he woke up. Don’t be impatient.”

He seemed to have noticed that I hadn’t been able to have mucosal guiding with Hyung.

That bastard was as quick on the uptake as Hyung.

I glared at him resentfully and then asked the question I had intended to ask when I saw him.

“What did you say to Hyung? When I was asleep.”

“I didn’t say much.”

I asked again with a look of complete disbelief.

“You didn’t talk about my imprint with him, did you?”

“I didn’t even mention the ‘im’ in imprint. Why?”

“Hyung suddenly… started being nice to me. Since yesterday.”

Tae Seung-jun just brushed it off, asking if that wasn’t a good thing, as I trailed off.

It was nice to have slept in Hyung’s bed, but it was strange.

What was the reason Hyung, who wouldn’t even eat my lunch box, suddenly let down his guard?

He even gave me a massage this morning.

“Think positively. Don’t twist things.”

“Don’t talk about the imprint.”

“Do you just shut your ears to anything that isn’t said by the Team Leader?”

“Promise me. That you won’t.”

Tae Seung-jun narrowed his eyes and sighed as I persistently demanded an answer.

“So what if he knows? He’s accepting the fact that he’s an Esper just fine, so he’ll probably understand the imprint too.”

“That’s why it’s even more of a no.”

I scowled just as much as Tae Seung-jun and got his promise.

I glared at him and pressed for an answer until he said he understood.

I didn’t want to let Hyung know about our relationship right now.

As Tae Seung-jun said, Hyung would surely accept the fact that we were imprinted too.

Even if he felt repulsed, he would force himself to understand.

Thinking there was nothing he could do about what had already happened, he might even do his best for me, his partner.

The Hyung I knew was that kind of person.

“I’ll tell him when he starts to like me.”

Tae Seung-jun, who was standing in a crooked posture, watched my firm expression and then acted spitefully.

“Yeah, go ahead and try to seduce him.”

“Ugh! Seriously!”

I stepped back to avoid Tae Seung-jun, who had covered my face with his palm.

Back in the day, whenever I glared or talked back, Tae Seung-jun would grab my face with that big hand of his and press down hard.

Even after four years, he was still so damn consistent.

I pretended to spit in Tae Seung-jun’s face, saying Ptooey, and ran off.

This too was something I often did, exclusively to Tae Seung-jun, back when I was the dedicated Guide for Barrier Team 3.

“You’re leaving without hearing me out?”

Tae Seung-jun called out to me with his words as I was returning to Hyung’s room.

I stopped in the middle of the hallway and asked back annoyedly.

“What is it?”

“You said you were curious about the Gate situation.”