Chapter 14: Snowfall and Bad News

This kind of birthday gift would’ve been better left ungiven.

The very first birthday present I received in my entire twenty-four years of life was nothing more than a cheap bag of candy grabbed randomly from a counter basket.

Wasn’t that a little too much?

To be fair, I knew I was being more sensitive than usual.

I could’ve just laughed it off like it was nothing, but the fact that I kept assigning meaning to every little thing someone did made me disgusted with myself.

Up until now, it had just been a passing thought, something I joked about internally.

But this time, I genuinely felt like whoever created me must have messed up my settings from the very beginning.

“Uh… Jaeyoon?”

“…I’m listening. Go ahead.”

“T-that was a joke. A joke. You know that, right? Your expression suddenly got really scary, so I thought maybe you actually took it seriously.”

“Of course not. Don’t worry.”

I barely heard the man’s awkward excuses as he hurriedly tried to brush it off as humor.

I simply stared quietly at the pink candy wrappers in my hand and bit down on my lip.

Maybe it was because tomorrow was my grandmother’s memorial day.

For some reason, something this insignificant suddenly overwhelmed me with sorrow.

“Jaeyoon, I really was joking just now. I was planning to give you a proper birthday present later once I officially settled into the center and introduced myself properly.”

“Yes. I understand. Thank you.”

“…No, I really didn’t mean it like that.”

It felt like my legs had taken root deep into the ground.

The man circled anxiously around me, desperately trying to explain himself, but all I could do was nod halfheartedly without giving him any real reaction.

“You should probably head back to the center now. I’ll take you there. Let’s go together.”

“No, it’s alright. I just got in contact with the center staff, and we agreed to meet nearby. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“…Then should we part ways here? I have somewhere I need to stop by, and it’s getting late, so I’m starting to feel rushed.”

“Ah, right. You said you were going to a flower shop earlier. Of course, of course. Hurry and go. Don’t worry about me.”

As if I’d worry about him.

I hadn’t even reached the flower shop yet, but exhaustion crashed over me all at once.

I felt filthy from wasting emotions I never even needed to spend in the first place.

Quickly turning my back on the man, I grabbed a taxi waiting by the bus stop.

As the taxi crossed the main road after the signal changed, the man standing there staring at me disappeared from view.

Seriously.

Being nosy never ends well.

Quietly shaking my head to myself, I prayed I’d never run into him at the center again.

Things had felt decent enough while we were eating together earlier.

So how exactly had everything turned out like this?

“f*cking Espers….”

Jingle.

“Welcome. Is there a specific type of flower you’re looking for?”

“Actually, could you make me a small bouquet with hydrangeas?”

“Hydrangeas?”

“Yes.”

“There are many different kinds of hydrangeas depending on the color and shape of the petals. Would you like to come over here and take your time looking first?”

“Would that be alright?”

“Of course.”

Finally arriving at my destination, I listened quietly as the florist kindly explained the flowers to me.

Hydrangeas.

They were one of my grandmother’s favorite flowers when she was alive.

Every time it rained, she’d smile like a young girl and say the dew gathered on the hydrangeas blooming in the yard looked unbelievably beautiful and poetic.

“We actually got fresh hydrangeas delivered this morning, so the scent is especially strong and nice today. Here, take a smell.”

“Thank you.”

It was a completely different scent from chrysanthemums.

If chrysanthemums carried a deep fragrance that calmed the heart, hydrangeas smelled light and fresh, filled with the subtle scent of greenery.

The insides of the petals were white, gradually fading into a sky-blue color toward the edges.

The florist had already sprayed them lightly with water, making them look even more vibrant and alive.

I buried my nose into the bouquet and quietly savored the gentle fragrance.

It wasn’t easy seeing flowers inside the center.

So moments like this were the only times I could enjoy them properly.

“Then shall we go with these?”

“Ah, once the bouquet is done, could you attach this card to the outside wrapping too?”

“What kind of card?”

“T-this one.”

Stay healthy for a long, long time.

It felt ridiculous wishing for someone’s health after they were already gone.

But for some reason, today I cared more than usual about appearances and formalities.

The florist nodded willingly and began cutting colorful wrapping paper with scissors.

After tying the stems together tightly so the petals wouldn’t spread apart, they layered the paper carefully until a small but lovely bouquet quickly took shape in their hands.

“Here, it’s finished.”

“Thank you. It’s really beautiful.”

Just like I’d asked, the florist secured the message card firmly onto the wrapping using a small wooden clip.

As they handed me the completed bouquet, they softly told me to take good care of the flowers for as long as they remained alive.

This was enough.

A gift I wouldn’t be ashamed to bring when visiting my grandmother.

“…It’s snowing.”

Maybe the sun had already set.

Outside the window, the sky had become unusually dark.

Because of the snow piling up thickly on the ground, even the feeling of the pavement beneath my worn sneakers felt strangely unfamiliar.

Pushing through the harsh wind, I slowly began walking toward the lakeside park near downtown.

As I wandered aimlessly, the once quiet surroundings gradually became noisy.

Before long, a bustling street decorated with countless tiny lights came into view.

“Come to think of it… Christmas is soon.”

White smoke rose from the vents of the shops lining the streets.

Whether it was coworkers drinking together, couples walking side by side, or families strolling happily through the city, every face looked bright and free of shadows.

As the end of the year approached, they asked after each other repeatedly as though making up for lost time.

Meaningless chatter spilled endlessly from their mouths.

Some even argued over trivial things until it escalated into full-blown fights.

The voices of vendors selling roasted chestnuts and snacks echoed loudly from every direction.

“…At least next year I’ll spend it together with everyone at the shelter. So just endure a little longer.”

For some reason, it suddenly felt like the shadows around me were darker than anyone else’s.

Like black hands would emerge from the ground at any moment and drag me down with them.

My pace quickened unconsciously, and my steps grew larger.

Whenever I looked at people enjoying their small happinesses, my already insignificant existence felt unbearably pathetic.

I didn’t want to look ahead anymore.

So instead, my gaze stayed fixed only on the line where the ground met itself.

Bzzzt—

‘What…?’

With about five hundred meters left before reaching the lakeside park, the phone inside my coat pocket vibrated.

Afraid it might be Team Leader Oh from the management department, I hurriedly unlocked the screen and checked the name displayed there.

[Park Suchang]

“…Why the hell is he calling again? So annoying.”

Contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t Team Leader Oh contacting me.

It was Park Suchang.

Judging by the flood of notifications, he’d already sent several text messages before calling.

There was no chance I’d hear anything pleasant if I answered, but I opened the messages anyway to see what happened.

And the moment I read them, my blood ran cold.

“You. Where are you?”

“Han Jaeyoon, I said where the f*ck are you?”

“f*ck, answer your phone.”

“If you don’t want to die, answer me right now.”

“Because of you, Choi Siram had to go out for field support instead and got seriously hurt.”

“f*ck. Still not answering, huh?”

Choi Siram got hurt.

“If you come back later, I swear I’ll f*cking kill you with my own hands, you piece of shit.”

That single sentence completely paralyzed my mind.

My thoughts turned to mud.

The hand gripping my phone trembled instinctively.

I couldn’t think straight.

Choi Siram was hurt, but how badly?

What was I even supposed to do in this situation?

I had no idea.

I was scared.

Terrified.

Unable to even gather the courage to answer the incoming calls, I crouched down beside a building and reread the messages over and over again.

My hands and feet froze stiff.

The falling snow became harsher and harsher.

I still had to return to the center and submit a report detailing everything I’d done today to the management department.

But all I could think about was the possibility that Park Suchang might actually kill me.

Would it hurt a lot if he hit me?

Park Suchang was a physical enhancement-type Esper.

If someone like him punched me even once, I might end up hospitalized for life.

Or maybe crippled permanently.

Either way, it was the worst possible outcome.

I absolutely had to avoid that fate.

You’d think after suffering this much, life would eventually calm down a little.

But people never seem to understand moderation when it comes to misfortune.

“Haah…”

After blankly staring into space like a compass that had lost its needle, I finally began walking back toward the center.

After all, the center had implanted a tracking device into my body.

If Park Suchang truly wanted to find me, he could simply ask the control room for my location and come drag me back personally.

Rather than kneeling pitifully on a crowded street while getting beaten senseless in front of everyone, it was better to return to the center even if it meant suffering more.

At least there was a medical team there in case things went wrong.

And more importantly, there were teammates who could stop Park Suchang.

Even if Park Suchan disliked me, surely he wouldn’t easily let his own brother become a murderer.

That tiny possibility became my last hope.

Ah.

And Kim Seokhwan too.

“Hah… huff….”

Maybe because I’d been running around so frantically, my lungs felt like they were tearing apart.

Every breath I sucked in felt colder than ice.

I coughed dryly and clutched my chest as sharp pain stabbed beneath my ribs.

It felt like my insides were cracking apart.

“If you come back later, I swear I’ll f*cking kill you with my own hands, you piece of shit.”