Chapter 18: Homecoming

“Did you hear the rumor? About Guide Yoon Bodam.”

Inside the damp and dark cave-like structure of the Sector 3 gate.

After a bloody storm of monsters had swept through, Espers covered in sticky liquid were receiving guiding.

Guides who had been waiting in hiding in the safe zone rushed to their Espers with wet towels and water bottles.

“Bodam?”

“Ah, save the water! We have to drink this until dawn today!”

Jo Yeon, who had taken the water bottle from his dedicated guide and poured it straight over his head, asked.

At the three syllables ‘Yoon Bodam’, his ears, which were clogged with monster blood, perked up.

He had been worried anyway since he hadn’t been able to get in touch with him properly since the weekend.

“We don’t have much to drink! I’m the only one who has to go back to the Center!”

“Keep talking. What about our Bodam?”

Jo Yeon closed the water bottle he hadn’t even managed to put to his mouth at his guide’s nagging and wiped his face with a towel.

His face, wiped clean of the sticky and mushy monster blood, looked like someone exhausted from fatigue.

As a morning person, he was on duty, slapping his cheeks to stay awake, due to being scheduled for night shifts for three days straight.

“Sit down first. I’ll tell you while you receive guiding.”

“Is it bad news?”

The two sat down on a spot on the ground that was relatively less splattered with monster blood and flesh and held hands.

Around them, others were already receiving fervent guiding to recharge their stamina during the brief lull.

“Jo Yeon hyung, your wavelength is bad. Did you not sleep at all?”

“I can’t sleep during the day. Hey, don’t change the subject and just tell me quickly!”

“Are you curious?”

“You little…”

“Oh, so scary.”

The dedicated guide, who didn’t even flinch at Jo Yeon’s gesture of raising his hand, was Jo Yeon Yeok, Jo Yeon’s younger cousin.

Yeon Yeok, with his bright yellow hair, was a rookie guide who had just turned twenty.

He was assigned to the team led by his cousin, Jo Yeon, and was subtly enjoying the perks.

“Hyung, if you’re that out of the loop with rumors, you’ll be left behind quickly. This story has spread all over the Center’s main building.”

“If you don’t tell me by the count of three, you can expect your performance review to be interesting.”

Yeon Yeok, who scowled at the sensitive word, pouted and replied.

It was a story Jo Yeon was hearing for the first time.

“Last Tuesday, on the 36th floor of the main building’s moving floors. They say Guide Yoon Bodam was crying and throwing a huge fit. Looking like a drowned rat, completely soaked!”

“What?”

Yeon Yeok, who had relayed the rumor with an excited voice as if telling a funny story, momentarily shut his mouth.

Due to Jo Yeon’s low, subdued energy, the flow of guiding began to slow down.

“Relax your body. The absorption rate is dropping.”

“Tell me in detail.”

“I heard it from someone else, so it’s not exact. Everyone was busy as hell, but he was just leaning against the wall, dripping water, so a desk employee went to ask if he was okay.

And then he suddenly started wailing and throwing a huge, f*cking fit— Ouch! Why did you hit me!”

“Keep talking.”

Jo Yeon, who had slapped Yeon Yeok’s hand while listening to the story, grew even more somber.

“The point here is that he wasn’t just crying, but that he was crying because he missed his mom. Like, ‘I, miss, my, mom, sob,’ while clinging to a Center employee— Ah! F*ck, hyung!”

This time, Yeon Yeok, who was slapped on the lips, stopped the guiding and shouted.

“He’s six years older than you. Speak nicely.”

“What does it matter when he’s not here!”

“I’m listening, I am.”

Jo Yeon, who ignored Yeon Yeok’s mumbling about him being a boomer, continued to receive guiding.

Even while receiving guiding, which should have relaxed his mood, his wavelength only grew more sensitive.

“What’s wrong, hyung? Should I kiss you or something?”

“I’ll just go berserk.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Even while grumbling, he could feel Yeon Yeok’s wavelength coming in stronger from their clasped hands.

Even this couldn’t calm Jo Yeon’s state, who had found out the reason why Bodam had caught a cold.

‘So that’s why he suddenly caught a body ache and cold. It was because of those Attack Team 3 guys.’

He had no idea because Bodam hadn’t told him.

“Is that the end of it?”

Jo Yeon, who had closed his eyes and was concentrating on the absorbed energy, asked.

He was thinking of quickly finishing off the gate today and going to see Bodam.

He was concerned about his slow replies to KakaoTalk and was also hurt by his stubbornness in keeping silent about the reason he was sick.

“It’s not a big deal, but there’s more. Something about a black bag?”

“A bag?”

“Yes. While he was crying, he was clutching a black bag like it was his precious treasure, so when the employee asked what it was, guess what,”

Rumble.

Before Yeon Yeok could finish his sentence, the ground rumbled.

It was a sign that the monsters were rushing in again.

Jo Yeon, who stopped the guiding, jumped up, grabbed Yeon Yeok’s arm, and ran quickly.

When Bodam, Yeon Yeok’s previous dedicated guide, had been his partner, he would have held him preciously in his arms and run, but with Yeon Yeok, he just grabbed his arm and let his legs flail about.

“Guess what. Hey, tell me quickly.”

Jo Yeon, who had brought Yeon Yeok to the safe zone, urged for an answer.

Yeon Yeok, who was panting from the unaccustomed speed of the Esper’s running, replied annoyingly.

When the desk employee asked what was in the bag, he had cried even louder and ran away.

Our Bodam.

He wasn’t curious about what was in the bag.

He was just thinking, ‘How much must he have suffered emotionally for him, with his strong pride, to burst into tears in front of people.’

That was all he could think about.

“Hyung, go quickly and kick their asses. Fighting. Praying for you to get off work on time.”

Yeon Yeok, who gestured with his chin towards the passage where the roars of the monsters were beginning to be heard, clenched his fist and said, “Fighting.”

Ignoring the slightly raised middle finger, Jo Yeon turned towards the gate but took out his phone.

“Jo Yeon, aren’t you going?”

A fellow Esper who had evacuated his guide to the safe zone asked from the side.

Jo Yeon gestured for him to go first and then called Bodam.

Bodam, who had replied to his “Did you sleep well?” morning text only late in the afternoon, hadn’t replied at all to his “Did you eat?” text.

On days when he had the dawn shift, Jo Yeon was also out of his mind and couldn’t pay attention to Bodam.

‘Could something be wrong?’

He had a bad feeling.

[Oh, Jo Yeon.]

After three rings, Bodam, who answered the phone quickly, sounded, thankfully, very excited.

So much so that he wondered if something good had happened.

“Why haven’t you been in touch? I was worried.”

[Are you busy?]

Bodam changed the subject without answering the reason for his slow contact.

Jo Yeon, whose bad feeling resurfaced, asked seriously.

He looked ready to leave the gate immediately and go find Bodam.

“Is something wrong? Where are you?”

[Jo Yeon.]

“Yeah. Tell me. Should I come over now?”

[I have something to tell you.]

Jo Yeon’s bad premonition created a serious expression.

As he imagined the dozens of bad things that could happen to Bodam.

***

In Bodam’s bustling family home, the sound of clapping laughter never ceased.

Giggle, giggle.

Hee hee hee.

In the even more cozy living room of the cozy 17-pyeong three-room apartment, Bodam’s mother, Moon Geun Young, who was peeling apples for dessert with her sisters, said with a laugh.

Geun Young was the eldest of three sisters.

“Go home now, you guys. I’m dead tired.”

“We have to finish the apples before we go.”

“I’ll go after the drama ends. If you’re sleepy, you can go to bed first, unni. We’ll leave on our own.”

The second sister, who lived happily with her husband who worked at a factory and had no children, turned up the TV volume as she watched “Esper’s Obsession,” which had just finished its commercials.

The youngest, who looked worriedly at Geun Young, who was yawning widely, asked if she was very tired.

She, who was raising three kids and a dog that loved alcohol, was worried about her eldest sister.

“Aren’t you overdoing it? You worked on the weekend last week too, didn’t you, unni?”

“You have to earn while you’re healthy. Who isn’t tired these days?”

“You’re on the verge of being past the age of having healthy limbs, so take it easy, unni. Bodam earns well. What’s the worry?”

The second sister, who put a piece of apple in her mouth with her eyes fixed on the TV, continued, saying she missed our Bodam.

To this, Geun Young replied with a look of disgust.

“Is Bodam’s money my money? The kid earns money with difficulty, so what, am I supposed to play at home?”

“Ignore the second sister. She’s like that because she doesn’t have kids.”

“Is that her catchphrase? Every time I say something, she brings up the fact that I don’t have kids. Put your mouth here, you.”

The second sister, who reached out her hand, put a well-peeled apple into the youngest’s mouth instead of hitting it, and the giggles and hee hees continued again.

They were three close-knit sisters who fought often and made up just as often.

Geun Young, who had been through a tough time, always gained strength from her bright younger sisters.

There were many times when she wished Bodam and Bomi had such a good sibling relationship.

Geun Young was someone who empathized more than anyone with the saying that the greatest strength as you get older is not your husband, but your siblings.

“Aigoo. Our Bodam needs to work with some good Espers.”

The aunts, who had started focusing on the drama again after eating apples, worried about Bodam.

Coincidentally, a scene fitting the title “Esper’s Obsession” was playing.

At the sight of an Esper roughly grabbing a delicate guide’s wrist and pushing him against a wall, the aunts’ ripe curses burst out.

Geun Young, who was gripping the apple-peeling knife, looked ready to stab the TV with it.

It was a reaction anyone with a guide in their family could sympathize with.

The guide in the drama even looked like Bodam.

“Just you lay a hand on my son. Just you try.”

“Unni, you slit his throat, I’ll cut off his privates, and the youngest will pour bleach. That’s what you have to do to punish an Esper. A guy like that should just be—”

A stream of curses flowed endlessly from the second sister’s sharp mouth.

It was content that would make any passing Esper have a sleepless night and decide to live a good life.

Today too, Geun Young ended her day with a laugh thanks to her sisters.

As she prayed for the smooth happiness of her eldest son who lived far away and her daughter who came home late.