Chapter 21: Throwing You Out

“Please check in with the QR code before entering, sir.”

The staff member responsible for Bodam’s table said with a gentle smile.

They stretched out their toned arm, trained by early morning gym sessions, to block the entrance to the hall.

“Please understand that entry is restricted if you do not complete the QR check-in.”

The man, whose gaze was fixed on the hall with fierce eyes, belatedly turned his head towards the staff member.

He was a large, imposing man whose physique immediately suggested he was an Esper, radiating an intimidating aura.

His dark brown hair fluttered as he stood under the chandelier light, and he turned around.

“Yes, where can I do that?”

The staff member, whose eyes widened slightly at the man’s surprisingly polite response, soon smiled and replied.

“It’s prepared right at the entrance. We will assist you with entry after your wavelength level is confirmed at the counter.”

“Yes. Understood.”

The staff member, who gestured with their eyes to the retreating figure of the man walking quickly towards the entrance and to the manager at the counter, re-entered the hall.

An Esper who came looking for a guide. It didn’t feel right.

“Excuse me for interrupting your meal, sir.”

“Net, ahem. Yes?”

Bodam, who was happily biting into a roll spread with both fig jam and strawberry jam, was startled and looked up.

Bodam’s senses, unified with the sweet food, were entirely focused on the table.

The staff member, whom he hadn’t even noticed approaching, leaned forward and asked softly.

“Do you have anyone joining you?”

“Joining me?”

Seeing Bodam blinking his sugar-intoxicated eyes and making an ‘uh…’ sound with his glistening lips, the staff member, who had grasped the situation, lowered their voice and said.

“There’s an Esper here looking for you now. Please follow me. I’ll help you exit through the back door.”

The staff member, speaking with a serious expression as if filming a spy movie, was an avid fan of ‘The Esper’s Obsession,’ a hot drama that recently boasted the highest viewership ratings.

It was about an Esper’s distorted love, driven by selfish desires and instinctive attraction towards a guide, leading to severe obsession.

It was a cliché feast where the known taste was the best taste, making you keep watching despite cursing.

“What? I haven’t finished eating yet….”

Because the staff member, who had seen much, spoke in such a low voice as if ventriloquizing, Bodam, who only understood that he had to leave, was genuinely flustered.

He wondered if the hour-and-a-half time limit was already over and grabbed another roll regretfully.

“Please get up quickly.”

“Can’t I just finish this…? I’ll pay more….”

“He’s at the counter now.”

“I’ll pay at the counter… I have money….”

Bodam, afraid like someone whose property was being taken, pleaded desperately as he faced the risk of not being able to eat the breads he had been saving.

He hadn’t even tasted the nameless bread topped with plenty of custard cream, saving it for the finale.

He had been so careful with it.

“You don’t have to pay, just hurry up–”

“Let go of his arm.”

The man warned the staff member who was gripping Bodam’s arm, as Bodam shook his worn eco-bag, insisting he had money.

He had already arrived right in front of Bodam’s table.

Indeed, he was Esper-like.

“Just a moment, sir. Entry is not permitted due to exceeding the normal wavelength level.”

The manager, who had rushed after the man, said, trying to whisper as quietly as possible.

They tried to quietly escort out the Esper, whose wavelength level was at 78%, so as not to disturb the other customers’ meals.

“I’m leaving now.”

The man’s low voice was filled with anger.

At this, the staff member, who had released Bodam’s arm and straightened their bent upper body, mustered their courage.

They subtly shielded Bodam behind their back and wiggled their fingers, signaling him to run.

Everything happened in an instant.

“How much is it?”

The man, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket, said through gritted teeth.

Seeing money being discussed and the staff trying to grab and kick Bodam out, it seemed like there was a payment issue.

F*ck.

His veins bulged in anger at seeing the staff grabbing a kid’s arm and telling him to leave just because he wanted to eat some bread.

“Please calm down, sir.”

In that short moment, the staff member, who had lived a gym-freak life, contemplated challenging the Esper, and Bodam, who was quickly stuffing a roll into his mouth, widened his eyes.

“Jo Yeon!”

Bodam’s face blossomed with a smile as he called out Jo Yeon’s name, his mouth full of bread.

***

The sound of water sloshing echoed in the quiet indoor swimming pool.

Kang Yi Jun, whose pant legs were soaking wet from having his feet in the pool, steadily gazed at the rippling water.

He had been watching the transparent water create gentle wrinkles for several hours.

Holding a glass in one hand and his phone in the other, he made a call.

He took a sip of the dark amber liquid, then lifted and lowered his legs one by one, playing in the water.

The only playmate he had in his cozy home pool was the liquid.

“Director Hwang, why haven’t you called me back? I’m waiting.”

Yi Jun, who immediately spoke his mind to the person who answered the phone, said playfully.

His languid eyes, with half-closed eyelids, looked as if he were drunk.

However, he was an Esper who wouldn’t easily get drunk even after downing several bottles of strong liquor.

He was intoxicated by a melancholic aura.

-I apologize. I was going to contact you after finishing my afternoon work.

“What about my request?”

-It will be delivered today. I will confirm again and send you a text. I carefully selected from the new collection, so I’m sure you’ll like it.

“I trust Director Hwang’s eye. I hope something pretty arrives.”

-Thank you for your trust.

Through the phone, the sound of papers being shuffled in a moving car could be heard.

True to a good-at-his-job Director Hwang, he seemed to be handling other tasks even while on the phone.

-Have you suddenly become interested in scarves?

Yi Jun just laughed with a deflated sound at the question of whether scarves were in fashion among Espers, and he drew circles with the remaining liquor in his glass.

He slowly opened his mouth, savoring the familiar scent that smoothly went down his throat.

“It’s not for me to use.”

-Oh, are you gifting it? If I had known the recipient’s preference, I would have prepared better. That’s a shame.

Instead of answering the secretary’s rambling, he merely placed the empty glass on the floor.

He rolled his tongue around his mouth, where a subtle fragrance lingered, and wore a deep smile.

“It’s not even a gift.”

-Then… .

“Hang up.”

He ended the call, rolling his lightly pigmented grey eyes towards the ceiling instead of using his tongue.

He missed his guide.

He wished that white face, which would be angry at him, were right before his eyes.

***

Jo Yeon was angry for the first time in the several years he had known Bodam.

At Bodam, of all people.

He could understand that Bodam had suddenly become difficult to reach since the weekend without explaining why.

Jo Yeon himself was often unreachable when he was out on the field or had overlapping night shifts.

He was busy managing the constantly erupting Gates.

Among Espers belonging to the Center, where they never knew when an emergency would erupt, no news was roughly good news, and only when there was absolutely no news would they ask if someone was dead or alive.

Furthermore, if one belonged to the Center Headquarters, which managed Gate zones and also patrolled civilian areas, they had even less time to care about trivial communications.

“Bodam, I’m not upset about the calls right now.”

Jo Yeon had another reason to be angry.

It wasn’t even because of Bodam’s meaningful call that made him leave during a time he should be dealing with a Gate.

After saying he had something to talk about, Bodam told him to call back after he was done with his busy work, but Jo Yeon grabbed him and got his location.

Jo Yeon swallowed hard when he confirmed Bodam’s current location, which was not his home but outside the Esper living area.

He thought, ‘Something serious must have really happened to him.’

He thought Bodam was there for a serious reason that made him unable to focus on his work.

But now, it was just.

“Bodam, you? Huh? You to me, haa.”

Bodam, who had politely left the restaurant that had given him a taste of heaven, was sitting with Jo Yeon on a bench in a secluded park.

Since the sun had already set, the darkening street was brightly illuminated by soft lights, making the city’s night glow.

Jo Yeon let out a short sigh and rubbed his face.

While rushing to the restaurant on his motorcycle, he had almost run through several traffic lights out of anxiety.

He diligently racked his brain for the reason behind Bodam’s incomprehensible deviation.

There were so many reasons that he couldn’t narrow it down to just one.

“Me to you. Can’t I buy you just one piece of bread like that, huh?”

Jo Yeon’s suppressed anger stemmed from one reason.

He thought it was fine that Bodam was physically unharmed, meaning his worries were unfounded, but he was truly hurt that he wasn’t allowed to open his wallet.

“No, Jo Yeon. It’s not that–”

“If you wanted bread, why didn’t you tell me? If you thought it would be too much money, you could have said a friend was coming. Why do you get treated like that? Why?”

Seeing Jo Yeon trying to suppress his anger until his face turned red inside the restaurant, Bodam first dragged him to a park bench to calm him down.

Every time he tried to say something, someone would pass by, and when the pedestrian was gone and he tried to open his mouth, Jo Yeon would cut him off.

His mouth was itching to tell him!

“But f*ck, those crazy people who tried to kick him out just because he didn’t have money, I just–”

“No, Jo Yeon. If a customer doesn’t have money, you have to kick them out. Are you going to feed them more then?”

Bodam, who couldn’t hold back his laughter watching Jo Yeon fume by himself, cut him off.

Bodam knew well how much Jo Yeon cared for him.

If he had inexplicably slapped someone and then cried about his palm hurting, Jo Yeon would be the friend who would immediately go and fight the person who got slapped for him.

He was truly a child with fierce loyalty.

“They tried to kick you out! You!”

Bodam, watching Jo Yeon raise his voice uncharacteristically, felt his emotions well up and stretched out his arms.

He opened his not-so-long arms wide and embraced his friend, who was getting angry for him for such an absurd reason.

He held his precious Esper, unparalleled in the world, in his warm heart and closed his eyes tightly.

“Bodam… what’s really going on with you? You didn’t come out just because you wanted bread, did you? Right, you wouldn’t just for bread–”

“Ah, stop it. Let’s stop talking about bread, my friend.”

“…Are you crying?”

Jo Yeon, sensing Bodam’s trembling voice, stiffened his expression and asked.

He tried to grab Bodam’s slender shoulders and push him away, but Bodam shook his head and buried his face, so Jo Yeon just swallowed a sigh.

“Why are you acting so scary?”

“If you were coming, you should have gotten guiding and come slowly. What was the rush?”

“I thought something happened to you.”

“You couldn’t even get into the store, so you didn’t eat anything. That place was really delicious.”

“It’s fine. I don’t want bread….”

Jo Yeon’s words, about to say he liked it, lingered in his mouth due to the guiding that was beginning to seep into his body.

“Stay still.”

Bodam, who had squeezed Jo Yeon into his embrace and hugged him, calmed the Esper’s unstable wavelength.

It had been a very long time since he had given him guiding.

As he had once been the dedicated guide for Jo Yeon’s team, the sensation of embracing him was so familiar it made him laugh.

The heat of nostalgic emotions threatened to rise to his throat.

“Jo Yeon.”

He spread his white hands wide and gently stroked Jo Yeon’s broad back.

He felt sorry for making kind Jo Yeon worry unnecessarily, just because he wanted to surprise him.

He slowly and for a long time patted and stroked his back, giving him guiding.

It was something he used to do every day. Today was a day that wouldn’t be repeated.

“I won the lottery.”

Only a changed future awaited Bodam.

“What?”