Chapter 37: A Shared Meal

Chul-soo, whose sleeping habits had gotten worse, would sometimes grab my arm or hug me.

My arm was fine, but when he hugged me tightly from behind, it was hard to breathe, so I had to be careful.

If the pain was severe, it interfered with the Guiding.

But it wasn’t dangerous.

As soon as I started the Guiding and let him hear my voice, he would quickly relax his grip.

It wasn’t a problem at all.

The handprints would disappear in a few days anyway.

“Are you really sure you’re okay?”

I looked up at him, squatting on the living room floor with a worried expression.

Chul-soo, who had started his rehabilitation training again three days after that incident, had decided to start practicing walking at home from today, using crutches.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Really?”

“How could it be dangerous?”

Hyung, who was hugging Shiru, smiled at me and pointed to the plush floor with his crutch.

Despite his protests, I had laid thick winter blankets all over the floor, leading to the hallway of the rooms.

Worried it might not be enough, I had even taken out and spread out a padded jacket.

“If you’re going to keep practicing at home, I should probably order a mat.”

“It’s okay.”

“I do it without a mat in the rehabilitation room, too.”

“You have a professional therapist with you there.”

“I can’t even catch you quickly if you fall.”

“Don’t you dare try to catch me.”

“You’ll get hurt if I land on you.”

He drew a line, telling me not to cross it, as if to say I shouldn’t interfere.

But I was secretly moving my bottom little by little, crossing that line.

It was just a line drawn with words, invisible to the eye anyway.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“We just had dinner.”

“But we haven’t had a late-night snack yet.”

“You don’t even eat it yourself.”

I had nothing to say to him as he retorted with a small laugh, so I just fiddled with Shiru’s paw.

He had been walking around the living room and hallway for an hour now and didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping, as if he wasn’t tired at all.

Just watching him was draining me.

“Ah, I’m a bit peckish.”

In the end, I decided to wait until he stopped on his own, but then I patted my stomach and went to the kitchen.

It was a little past ten at night, the time when one starts thinking about ramen.

“Three?”

“Four?”

Without even needing to ask if he would eat, I naturally took out the ramen packets and asked him.

As expected, he didn’t refuse.

“Just that one.”

“One?”

At my surprised expression, he tucked his crutches under his armpits and raised his hand to point at the five-pack of ramen.

Ah, one like this.

“Should I make it?”

“No.”

“Just sit down.”

I deliberately pulled out a dining chair, signaling for him to just sit.

Having no other choice, Chul-soo ended his practice and sat down in the chair.

‘Of course, he can’t resist ramen.’

“Aren’t you tired?”

I asked him as I tore open the packets while the water was boiling.

Chul-soo had been dedicated to his rehabilitation therapy from morning till night.

He even slept holding a pencil, saying it was homework from his therapist.

I didn’t know what kind of practice it was, but it seemed the homework was to break it in half.

“What’s there to be tired about?”

“It’s just exercise.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“You were originally supposed to be hospitalized for a month.”

“You’re moving too fast right now.”

Honestly, if I had my way, I would have told him not to do anything.

Even more honestly, I was anxious about his legs recovering quickly.

“There’s no need to rush.”

“Once your legs get better, you’ll just get busier.”

“And you might get hurt again…”

The Gate situation will eventually be resolved.

The current Attack Team 1 was the strongest among all past representative attack teams, to the point where they were constantly receiving requests for support from overseas.

The Esper Director, who was the team leader, was an exceptional ability user whose rank couldn’t even be measured.

Not to mention the S-rank psychokinesis Esper under him.

“They’re all incredibly strong.”

“Want me to show you a video?”

“You won’t be worried if you see Attack Team 1 in action.”

“They say they can eliminate a whole Gate every minute.”

“I’ve seen it too.”

“You have?”

Chul-soo, who had approached on his crutches, nodded.

With his long arms, he efficiently moved the spoons and bowls.

“When?”

“Someone showed it to me.”

“The Esper Director is really young.”

“He used to be a really old grandpa before.”

‘Who showed it to him?’

‘Did Esper Hwang Gyu-tae show it to him?’

“Hyung, the water’s boiling.”

“Ah, oh.”

I missed the timing to ask as I was dumping the ramen into the boiling water.

It wasn’t particularly important, so I just let it go.

“Eat slowly.”

Chul-soo, as always, made the effort of cooking for him worthwhile, eating heartily with his cheeks stuffed full.

I just pretended to sip some of the broth, only holding my spoon.

Eating noodles late at night made my stomach feel bloated and made it harder to sleep.

“There’s nothing you can’t do, Hyung.”

“You’re good at all kinds of cooking, and you even make great ramen.”

I received excessive praise for just making one bowl of ramen.

‘What’s the big deal?’ I tried to react coolly, but the corners of my mouth had already turned up wide, so I gave up.

“I’m good at making ramen too.”

“You’re good at everything else too.”

“I’m good at cooking?”

I hid my surprise at him asking with curiosity in his eyes and said yes.

There was no way the him who had just graduated middle school would be good at cooking, but I had said it without thinking.

I don’t know when Chul-soo became good at cooking.

When I met him, there was no dish he couldn’t make, and even if it wasn’t cooking, he was good at everything.

I had only ever seen the side of him that was proficient in everything.

“Am I as good as you, Hyung?”

“I told you, I learned from you.”

He raised his eyebrows as if in wonder and put the hot noodles into his mouth without even blowing on them.

While chewing, he would bob his chopsticks and head together and roll his eyes.

“Why am I good at it?”

“Did I learn from Grandma?”

Clang-

At the sound of metal dropping onto the table, he looked at me.

I had lost my grip and dropped my spoon.

Chul-soo watched my overreaction and swallowed his food.

His head, as he immediately picked up his water glass, bobbed up and down slightly again.

Slowly, as if organizing his thoughts.

“I guess my memories are leaking out through here.”

He chuckled, wetting his throat, and pointed at the wound on his right forehead.

Still, only the wound on his forehead was healing slowly.

“I keep forgetting when I turn around.”

“About my phone, or family matters.”

My throat tightened at his light tone as he scratched the band-aid on his forehead.

The stories I should have told him were jumbled up in my head.

The words I had agonized over and repeated every night were all gone, nowhere to be found.

‘Grandma, I have to tell him about Grandma.’

“Well, actually…”

I had even considered telling him she had gone on a long trip.

I gave up after trying to find a travel destination where she couldn’t be contacted.

In the end, I just found myself hoping that the topic of his family wouldn’t come up until his memory returned.

Avoidance is my specialty.

“My grandma wasn’t well to begin with.”

To me, who couldn’t continue and was just moving my lips, he pulled a napkin from the table and handed it to me.

When I dropped the spoon, some of the red broth had splattered on my hand.

“She always took medicine behind my back.”

Even without me saying anything, he continued the conversation as if he already knew everything.

Seeing that gave me the courage to speak.

I worried if it was a story that should be told while eating ramen, but I felt like I wouldn’t be able to bring it up if not now.

Feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my chest, I woke up early.

My body, having slept soundly, felt light.

Even my throbbing arm felt light today.

Hyung, who was sleeping peacefully next to me, had also tossed and turned less yesterday.

He didn’t pull my arm and just slept in his own spot.

Could this be a sign that things are getting better?

As if to mock my long deliberation, Chul-soo accepted his grandmother’s death without much sorrow.

When I told him she was in the same memorial park as his parents, he said he wanted to go when his legs were all better.

He asked if I could go with him, and I said of course I would and held his hand.

I even did a little Guiding like that.

I held his hand like yesterday and sent out my wavelength.

He didn’t even talk in his sleep today, so he must not be dreaming.

‘He must be sleeping very deeply.’

Relieved, I secretly kissed his cheek.

I deliberately raised my head slowly without making a sound, but I almost fell backward.

“Ah, you weren’t sleeping?”

Hyung, his eyes open, was looking up at me.

Silently, without a word.

“I was just Guiding…”

Remembering the time I was mistaken for a pervert by him, I quickly backed away and made an excuse.

Since I had been giving Guiding just by holding his hand, it didn’t seem like the excuse would work.

‘I have to make a run for it.’

Before I could escape from the bed, he reached out his arm.

Chul-soo, who wrapped one arm around my back and pulled me in, surprisingly, kissed me.

He naturally pressed our lips together, parted them, and gave me a short kiss.

The hot flesh that had entered deep and then left made the inside of my mouth tingle.

Am I dreaming?

For a dream, the warmth was too vivid.

When I sat back down on the bed, he let go of my back and pecked my cheek as well.

‘This can’t be a dream.’

“Don’t do it secretly.”

“You said we’re lovers.”

Chul-soo, a hint of a smile on his lips, got up first.

I stared blankly at him as he headed to the bathroom and covered my mouth.

‘Chul-soo initiated a kiss.’

‘Not a peck, but a kiss.’

‘And sober at that.’

It was a moment that passed so quickly I didn’t even think to send out Guiding, but the sensation he left behind was distinct.

I had said I was his lover, but I had no expectations that he would accept it this quickly.

We were sharing a bed because there was only one.

Anyway, now… is it okay to kiss?

I looked at the bathroom door he had entered and discreetly brought my legs together.

I fiddled with my lips and took a long breath, then my eyes suddenly sharpened.

‘At what age did Chul-soo start kissing, anyway?’