Chapter 5 : Be my guide (3)

Hyunwoo and his companions returned from the ES Center, laden with supplies. Each clutched a pillow, a backpack slung over their shoulders. Jisung covered his eyes with his hand.

“My mouth is going to be the death of me!”

Why hadn’t humanity invented a time machine yet? Jisung tore at his hair, screaming silently.

“Jisung, do you have a spare room?”

“No!”

“Then, should we sleep in the living room?”

Yuaan, surprisingly, seemed unfazed by Jisung’s irritated reply. His eyes sparkled with excitement.

“This is my first time sleeping over at a friend’s house.”

“Is that so…”

“Yes!”

Jisung sighed softly at Yuaan’s childlike enthusiasm, like a kid on his first trip to an amusement park.

‘What’s done is done. No point regretting it now.’

“If you move the table, two of you can fit.”

“What about me?”

Hyunwoo rested his chin on Jisung’s shoulder, tilting his head.

“You’ll have to sleep on a futon on my bedroom floor. Is that okay?”

“Yes!”

Hyunwoo smiled and naturally wrapped his arms around Jisung’s waist. Initially, Jisung had tried to push him away, but now, such contact had become almost routine.

‘Wait a minute, am I getting too used to this?’

A shiver ran down Jisung’s spine, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It was useless trying to push Hyunwoo away anyway. He was just conserving his energy. That’s what he told himself.

Soon, the chicken arrived, and the living room transformed into a makeshift bar.

“This is my first time drinking alcohol.”

“Hmm… What?!”

Jisung froze, mid-sip. He slowly turned his head to look at Hyunwoo, who was staring at the beer can with fascination.

“How old are you again?”

“Twenty-two.”

“You didn’t drink as soon as you became an adult?”

It was a common rite of passage for high school graduates to hit the bars as soon as they got their IDs. Jisung himself had vivid memories of getting blackout drunk with his friends, despite not being able to hold his liquor.

“I’ve never had it. There’s no alcohol at the Center, and when we’re on missions, we’re mostly on standby.”

Jisung fumbled for words.

“But… you have time to buy bread and stuff, right?”

“Ah, that was specially permitted thanks to you, Jisung.”

“Thanks to me?”

“Yes. We figured trying to persuade you empty-handed wouldn’t work, so we convinced them to let us bring gifts. Even then, we had to wait in the car while the office staff bought them.”

“That sounds like you’re imprisoned.”

Sunwoo flinched, a barely perceptible movement that Jisung missed.

“Well, it’s similar.”

“Huh?”

Jisung looked up at Sunwoo’s mumbled words. Their eyes met, and Sunwoo’s gaze darkened. His lips were pressed tightly together, as if he wanted to say something. Just as Sunwoo was about to speak, a dejected voice cut in.

“This is disgusting…”

Yuaan glared at his beer as if it were his mortal enemy. He wiped his mouth vigorously and quickly popped a piece of pickled radish into his mouth. The crunching sound filled the air.

“Is this… spoiled or something?”

As Yuaan cautiously pushed his beer glass away, a smirk played on Jisung’s lips.

“You don’t know the taste of alcohol. Still a kid.”

“This… is supposed to be good?”

Yuaan frowned, looking at Jisung with genuine confusion.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“And you think this tastes good?”

“Little Yuaan should stick to cola.”

“…I can drink it too.”

“Don’t push yourself. Or do you want to try soju-bomb?”
TL Note: Soju-bomb is a cocktail made by dropping a shot glass of soju into a pint of beer.

Sunwoo quickly intervened as Jisung, a mischievous glint in his eyes, reached for the soju and beer. He handed Yuaan a glass of cola.

“Usually, you start with something lighter, like fruit beer.”

“Fruit beer?”

“It’s beer with fruit flavoring. It’s low in alcohol and tastes good. You’ll like it, Yuaan.”

Yuaan’s eyes lit up again.

“Let’s drink that tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Sunwoo smiled softly at Yuaan’s beaming face. He looked like Yuaan’s guardian. Jisung, watching them while sipping his beer, frowned.

“Wait, you’re planning to drink again tomorrow? You’re not seriously thinking of staying here indefinitely, are you?”

“Huh? We can’t?”

Jisung bit his lip. Of course not! He suppressed the urge to shout and downed his beer. His mouth was truly his worst enemy.

He sighed and rested his chin on his hand, observing Hyunwoo, who was quietly drinking his beer. His expression remained unchanged, a stark contrast to Yuaan.

‘Is it really his first time drinking?’

“Are you okay? Is it drinkable?”

“Mmm…”

“Not good?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Really?”

‘Fine,’ not ‘good.’ It seemed Hyunwoo wasn’t a fan of beer either.

‘Well, everyone’s like that at first.’

“You’ll get drunk quickly if you drink it like juice.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not…”

“I have a tolerance to most poisons, so it’s fine.”

“…What?”

Poisons? Jisung’s eyes widened. He couldn’t understand why the word ‘poison’ had suddenly come up. He blinked blankly, then snapped back to reality.

“What’s this about poisons?”

“Huh? Oh, they said I wouldn’t get drunk because I’ve developed a tolerance to most poisons.”

“Ah… Espers are immune to poison too. That’s amazing.”

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

Jisung looked confused at Hyunwoo’s tilted head.

“What, what?”

“I don’t know if other Espers are immune to poison.”

“Huh? But you just said…”

“Yuaan and I can do it because we’ve been trained since we were young.”

“…What?”

“Other Espers might be able to if they received the same training, but I haven’t heard of any.”

“Wait, hold on!”

Jisung shot up from the table. Hyunwoo looked at him, surprised. Jisung’s frown deepened at Hyunwoo’s questioning gaze.

“You… you’ve been trained to resist poison since you were young?”

“Yes.”

Hyunwoo nodded nonchalantly and continued to explain.

“S-Rank Espers are valuable assets, so many people target us. Terrorist groups, other countries… We can detect and avoid things like bullets, but poison is harder to distinguish. So, we were trained from a young age by being injected with small amounts of poison to build up a tolerance.”

Jisung felt dizzy as he listened to Hyunwoo. He couldn’t believe it. Other countries trying to eliminate young Espers, the Center injecting children with poison to build immunity… It was incomprehensible.

“So they said I wouldn’t get drunk no matter how much alcohol I consumed.”

“…Who?”

“The Center’s doctor.”

“Do your parents know about this?”

Hyunwoo flinched at the word ‘parents.’ He lowered his gaze and then spoke.

“I don’t know.”

“You should report this…!”

“I don’t even know where they are, or if they’re alive.”

“Uh…?”

Jisung was speechless. Hyunwoo shrugged, as if it were nothing. He downed the rest of his beer and said,

“My parents abandoned me at the Center as soon as I awakened as an Esper.”

“…”

“I don’t even remember their faces anymore, but I still clearly remember what they said.”

[Monster.]

That’s what they had called their own son. Hyunwoo’s parents couldn’t accept their child’s mysterious abilities. Levitating objects, rapid healing, superior physical strength – it was all too much for them to bear.

So they had left young Hyunwoo at the Center and never visited him again. No phone calls, no letters. Years passed, and Hyunwoo grew up.

“Because we’re the least human among Espers.”

Jisung realized Hyunwoo was including Yuaan in ‘we.’ Yuaan’s expression was dark. His fists were clenched under the table, trembling. It was clear Yuaan’s situation was similar to Hyunwoo’s. Sunwoo placed his hand over Yuaan’s.