Chapter 6 : Be my guide (4)

“Are you done showering?”

Jisung looked at Hyunwoo, who entered the room with damp hair. Hyunwoo, drying his hair with a towel, smiled and replied.

“Yeah, Sunwoo is showering now.”

Hyunwoo plopped down on the futon he had laid out earlier. While drying his hair, he stared at Jisung, who was busy writing at his desk. Unable to contain his curiosity about what Jisung was so diligently noting down, he eventually got up.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, you scared me!”

Being an Esper, Hyunwoo moved silently. Jisung often failed to notice him approaching.

“I told you to make some noise before coming close!”

“Sorry.”

Jisung frowned at Hyunwoo’s apologetic smile, which didn’t seem very apologetic at all. He sighed and said,

“I’m doing my household accounts.”

“Household accounts?”

Hyunwoo peered at the notepad. Three orders of seasoned chicken, twelve cans of beer, two cans of cola… Everything they had consumed for dinner.

“Why do you record things like this?”

“I need to know what I’m spending on so I don’t go broke.”

“Hmm.”

Water droplets from Hyunwoo’s hair fell onto the notepad. Oops! The ink smudged. Hyunwoo quickly backed away, flustered.

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay, I can just rewrite it. More importantly, dry your hair properly.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine! You’ll catch a cold.”

“Espers don’t catch colds.”

Jisung’s eyes narrowed at Hyunwoo’s stubborn refusal. No matter how much he nagged, Hyunwoo would find a way to avoid it. He was clearly just too lazy to dry his hair.

‘It only takes a few minutes to dry your hair.’

Jisung stood up abruptly. He took a hairdryer from the drawer and gestured for Hyunwoo to come closer.

“Sit down. I’ll dry it for you.”

As Hyunwoo obediently sat on the futon, Jisung plugged in the hairdryer. He flicked the switch, and the dryer whirred to life, blowing warm air.

The damp strands of hair shed their moisture under Jisung’s touch. Hyunwoo sat still, enjoying the warm air, and then let out a small laugh. He seemed to be in a good mood, swaying slightly from side to side. Jisung grabbed his shoulders.

“Hey, really! Stay still.”

Hyunwoo chuckled at Jisung’s words.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Because I’m happy.”

“About drying your hair?”

Hyunwoo turned his head at Jisung’s question. Jisung stopped the hairdryer and looked at the dark eyes staring back at him.

“Because you’re taking care of me.”

“…”

“I like that you’re not afraid of me. I like that you worry about me. I like that you take care of me. I like that you see me for who I am.”

So, I really like you, Jisung.

Hyunwoo’s eyes curved into a soft smile. It was a stark contrast to the sharp, blade-like demeanor he had when they first met. Jisung unknowingly clenched his fists. He felt like tears might well up, so he looked up.

“If being a Guide is too scary, if you really can’t do it, you don’t have to.”

“…”

“I can just keep visiting you like this.”

Jisung bit his lip at Hyunwoo’s bright smile. He took a deep breath and then lightly smacked Hyunwoo’s forehead.

“Oww…”

“Liar. It’s already 1 AM. Go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

Jisung watched Hyunwoo pull the covers over himself and lie down, then turned off the light. In the sudden darkness, Jisung lay on his own bed, hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“Good night.”

“Yeah, you too, Jisung. Dream of me.”

“You wish.”

Hyunwoo chuckled at Jisung’s retort.

“…Sweet dreams.”

“You too.”

Hyunwoo smiled softly at the gentle good night wish.

Sometimes, he had imagined a future that would never exist. Meeting someone he liked, dating, fighting, and making up. After a while, a successful proposal, marriage, watching each other grow old, laughing together. Sometimes arguing and making up again – a normal, happy future…

He had, for a fleeting moment, dreamed of a future that was not permitted for him, an Esper.

Slowly opening his eyelids, Jisung blinked at the sight of Hyunwoo’s face right in front of him. Hyunwoo, cupping his face with both hands, smiled prettily. Jisung looked at him, then raised his hand and smacked his forehead with a sharp thwack.

“Oww…”

“Your pretty-boy tactics won’t work on me.”

“You like my face, don’t you, Jisung?”

Jisung neatly ignored Hyunwoo’s question and got out of bed. As he stretched his stiff body, Sunwoo approached him, holding his phone.

“Ah, Jisung, you’re up?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re ordering hamburgers. What do you want?”

“Hamburgers for breakfast?”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll have a cheeseburger.”

“A meal?”

“Yeah.”

Sunwoo nodded and then asked Hyunwoo, who was standing beside him.

“I’ll have the same as Jisung.”

“Got it.”

His task completed, Sunwoo left the room without a backward glance. From the living room, Yuaan’s voice could be heard, agonizing over whether to get a vanilla or strawberry milkshake. Then Sunwoo threw in chocolate as another option. Yuaan, faced with a dilemma, finally let out a cry of despair.

“Order strawberry. Strawberry.”

“Why?”

“It’s the safest bet. Not too sweet.”

“You think so?”

After Jisung offered a solution, Yuaan pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“I’ll have chocolate.”

“Hey.”

“Since you recommended strawberry, I suddenly don’t feel like having strawberry.”

“…”

As Jisung stared at him silently, Yuaan scratched his cheek sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

“Hmm, well… Strawberry is good too.”

“They say eating fruit in the morning is good… Are you going to drink coffee again? Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach.”

Yuaan said worriedly as Jisung headed towards the kitchen. Just as Jisung was about to reassure him that he was fine,

KABOOM!!!

A massive explosion roared. Jisung felt his body stiffen. His hands trembled. The terror of the terrorist attack from a few days ago resurfaced. His legs threatened to give way, and Hyunwoo grabbed his arm.

“Jisung.”

Jisung looked up at the firm voice calling his name. Hyunwoo offered a soft smile.

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

Jisung let out a shaky breath as a hand grasped his trembling one. His startled heart pounded wildly.

“What’s going on?”

“Probably…”

As if in answer, sirens wailed throughout the city.

[This is a real situation. We repeat, this is a real situation. A terrorist attack is currently underway. All citizens are advised to evacuate to the nearest bomb shelter immediately! We repeat, this is a real situation. All citizens are advised to evacuate to the nearest bomb shelter immediately…]

Terror. The word echoed in Jisung’s mind. He fought to clear his disoriented thoughts and looked in the direction of the explosion. A cloud of gray smoke billowed in the distance. Fortunately, it was quite far from Jisung’s apartment. He let out an unconscious sigh of relief. At this distance, they wouldn’t be affected by the attack.

“Hyunwoo, you brought your clothes, right?”

“Yeah.”

Hyunwoo nodded at Sunwoo’s question.

“Clothes?”

The black outfit Hyunwoo pulled out of his bag was very familiar to Jisung. It was the same ES uniform Hyunwoo had been wearing when they first met.

“Are you… going there?”

Hyunwoo smiled and nodded slightly at Jisung’s trembling voice.

“Even if I don’t want to go, they’ll be making a racket soon enough.”

“What do you mean…”

[Park Hyunwoo, Ha Yuaan, Kim Sunwoo! Report to the terror site immediately! We know you’re close by!]

A mechanical voice, laced with irritation, crackled through. Jisung recognized it. It was the same voice that had radioed the three of them at the terror site that day.

Jisung watched the three of them prepare to leave. He grabbed Hyunwoo’s sleeve as he was about to go.

“Jisung?”

“Can’t you… not go?”

Even he knew it was an unreasonable request. Telling a hero not to go fight… But still, Jisung didn’t want to let them go. He didn’t want to send the three of them to such a dangerous place, where their lives might be at stake.

Hyunwoo looked at him silently for a moment, then smiled faintly. He was genuinely happy that there was someone who sincerely worried about him, the S-Rank Esper everyone else avoided because of his strength. Hyunwoo gently pulled Jisung into an embrace.

“I’ll take care of it quickly and come back. So don’t be scared, ”