Chapter 61: A Safe Haven

I remembered passing by Sehyun’s apartment once when he drove me home.
It was about a ten-minute distance from my place.

But I didn’t know his exact floor, and going unannounced weighed on my mind.
If only I had my phone.

Still, I felt that Sehyun would protect me, so I headed to his apartment.

The January night was cold.
I hadn’t been able to grab a coat since I’d run out blindly.
A milky-white puff of breath scattered in the air with every exhale.

As soon as I arrived at his apartment, I asked the security guard where he lived, but as expected, he wouldn’t tell me.
Still, seeing me shivering in the cold, he let me into the security office to warm up.
He seemed to recognize me.

“Aren’t you a guide?”

Originally, the identity of an S-Class was confidential, but after returning from the US gate, my identity was revealed, and more people recognized me.

I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“Yes, I am.”

“I thought you looked familiar. Esper Cha Sehyun hasn’t returned home yet, so please wait for a moment.”

And so I waited in the security office for about 30 minutes, but he didn’t show up.
It wasn’t polite to impose on the security office for so long, so in the end, I stood up.
I was thinking of going to a nearby hotel.

“I’ll be going now. Thank you.”

“Yes, Guide-nim. Get home safely.”

I bowed my head in greeting and came out.
The weather was still cold, and my hands turned red as soon as I came out.
My face must have been frozen bright red as well.

There was an Association hotel nearby, so I planned to stay there.
I was walking quickly in the cold.

A black sedan stopped next to me, and the window rolled down.
At the sight of him, whom I had been waiting for, I ran to his car with a happy heart.

“Sehyun-ssi!”

“Shinui-ssi, why are you here?”

“I was waiting for you. I remembered you said you lived here.”

I tilted my head back and pointed to the apartment that was now far away.

“Get in the car first. It’s very cold.”

“Yes…!”

I nodded at his words and hurriedly got into the passenger seat to escape the cold.

“You’re not even wearing a coat in this weather. Did something happen?”

“A little…”

Now that I was with him, I had to talk about what had happened with Sung Yohan.
But the words wouldn’t come out easily.

“Seeing you come out like this, it doesn’t seem like a light matter. If you’re okay with it, would you like to talk at my place?”

At his words, I nodded.
And so, I went back to his apartment.

“Shinui-ssi, do you have any allergies?”

He, who had finished parking in the underground parking lot, asked me.

“No. I don’t have any allergies.”

“That’s a relief. My younger sibling is at my house.”

“Your younger sibling?”

“Yes. He’s cute, so you’ll like him too.”

It was the first time I had heard that he had a younger sibling, and I didn’t quite understand what a younger sibling and allergies had to do with each other.
However, the thought of suddenly having to meet his younger sibling made me more nervous.

“Your younger sibling, I’m a little nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous.”

And so, I took the elevator up to his house with him.

As he unlocked the door and opened the middle door, I heard the sound of someone running from somewhere.
At the sound of small, light footsteps, I looked down the hallway, and a small puppy had already come up to me.

The puppy rubbed its nose and body against his leg and then came to me and started to smell me.

“This is my younger sibling, Gureum.”

Only then did I realize that his younger sibling was a pet dog.

“So when you said you had a younger sibling, you were talking about a dog?”

“Yes. Isn’t he cute?”

“He’s so cute.”

It was a small puppy with fluffy white fur like a cloud, just like its name.
Before I awakened, I had often played with the dogs that were raised at the factory, so I knelt down like I used to and stroked its head.
Then it lay down on the hallway and showed its belly.

“It seems Gureum likes you too.”

“Can I hold him?”

“Of course.”

I held it in my arms and moved with him.
It wasn’t as big as his house, but his house was also quite large.

After washing our hands in the bathroom and moving to the living room, he finally took off his coat and asked.

“Is tea okay?”

“Yes.”

While he was brewing tea, I stroked it and slowly looked around.
The interior was neat, as if reflecting his personality.

“But why did you come out at this time of night?”

He placed the well-brewed tea and some simple snacks on a tray on the sofa table.

“I had a little trouble with the person I live with.”

“What kind of trouble?”

I debated how much I should tell him, but my heart was so heavy that I decided to be honest.

“Actually, the Association found out that the American Association made me a scout offer. So an Association Esper is living with me as a watchman.”

“Did they proceed with that without even asking for your opinion?”

“Yes.”

He let out a sigh with a dumbfounded expression.
I felt a little comforted by his reaction.

“…Today, that Esper tried to imprint on me.”

At my words, he looked surprised, but he soon changed to an even more worried face and looked at me.

“Shinui-ssi, you weren’t assaulted, were you?”

“No. I ran away in the middle and came here.”

“That’s a relief. I’m also an Esper, but I don’t do such senseless things, so don’t worry.”

“I know. That you’re different, Sehyun-ssi.”

“I’m grateful that you trust me. Then where are you thinking of staying tonight? Shall I get you a hotel? Or I have a guest room at my place.”

I was also conflicted.
Whether it would be better to stay at a hotel or at his place.
But today, I wanted to stay at his place.
For some reason, I felt like if I were alone, Sung Yohan would chase me with his ability.

“If it’s okay, can I stay here?”

“Of course. This is a government-affiliated building, so Association Espers can’t come in. So rest assured and relax.”

“Thank you, Sehyun-ssi.”

I drank a little tea.
As the warm tea went down, my frozen body melted, and I gradually calmed down.

“I’m worried about you. Has your intention to stay at the Association still not changed?”

To be honest, I had come to ask for his help, but for some reason, I had a feeling that if he got involved, things would get bigger, so in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to ask for help.

“For now.”

“If you need my help, you can tell me anytime.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He and I talked about the Association, and after it was well past midnight, we went to bed.

As I entered the guest room he had mentioned, Gureum followed me.
When I sat on the bed, it kept jumping, wanting to get on the bed too, but it couldn’t.
In the end, I picked it up and put it on the bed.
Then it licked my hand.

I played with it for a while and then fell asleep with it in the bed.
Holding the warm puppy in my arms, I felt my hardened heart melting.

The next morning, my eyes opened on their own.
I looked at Gureum sleeping next to me and then went out to the living room.
In the kitchen connected to the living room, he was preparing a meal.

“Shinui-ssi, did you sleep well?”

“Yes. What are you doing?”

“I was preparing breakfast. Do you like radish soup?”

“I do.”

“That’s a relief. Please have a seat. I’ll prepare the meal soon.”

At his words, I sat down and waited for the meal.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since someone had willingly prepared a meal for me.

The dishes he had made were placed on the dining table one by one.
The side dishes were neatly arranged in the bowls.

Soon, he, who had finished preparing the meal, sat in front of me.

“Shinui-ssi, please enjoy your meal.”

I said I would eat well and tried the radish soup first.
He was a good cook, as the seasoning was just right and it tasted good.

“It’s delicious.”

“That’s a relief. Eat a lot.”

At the sight of me eating deliciously, he smiled and also picked up his spoon.
Looking at him, I asked.

“You must have been cooking for a long time?”

“I helped my mother a lot since I was young. Do you like soybean paste stew?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Once you taste my soybean paste stew, you’ll fall head over heels for me and won’t be able to get away.”

I smiled at his joke and finished my meal.
Just yesterday, my mind was full of worries, but now, the matter with Sung Yohan was forgotten.

After finishing the meal, I started to get ready to leave.
Wonjae, who had ended up sleeping at the Center yesterday, had just sent a text asking to meet during morning training.
First, I planned to go to the Center and see him.

“I think I have to go now.”

At my words, he looked at his watch and said.

“It’s time for me to go to work too. I’ll take you to the Center.”

“You even let me sleep over…”

“I’m doing it because I want to.”

And so, with his kind consideration, I went down to the underground parking lot with him.

“I feel like I’m just constantly imposing on you.”

“You can just repay me dearly later. I know your salary is high.”

“Then I’ll repay you handsomely next time.”

I got a ride in his car and headed to the Center.
Hyun Taewoon, Sung Yohan, and he were all S-Class Espers, but they all felt different.

When I was with him and him, I was anxious, but with him, I felt so calm and stable.

Before long, the Center building began to come into view.

“Can you drop me off nearby? I think the security guard saw me when you gave me a ride last time.”

At my words, he stopped the car at a place a short distance from the Center.
Last time, the Association security guard who had seen me with him had spread strange rumors and I had been misunderstood, so I thought it would be better to part with him in a place where people wouldn’t see us as much as possible.

Before I got out of the car, he took a key card from his jacket and handed it to me, saying.

“If you don’t want to go home today either, come to my place. It’s a key card.”

“Is it okay to just give me this?”

I took the key card he gave me, but I was concerned that he might be helping me while enduring discomfort.

“I’m only giving it to you, Shinui-ssi.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep it safe so I don’t lose it.”

I didn’t know how the situation would change again, so I thought it would be better to take the key card for now.

But I would probably never go to his house again.
Yesterday was an exceptional situation because Wonjae was not there, and today, I thought I would have to sleep at an Association hotel with him.

“Okay. Then go on in.”

“Thank you for yesterday.”

I thanked him again and came out.
His car was still stopped.
It seemed he was worried about me.

Feeling his concern, I hurried to the Center.
But I could blatantly feel Hyun Taewoon’s wavelength nearby.