Chapter 63: Sleeping

Tae Hwan endlessly paced in front of the bathroom door, like someone urgently needing to use it.

He was going crazy with worry for Yoon Bodam, who had been showering for over 30 minutes, when Tae Hwan himself finished in less than 10.

If it were up to his temper, he would have broken down the door and gone in, but he held back unconditionally.

He waited patiently, not barking, with teeth clenched.

After what felt like a hellish 40 minutes, the bathroom door finally opened.

Yoon Bodam emerged, opening the door amidst cloudy steam, wearing a new hospital gown.

“What are you looking at?”

Perhaps the new hospital gown was too large, as his pale collarbones were clearly visible.

Bodam, who had completely covered his neck with a towel, glared sharply.

He had certainly glared, but due to the puffy ‘sausage’ eyelids, he didn’t look sharp.

“Move.”

As he took his hand off the doorknob and tried to exit, Lee Tae Hwan naturally tried to support him.

Bodam, scowling with his front teeth exposed, sharply refused the support and immediately stumbled.

His legs gave out, perhaps due to showering for so long with his exhausted body.

“Are you okay?”

Tae Hwan, who had lifted Bodam with psychokinesis before his body even hit the floor, asked.

Bodam, as if he had known he would fall, calmly mumbled words.

He had no choice but to accept Lee Tae Hwan’s support and lay on the bed.

As he lay on the soft mattress and fluffy blanket, sleep instantly overwhelmed him.

“Dry your hair.”

Tae Hwan carefully spoke to Bodam, who seemed to be somewhere between asleep and awake.

His damp hair was soaking the pillowcase.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

“Get out.”

Bodam, almost in a semi-sleep state, mumbled with his lips.

His voice, slowed by drowsiness, kept telling him to leave, drawing a line.

He tried to fall completely asleep, listening to Lee Tae Hwan’s heavy footsteps.

If it weren’t for the sensation of a dry towel on his head, he would have fallen asleep instantly.

“I’m leaving, so sleep.”

He mumbled curses at Lee Tae Hwan, who was trying to put him to sleep despite not leaving.

Disjointed curses like “Are my words funny?”, and “Don’t ignore me” flowed out easily.

Lee Tae Hwan only dried his hair without responding.

Or not.

He seemed to have muttered “I’m sorry.”

Bodam, overwhelmed by sleep, was naturally drawn to lying on his side by the languid sensation of his hair being touched.

When the towel touched the back of his head, he couldn’t fight off sleep.

“I… don’t like you…”

Even as he fell asleep, he didn’t miss the words he had to say.

“I really don’t like you…”

He repeated it until his voice gave out, hoping the Esper who treated his words like dog crap would listen.

Fortunately, he seemed to have lent an ear to his words.

Every time Bodam said he hated him, Tae Hwan’s reply also repeated.

‘I know. I know. I know too.’

Unlike his faint voice, the hands drying his hair were full of sincerity.

Annoyingly so.

***

Han Seung Ho completed all his training hours.

Min Ji Oh, who had been chattering beside him, eventually grew tired of seeing the hearts piling up in the icebox and left, disgusted.

Ji Oh was less active in monster hunting in Attack Team 3.

He neither enjoyed hunting like Tae Hwan and Yi Jun, nor did he have a sense of duty like Seung Ho.

He just did it because there was nothing else to do.

Seung Ho sent the heavy icebox to the research team and ended his day.

He returned to his personal quarters, covered in sticky monster blood.

On the way, he habitually checked the weather on his phone.

He wished for rain with a completely indifferent expression.

With a forecast of not a single cloud for a week, he cleanly erased his desire for rain.

He took off his combat uniform in the bathroom and showered instead of bathing in rain.

‘Team Leader-nim.’

Then, a pale face getting hit by heavy raindrops came to mind.

Click.

Seung Ho, who had turned off the shower, left the bathroom without even drying himself.

He picked up his phone with a wet hand and made a call.

Instead of Team Leader Kim’s voice, with whom he had communicated the most over the past month, he heard an automated message saying the call could not be answered.

Water pooled at Seung Ho’s feet as he checked the clock.

He called again, but Team Leader Kim didn’t answer.

Tup-tup. He stepped on the falling water droplets as he prepared to leave.

***

“Wh… What’s going on?”

Esper Hwang Gyu Tae, Team Leader Kim’s direct junior, was guarding Bodam’s hospital room door.

He blinked, looking up at the unexpected visitor who arrived in the early hours before the sun had even risen.

“Team Leader Kim.”

Seung Ho asked.

His appearance, with his hair neatly styled and wearing his uniform, made 4 AM seem like 4 PM.

He always adhered to formal attire when leaving his quarters.

“Ah, he’s been called out and is temporarily away from his post. He should be back before noon.”

The barrier users, facing an emergency with Teleport ability users, were short-staffed.

Team Leader Kim, who had intended to focus solely on Bodam’s personal protection, was assigned field missions by Center command.

As a multi-ability user and an excellent Esper, many places sought his assistance.

“Is this all of you?”

Seung Ho’s head tilted slightly as he scanned the guards with a cold gaze.

Only one A-class barrier user and two B-class barrier users, at a “one plus one” level, were guarding Bodam’s hospital room.

It seemed insufficient to protect the former dedicated Guide of Attack Team 3.

Especially since it was a team with an S-class Esper.

“Yes, that’s right. …Are you going inside?”

Esper Hwang Gyu Tae, surprised, extended his arm, watching Seung Ho take a step towards the door.

He had thought Seung Ho came to see Team Leader Kim.

He expected him to turn back, as the Team Leader was away.

“Just for a moment.”

“I’m sorry, but Team Leader Han is also… a no-approach target…”

Esper Hwang Gyu Tae, who always received warnings from Team Leader Kim, trailed off.

He was largely overwhelmed by Seung Ho’s intimidating aura, but above all, his actions made him swallow the words he was about to say.

“I’ll just check his condition.”

Seung Ho, who stood before the barrier users guarding the door, took out a black bracelet to show them and then put ability control devices on both wrists.

This was a tool that neutralized an Esper’s abilities for a certain period.

The higher the rank, the shorter the duration; an S-class like Lee Tae Hwan would break it before it was even put on.

The moment the bracelet shattered, the ability returned.

“Just a moment.”

Esper Hwang Gyu Tae contacted Team Leader Kim, but as expected, he didn’t answer.

He nervously put his phone back in his pocket and watched Seung Ho’s expression.

Then, unable to bear the intimidating gaze, he finally closed his eyes and opened the door.

It was none other than Team Leader Han Seung Ho.

He was not someone who would ever break Center rules or cause trouble.

“You must come out quickly. Absolutely.”

Seung Ho’s impassive expression, looking down at the Esper who had opened the door after much deliberation, sharpened.

At this, Esper Hwang Gyu Tae’s mouth went dry, wondering if he had made some mistake, and he opened the door even wider.

However, he only swallowed dryly repeatedly as the aura grew even stiffer.

He wondered why Seung Ho had to convey his displeasure with his expression and demoralize people, when he could just speak if he had a complaint.

“Are you going to let him in alone?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Esper Hwang Gyu Tae’s jaw drop, realizing his mistake.

He had been so nervous facing Team Leader Han up close that he had made a mistake even a rookie wouldn’t.

“No. We, we have to go in together. We have to go in together.”

He stammered, belatedly wrapping a binding barrier around Seung Ho’s entire body.

He couldn’t create a barrier that also blocked external noise like Team Leader Kim’s.

The two B-class barrier users, watching this with equally tense expressions, only wished Han Seung Ho would leave quickly.

Just as they thought he was finally entering the hospital room, Seung Ho’s low voice pierced the two barrier users, who were secretly letting out sighs of relief.

“The two of you, double-strengthen the barrier.”

“Yes!” The two B-class barrier users replied loudly, practicing their double barrier by strengthening a safety barrier that would shatter even with Seung Ho’s breath.

For them, merely strengthening and maintaining one layer of barrier was overwhelming.

It was clear that Team Leader Han, though known to be a B-class like them, was outside the normal range.

Multi-ability users generally had significant gaps in power even within the same rank.

Team Leader Kim was also such a case.

Anyway. Working with a superior who possessed both innate talent and diligence was the most exhausting.

Dra-dduuk.

As the door closed, Seung Ho’s feet paused for a moment.

“……”

Yoon Bodam was clearly visible lying on the bed, far from the door.

His face, thinner and more gaunt than he remembered, was deeply asleep.

The soft sound of faint breaths passing between his widely parted lips could be heard.

His eyes were red, indicating he must have cried again.

“Team Leader-nim…”

Esper Hwang Gyu Tae approached Seung Ho, who couldn’t take his eyes off the sleeping Guide.

“You’re too close. Please step back two paces.”

Only then did Seung Ho realize he had walked almost to the front of the bed.

“Let some air in.”

Seung Ho, averting his gaze from Bodam, pointed to the window with his chin.

There was a greasy food smell in the hospital room.

He subtly frowned as he saw the fast-food restaurant logo on the paper crammed into the trash can.

It wasn’t the kind of food a patient should be eating.

Seung Ho, who had stepped back two paces as instructed by the barrier user, looked down at the sleeping Bodam again.

His complexion didn’t seem too bad.

As the attending physician said, he seemed to be recovering, albeit slowly.

Kang Yi Jun was also gradually responding to the guiding machine.

‘If only he had imprinted.’

A thought that suddenly surfaced lingered in Seung Ho’s mind.

It had been like this sometimes lately.

Very occasionally.

Unfamiliar emotions and thoughts grew inside him and moved erratically.

Sometimes, his feet, following his thoughts, would try to move on their own, like now.

His body leaned towards the bed where Yoon Bodam was sleeping, breathing softly.

To Esper Hwang Gyu Tae, he just seemed to be maintaining an upright posture.

No one understood what was going on inside him.

‘If he had imprinted.’

The thought that he didn’t speak aloud didn’t disappear but moved throughout his body.

Seung Ho was bothered by situations he couldn’t control.

He became extremely sensitive in the face of unexpected variables.

At least he himself had to move and continue his thoughts as he intended.

‘With whom.’

“Cough…”

Bodam, whose throat had dried out from sleeping with his mouth open, coughed.

He struggled to pull his arm, which was almost completely bound by the blanket, and scratched his cheek.

Even though he just scratched it with his blunt fingernail in his sleep, his cheek turned red.

“Mmm…”

Bodam, who mumbled with a parched mouth and coughed from within, woke up thirsty.

His eyelids, which had grown even puffier during sleep, didn’t open at once.

He stretched his arms and legs wide in the blanket, yawning.

“Haaam—.”

He even yawned, still in a hazy, sleepy state.

He wanted to sleep more, but he barely opened his eyes to drink water.

Then.

“……”

The moment his eyes met Han Seung Ho, who was staring intently at him, he closed his eyes again.

Feeling weak, he thought he was having a strange dream and furrowed his brows to wake himself up.