Chapter 72: Visitor

[Do what you want]

After much deliberation, Bodam pressed the send button and lightly bit the tip of his fingernail.

“Ah, did I send it for nothing?”

He was filled with belated regret for agreeing to a call when a short text exchange would have sufficed.

The blood that had stained the corridor floor, covering it, bothered him.

He had sent the text after sitting on the sofa for a bit, watching the TV that didn’t hold his attention.

Esper treatment didn’t take long, so he thought it would be over by now.

‘Or not. It was an injury where the bone was clearly visible, so it might take longer.’

“…Then why send a text while he’s working?”

Bodam, the one who had sent the text, soothed his pricking conscience and waited for Tae Hwan’s reply.

Unlike the instantaneous reply to his first text, the second one hadn’t even been read yet.

‘What is it? Did he fall asleep?’

Ring ring ring ring.

Just as he wondered if the call wouldn’t come, his phone rang immediately.

He glared at Lee Tae Hwan’s name, lighting up the black screen with a cheerful ringtone, then answered the call.

It wasn’t that he disliked it; it was just a habit to glare.

“What.”

Bodam instinctively snapped out a curt voice, his eyebrows furrowing.

No reply came from the caller.

“Hello?”

He checked the screen, wondering if the call had dropped, but it was still connected.

He could even hear faint breathing from beyond the receiver.

Perhaps because he had lived as a guide for so long, Bodam unconsciously glanced at his wrist-watch.

He was trying to check Lee Tae Hwan’s wave levels, even though their connection had long been severed.

He had forgotten again that he was no longer his dedicated guide.

“—Are you okay?”

Lee Tae Hwan’s first words made his already crumpled expression twist even further.

‘Why does he keep asking me if I’m okay?

He’s the one who’s hurt.’

“—What did Min Ji Oh say? Did he cause trouble?”

‘Ah, so that’s why he asked.’

Bodam’s lips parted slightly as Lee Tae Hwan’s next words resolved his question.

Since he had texted him to ‘take Min Ji Oh away,’ it made sense that he would think it was a serious situation.

‘But since when did he start worrying about me?’

“—Did he curse? Did he yell?”

“…Of course he did.”

Bodam replied irritably to Tae Hwan, who was asking about something Min Ji Oh always had on his lips, as if it were new information.

It irritated him how much he could feel Lee Tae Hwan’s sincerity.

The phone went silent again for a moment, and Bodam checked if the connection had dropped before his lips twitched.

He was debating whether to say thank you for coming while he was working.

He didn’t want to yet.

So, he didn’t.

“—If he comes again, call me.”

“……”

“—Even if it’s not Min Ji Oh, if anyone bothers you, contact me.”

As Bodam remained unresponsive, he added.

‘Contact me.’

His voice, tinged with hesitation, wavered as if his breath was caught.

Bodam’s furrowed brow, which had been crumpled so tightly it wouldn’t smooth out, gradually loosened.

His long eyelashes slowly rose and fell.

Leaning back on the sofa, still on the phone, Bodam thought of Lee Tae Hwan.

He thought of the bastard Lee Tae Hwan, who had tormented him for six months, and the Lee Tae Hwan who had knelt in this very spot and wiped away his tears.

He thought about that guy who had even cleaned up something worse than tears, without a trace.

“Lee Tae Hwan.”

Finally, he opened his mouth, recalling Tae Hwan’s actions that had very occasionally opened his heart during those hellish six months.

His voice was ambiguous, neither curt nor affectionate.

“If you need guiding, come.”

He emphasized the last part, adding, ‘Just once,’ and abruptly hung up the phone.

He even threw the disconnected phone onto the end of the sofa.

He didn’t regret what he had said.

The thoughts of Lee Tae Hwan, which had occupied a nameless space in a corner of his heart, grew in volume.

In the past, he would have crushed those thoughts if they tried to grow, deliberately ignoring them.

“Right…”

‘He’s still, less of a bad son of a b*tch.’

Bodam finally admitted it, conceding to Lee Tae Hwan’s sincere apologies.

He accepted the thought that he was, at least, the better one among them.

He was a guy with a rough mouth, fierce actions, who would flare up at any opportunity, and even push him away as his guide, but—

“Whoa, wait a minute. Did I call him for nothing?”

Bodam abruptly got up from the sofa, looked for water, and scratched his head frantically.

Anyway.

True to Lee Tae Hwan’s nature, he still confused people.

Still, he gave him credit for a grown man showing tears twice and broadened his heart.

Hating someone also consumed energy.

Bodam wanted to feel comfortable in both body and mind.

“I’m too kind…”

Bodam mumbled lightly, like a sigh, and drank some water.

As the cool water went down, he felt a sense of relief.

His heavy chest seemed to have lightened a bit.

Feeling lighter, Bodam thought of food and rummaged through the refrigerator.

It was all just simple snacks.

He craved warm, nutritious food that would fill him up.

Like chicken, for example.

Knock knock knock.

Bodam, who was salivating, thinking of all sorts of chicken, was startled by the sudden knocking and held his breath.

He opened his big eyes even wider, pressed himself against the sofa, and raised his head towards the door.

‘No way.’

“Already here…?”

‘No, not that crazy bastard.’

He had said to come if he needed guiding, but he hadn’t expected him to come right away.

He was sure he had given him enough guiding earlier, and his wave had stabilized, so he thought he would come tomorrow or the day after.

He wondered if he had forgotten that he had said he would only do it once.

‘He should think about saving it, that Lee Tae Hwan bastard.’

He rubbed his round cheek, wondering if he should pretend not to be there.

He was hungry for guiding, and somehow, facing him right after the call felt strangely uncomfortable.

There was no particular reason.

Knock knock knock.

The second knock, much fainter than the first, finally made him move.

He was curious about Lee Tae Hwan’s shoulder.

As an S-class Esper, he would probably recover well on his own, but it seemed he had faced a dangerous monster.

It was the first time he had seen Lee Tae Hwan collapse to the point of being unable to control his body.

He had never heard of an S-class Esper sustaining such an injury before.

He walked towards the door, hoping it wasn’t serious.

At least, it seemed he had gotten hurt rushing over after Bodam’s call, so he was concerned.

Drag.

“Oh.”

Bodam, slowly opening the door as if to only open it halfway, opened his mouth wide and then flung the door wide open.

It wasn’t Lee Tae Hwan.

“Jo Yeon!”

He stretched out both arms towards the incredibly welcome face and leaped.

Jo Yeon also opened his arms wide to catch the small body flying towards him.

“Yoon Bodam-ie!”

His bright voice sounded strangely welcoming.

It felt like a reunion after a year.

‘Why does it feel like I haven’t seen him in so long?’

“Did you eat?”

Jo Yeon, who had lifted Bodam in his arms, entered the room and closed the door with his back foot.

Bodam’s expression turned serious at the question of whether he had eaten, and he suddenly sniffed, wiggling his nose.

“Did you put on perfume?”

“Perfume?”

“Why do you smell so good? What kind is it?”

He busily wiggled his nose and rushed towards the source of the smell.

Bodam, who had gotten down from Jo Yeon’s embrace, put his nose to the rustling bag, his face filled with emotion.

He was almost on the verge of tears.

“You, really. Jo Yeon. Ha.”

“Why? Don’t you like chicken? Do you want something else?”

Bodam embraced Jo Yeon again, who was laughing as if to say, ‘How could that be?’

Jo Yeon, who carried the scent of chicken, the most delicious smell in the world, like perfume, looked more welcome and beautiful than ever.

‘He’s truly my best friend.’

“I was just thinking about chicken. Seriously.”

“You say that every time I bring chicken.”

“How did you appear the moment I thought I wanted to eat it? Wow.”

Bodam clapped, saying it was so amazing, and Jo Yeon smiled, urging him to eat quickly.

He had come by squeezing in some time in the middle of work.

Bodam took the chicken bag and ran to the sofa.

It was easy to decide Bodam’s meal menu, as he thought about chicken almost every single day.

“You can eat it now, right? I purposely bought the baked kind.”

“Yeah. It’s fine. I ate a hamburger too.”

Bodam, omitting that he had thrown it all up, patted the sofa and urged him to sit quickly.

His heart pounded as he inhaled the savory smell wafting from the heavy black bag.

“Bodam.”

Jo Yeon, who grabbed Bodam’s shoulder as he tore open the pickled radish package, suddenly leaned his head in close.

His approaching face was serious.

“Did you guide?”

“Who? Me?”

Bodam, flustered by the sudden question, spilled chicken radish liquid from his hand.

Jo Yeon, who would normally have immediately given him a tissue, only met Bodam’s eyes.

Esper energy was emanating from Bodam.

“Who is it?”

Jo Yeon, who wasn’t high-ranked, could only sense the energy of a wave.

All Espers had different wave flows, and the more skilled an Esper, the more they could predict the other party just by their wave.

If it was a completely unknown target, they could only discern their ability and rank.

“Did you go to Kang Yi Jun?”

Jo Yeon asked repeatedly.

It was an expression Bodam had never seen before.

Surprised by Jo Yeon’s unfamiliar demeanor, Bodam opened and closed his lips, choosing his words.

He was at a loss for where to start, speechless.

So much had happened in such a short time.

“Why?”

Seeing Bodam not immediately deny it, Jo Yeon’s voice, convinced of the guiding, deepened further.

The white hand holding the pickled radish grew even damper.

“You hate him. You said you never wanted to see him again.”

Bodam swallowed, then slowly tried to explain the situation.

It was understandable that he would find himself incomprehensible for guiding an Esper he disliked so much.

Moreover, Jo Yeon was worrying about his situation as if it were his own.

“Jo Yeon, that—”

Bodam’s eyes widened, unable to continue his explanation.

Knock knock knock.

He was speechless at the sound of a new visitor.