Chapter 75: What He Didn’t Know

But instead of taking Su-ha’s hand, Chaewon slowly shook his head.

“It’s not that…”

“Then…?”

“It’s just… I think I’ve been taking it for granted that you always eat with me, Su-ha.”

Su-ha’s steps came to a sudden halt. He was so taken aback that his thoughts seemed to freeze completely. Chaewon continued.

“Like Tae-jun said, just because we’re a pair doesn’t mean we have to eat together every time. But I’ve been relying only on you as if it were obvious.”

Only then did Su-ha understand why Chaewon had hesitated earlier, unable to answer properly when Tae-jun spoke. Why he had looked at Su-ha, gauging his reaction.

It hadn’t been because of Tae-jun’s proposal. From Tae-jun’s words, Chaewon had recalled the kind of quiet “sacrifice” Su-ha had been making all along without ever showing it.

That Su-ha had no choice but to accompany him every time, because Chaewon didn’t yet have anyone else at the Center he was particularly close to.

That Su-ha was spending time with him out of a sense of obligation, simply because he was Chaewon’s pair guide. That was clearly what Chaewon had thought.

“I’m sorry…”

Was this what it meant to feel one’s heart collapse? The moment he heard Chaewon’s apology, Su-ha felt his chest tighten painfully, his breath growing short.

It felt like being trapped underwater, unable to break the surface no matter how hard he struggled. No, even if water were pouring endlessly into his mouth and nose, it wouldn’t hurt as much as this did now.

He had thought they’d grown much closer. He was sure they were making progress. But when he suddenly looked ahead, the distance between him and Chaewon still felt unbearably far.

“Why…”

“…”

“Why are you apologizing, Chaewon?”

At the hurt plainly evident in Su-ha’s voice, Chaewon looked puzzled. He clearly had no idea what kind of impact his words carried. To Chaewon, Su-ha was still someone who had unwillingly been assigned to him.

Their relationship had changed little by little since then, yes, but the fundamental definition of it hadn’t shifted at all.

“Well…”

Chaewon hesitated, trailing off awkwardly. No matter what, it seemed too embarrassing to explain it outright in front of Su-ha.

Only then did Su-ha realize that he himself had been wandering in entirely the wrong place. Chaewon hadn’t even made it close to the starting line, yet Su-ha alone had been worrying about the finish line, looking in the wrong direction altogether.

He had forgotten that the first button had been fastened incorrectly, and that he needed to start again from there.

“Chaewon, I…”

Wanting to explain, or justify, or say anything at all, Su-ha started to speak, then realized where they were: a corridor in front of the training rooms, where people freely passed by. On top of that, he himself hadn’t even cooled down from training yet.

He didn’t want to say what he wanted, what he absolutely needed to say, so carelessly, without any preparation. Su-ha quickly calmed his turbulent thoughts and spoke again.

“For now, go wash up and rest. I’ll come soon. And…”

“…?”

“There’s something I really want to say.”

At Su-ha’s words, Chaewon’s face also grew tense. Su-ha wanted to tell him it wasn’t anything bad, that he didn’t need to worry, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, unsure of how his words might sound to Chaewon.

Chaewon looked like he had a hundred questions he wanted to ask, but after glancing around once, he soon nodded calmly. Even to Chaewon, the place didn’t seem appropriate for a serious conversation.

He nodded obediently and replied,

“Okay. Then I’ll see you in my room later.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright…”

Normally, Chaewon would have said it was fine and that Su-ha could take his time, but today, those words wouldn’t come out. He was curious about what Su-ha wanted to say, and at the same time, afraid.

He had just worried whether Su-ha disliked always eating with him and spending time together. And now, without having heard the answer to that question, Su-ha was saying he had something serious to talk about. It was hard to take that in a positive way.

Silence settled between them as they walked side by side down the corridor again. Su-ha’s head was in turmoil as he thought about what to say, how far to go, and which words to choose.

Chaewon, meanwhile, worried that perhaps he’d grown too relaxed in the softened atmosphere between them and had unknowingly been rude, failing to properly consider Su-ha’s feelings.

Lost in their own thoughts, the two walked the remaining distance to the dorms in silence.

****

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this much…”

Ye-seon muttered, unable to hide his surprise.

“We prepared for it, sure, but I didn’t think it would go this far.”

Nodding along with him was Park Yeon-seok, the head of the Awakened PR team.

Naturally, awakened individuals weren’t celebrities, so they didn’t have personal managers or agencies. Still, interviews, magazine photo shoots, and advertisements were no longer unusual for them, given the immense public attention they received.

Those matters were handled jointly by the Awakened PR team and the Esper and Guide Management team.

Just moments ago, Ye-seon had been listening to Yeon-seok explain the flood of interview and advertising requests currently pouring in for Chaewon.

Ye-seon examined the list of advertisement offers with a gaze that mixed interest and concern.

They weren’t from what one would call major corporations, but it was surprising enough that ad proposals were already coming in for an esper who hadn’t yet produced any notable results.

The public might ignite and cool down quickly over trivial things, but companies were far more cautious. Shrugging slightly, Yeon-seok spoke.

“Well, it could be that they want to cash in on his current image before his limits show.”

“That’s possible.”

Ye-seon nodded in agreement. Yeon-seok’s words made sense. After all, no one could be certain of Esper Lee Chaewon’s potential yet. He might truly overcome his side effects and become a great S-rank esper, or he might not.

For outsiders who couldn’t observe Chaewon up close like internal staff such as Ye-seon, his future would seem even more uncertain. In that case, using his favorable image while attention was high and then pulling out wasn’t necessarily a bad choice.

At that moment, Yeon-seok, who had been watching Ye-seon’s reaction quietly, carefully opened his mouth.

“So… what do you think, Team Leader Woo?”

Ye-seon looked at him with an expression that said I knew it. He hadn’t thought Yeon-seok would come all this way just to show him a list. With a mischievous glint, Ye-seon leaned back against his chair.

“About what?”

“Lee Chaewon. How do you think he’ll turn out? Think we’re going to get busier?”

It had been a long time since there’d been an S-rank esper, and for a while now, there’d been no one who could truly be called a “star” among them.

It wasn’t for nothing that people said the esper reputation was still riding on Min I-hyeon’s popularity. That was also why upper management had invested so much attention in Chaewon despite his severe handicap.

At Yeon-seok’s question, Ye-seon fell briefly into thought.

Images of Chaewon he’d observed up close surfaced one by one, someone who once fainted just from lifting a single ball, now enduring Min I-hyeon’s attacks, saving people in a sudden real-world incident, and relentlessly training while examining his own shortcomings.

As he found himself anticipating what Chaewon might show in tomorrow’s training with Gi-yoon, Ye-seon bit his lip lightly, then grinned at Yeon-seok.

“Remember how it was with Team Leader Min?”

At those words, Yeon-seok looked as if to say, No way. As if he couldn’t believe Ye-seon was comparing Lee Chaewon to Min I-hyeon. Just as Yeon-seok had earlier, Ye-seon shrugged.

“Well, it’s just my advice. Whether you take it or not is up to you, Team Leader Park.”

The confidence on Ye-seon’s face left Yeon-seok at a loss for words, able only to smack his lips.

****

After finishing his shower, Chaewon curled up on the sofa and sat quietly. Whenever his mind felt unsettled, he always did this, making himself as small as possible, sitting still as if he didn’t exist in the world at all.

He would think that if he became very small, or transparent, perhaps all the difficult things in the world would pass by without noticing him.

The reason Chaewon felt so uneasy now was Su-ha. From the moment they parted, Chaewon’s mind had been tangled as he tried to guess what Su-ha wanted to say.

It was true that their relationship had noticeably improved lately. The cold, stern atmosphere Su-ha had carried when they first met was nowhere to be found.

At every moment, he considered Chaewon first, adjusting everything so that Chaewon could grow comfortably and safely, doing everything in his power.

Because of that, Chaewon sometimes forgot.

That Su-ha was someone who had long worked toward I-hyeon as his goal.

“…I want to become a good guide for you, Chaewon.”

The warmth in Su-ha’s voice from that day resurfaced in his mind. Even without Su-ha beside him, Chaewon’s heart swelled as if he were being guided.

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