Chapter 80: Your First Fan

“Come to think of it, we said we’d watch a movie, but we never did.”

Chaewon scooped up a large bite of whipped cream from atop his café mocha and, with the straw still between his lips, looked at Su-ha.

Su-ha pressed his lips together to keep himself from smiling like an idiot.

Throughout dinner, he had had to consciously compose his expression several times like this. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt on the verge of laughing so often.

Unaware of Su-ha’s mood, Chaewon reacted brightly. “A movie…!”

Su-ha nodded.

“Yes. We left it unfinished last time. Um, is there a movie you like? Or a genre…?”

He asked on purpose. He remembered the conversation they’d had at the café before. Back then, Chaewon had said he’d always been curious about what people talked about in cafés, about their daily lives, their experiences.

So today, after coming out together, Su-ha had deliberately brought up trivial topics. Instead of Espers and Guides, he’d asked what food Chaewon liked, whether he could handle spicy food, and had shared his own preferences.

The kind of small talk people made when they were becoming friends.

At first, Chaewon only answered Su-ha’s questions and returned the same ones. But slowly, he began offering things that hadn’t even been asked.

For example, he admitted he wasn’t very good with chopsticks. Whenever he worked, the owner or older coworkers would scold him about it.

When he was a student, though, no matter how many times adults told him to fix it, he hadn’t changed, his own small act of rebellion, he’d said with a shy smile.

There was no need to explain how that small story, that shy smile, looked in Su-ha’s eyes.

After a brief pause of thought, Chaewon scooped up another mouthful of whipped cream through his straw.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure. I just… watched whatever was on TV. So… um…”

His voice trailed off.

It struck him anew that he truly didn’t know his own tastes. Knowing what you like comes from varied experiences, and Chaewon’s experiences had been extremely limited.

He didn’t think that was something to be ashamed of. He only worried that always ending conversations with “I’m not sure” might bore Su-ha.

But Su-ha simply nodded.

“To be honest, I don’t know much about movies either. I didn’t watch them that often.”

“Oh? You don’t like movies much, Su-ha?”

“It’s not that. I just didn’t really have anyone to go with. And I guess I didn’t enjoy them enough to go alone.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

Chaewon nodded easily and drew up another bit of cream with his straw. It seemed the cream was his favorite part of the café mocha. Su-ha idly wondered if he should buy whipped cream separately next time so Chaewon could eat it with snacks.

“We can figure it out together from now on,” Su-ha said. “What you like. What I like. And what we don’t.”

“…Okay.”

Chaewon answered shortly, trying to sound calm, but his heart was pounding wildly.

For others, watching a movie might be nothing special. For Chaewon, going to a theater felt like exploring an unknown world, one he hoped might be filled with things he liked.

If he said anything more, his voice would probably shake. So he quickly pushed the straw deep into his cup and took a long sip.

The coffee was so sweet it made his tongue sting.

He liked this taste. And now, whenever he wanted, he could buy a cup like this himself.

That realization made him happy. He drank until the level in the cup visibly dropped.

“Um…”

A sudden unfamiliar voice cut into their space.

Startled, Chaewon turned his head, the straw still between his lips. Su-ha looked as well.

A female student stood there, her face slightly flushed.

Before Chaewon could wonder if she needed help, she spoke shyly.

“I’m really sorry for suddenly talking to you. But… are you, by any chance, Esper Lee Chaewon?”

Chaewon slowly removed the straw from his lips, eyes wide. He looked as though he doubted whether the name she’d just said truly belonged to him.

Among the three of them, Su-ha was the only one whose expression remained composed.

Chaewon glanced at Su-ha, almost as if asking for permission.

Su-ha nodded, thinking he should tell him someday that he didn’t need permission every time.

“Yes, I’m Lee Chaewon… Is there something you need?”

“Ah! I knew it! Um… I just… I really wanted to tell you that I’m cheering for you…!”

She probably wanted to say she was a fan. But since he hadn’t been known to the public for long, she seemed hesitant to put it so bluntly.

Even so, Chaewon was already more than flustered.

First, someone recognized him. And second, he felt undeserving of encouragement when he hadn’t done anything particularly remarkable.

Still, instead of asking, “Why me…?” he smiled naturally.

No matter what, he didn’t want to embarrass someone who had approached him with goodwill.

“I still have a lot to improve… but thank you very much for cheering for me.”

Even such an ordinary line of gratitude felt sincere when paired with his eyes and expression.

The student blushed again at his smile.

Su-ha could have stepped in, asked her to respect their private time so Chaewon wouldn’t feel pressured. But he didn’t.

He was certain that before long, Chaewon would experience moments like this countless times, perhaps even more overwhelming ones.

Chaewon hadn’t noticed, but since dinner there had been more than a few glances recognizing him.

If this was going to become part of Chaewon’s life anyway, Su-ha wanted his first experience to begin with someone kind.

He judged that this student would leave behind that kind of memory.

As if suddenly remembering something, she exclaimed, “Ah, right!” and carefully placed something on their table.

Two large cookies of each flavor sold at the café.

“It’s nothing much, but I wanted to give you something… The cookies here are really good!”

“Ah… I’m not sure if I’m allowed to accept this…”

Chaewon looked genuinely flustered.

Since Espers belonged to the government, what if accepting gifts wasn’t allowed? Of course, this wasn’t a bribe, but he didn’t know how regulations applied.

As he scrambled to recall anything from basic training, Su-ha gently slid the cookies closer to him and smiled.

“This is fine, Chaewon.”

Only then did Chaewon’s expression relax. He stood up, met the student’s eyes properly, and smiled.

“Thank you so much. I like cookies. I’ll enjoy them.”

“Ah… yes! Then I’ll get going. I’m really sorry for interrupting your time!”

“It’s alright. Thank you again, and have a good time.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

She was the one who had approached them, who had given kind words and cookies, yet she kept bowing deeply to Chaewon before hurrying away. The sound of her laughing excitedly with her friends reached them even from a distance.

Su-ha looked at Chaewon, who was staring blankly at the cookies in both hands.

“You already have fans. Impressive.”

“Fans? It’s not like that, it’s just…”

“She came all the way over to say she’s cheering for you and even gave you cookies. If that’s not a fan, what is?”

“That’s…”

Chaewon trailed off, unable to respond, just staring at the cookies again and again.

He still couldn’t quite process what had just happened.

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