Chapter 99: I Like You

“This bastard…!”

Bodam was scared, even though he was only half-awake.

He could feel the sincerity in Lee Tae Hwan’s expression as he looked over his body, contemplating whether to cut it open.

Especially since he was the one who said it, it sounded like he meant it.

‘What are you going to do to me by cutting me open?’

“No! I was just talking to myself.”

Tae Hwan, more surprised by Bodam’s frightened reaction, quickly patted the blanket, telling him to go back to sleep.

Pat, pat. The careful touch on his stomach wasn’t bad, so he let it go for now.

‘A guy with a lot of money wouldn’t be after my organs.’

“Want some water?”

Bodam, who was thirsty just then, nodded his head.

His eyes, which had adjusted to the dim light, focused on the large figure bringing a glass of water.

‘He looked like he was in a lot of danger.’ A sense of relief washed over him seeing Tae Hwan back from the civilian area, unharmed.

‘It’s a relief he wasn’t seriously injured.’

“The gate?”

Bodam, who had quenched his thirst with the water Tae Hwan gave him, asked.

Since he had returned without any major injuries, he naturally expected the answer that the gate had been eliminated.

He had asked just to confirm.

But Lee Tae Hwan didn’t answer and just avoided his eyes.

He averted his gaze, pretending to unnecessarily readjust the blanket that was already covering him well.

‘Don’t tell me he failed. Lee Tae Hwan?’

“The gate has been dealt with.”

“…But?”

He waited for an answer without rushing Tae Hwan, who was hesitating and dragging his feet.

He couldn’t understand why he looked so dispirited after having eliminated such a dangerous gate.

“I couldn’t catch her.”

Tae Hwan, who had been fiddling with the blanket, let out a voice that was barely a whisper.

“The bastard who touched your face.”

The words he added hesitantly were so faint they were barely audible.

He almost wouldn’t have heard if he hadn’t been listening closely.

‘So now, is he dispirited because he couldn’t catch the unregistered person? After eliminating a gate of Red Code or higher.’

“It was a situation where I had to return immediately, so I couldn’t stay long…”

Tae Hwan trailed off, scratching his thick neck roughly.

It was a situation where a mysterious rampage had occurred, so he couldn’t remain in the civilian area for long.

Tae Hwan’s face, who had returned after only finishing the gate elimination, was heavy.

He was embarrassed to have come back empty-handed after saying he would catch her and bring her right away.

“I’ll catch her no matter what, so don’t worry.”

In truth, Tae Hwan had not been interested in the unregistered until now.

Most Espers, including Tae Hwan, did not take the problem of the unregistered seriously.

It was just someone else’s problem.

Many thought of it as a problem of the civilian area, unrelated to themselves who would live inside the Center for their entire lives.

Tae Hwan had been one of them, but.

“I can catch them. I’ll screw them all over. All those bastards.”

Now, it had become a problem that Tae Hwan had to solve immediately.

He would crush anything that threatened Yoon Bodam.

All the bastards who disturbed the area where he would live in the future.

Even if it was himself.

“Get on.”

Tae Hwan, who had been seriously firming his resolve for a while, tilted his head in surprise at Bodam’s voice.

“Get, cough. on, I said.”

“…Where?”

Tae Hwan’s wavering eyes searched for a place to get on.

No matter how he looked, there was only the bed.

‘No way. Does he mean get lost upstairs? But he said get on. Not get up, but get on.’

“Hey.”

Tae Hwan, lost in confusion, flinched his shoulders at Bodam’s call.

Startled, he couldn’t even answer and just met his eyes, so Bodam informed him of the answer with a jut of his chin.

The pointed tip of his chin was pointing to the side of the bed.

‘Ah, is this a dream?’

“Don’t make me say it multiple times, cough.”

“Okay.”

Tae Hwan, having received the order, got on the bed as soon as he answered.

It was a bed large enough for three Espers to lie on.

‘It would be fine even if it were just moderately wide.’

“Stay still.”

Bodam read Tae Hwan’s wavelength as he lay stiffly and turned his body towards him.

His body was limp from the medicine, so he didn’t have the strength to sit up, and he still wasn’t fully awake.

And yet, he wanted to give Lee Tae Hwan guiding.

‘…Because he helped me.’

“You’re sick, can you even guide…?”

Tae Hwan, who looked at the ceaselessly dry-coughing Bodam with concern, asked.

Bodam, who had covered Tae Hwan with a blanket, just hugged him like a body pillow.

Just as Tae Hwan had done to Bodam in the past.

The position was more comfortable than he thought, so he felt like he could fall asleep like this.

“Go when I fall asleep.”

“…I understand.”

Satisfied with Lee Tae Hwan’s obedient answer, he sent out the guiding even more strongly.

To be honest, he was a little scared to fall asleep alone.

He felt like the unregistered esper would suddenly open the door and barge in.

Or the bald man would forcibly drag him away.

Or someone else.

“Are you cold?”

Tae Hwan raised an eyebrow at the feeling of Bodam’s arm on his chest trembling slightly.

Bodam was about to shake his head but just nodded up and down instead.

At that, a thick arm wrapped around his body as if it had been waiting.

“Is it okay if I hug you?”

‘What are you asking when you’re already hugging me?’ Bodam, who answered with a glare instead of words, rested his head on Tae Hwan’s shoulder.

His shoulder, developed only with muscle, wasn’t fluffy, but thanks to the stable way it enveloped his whole body, he felt sleepy.

‘Was this position this comfortable back then too? It was definitely just annoying.’

“The Esper who saved me rampaged.”

Bodam continued the conversation as things came to mind before falling asleep.

“Don’t you rampage.”

“……”

“If you do, I’ll kill you.”

“I won’t.”

Tae Hwan, who was fated to die twice if he rampaged once, answered resolutely.

It was a calm voice, but his heartbeat was thumping so loudly that it didn’t inspire much trust.

Bodam’s chest, which was touching Lee Tae Hwan’s, thumped just as loudly.

‘At this rate, his heart will burst before he rampages.’

“Your wavelength reading, cough. what is it that-.”

“I lowered it to 65% before coming. With a machine and medicine.”

“Then why is this like this.”

Bodam, who pressed Tae Hwan’s left chest with his hand and made him absorb the guiding, narrowed his brow.

Tae Hwan, who was aware of his own tumultuous heartbeat, muttered softly.

As if it wasn’t his own will.

“It’s probably because I like you.”

“Ugh.”

Bodam, who immediately took his hand off his chest, was disgusted by the cheesy line.

He deliberately glared at Tae Hwan, who was clenching his jaw to hold back a laugh, even more annoyingly.

But he was dumbfounded at the sight of him grinning, saying he liked it anyway.

“I won’t do anything to hurt you. I swear.”

‘Does he like me that much? Even though my matching rate with him is average.’

“So don’t think about anything and just sleep. And stop guiding.”

“You, cough.”

Bodam left a short compliment for Tae Hwan, who was patting his back slowly to put him to sleep.

Come to think of it, Lee Tae Hwan was beyond the level of a lesser-bastard and seemed like a good guy.

Though his personality was eccentric.

“You’d be really good if you met a guide with a high matching rate.”

It was meant to mean that he took good care of him and was that affectionate, but he hadn’t known Lee Tae Hwan’s expression would darken that much.

Only after saying it did he feel like he shouldn’t have.

“…It’s a compliment.”

“I like you as a person.”

Tae Hwan continued to stroke Bodam’s back even as he spoke slowly.

“I’ll like you even if you don’t guide me.”

As if it wasn’t a statement that expected an answer, he pulled the blanket up to cover Bodam’s ears, telling him to just go to sleep now.

Bodam’s expression, with only his eyes peeking out from over the blanket, also sank.

For the first time, Bodam accepted Tae Hwan’s confession sincerely.

Until now, he had just dismissed it as the common short-term affection of an Esper.

He had thought he wasn’t someone worth listening to seriously.

“Lee Tae Hwan, I,”

“I know.”

Tae Hwan, who cut him off, massaged the nape of Bodam’s neck, which was still not free of coughing, with his warm hand.

He was worried because it seemed like his fever was getting higher.

‘Did his blood pressure rise because I brought up a confession he didn’t want to hear again?’

“I know you don’t like me.”

Tae Hwan knew very well.

His place.

He absolutely knew.

“I don’t like myself either. I want to beat myself up as much as I made it hard for you.”

He remembered how he had treated him for the past half year.

Since Yoon Bodam had thrown his resignation and left, he had been reminiscing about the past every day.

Because of that, the current Yoon Bodam looked even more like an angel.

This kind kid, who cared about his Esper wavelength and guided him even with his sick body, he had made him cry until he was sick of it.

‘As long as you know.’

Tae Hwan, who recalled the conversation he had with Bodam, swallowed dryly in his bitter mouth.

He was the bastard who had insisted he couldn’t hold back to Yoon Bodam, who told him not to get angry.

A bastard who would have nothing to say even if Yoon Bodam told him to get lost right now if he knew.

“Hey. Let’s be friends.”

And Yoon Bodam, who would be friends… with such a bastard, really.

“You said you wanted to be friends with me. Let’s do it.”

‘It’s impossible not to like him.’

“Ugh. Cough.”

The strength in his arms, which were hugging the unbearably lovely Yoon Bodam, increased.

“…Thank you.”

Tae Hwan couldn’t show his face to Bodam, who was patting his back, telling him to relax.

With a face that didn’t look thankful at all, he just repeated his thanks and apologies.

Again and again, until Bodam fell asleep again.

***

After Tae Hwan left the room, Bodam’s fever rose even more.

When he was in Tae Hwan’s arms, he had definitely thought his cold was about to subside.

Bodam’s coughing, left alone in the bed, was getting worse.

A body ache that made it impossible to move his limbs had set in.

“Haa… ahh…”

He just looked up at the dizzying ceiling, letting out ragged, hot breaths.

‘Where did Lee Tae Hwan go? Ah, I told him to go when I fell asleep. He’s really damn obedient.’

Once the reassuringly large figure was gone, the bed felt pointlessly wider.

He just waited for the sun to rise quickly, looking at the bluish energy seeping in from the window.

“Keuheuk, cough.”

His shoulders, knees, arms, and legs all ached as if someone were beating his entire body with a club.

Because the last one by his side was Lee Tae Hwan, he kept thinking only of him.

‘How could you leave a sick friend behind? You could have at least given me more water. I’m sick and can’t even sleep, I’m going to die like this, for real.’

He just killed time, grumbling to himself for a long while.

And yet, the day did not break.

His exhausted eyelids closed powerlessly.

He didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes again.

Just when he was thinking he wished someone, anyone, would come, the door opened.

‘Oh, it’s Han Seung Ho.’