Chapter 99: Is It a Burden?

Su-ha felt his chest tighten in an instant.

He put the straw to his lips and swallowed his Americano in large gulps for no reason.

Chaewon, his voice slightly subdued, continued.

“Um… would it be alright if I went somewhere far alone on the next day off?”

“Somewhere far?”

“Yes. Not just nearby… somewhere a bit farther.”

A flicker of confusion crossed Su-ha’s face.

Chaewon had once been hesitant even to go somewhere close by, what reason could he suddenly have to travel far?

“There’s no rule against it… but is something going on?”

Chaewon gave a small, easy smile.

“No, nothing like that. I just… wanted to visit my grandmother.”

“Ah…”

“It’s not urgent or anything. I can just go on my day off. I was just wondering if I need special permission to travel that far.”

For a moment, Su-ha felt his vision go white.

How could he have been so thoughtless?

From Chaewon’s perspective, after starting a new life in a new environment, the first person he would naturally want to visit was his grandmother.

And yet Su-ha had never even considered it.

He claimed he wanted Chaewon to be happy, and yet he had been so absorbed in his own sudden love that he had overlooked something this important.

Seeing Su-ha’s expression darken instantly, Chaewon hurried to add something, worried he had made a mistake.

But Su-ha spoke first.

“I’m sorry, Chaewon. I should’ve thought of that. I should’ve brought it up first…”

“No! How could you possibly think of something like that for me? I was just busy and distracted until now too.”

Chaewon meant to comfort him.

But the words only unsettled Su-ha further.

How could you think of something like that?

In other words, it wasn’t his place to.

The distance between them suddenly felt clear.

“Of course you can go.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Let’s go together.”

“…Together?”

Chaewon’s eyes shook violently this time.

Su-ha had expected that reaction. He answered as if it were nothing unusual.

“Yes. We’ll take my car.”

“I can just take the bus. It’s fine.”

“Why would you take the bus when I’m here?”

He wanted to make things like this natural.

When Chaewon needed something, when he wanted something, when something felt burdensome to do alone…

Su-ha wanted to be the first person he thought of.

Just as enduring everything alone had once been natural for him,

Su-ha wanted doing things together to become just as natural.

“That’s… you don’t have to go through the trouble…”

“If I’m here, why should you trouble yourself taking the bus?”

Su-ha spoke with such steady certainty that Chaewon visibly grew flustered.

Exactly as intended.

“You’re due to properly set your days off anyway. Talk to the management team, pick a date, and we’ll go.”

“I… I really can go alone-”

“It’ll be nice for me to get out of the Center for once too.”

That last line was deliberate.

He knew Chaewon would immediately feel sorry at the thought of Su-ha being cooped up because of him.

And as expected, Chaewon fell silent mid-refusal.

His face grew serious enough that Su-ha could almost read every conflict passing through his mind.

Su-ha took a sip of the coffee Chaewon had bought him, the first thing Chaewon had ever paid for with his first paycheck after awakening.

For now, he had to attach reasons and conditions.

But someday, he wanted to stand beside him without any of that, and have it be taken for granted.

“I’ll… accept your help, then. Thank you, Su-ha.”

“It’s only natural.”

Chaewon brought the straw to his lips and thought quietly.

What did Su-ha mean by natural?

Under the title of pair, how many things were bound to become “natural”?

And beneath that question lay another, how much of this was simply professional duty, and how much was personal affection?

He could no longer pretend he didn’t want to know.

Then, suddenly, he remembered that I-hyeon had come looking for him earlier.

Not just to see him, but to set up dinner.

The buoyant mood inside him sank at once, replaced by uneasy tension.

He couldn’t keep ignoring I-hyeon’s invitation.

Objectively speaking, spending time alone with I-hyeon would benefit him far more.

As an S-class Esper, I-hyeon could give him invaluable advice, not just about combat, but about handling people, the press, public expectations.

There was no practical downside.

“Chaewon…?”

Su-ha noticed the shift in him immediately.

Chaewon looked at him quietly.

He had no idea how Su-ha would react if he mentioned I-hyeon.

Not that he thought Su-ha would treat him coldly.

He was certain Su-ha wouldn’t think badly of him.

But he didn’t want to create something that would weigh on him.

Especially not when it came to I-hyeon.

Su-ha had already been hurt once because of him.

Even though Su-ha had apologized, even though it wasn’t Chaewon’s intention, the sense of debt remained.

This wasn’t about watching someone’s reactions.

It was because Su-ha had become precious to him.

He wanted him to be happy.

He wanted him to have what he truly desired.

And he knew how special I-hyeon was to Su-ha.

“Why do you look like that all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing. You have to eat all of that. I bought it for you.”

Chaewon quickly pushed the plate of cake toward him, changing the subject.

Fortunately, Su-ha assumed the fleeting shadow had been about his grandmother and responded brightly.

“Yes. I will.”

I should refuse the dinner invitation, Chae-won decided quietly.

There were other ways to show gratitude to I-hyeon.

He smiled at Su-ha.

****

“Are you guiding me today too…?”

Inside his room, after they had entered together, Chaewon suddenly asked.

Up until they arrived, it had felt completely natural.

But once the door closed and they were alone, awareness crept in.

Su-ha looked at him as if the question were absurd.

“Of course. Why ask?”

“I just… didn’t feel like I did much today.”

“You trained. And guiding helps ease side effects. Even if you did nothing, it’s better to receive it daily.”

“…Right.”

Chaewon nodded obediently, then felt embarrassed for making it strange.

It was because of the mucosal-contact guiding last time.

He had tried not to think of it as anything special, it would be disrespectful to the professionalism Su-ha had shown.

But the moment he thought of guiding, the sensations resurfaced vividly.

He hurried to push the memory away.

Then he noticed something else.

“Is it… too much of a burden for you to guide me every day?”

Even as he asked, the question felt obvious.

For Espers, guiding was like recharging, like healing.

But for Guides, it meant expending their power outward.

Guiding someone unstable every day couldn’t be easy.

Yet Su-ha simply shook his head.

“If I had to guide an Esper fresh from battle every day, that would be burdensome. But daily stabilization guiding like this isn’t particularly taxing.”

“But my condition isn’t exactly normal… Are my side effects making it harder on you?”

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