After handing over the lunch boxes, Heichi turned around and left the convenience store just like that. There was no chance to return the coat he’d left behind, no chance to decline the lunch boxes. Left standing there holding the paper bag, Heewoo stared blankly into it.
The paper bag was visibly bulging and warm. Since he was almost done organizing inventory anyway, Heewoo returned to the counter, sat down, and opened the paper bag. One lunch box, two lunch boxes, three lunch boxes. It was an amount he absolutely couldn’t eat alone.
“…Can I eat this?”
Heewoo swallowed and muttered briefly. Inside the transparent plastic lid, the warmly steaming lunch box had a delicious smell wafting through the gaps in the sealed lid. Even though he’d eaten udon heartily last night and wasn’t even hungry, his appetite stirred.
He thought Heichi might come back to take the lunch boxes again, but he seemed to have left the vicinity long ago. Then were all three of these lunch boxes really his?
“I-I should only eat one.”
All three might not be entirely his, but since he’d given them to him anyway, one was surely his portion. Judging so, Heewoo took out one lunch box from the top of the paper bag.
The lunch box had quite substantial contents. White rice and braised short ribs, spicy stir-fried pork, rolled omelet, soybean paste soup, plus 6 small vegetable side dishes. It was on a completely different level in quality and quantity from the lunch boxes he ate when they expired at the convenience store.
It looked so appetizing that it felt wasteful to touch it. Heewoo took out the enclosed wooden chopsticks and carefully, carefully began eating. A spoonful of rice, a little seasoned bean sprouts. When he scooped up a big bite and put it in his mouth, the lunch box that hadn’t yet cooled down filled his stomach with warm heat.
“I can live…”
Inside the finished lunch box, there was still half the white rice and the untouched braised short ribs, spicy stir-fried pork, and rolled omelet remaining. He’d eaten only half the rice with just vegetables.
The reason was simple. If he had time later, he was planning to have lunch with this lunch box too. Others might criticize him for being pathetic, but he’d always been in the habit of rationing food, so he couldn’t help it. Besides, he’d long since guessed that the two lunch boxes he hadn’t touched yet were Heichi’s.
Ding-a-ling…
The bell on the door rang as a customer entered at just that moment. Heewoo hurriedly put away the lunch box, got up from his seat, and bowed to the customer in greeting.
“Welcome.”
The customer who entered didn’t even glance at Heewoo’s greeting and headed to the refrigerated section. Most customers didn’t acknowledge greetings, so Heewoo didn’t pay it much mind either.
One of the things the owner had instructed was not to sit down while there were customers, so Heewoo stood there blankly waiting for the customer to select their items. He deliberately didn’t look toward the refrigerated section, worried the customer might find him burdensome.
Ding-a-ling!
But then the door opened again. He naturally thought a second customer had entered. It wasn’t anything special.
However, this customer who entered was somehow different. The all-black outfit was strangely familiar, so as he stared quietly, Heewoo soon realized he was an Esper. This was because all the people who had asked him if he was a ‘Guide’ had been wearing clothes like that.
“Seriously, stop following me already.”
It seemed the customer who entered first and the Esper customer who just entered knew each other. As soon as the Esper who just entered stuck close beside the customer who was in front of the refrigerated section without even glancing at other displays, the customer snapped at the Esper irritably.
“Need anything? Should I buy it for you?”
“I can buy it myself.”
“Aw, don’t be like that. Hm? This? You want to eat this? 1,600 won? 1,600 won is super cheap, right?”
Despite the customer being so irritable, the Esper’s face didn’t show even a hint of crumpling. Acting cheeky while snatching away the drink the customer was trying to buy was also quite natural.
So, that’s an alien.
Heewoo thought to himself while looking at the Esper. Honestly, aside from the clothing style being slightly different, he didn’t seem much different from Koreans… no, from Earthlings.
The only unusual things would be eye color or hair color. Even the Esper who had entered the convenience store now had navy blue hair and blue eyes. But since you could see that much on anyone who went abroad or dyed their hair, it didn’t feel particularly unusual.
“Please ring me up.”
While he was lost in thought for a moment, the customer seemed to have finished selecting items and approached the counter. Of course, with the Esper following behind. It was when Heewoo was mechanically scanning the barcodes.
“Let me buy it. Hm? You’re my Guide.”
“That damn Guide thing, really.”
The customer replied bluntly while taking out a card and trying to insert it into the terminal. However, before that, the Esper took out a 50,000 won bill and placed it on the counter. Thump—it clearly seemed to be set down gently, but as soon as the palm touched the counter, a loud sound rang out.
The man who appeared to be an Esper wasn’t particularly large in build, and in fact, just looking at physique, he was similar to Heewoo. Yet at the sound that rivaled almost an athlete’s, Heewoo flinched his shoulders slightly. He was originally the type to shrink when seeing people who were strong or had large builds, so he couldn’t help it.
“Here, cash… oh.”
“I-I received 50,000 won…”
When he glanced at the customer, they were looking with a face that said it couldn’t be helped, so Heewoo put the received cash into the cash box.
He tapped the register screen and carefully checked the change before holding it out to the customer, but for some reason the side of his head felt prickly. When he sneaked a glance up, he felt the Esper who had held out the cash strangely staring quietly at him. Heewoo kept his eyes downcast, trying not to make eye contact with that alien.
“…Since you’re buying it, I’ll accept it for now, but let’s talk after I get off work if possible. Okay?”
The customer finished with those words and strode out of the store. Holding only one of the 1+1 drinks they’d bought. It seemed they’d left the other one for the Esper.
Heewoo naturally thought this Esper would immediately follow the customer out. Because all he’d done since entering the convenience store was follow the customer around. But strangely, the Esper didn’t follow right away and just stood in front of the counter, staring only at Heewoo.
“…Is there a product you’re looking for?”
Since the other person was giving him attention, he couldn’t pretend not to notice, so he offered the question he usually threw at customers. Since the owner had told him not to sit down while there were customers, he couldn’t ignore them either.
“You’re a Guide, right?”
“What?”
“You’re a Guide, right?”
Thinking he’d heard wrong, he asked again, but the exact same question came back without a single particle changed. Heewoo closed his lips, not knowing what to answer.
Already three people—no, three aliens—had asked him if he was a Guide. At this point, Heewoo also thought that perhaps he really might be the ‘Guide’ they were looking for. Of course, that didn’t change much.
“I… don’t really know.”
“No, you’re definitely a Guide.”
“Ah, yes…”
Heewoo answered with an unconvinced face. It didn’t seem like he’d listen even if he said no. In his heart, he was hoping this Esper would hurry up and leave the convenience store.
Like the Espers he’d met so far, wouldn’t this one also ask to hold hands? While mentioning that ‘matching rate’ or ‘pair’ thing they’d talked about. Heewoo worried about how he should refuse this time.
“That must be pretty tiring, huh?”
“Uh… what?”
How did he know I’m tired?
They also called Espers ‘superhumans’—did he have some superpower that could see through someone’s condition? Heewoo, who had only slept a total of three hours today and was in a very fatigued state, was inwardly startled.
“No, not you—your ‘pair.'”
“Ah…”
“Your resonance rate seems incredibly good, so I think there’ll be a lot of guys who get confused because of it.”
What was resonance rate now? The term matching rate was already unfamiliar, and now a new term popped out. Heewoo just stared at the Esper, not knowing what to answer. But even so, the Esper talked on his own.
“Is it difficult? So basically, you seem like you’d match well with most Espers. My wavelength is a bit tricky so I don’t usually match, but seeing you, I think I’d match with you too?”
“Mm…”
“Ah, don’t worry though. I already found my ‘pair.'”
Was the pair he was talking about referring to that customer who’d left the convenience store earlier? But that person seemed to have no interest in the Esper…
“If anyone asks to hold hands, don’t just give it to them.”
This time it was a story he could at least understand. As Heewoo listened silently, the Esper also smiled, curling up his lips, and said:
“If you hold hands even once, I think crazy guys will latch onto you.”
