“Auntie has been marinating galbi since yesterday because hyung is coming.”
“Mm, Mrs. Lee’s galbi-jjim is delicious.”
“Just delicious? Auntie’s galbi-jjim is really the best. You missed Korean food too, right, hyung? Eat to your heart’s content at dinner later. The table legs might actually break today.”
At an Italian restaurant near Seoul Station, Yeoul sat across from Hyeseong and chattered away with a flushed face.
At Auntie’s suggestion to gather together for dinner tonight, Yeoul’s parents readily agreed without hesitation. It was natural since they were closer to Hyeseong’s family, who lived right next door, than even most relatives.
‘Good grief, it’s so hard to see my one and only son’s face. He wouldn’t even let me come meet him at the airport saying it would get crowded, you know? And saying he couldn’t even come home because he had to handle overtime work. He’s doing all the world’s work by himself.’
Auntie, who’d stopped by Yeoul’s house this morning, had grumbled like that. What would Auntie say if she knew that the first appointment that ‘hard-to-see person’ made upon coming to Korea was with me? Yeoul, who’d kept his mouth appropriately shut, had smiled awkwardly and comforted Auntie.
On the other hand, he was also excited. By the fact that the first appointment that such a busy Hyeseong made as soon as he came to Korea was with none other than him. No matter how much he urged himself not to get carried away alone, he couldn’t help feeling excited since morning and smiling.
“Auntie was very worried. She said you’re too busy to contact her often… Don’t just contact me, contact Auntie too during that time.”
“Okay, okay. From the next dispatch onward, I’ll listen well to our baby’s words.”
He just smiled without any sign of displeasure even at the nagging that poured out. Rather, the more he did so, the deeper his smile grew as if finding it admirable. At the clearly patronizing tone, Yeoul, who’d swallowed the pizza he was chewing, narrowed his eyes sharply.
“I told you I’m not a baby? I’m an adult now! A college student and twenty years old!”
“Yes, sir, twenty-year-old college student Kim Yeoul who hugged hyung and even shed tears.”
He’s so infuriating, I could die. Yeoul glared at him huffily while he smiled as if he was dying of amusement. I was really worried, but he doesn’t know my heart and just teases me endlessly…
As if judging that he really needed to placate him now, Hyeseong put down his fork and spoke gently to Yeoul.
“Don’t worry. Who is hyung?”
Who is hyung indeed. Would there be anyone among those in this restaurant who didn’t know who Kang Hyeseong was? From the moment they entered this restaurant, it had been a commotion with customers approaching to ask for photos and autographs. Even now while they were eating, he could feel glances sneaking toward them.
“Super Ultra Ice Gun, did you forget?”
Hyeseong, who made a gun-shooting gesture with his hand going bang bang, smiled playfully. Korea’s only S-rank Esper, the ‘national hero’ who led the Republic of Korea’s frontline unit, and also… Yeoul, who’d been continuing to string together such modifiers in his head, opened his mouth with an absurd expression.
“…What. That’s such an old story.”
“Haha.”
He’d deliberately spoken sulkily, but before he knew it, Yeoul was also smiling slightly. Recalling his childhood, his heart couldn’t help but feel endlessly heavy.
The time when Hyeseong was his entire life. The childish heart that wanted to get close to him no matter what because the older brother next door, who was seven years older, looked so big and wonderful to him.
Yeoul, who’d been diagnosed with a congenital heart disease in early childhood and had major surgery at age five, had rarely played around with his peers. So he was always alone and lonely. When he moved to an unfamiliar neighborhood at age seven, everything felt awkward and strange.
Yeoul’s parents were both good people, but they were very busy running a law office together, and a deep shadow of loneliness always existed in young Yeoul’s heart.
The person who embraced that heart of Yeoul’s was none other than Kang Hyeseong. At that time, Kang Hyeseong was fourteen years old, and though by no means a great age, he looked endlessly reliable and mature in Yeoul’s eyes.
Yeoul loved Hyeseong so much for taking care of his young self. He would sit next to hyung, who always sat upright studying, doing homework and taking naps.
And a few months after meeting Yeoul, he awakened as an Esper. It was when Kang Hyeseong was only fourteen years old.
The entire country was in a celebratory mood at the birth of Korea’s first S-rank Esper. Wherever you went, news featuring Kang Hyeseong’s face was broadcast, reporters consistently came to his house or in front of his school, and even paparazzi ran rampant.
Kang Hyeseong had to complete all the rigorous training courses as an official Esper registered with the Ability Security Bureau. Even so, he continued his schoolwork without letting it go. That alone must have been hard, but wherever he went, burdensome gazes and attention poured down on him.
While enduring and accomplishing all those things, Hyeseong was composed and calm in a way unbefitting his age. Even in the midst of being busy beyond belief, he didn’t forget to take care of Yeoul.
‘It’s too hot. And I’m bored…’
It was a particularly hot summer day. When Yeoul, who was flapping his T-shirt like a fan, panted and complained, Hyeseong, who was sitting at his desk doing overdue homework, silently turned to look at him. After humming and thinking deeply about something, he suddenly spread out his palm.
‘Huk, hyung-ah! What’s that?! That’s so amazing!’
What rose from Hyeseong’s palm along with a mysterious light was… surprisingly, a toy gun. Made of ice, too!
Yeoul, who received the roughly 30cm ice gun, jumped around unable to hide his excitement. It was transparent, white, pretty, and above all, as detailed as a real gun.
He didn’t know back then. How amazing it was to control such a massive amount of ability accumulated in his body so delicately. How astonishing it was for a boy of only fifteen to shape such an elaborate object with his bare hands.
It was a creation that would have shocked researchers studying ability users and made them rush forward competitively if they’d seen it, but eight-year-old brat Kim Yeoul had just been happy, thinking ‘It’s an ice gun!’ and jumped around.
‘Ah, it’s cold. Ah, it’s cold.’
‘You can’t get frostbite, so wrap it with this.’
Hyeseong wrapped the grip with his own handkerchief. Yeoul grinned broadly and took the ice gun.
‘From now on, this is the Super Ultra Ice Gun. It’s so, so cool and refreshing. Hyung, I’m going to show this off to my school friends too!’
The gun created with his ability didn’t melt even as time passed. Pyoong pyoong! Bang bang, Yeoul, who’d been playing with the gun for a long time making noisy sounds by himself, approached Hyeseong in his school uniform. He hugged his reliable hyung’s body tightly and rubbed his cheek against his chest.
‘Hyung-ah, thank you.’
There was a time like that, wasn’t there. As he was reminiscing about the past with a pleased smile, Hyeseong’s hand suddenly came into view. At that moment, Yeoul’s expression hardened.
“Hyung, what’s that. Are you hurt?”
“Ah, it just happened somehow.”
There was a small scratch on the back of his hand. Hyeseong tried to brush it off as if it were nothing, but Yeoul furrowed his brow and began rummaging through his bag.
“Give me your hand. It would be good to disinfect it first and apply medicine… I only have a bandage right now, so let’s at least put this on.”
As he was taking out a bandage while speaking in an incredibly serious voice, a small medicine box came out first from inside the bag instead of the bandage and fell to the floor with a thud. It was when he was scrambling to pick it up lest Kang Hyeseong see it.
“What’s that?”
“Ah.”
The situation was overturned in an instant. He felt his spine grow slightly cold.
Once at age five, and then again at age nine. Perhaps it was because he had a history of undergoing heart surgery twice. Kang Hyeseong had a tendency to be excessively strict when it came to anything related to Yeoul’s condition since long ago.
Just catching a cold once, he would take him to the hospital until he completely recovered as a given, and he even checked whether he was properly eating his meals and taking medicine. So much so that Yeoul’s parents were grateful, saying ‘Hyeseong does more than we do.’
“The thing is… I’ve had a bit of a fever for a few days. I got a prescription for medicine.”
“A cold?”
He abruptly reached out and touched Yeoul’s forehead. From his furrowed brow to his suddenly sharpened gaze, Hyeseong’s face was incredibly serious. Until just a moment ago when he was teasing him, he’d had a consistently relaxed expression…
“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like you have a fever.”
“Yeah… I don’t have a runny nose, cough, or fever—nothing at all, but strangely my whole body keeps feeling lethargic and aching.”
Yeoul muttered and hastily added more. But he was fine now, he only brought that medicine just in case, maybe he got body aches from riding his bicycle on the Han River a few times recently while trying to exercise, etc., etc….
“This won’t do. Let’s go home.”
However, the answer that came back from Hyeseong was far too cold.
“Huh…?”
“You need to rest. You can’t be outside when your condition isn’t good.”
I knew this would happen. I shouldn’t have let the medicine get discovered…! Yeoul made a tearful face and blocked Hyeseong, who was getting up from his seat without regret.
“N-no. I’m really okay.”
“Would someone who’s okay take medicine?”
“I told you. I’m okay now, didn’t I? I’m just carrying it around as a precaution.”
I waited so much for this day, I can’t go home like this. Yeoul shook his head with a desperate expression.
“I don’t want to go home like this. I won’t go home.”
“Haah… You really.”
“I want to hang out with hyung… We’re seeing each other for the first time in a year. Please, hyung. Hm…?”
Yeoul called to Hyeseong with a desperate voice and shook his wrist. He was exactly like a whining child throwing a tantrum. But at least for this moment, he didn’t care if he looked like a child.
Finally, Hyeseong sighed with an expression that said he was throwing up all four hands and feet.
“Fine. But if you feel even a little bad, you have to tell me right away.”
“Okay!”
Looking at Yeoul, who was grinning happily, Hyeseong’s face also softened a bit. Since we’ve finished eating, should we have coffee? While Yeoul was busily thinking of the next course in his head, Hyeseong opened his mouth first.
“If you’re done eating, let’s go look at some clothes.”
“Clothes? Ah, well, since you came to Korea after a long time, you should buy some.”
“No, not mine. You became a college student but I haven’t been able to buy you any decent clothes.”
“Me? It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m fine. And you already bought me a watch as a gift.”
As they were having a light squabble and getting up from their seats, his vision suddenly spun. A dizzy sensation seized his head. It was a vertigo he’d never experienced before.
‘Huh…?’
Hyeseong was holding the bill and had turned toward the counter. Yeoul, who gulped, tried to support his body by gripping the table firmly. It’s probably nothing. It was the instant when he forcefully closed and opened his eyes and tried to step forward again.
His vision suddenly went pitch black. At the same time, his consciousness became hazy. His body swayed uncontrollably, and tinnitus rang in his ears.
Huh, am I collapsing…?
Only then did he realize this was no ordinary matter. Ah, how embarrassing. I stubbornly insisted to Kang Hyeseong that I was fine, and what is this…
The moment his vision spun felt exactly like slow motion. Slowly, yet even the briefest instant was vivid.
From his few experiences of fainting, he could immediately tell. I’m going to collapse soon, I wonder if I’ll get a bump if I hit my head on the floor… Even in that moment, such foolish thoughts occurred to him.
At that moment, Kang Hyeseong, who’d been walking ahead, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He whirled around with a rarely seen, very surprised expression.
Soon after, he threw down all his belongings and started running toward him. Just before Yeoul’s body touched the ground, Hyeseong’s arms firmly caught and held Yeoul.
His voice calling out his name loudly echoed in his ears. Staring blankly at Kang Hyeseong’s face, which was contorted to the utmost, Yeoul lost consciousness.
