“Of course, if you want to keep receiving candy in the future, keep talking like that.”
“No! It’s okay!”
“Huh? You’re saying you don’t want my gift?”
“No. No, I don’t mean it’s not—……”
“Hmph! Too late! My tender heart is wounded, so scram while I’m asking nicely!”
Hyun Yoonseo brought both arms together in front of his chest to form an X and pretended to be upset. At that sight, I naturally frowned, but the Guides who faced him up close seemed to think a bit differently. Their faces had turned white beyond pale, to the point of nearly fainting.
Hyun Yoonseo, who had been looking down at them giggling, waved his hand as if to dismiss everything.
“Don’t linger in front of my eyes for no reason.”
‘Otherwise, I’ll hold you responsible for hurting my feelings?’ Hyun Yoonseo showed the candy again.
“We’re sorry!”
“We’ll never appear again!”
“…We were wrong!”
Then, as if they had been waiting, everyone spat out prepared answers and turned around.
Flinch.
The problem was that I was behind them. The distance wasn’t close enough to converse or awkwardly exchange greetings, but it was enough to identify who it was.
“Don’t tell me…”
“One SS-grade isn’t enough—”
I could tell what they were imagining without having to ask. They thought I was behind this series of events that had just occurred.
I opened my mouth to explain, then realized that would only fuel more suspicion and closed my mouth again. It wasn’t like there were just one or two misunderstandings and rumors about me. Now I didn’t care anymore.
“Aren’t you leaving?!”
At that moment, Hyun Yoonseo stood close behind them and urged them to walk. No matter how much they had lowered their voices to speak quietly, the other party was an Esper with superior physical abilities. And an S-grade at that.
“Eek!”
“We’re going…”
“We’re leaving!”
And silence came in an instant. I greeted him halfheartedly in the awkward atmosphere where only Hyun Yoonseo and I remained.
“…Thank you?”
“Huh~? Thank you? You should be thanking me unconditionally.”
“If I had stayed still, it would have ended on its own.”
“So you were going to just listen to that? You were crying.”
When on earth did he see that again?
Ahem, I cleared my throat containing embarrassment. And I said very firmly.
“I wasn’t crying.”
I almost cried, but I didn’t actually cry.
“Okay. I’ll let you have that.”
“You’ve only added more unnecessary rumors. Even if I’m okay, Esper Hyun Yoonseo, you’re definitely—”
“I told you once before, I have dirtier rumors. Can’t you tell from me coming out of the Guide building from the crack of dawn? So don’t tire hyung out and stop nagging around there.”
Hyun Yoonseo irritably dug at his ear.
I watched that silently, then let out a sigh. I didn’t know why only when I saw Esper Hyun Yoonseo, such casually comfortable behavior came out. We’d only met a few times in total, yet I was comfortable as if we’d known each other from before.
‘Strangely.’
Everything was awkward and strange, including why he tolerated me like this.
“Why are you so good to me?”
I didn’t hold back the question that came to mind and asked directly. I also wanted to ask about my own attitude of feeling comfortable with him and showing emotions freely, but I didn’t because it felt like I’d be giving him ammunition. I declined to be swayed any more while harboring vain expectations.
This didn’t just refer to Do Ganghyun, but to all human relationships formed within the Center.
Because I was Do Ganghyun’s pair Guide, there were many people in the Center who approached me casually. There were approaches as an object of sexual desire, and times when they dug into the human side.
Esper Hyun Yoonseo was someone who could fall into both categories, and I didn’t want either.
When I threw out a direct question with that meaning, this time he stared at me.
“You do know I’m being good to you?”
“Don’t dodge the question.”
“Geez, if you watch carefully, you only say something to me.”
‘For someone so small, such a temper.’ Hyun Yoonseo grumbled and bantered. However, when I showed no sign of backing down until the end, he sighed and continued.
“I don’t know. I just care because you resemble some bastard I know.”
Despite saying he didn’t know, I heard a fairly specific answer.
Longing could be seen on his face as if recalling the past. That appearance seemed exactly like looking at my own appearance. So I unintentionally blurted out a question.
“…First love?”
A question that could be extremely rude depending on who heard it.
“Uweeeck—!”
And it was indeed terribly rude.
“It’s not?”
“Of course not! Kid, what the hell is in your head that such bullshit comes out?”
Hyun Yoonseo said, “Don’t ever say such things again. It’s so creepy I feel like I’m going to vomit,” and actually repeated dry heaving several times.
I watched that for a while, then opened my mouth halfheartedly. Because I felt embarrassed by the huge misunderstanding and felt like I should cobble together some excuse.
“From Esper-nim’s perspective, it seems like you’re treating me well, but you said I resemble someone else, so I thought that.”
“From my perspective? What does that mean? I’m a very affectionate man!”
“Got it. So who is it? Please explain so I don’t misunderstand. I’m deciding right now whether I should avoid Esper-nim or not.”
“There is. Timid beyond measure, yet only knows how to say the right things, and a stubborn person who looks at only one thing.”
He was speaking mischievously, but Hyun Yoonseo’s face as he said that had a gentle smile on it.
Seeing that, my intention to keep distance disappeared. It meant he was only seeing someone else projected through me, but at least he hadn’t approached to use me or gain benefits.
‘That’s enough for now.’
The current me didn’t have the luxury to hang out with anyone, but I had to be grateful even for such small kindness.
And when his wavelength that had been turbulent with intense emotions subsided, I seemed to roughly know why I could treat him comfortably.
‘He seems to be a multi-ability user.’
One whose abilities don’t show on the outside at all.
It didn’t even seem like he himself was unaware of this. And on his Esper ID card I’d seen before, only one flame-type ability was clearly written. If he were a multi-ability user, the world couldn’t be this quiet. I wondered if the Center Director’s grandson could commit such illegality.
“So, talking about it, I suddenly think our kid probably won’t listen to my words at all either?”
“Why are you hiding your ability?”
“……See. I said you probably won’t listen to my words at all.”
Hyun Yoonseo spoke as if to himself. The smile he had shown a little while ago had completely disappeared. It was different from when he had pressured the other Guides just before, but it wasn’t a very comfortable atmosphere either.
The wavelength that had subtly surrounded him vanished without a trace. As expected, he had been using his ability.
Since he had been using that ability constantly from the start, I was late to notice, but there was definitely wavering when he showed intense reactions including dry heaving just now, or when he projected someone through me.
And now, facing Hyun Yoonseo with his ability withdrawn, I could tell he was a more indifferent person than I thought. Though expressionless, even if he smiled like before, it didn’t seem like a comfortable atmosphere would flow.
“Is it mind control?”
Nevertheless, I had no hesitation in asking. He who had shown no change in wavelength even during the fight with Do Ganghyun had shown a gap while recalling someone. And if he was seeing me as identical to that someone, I thought there would be no great threat.
“Isn’t it common sense not to ask even if you know about such things?”
“Why?”
“Obviously I’m in a situation where I can do something to you.”
“What are you going to do to me?”
As soon as I finished speaking, Hyun Yoonseo let out an empty laugh, “Ha!” It was a reaction of disbelief, but the color of his wavelength took on the same aspect as before and the atmosphere softened gently. That was answer enough.
“It’s not something grand like mind control. Just think of it as a passive skill derived from flame-type ability. It doesn’t even get caught on the measurement device in the first place.”
Hyun Yoonseo, who opened his mouth as if resigned, began to explain in an easy-to-understand way. He said it simply made the other party feel his presence naturally and comfortably, and he speculated it was because it was a natural element, and fire that has warmth at that. He said even that only played the role of reducing his intimidation because he himself was an S-grade Esper.
“Well, a few Guides with high wavelength sensitivity react sensitively and are affected quite a bit…”
While saying that, Hyun Yoonseo glanced at me. It seemed I was among those few with high sensitivity.
“I never thought a C-grade Guide who I’ve only met a few times would notice like this.”
“……I didn’t know I was this sensitive to wavelength either.”
I really didn’t know. I was keenly sensitive to Espers’ emotions through wavelength, acted perceptively, and reaped full benefits in the communal guiding room, but that was it. As I’d said several times before, I was C-grade. The amount of guiding I possessed itself was remarkably small to try anything new. No one paid that much attention to me either.
