“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah! Totally.”
He told him so many times not to come because traffic would be bad during rush hour, but Kang Hyeseong stubbornly came to pick him up. Hyeseong, who had briefly exchanged greetings with Huijun, meticulously fastened Yeoul’s seatbelt in the passenger seat.
He felt bad calling someone who had been buried in piles of documents all day to be a driver… But once he actually came to pick him up, he was grateful and happy. Yeoul couldn’t hide his fluttering heart and asked in an excited tone.
“What should we eat?”
“Whatever you want to eat. You’ve worked hard, so I’ll buy you something delicious.”
“You’ve worked way harder, hyung…”
“So tteokbokki, or seasoned chicken?”
“…How did you know I was just thinking about tteokbokki?”
Yeoul flinched and looked to the side. Kang Hyeseong, who was smiling leisurely, looked exactly like a mind reader.
“You said you ate tempura rice bowl for lunch. Then you’d want to eat something spicy, our Yeoul would.”
“Keu… As expected of hyung.”
He didn’t ask which restaurant to go to. Instead, he was naturally heading to the instant tteokbokki restaurant Yeoul liked. It was an instant tteokbokki restaurant he’d discovered by chance in high school, and Yeoul liked this place so much that he persistently visited when the weather got chilly like this.
“Huh… Could it be Esper Kang Hyeseong?”
“Can I get your autograph please!”
“Could you take just one photo with me?”
And… as soon as they arrived at the tteokbokki restaurant, people who recognized Kang Hyeseong rushed over in a swarm. Yeoul was used to receiving phones from people and taking photos for them. He was used to it since it happened every day anyway. He felt good and pleased that Kang Hyeseong was this popular.
Though he always complained about the atmosphere of viewing soldiers like celebrities and said it should be avoided, when people actually approached, he accepted them within reasonable limits. For the reason that he didn’t want to turn their purely expressed goodwill into awkwardness.
“Oh my, you always work so hard. Being popular must be tiring too.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.”
The owner who brought a large hot pot whispered with a smile so only Yeoul and Hyeseong could hear. Since they came so often, even the owner seemed used to it. On the wall hung a photo of the owner, Kang Hyeseong, and him, along with autographs from famous celebrities and baseball players.
The tteokbokki began to bubble. Yeoul, who took a bite of the soft rice cake rising with hot steam, trembled with a happy expression.
“Ha… It’s delicious. Really, when the cold wind blows, this is the first thing I think of, you know?”
“Eat slowly. Should I order more eggs?”
“No, it’s fine. This is perfect.”
Kang Hyeseong cut dumplings on Yeoul’s plate and brought him warm water. Even on hot summer days, he always nagged that it wasn’t good for his heart if Yeoul gulped down cold water all at once.
“Tsk, I don’t like hot water. Get me a Cider.”
“Okay. Boss, one Cider here please.”
At the sound of him ordering, small voices from the next table where students in school uniforms were sitting huddled together could be heard saying ‘Did you just hear that voice? What should we do-‘ while stamping their feet. Really, you can’t tell if he’s a celebrity or an ability user. Why does his face have to be so handsome anyway.
“Is it that good? You’re getting it all over your mouth.”
“Huh? Where?”
Yeoul, who had been excitedly eating tteokbokki, hurriedly pulled out a napkin to wipe his mouth, but Hyeseong was faster. Hyeseong, who caringly wiped his lips, chuckled as if finding it cute.
“There. Eat a lot, Yeoul.”
“…Yeah.”
His ear tips became hot for no reason. Really, why does he become particularly careless in front of Kang Hyeseong? This is all because Kang Hyeseong raised him too indulgently from childhood.
The moment he was about to pick up rice cake with his fork again, Yeoul hesitated. A sudden question crossed his mind.
Did Kang Hyeseong treat his previous dedicated guide this kindly too?
‘…Why… am I suddenly thinking this.’
Yeoul was a bit flustered. It was a question he’d never had even once until now. Kang Hyeseong’s attention and affection, and sometimes even excessively burdensome protection, were just as natural as breathing to him.
But why was he suddenly conscious of another person? He’d never even met that person. Was it since seeing the photo frame on his desk last time? Yeoul was a little surprised at the fact that the curiosity that had inadvertently surged about that person still hadn’t subsided.
“…Yeoul?”
“Hm?”
“What are you thinking about so hard? Suddenly.”
When he snapped to attention, he saw Kang Hyeseong quietly gazing at him. Yeoul shook his head with an awkward feeling.
“It’s nothing. Let’s eat cheese fried rice after we finish this.”
“Okay.”
While efficiently eating the fried rice completed golden brown with flying fish roe and cheese on top, Yeoul carefully folded away the uncomfortable feeling deep in his heart. He shouldn’t keep being conscious of others. It would be rude to that person too, and he didn’t have that kind of leisure either.
Because he was going to try embrace guiding today. While blowing on the hot fried rice to cool it, Yeoul stealthily observed his reaction. Rather than bringing it up rashly now and getting rejected, it seemed better to just slip into his arms while proceeding with basic guiding.
Right. He should do that. First hold hands, then stealthily move up to the forearm… touch the shoulders, place hands on the stomach and chest, and if it seems okay, slip into his chest…
‘…I must be crazy.’
He couldn’t endure the heat that suddenly surged up. Yeoul hurriedly lifted the cup with Cider and gulped it down.
“Why? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”
“N-no. Should we go now if we’re done eating?”
Yeoul awkwardly smiled and put down his spoon. His heart was already pounding wildly. Even though Kang Hyeseong hadn’t even permitted it yet, while thinking he was getting way ahead of himself, it was difficult to control his pounding heart.
***
‘I can do this. Whew, I can do this.’
Yeoul walked out of the shower booth with a resolute heart. After steeling his resolve while being hit by hot water for a long time, steam rose from his entire body.
After drying off and carefully applying lotion all over his body that Kang Hyeseong bought him (for some reason, he always only buys him things with this baby powder scent. Why? Now that he thinks about it, it seems like he’s teasing him by treating him like a baby…), he put on indoor clothes. Just in case a bad smell came out while guiding.
‘I’m going crazy. Why am I so nervous?’
If someone saw, they’d think he was preparing for that kind of… the highest level of guiding. Yeoul took a deep breath and headed to the bedroom where Kang Hyeseong would be waiting. Repeating and repeating Huijun noona’s words that the two of them hugged often anyway.
“You’re here?”
Kang Hyeseong, who had been sitting leaning against the bed, put down the book he’d been reading on the nightstand. Yeoul gulped and took out the supplies needed for guiding from the drawer.
“Yeah. You’re going to guide obediently today, right?”
“Yeah. I’m waiting right now.”
Kang Hyeseong smiled softly. His heart sank again at the face smiling gently. To think he was waiting for my guiding… It might just be something he said casually, but for Yeoul, who was his guide, it couldn’t help but be heart-fluttering words.
He’d always slipped away like a loach here and there. His appearance of obediently changing after hearing the doctor’s words that it was okay was both cute and grateful.
“It’s 65%. Is it because we didn’t guide yesterday? It’s high even though you didn’t go to the field today.”
Unlike being shocked to the point of fainting at seeing the same numbers at first, Yeoul calmly started guiding. He grasped one of his hands with his gloved hand and closed his eyes.
Soon after, he focused on feeling Kang Hyeseong’s waves that began to flow out little by little. And he quietly pulled them toward himself. It was the start of guiding.
He could feel consideration in the power flowing in through his palm. Kang Hyeseong was now extremely suppressing and controlling his enormous power in case he might be startled.
Yeoul had also tried to receive his waves somehow quickly and unguardedly in his impatient heart at first, but now he knew. The fact that rushing recklessly didn’t help him or himself at all.
“…Are you okay? Yeoul.”
“Yeah, I’m really fine. How about you, hyung?”
“Good. Very.”
Hyeseong’s voice resonated in the air lowly. Yeoul vaguely realized that hand guiding between himself and him had now become so familiar that it didn’t require any particular technique or effort.
Right, then let’s go now. Slowly, so Kang Hyeseong won’t be startled.
“Hyung. I have something to say.”
“Yeah… What is it?”
They had been continuing hand guiding for about 5 minutes. His voice, which reacted a beat late to Yeoul’s call, was low and drowsy. Even on his completely relaxed face, no trace of tension could be seen.
Then…
“…The doctor said earlier, that I’m completely fine.”
“Mm.”
“And look at the hand guiding right now. We’ve become so familiar with it now… I feel like we could do it even with our eyes closed while sleeping?”
“Why is our Yeoul’s introduction so long when trying to say something?”
Kang Hyeseong smiled languidly. However, an unusual light had already returned to his relaxed eyes. He was someone who loved him very much but was also sometimes an unwavering and firm controller.
Yeoul had seen these eyes of Kang Hyeseong a few times before. For instance, when he said he wanted to go to the ski resort with friends all night, when he said as a middle schooler he wanted to try drinking soju following the adults, and…
‘Ah shit… It’s already written huge on Kang Hyeseong’s face that it’s a no…’
This felt like he’d listen but the conclusion was already decided as ‘no’… However, Yeoul stubbornly pushed forward with his argument.
“I want to do guiding beyond this.”
