“…….”
Gu Baekyoung just moved his lips wordlessly, unable to answer.
His eyes, which seemed like they wouldn’t shed a single tear even if pricked with a needle, appeared to have clouded over hazily.
“But to me, you’re like a hyung.”
“Instead of that, how about telling that hyung you like him?”
Onyul asked the question while considering the one-in-a-million possibility that ‘that hyung’ might not be him.
“……I can’t anymore. Because he’s dead.”
But no twist occurred. That hyung was Kang Onyul.
Onyul felt his temples throbbing.
“If he’s dead, just forget him now. Dead people can’t come back to life. That’s how the world works.”
“But I can’t. How can I forget hyung?”
“…….”
“We were…… in a relationship, you see.”
……What? We were… what?
Has this kid really gone crazy? Or has some villain manipulated his mind and messed with his memories?
Onyul couldn’t hide his shocked expression, his mouth hanging open.
***
Returning to his home, Gu Baekyoung laid his body down on the living room sofa just as he was.
He didn’t turn on the lights, so the surroundings were pitch black, but that didn’t matter at all. Because Gu Baekyoung’s head was filled only with Onyul.
‘It’s strange, it’s definitely hyung though.’
Gu Baekyoung had thought there was a high possibility that Kang Ian was Onyul from the moment Yoon Jihyuk made a fuss about the peculiar convenience store manager.
Because while Yoon Jihyuk was an idiot, he didn’t spout nonsense.
If he felt Onyul’s energy from the manager, then it must surely be real. That’s why he went to that convenience store without any particular doubt.
The moment their eyes met with the manager, Gu Baekyoung felt a tingling at his fingertips.
The intuition of an S-rank Esper was completely different from ordinary people. Gu Baekyoung was certain at that moment. Although the appearance had changed, hyung had returned.
Even though hyung had become a different person, he still attracted people—the cramped convenience store was full of ability users.
Even in the past, there were always many people around hyung, which was annoying…….
But the annoyance quickly disappeared. It was because of the good energy that gently lingered within the convenience store.
As if radiation guiding had been performed, there was an energy within the convenience store that stabilized mind and body.
Though it was slightly different from the energy of his past life, Onyul hyung’s therapy energy was definitely within it.
Gu Baekyoung approached the manager as if possessed and extended his hand.
The moment they clasped hands after much difficulty, the fatigue accumulated throughout his body, the sadness he’d been suffering from losing hyung, the tedium of life…… all of it disappeared.
What newly sprouted in the place where the negative things disappeared was hope. The thought that he could now live a long life together with his resurrected hyung.
Gu Baekyoung was convinced that Manager Kang Ian was Kang Onyul.
But hyung didn’t seem to have any intention of revealing his identity. He thought perhaps he might have lost his memories from his past life, but…….
<He said it was the first time seeing someone as handsome and pretty as you. He said he fell for me.>
<We were…… in a relationship, you see.>
The way he panicked without fail as soon as he told a story different from the facts proved that he was holding onto all his memories.
Then why was hyung pretending not to remember and acting like he didn’t even know himself?
He couldn’t know hyung’s thoughts, but that didn’t mean he could give up on hyung.
How could he, when they’d met again…… when he only realized how precious he was after he died……. He couldn’t repeat the same thing.
Gu Baekyoung wanted to create an inescapable situation to make hyung admit to his reincarnation.
Onyul hyung acted prickly but actually had a soft heart and wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, so it might be easier than expected.
In the pitch-black surroundings, Gu Baekyoung’s eyes flashed sharply.
***
Gu Baekyoung, who had been spouting crazy talk, came to the convenience store the next day too. Late at night when there were almost no customers, disguised completely in black.
He observed the convenience store items one by one while watching Onyul’s reactions. He had no interest in the items whatsoever, and just seemed to be timing when to speak to Onyul.
Then he placed the armful of products he’d gathered onto the counter and spoke to Onyul.
“Should I tell you about the hyung I was dating again today?”
Onyul let out a deep sigh.
If he could follow his heart, he wanted to question when he’d ever dated him, ask if he was crazy. But if he did that, it would prove that Kang Ian was Kang Onyul.
Of course, anyone sane wouldn’t believe in things like reincarnation, but it seemed like Gu Baekyoung alone wouldn’t doubt it.
That was even more of a problem. When he didn’t know what Gu Baekyoung was thinking by lying, he was reluctant to reveal that he was Kang Onyul.
He decided to first find out why Gu Baekyoung was acting this way.
“You said you wanted to buy me. What did I tell you to do for that?”
“You told me to do something you’d like.”
“Would listening to stories about the person Gu Baekyoung likes be something I’d enjoy?”
“Yeah. I think you’d like it.”
What kind of confidence is that even? Onyul just found the one-sided conversation frustrating.
“Why are you doing this to me anyway? Is it because I seem like a guide? Or do I resemble that hyung who died before?”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a guide or not.”
“Then?”
“Because you’re hyung himself.”
“……What?”
“Team Leader Na Geonwoo said so. If I lived kindly, hyung would reincarnate and come back to me.”
Not only was it surprising that the realistic Na Geonwoo had said such a thing, but Gu Baekyoung’s innocence in believing it so firmly was even more surprising.
“You think I wouldn’t know?”
Gu Baekyoung’s arm stretched forward and gripped Onyul’s shoulder tightly. He couldn’t run away from him, nor could he avoid answering.
Onyul met the black eyes staring at him from right in front of his nose.
“Even if hyung came back to life as a monster, I could recognize hyung immediately.”
“I’m…… not Kang Onyul.”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. Because Kang Onyul was now Kang Ian.
But Onyul was flustered by Gu Baekyoung’s answer that came right back.
“I never said that hyung was Kang Onyul.”
“……!”
……I think I made a mistake. What do I do about this?
“Hyung, you know what? Your face becomes really interesting every time I lie.”
The Gu Baekyoung who had been hesitantly watching for a chance to speak had disappeared.
What was now in front of Onyul’s eyes was Gu Baekyoung with a crooked smile and a beast-like face. He was giving off an atmosphere that suggested once he’d bitten his prey, he would never let go.
‘As expected, does an S-rank Esper have extraordinary intuition?’
Onyul was flustered for a moment but soon came to his senses.
No matter how much Gu Baekyoung suspected, he just needed to deny it. As long as he didn’t admit that he was Kang Onyul, Gu Baekyoung’s suspicions would remain just speculation.
“Gu Baekyoung, you’re twenty-seven right now, aren’t you? I’m twenty-six, so don’t call me hyung.”
“Hyung, there’s no use pretending not to know.”
“I think you’re mistaken, Gu Baekyoung, but your information is more widely known than you think. As you said, you’re the most famous Esper in South Korea.”
“…….”
“So, the fact that you were close with an Esper named Kang Onyul and were saddened by that Esper’s death is known to all the citizens. I’m one of those citizens too. That’s why I mentioned Kang Onyul’s name.”
To find out what happened to his saved-up assets, he had briefly searched about his own death.
Because of that, he vaguely learned facts he didn’t want to know. How much his colleagues had grieved over his death.
But he hadn’t looked into the details because he didn’t want to know more. Onyul didn’t look into anything else as soon as he confirmed that his aunt had taken his assets.
He was curious, but since he had resolved to live a new life, he didn’t want to be bound to the past.
He also didn’t want to meddle unnecessarily with them because he was concerned about the sadness of those left behind.
At Onyul’s words pointing out the facts, Gu Baekyoung’s lips, which had been arguing back readily, shut tight. Onyul decided to drive the point home.
“I’ll say it again, but I’m not Kang Onyul.”
“But I can feel an energy similar to Onyul hyung from you.”
“You must have been mistaken.”
“No. It’s not a mistake, because that’s why other ability users come to this convenience store often too.”
“……What?”
It wasn’t because the large convenience store closed, but for another reason?
“You don’t seem to know, but an energy that stabilizes mind and body flows out from you. Whether that’s guiding or an Esper’s ability, I’m not certain either.”
“…….”
Gu Baekyoung didn’t seem to be joking. He was much more serious than when he discussed absurd things like being in a relationship with him with a calm face.
Onyul had also been inwardly suspicious about this, so his words were immediately believable.
“Center Director Park Hanil might come looking for you soon. He’ll tell you to take a guide examination.”
It was a terrible warning. If he really had become a guide or an Esper, he’d be stuck being affiliated with the Management Bureau.
There was a law that ability users must belong to the Management Bureau and work. Except for exceptional cases, if they didn’t comply, they would be legally punished.
He didn’t like working as an ability user, but he hated having a criminal record even more!
Onyul felt like tearing his hair out.
‘Damn convenience store! If only it hadn’t been near the Management Bureau, I wouldn’t have been caught.’
After confirming Onyul’s increasingly distorted expression, Gu Baekyoung made an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“If you don’t want to, tell me. I’ll stop it for you.”
