# Chapter 63
Suhyun’s family was perfect in every way, lacking nothing.
‘Suhyun. You should greet them.’
‘Hello.’
‘Oh my, you must be Suhyun? How could you be so pretty?’
They were moderately wealthy, his father was affectionate, and his mother was lovely. Between the couple who were the center of attention everywhere they went, their only son was raised with diligent care and good manners.
‘Sigh….’
But once the front door closed, everyone became a different person, starting with a long sigh. The harmony would vanish in an instant, and coldness would rise through the gaps.
Suhyun’s parents were the typical showpiece couple. And a perfect one at that. They did their best to put on false smiles and pretend to be a loving, tight-knit family.
‘Suhyun, throw away the clothes you’re wearing now. They’ve been out of fashion for how long?’
‘Those clown-like clothes, didn’t you buy them? You should have paid more attention.’
‘Ha, you should talk. You were just running around playing golf. What have you done right?’
Suhyun acted as they wanted. He didn’t even question it. He must have been a very easy child for them to raise. He never caused trouble and perfectly catered to their tastes.
Suhyun’s world was colorless. People laughing and chattering didn’t look happy to him. All relationships seemed false.
Suhyun’s world suddenly changed in the summer when he was 19.
‘Why did the assignment come so early?’
‘Does the company situation flow according to my wishes? We expected this anyway, so there’s no problem.’
‘It’s just too sudden.’
His father had been assigned overseas, and the entire family had to move to the United States.
Although it was earlier than expected, it was something his father had wanted, so he left immediately according to the schedule. His mother, who had to appear as the perfect supporter, soon headed to the United States as well.
‘Suhyun will come over after graduating high school. There’s not much time left until graduation.’
‘Yes.’
And Suhyun gained unexpected freedom.
It was as if the first act of a play he had been performing for a very long time had ended, and he had a sort of intermission before the second act would begin in a new location.
‘Behave yourself as usual. Don’t let any unnecessary rumors start.’
‘I will.’
‘Right, I’m sure you won’t cause any trouble.’
It must have been a decision made because dealing with Suhyun, who was still a student, would be too burdensome in a situation where they had to adapt to a new environment.
Thanks to that, Suhyun graduated high school in Korea and was to go to the United States afterward.
‘Ah. Ahh….’
A house where everyone had left.
In the quiet space, his own voice sounded unusually loud. And at that moment, the pressure that had been constantly weighing on Suhyun disappeared in an instant.
The gatherings he had to attend with his parents whenever time allowed were now gone. The countless calls they used to receive had stopped.
From then on, Suhyun could exist not as their son, but as Seo Suhyun himself. Only after being left alone in an empty house.
Daily life didn’t change much. But Suhyun didn’t want the intermission to end and the play to start again. Even if he did nothing, he just wanted to exist as himself.
So he hoped the plane would crash. Unable to say no, he reluctantly boarded the flight and had such thoughts.
‘Kyaaah!’
‘Urgh, ack….’
‘Please fasten your seatbelt first…, ah, and also the oxygen mask…!’
Surprisingly, Suhyun’s wish came true through the absurd situation of becoming an S-class Esper.
‘Since there is currently no S-class Esper in Korea, we earnestly hope that Esper Seo Suhyun-nim will remain in Korea.’
‘…..’
‘Please. Don’t leave.’
‘…Yes, I’ll do that.’
When the option to stay alone in Korea appeared, Suhyun accepted it without hesitation.
‘They say an Esper is desperately needed in Korea…. May I stay here?’
‘Is that so? Do as you wish. I was actually uncomfortable with the idea of drawing too much attention due to your awakening as an S-class Esper. That works out well.’
Fortunately, his parents accepted Suhyun’s decision. From their perspective of having to perform, Suhyun’s awakening was nothing but a burden.
And so the play ended.
So everything was fine after that.
The suddenly noisy world, the pain he had to feel whenever his wavelength distorted, having to set foot in dungeons directly, fighting monsters that made him nauseous just by looking at them.
‘Hello.’
‘Hi, you’re here?’
Even dealing with the absurd role-playing demands of Espers who tried to trample him like his parents, feeling burdened by people who recognized him wherever he went—it was all fine.
‘How’s your condition today? Was the training okay?’
‘Ah, yes…. It was fine.’
‘Isn’t it hard?’
‘No…. It’s fine.’
‘Hmm, everything’s fine, I see.’
After meeting S-class Guide Jiwon, who embraced him warmly when he came off the stage, everything truly became fine.
Is this what a guide is supposed to be like? When he met Jiwon, the noisy world became quiet, and the pain subsided. Even his words were so warm that Suhyun didn’t want to leave his side.
‘Don’t try too hard. Even if you’re an S-class Esper, it seems like you’re running around too much by yourself?’
‘That’s not it….’
‘What do you mean? How many dungeons did you enter? Your wavelength can’t get this distorted in just one day?’
He loved Jiwon’s soft laughter and his concerned nagging. He couldn’t even feel the pain that usually came with a distorted wavelength.
The time Jiwon spent guiding him was like sweet rest for Suhyun. To the point where he wondered if the guiding time would increase if his wavelength became more distorted.
‘I’ll come again tomorrow. Don’t even think about going to a dungeon today.’
‘I couldn’t go even if I wanted to. My body aches.’
‘You speak well for someone who doesn’t want to go in the first place.’
‘Haha… Isn’t it that you should avoid dungeons whenever possible?’
‘That doesn’t seem like something an Esper should say?’
But good things didn’t last forever. One day, Suhyun faced an unexpected problem.
‘Huh? Oh, Esper Suhyun-nim has arrived?’
‘Wow, it’s Esper Suhyun-nim. Nice to see you. I heard you receive guiding at the center, and here we are meeting!’
‘…Hello.’
The day he was newly awakened to the all too obvious fact that Jiwon’s friendly attitude wasn’t just for him.
The moment he faced the situation he had been ignoring all along—that Jiwon’s smile, his affectionate tone, his guiding that made both body and mind comfortable, none of it was exclusive to him.
‘You came at the right time. Esper-nim, you should go now.’
‘Hey, that’s a cold dismissal.’
‘Who’s being cold?’
Along with displeasure, a slight resentment toward Jiwon arose.
‘Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Suhyun Esper-nim, I’ll see you later at the dungeon.’
‘What reason would you two have to meet? You’d be entering completely different dungeons.’
‘Is this how you discriminate by rank?’
‘I just said what’s true. That’s strange?’
The center is visited by many Espers, not just him. It was a fact he already knew, but he felt betrayed.
Would Jiwon be kind to all other Espers too? Would he gently caress their hands as well? Would he worry about them, saying it’s okay to rest a little and not to overdo it?
Is he affectionate to everyone? Does everyone feel this cozy peace beside him?
‘Esper-nim. Why are you standing there blankly? Didn’t you come for guiding?’
‘Ah….’
‘Come in. Your wavelength is terrible again today….’
He couldn’t understand and didn’t want to.
He didn’t want to confirm that this guide, who was special to him, considered him just one of many Espers.
Suhyun wanted him to be solely for himself. What did this feeling mean?
Did he want his guiding? Or did he want Jiwon himself?
‘How was the dungeon today? I heard it was B-class? Was it okay?’
‘Yes. It was fine.’
‘I see. But why is your wavelength not fine at all? It’s really peculiar.’
He wished he hadn’t become aware of it.
He should have been careful not to let his wavelength get tangled, yet it would have been better not to realize that he wanted to participate in dungeons he didn’t need to, causing himself unnecessary trouble.
Then he wouldn’t have had the cunning thought that his wavelength needed to be bad to have a reason to go see Jiwon.
Ridiculously, Suhyun’s purpose for visiting the center wasn’t because he wanted guiding. Suhyun just wanted to be with Jiwon. To face his sunny smile and feel his warmth. For that, his wavelength always had to be a mess.
‘The Association is using the S-class Esper too much. I should say something.’
‘That’s not it. I was just trying to work hard….’
‘You should work hard while considering your body, shouldn’t you?’
Jiwon’s concern made him feel guilty. But on the other hand, he couldn’t shake off the thought of how many Espers Jiwon worried about like this.
‘How many… Espers come here in a day?’
It was because of that, that a useless question suddenly popped out.
