A week had passed since moving into the official residence with Kang Hyeseong to live together.
It was literally a 24-hour life together with Kang Hyeseong. In the mornings, he ate simple dishes Kang Hyeseong made and commuted to work together. From early morning, they went out on deployments, conquered Gates, received calls on the way back to the Security Bureau and moved to another Gate.
They returned home late at night, washed up in turn, and ate dinner. After that, they lay down on the same bed and fell asleep (Hyeseong said he’d bring in another bed, but he must have been too busy and forgotten). Sometimes they received calls at night and conquered Gates all night long. It was a repetition of such a grueling yet spectacular daily routine.
Hyeseong as a cohabitant was very affectionate. So much so that the awkwardness and sadness felt on the first day of moving into the official residence had already faded.
He was someone who knew him as well as his parents. No, perhaps even better than his parents. The only person who flawlessly remembered and took care of everything—that Yeoul was a heavy sleeper in the morning, that he got stomachaches if he ate something cold on an empty stomach, that he had to take medicine every morning—was Kang Hyeseong.
Kang Hyeseong, who had been his entire world in childhood, still filled his entire daily life even now that he was an adult. It was a life that was comfortable and enjoyable yet heart-fluttering and exciting, and sometimes he suffered dull burns from Hyeseong’s heart that was at a different temperature from his own.
Though it had only been a week, Yeoul was gradually adapting to life as an ability user. The frequent deployments were still difficult and exhausting for his stamina, but he believed he would soon get used to this too. However, the thing he didn’t like was.
‘Kang Hyeseong… is uncooperative.’
Why on earth, why…! Was he trying to slip away from guiding like this?
He couldn’t understand it at all. If they came home from work, washed up refreshingly, guided once and went to sleep, he would feel better, Yeoul would feel good, and everyone would be happy.
Kang Hyeseong kept postponing guiding, saying let’s do it tomorrow without giving a clear explanation. While repeating nonsensical words that he was fine.
“My condition is fine today. Let’s do it tomorrow, okay? I’ll go look at some urgent documents first.”
“No, hyung. Wait…!”
Sure enough, today again. Again.
Today marked exactly one week since moving into the official residence. Yeoul got off work with Hyeseong at 8 PM for once. To commemorate the miraculously early end of work, he even excitedly packaged chicken.
Chicken eaten after deployment really hits the spot… Now that he’d eaten his fill, he thought he’d try some guiding. Just as he was happily about to take out the guiding gloves and wave level meter, Hyeseong patted his head and said that, then slipped into the study.
An Esper who’s this insincere about guiding?
…Did he do this with his previous guide too?
Furious, Yeoul glared at the closed study door. Because he always spoke nicely, Hyeseong slipped away like a loach, but he absolutely couldn’t work with such an uncooperative Esper.
How on earth could he make Kang Hyeseong come to him obediently and receive guiding?
There was no point telling the team members since they couldn’t move him as the team leader. Should he go on a hunger strike? Then he wouldn’t let him follow to the Gates either. Then should he report directly to the Director? …Mm, let’s be careful with this one. If it really doesn’t work, he’d use it as a last resort.
There needed to be some kind of compulsory element between Kang Hyeseong and him. Compulsory element… compulsory… Yeoul, who had been thinking hard, suddenly lit up.
Yeoul took out a pen and paper and sat in front of the dining table. Then he vigorously opened the pen cap and began writing with a furious face.
[Esper Kang Hyeseong – Guide Kim Yeoul’s Behavioral Guidelines!!!!!!!]
Esper Kang Hyeseong (hereafter Kang Hyeseong) and Guide Kim Yeoul (hereafter Kim Yeoul) respect each other as a pair and faithfully observe the following rules.
- No matter how tired, Kang Hyeseong must undergo wave measurement and guiding at least once a day.
- If measurement results show wave levels reaching 65%, he must receive guiding immediately without exception. At this time, Kang Hyeseong absolutely cannot refuse guiding.
- If rules 1 and 2 are not observed, Kang Hyeseong cannot speak to Kim Yeoul for 3 days.
Signature
Esper Kang Hyeseong
Guide Kim Yeoul
…Item 3 seemed a bit childish, but… it seemed like Kang Hyeseong wouldn’t even blink at anything else. This was the maximum penalty he could think of. Yeoul, who had even made a signature section, put the carefully drafted behavioral guidelines on the refrigerator.
‘Hmph, surely he won’t refuse guiding even after seeing this.’
He took out his phone and opened the message window to send to Kang Hyeseong. After sending ‘Check the refrigerator later,’ he came out to the living room and turned on the beam projector. He half-watched, half-ignored the currently airing drama while glancing at the study door.
Less than five minutes later, the study door opened. The moment the door gap widened, Yeoul turned his head toward the screen at the speed of light. He didn’t want to let it be known that he alone was anxious about this matter. He wanted to seem as indifferent as possible.
However. While pretending to be absorbed in the drama and trying not to give a glance toward Hyeseong… honestly, he was too curious about his reaction.
Stealing a glance without being obvious, Kang Hyeseong was standing in front of the refrigerator reading the behavioral guidelines Yeoul had just written. Then he took off the paper and started writing something on it.
‘…What?’
He was curious to death. Should he casually approach, or should he pretend not to know and check later? While he was contemplating, Kang Hyeseong put the paper back on the refrigerator.
“Guide-nim. I’ve checked all the behavioral guidelines.”
At that moment, he heard a voice calling him. When Yeoul whipped his head around, he saw his face looking like he was desperately holding back laughter.
“But shouldn’t this kind of thing be written together after mutual agreement, Second Lieutenant-nim?”
“…I don’t care. You’re my guide, hyung, so I’ll do whatever I want regarding guiding.”
His face alone looking so relaxed was too infuriating. Yeoul glared at him and stomped over with heavy steps.
Kang Hyeseong, whose eyes met his, bit his lips and turned his back. A sound of ‘Keuheup…’ leaked out. Looking at his faintly trembling back, Yeoul could no longer contain his anger and punched his shoulder blade with his fist.
“Stop laughing already and just sign it. Do you have any objections to the content?”
He, who had barely stopped laughing, said he’d tried adding a few items and pointed to the paper. Hyeseong’s neat handwriting was written below his own round letters.
- Guiding is limited to hand guiding with protective gear worn.
- Kim Yeoul goes out with Kang Hyeseong once a month to receive a diagnosis from his cardiology attending physician. If the diagnosis results are judged to pose a health risk, implementation of rules 1-3 is postponed indefinitely.
“……”
…As expected, he was no easy opponent. Seeing how he teasingly imitated the underlining just like him made his insides churn even more. However, Yeoul fumed but couldn’t raise objections.
Well, there’s nothing saying he won’t receive guiding, so it should be okay to accept this much. The part about postponing guiding indefinitely was annoying… but even if it was bothersome, he just had to go to the hospital with Kang Hyeseong once a month.
“If you find it acceptable, please sign. Guide-nim.”
“Yes, let’s do that. Esper-nim.”
The way he smiled round and round while using formal speech as if teasing him was annoying for no reason. Hmph, as if he couldn’t do it too. Yeoul glanced at him once, then wrote his name in the signature section. Kang Hyeseong likewise wrote his own name.
“Okay. Then it starts today. I’m going to measure your wave levels right now, so be aware. You can do the paperwork after guiding is over.”
“Mm, wait a moment.”
Yeoul, who was about to immediately go get the wave meter from the room, was held in place by a single firm voice. Kang Hyeseong tapped item 5 that he’d just added with his finger.
“I don’t even know what your condition is, so I can’t implement rules 1 through 3, right?”
“Ah! Really! Kang Hyeseong is so annoying!”
Yeoul, who could no longer contain his fury, yelled. Hyeseong smiled while looking at Yeoul, who was fuming in a rage regardless.
“I already made an appointment for your checkup tomorrow since we have combat leave anyway. Let’s guide after we go to the hospital together. Got it?”
“I have plans tomorrow!”
“It’s a morning appointment so it’ll end quickly. After the checkup, I’ll take you to your appointment location, so if possible, postpone it to after the checkup.”
Good boy. Yeoul roughly swatted away Kang Hyeseong’s hand that was patting his head as if coaxing a child. And he returned to the sofa with quick steps and buried himself in it.
This isn’t, this isn’t it… He felt like he hadn’t even broken even.
***
Today was finally the combat leave day given once every two weeks to frontline unit members.
Frontline unit members who used their abilities far more than other unit members were given a day off by rotation from Rescue1 Team to Team 3, and this was the Director’s order to prevent rampage and prevent burnout.
For frontline unit members who had worked day and night regardless of weekdays and weekends, this day given once every two weeks couldn’t help but be tearfully welcome. Unit members usually said they spent their days off either catching up on sleep or going out to run errands.
And yet, on such a precious leave and his first day off.
‘Bothersome… I’m really so sleepy I could die.’
As forewarned yesterday, Kang Hyeseong really woke him up early in the morning and put him in the car. Yeoul, sitting in the passenger seat, yawned repeatedly while looking resentfully at Kang Hyeseong holding the steering wheel. Wasn’t Kang Hyeseong even sleepy……
Though it was bothersome to go to the hospital from the crack of dawn, he couldn’t whine any more than this. Kang Hyeseong had been obsessed with his health since childhood.
No matter how busy he was, he was someone who unfailingly took care of giving him medicine or taking him to the hospital, so now that he had become his dedicated guide, he would worry more rather than less compared to back then.
Of course, during the week, the attending physician belonging to the Ability Security Bureau who was in charge of Kang Hyeseong and him often came to give checkups. However, that was only to check Yeoul’s overall condition ‘as a guide,’ and Kang Hyeseong had made it clear in advance that it wouldn’t do because it couldn’t professionally examine his heart.
Currently, he was only visiting his attending physician once every six months for follow-up observation, but there was some merit to his insistence that from now on, he must have checkups once a month without exception. After all, the act of guiding directly strained the heart.
Moreover, hadn’t he even fainted right before his eyes? In any case, he who had taken off his gloves recklessly because his eagerness got ahead of him was the greatest sinner.
“Welcome. So, you started guiding work? Let’s look at the test results first.”
After finishing all the blood tests, X-rays, electrocardiogram tests, and even the echocardiogram and entering the examination room, the doctor smiled brightly and welcomed Yeoul.
When Yeoul bowed his waist and sat down, Kang Hyeseong, who had finished a brief work call outside, naturally entered the examination room. The doctor, seeing him, smiled broadly in delight.
“Oh my, welcome. Our national hero. You seem to have become even more dashing?”
“Thank you. Have you been well?”
“I’m always the same.”
Since Kang Hyeseong had always naturally assumed the role of guardian and visited the hospital with Yeoul since childhood, casual greetings were exchanged among the three people. He looked at the monitor with a tense face following the doctor’s guidance.
