# Chapter 13
“I really have been doing well.”
“I know. I know. You definitely would have been doing well. You had to be doing well. Otherwise, I would have terrorized NCSC.”
“I agree with that idea.”
Raon pushed Jaehwi’s face away as he responded with a serious voice that didn’t contain a hint of playfulness.
“Don’t do it.”
Jaehwi smiled slightly as he looked at Raon’s stern face. Then he placed his hand over the warm, small hand holding his face.
“Don’t do what?”
Jaehwi enveloped Raon’s hand and guided it to the corner of his mouth, pressing his lips firmly against the palm. The resolute, stern way Raon spoke was no different from before.
“Yes. Don’t do it. Whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t do it. Because I think you’re fully capable of doing it.”
“What am I thinking about?”
“Thoughts about blowing up NCSC?”
Jaehwi didn’t tell him what he was really thinking. He needed to be the child Raon wanted him to be. He intended not to do anything Raon disliked, whatever it might be. He was simply pressing his lips and cheek against Raon’s palm.
“Stay here until you decide which center to go to. After you decide, we can find a place for you. It would be convenient to have a place close to the center. And if you’re uncomfortable because of the eavesdropping, would you wait a few days? I’ll check out the center dormitory tomorrow and do some remodeling. And I’ll only stay here tonight and go to my home tomorrow… Then you can have proper rest by yourself. By the way, do you have a car?”
Jaehwi shook his head as he listened to Raon’s gentle voice.
No home, no car. Until now, the place he had stayed was NCSC.
He had lived as they wanted, and though the contract had ended, they still tried to control him. An Esper’s ability was both a blessing and a curse. The ability that had been a curse briefly felt like a blessing when he met Raon, but after they parted, it became a curse again.
He always had to suffer through extreme situations. NCSC forcibly assigned a Guide to him when he was suffering in pain. For ten years, they tried to force a Guide on him. They planned to keep him bound by using a Guide as bait. Only when Jaehwi, who refused guiding, was on the verge of going berserk would they provide stabilizers.
Jaehwi hiding his abilities was a secret that everyone knew. Because of this, the missions assigned to him grew day by day, and recently, he frequently went to sites alone.
The dungeon outbreak site was Nox’s last mission for NCSC. And Raon had appeared at that place.
Inside the dungeon where the outbreak had stopped, Jaehwi carried the unconscious Raon out and immediately moved to MK Center on the plane Raon had come in. At MK Center, where all eyes were focused, they stated that information about Raon and Nox could not be disclosed.
They must be on edge. Those who knew Raon was a Guide must be in a state of panic right now.
“Hyung. You must be tired, so rest now. I’ll go out for a bit.”
Jaehwi, who had been rubbing his face against Raon’s palm for a while, slowly let him go. He didn’t mind other centers’ Espers wandering around. But the fact that someone he knew had appeared meant he could no longer avoid it.
“Where are you going? I asked if you have a car!”
“How would I have a car? I don’t even have a license. And right now, I’m going to meet a friend. He said he’d help me decide which center to go to. You told me to review carefully, look into it, and then make a contract, right? So I’m going to ask my friend a few things. I might be a bit late, so you go to sleep first.”
Raon didn’t stop Jaehwi from leaving. If he had been an Esper at a center, he would have accumulated tremendous wealth, but if he had been with NCSC, that was different. How much could he have saved from a meager civil servant salary? First, Raon needed to find a suitable place for Jaehwi to stay, and since he didn’t have a license, he should get one during his break, which meant Raon would need to buy him a car too.
A home and car that would suit our Jaehwi… A deep smile spread across Raon’s face, who loved shopping. Something suitable for him, whatever is good. What could there be?
While he was happy to meet Jaehwi, Raon needed time to think as well.
* * *
Jaehwi ran his hand over his face in embarrassment at the numerous gazes that stuck to him as he left the room. He wasn’t wearing his usual black clothes, and he didn’t have his mask either.
Though they hadn’t made an appointment, his footsteps headed toward the café in the hotel lobby. The people’s gazes, all directed at him, were saying many things.
No one dared to move when they saw him appearing without his trademark black clothes and black mask. His height and build might be similar, but even at NCSC, few knew his exact face.
If everyone was this curious, how had they managed to hold back until now? Real-time broadcasts of “Expected Images of Nox’s Actual Appearance” might be happening somewhere.
“I didn’t expect you to come in person.”
Jaehwi sat down in front of Kang Sunwoo, who was waiting for him.
“Even though I’ve left, I should report accurately on the last mission.”
“There was no guiding.”
“Which center will you go to?”
The expressions of the two people sitting face to face in the café in the hotel lobby, where people’s gazes were not shielded at all, were relaxed.
“You already know.”
“MK?”
Jaehwi shrugged and picked up the coffee cup that Sunwoo had ordered in advance. How could he have so little sense? He wondered about the bad taste of giving coffee this late in the evening. The conversation between the two in this public place was being shared with everyone.
Jaehwi deliberately didn’t try to use his ability to cover this conversation, and Sunwoo didn’t seem to have any intention of covering it either. This was how they were addressing the tremendous interest now focused on Nox. Through their conversation, people could infer and judge, a method of exposing his previously hidden appearance.
“For now, I plan to review all the contracts from centers that have made offers to me before making a decision. As per the conditions, I will only transfer to domestic centers, and I also intend to include the exception clause that states I will act as an NCSC member regardless of the center in the event of a national level 1 disaster.”
“Will you stay at this hotel until you decide on a center?”
“That’s undecided.”
“I heard the owner of this hotel is the MK Group.”
When the conversation had progressed that far, Jaehwi smiled slightly at the Esper who approached them. It was an expression indicating that he didn’t want the conversation from now on to be known.
“Our team leader is still far off. Are you that curious about the extent of my abilities? You could have just asked. You don’t need to bring along an Esper with blinding abilities.”
Still with the corner of his mouth raised, Jaehwi flicked his fingertips. In an instant, a hazy fog appeared, completely concealing the two.
“Don’t interfere. Don’t even be interested, just pretend not to know like you’ve done until now, and there won’t be any problems. You know I’ve been patient and understanding until now. We’ve coexisted well without crossing any lines, so you should end it well too.”
The smile that had been at the corner of his mouth instantly disappeared. His gentle tone was gone, and the friendly, comfortable atmosphere was broken.
“E1101S. What are you thinking now?”
Whether he didn’t want to lose to Jaehwi or didn’t want to be pushed back in this power struggle, when Sunwoo called Jaehwi by his code name, Jaehwi smiled brightly again as if he had never hardened his expression.
“I will continue to be loyal to the country and live diligently for humanity, just as I have been.”
“I’ll assume you’re contracting with MK.”
At Sunwoo’s words, Jaehwi extended his hand first. A bit slowly, but Sunwoo grasped Jaehwi’s hand. From the beginning, the two had been talking about one person. There was no exact name, and it wasn’t mentioned, but Sunwoo had come to make this part clear.
The fog covering them disappeared, and Jaehwi rose from his seat without lingering. There was nothing good for Hyung to know. Ignorance was bliss. Kang Raon. He just needed to continue living comfortably and happily as Jaehwi wanted him to.
Raon turned his body at the stuffy feeling. Unlike nightmares that dissipate when you move around, what was wrapping around him didn’t disappear. Feeling something pressing and enveloping him tightly, he tried to push it away and escape with both arms. It wasn’t painful enough to be a nightmare, and what his hands touched was firm yet warm.
“Sleep more. It’s still dawn. The sun hasn’t risen yet.”
Only after hearing the voice did Raon realize that someone was embracing him. He was using the other’s arm as a pillow, and they were in a position of embracing each other face to face.
Until now, the only person Raon had shared a bed with was Jaehwi. He was also the only one with whom he had this kind of intimate physical contact. The current position was exactly the opposite of ten years ago. Back then, Jaehwi would lie down using Raon’s arm as a pillow, facing him, and Raon would embrace him as they fell asleep.
He used to enjoy holding the small head against his chest and stroking the soft black hair. Now the other person was stroking his hair.
Though it was an event from long ago, enough to be forgotten, Raon laughed softly rather than being surprised by the feeling that was awkward yet somehow familiar.
“Hwi.”
“Yes.”
Unlike Raon’s voice, drowsy from just waking up, Jaehwi’s voice was no different from usual. Raon sat up with a dazed expression as the arms that had been around him moved away.
