Having disappeared after shocking everyone, they had returned to Gu Baekyoung’s mansion, which was practically their home base.
“Baekyoung-ah. You worked hard holding back earlier. You did well trusting me and not intervening until the end. Who would’ve known you’d follow my instruction to wait so well.”
Onyul praised Gu Baekyoung, who had exuded an ominous energy but ultimately hadn’t done anything threatening.
He’d been confident he could humiliate Park Hanil, but he’d inwardly worried that Gu Baekyoung wouldn’t trust him until the end.
At the sincere praise, Gu Baekyoung’s face relaxed.
“Mm-hmm, I worked hard.”
He leaned his head on Onyul’s shoulder like a child and rubbed against him. Far from disliking the big guy leaning on him…
‘Why does he get cuter by the day?’
It was strangely not unpleasant at all.
“I was really good at ‘waiting’ too.”
“That’s right.”
“Hug me as a reward.”
Without much hesitation, Onyul hugged him and patted his back. Having hugged him quite often by now, this level of skinship had become nothing.
Gu Baekyoung burrowed into Onyul like a baby animal seeking its mother’s embrace. He felt like a warm, large dog.
“But just like you said, your guide ability really does completely shut off like flipping a switch, doesn’t it? To think it’s actually possible to hide your energy so much that it can’t even be detected.”
Gu Baekyoung seemed to not believe it even seeing it with his own two eyes.
Since he couldn’t say it was possible because of his esper ability, it felt natural that Gu Baekyoung would continue to have doubts.
But he couldn’t tell him the truth. Especially not Gu Baekyoung, absolutely not.
“Ahem, who do you think I am! Me? I’m such an amazing guide that I can stop S-grade Gu Baekyoung’s rampage.”
“Wowww—”
Gu Baekyoung, who believed purely, made a sound of admiration.
“Still, I think it’d be better to be careful for the time being.”
Although they’d safely passed this measurement, there was no telling what grudge Park Hanil might hold.
“Can’t we see each other outside anymore?”
“But we can still see each other at home every day.”
Onyul had completely fallen for the spacious bed and Gu Baekyoung’s warm embrace.
He’d been sleeping at Gu Baekyoung’s place for the past week. While doing so, he would secretly guide him when he was occasionally tormented by nightmares. He’d already gotten used to being with him in Gu Baekyoung’s space.
Gu Baekyoung, whose mood improved at the words that they could see each other every day, hugged Onyul even tighter.
“Good.”
Onyul felt a sense of security he hadn’t really experienced in his past life.
He even had the optimistic thought that it would be okay to live like this. It was trouble that he increasingly didn’t dislike Gu Baekyoung embracing him.
Even though it was scary to become a precious person to him, his heart wavered as he felt a warmth he’d never experienced in his entire life.
Is this why everyone dates?
In his past life, Onyul had no siblings and no close friends with whom he shared his heart. He knew many people, but he never revealed what was inside his heart to them.
But only to Gu Baekyoung… someday—though it might take a very long time—it felt like a day would come when he’d confess his circumstances.
It was both a strange premonition and a certainty.
“You shouldn’t come near the gates for a while either.”
Huh? Was saying to be careful for a while the same as telling him not to come near the gates?
At the sudden words, Onyul unconsciously stopped the hand that had been stroking him.
“No way! You haven’t been in good condition often lately.”
“I’m fine now. I’ll be even better from now on.”
It didn’t seem to mean simply that his condition had improved. Gu Baekyoung was certain to an eerie degree. That he wouldn’t rampage.
Onyul, who felt something was off, pushed away the him he’d been embracing and stared at his face.
“…Don’t tell me you were acting this whole time?”
“Honey, my heart suddenly hurts so much…”
“Oh? That sounds like you’re saying you were acting?”
“My heart hurts even more because you look so cute when you’re angry.”
Gu Baekyoung, who spouted nonsense, grinned broadly. Then he kissed Onyul’s face all over so he couldn’t press him further.
“Y-you crazy!”
Even as Onyul struggled, smacking sounds echoed.
“Don’t act with something like that! My liver’s falling out.”
“It wasn’t all acting. But from now on, I’ll try not to rampage. Because you…”
“Because me?”
“It’s nothing.”
Onyul was curious about the words he hadn’t finished, but he couldn’t ask. It wasn’t the atmosphere for him to answer.
At Gu Baekyoung’s touch silently hugging his back, Onyul quietly entrusted his body to him.
***
A week had passed since the incident with Park Hanil.
The gate rampages that had been occurring strangely often during that time had also quieted down, and the Management Bureau was quiet too.
Onyul found it welcome that peace had come to his daily life, yet somehow felt uneasy.
‘It’s too quiet, isn’t it?’
It was even stranger that even Park Hanil, who’d been humiliated in front of many people, was quiet.
In fact, after that day’s incident, Park Hanil had received the criticism from all citizens that he himself had mentioned.
How could he intimidate an ordinary civilian, he should step down from the center director position, his appearance of not admitting his wrongdoing until the end was ugly…
He’d eventually even held a press conference to apologize to the people. But even that hadn’t been well-received.
⌞Shouldn’t he apologize to the cat helmet, not to us?
⌞So did he properly compensate the ordinary civilian he threatened?
⌞But seriously, what’s the cat helmet’s real identity?? If it’s not guiding, how is it possible?
⌞A new humanity that’s neither esper nor guide?
While criticizing Park Hanil, questions about Onyul’s identity also increased.
But even that had quieted down after a week passed. Since Gu Baekyoung didn’t rampage as promised, there was no occasion for the cat helmet to appear.
It was natural for interest to decrease when something wasn’t visible.
His relationship with Gu Baekyoung was also smooth. He endured visiting the convenience store by contacting him every hour.
When he got off work, he’d return to his house, and when night came, it became quite familiar for him to come embrace him and sleep hugging together. Perhaps it was fortunate that he didn’t demand excessive skinship.
Onyul was guiding him every night, helping him so he wouldn’t suffer from a lack of guiding.
Since he’d fully awakened and wasn’t giving off good energy, there were no more ability users visiting the convenience store either.
Even those who had been secretly suspicious of Onyul and Gu Baekyoung’s relationship seemed to have given up when they couldn’t sense anything from Onyul.
“Am I free?”
But at that moment, Onyul suddenly recalled memories from his past life.
Before he was tormented by gate rampages, he had enjoyed a very stable daily life.
However, misfortune came without any warning, like an accident, and took away everything from Onyul. He faced death in the blink of an eye.
Sure enough. A face that seemed to signify an omen of misfortune formed in Onyul’s vision.
“…No, I mean, making people go back and forth annoyingly. You should’ve handled that in advance!”
At the unforgettable voice, the strength left the hand holding the barcode scanner.
No matter what customer came, even if they were a troublemaker, his lips that had freely said “welcome” stiffened.
Onyul stared at the customer who entered the convenience store while on the phone.
‘…Aunt?’
The last time he’d heard his aunt’s voice was at his father’s funeral.
<Your father owed me a debt!>
<You’re an A-grade esper, aren’t you? You make a lot of money but can’t give your aunt a single penny? Did your father raise you to be so heartless?>
Even then, she had yelled viciously, telling Onyul to repay the debt in his father’s place. That voice overlapped with the sound he was hearing now.
The face he looked up at was familiar. She looked exactly like his father.
“…”
To think the very person who had extorted all the assets he’d saved penny by penny while working as an esper would appear before his eyes.
The fact that they’d met in front of the Management Bureau was curious too. Onyul silently watched her.
The woman absorbed in her phone call didn’t notice Onyul’s gaze.
“…Turns out Onyul has unpaid wages going forward, you know? They say they’ll only give it if I come and confirm it myself… Does this make sense? It’s so annoying.”
The moment the name Onyul came out of her mouth, it felt like his breath was choked off.
‘She really is my aunt.’
Anyway, unpaid wages? What’s this about now?
His aunt picked out a fruit drink in a paper pack and placed it on the counter.
“I’m thinking of asking for more money while I’m at it. You know that confidentiality agreement related to the accident back then. I’m going to use that as leverage. This time my husband’s business…”
Crunch—!
“Oh, my. What are you doing?”
His aunt lowered her phone a bit and turned pale.
It was because Onyul, who had heard all of his aunt’s phone conversation, had unconsciously squeezed and burst the fruit pack.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Forget it. I’m just leaving. What a sight.”
His aunt left the convenience store while continuing her call. Even during that time, Onyul couldn’t let go of the fruit pack in his hand.
‘What? Confidentiality agreement? What’s that about?’
It was a statement that somehow had a fishy smell to it.
Onyul instinctively knew that it was a smell coming from the place he least wanted to go.
