MTLNOVEL 17.
17.
“Oh my, Lee Han-seo, do you only see your lover? Seeing how desperate you are to push your only friend into danger.”
“Ah, hyung! That’s not what I meant!”
“What do you mean it’s not? Anyway, Lee Han-seo, look at how nasty your temper is.”
The Ryu Ho-yeon and Choi Jae-won pair didn’t “not” enter S-rank dungeons, they “couldn’t” enter them. Lee Han-seo, completely lacking in practical experience, didn’t realize this and seemed to misunderstand that it was because the higher-ups were being protective of the precious materialization ability user. At least, everyone here except Choi Jae-won didn’t seem to have any intention of correcting Lee Han-seo’s misunderstanding.
Kim Jun-young poked at Lee Han-seo with a nonchalant, drawling tone. Lee Han-seo complained irritably, whining, “Jung-hyuk hyung! Do something about this guy!” Lee Jung-hyuk restrained his pair with a light tone tinged with amusement, naturally changing the subject by suggesting they order something delicious to eat together since they had plenty of time. As if on cue, Park Woo-jun and Ryu Ho-yeon competitively suggested menus that Lee Han-seo liked. Perhaps learning from the drink menu selection competition in the conference room last time, Lee Han-seo ultimately chose one of the menus Ryu Ho-yeon suggested. Park Woo-jun openly showed his sulking, and ended up receiving a light knock on the head from Lee Han-seo.
Choi Jae-won quietly observed this rather theatrical scene from the perspective of a third party who belonged yet didn’t belong. He wanted to pour harsh words at Lee Han-seo. To ask why he couldn’t notice the fact that even he, essentially a B-rank who had been admitted less than half a year ago, knew. To ask why he didn’t realize that others were desperately trying to artificially lift the mood to avoid hurting his feelings. To ask why he, claiming to be an equal friend, couldn’t see the bitterness hidden beneath Ryu Ho-yeon’s indifferent expression, when Ho-yeon knew everything about him…
“Ho-yeon. The spiciest one, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Only fish cakes for the fried food! Tuna for the kimbap!”
“…Yeah.”
However, regardless of his own feelings, it still seemed far-fetched for Choi Jae-won to catch up to Lee Han-seo. After all, Ryu Ho-yeon seemed quite touched that Lee Han-seo remembered his tastes and preferences. Even though it was just choosing menu items from a snack shop they frequently ordered from.
The warmth and harmony of that day was so artificially gentle and bright that everything Choi Jae-won ate that day seemed to sit heavily in his stomach. Ryu Ho-yeon, who had noticed Lee Han-seo’s discomfort from just the sound of his breathing and poured him a cold drink, didn’t notice Choi Jae-won’s poor condition all through the night.
He hadn’t expected anything grand. He had just hoped for a simple “Are you okay?”
“…Jae-won.”
“Yes?”
“The soup is salty.”
The next morning, when he heard that the soup was salty in front of the meal he had diligently prepared while nursing his aching stomach, Choi Jae-won felt a bit hurt by Ryu Ho-yeon for the first time.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll make it again right away.”
“No, that’s not what I…”
“…”
“Never mind. Let’s just eat.”
Ryu Ho-yeon had meant to ask if it was okay to eat such salty food when Jae-won seemed unwell, but his words were too fragmented for such intentions to be fully understood.
After that meal, Choi Jae-won finally called a familiar number.
“Yes, Director. This is Choi Jae-won. You received the report, right? I want to expedite Dr. Ahn’s return a bit more.”
It was a call with Ryu Ho-yeon’s mother, something Ho-yeon would never know about in his dreams.
* * *
The intertwined hands tightened. It was a signal to push more guiding. Choi Jae-won, whose guiding control had improved remarkably since his initial admission, pulled up more energy as the Esper wanted.
Soon, several white bean bag sofas appeared in mid-air according to Ryu Ho-yeon’s will. The place where the sofas appeared was, of course, the workshop. As soon as the sofas appeared, the standing people naturally took their seats. Even Choi Jae-won, who used to only know how to stand awkwardly when the three pairs gathered, now comfortably claimed the spot next to Ryu Ho-yeon.
After Lee Han-seo and Ryu Ho-yeon’s relationship recovered, the three pairs often spent time together in the workshop when their schedules aligned. While Ryu Ho-yeon and Lee Han-seo put their heads together to choose a DVD for everyone to watch, Kim Jun-young and Lee Jung-hyuk went to pick up the food they had ordered after receiving a call from the delivery person who had arrived at the lobby. The amount of food in the hands of the two strapping men was still hard to get used to.
Even Choi Jae-won, who was in the early 180cm range, was not easily overshadowed in terms of height, but next to Park Woo-jun, who would hit 190cm if he straightened his hunched shoulders, and Kim Jun-young and Lee Jung-hyuk, whose pairs both exceeded 185cm, he looked somewhat frail. If so, the difference must come from the difference in the amount they eat. Choi Jae-won shook his head in disgust as he glanced at the packaging that seemed to endlessly disgorge its contents.
The DVD selected for everyone to watch today was an old movie that had been released when Choi Jae-won was about three or four years old. It probably hadn’t been a big box office success, as Choi Jae-won had naturally never even heard of the title before today. However, it seemed to be a favorite of Ryu Ho-yeon’s that he had watched often, as the others casually chatted about how it had been a while since they’d seen it. Choi Jae-won quickly pulled out the notebook he always carried and added the movie “My Sucker Ran Away” as the thirty-third item on the list of things Ryu Ho-yeon likes.
“It’s been so long since all our days off coincided on a weekend like this.”
“I know. Weekdays and weekends definitely feel different.”
Even though they gathered whenever their schedules allowed, it wasn’t often that S-rank Espers were all resting at the same time. Usually, at least one person would be preparing to enter another urgent dungeon, or already be inside a dungeon.
The busiest pair was undoubtedly Ryu Ho-yeon and Choi Jae-won, who were in charge of A-rank dungeons nationwide. Because of this, Choi Jae-won hadn’t even been able to properly visit Dr. Ahn, whom he had commissioned for experiments before, despite having called him to the Center. Kim Jun-young and Park Woo-jun, who now only had to deal with S-rank dungeons after completely handing over A-rank duties to the other two, annoyingly seemed to have become quite relaxed. Both pairs looked refreshed, as if they had rested well.
“By the way. Woo-jun and Han-seo, aren’t you two doing something interesting next week? The Guide Management Team Leader was saying.”
Kim Jun-young, who had neatly finished his portion of food, asked while sipping his carbonated drink. Ryu Ho-yeon, his mouth too full of food to speak, looked up from the screen and asked with his eyes, “What is it?” His side profile, with his head slightly extended, looked just like a meerkat from a documentary. Damn, he’s cute… Choi Jae-won inwardly groaned while carefully wiping the sauce from the corner of Ryu Ho-yeon’s mouth.
It had been half a year since they started living together. By now, Ryu Ho-yeon, completely used to Choi Jae-won’s care, naturally turned his face to have the other side wiped too, without showing any discomfort.
A word of thanks? Of course not. Did he think it was just part of Choi Jae-won’s job as a Guide to take care of him, the Esper? Ho-yeon hyung is so inconsiderate and really cute… Choi Jae-won thought again.
“Oh, that? It’s nothing special. Tomorrow, some elementary school students are coming for a job experience, and they asked if Woo-jun and I could guide them, so I said okay.”
“Didn’t you also demonstrate something for admission candidates last week? They’re making you do all sorts of things now that you’re less busy.”
“But I like it. It’s much better than going into dungeons. Right, Woo-jun?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything you say is right.”
Until recently, he wouldn’t go anywhere near dungeons, but somehow he had started participating in combat alongside Park Woo-jun. Lee Han-seo’s words and actions, joking that being assigned to miscellaneous tasks was better than going into dungeons, seemed quite natural. It seemed that while Choi Jae-won and Ryu Ho-yeon were frantically traveling all over the country, the two at the central branch had their share of various experiences…
“Hyung. You’re choking. Drink some cola while you eat.”
“Aren’t you eating?”
“After you finish, hyung.”
“Then give me your french fries.”
“Okay. Should I buy more?”
“No. That’s not necessary.”
Whether it was his cousin or Ryu Ho-yeon’s friend, it was all just other people’s business to Choi Jae-won. He simply focused on diligently offering even his portion of french fries to Ryu Ho-yeon, who was munching away. It was almost moving to see how naturally he now accepted Choi Jae-won’s care, when he used to show clear signs of discomfort just being next to him. If the Chairman or Vice Chairman from outside the Center saw this, they would surely faint from shock at this unbelievable scene.