Ordinary Person A

#14

“The second floor of this building is the exclusive space for Esper Team 1. You won’t encounter other Espers often, so feel free to make yourself comfortable.”

“The entire floor?”

“Yes, if any Esper other than our team members comes snooping around, just call me.”

Oh-yul strode into the room first, turned on the lights, and picked up a watch that had been placed on a small table, fastening it to Ho-woo’s wrist. It was identical to the one he was wearing. Seeing Ho-woo’s bewildered face, the man explained the device’s identity in concise words without any unnecessary details.

“It’s a pager.”

“…Is it okay for me to wear this?”

It doesn’t seem like it should be. When a doubtful gaze fell on him, Oh-yul calmly replied as if to reassure him.

“Don’t worry, other functions are blocked. It’s only for calling me.”

Ho-woo examined the watch-like device on his wrist. Like ordinary devices available in the market, the small screen displayed the time. When he tapped the screen twice, the display that had only shown the time lit up. After fiddling with various functions for a while, Ho-woo must have pressed something wrong, as a name automatically appeared and the pager on Oh-yul’s wrist flashed red briefly, emitting a sharp sound. Ho-woo sheepishly glanced at Oh-yul. He turned off the loudly ringing pager and just smiled gently, not scolding Ho-woo. However, his eyes that seemed to say “Well done” were quite burdensome.

“Um…”

Ho-woo looked at the pager on his wrist as if it were the most burdensome object in the world, but soon gave up. No matter how he looked at it, Oh-yul didn’t seem to have any intention of taking the pager back. I’ll return it when I leave here later. For now, the biggest problem was this room.

Ho-woo looked around the spacious room. Though clean, the items placed here and there clearly showed traces of someone having lived here. Given that they had entered this room despite there being many other doors, was he supposed to use this room? He couldn’t gauge whether he was sharing the room with someone else or if the room’s owner was away.

“Am I staying in this room?”

“That’s correct. Do you like the room?”

It’s just a short stay, does it matter if I like it or not? Ho-woo pondered Oh-yul’s question for a moment before answering, “I like it.” Aside from the traces of someone having lived here, the room was spacious and clean, and the bed was large enough to accommodate Ho-woo comfortably.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

At Ho-woo’s answer, Oh-yul, who had entered the room with familiarity, briefly introduced the room. He showed the location of the bathroom and explained that the tightly closed door was connected to the adjacent room, so there was no need to worry about it much.

“Please make yourself at home.”

“Thank you.”

Ho-woo carefully sat on the edge of the bed. The well-made white sheets were soft. It really is like a hotel. Ho-woo muttered softly as he slightly shifted more weight onto the bed. The bed, which sank with just the right amount of elasticity, was too good to compare with the one in his own home.

How much would a bed like this cost?

Thinking that he’d like to change his bed if the price was reasonable, Ho-woo stared blankly as Oh-yul took off his coat and put it in the closet with familiarity. Sensing Ho-woo’s gaze, he turned his head.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“Um… Do you also…”

Stay here?

The end of the sentence was mumbled in a very small voice, but Oh-yul seemed to catch even that faint sound as he lazily raised the corners of his mouth. That smile was handsome, but Ho-woo felt a strange chill.

“Of course, I stay here.”

The sound of the closet door closing was particularly loud.

***

Ho-woo buried his stiff neck into the blanket. In the spacious room, there was only one lonely bed. Ho-woo, occupying a corner of the bed, swallowed dryly at the sound of water coming from beyond the tightly closed door on one wall.

With no clothes to wear immediately, he had borrowed pajamas that were too big, so he couldn’t wear the pants and only had the top on, and Oh-yul was showering.

Yes, Oh-yul was completely naked and showering just beyond that door.

Feeling somewhat restless, Ho-woo suddenly sat up. His lower body felt chilly. The room he had first encountered had become somewhat familiar after just a few hours.

But that didn’t mean he had become familiar with the man he was now staying with.

Ho-woo glanced at the bathroom where the sound of water was coming from. Oh-yul, who had entered the room and naturally changed into comfortable clothes, had briefly left to bring dinner. What Oh-yul brought back after briefly leaving the room was a simple sandwich, but the quantity was quite substantial. He placed milk in front of Ho-woo and apologized that this was all that was prepared at the moment.

‘I’ll prepare something more like a proper meal tomorrow.’

Although Ho-woo thought it strange to apologize for such a thing, he didn’t add any comments and quietly ate about two sandwiches. The sandwich with mashed potatoes was delicious. So much so that he briefly considered eating one more despite being full.

‘May I shower first?’

The man who had eaten five sandwiches while Ho-woo ate two politely asked. Ho-woo responded that he could, but soon froze as Oh-yul casually took off his top. The sound of the fabric falling to the floor seemed particularly loud.

With Ho-woo behind him, the man who had undressed without hesitation hooked his fingers on his pants and glanced back at Ho-woo. His lean body, composed of taut muscles like a feline predator, twisted flexibly. His deeply sunken gaze seemed to examine Ho-woo thoroughly, circling persistently.

Ho-woo thought he should look away first but couldn’t escape that gaze. He felt like he shouldn’t avert his eyes. After a long moment of intensely scanning Ho-woo, it was Oh-yul who looked away first.

At that moment, Ho-woo exhaled deeply as if releasing a held breath. His body, stiff from tension, had become so rigid it ached. It was only going to be a week of living together, but Oh-yul was a person he was excessively conscious of.

Will this be okay? Should I ask if there’s another available room?

Ho-woo, who generally got along well with others due to his unassuming personality, wasn’t the type to feel much discomfort sharing a room with others.

In fact, Do-hyun, who often came over on weekends to stay the night, would tease Ho-woo, telling him to feel some discomfort because Ho-woo felt none at all. Whenever that happened, Do-hyun would snort at Ho-woo and say that Ho-woo’s sleeping habits were terrible. He would grit his teeth and say never to think about sleeping with others, but when Ho-woo asked if he snored or thrashed about, Do-hyun wouldn’t answer.

If only I had terrible sleeping habits, he might give me another room.

Rotating his stiff shoulders this way and that, Ho-woo waited for Oh-yul to finish showering and come out. When the man suddenly emerged, Ho-woo drew in a short breath.

“Ah!”

The sound was so loud that Ho-woo lowered his eyes slightly with an embarrassed face.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no! There’s no problem!”

His voice came out cracked and shrill from being too flustered. Oh-yul’s hair was wet, with water dripping from it. But the water didn’t fall to the floor; instead, it gathered in small spheres that circled around him.

The small water droplets circled around like jewels before being sucked into Oh-yul’s palm, leaving him completely dry without a trace of moisture.

“Come to think of it, you call me with my surname.”

Although it wasn’t something to discuss right now, Oh-yul casually brought it up as if he had just remembered.

I wish he would put on some clothes quickly.

A troubled expression flashed across Ho-woo’s face.

“It feels a bit formal.”

A faint disappointment showed in his eyes, which had a very slight mix of blue. Since Ho-woo hadn’t intentionally used the formal address to distance himself, he mumbled while lowering his gaze.

“Really? I didn’t think of it that way…”

“Lee Ho-woo-ssi.”

“…!”

“It feels like that.”

Using the surname made Oh-yul suddenly feel distant. The voice that had been calling his name sweetly now sounded cold and unfriendly. Seeing Ho-woo’s surprised expression, Oh-yul suggested in a kind voice.

“How about addressing me more comfortably in that sense?”

“More comfortably?”

“I believe I’m older than you.”

No way.

“‘Hyung’ would be good.”

No!!

Oh-yul’s eyes narrowed slightly at Ho-woo’s obviously averse expression. Since it was a look that anyone could see as displeasure, Ho-woo stammered an excuse.

“It’s not that I dislike it, it’s just burdensome. I’m a bit shy with new people…”

Ho-woo smiled awkwardly while telling this white lie.

In fact, despite being shy, Ho-woo’s gentle personality allowed him to get along well with new people quickly. However, in his relationship with Oh-yul, that characteristic friendliness lost its shine. Even now, Ho-woo was excessively conscious of him.

But in this situation, wouldn’t it be strange for someone not to be conscious of it!

“I see.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m uncomfortable with you, Oh-yul-ssi.”

But I’m a bit uncomfortable now, so I’d appreciate it if you’d put some clothes on.

His mouth and heart moved in opposite directions. Ho-woo, while keeping his eyes lowered, secretly took in the smooth yet firm muscles that were visible, not overly bulky.