NOVEL NEXT #16
#16
“You mean Yul-i-ssi?”
“Yes, everyone’s afraid of the mad d… I mean, the captain.”
Hee-eun corrected the nickname that came naturally and fended off all the Espers approaching with curious faces. Each time, Ho-woo hid behind her, trying to ignore the gazes directed at him. After this happened about four times, they arrived at a space with glass windows covering the entire front.
“Is this the training ground?”
“No, this is the floor above the training ground. The area where Espers train is off-limits to non-Espers because it’s dangerous.”
Hee-eun lightly tapped the glass. It made a heavy, dull sound unlike tapping on regular glass.
“You can see the training ground from here. There’s the captain.”
Ho-woo slowly placed his hand on the glass window and looked down. There, Oh-yul, with an expressionless face like in the photos on the Management Corporation’s website rather than his kind expression, was looking somewhat indifferently at a man charging towards him.
“Oh, that’s the person who brought me here.”
Ho-woo distinguished Oh-yul and the man charging at him, even though they looked small from this distance.
“Is that the deputy captain?”
“Yes, that’s Han Seong-won.”
Seong-won dove deeply towards Oh-yul and immediately aimed a punch at his jaw. Oh-yul stepped back to avoid the fierce attack targeting his vital point, then quickly ducked and drove his elbow into Seong-won’s solar plexus as he slipped under the outstretched arm. Then he stomped on the shin of the man who momentarily lost balance and staggered.
Ho-woo stepped back at the grotesquely twisted angle of Seong-won’s leg. At that moment, Oh-yul standing in the training ground slowly raised his head.
Their gazes met precisely in midair, tangling dizzily. The face that always held a gentle smile for Ho-woo was now coldly settled without any expression. That expression was quite chilling, making Ho-woo feel like he had stolen a glimpse of a side of Oh-yul he didn’t know.
“What’s this, did something unpleasant happen? His expression is fierce.”
Hee-eun looked in the direction Ho-woo was watching, then sucked in a breath and clicked her tongue briefly. She even muttered, almost inaudibly, “Then again, when was he ever in a good mood?”
“Seong-won-ssi seems badly hurt. Is he okay?”
“There’s a healing Esper nearby, so he’ll be fine. We should run away before the captain comes. Let’s hurry.”
Hee-eun, who had never had a good experience encountering Oh-yul in a bad mood, gently pulled Ho-woo. At the gentle but urging tug, Ho-woo stepped back from the glass wall.
He was surprised by Oh-yul’s quite brutal actions, which had only seemed kind before. However, Ho-woo acknowledged that since they lived in different worlds, the kind neighbor Oh-yul and Esper Oh-yul had to be somewhat different.
As Ho-woo prepared to leave, Hee-eun turned back to check on him and froze in shock.
Thud- Thud-
At the dull sound of something hitting the thick glass window, Ho-woo slowly turned around. There stood Oh-yul, standing on water that had risen high like a wave, frowning deeply as he peered through the glass window.
Between his furrowed brows, a blue light was slowly seeping into his eyes.
“Yul-i-ssi is here… standing on water…”
The last words almost disappeared into his mouth, barely audible. Wondering if what he was seeing was real, Ho-woo secretly pinched the inside of his arm. He felt a stinging pain. Ho-woo mouthed a silent “Wow.”
“I see it too. If you hear news later that I died while guiding, kick that bastard between the legs as hard as you can.”
“…Does it have to be between the legs?”
Ho-woo’s face scrunched up, empathizing with the pain as a fellow man. However, Hee-eun stood with her arms crossed and snorted.
“How else could you deal a critical hit to that monster? Even for an Esper, it should hurt at least a little if you kick hard enough.”
Thud- Thud-
As the glass window was tapped again, Ho-woo’s gaze returned to Oh-yul. Oh-yul moved his lips as if saying something, but no sound reached through the window. Ho-woo, unable to understand what was being said, blinked blankly with wide eyes.
Oh-yul thought for a moment, then placed his hand on the glass window. White frost spread from his hand, covering the entire window, and then his neat, long fingers began to write letters.
“Don’t move an inch from there and wait.”
It was a bit difficult to read as the letters were reversed. As soon as the writing was complete, Hee-eun immediately stepped back.
“I’ll go first.”
“But Yul-i-ssi said to wait…”
“That was for you. I need to run away now. Just tell the captain I’ll come for guiding later.”
Hee-eun hurriedly left the place. Ho-woo, who had pitifully reached out towards her retreating figure that was almost running away, was left alone and looked around nervously.
There were no passing Espers, but being left alone in an unfamiliar place made him feel awkward and uneasy, as if he was intruding. So, as he stood there fidgeting, Oh-yul’s voice was even more welcome when it came.
“Ho-woo-ssi.”
“―!”
“Where is Guide Yu Hee-eun?”
The eyes mixed with blue slowly scanned the surroundings. The voice directed at Ho-woo was gentle, but the thorn embedded in it was extremely sharp.
“She ran away.”
“……”
“Are you going to scold her later?”
“No.”
Despite saying no, Oh-yul still looked displeased. His face was expressionless, but the atmosphere was tense. Knowing only one reason why he might be angry, Ho-woo stuttered an apology.
“I’m sorry.”
Oh-yul slowly looked Ho-woo up and down. The Guide uniform suited Ho-woo very well. Being neat with fine, gentle lines, he didn’t look puffy even in white.
“I shouldn’t have worn the Guide clothes as a civilian…”
“……”
Ho-woo glanced at Oh-yul’s expression.
Is this not it?
He thought that was the only reason to be angry, but the man’s expression was complex and somber.
“It’s fine for you to wear it. It’s just clothes after all.”
Oh-yul remained silent for a moment as if choosing his words, then added, “It suits you well.”
“Thank you.”
“However, it would be better not to wear it again.”
Ho-woo was confused by Oh-yul’s attitude, saying the uniform suited him well and it wasn’t a problem to wear it, but it would be better not to wear it again. There was a strong sincerity in Oh-yul’s voice.
Although he wondered what exactly Oh-yul meant, Ho-woo himself didn’t want to commit another illegal act, so he planned to quietly take off the Guide uniform.
“Did any other Espers hit on you on your way here?”
“No.”
At the immediate answer, Oh-yul stared at Ho-woo’s face for a moment, then crooked one corner of his mouth.
“So there was. I’ll check with Guide Yu Hee-eun later. You probably don’t know their name.”
It felt like the situation was somehow escalating. Ho-woo had a feeling that the Esper who had fondled his hand might end up in the same state as Han Seong-won.
“…It’s fine, though…”
Oh-yul, as if not wanting to hear any more about it, politely extended his hand to Ho-woo. Ho-woo carefully placed his hand on Oh-yul’s, who was acting confidently as if demanding something rightful.
Although it felt a bit inappropriate to hold hands when they weren’t even dating, holding hands with Oh-yul was quite a pleasant thing. His large hand was warm, perhaps because his body temperature was higher than other people’s. Ho-woo really liked that.
They went up one floor, holding hands affectionately. There were quite a few other Espers and Guides there, and Ho-woo could feel the prickling gazes fixed on his face.
“This won’t cause problems later, right?”
Ho-woo whispered very softly, worried that Oh-yul might suffer some consequences for wearing this outfit when he wasn’t a Guide. Of course, the Espers there heard that small whisper as loud as thunder.
The same was true for Oh-yul, so he shook his head slightly to indicate it was fine. At the sight of the kind mad dog, busy gazes crossed behind the two. At that moment, the Management Corporation’s anonymous bulletin board was on fire. Both Espers and Guides were busily moving their fingers on their pads.
※Esper/Guide Management Corporation Anonymous Bulletin Board
※Notice: Please refrain from swearing and criticism between Espers/Guides.
Anonymous 113: Hey, this is crazy.
Did you see Oh-yul? His eyes were totally lovey-dovey.
└Anonymous 296: Lovey-dovey eyes lol That Oh-yul? What are you talking about? Are you crazy?
└Anonymous 347: It happened at the training ground today, I still thought I was dreaming.
Anonymous 214: Is that a new Guide next to Oh-yul? Do they have a good matching rate, so Oh-yul finally found his match?
Does this mean Guides don’t have to faint anymore?
Anonymous 771: Even though there aren’t enough Guides, monopolizing one Guide alone is crossing the line, even for an S-class.
└Anonymous 183: You’re an Esper.
└Anonymous 120: Can’t you tell by looking? Obviously an Esper.
└Anonymous 645: New Guide, please stay here for a long time without regional transfers.
Anonymous 324: But I’ve seen all the new Guides who came in this time, and I’ve never seen a Guide with that face.
Did they come from another city?
└Anonymous 423: That’s not important, what’s important is that that mad dog acted like that
└Anonymous 301: 222
└Anonymous 247: 333
Unaware of this, Ho-woo, and Oh-yul who knew but didn’t care, were enjoying a short date that wasn’t quite a date, holding hands tightly.