Ordinary Person A

#3

“W-wait a moment.”

At the appearance of his benefactor who had saved his life, neither a dangerous person nor a stranger, Ho-woo closed the door again and hurriedly undid the security chain. Oh-yul calmly waited for Ho-woo to do so.

His hands, trembling finely from surprise, fumbled with the chain several times before finally managing to unlock it. Ho-woo, relieved that he was still dressed in his work clothes after returning home, opened the door again.

“You moved in next door, you said?”

An S-grade Esper? That Esper who would have money poured into his pockets by the state, in this rundown apartment?

“That’s right. I had to move my residence urgently, so I ended up moving here after looking for a place that was immediately available for occupancy.”

I see.

Ho-woo nodded at Oh-yul’s words.

So you had such circumstances, indeed, otherwise you’re not someone who would come to a place like this.

“More importantly, here you are.”

On a small plate that didn’t match Oh-yul’s large build were a few steamed rice cakes. Ho-woo reflexively accepted the plate offered to him. His fingers lightly brushed Oh-yul’s hand supporting the bottom of the plate.

Ah?

At the tingling sensation that ran up his fingers at that moment, Ho-woo’s eyes widened.

Did my finger joints wear out from typing too much?

Thinking he should apply some pain relief patches tomorrow, Ho-woo didn’t think much of it, while Oh-yul smiled kindly, his eyes crinkling.

“Please eat it before it gets cold.”

“Before it gets cold?”

Isn’t it already cold?

Given how late Ho-woo’s return from work was, and how late it was now, there was no way the rice cakes hadn’t cooled. As evidence, the rice cakes on the plate had no trace of warmth left. Ho-woo laughed casually.

Haha, he must be joking with me.

Ha, haha?

Ho-woo alternately looked at Oh-yul and the steamed rice cakes with a blank face, as the plate and rice cakes gradually warmed up and steam began to rise. He felt as if he was bewitched by a ghost.

“It will be delicious.”

He clearly did something. Oh-yul quietly opened the door to his apartment without showing off.

Creak- Slam!

The sound of the door closing, which seemed intentionally loud, echoed in the quiet night. Ho-woo was suddenly left alone with the warm rice cakes.

Uh…?

After a long moment of bewildered thoughts, Ho-woo slowly closed his door and put a small piece of the still-warm rice cake in his mouth.

As Oh-yul had said, the steamed rice cake was not too sweet and was delicious. He didn’t really understand Esper abilities anyway. They talked about water and rapid cooling, but if he could do it, he could do it. Isn’t cooling or heating ultimately related to thermal abilities?

Ho-woo decided to simply think of it that way. Getting involved in Esper matters didn’t really suit him as an ordinary person.

He just fell into a small contemplation about what to put on this plate when returning it to his new neighbor whom he had met by a small twist of fate.

***

“Good morning. It’s a good morning.”

The man Ho-woo encountered in front of the elevator was so neat it was hard to imagine yesterday’s disheveled appearance. The uniform that anyone would recognize as belonging to an Esper was spotless. His neatly arranged hair and eyes, now pitch black unlike when Ho-woo had seen him before, were fully focused on Ho-woo.

“Good… morning.”

How did he manage to match Ho-woo’s exact time for leaving for work?

Ho-woo glanced at the man standing next to him. Oh-yul was much taller than the average man, much taller than Ho-woo. His tall height, broad shoulders and chest, and waist that tapered down in proportion to his height, drew such perfect lines that even another man would glance at him once.

No, more than that, even Espers ride elevators.

Since the general image that came to mind was unrealistic, like leaping over buildings with bare bodies, Ho-woo found the man standing quietly next to him quite interesting.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Pardon?”

“You seem unable to take your eyes off me.”

Ho-woo’s ears turned red.

Did I stare too much?

Two months ago, last evening, and now, the Esper’s face remained the same. Rather, the photo uploaded on the Management Corporation’s homepage seemed like it was taken when he was in a very bad mood.

Ho-woo hesitated at the kind and friendly expression that showed consideration towards a stranger, and carefully rolled his eyes when the elevator arrived, ascending through the floors.

“It’s because I haven’t seen many Espers.”

Ho-woo laid the groundwork first. It meant that he might be a bit rude. Fortunately, the man wore a generous expression.

“I thought an Esper would just jump down from the building instead of waiting for the elevator.”

“That would be more efficient, indeed.”

Oh-yul answered Ho-woo’s question sincerely.

“But since it’s made for us to use, we just ride it.”

Oh-yul, who had pressed the first floor button after getting on the elevator together, added:

“Also, if we jump down from places like this, it might startle other people.”

Indeed, if someone who didn’t know he was an Esper saw it, they would likely be more than startled – they’d be terrified. Ho-woo nodded slightly in understanding.

“Well then, have a good day.”

As the elevator filled with awkwardness arrived at the first floor, Oh-yul once again gave a polite greeting.

“Uh… um…”

He knew the name, but wondered if it was okay to mention it first. He was a celebrity, but what if he thought Ho-woo was pretending to be close?

The words ‘You have a good day too, Oh-yul’ rose to his throat but circled around without being spoken. However, the perceptive Esper resolved Ho-woo’s hesitation at once, smiling with his eyes narrowed.

“I’m Oh-yul.”

“Pardon?”

“Though you probably know already.”

“…Yes.”

He was a man so famous it would be strange not to know him. Ho-woo hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should introduce himself to the man who had given his name, then opened his mouth.

“I’m Lee Ho-woo.”

Having given his name so readily to a man he’d only seen twice, wondering since when he had become so friendly with neighbors, Ho-woo’s eyes widened at the response he received.

“I know.”

“H-how… Me?”

Since he was an ordinary person with no reason to be famous unlike Oh-yul, Ho-woo was bewildered that the S-grade Esper in front of him knew his name.

“Previously… After finishing everything, I briefly stopped by the hospital, but you had already been discharged.”

Ho-woo let out a short exclamation, recalling two months ago when he was able to be discharged at an exceptionally high speed. It hadn’t even taken 6 hours from regaining consciousness to receiving psychological counseling and being discharged.

“Were you injured somewhere?”

If an Esper had to go to the hospital, it must have been a severe injury. Ho-woo’s bright brown eyes looked at Oh-yul with concern. Although two months had passed and any injuries would have healed, the fact that his lifesaver had been hurt somewhere still worried him quite a bit.

“No. I went to see someone else.”

“I guess you knew someone there.”

Ho-woo didn’t pry further. They may be called monsters or beasts, but in the end, Espers were no different from humans. They could have acquaintances and loved ones too.

Thinking that way, the man standing next to him wearing a black coat that reached his knees didn’t seem so special anymore.

It felt like he had become Office Worker A with the job title of Esper.

A 20-minute walk from the rundown apartment. During this walk that was long if you thought it long and short if you thought it short, Ho-woo was busy sneaking glances at Oh-yul walking beside him.

He couldn’t bring himself to ask, “Do Espers really take the subway to commute?” even though the saying goes that assumptions can mislead. Ho-woo, who had walked together with Oh-yul to the subway entrance, stood a few steps below, looking up at Oh-yul who had stopped at the top of the stairs leading down to the subway.

Due to the backlight, Oh-yul’s expression was shadowed and not clearly visible. Ho-woo’s eyes squinted slightly at the dazzling light.

“Have a good day.”

Oh-yul stood at the very top of the subway stairs for quite a while, looking down at Ho-woo as if seeing him off. Feeling conscious of this, Ho-woo had to look back several times as he descended the stairs.

***

Click, the small sound of a mouse click caught attention.

“Mr. Lee, have you become interested in Espers?”

“…!”

At this intrusion, Ho-woo hurriedly minimized the window, but it was already after everything had been seen.

What filled the monitor screen during the precious lunch break after finishing the busy morning work was an article about Oh-yul. Particularly, the search bar blatantly read ‘foods that Espers like’. Kim Seong-jo, the new employee in the next seat who had discovered the search bar, joked with Ho-woo, whose ears had turned red with embarrassment.

“Actually, it wouldn’t be strange even if they were celebrities. They’re all strangely handsome.”

He is handsome.

Ho-woo recalled Oh-yul, first thinking of his overwhelming height and slim-feeling body that didn’t look bulky despite his large build. It was really amazing how he didn’t look dull even though his body was actually filled with solid muscle. It also gave the impression of watching an elegant leopard.

“Who were you looking up?”

“About the S-grade Esper…”

“Oh-yul?”

Seong-jo immediately guessed who Ho-woo had been looking up. Although two more S-grade Espers had appeared in Korea after Oh-yul, he still received the most spotlight.