Ordinary Person A

#7

Seong-jo, who had been talking non-stop, checked the office that wasn’t completely empty yet and quickly shut his mouth, smiling awkwardly. The two had to let two elevators pass due to people coming down before they could get in. The sound of pouring rain was ominous when they reached the entrance, away from the building’s interior shielded by windows.

“Wow. We’re going to get soaked even with an umbrella.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

At this rate, they’d have to cover their bags with umbrellas, hoping that the documents or items inside wouldn’t get wet. It was almost summer, but this downpour seemed more like a cloudburst than the usual rainy season.

Ho-woo, who was gauging the falling raindrops by slightly extending his hand beyond the entrance, noticed familiar clothing among the bustling crowd of people leaving the company, some without umbrellas and others who had barely managed to find one.

“Espers…”

People wearing the same black coats as Oh-yul were walking against the flow of people heading to the station, without umbrellas and completely drenched in the heavy rain. The crowd parting around them like water around a ship made them appear isolated. Seong-jo, who had somehow caught Ho-woo’s quiet mutter amidst the rain noise, chimed in friendly:

“They’ve been patrolling this area since the A-grade monster attack two months ago. Is this your first time seeing them? They’ve been around quite often.”

“Is that so?”

Seong-jo mentioned that they were quite active during rush hours, both morning and evening, as he opened a small umbrella.

Have I not noticed until now because I wasn’t interested?

But if people were avoiding them so noticeably, he should have noticed. Ho-woo thought he must have been even more indifferent than he realized and moved on.

Then, as he was about to step out of the building, squeezing half his body under Seong-jo’s small umbrella, Ho-woo’s eyes widened at the sight of black Oxford shoes visible under the umbrella and the familiar low, sweet voice he had grown accustomed to over the past two days.

“Ho-woo.”

“Huh?!”

Ho-woo lifted the edge of the umbrella blocking his view to look at the person.

“Oh-yul?!”

Despite Seong-jo’s sharp intake of breath beside him, Ho-woo met his neighbor’s gaze with a puzzled expression. Oh-yul’s eyes were tinged with a vivid blue.

Ho-woo, momentarily surprised by the bright blue color, soon showed delight and smiled broadly. Without fear or hesitation, Ho-woo took a big step forward and greeted him warmly.

“Were you working around here?”

“…Yes.”

Oh-yul briefly glanced at Seong-jo, who had turned pale behind Ho-woo. His kind gaze towards Ho-woo momentarily turned cold before softening again.

In that brief moment when their eyes met, he didn’t forget to release a short burst of energy, giving a slight threatening growl to the man.

“Ah! You’re on patrol, right?”

Despite the fact that a member of Team 1, especially its leader and an S-grade Esper, being on patrol would cause an uproar among team members who would feel insulted, Oh-yul himself gladly accepted the question.

“I was just about to finish and head back.”

“Ah, I see. I was going to have a drink with this friend here. Makgeolli and pajeon.”

Ho-woo pulled Seong-jo’s arm, who had been hiding behind him, and positioned him beside himself.

“This is Seong-jo, who works at the same company as me.”

As Ho-woo was introducing Oh-yul and Seong-jo to each other, he noticed Seong-jo’s stiff body and pale face, and tilted his head curiously, lightly tapping his arm.

“Seong-jo?”

“Yes? Yes?!”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Oh-yul.”

Oh-yul extended his hand very politely and courteously to Seong-jo, who had startled at Ho-woo’s call. Although his face was as kind as when facing Ho-woo, Seong-jo trembled in fear.

Oh-yul slowly withdrew his hand when Seong-jo neither took it nor ran away. Ho-woo, who had been watching this, raised one eyebrow at Seong-jo’s rudeness but then frowned at Oh-yul’s calm reaction.

Oh-yul seemed very accustomed to this situation.

“It’s alright. It’s normal for people to be afraid.”

Oh-yul’s blue eyes, slightly melancholic and sad, hid slightly under his thick black eyelashes. Only Ho-woo thought that Oh-yul’s shoulders, pretending to be unbothered, looked particularly slumped.

The monster’s lips drew a very faint curve under the shadowed face.

The intentionally shown weakness achieved exactly what he wanted.

“…Seong-jo. I don’t think I can keep our appointment today.”

Ho-woo gave Seong-jo a somewhat firm look. With this uncomfortable feeling, drinking wouldn’t improve his mood. When Ho-woo broke off the appointment first, Seong-jo’s expression brightened a little.

“I-I’m sorry. Tomorrow…”

He quickly squeezed himself under the small umbrella, mumbled a goodbye about seeing each other tomorrow, and disappeared into the still pouring rain.

“Did I ruin your pleasant evening plans because of me?”

Oh-yul spoke as if he felt very sorry, but he kept pressing down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to rise, to look dejected. He lowered his eyes pitifully and miserably, like a wounded animal, just pleased with this almost coincidental meeting.

“No, it’s fine. It’s amazing to meet like this, and since we live right next door, it’s nice to go back together.”

Ho-woo chuckled, saying that they’d both get soaked since neither had an umbrella.

At Ho-woo’s words, Oh-yul slowly raised his hand and gently drew a line above Ho-woo’s head. Following his gesture, the clouds that had been pouring rain gradually dispersed.

“Wow-“

Ho-woo’s mouth gaped open at the sight of the clear sky suddenly revealed in the dim darkness. He might not know how strong an S-grade Esper was, but he could feel how amazing the man standing next to him was, able to stop the rain in the sky.

“I should have done this earlier.”

Oh-yul even neatly removed the moisture from Ho-woo’s trouser hems that had gotten wet from splashing water. Ho-woo was deeply moved by his now dry state amidst all the wet people around.

This is like a human dryer.

“Oh-yul… This is… incredible.”

“It’s nothing special.”

“Nothing special? Isn’t this like being able to stay completely dry during the rainy season?!”

Oh-yul burst into light laughter at Ho-woo’s sparkling eyes. It was funny to see an Esper’s ability treated as merely a rainy season dryer, and also because he did use it for such purposes to some extent, as Ho-woo suggested.

“Then I’ll dry your clothes for you this rainy season.”

“Ah… That wasn’t my intention…”

“We’re neighbors. It’s enough if you keep me company like this occasionally as payment.”

“I’ll do that even without your help.”

The two walked slowly towards the subway. When they reached the station entrance, Ho-woo, who was naturally about to descend the stairs, gave Oh-yul a puzzled look as he stood at the top of the stairs as if there was some kind of boundary.

Why isn’t he coming down… Don’t Espers take the subway?

“This might be a rude question…”

“…?”

“Don’t Espers take the subway? …I don’t know much about it…”

Considering how Oh-yul had leapt from the balcony and disappeared in an instant, Ho-woo thought that from an Esper’s perspective, the subway might indeed be a slow and inefficient mode of transport packed with people.

However, Oh-yul slowly shook his head.

“No. We take it when necessary.”

Instead of giving a long explanation, he lightly tapped near his eyes. His eyes, even more vividly blue than when Ho-woo had seen them in front of the company, were set in his neat eye line.

Ah.

Ho-woo realized what he wanted to say. The man with basic knowledge but slow application finally understood why Oh-yul had hesitated at the subway entrance.

“There’s no chance of going berserk from just this, but… people tend to be afraid.”

Ho-woo nodded briefly at Oh-yul’s awkward smile. Ho-woo fully understood other people’s thoughts. Those without any power might be anxious. That’s what it means to be an ordinary person.

Ho-woo didn’t insist on taking the subway together, subjecting Oh-yul to those uncomfortable stares. He simply offered a compromise he thought was reasonable.

“Then, shall we meet again in front of the station near our home?”

However, Oh-yul’s expression became somewhat gloomy, suggesting it wasn’t such a good compromise. Feeling a strange guilt as if he had said something wrong, Ho-woo hurriedly added as if making an excuse:

“But Oh-yul, you’re uncomfortable taking the subway.”

Glances towards Oh-yul, standing firm at the subway entrance, were already increasing. Some were even taking photos. Ho-woo raised his bag to cover the side of his face.

“I don’t have the ability to get home without taking the subway like you, Oh-yul, so isn’t meeting again at the station near our home a good solution?”

Oh-yul slowly rolled his eyes at Ho-woo’s calm and gentle explanation.

“If there’s a better way, would you be willing to adopt it?”

“If you have any ideas, by all means.”