Ordinary Person A

#15

“Hmm… How about dropping just the surname? That shouldn’t be too awkward.”

At the suggestion that seemed to be considerate of him, Ho-woo couldn’t refuse further and nodded slightly.

“Okay. Yul-ssi.”

Something about the sound feels a bit off.

Ho-woo rolled the name around in his mouth a few times before quickly finding the answer.

“Yul-i-ssi.”

It had a somewhat cute sound to it. He wondered if it suited a man over 190cm tall, with broad shoulders and a firm body made of muscle.

However, at that small address, Oh-yul’s expression instantly melted. The corners of his eyes turned down, and his well-shaped lips drew a soft curve. It was also the smile of a satisfied predator holding the most lovable thing in the world.

“That sounds much better.”

Saying so, he picked up and put on the pajama pants that Ho-woo couldn’t wear because they were too big.

Somehow, feeling like he couldn’t resist wiggling his toes and moving his fingertips, Ho-woo bit his lip slightly. His whole body tensed up. His mouth felt dry, and he was thirsty, but even swallowing didn’t help. This excited feeling remained as tension, sensitively heating up his skin.

Ho-woo curled up, fidgeting. The thick, cozy blanket covering his body smelled of rain-soaked, heavy yet fresh grass. It was Oh-yul’s scent.

Ho-woo buried his face deeper into the fluffy blanket, feeling embraced like that day when he went home with Oh-yul.

Oh-yul turned off the room lights and burrowed into the bed where Ho-woo lay. He settled down next to Ho-woo, almost touching, visible only as a silhouette in the darkness that had fallen.

In a space where he couldn’t distinguish anything in front of him, Ho-woo felt the man’s body heat lying a little distance away, feeling the inside of the blanket they shared gradually warming up.

It really feels like being embraced.

In that comfort, his eyelids, scattered with fatigue, quickly grew heavy. His eyes, blinking slowly, finally closed with small, gentle breathing sounds.

In his sleep, Ho-woo burrowed into the firm, warm place and exhaled deeply.

***

Should this be called kidnapping, or legal confinement?

Ho-woo sat blankly after coming out of Oh-yul’s room. I need to go to work… Those words disappeared without becoming sound.

When he woke up, Oh-yul wasn’t in the room, and Ho-woo’s clothes had vanished without a trace. No, one thing remained.

A childish t-shirt with a yellow chick printed on it and shorts were not the kind of clothes he could wear to work.

In his bewilderment, he tapped the pager screen frantically, but Oh-yul didn’t show up at all. In the end, when Ho-woo contacted his workplace to say he couldn’t come in today, he was left with a huge question on his shoulders when his department head responded, “Didn’t you say you were taking a week off?”

After pacing around the room and poking his head out, Ho-woo sat on the sofa at the end of the second floor, hoping for someone to pass by.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there. Ho-woo hurriedly stood up when he saw a familiar figure in a neat Guide uniform passing by.

“Excuse me! Guide!”

“Captain’s neighbor!”

Unlike when he saw her at the apartment, she seemed much happier. Hee-eun, who gave a bright smile, noticed Ho-woo’s t-shirt and pressed her lips together. Her trembling chin tensed up like a walnut.

“What on earth are you wearing?”

“…I know, right?”

The clothes he had to put on seemed quite pitiful. She was still tensing her chin, trying not to laugh. Ho-woo felt like crying at her desperate effort.

“The one who put me in this state…”

“Must be the captain. It’s obvious.”

Hee-eun quickly looked around, then moved close to Ho-woo as if someone was beside them and whispered softly.

“I don’t know what the captain’s intentions are, but be careful.”

“Pardon?”

“I haven’t known the captain for long, but I’ve seen Espers for a long time.”

Espers and Guides. Ho-woo looked bewildered at the quite serious advice from one of the pair always mentioned together.

“If they want a Guide, they’ll use any means necessary. They’re crazy, I tell you.”

Ho-woo smiled weakly, already disqualified from being a ‘Guide’ they might want.

“But I’m not a Guide. This time, he’s helping out of kindness. Yul-i-ssi is a good person.”

“That mad dog wouldn’t do that.”

“Why? Yul-i-ssi is gentle and kind.”

This time, Hee-eun’s expression became dumbfounded. Unless the Oh-yul she knew and the Oh-yul Ho-woo knew were completely different people, there should be at least one common point, but there was none. The conclusion was one.

‘That crazy bastard, his acting must be top-notch.’

Hee-eun shuddered at the chills running down her spine. Feeling that if she said more, she might see something she shouldn’t, she quietly kept her mouth shut.

“By the way, is Yul-i-ssi’s nickname ‘mad dog’? It really doesn’t suit him.”

“…. Please don’t tell him I said that.”

“Ah, is it a public secret?”

Ho-woo gestured zipping his mouth, saying he absolutely wouldn’t tell. Seeing his seemingly innocent appearance, Hee-eun, who was about to let it go, finally added one more thing after hesitating.

“If the captain brings an Esper with purple eyes, be wary.”

“Purple eyes?”

“It’s because they’re psychic Espers. There’s one in Team 1 too. An Esper named Choi Seon-woo.”

“So each type has different eye colors?”

“That’s right. The captain is water-type among physical/natural types, so his eyes are blue, and the deputy captain Han Seong-won mainly handles fire, so his eyes are red. And all psychic types are purple. The colors are fixed, so it’s useful for distinguishing them.”

Ho-woo, who was listening carefully to Hee-eun’s advice, slightly furrowed his brow, not understanding why he should be wary of psychic Espers.

“But why should I be careful if Yul-i-ssi brings a psychic Esper?”

‘Because they can completely turn your mind inside out.’

Hee-eun couldn’t voice the truth and made a lame excuse, saying “Just because.” Although it seemed she shouldn’t get deeply involved in Oh-yul and Lee Ho-woo’s relationship, she felt quite sorry to just leave this innocent man alone.

However, her goodwill stemming from that sympathy only went this far. She was a person who knew how to wisely look out for herself.

“By the way, why did you call me?”

“Ah.”

At Hee-eun’s belated question, Ho-woo remembered his original purpose.

“Do you know where Oh-yul-ssi might be?”

“At this time, he’s probably at the training ground. Shall we go together?”

Ho-woo nodded vigorously. Being an outsider, it was difficult for him to move freely inside. He thought he might be able to move around if Guide Hee-eun was with him, and it seemed possible.

However, Hee-eun looked Ho-woo up and down again and grinned.

“Let’s change your clothes first.”

***

“Um… Is this really okay?”

Ho-woo awkwardly pulled at the end of his jacket. Wearing a black and white uniform jacket that fell neatly at the waist and white pants, Ho-woo looked down at himself awkwardly.

Having put on a Guide uniform he thought he’d never wear in his life, Ho-woo gave a perplexed look to the satisfied Hee-eun. It was evident that he was worried about whether it was okay for him, who wasn’t even a Guide, to wear this, and if he might get into trouble.

“It’s fine! No one will know if we don’t get caught, right?”

Well, no one knows anything if you don’t get caught.

“What if we do get caught?”

“…I believe the captain will sort it out!”

Hee-eun gave a thumbs up and finished setting Ho-woo’s hair perfectly, calling it her masterpiece. With the clothes on, Ho-woo’s quite tall height suited the uniform well.

“How tall are you? You’re taller than I thought.”

“Oh, 177cm.”

Ho-woo’s face looked innocent and youthful, making him appear shorter than his actual height. Hee-eun smoothed out the slightly wrinkled end of the jacket and patted Ho-woo’s back lightly.

“You look like a handsome and tall Guide to anyone, so stand up straight, puff out your chest, and don’t walk like you’re intimidated. If you look nervous, it’ll seem more suspicious, so act confidently.”

Hee-eun led Ho-woo and walked ahead. Matching her pace, Ho-woo tried his best to act as natural as possible.

Even though it was just coming down from the second floor and heading to the basement of that building, Hee-eun exchanged brief greetings with several passing Espers and Guides. Among them, there were gazes of subtle curiosity directed at Ho-woo, standing awkwardly behind her.

“I haven’t seen the one behind you before. Is he a new Guide?”

“A newbie.”

“What’s your name? Can you guide me sometime?”

At the man’s behavior of subtly grabbing and fiddling with his hand, Ho-woo pressed his lips tightly and desperately sent a plea for help to Hee-eun. Seeing this signal, Hee-eun firmly pushed the man away and narrowed her eyes sharply.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean? Besides, I don’t feel anything from him. Is he really a Guide?”

“He is, so step aside. We’re going to see the captain, and if we’re late and get scolded, I’ll say it’s because you held us up.”

At the mention of Oh-yul, the man clicked his tongue briefly and stepped aside. Even so, he couldn’t take his eyes off Ho-woo, his gaze dripping with regret. Ho-woo quickly stood close to Hee-eun, who started walking again, while receiving that uncomfortable gaze.

“If an Esper ever hits on you, use the captain as an excuse.”