Ordinary Person A

#20

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

The two people uttered the same exclamation simultaneously, but their meanings were quite different. For Choi Seon-woo, who had known Oh-yul since childhood, it was a sigh of disgust, while for Ho-woo, it was a sigh of heartfelt sympathy. He recalled the story he had read when he first looked up information about Oh-yul.

Ho-woo’s light brown eyes filled with pity for the other person.

Oh-yul, who manifested his abilities at age 9, would have lived in this virtually isolated Management Corporation from a very young age, separated from his parents, and all he would have been given was mandatory contact with Guides. He was probably accustomed to physical contact, but there was a high chance he didn’t understand the subtle meanings it could carry.

Ho-woo tightly closed his eyes at the melancholic gaze from the 30-year-old man, two years his senior, and then took his hand that was holding his sleeve again. The large hand that had been hesitant to approach after being rejected now slowly intertwined its fingers between Ho-woo’s at this allowance.

To prevent him from escaping again, from twisting his hand free, Oh-yul firmly interlaced their fingers and slowly pulled Ho-woo, who had his head bowed low, into his arms. He made Ho-woo bury his face in his shoulder, blocking his view so he couldn’t look around at all.

Watching this scene, Choi Seon-woo shrugged lightly at the piercing eyes directed at him. He wanted to tease them a bit more, but he felt that if he provoked them further, he might be dealt with secretly during a mission.

Even the Espers watching from afar scattered in panic at the threat emanating from the enormous monster that was inflating itself endlessly. Surprised by the Espers’ sudden reaction, the Guides mixed among them also moved away, grumbling, “Looks like the mad dog is acting up again.”

“Yu Hee-eun is in Team 1’s guiding room, so go get your guiding, and I’ll see you later when we go on a mission.”

Choi Seon-woo also left quickly. Oh-yul, who had chased everyone away in an instant, slowly melted his icy expression. After burying his face in Oh-yul’s shoulder for a long time, Ho-woo belatedly mumbled with a voice mixed with guilt and apology.

“I’m sorry. How could I…”

How could I pity Oh-yul-ssi?

Compared to the man before him, Lee Ho-woo was nothing. He was just an ordinary person with no special talents or outstanding abilities. Oh-yul slowly patted Ho-woo’s back as he became dejected.

“It’s alright.”

The most special being in the world lovingly embraced the one who would hold his leash. He hid his sharp teeth and claws, wagging his tail detestably and smiling wickedly.

***

Ho-woo fidgeted with his fingertips awkwardly. He wasn’t sure if he should be here. But he couldn’t reject Oh-yul again when he offered his hand, saying they should go together for even an amateur guiding session.

In the end, they walked hand in hand towards Team 1’s guiding room. When they arrived, Yu Hee-eun was terrified and disliked it. Of course, her refusal didn’t work at all. At least she had the responsibility to leave a guiding record as she was the team Guide assigned for Oh-yul.

Won’t it hurt?

Anyone could see that Yu Hee-eun, who was guiding the S-class Esper with a poor matching rate all alone, was in bad shape. Holding Oh-yul’s hand, she was conducting the guiding while sweating profusely. Seeing her pale face, it seemed very difficult, but Ho-woo’s eyes were only on Oh-yul.

His eyes, tinged blue, had only become slightly duller, showing no signs of returning to normal. His brow was faintly furrowed, as if suppressing and enduring something unpleasant.

After hearing that he had poor matching rates with Guides and guiding had little effect, Ho-woo felt even more sorry for Oh-yul, who must have lived like this since childhood. Even though someone like Lee Ho-woo had no right to pity him.

“Are you not bored?”

Meanwhile, Oh-yul was meticulously caring for Ho-woo, worried that he might be getting bored.

“I’m just fascinated. It seems like they’re just holding hands, but something is happening.”

“I’m working incredibly hard here,” Yu Hee-eun gritted her teeth, groaning as if she was on the verge of death.

“Neighbor, please pity me instead of that damn captain. If I keep doing this, I won’t live out my natural lifespan. I’m sure of it.”

Yu Hee-eun panted, her breath rising to her chin, saying that strangely, guiding felt even harder today. This shouldn’t be possible unless the matching rate had dropped further.

The guiding results were the worst, and her physical condition had plummeted. Yu Hee-eun weakly recorded the results on her pad and collapsed limply.

“There must be a Guide somewhere in the world with a matching rate above 38%, so why me?”

Muttering as if in a daze that something was seriously wrong, Yu Hee-eun had her pad snatched away by Oh-yul, who nonchalantly tapped the screen several times before returning it to her.

Ho-woo peeked at the screen out of curiosity and tilted his head at the green lights on the list of names displayed. It was Yu Hee-eun who resolved Ho-woo’s curiosity. Receiving the pad, she shook her head with a pale face.

“…No, how many other Guides are you trying to call?”

“It’s not like I can force you to stay. If you want to faint, I’d be happy to help.”

“I’m grateful for your ocean-like generosity.”

Yu Hee-eun, tired enough to faint at any moment, sarcastically mumbled as she crawled into the bed prepared in the corner. The bed in the guiding room probably wasn’t just for tired Guides to rest. Ho-woo’s ear tips turned red as he vaguely guessed its purpose, but somehow his mouth felt bitter.

Meanwhile, a Guide who had received Oh-yul’s call, disguised as Yu Hee-eun’s, carefully opened the door and entered, only to freeze in place. The eyes of the innocent victim scanned the room filled with a bizarre combination of people, shaking violently.

“Why… did you call me…”

It was a question with a trailing end.

“Guiding,” Oh-yul answered briefly, waving his hand. At that summons, the Guide approached with heavy steps as if being led to a slaughterhouse and slowly joined hands.

And again, it was a repeat of what Yu Hee-eun had gone through. Oh-yul’s brow furrowed deeper, and the Guide completely melted, collapsing onto the floor. It wasn’t a faint, but they quickly fell into a deep sleep. Yu Hee-eun, who had been lying on the bed, was also now in a deep slumber.

The Guides who arrived at perfectly timed intervals, as if the calls had been staggered, all started guiding with equally despairing faces. By at least the fifth repetition, Ho-woo awkwardly pulled Oh-yul, who was closing his eyes tightly and taking a deep breath, to rest his head on his shoulder.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

At the softly whispered question, a groan returned from the Guide holding Oh-yul’s hand.

However, the person Ho-woo had actually asked remained silent, seemingly trying to swallow all the pain inwardly.

This is heartbreaking.

Ho-woo let out a small sigh and gently brushed back Oh-yul’s sweat-soaked hair. His slightly pale face clearly revealed his vulnerable side.

After the fifth Guide completely exhausted themselves and collapsed, no more Guides came. Amidst the groaning sounds, Ho-woo heard the man resting his head on his shoulder murmur softly.

“I’m used to this much.”

Oh-yul slowly opened his eyes. His dark blue eyes still had a stronger blue tint. Even to Ho-woo, the guiding that had sacrificed five Guides seemed to have yielded little benefit.

“Yul-i-ssi… I know it’s not my place to interfere, but you said there’s someone with a high matching rate, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Why don’t you receive guiding from them?”

Then everyone wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

At Ho-woo’s question tinged with sympathy, Oh-yul’s lips trembled slightly. This reaction gave Ho-woo the feeling that he had asked something he shouldn’t have, adding another small pang of guilt to his heart.

“…I’m sorry. There might be circumstances I don’t know about.”

“No, it’s just that person was my comfort when I was young.”

“……”

“I met them before entering the Management Corporation, so it was 21 years ago now.”

It was a distant past. Since Oh-yul’s official manifestation was at age 9, it wouldn’t be strange if he barely remembered it now. Even Ho-woo himself had no memories from before he was 10 years old.

“If the matching rate was high, were they already a Guide?”

“No. They weren’t. They weren’t at that time.”

The nuance was strange. If they weren’t, then they weren’t, so what did he mean by “weren’t at that time”? Did that mean they were a Guide now?

Ho-woo slightly wrinkled his nose at the difficult phrasing, then smiled gently.

“Anyway, I hope Oh-yul-ssi meets that person again. Then everyone would be happy, right?”

“…Yes.”

Oh-yul answered in a whisper. Ho-woo couldn’t distinguish whether that answer was an affirmation or just a response to his words. This was because Oh-yul closed his eyes tightly again, taking a deep breath.

His large hand was holding Ho-woo’s hand like a final lifeline. The sensation that had now become quite familiar surged through that small contact.

It felt like standing at the edge of a vast ocean, dipping one hand into the waves lapping at the shore, feeling the gentle water flow only with fingertips.

This feeling didn’t occur at all when touching other Espers. Since Oh-yul was a special person, did everyone who touched him feel this way?