Ordinary Person A

#24

The response came first from Moon Jin-hyuk, not Ho-woo.

“Captain! What can a mere civilian like that do for you! Don’t you know how they see us!”

Ho-woo was starting to feel a bit scared now.

Whatever the circumstances, it was an excessive remark that would surely result in severe punishment later. Even if Ho-woo wanted to help, the line had been crossed so far that he could only quietly hold his breath and watch Oh-yul’s reaction.

“Esper Moon Jin-hyuk.”

Oh-yul placed his hand on Moon Jin-hyuk’s shoulder and narrowed his eyes slightly. The low voice contained a clear warning. Whether he had come to his senses belatedly or was frightened by the threat, Moon Jin-hyuk’s face turned pale as he opened and closed his mouth.

A faint trace of resentment showed on his face, but Ho-woo couldn’t sympathize with that emotion.

“Ho-woo. I’ll be stepping out for a moment, would you please get ready first?”

“Get ready for the date? It’s just going out, but calling it a date makes it sound so grand.”

Oh-yul laughed lightly at Ho-woo’s attempt to lighten the mood. With a short clearing of his throat, he left the room with the still-frozen Moon Jin-hyuk.

Ho-woo glanced briefly at the door closing with a soft sound, then entered the bathroom and closed the door.

The only thing he could do now was to prepare to go out, as Oh-yul had said.

***

Mr. Yul is taking longer than I expected. How much is he scolding him?

Ho-woo checked the time and raised the end of his eyebrow. It had been over an hour since Oh-yul left with Moon Jin-hyuk, but he hadn’t returned. When Ho-woo peeked out into the hallway just in case, there was no one there, so he had no way of guessing where Oh-yul had gone.

Since the only places he had been to were Oh-yul’s office, the training grounds, and the Guiding room on the same floor, it was difficult for him to wander around freely.

Did he go to the office since he’s scolding him?

Ho-woo, who had changed into the neat clothes from the shopping bag Moon Jin-hyuk had brought and was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for Oh-yul to return, tilted his head at an unfamiliar voice knocking on the door.

“Are you in there? The captain sent me.”

Captain?

Judging by how he referred to Oh-yul, it seemed he was on the same team. Yu Hee-eun the Guide, Han Seong-won, Choi Seon-woo, and Moon Jin-hyuk all called Oh-yul “captain,” so Ho-woo opened the door without suspicion.

Beyond the open door stood a middle-aged man with sparse stubble on his chin, smiling pleasantly. He had slightly drooping eyes, a face that looked sturdy with thick features, and a gently curved mouth that suited him well.

“Hello. I’m Woo Tae-sik, a healing Esper from Team 1. The captain said there was someone badly injured and told me to heal them, but you look better than I expected.”

Ho-woo tried to gauge the standard of “better,” but couldn’t quite figure it out, so he cautiously asked, “How injured would I have to be to not look fine?”

“I thought at least one limb might be missing. Or maybe a hole in the stomach.”

Tae-sik laughed heartily after saying these rather gruesome things and asked, “Shall we take a look at the wound?” Ho-woo, with a slightly pale face, entered the room with him and sat on the sofa, rolling up his pants.

The bruise had gotten worse since he was injured yesterday. Tae-sik carefully placed his hand on the knee, which was now a large purple bruise.

From where his hand touched, a cool, tingling sensation like a pain relief patch spread, and gradually the bruise disappeared. Ho-woo watched this in amazement.

Once the bruise had completely faded, Tae-sik removed the large bandage from Ho-woo’s knee and thoroughly checked that the wound had completely disappeared as well.

“All done. It didn’t hurt, did it?”

He asked Ho-woo quite kindly. The faint wrinkles around his eyes indicated that he was someone who smiled often.

“It doesn’t hurt. Thank you.”

When the bruise was there, there had been a slight throbbing pain, but even that pain had completely disappeared. Ho-woo bowed his head slightly in gratitude.

“I just did what the captain ordered, it’s nothing. But…”

Tae-sik, who had been kneeling on the floor in front of the sofa, stood up hesitantly as if he had something to say.

“Is there a problem?”

“…Are you perhaps a Guide?”

Again.

Ho-woo slightly furrowed his brow at hearing the same question for the third time. If he were really a Guide, an Esper who came out for the 15-year-old test would definitely have known.

“No, I’m a civilian confirmed by the 15-year-old test.”

“Hmm… That’s odd. You feel similar to an Esper in some ways, but you’re not an Esper.”

Tae-sik, with an expression of uncertainty, abruptly extended his hand again.

“If you don’t mind, may I hold your hand again?”

“Go ahead.”

Thinking it would be better to confirm if there was something bothering him, Ho-woo willingly took his hand. Tae-sik closed his eyes as if savoring food and kept making sounds like “Hmm… Mmm…”

“Strange, I feel like I’ve felt something like this before.”

He pondered for a long time as if unable to recall, and finally, seemingly unable to remember, let go of Ho-woo’s hand with a dissatisfied expression.

“The captain would probably sense it more accurately than me, so ask him. The difference between each rank is enormous. Probably Espers below A-rank wouldn’t even be able to sense this feeling that I can barely perceive.”

“Um…”

Ho-woo was about to ask about the unique feeling he experienced when holding hands or touching skin with Oh-yul, but he closed his mouth. His lips wouldn’t part. As if blocked by something, Ho-woo couldn’t ask Tae-sik anything. Deep contemplation flickered in his brown eyes and then faded.

“Is there something you’re curious about?”

“…No, nothing. I was just wondering if you’d heard anything about when Mr. Yul would be back.”

“Ah… Well… He should be back soon. I should get going to work too. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him that angry, so the other person is probably in pretty bad shape…”

Tae-sik muttered to himself and then left the room, waving his hand lightly at Ho-woo. He seemed to be an Esper with a rather gentle side.

Not long after Tae-sik left, Oh-yul returned to the room. He changed from the casually worn clothes into a crisp white shirt that fit him perfectly and black cotton pants, and put on simple brown loafers.

Oh-yul in casual clothing instead of his Esper uniform felt like a man of his age, except for his intimidating height. He finished preparing to go out in an instant and naturally extended his hand to Ho-woo. As Ho-woo took his hand, he quietly asked:

“Did you scold him a lot?”

“You mean Esper Moon Jin-hyuk?”

“Yes, he still looked quite young…”

Even though he had been verbally abused, thinking of him as a child who hadn’t fully developed his judgment made Ho-woo feel a bit concerned.

“I scolded him appropriately. More importantly, we’re going on our date. Are you going to keep worrying about him?”

Oh-yul’s expression seemed a bit displeased. No, rather than displeased… Ho-woo tried to find the right word to define his expression and finally found the appropriate term.

He’s sulking.

It wasn’t a word that suited this strong, large man. However, Ho-woo thought it accurately described his mood. His eyes, still black with a subtle mix of blue, looked pouty.

Ho-woo recalled the hypothesis he had formed earlier. If Oh-yul possibly liked him, when should he push him away?

Isn’t now the right timing? Shouldn’t it be done right now, before any unnecessary hope or expectation grows?

Ho-woo stared at Oh-yul, who seemed slightly excited, and then looked down at their firmly clasped hands. Even though this man was pitiful and unfortunate for not having enjoyed as much as others, accepting his feelings meant something else entirely.

Of course, Ho-woo also had affection for Oh-yul. Perhaps, with more time, it could develop into love – a weighty affection that had settled in a corner of his heart. Trampling on that feeling, Ho-woo slowly parted his lips. It was just before they were about to leave the highly secure management complex surrounded by high walls.

“Do you… have an interest in me?”

Asking if he liked him seemed too blatant, so Ho-woo phrased it more indirectly. It was also a cowardly question that left room for escape, just in case.

“Yes.”

However, Oh-yul didn’t avoid this cowardly question and gave a clean, straightforward answer. It was so devoid of flowery language that Ho-woo, who received the answer, was even more flustered.

“…Why?”

“Is a reason really necessary?”

“We’ve known each other for less than two weeks.”

Ho-woo couldn’t understand how someone could develop interest in a neighbor they had barely seen in such a short time. However, Oh-yul calmly smiled and took another step into the crowd of people. Although he wasn’t wearing his Esper uniform, a path opened up around him as if the sea was parting.

“If time is important, it’s enough. More than enough.”

“But I can’t even do Guiding… I’m not helpful at all to an Esper like you.”

To Ho-woo’s serious question, Oh-yul slowly bent down and whispered in his ear, aware of the glances they were receiving. It looked like an intimate couple.

“Who seeks the emotion of love from personal gain?”

However, Ho-woo still didn’t seem convinced by Oh-yul’s words. Oh-yul smiled a bit bitterly and tried to provide a reason that Ho-woo might understand.