"Thank you. It's a gift I never expected."
Joo-hyun, who rarely received gratitude from others, parted his lips but then bowed the head. He wasn't sure if Cha In-ho saw his faint nod. However, he guessed he did because he heard a small chuckle above.
Nothing had changed since the chairs in the Guiding Room of Block C were replaced. The table had also changed, and the excessively soft cushion made him feel a peculiar anxiety whenever he sat there.
"Can I process this?"
When Cha In-ho was in front of him, nothing changed except for the strange warmth at the nape of his neck.
"...Do as you like. It's yours now."
Joo-hyun bit his lower lip out of habit as he glanced at the guide's gentle smile. Though the esper's lips were often chewed raw, it was a behaviour that came unconsciously whenever his mouth felt idle.
While he was fumbling with the cigarettes in his pocket, Joo-hyun felt the guiding before the warmth. The only reason he didn't push away Cha In-ho's approaching hand was because of the familiar guiding.
Cha In-ho lightly pressed Joo-hyun's lower lip with the thumb, freeing it from his front teeth, and grinned. His smile hadn't changed—it had always been consistently beautiful since their first meeting, yet recently it had started to quicken his heartbeat.
"Your lips will get hurt."
It was a consequence of changing the table to a smaller one. Cha In-ho retracted his arm, showing no sign of embarrassment.
If you get hurt, can't you just heal it? Joo-hyun didn't say that aloud. The jewel in Cha In-ho's hand sparkled, the sunlight glinting off the glass table, and his smile shone as well.
Hiseyes ached with a rising heat, so the runaway esper closed the eyelids silently. It was an ordinary Tuesday.
* * *
"There's someone you need to meet."
Focused on his sudoku, Doo-shik scratched his temple with the tip of his pen. Standing stiffly in front of him with both hands behind his back, Joo-hyun barely twitched an eyebrow.
"He's been a real bother, insisting he must meet you even if you refuse. And since he caught the eye of an SS-grade guide, we can't just ignore him."
"Who is he?"
"What was his name again?"
It was clear Dusik didn't even bother trying to remember. He tapped his desk with his fingertips, frustrated by the numbers.
"Anyway, go see him. Just handle it appropriately."
"Yes."
Joo-hyun suppressed the urge to question how he could handle something appropriately when he didn't even know who the person was. Since Doo-shik was never considerate enough to let him prepare, he was sure he had to leave immediately.
Sighing inwardly, Joo-hyun turned and walked towards the door. The moment the door closed, Doo-shik, having finally found the right number, scribbled with his pen and muttered to himself.
"It won't hurt to show he's getting along with the others."
The car journey was long. Joo-hyun had mostly recovered from his injuries, but his left arm was still in a cast. His leg and abdominal wounds had been particularly severe, so guiding had been focused on those areas, leaving his relatively better arm to heal slower.
Of course, if they engaged in a deeper physical relationship like in a typical matching, the healing would be faster. But that wasn't the case for him and Cha In-ho. The deepest physical contact they had ever shared was a hug.
"..."
Dust swirled around, Cha In-ho sobbed, a hand caressed Joo-hyun's cheek, and he kissed him... Joo-hyun, unaware he had been touching his own lips, started when the car abruptly stopped.
"Just wait here. Keep your mouth shut and don't say anything unnecessary."
The staff member, speaking in a threatening tone as if he had a reason, turned off the engine. Without responding, Joo-hyun got out of the car and felt the distinctive freshness of the wind blowing through the trees.
He had arrived at a park, a neglected one overgrown with weeds. Meeting in such a place suggested the person wasn't very high-ranking.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Joo-hyun sat on an old bench. The Block C where he lived was also surrounded by trees and grass, making him feel slightly cosy.
After waiting for a while, he heard the sound of a car engine from a distance. Joo-hyun opened his eyes, stood up quickly, and adjusted his appearance. He brushed off the scarf and straightened the wrinkles in his clothes before looking up.
"It's good to see you outside."
Sunlight streaming from above turned Cha In-ho's hair golden. It was the first time he had seen him standing under the blue sky.
Staring quietly into his lighter-than-expected eyes, Joo-hyun watched as Cha In-ho approached and sat on the bench he had just been resting on. His gesture to tap the spot beside him felt natural.
After hesitating for a moment, Joo-hyun sat down, leaving a slight gap between them.
"Why are you here?"
"They requested it. They said it's for safety, that a matching guide is necessary."
Joo-hyun realised Cha In-ho knew about the person he was meeting, even though he didn't. It always felt uncomfortable being excluded from something where he was the focus. It also embarrassed him that Cha In-ho had been contacted because he was considered dangerous.
As he looked down at the ground, picking at a hangnail, he heard a very soft voice.
"It felt good to be considered a set."
Cha In-ho's playful smile caused Joo-hyun to smile back involuntarily. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.
"Wait, Woo-ju!"
A sharp, worried voice turned both their heads.
The person running toward the bench was small. Joo-hyun instantly knew who had persistently requested to meet him.
"..."
"..."
"Um, hello?"
Cha In-ho's greeting, breaking the silence, was cleanly ignored.
The child, now sporting shorter, tidier hair and slightly fuller cheeks, had large eyes with an upturned tilt. This was the boy Joo-hyun had saved from the monster that appeared during the filming of Gate Date at the rubbish dump.
"It's been a while."
The boy, momentarily widening his eyes at the whispered words, nodded. His limbs were still too thin for his age.
"Woo-ju!"
The earlier voice called out again. A middle-aged woman with bobbed hair hurried over, her face showing relief at the sight of Woo-ju. She flinched upon seeing Joo-hyun but then approached calmly.
"Hello, I'm An Mi-hee, Woo-ju's guardian."
Joo-hyun stood up quickly, intending to greet her, but found his mouth unwilling to cooperate. Seeing her trembling hands, barely suppressing fear, made him want to flee.
If she had been a guide or an Association staff member, he could have handled it. But what could he say to a clearly terrified civilian? Anything he did would only increase her fear.
An awkward silence stretched on until Joo-hyun, sensing her puzzled look, clenched his fists. Just then, a warm hand gently gripped his shoulder.
"I trust you know who we are."
"Yes, yes, of course."
"Do we look better in person?"
Cha In-ho's playful remark brought a smile to Mi-hee's face. The tension dissolved instantly, leaving Joo-hyun blinking in surprise.
"I'm Cha In-ho, and this is my matching esper, Shin Joo-hyun."
The natural introduction prompted Joo-hyun to bow slightly. My matching esper. It was the first time he had been introduced that way. It was curious how it made the dangerous runaway esper sound like an ordinary one.
"Woo-ju, you need to greet them."
"...Hello."
Even as he greeted, the boy's eyes remained fixed on Joo-hyun. Joo-hyun, too, quickly scanned Woo-ju from head to toe. Thankfully, he didn't seem to have any visible injuries.
"You wanted to meet me?"
Despite his persistence in contacting them, his response was lukewarm. Mi-hee, sensing this, moved closer and gently rubbed his back.
"This is Song Woo-ju, he turned twelve this year. Woo-ju, you wanted to say something, right? Can you say it now?"
Joo-hyun was surprised. The boy looked too small to be twelve. He had thought he might be around ten at most.
Woo-ju took a step forward and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for saving me and my sister."
An unnamed sense of fulfilment surged through Joo-hyun's chest. He felt anger that this tiny child had to face such danger and, at the same time, an old feeling of having done the right thing resurfaced.
Not knowing what to say, Joo-hyun wanted to hug the boy but couldn't bring himself to do it. As he fidgeted with his fingers and stared at his cast, Woo-ju spoke with clear, prematurely mature eyes.
"Hyung. When I manifest, match with me. I'll be your guide."
His bold statement left the three adults momentarily stunned. Mi-hee's sharp intake of breath suggested it wasn't something prearranged.