Chapter 13

The boy was so startled that he couldn’t even scream properly.

Meanwhile, the four-lane road beside them roared with the sound of cars speeding past.

The student was thrown into the air.

For a brief moment, he hung there, suspended.

And then—he started to fall.

But—

It was slow.

Too slow.

It was as if someone had hit the slow-motion button.

No—it wasn’t just a feeling.

Hee-beom realized that the boy was actually falling in slow motion.

And from the looks of it—the boy himself had realized it too.

“Uh, uh…?”

Dangling in the air, the boy flailed his limbs.

He wriggled, jerking like a fish gasping on dry land.

But no matter how much he struggled, his fall neither sped up nor slowed down.

He wasn’t plummeting or crashing down.

He was simply descending.

Finally, the student’s body touched the ground.

Since his posture had been awkward, he landed on his butt first—

But his face didn’t scrape the pavement, his limbs weren’t broken, and he didn’t even get a single scratch.

“…….”

Hee-beom looked at I-young.

I-young stood there, completely still, staring at the student.

It was as if he had stopped breathing.

Even his long, curled eyelashes didn’t twitch.

He was fully focused.

Rumor had it he could lift entire buildings and drain and refill the Han River at will.

So why was he making such a serious face over something as simple as lowering a middle schooler to the ground?

“W-What the hell?”

The dazed boy finally snapped out of his stupor.

Still sitting on the ground, he looked around in confusion.

At that moment, I-young immediately ducked behind Hee-beom.

He even clung to Hee-beom’s bag with one arm.

“…….”

Without thinking, Hee-beom pulled out his phone and started pressing random buttons.

He wasn’t sure why.

Maybe because if I-young was going to play dumb, he felt like he should too.

Luckily, they were standing near a crosswalk, so it didn’t look too suspicious.

“What… was that?”

The boy stood up.

He glanced at the sky, then at the trees, and finally, down at his hands.

Then, he jumped.

And again.

He squatted down as far as he could—then launched himself upward.

He looked exactly like a frog.

“…….”

Hee-beom let out a quiet snort of laughter.

He caught himself quickly.

Meanwhile, I-young peeked out from behind his bag, eyes fixed on the student.

The boy kept flailing, trying to ‘fly’ again.

Eventually, he gave up and furiously scratched the bridge of his nose.

Then, he pulled up his fallen bicycle and grabbed the branch that had gotten stuck in the back wheel.

He yanked it free and tossed it aside.

But when he tried to ride the bike again—the back wheel wouldn’t turn.

“Ah, fuck….”

Cursing under his breath, the boy started dragging the broken bicycle along the road.

Even as he walked, he kept glancing down at his hands—

And then, he suddenly thrust his fist toward the sky.

If he had been wearing a cape, he’d look exactly like a superhero.

Then, he pulled out his phone and called someone.

“Mom, Mom. I think I’m an Esper.”

Hee-beom gave a small nod of agreement.

Yeah.

This was definitely a situation where someone could get the wrong idea.

The boy was getting closer, his voice growing clearer.

“I almost fell off my bike just now. No, I didn’t fall, but I almost did. My body literally floated up to the treetops. And I was like, ‘Oh shit, I’m dead.’”

“…….”

“But then I came down super slowly. No—actually, I floated in midair. Like… like Esper Kwon I-young.”

“…….”

“Doesn’t that mean I’m an Esper? Should I get an ability test? If I become an Esper, I don’t have to take the CSAT, right? And I’ll be rich as hell. Damn, that’s awesome. Huh? No, I didn’t curse. ‘Awesome’ isn’t a bad word, Mom.”

“…….”

“Anyway, Mom, let’s go to the hospital tomorrow. Of course I’m skipping cram school. What? I’m serious! I was floating! Why won’t you believe me?”

The boy walked past Hee-beom and I-young, still arguing with his mother.

His voice gradually faded into the distance.

While the student passed by, I-young spun in slow circles behind Hee-beom, using him as a shield.

Only after the boy disappeared did he tug on Hee-beom’s sleeve and whisper—

“Is he gone?”

“Yeah.”

I-young let out a deep sigh and finally stepped out of Hee-beom’s shadow.

Watching him, Hee-beom asked,

“You didn’t even do anything wrong. Why were you hiding?”

“I just… It’s embarrassing.”

“…….”

Embarrassing?

This was coming from someone who waved at crowds, took pictures with fans, signed autographs, and even appeared on the news.

As Hee-beom stared at him, utterly perplexed, I-young mumbled—

“I-I’m used to killing monsters… but I’m not used to saving people…”

“…….”

Not used to saving people.

Right.

I-young was an Esper.

His job was to clear Gates before monsters could escape into the world.

The ultimate goal was to prevent people from getting hurt, but he probably didn’t often have to personally rescue someone.

“Then why did you do it?”

Hee-beom’s tone was unreadable—a joke or not, it was hard to tell.

But for once, I-young’s expression sharpened.

“How could I not? He was just a baby.”

“…Who?”

“That student just now.”

“…….”

Hee-beom blinked rapidly.

A baby?

That kid?

Sure, he wasn’t big, but he wasn’t tiny either.

And the way he talked—

‘Oh shit, I’m dead.’
‘Fuck, that was insane.’
‘Holy shit, this is awesome.’

Even Hee-beom, who had been alive much longer, rarely used those kinds of words.

“…He wasn’t really a baby.”

“No, he was.”

“…….”

“He’s a baby, and I’m an adult. So, of course, I helped him.”

“…Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

With a dry reply, Hee-beom started walking toward the bus stop again.

I-young followed, still holding onto his sleeve.

Hee-beom didn’t notice.

Or maybe, he did.

The Next Morning
Hee-beom walked into his first lecture of the day—Electrochemistry.

Since he had arrived early, the lecture hall was completely empty.

He liked the silence.

He strode up the tiered seating steps and settled in a row toward the back, by the left window.

He left one seat empty beside him.

Later, the sun would come blazing through the window, making it too bright.

It was a major class, so the room was never too crowded—spacing out seats wasn’t a problem.

Hee-beom pulled out his textbook and reviewed the last lecture.

His mechanical pencil scratched against the paper, filling the silence.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Students started trickling in, one by one.

The once silent lecture hall became noisy in an instant.

But Hee-beom didn’t lift his head once.

Instead, he pulled his cap lower over his eyes.

A quick glance at his phone—

Three minutes until class started.

He flipped to the next page of his notes, preparing for the lecture.

Even though he wasn’t expecting any messages, he still checked if his phone was on silent.

And then.

Slide.

Someone sat in the empty seat beside him.

“…….”

Hee-beom’s brows furrowed immediately.

There were plenty of empty seats, so why would someone go out of their way to sit next to him?

And not just that—next to some random guy like him, dressed all in black?

He briefly wondered if the person was crazy.

Without a word, he started packing up his things.

Since he had arrived first, it would have been nice if the other person left, but there was no assigned seating, no rule against sitting together.

So, logically, he should be the one to move.

But then—

“Where are you going?”

A pale hand tugged on his sleeve.

“…….”

Startled, Hee-beom’s eyes widened as he turned to look.

I-young.

Dressed in a black mask, a black hoodie, and black pants.

Only then did he notice the familiar scent of shampoo.

His hair was still damp.

“How… how are you… here?”

Hee-beom, uncharacteristically, stammered.

“Shhh. Sit down already.”

I-young pulled him back down.

The force wasn’t even that strong, yet Hee-beom—much bigger than him—dropped into his seat like a falling weight.

Even after sitting, his brain struggled to process what was happening.

He blinked over and over, staring at I-young.

Then, finally, his brows knitted in frustration.

“Why are you here?”

He whispered, even though the lecture hadn’t started and the classroom was still noisy.

It just felt instinctive to lower his voice.

If someone recognized I-young, it wouldn’t be his problem.

It would be Hee-beom’s problem.

His peace would be ruined.