Chapter 9

Joo Hee-beom stepped out to the back of the shop, holding a bag of food waste. He had tied the opening tightly, yet the pungent stench still stung his nose. Disgusting. Revolting. His eyebrows furrowed instinctively before he could even think.

He had been working at the seafood restaurant for a full year now, but he still couldn’t get used to handling food waste. Now, he understood why Seong-jin absolutely loathed it.

After disposing of the trash, Hee-beom returned to the restaurant’s kitchen. Without realizing it, he let out a breath he had been holding and made his way to the sink—just as Seong-jin walked out, carrying a wide pot.

“Beom, let’s eat.”

“Yes. I’ll wash my hands first.”

“Bring the rice, too. Mine as well.”

“Okay.”

Hee-beom washed his hands twice with soap. Then, he scooped two bowls of rice from the rice cooker and headed out to the dining hall.

The hall was quiet, with only two occupied tables. Since the customers came in pairs to drink, the atmosphere remained peaceful. Hee-beom liked that quiet.

After placing a bowl of rice in front of Seong-jin, Hee-beom took a seat across from him. Today’s menu was spicy fish stew.

“Spicy stew’s fine, right? The customers only ate the sashimi and left.”

Seong-jin stirred the pot with a ladle as he spoke.

“Yes.”

The restaurant offered a set menu where sashimi came with a few pieces of fried food and spicy fish stew. However, some customers would leave without eating the stew. Since the stew was prepared in advance and only needed to be boiled once the sashimi was served, any untouched portions had to be thrown away.

Seong-jin and Hee-beom often made their meals out of the leftovers.

The stew started bubbling. A spicy aroma spread through the air. Seong-jin scooped some into a small dish and handed it to Hee-beom.

“Eat first.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

Hee-beom glanced at the remaining customers before picking up his spoon. A sip of the steaming broth made his body relax instantly.

The fragrant chrysanthemum greens, the rich and spicy broth, the fish bones with a generous amount of meat still attached, the crisp bean sprouts, and even the few extra clams thrown in—it was a luxurious meal for Hee-beom.

“Damn, I eat this all the time, but it’s still so good. I really do love fish.”

Seong-jin exaggeratedly furrowed his brows and took a big slurp straight from the ladle.

“I think it’s delicious too.”

Hee-beom replied with a faint smile.

After that, the two of them focused on their meals in silence.

By the time their bowls were half empty—

-Today, Esper Kwon I-young has completed the Canadian Gate raid. This particular Gate, due to its massive and threatening size, had been a source of global concern even before its opening…

A familiar name came from the TV, which had been left on just to fill the silence. Hee-beom’s spoon, which had been moving at a steady pace, came to a sudden halt.

Kwon I-young. Again.

He wasn’t seeking out news about him, nor was he particularly paying attention, yet he kept hearing about him unintentionally. There was no avoiding it—his name was on the news every time he turned it on.

“…….”

Feigning indifference, Hee-beom resumed eating his soup. But his mind was already filled with I-young’s face.

That day. It had been a week since the incident at the smoking area in the park. Since I-young hadn’t shown up during that time, Hee-beom had assumed he had finally lost interest. But… Canada? So he hadn’t even been in Korea.

Was that why there had been no sign of him? Would he come looking for him again once he returned? No way. There was no way, especially after what had happened—
Hee-beom squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before forcing himself to focus on his meal.

But ears weren’t something he could just shut off at will.

-Esper Kwon I-young was dispatched to this raid following a request for assistance from the Canadian Ability Association. Alongside him were S-Class Espers Loen from the U.S. and Huy from Vietnam…

-The World Ability Association had initially estimated that even with all the world’s S-Class Espers participating, the raid would take at least two days. However, that prediction was proven wrong. For more details, we now turn to reporter Lee Gyu-min on the scene.

The TV screen shifted from the news desk to footage of the Canadian landscape, with the massive Gate hovering ominously in the sky.

-The Canadian Gate was cleared in a single day. Just one day. This unprecedented feat has shocked observers around the world.

-Experts have speculated whether the monsters inside the Gate were weaker than expected, if the Gate itself was shallower than predicted, or if there had been an error in the initial readings. However, these doubts were put to rest by an interview with the U.S. S-Class Esper, Loen.”

The screen changed again, revealing a Black woman with dreadlocks standing in front of a crowd of microphones. As she spoke, subtitles appeared in white text on a blue background.

[U.S. S-Class Esper, Loen]
[It was definitely a difficult Gate. The monsters that appeared were incredibly powerful and relentless. But we didn’t even need to fight. Esper Kwon I-young took care of all of them.]

[I’ve raided many Gates alongside Esper Kwon I-young, but this time, he was on a different level. The power he displayed was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Something has definitely changed about him. He was in incredibly good condition.]

Hee-beom’s eyebrow arched slightly. A change? He was in good condition? What, had he evolved or something in the meantime?

“You’re not eating?”

Seong-jin’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Only then did Hee-beom realize he had stopped eating and was just staring at the TV.

“Oh… Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Want more rice?”

“No, I’m good.”

Hee-beom scooped up the rest of his rice and stuffed it into his mouth. As he picked at the fish bones with his chopsticks, his eyes kept drifting back to the TV screen.

And then—just as the news had been reporting on I-young without actually showing him—the familiar face finally appeared.

There he was, wearing a hoodie over a t-shirt. As always, he was smiling.

-Has something truly changed about Esper Kwon I-young?

-After clearing the Gate, he appeared relaxed, taking pictures with gathered fans. This is quite different from his past behavior, where he would return straight to the Korea Ability Association headquarters.

-International media outlets are showing great interest in his apparent transformation.

I-young was posing for photos, signing autographs, giving a short interview, and waving at the cameras. His face looked bright and flawless. Not a single mark on his lips.

It was as if that day—the incident with Hee-beom—had never happened at all.

“…He’s doing just fine.”

Hee-beom muttered under his breath.

It wasn’t like he had wanted I-young to suffer or anything, but still, the feeling was strange. He was the one who had done something wrong, yet seeing I-young smiling like that made him feel… off.

Was he losing his mind?

He shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth without thinking. A sharp fish bone pricked the roof of his mouth.

* * *

While studying in the reading room of the university library, Hee-beom grew hungry around 7:30 and stepped outside. His steps were slower, more relaxed than usual.

There were no tutoring sessions on Fridays. He had intentionally kept his schedule open for schoolwork. Later that night, he would have to drop by the seafood restaurant, but since it was near campus, it didn’t feel like much of a hassle.

As he walked, he mentally went over the quizzes and assignments he had due next week. His destination was the campus convenience store, where he planned to grab a quick meal. He hadn’t decided what to eat yet—that would depend on what was on sale.

A buy-one-get-one-free deal would be ideal, and bonus item promotions weren’t bad either.

Instead of taking the main road, Hee-beom turned into a side path. The route required him to go down a long, narrow staircase, which was a bit inconvenient, but it was less crowded and got him to the store faster.

Just as he stepped onto the first stair, he sensed someone approaching from the side. He hesitated for a second—should he just keep going? Instead, he moved aside, signaling for the other person to go first.

But the presence didn’t move. In fact, they stopped right on the same step as him.

Curious, Hee-beom turned his head slightly.

A familiar scent of shampoo filled the air.

He knew this scent.

“Hey, Hee-beom.”

A voice greeted him.

And then came the affectionate voice calling, “Hee-beom-ah.”

There was only one person in the world who called him that.

Kwon I-young.

“…….”

Hee-beom furrowed his brows. It wasn’t just because he felt awkward and uncomfortable with I-young’s sudden appearance. Well, that was part of it, but the main reason was how different I-young looked from usual.

He was wearing a black baseball cap pulled low over his face, a black mask covering his mouth, and a black zip-up hoodie. His pants were black, his sneakers were black—his whole outfit screamed, ‘I’m a suspicious person, please look at me.’

As Hee-beom stared at him in disbelief, I-young lowered his mask slightly to reveal his face.

“It’s me. I-young. Your Esper.”

“I know.”

“How do you know? I covered everything.”

How? Because it was obviously him. His voice was unmistakable. His shampoo smelled exactly the same. His large, expressive eyes, visible above the mask, were undeniably his. His ridiculously pale skin, his build, his silhouette—everything about him screamed Kwon I-young.

“…….”

But Hee-beom didn’t bother answering.

I-young, however, grinned so wide that his cheekbones practically pushed up his mask. Then, out of nowhere, he bumped his shoulder playfully against Hee-beom’s arm.

“What the hell… You recognized me even with this disguise?”

His expression and actions were completely unreadable. One moment he looked oddly delighted, the next he seemed strangely bashful, and then—

He started floating.

Like a balloon, his heels lifted off the ground, then his toes, and before Hee-beom could process it, I-young was rising until they were at eye level.

“What are you doing?!”

Startled, Hee-beom instinctively grabbed I-young’s arm and pushed him back down. Thankfully, I-young, who had nearly taken off into the sky, landed back on solid ground.

“What if someone saw you? There’s gotta be a reason you showed up looking like that.”

Hee-beom, still gripping I-young’s arm, glanced around cautiously. Luckily, there was no one in sight. The only witness was the lonely streetlamp standing nearby.

“Sorry. When I feel really happy, it just happens,” I-young said, grinning with a childish “Hehe.”

“Ha…”

Letting out a long sigh, Hee-beom pulled his hand away. I-young watched it go with visible disappointment, even clicking his tongue softly. Noticing this, Hee-beom shot him a look of exasperation before turning and heading down the stairs. I-young trailed closely behind.

“I wanted to dress cooler, but Director Jang told me not to get caught by students, so I had no choice.”

“…….”

“But you left early. I was planning to wait until 10 since you usually stay that late.”

Hee-beom scoffed. He really just admitted to stalking him so openly? Then again, I-young probably didn’t even realize his behavior was stalking. Without responding, Hee-beom kept his eyes forward and continued down the stairs.

“Are you done studying?”

“No.”

“Then where are you going?”

“The convenience store.”

“What for?”

“To eat—”

He cut himself off. Answering every single one of I-young’s questions like this was ridiculous. He should be ignoring him. Yet, the moment he let his guard down, he found himself dragged right into the conversation.

“You’re going to eat?”

“…….”

This time, Hee-beom said nothing and simply kept walking.

I-young, undeterred, continued, “Why eat at a convenience store? What are you going to eat? Where is this convenience store?”

He kept pressing with more questions, but Hee-beom refused to answer.