ANUW Ch 2

On rainy days, I always have bad dreams.

As expected, I barely slept that night. I tossed and turned, drenched in a cold sweat that soaked my pillow, and had a series of nightmares where a giant octopus the size of a house strangled me.

Finally, around 5 a.m., I stumbled into the living room like a zombie. The floor was covered in dried, transparent, sticky mucus. It seemed Yeo Taegyung had been crawling around my house while I slept.

‘Is he feeling better?’

Lost in thought, I noticed the Korean alphabet magnets scattered everywhere. I pushed them under the fish tank and approached where Yeo Taegyung was.

‘He’s not going to do that again, is he?’

Recalling our terrifying first encounter, my body shuddered. But I couldn’t keep him in that cramped stainless-steel water container forever. I took a deep breath and carefully opened the lid.

“…….”

Yeo Taegyung looked exhausted, his legs dangling with his eyes tightly shut. I gently tapped the side of the container to wake him.

“Esper Yeo Taegyung.”

He twitched the tip of his leg slightly and opened his eyes to look at me. He was definitely reacting to my voice.

“It’s five in the morning. Did you get any sleep?”

“…….”

“I didn’t sleep well. I had nightmares.”

Was it my imagination? At the word “nightmares,” Yeo Taegyung flinched and suddenly, while glancing at me, slid out of the container. He looked around and started rummaging through the Korean alphabet magnets I had pushed aside.

After a while, he arranged the letters in front of me.

[What] [dream]

“Uh……”

Could I really tell him the truth? Telling him I was strangled all night by a giant octopus that looked exactly like him seemed too obvious.

“I don’t remember.”

Yeo Taegyung looked suspicious.

“Oops.”

He stared at me and then irritably threw the magnets. He crawled onto the table, turned his back to me, and curled up. Samsik, awakened by the commotion, looked at us with sleepy eyes.

“Are you angry?”

Yeo Taegyung still had his back turned, but he glanced at me and wiggled his gills. For a fleeting moment, I thought he resembled a stray cat that wasn’t used to human touch.

“Sorry to wake you. I had something to tell you before I got ready for work.”

I’m an eight-year veteran cat owner. I tried to persuade Yeo Taegyung and express my opinion without upsetting him.

“It’s still hard to turn back into a human, right?”

“…….”

Yeo Taegyung remained silent for a long time, then nodded slightly. I smiled faintly and pointed to a corner of the living room.

“That fish tank over there, I bought it as a birthday present for my younger sibling. It’s set up for saltwater fish, so it’s similar to the ocean environment. There are other fish living in there too.”

He listened to my explanation and stared intently at the fish tank where the clownfish were swimming. I asked Yeo Taegyung, who was gazing at the pink and purple flickering coral reef shelter,

“How about staying in there for a while? It seems like it would be difficult for you to stay out of the water for a long time in that form.”

“…….”

“If it’s okay, raise this hand. If not, raise the other hand.”

I alternately raised my left and right hands as if playing patty-cake with a four-year-old. Fortunately, Yeo Taegyung raised his leftmost leg. This really felt like talking to a child.

“I can get off work a little early today. Is there anything you particularly want to eat?”

Yeo Taegyung seemed to think for a moment, then stretched his leg toward the cabinet handle under the fish tank. Round, smooth suckers stuck to the glass, leaving long marks. He pulled out artificial fish food.

“Ah, that’s for the clownfish.”

Yeo Taegyung suspiciously examined the container, then opened the lid and took out a handful of food. He brought it to his lower body and munched on it, then curled up and frowned.

“It doesn’t taste good… Huck.”

Yeo Taegyung irritably threw the food container into the fish tank. Startled by the loud noise, Samsik tilted his ears. I wanted to hit myself for thinking Yeo Taegyung was cute just a moment ago.

“Are you going to keep throwing things?”

Yeo Taegyung turned his head as if asking where a dog was barking. I couldn’t figure out where he learned such behavior.

“And I asked you if there was anything you wanted to eat, so why are you picking up random things and getting angry?”

When I questioned him point by point, Yeo Taegyung seemed to have nothing to say. He wriggled his pale body and hesitantly started forming letters with the magnets.

[Re] [fri] [gerator]

“Refrigerator?”

“…….”

“Are you curious about what’s inside the refrigerator?”

There wasn’t much. Besides, I usually ate out for dinner, so I couldn’t remember what was in there.

“Then I’ll show you.”

I put on a spare guiding glove on my right hand. It was to prevent direct skin contact. Fortunately, Yeo Taegyung seemed relieved by my actions and crawled onto my gloved palm.

It wasn’t even ten steps to the kitchen. When I opened the rattling refrigerator door, a desolate sight greeted me.

“Hahaha, I recently threw away everything past its expiration date, so it’s a bit empty.”

That was a lie. My refrigerator always looked like this. Inside were cat food, a few bottles of water, and leftover steamed chicken from a few days ago.

“How about this?”

I picked up one of the most expensive cans of Samsik’s food and showed it to him. A whopping 5,000 won per can.

“You don’t like it? This is human-grade… Ack!”

Yeo Taegyung suddenly jumped down. He zipped across the living room like a cockroach and climbed up the wall of the fish tank. He curled up near the heater and glared at me.

“What do you want me to do?”

I was at a loss again. I thought I should contact Researcher Ryu Kyungae as soon as it got light.

⟡˖ ࣪

Misfortunes never come singly. I had planned to call her as soon as I got to work, but that day I was bombarded with complaints and harassed by Team Leader Choi.

“Cha, why is your face so puffy today? You look like a blowfish.”

“Hahaha, you’re right.”

“You’ll age quickly. Don’t rely on your youthful plumpness, drinking, smoking, and staying up all night. One day you’ll suddenly wake up with a bloated mudskipper face.”

I wanted to argue, but even I had to admit my face looked terrible that day. The dark circles under my eyes accentuated the delinquent look that Team Leader Choi always complained about.

[It’s Cha Suyoon]

[I found Esper Yeo Taegyung and have him with me, so please contact me as soon as you see this]

I texted Researcher Ryu Kyungae, my face haggard. And I mentally flipped off Team Leader Choi’s bloated mudskipper face.

Fortunately, after running around like a madman, I managed to adjust my schedule and get half a day off in the afternoon. Now it was time to appease Yeo Taegyung.

Unlike her frantic behavior before, Researcher Ryu Kyungae hadn’t checked her messages for five hours. It was disconcerting, but I felt sorry for her, thinking she was probably being pressured by her superiors.

“I’ll be leaving now. See you tomorrow.”

I quickly left the Welfare Center, pretending not to hear the grumbling behind me. Team Leader Choi must have spread rumors that I was a slacker.

Leaving work in broad daylight made me hum with joy. While waiting for the crosswalk signal, my phone finally rang. I quickly answered.

“Hello?”

—Guide Cha Suyoon! Oh my goodness. You found Taegyung? I just saw your message, I’ve been busy. Are you hurt anywhere?

“Huh?”

—You can submit the expenses later even without a receipt, so tell me everything. Even the smallest scratches!

I hadn’t mentioned anything about being injured, but Researcher Ryu Kyungae was already preparing to write something down.

“Um, Researcher Ryu Kyungae.”

—Yes!

“I’m not hurt anywhere?”

—What?!

I could sense her surprise even over the phone. It was a very different reaction from our first meeting.

—That’s strange. Really? You’re not hurt at all? Not even a tiny scratch?

“No.”

—Wow, that’s unbelievable. How could that…. He wouldn’t do that, would he?

Researcher Ryu Kyungae kept muttering to herself. Now I was getting curious.

“Was it expected that I would be hurt?”

—Even though his runaway risk has dropped to negative percent, with his personality, I didn’t think he would just let a stranger grab him. But Guide Cha Suyoon, you not only found Taegyung but ‘brought’ him with you. That means both you and your house are fine.

I still didn’t understand what she meant. I decided to probe further.

“Actually, he didn’t follow me willingly. There was a bit of a struggle.”

—Oh my, so is it like, your legs are broken or something? Or maybe five ribs fractured…?

“No, no!”

I quickly calmed her down and explained in detail how I brought Yeo Taegyung to my house. When I added that he was currently in a saltwater tank, Researcher Ryu Kyungae was speechless.

—Suyoon, if Taegyung is like that, he must really like you.

“……Really?”

—Well, he didn’t kill you.

“Oh, really.”

—And grabbing someone with his tentacles to immobilize them, like he did during your first encounter, is one of the Doplayni’s courtship behaviors. To be precise, it’s a sexual act that the male performs on the female during mating….

“I’m a man.”

—Yes, what I mean is, Taegyung seems to like you that much.

I was dumbfounded. It was a logic jump of epic proportions.

—Actually, Taegyung is very special, even among the Espers I’m in charge of. He’s kind of my problem child. Except for a very small number of humans, including myself, he’s extremely wary and rarely engages in any external activities.

“Oh, really.”

I assumed he at least graduated high school normally. But Researcher Ryu Kyungae’s next words shattered my expectations once again.

—For the past ten years or so, he’s mostly stayed in the research lab, except for missions.

“What about school?”

—Huh?

“Well, even Espers go to school these days, don’t they?”

Researcher Ryu Kyungae sounded extremely bewildered. ‘Crack Dispatch and Dungeon Monster Subjugation Missions’ have been recognized as valid reasons for school absences for ages! You can even get volunteer hours for them. I was starting to wonder which one of us was out of touch with reality.

—Cha Suyoon, Taegyung has never properly attended school.

“…….”

—He recently passed the GED and has a high school diploma, but he’s not entirely human, and strictly speaking, he’s closer to a monster. So, he also severely lacks common sense and conversational skills.

Yeo Taegyung was a rare, unregistered Esper discovered before the First Great Crack occurred in South Korea. He lived at the Esper Management Headquarters, where his half-human, half-monster nature was revealed. He had been receiving medication for a long time, and he still transforms into that form when his wavelength becomes unstable, Researcher Ryu Kyungae excitedly explained. After hearing a story that sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie, I felt dizzy.

—It’s amazing, right? It was the first case we’d ever seen. So, we gave him a new scientific name: Kraken Doplayni Frost….

“Ah, yes, yes. I see.”

I cut her off, feeling like I didn’t need to hear any more. Knowing where Yeo Taegyung’s chaotic social skills and awkward speech came from left me feeling deflated. I had essentially scolded a half-human, half-monster Esper with the mental age of a kindergartener and put him in a fish tank before going to work.

“Still, it would have been good if he received some basic education.”

—Oh, it’s easier said than done. Suyoon, Taegyung has only been able to maintain a human form for a few years!

I made one wrong comment and had to listen to Researcher Ryu Kyungae detail how much equipment Yeo Taegyung had broken and how much money he had cost them. My vision started to blur.

‘Can I file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission?’

As such antisocial thoughts bloomed in my mind, Researcher Ryu Kyungae murmured.

—Maybe there’s hope.

“Really?”

I was filled with despair. On the other hand, Researcher Ryu Kyungae’s voice was full of excitement.

—So, this is a really difficult request, but… would you consider properly guiding Taegyung?

“By ‘properly,’ you mean…?”

—Mucosal guiding, of course.

Researcher Ryu Kyungae answered as readily as if she had been asked what one plus one equaled. The back of my head started to ache.

So, she was asking me to do that with an eight-legged monster.

“That’s… a bit much, isn’t it?”

—It’s not a joke. I’m being completely serious.

Do only extreme Type Ts become researchers? Researcher Ryu Kyungae’s voice was filled with excitement.

—Of course, I’m not saying you have to do mucosal guiding right away. Since Taegyung is so favorably disposed towards you, there’s definitely potential. In the end, it’s mutually beneficial.

“Can you call it ‘favorably disposed’ just because he didn’t kill me?”

—He flicked your forehead, ate fish food, and then remained calm. If this were the research lab, he would’ve already broken five reinforced glass panels.

“He told me he didn’t want to.”

—He’s just saying that. Think of it like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum and saying, ‘No!’ Besides, what he did during your first encounter was definitely a courtship behavior….

I was speechless. At this point, I thought it might be better to consider him a kindergartener I was taking care of. While thoughts of why I should do this fiercely battled in my head, Researcher Ryu Kyungae cleared her throat.

—And Cha Suyoon, Haeyeon National Medical Center contacted us recently about a new project.

Those words completely obliterated my inner turmoil. I blinked blankly.

—Cha Soohyun is your younger sibling, right? He’s one of the patients who’s been receiving long-term inpatient treatment there for the past five years due to side effects from the Second Great Crack near Uksudong.

“Yes, how did you know…?”

—I’m in charge of managing the data for Taegyung. I found out while looking through the list of subjects when I was receiving some documents earlier.

“That’s basically an invasion of privacy.”

—Well, I can’t deny that.

So what if she did some background checks? I wasn’t in a position to be picky. I tightened my grip on the phone and focused on her next words.

—The government has been working on a project for several years now to develop treatments for cases like your sibling’s. The top priority for subject selection is the victim’s age, and the second is whether they or their immediate family members are high-ranking active Espers.

“Why?”

—It’s seen as contributing to the nation while taking on a high level of risk.

So, they treat high-ranking Espers like war veterans. While I stubbornly stuck to Level 1 guiding and remained a D-rank, that kind of project was going on. I felt a strange mix of emotions.

—Various side effects are still being reported from those who survived the Crack. From short-term or long-term memory loss to, in severe cases, unconsciousness.

“…….”

—Don’t those people deserve to recover their daily lives? It’s a disaster that struck them suddenly, and they did nothing wrong.

I couldn’t deny it. At the very least, she was making an offer I couldn’t refuse.

—If we can successfully restore Taegyung to his human form, I’ll make sure you become his dedicated guide. That means a super-fast promotion to S-rank.

“……Really?”

—Of course. I have that much authority. I’m the project manager for everything related to Taegyung.

I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear to check if it was recording. Thanks to setting it to auto-record a long time ago, a red circle was displayed next to the call timer.

—And I see Espers every single day. I know you’re not a D-rank guide because you lack ability.

Researcher Ryu Kyungae said kindly. Well, whatever. Whether she did a background check or not, I wasn’t in a position to complain.

“I’ll do my best. To be honest, I’ve never done any proper guiding with Esper Yeo Taegyung…”

—Oh, don’t worry! From what I’ve seen, even Level 3 guiding wouldn’t be a problem at all. You made a really good decision. And if you pair with a rare S-rank like Taegyung, you’ll never have to worry about money again.

She seemed to completely ignore my comment.

I suddenly remembered something very important.

“But, Researcher Ryu Kyungae.”

—Yes?

“How do I feed Esper Yeo Taegyung?”

⟡˖ ࣪

I tried to dissuade Researcher Ryu Kyungae from coming all the way to my house, but to no avail. She rushed to my neighborhood and handed me a shopping bag.

“You could have just bought this nearby, it was such a bother for you to come all the way here….”

“No.”

She shook her head firmly.

“Taegyung only eats this.”

“It’s just milk.”

“He only drinks this milk.”

It looked like regular milk you could buy at any supermarket. Organic sterilized milk, maybe? I didn’t understand, but I just nodded. Researcher Ryu Kyungae started explaining diligently.

“This isn’t his main food, so he treats human food as just snacks.”

“So, he has something else he usually eats?”

“Um, yes. Probably fresh blood and flesh? Real krakens prefer to eat humans.”

“Hu…mans?”

“Yes, but he’s trained, so he won’t eat you. Anyway, mix this in and feed him three times a day.”

To my speechless self, Researcher Ryu Kyungae showed me a cereal mix of black choco rings and white marshmallows. <Oz for a Long Time>. Large letters proclaimed, ‘Long-lasting energy and rich nutrients!’ and ‘Makes cats energetic!’

“If he doesn’t like this or that, mix this into the milk.”

“…….”

“This is only given as a reward, so he’ll probably eat it well.”

She handed me a handful of <Jae-ae-ti>. Choco, strawberry, vanilla. Various flavors. I couldn’t hold back any longer and asked,

“How old is Esper Yeo Taegyung?”

“Four years older than you.”

“Twenty-five?”

“Yes, why?”

Maybe he’s actually five? The shopping bag Researcher Ryu Kyungae handed me was full of sweet processed foods for picky eaters.

“It’s all… stuff I ate a lot when I was younger.”

“Really?”

I nodded. But I wasn’t a picky eater, I ate everything.

“Come to think of it, that milk also seems to be the brand we used to drink at school.”

“Oh my, you have a good memory.”

She chuckled. Did I? I remembered getting choco-flavored Jae-ae-ti a few times as a reward for collecting good behavior stickers in elementary school. I felt like I should remember something else, but that was all.

“Um, I can’t see Taegyung, can I? I’ll leave these with you too. A smart tag and a portable wavelength meter. Just tie the tag around Taegyung’s neck like a ribbon, as a replacement for a watch.”

Researcher Ryu Kyungae stuffed more items into the shopping bag. She added that checking his runaway risk with these would make guiding easier.

“If you can raise his runaway risk above 20 percent, that should be enough for humanization. I’ll handle any guiding requests that come in for you under a different pretense, so don’t worry.”

“What about going to the Welfare Center?”

“I already told your team leader. He readily agreed when I said you couldn’t come to work for a week due to special guiding circumstances.”

That mean mudskipper team leader actually allowed it? Regardless of how much flak I’d get later, the thought of taking time off work made this K-office worker happy.

“Good luck, Suyoon.”

“Yes.”

“And feel free to call me casually outside of work.”

“Ah, yes. Noona.”

Researcher Ryu Kyungae’s eyes widened. Damn it, Cha Suyoon! My brain malfunctioned again.

“Haha, I, I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry.”

“Ahem. It’s okay.”

Researcher Ryu Kyungae’s cheeks were slightly flushed. I quickly smiled and said goodbye.

“Then I’ll go in. Thank you!”

My heart pounded as I raced up the stairs. Whether it was fear or excitement, it was time to face reality.

Anyway, I had gotten a firm promise from Researcher Ryu Kyungae, so things should be fine. I was the type to do my best in everything I undertook. I took a deep breath and entered my door code. As usual, the door opened wide.

I put down my things and checked the fish tank, but only heard the bubbling sound. Only the clownfish were swimming inside the coral reef shelter.

“Esper Yeo Taegyung, I’m home.”

“…….”

“Esper Yeo Taegyung?”

Suddenly, I realized the house was too quiet. Besides Yeo Taegyung and the fish, something that should definitely be here was missing.

No way….

I first checked under the sofa and between the refrigerator and the wall. Samsik often got stuck there.

“Samsik?”

My voice trembled. He wasn’t on the kitchen table or the top of the refrigerator either. The only place left was my bedroom.

But when I opened the door, I saw a completely different scene from what I expected. Yeo Taegyung, who had turned a light pink color, was curled up on the bed and opened his eyes in surprise.

“Wake up for a second.”

I panted and questioned Yeo Taegyung. He seemed flustered, blinking rapidly and flapping his gills.

“Have you seen Samsik?”

Gurgle, Yeo Taegyung made a strange sound and blew bubbles. I grew increasingly anxious.

“You didn’t do anything to Samsik, did you?”

“Keereereek.”

“Answer me. Did you do anything to our Samsik…!”

Meow.

I turned around in surprise, forgetting to even breathe. White fur with mottled markings came into view. Samsik was crawling out from under the wardrobe, stretching like he had just woken up.

I quickly picked him up and examined him all over, but Samsik just yawned lazily and smacked his lips. I carefully checked his fur for any injuries, but he showed no signs of distress.

‘Yeo Taegyung.’

I quickly turned around. He was gone from the bed.

I went out to the living room and saw a trail of transparent mucus following the pattern of the floor. After a while, I found Yeo Taegyung. He was sitting with his legs dangling, a good distance away, behind the shopping bag I had brought.

The blood rushed to my head, giving me a headache, but I had to say what I had to say. I called out to the dejected Yeo Taegyung.

“Esper Yeo Taegyung.”

“Keurek.”

“I… I was too sensitive. I was worried something might have happened to you two while I was gone….”

I knelt down to meet his gaze. It might seem trivial, but there are crucial moments in relationships between people. Depending on the choices made in those moments, relationships can become irrevocably damaged. And I instinctively knew that I needed to be honest with Yeo Taegyung about how I felt.

“Actually.”

“…….”

“I was angry because I was afraid you might have hurt my cat. I’m sorry for suspecting you without any proof.”

Yeo Taegyung, who had his back turned, became pale white and then gradually translucent. His internal organs became visible, shining brightly in the dim light. A thumb-sized heart throbbed in the center.

A hypothesis flashed through my mind.

“Wait a minute.”

As I reached out, Yeo Taegyung flinched and turned even paler. I had read somewhere that octopuses turn white when frightened. His rapidly beating heart, his pale body tense with fear, his flinching whenever I tried to touch him.

It was an absurd situation, but it seemed like my guess was right.

…Could it be that Yeo Taegyung was afraid of me?

It wasn’t unheard of for Espers to be afraid of their Guides. Having their emotions controlled was frightening even for monster-level Espers.

But why Yeo Taegyung?

I was the one who got strangled and stripped naked during our first meeting! And monster krakens supposedly eat humans for their main meals!

I looked around, thinking of ways to lighten the mood, but there wasn’t much romance to be found in a 330-square-foot studio apartment. I gave up and spoke in the gentlest voice I could muster.

“Esper Yeo Taegyung.”

“…….”

“Do you have any particularly bad memories related to guiding?”

Yeo Taegyung didn’t answer. Come to think of it, he probably wouldn’t want to talk about something like that after having just met me.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer.”

Only then did Yeo Taegyung slowly uncurl his crumpled body. He must have been so tense that his skin was still as pale as a blank canvas.

“Um, I’ll tell you about myself instead. You can go to sleep if you get sleepy.”

Samsik, who had been licking his paw, came over and rubbed against me. Fortunately, he didn’t seem wary of Yeo Taegyung. He just occasionally sniffed curiously with his nose twitching.

“I’m Cha Suyoon, twenty-one years old, and this is Samsik. He’s about eight years old, but thankfully he’s still healthy.”

“…….”

“The reason Samsik is named Samsik is because… the owner of the diner in our old neighborhood, a grandma, used to keep him tied up. Soohyun felt so bad for him that he begged me to bring him home…”

Yeo Taegyung made a small gurgling sound. A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Listen to me! My brother will die without me, dammit!’

“Uh, um… Soohyun is my younger brother.”

Yeo Taegyung nodded as if he already knew. I cleared my throat softly.

“Anyway, when I talked to the grandma, she said she’d give him to us for thirty thousand won. So, we brought him home from the diner for thirty thousand won, which is why he’s called Samsik (Thirty-Thousand).”

“Keereereuk.”

“Is it a bad name? My brother said so too.”

Nod, nod. Yeo Taegyung moved his head mischievously. At times like this, he didn’t seem afraid of me at all.

“My brother always brought things home like that. Hamsters, chicks, dogs, cats. I was always against it, but now I’m living with Esper Yeo Taegyung, and he’s…”

I stopped mid-sentence. I thought I had come to terms with it, but my throat tightened.

Yeo Taegyung was still staring at me intently, but he seemed to sense something was wrong. I forced a smile. Pretending to be okay was a piece of cake.

“He’s in the hospital now. The government is researching cases similar to Soohyun’s to develop a treatment, but no one knows how long it will take.”

Well, I hadn’t planned on saying this much, but I ended up spilling it all. Yeo Taegyung probably wouldn’t care anyway.

“I was scared. When Soohyun wakes up, I wanted to show him that Samsik and the clownfish are all okay, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to.”

“…….”

“And honestly, during our first meeting, you strangled me and took my clothes off… uh-huh.”

Yeo Taegyung suddenly wriggled his legs and circled around me. Samsik backed away cautiously, bumped his bottom against the sofa, and jumped up.

“Wh-why?”

“Keereuk.”

Yeo Taegyung wiggled his leg and held out what he was holding. I stared blankly at the object dangling from the tip of his leg.

“……Huh?”

A silver necklace with a whale tail pendant. Soohyun had saved his allowance to buy it for me as a graduation gift from elementary school, but I lost it when I moved here. I had given up on finding it after searching everywhere to no avail.

“Where did you find this?”

My throat constricted. Yeo Taegyung nudged the bedroom door with another leg and tilted his head from side to side, as if keenly observing my expression.

“In my room? How…?”

There was an irritated hissing sound. It seemed like he wanted me to take it, so I quickly accepted the necklace. It was covered in dust and mucus, but it was definitely mine.

He continued to observe me. I didn’t want to suddenly burst into tears in front of someone I’d just met, but my nose started to tingle.

“……Thank you.”

“Keereuk.”

“Did you go into my room to find this?”

Yeo Taegyung was silent for a moment, then brought a magnet and started forming letters. I was a little disappointed by the completed answer.

[Found] [it] [while] [coming]

Of course, Yeo Taegyung had never been to my house before. I kept saying strange things today.

When people are cooped up alone for too long, their social skills deteriorate. At the Welfare Center, I only ever talked to Espers with bad tempers or elderly people, so maybe I had become a bit strange too.

“You know, this whale tail is a symbol of good luck? That’s why Soohyun gave it to me. I think you’ll definitely be able to return to your human form, Esper Yeo Taegyung.”

I grinned and casually wiped my eyes with my sleeve. Now that I looked closely, Yeo Taegyung’s body color became lighter when he was nervous or embarrassed, and darker red when he was angry. Since he was a light pink now, it seemed like he was relatively calm.

“Because I talked to Researcher Ryu Kyungae. For the time being, Yeo Taegyung and I will be staying together and… Huh?”

Not even a second after that thought, Yeo Taegyung turned pale again. He quickly crawled to a corner and grabbed a handful of Korean magnets.

[Lab]

Yeo Taegyung frantically searched through the pile of magnets. Soon, other letters were added.

[Can’t] [go]

“‘Can’t go to the lab?’”

“Keereuk, keereureuk, keereureuk.”

The agitated Yeo Taegyung cried out noisily. It was the first time he had reacted so strongly.

“There was no talk of the lab.”

However, Yeo Taegyung didn’t seem to believe me at all. His yellow eyes scanned me, then he formed different letters.

[Lie]

“It’s not a lie.”

“Keereuk.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“Keereureuk!”

Thump, thump! Yeo Taegyung slammed his suckered legs menacingly on the floor. He might ignore me and run away again. I had to persuade him somehow.

“Hey, really! Do I look like such a bad person? Reassuring someone with lies and, huh?”

“Kkeureuk.”

Yeo Taegyung poked the corners of the magnets all over the floor with a highly suspicious look. I squeezed out every bit of patience I had and replied.

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“…….”

“Don’t S-rank Espers have that kind of ability? Like, being able to tell if someone is lying or not?”

“Keeiiiik!”

Yeo Taegyung suddenly let out a chilling shriek. Startled, I shut my mouth, but it was too late. He seethed, his skin changing colors dramatically. I had never known octopuses, or rather, krakens, could express such a wide range of emotions.

“Anyway, you’re not going to any lab right now. I don’t even know where it is.”

“…….”

“Researcher Ryu Kyungae said you should just stay at my house for the time being. I’m on leave for a week, so I’ll be with you the whole time, so don’t worry.”

Yeo Taegyung stared at me like a possessed goat. I decided to try luring him with food.

“Here, eat this.”

When the rustling sound came from the shopping bag, Yeo Taegyung’s gaze naturally shifted. He stared intently as I took out the sterilized milk and the cereal box.

“Looks delicious, right?”

“…….”

“Growing children can get taller if they eat this consistently. It’s rich in vitamins, niacin, folic acid…”

There’s no business like the hunger business. I gave a slight smile to Yeo Taegyung, who was looking at me with interest.

“In my experience, people tend to be grumpier when they’re hungry, right? Let’s eat and think about it slowly.”

As a gesture of reconciliation, I extended my hand. Yeo Taegyung, who had been staring at it intently, suddenly narrowed his eyes and smacked my hand with his right leg.

“Ouch!”

“Keereuk!”

“Did you just hit me?”

I looked at him in disbelief. Yeo Taegyung swayed his body from side to side and busily formed letters. When even that wasn’t enough, he spewed a puddle of ink on the floor and swiped at it with his leg as if writing calligraphy.

A moment later, he left me dumbfounded and zipped off toward the fish tank.

“What the…”

[Don’t] [need] [it] [Get] [lost]

⟡˖ ࣪

‘What did I do wrong?’

Feeling extremely wronged, I kept glancing at the fish tank where Yeo Taegyung had crawled into. Was that how you treat someone you like? Researcher Ryu Kyungae definitely didn’t understand the meaning of “like.”

‘I’ve been tricked.’

I barely managed to get up, exhausted from trying to persuade Yeo Taegyung. I didn’t know what to do; the milk, the Oz cereal, the Jae-ae-ti, none of it mattered.

Come to think of it, both Researcher Ryu Kyungae and the other researchers avoided answering when I asked about a dedicated guide. Judging from various circumstances, it was clear that Yeo Taegyung didn’t have one. Who in their right mind would volunteer to be a dedicated guide for someone who hurled insults and could potentially kill them?

I felt like a fool for feeling a surge of goodwill toward him just because he returned my necklace. But wasn’t this his fault? He kept confusing me.

“Make up your mind, do you like me or not?”

I raised my voice, regardless of whether Yeo Taegyung heard me or not. He was probably hiding in the coral reef shelter with only his eyes peeking out, so he wouldn’t hear anyway.

“I’m just trying to be nice, but this is too much.”

“…….”

I was exhausted after arguing with Yeo Taegyung as soon as I got home. He stared at me, and I couldn’t help but feel like he was watching my reactions.

I felt like I had seen that look somewhere before, and then it hit me: I saw it every day when I first brought Samsik home. Scared and unable to adapt to the unfamiliar environment, he kept scratching me. Then, restless, he would watch me from a distance before finally falling asleep next to my head.

But Samsik was a helpless cat, and Yeo Taegyung was an S-rank Esper who could kill anyone he wanted. He had no reason to fear me.

“Sigh, I don’t know.”

I felt like I could fall asleep as soon as I lay down. I rummaged through the cupboard and found three packs of ramen that were about three years past their expiration date. I quietly pushed them into the trash can. Eating those might put me in an eternal sleep.

Instead, I made a bowl of the cereal I had received for Yeo Taegyung. It was incredibly sweet because of the marshmallows.

In the dim light, I suddenly made eye contact with Yeo Taegyung. It didn’t look like an apologetic gaze, but more like a “why are you eating that?” look.

“I’m going to bed in my room and look at my phone.”

“…….”

“Good night, then.”

I tossed the bowl into the sink and said good night earlier than usual. Both physically and mentally exhausted, I hoped I wouldn’t have nightmares about being strangled by a giant octopus tonight.

…Then, I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them to the sound of chirping.

‘What’s that?’

A pale blue light shone through the curtains. My phone clock displayed the ominous time of 4:44 a.m. I had slept like the dead.

I felt warmth near my head and saw Samsik curled up asleep. Relieved, I checked my phone. There were many notifications from the automatic feeder, indicating that Samsik had been eating throughout the night.

With a sliver of hope, I checked every corner of my bed, but there was nothing else.

Of course. I was a fool to expect anything.

Dizzy, I stumbled out to the living room and tripped over something.

I squinted, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Something was scattered beneath the bed. I soon realized they were the magnets I had given Yeo Taegyung.

The magnets, clearly showing signs of intense deliberation, were arranged haphazardly, as if intentionally scrambled to be illegible. My heart pounding, I rearranged them. Finally, a single word formed.

[Sor] [ry]

Dumbfounded, I stared at the letters. Was I really seeing this? Yeo Taegyung had apologized to me?

I tried rearranging the magnets in different ways, but no matter how I combined them, only one answer came up.

And I had noticed a strange dampness on my left hand, which was now covered in dried, sticky, transparent liquid. My fingertips, still slightly damp, were wrinkled as if I had just taken a bath.

Ah, so he felt guilty and couldn’t directly ask for guiding, but instead, he curled up in my hand while I was asleep and sucked out my energy?

With high matching rates, even simple physical contact like holding hands or hugging could be highly effective for Level 1 guiding. An Esper like Yeo Taegyung couldn’t possibly be unaware of this; it was a deliberate act.

‘…This is kind of ridiculous, but also cute…’

I thought involuntarily and then shook my head vigorously. After being so rude, he’d be less than human if he hadn’t even apologized. Though he wasn’t human, strictly speaking.

I patted Samsik’s head and went out to the living room. The usual silence prevailed. There were still no signs that he’d touched the food I had left out, meaning Yeo Taegyung had been fasting for almost 48 hours.

What should I do?

I was about to call him out on his annoying behavior but decided to bring a chair instead. There was no need for me to stoop to his childish level.

I brought my face close to the fish tank and counted the fish. The clownfish were all there, and the coral reef shelter… Yeo Taegyung had remodeled it. A long, arched cave that hadn’t been there before had appeared, and the aquatic plants had been rearranged.

I decided to try talking to him naturally when he woke up. I was starving from guiding him in my sleep.

I decided to go grocery shopping while I was at it. As I grabbed my shopping bag and opened the door, I was greeted by a clear blue sky. On top of my week-long vacation, this was the icing on the cake.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Suyoon, what are you doing here at this hour?”

“I’m on vacation.”

“Really? Is your brother doing okay?”

“Well, Soohyun’s the same as always.”

I gave a weak smile to the woman pushing a shopping cart. A brief look of pity flashed across her face before she readily shared some valuable information.

“There’s a 5% discount on card purchases until today. Snacks are also on sale in bundles, and they have fresh peaches in stock.”

“Wow, thank you!”

I wanted to chat more, but my stomach was growling. Humming, I picked out what I wanted: a bag of ripe peaches, strawberry yogurt, four packs of potato chips, chocolate protein bars, and more. I filled my basket with emergency food like dried seaweed, canned tuna, and ramen.

The air felt refreshing outside at this hour. District 4, where I used to live, was truly awful.

South Korea was currently divided into eight districts based on the frequency of Crack occurrences. Usually, no one lived past District 5, and land prices skyrocketed the closer you got to District 1.

My parents divorced when Soohyun was a baby and I was four. They were both a Guide and an Esper affiliated with the Center, but unfortunately, their matching rate wasn’t high enough to be a pair, and they both died a few years later during missions in the First Great Crack.

After our grandmother, who had taken us in out of pity, passed away, I was diagnosed with Guide traits during a physical examination. Since then, I had saved up and rented a room in the area between District 2 and 3. Going any further would be too far from Soohyun’s hospital, and District 1 was too expensive.

I decided not to dwell on self-pity. It wouldn’t get me anywhere.

‘At least only minor Cracks occur here.’

Even those were swiftly dealt with by Espers before they could turn into dungeons, so my job was to respond to their guiding requests and collect the extra pay.

I had to value and cherish myself first so that others would respect my life. Swinging my shopping bag, I recalled a quote I had seen on TV a long time ago.

I was climbing the stairs to my apartment when I suddenly felt a warm sensation in my nose and reflexively lowered my head.

“Oh, what the…”

Round drops of blood dripped onto my palm and flowed down my wrist. This happened last time too; could it be a side effect of guiding? I had been so hungry that I stuffed a few energy bars into my mouth on the way home.

I repeatedly spat out the blood trickling into my mouth. Thinking I needed to wash my face, I entered my door code and opened the door, only to be pulled forcefully inside.

“Ugh…!”

The shopping bag I was holding fell, scattering peaches, yogurt, and other items across the floor. The dizziness I had felt earlier intensified, making my head spin, probably because of the blood loss.

In the pitch-black darkness, writhing tentacles wrapped around my body. The growls of a wild beast that filled the house seemed to suck me in like a black hole.

Cough, cough, I coughed uncontrollably, struggling to breathe. The dizziness was severe, even disregarding the blood gushing from my nose.

“Where were you?”

“The… the supermarket.”

He frowned at the groceries I had bought, then at me. Only his yellow eyes were visible in the darkness, but I could sense his displeasure.

“You left the house for 30 minutes to buy this trash?”

“Trash? …I’m going to eat all of this, ugh!”

Yeo Taegyung suddenly released me, and I collapsed onto the floor. As I groaned in pain from my tailbone, Yeo Taegyung threw something at me. It was a box of tissues that had been lying around.

“Wipe yourself, I don’t want to look at you.”

“…….”

Couldn’t he just hand it over nicely? I wiped the blood off my hands and face and stuffed some tissue into my nostrils. Then, a thought suddenly struck me.

“You can talk now.”

And quite fluently, too. I stared intently at Yeo Taegyung, and the cross-shaped tips of his tentacles fell to the floor and slid back behind him. He soon returned to his fully human form.

“And you can humanize too.”

“Not for long.”

I swallowed hard, meeting his gaze. The same look of contempt from our first encounter was fixed on me.

Then, a strange voice echoed in my head.

—Why… are you here?

“This is my house?”

“What?”

“Didn’t you just say something to me?”

The voices were remarkably similar. At that moment, Yeo Taegyung’s gaze softened slightly, strangely enough. Seizing the opportunity, I cleared my throat and pointed at the living room floor.

“Put some clothes on first.”

“…….”

“I don’t know where to look.”

Yeo Taegyung flinched and then his face turned bright red. Well, he was the one who suddenly appeared naked at my door.

“What should I wear?”

“Anything from over there.”

I pointed to the pile of laundry scattered on the living room floor and subtly averted my gaze. I hadn’t noticed at first because of the shock, but what was dangling between his legs looked bigger than eight octopus legs combined.

“You… you…”

“…….”

“Always nitpick about useless things.”

And yet, he was currently in human form?! I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the space between Yeo Taegyung’s legs. Fortunately, he obediently put on my pajama pants. They were too short, even though they were free size, but his looks made up for it.

However, he didn’t seem pleased with my stare and glared at me with narrowed eyes.

“What are you staring at?”

“Huh?”

“What are you going to do by staring at me like that? Do you think I’ll suddenly develop some useless affection for you?”

“I’m just looking because you’re handsome?”

“……What?”

“I said you’re handsome. You must hear that a lot, right? Or do you hear ‘pretty’ more often?”

I offered my honest opinion, but Yeo Taegyung blushed deeply, looking extremely displeased. What kind of human, or rather, monster, got upset over a compliment?

“This is so ridiculous…”

“…….”

“You consistently lack any sense of reality.”

He muttered to himself. I desperately wanted to tell him that I had tissues stuffed in my nose, not my ears, but I refrained.

I took the opportunity to sense his wavelengths permeating the air. Even in human form, they were more stable than yesterday. It was time to get to the main point.

“Last night, you received guiding from me while I was asleep, right?”

Flinch.

Yeo Taegyung’s shoulders twitched slightly. His prominent collarbones and smooth, unblemished chest were so white and luminous that they resembled thinly sliced flounder fillets.

“You should have asked for permission first. I could have prepared myself, but I had another nosebleed.”

“Do you have any proof that it was because of me?”

“I had a nosebleed during our first guiding session, too. That’s never happened with other Espers.”

“……Don’t lie.”

Oh, he was speaking formally again. It meant he felt uneasy about what happened last night.

Why couldn’t he just be honest instead of acting like a child?

“You can speak comfortably. I heard you’re older than me.”

“…….”

“And you know that Guides, unlike Espers, get promoted based on performance, right?”

Yeo Taegyung looked like he couldn’t care less, but I continued.

“I’m a D-rank because I only do Level 1 guiding, not because I lack guiding ability. But if I receive energy from someone like you without preparation, it puts a strain on my body.”

“……So?”

“Just tell me honestly next time if you want guiding. No one’s going to die.”

Yeo Taegyung looked like he had a lot to say. I wondered if I had scared him too much and gave a slight smile.

“It’s a relief, though.”

“What is?”

“My brother hasn’t shown any improvement in five years, but you’re already getting better less than a week after meeting me.”

He remained silent for a while. I wiped the mucus off my temples and arms with the back of my hand. I felt a burning sensation, and the areas had turned red. Yeo Taegyung frowned again after seeing my skin.

“You said you wanted to be my dedicated guide, right?”

“Yes?”

“You want to be a dedicated guide when you end up like this just from a brief touch?”

Yeo Taegyung scoffed openly.

“You seem to know what my ability is.”

“I know. You can kill me if you want to.”

“And yet, you’re so reckless?”

“Hey, don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“It’s not worry, it’s advice.”

I stopped smiling as I felt his sharply raised wavelengths stinging my cheeks. Yeo Taegyung seemed to think I was shocked.

“It’s advice to tell you that living so thoughtlessly will get you into big trouble someday, so listen carefully. I don’t know what Ryu Kyungae told you, but I refuse to pair with a low-rank guide like you, even if I die. Because…”

“Wow, you can talk for so long.”

Yeo Taegyung stared at me for daring to interrupt him. I shut my mouth, but it was too late. Judging by the twitching of his lips and his changing complexion, he probably wanted to kill me.

“It’s an occupational hazard. Sorry.”

Since I pretended to be unfazed, he seemed to think I wasn’t worth bothering with. He shuddered and turned his back to me. If I pushed it any further, he might strangle me again, but I decided to push just a little bit more.

“You seem to be in better condition than yesterday.”

“…….”

“If you recovered this much with just Level 1 guiding, it means I’m not a completely incompetent low-rank guide, right?”

I walked around behind Yeo Taegyung with my hands clasped behind my back. He tried to ignore me like an elephant in the room, but failed and made eye contact. At that moment, I gave him the most good-natured smile I could muster.

“You liked it, didn’t you?”

“Wh-what…!”

“If you tell me next time, I can make you feel even better.”

I wiggled my pinky finger in front of Yeo Taegyung’s eyes. However, his face turned red, and he stomped over to the living room sofa and sat down as if telling me to shut up. Soon, I heard him mumbling to himself.

“You’re so annoying.”

“…….”

“So ridiculous, mean. Bad-tempered…”

He had quite the vocabulary.

“You know I can hear you from here, right?”

It was no use. He seemed genuinely upset, his eyes welling up as he bit his lower lip, as if he was about to cry.

I felt a tiny pang of guilt, but a twenty-five-year-old man wouldn’t cry just because he lost an argument. I decided to just be shameless.

“Ah, I’m hungry.”

I picked up a peach rolling on the floor, wiped it on my shirt, and took a bite. As the sweet juice dripped down my wrist, Yeo Taegyung’s gaze followed me.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“…….”

“Making my heart flutter.”