TSCEIAB Ch. 42

 

 

“Hugo, how are you doing these days? Mr. Donovan is worried that you haven’t been eating well.”

 

“Yeah. Is there anything you’d like to eat? I’ll make you anything.”

 

While Hugo was regularly seeing Yi-seo, her parents took care of him like their own son.

Hugo, in turn, made efforts to maintain the relationship without forgetting his gratitude toward them.

Time passed.

 

“Mom……. Dad…….”

 

Yi-seo left the room on her own, went to therapy, and worked hard to get better.

As her condition improved, her parents dreamed of the day the two children could meet.

 

“Hugo. Why don’t you meet Yi-seo when she’s awake?”

 

But Hugo didn’t want to surprise Yi-seo, who had just barely broken out of her shell.

 

“…… It’s alright. I like it as it is.”

 

It was enough for him to see Yi-seo in her sleep once every two or three months.

However, this feeling did not last long.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

After regaining her health, Yi-seo began to attract the attention of those around her as she grew up.

 

It was when she turned fifteen.

 

The boy next door, who often exchanged greetings with Yi-seo, became anxious and couldn’t bring himself to talk to her one day.

When standing in front of her, his eyes sparkled, and his earlobes and cheeks turned red.

The rapid beating of his heart was quite a sight.

The only person who didn’t notice that he liked her was Kang Yi-seo herself.

 

‘Hmm…….’

 

Hugo felt a sense of discomfort.

Although Yi-seo didn’t seem interested in the boy next door, it was still uncertain.

He remembered the ideal type that Yi-seo had once mentioned when they were younger.

Dependable, affectionate, someone who only looked at her.

Above all, a man who smiles beautifully.

 

Hugo was certain he could be more trustworthy and sweeter than that stupid boy.

He had the confidence to only look at Yi-seo for the rest of his life and to make her happy.

However, he couldn’t meet the condition of smiling beautifully. Hugo was still awkward when it came to smiling.

There was a time when he thought his smile was fine.

It was because the young Yi-seo told him that it was beautiful.

But that was a lie. Now, Hugo knew very well that his smile looked strange.

 

“…… Hugo? What are you doing?”

 

“Watching a drama.”

 

“You’ve been watching the TV a lot.”

 

“I need to find out something.”

 

Hugo observed people’s smiling faces through various dramas and movies.

It was to learn how the corners of the mouth lifted, how the cheeks rose, and how the eyes crinkled.

He memorized them and tried to apply them to himself.

Every night, he would stand in front of the mirror and move the corners of her mouth to practice his facial expressions.

 

“Hugo, the lights in your bedroom were on until late last night. What are you doing these days?”

 

“Just……. reading a book.”

 

If he told the truth, he would have been teased for a month. So Hugo lied to Gary to avoid the tiring situation.

Gary eyed him suspiciously before muttering, “Yeah, I guess you’re at that age now.”

He seemed to have strange thoughts, but Hugo didn’t bother to correct him.

 

“Anyway, about Sophia. I think it’d be better to go see her.”

 

“Why?”

 

“It looks like the cycle has gotten shorter.”

 

Around that time, Yi-seo’s “cycle” started to become irregular.

What had once been every two or three months started to shorten by a week or two.

 

“The center says Sophia has a better ability at absorbing guiding energy than the other guides.”

 

Guides absorb guiding energy from nature and turn it into their own.

It was an unconscious, instinctive act.

And the energy filled in this way is then used on the espers.

Theoretically, he learned that if the energy inside the body becomes too abundant, it affects the physical state.

This was indeed the case with Yi-seo.

 

“As she grows, the absorption rate seems to be increasing as well .”

 

Hugo’s brows narrowed at Gary’s words.

If that were true, Yi-seo’s cycle would likely continue to shorten in the future.

It was good to be able to see Yi-seo more often, but the problem was that it was putting a strain on her body.

 

“Is there any another way?”

 

Gary shrugged in response to Hugo’s anxious question.

 

“It’s not like there’s no way at all.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“It’s contact guiding.”

 

“…… What?”

 

Hugo’s eyes widened. The answer was unexpected.

 

“Contact guidance will help slow down the shortening of the cycle a little. Otherwise, she’ll have to get rid of the artifact and learn to handle the guiding energy now.”

 

“…….”

 

Both options didn’t seem very appealing.

Just as Yi-seo had developed trauma from being in contact with others, Hugo also had his own trauma from taking her guiding energy away.

Gary was probably referring to a mild form of contact guiding, like holding hands.

 

But Hugo was terrified to hold Yi-seo’s hand.

 

“Let’s go see Guide Sophia first. It’s never too late to decide when we get there.”

 

“…… Alright.”

 

 

 

 

 

Hugo faced Yi-seo after a month and a half.

She lay unconscious as usual, her breathing hard from the fever.

 

“We’ll leave now.”

 

The place was at Yi-seo’s house, in her bedroom.

Yi-seo’s parents and Gary trusted Hugo and went out of the room to give way for him.

 

“…… Yi-seo.”

 

He moved closer to Yi-seo than usual.

Her face, distorted with feverish discomfort, looked painful. Hugo knew how to ease the pain.

 

Contact Guiding.

 

It didn’t have to be deep. Just a hand or even a fingertip would suffice.

Hugo’s gaze drifted downward. Fortunately or unfortunately, one of her hands was sticking out of the blanket.

 

“…….”

 

Hugo’s limp fingertips trembled. While agonizing, Yi-seo groaned, her eyelids fluttering.

 

“Ugh…….”

 

Her eyebrows furrowed even more as if she was having a nightmare.

Hugo eventually gave up his hesitation and raised his hand. His fingertips touched Yi-seo’s sweaty hair.

 

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be all right.”

 

The muffled murmur didn’t reach Yi-seo’s ears.

But it was alright.

It was not something he was saying to Yi-seo, but to himself.

Hugo pushed away the hair clinging to her cheek with his trembling hand.

In the process, his fingertips brushed against her cheek.

Suddenly, he felt a twinge of tingling sensation, and the guiding energy rushed in.

 

“……!”

 

Hugo gasped and immediately pulled his hand away.

But when he saw that Yi-seo’s face had straightened a little, he felt a little more courageous.

 

“Whew…….”

 

With a heavy breath, Hugo relieved his tension and reached out again.

His fingertips gently settled on Yi-seo’s fingers, that were sticking out of the blanket.

 

Thuk-

 

Once again, guiding energy surged in. Without realizing, a languid breath escaped him.

Though he regularly received radial guiding, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

The body of an esper was clamoring to devour the guiding energy right away.

 

‘No…….’

 

Hugo gritted his teeth and suppressed his instincts.

He wasn’t foolish enough to repeat the past again.

 

“Mmm…….”

 

He just let the guiding energy flow in.

That alone made Yi-seo’s complexion much better.

Hugo linked his fingers with hers. Even though the contact area had widened slightly, he felt like his body could float away.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Since then, Hugo performed hand-guiding by linking fingers with Yi-seo during each of her cycles.

Time passed, and one day, when Yi-seo turned sixteen…

 

“Haley. Haley? Ahem! Is my voice too high?”

 

Hugo overheard the boy from next door making a fuss in his own garage.

He was attempting to confess his feelings to Yi-seo.

 

‘Is he crazy…….’

 

Hugo’s eyes turned cold.

He wanted to separate that boy from Yi-seo right away.

He wished he was the one living next door to her.

Luckily, the boy failed to confess.

 

“H-hey there, Haley!”

 

“……?”

 

“Don’t you, like, want a boyfriend or anything?”

 

“Hmm, I don’t like people very much……. But why?”

 

“…… Oh nothing.”

 

Before he could even try, he was dumped by the clueless Yi-seo.

Hugo inwardly laughed at him. But then he realized that he, too, was included in Yi-seo’s disinterest in people and became sullen.

 

‘If only I had been a closer to Yi-seo….’

 

After that day, Hugo often dreamed of going to the same school as Yi-seo.

Gary found out about Hugo’s feelings and told her parents.

Around that time, Yi-seo’s parents noticed that Yi-seo was starting to feel out of place at school and were worried.