Ordinary Person A

#35

“If you’re that worried, I’ll buy a car. I haven’t felt the need for one until now, but it seems I might need it now.”

Oh-yul carefully descended the stairs leading underground, uncharacteristically cautiously taking out his wallet and tapping his card.

Beep-

With a short sound, he crossed the turnstile and turned to look at Ho-woo. Ho-woo felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity at the sight. The man trying to blend into ordinary daily life seemed excessively out of place. Was it because of the uniform he wore? Or was it due to Oh-yul’s unique aura?

The small number of people who had finished their overtime work disappeared, seemingly fleeing far away, while eyeing the two who were persistently making eye contact across the turnstile. At this sight, Ho-woo stood beside Oh-yul with a bitter smile. He was more concerned because Oh-yul didn’t seem to mind this situation.

Coming down to the platform, Ho-woo looked at the man standing in the corner with pity for a moment, then tried to change his expression as he spoke.

“I had something to tell you today. But I didn’t have your contact information, so I called the official Management Corporation number on the website. I’m glad the message was passed on.”

It seems the man who had treated it as a prank call and found it annoying had still passed on the message. Ho-woo’s feelings of gratitude towards the unknown person were shattered and fell to the ground with Oh-yul’s next words.

“What message are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you come because you received the message…?”

Or could it be that Oh-yul had waited until his overtime hours on this day with such perfect timing?

“No, I came because it seemed like you particularly wanted to see me today.”

“Huh…?”

“Am I wrong?”

“……”

“Right?”

At Oh-yul’s attitude, smiling with his eyes like a fox and speaking with certainty, Ho-woo’s ears turned red as his expression mixed with embarrassment and shyness. He hadn’t particularly been desperately wanting to see him, he just had something to say, but when Oh-yul spoke with such a pretty smile, everything felt like an excuse.

But really, how could the timing be so perfect?

Ho-woo, who had brushed off Oh-yul’s words as a joke, kept fanning his flushed face with his hand.

“So you’re saying you contacted the Corporation?”

“Yes, surprisingly, did you know we don’t even have each other’s phone numbers? Since it came up, let’s save each other’s numbers.”

Ho-woo took out his phone, unlocked the pattern, and handed it to Oh-yul. Oh-yul took it, entered his number, briefly pressed the call button, and returned it.

“I’m glad our paths didn’t miss each other. The person in charge who didn’t pass on the message is neglecting their duty, so I’ll deal with them appropriately.”

“Since it’s a public number, I think there are a lot of prank calls. When I called, it was also a situation where it could only be considered a prank call.”

How much must people making unnecessary calls be seeking out S-class Espers? To the person receiving the call, Ho-woo must have been just one of those people.

Certainly, judging by the attitude of immediately assuming it was a prank call, it seemed like they might be receiving dozens of similar calls every day.

“And it’s fine since we met like this.”

It’s also amazing.

Even though they hadn’t specifically contacted each other, to meet on the same day like this. No matter how he thought about it, it was an amazing coincidence.

“Then, what was it you wanted to tell me when you called?”

“Ah! This is important. I almost forgot.”

Ho-woo secretly scanned the empty surroundings and moved a bit closer to Oh-yul. He slightly pressed his chest with his hand and pressed his body close. Due to the slight height difference, Ho-woo stood on his tiptoes and put his lips to Oh-yul’s ear, whispering in a ticklish small voice.

“This morning, I met other Espers at the subway entrance, and they recognized me. They thought I was a Guide because of the clothes I was wearing then, so I was wondering if that’s okay. I was worried in case any problems might arise…”

Ho-woo, who had spoken sweetly like a devil whispering the world’s greatest secret, pulled away and looked up at Oh-yul with a worried face. He was looking down at Ho-woo with an expression that showed not even a hint of a smile, let alone any emotion. In that calm and static face, only his eyes with a hint of blue swirled and shook with waves of intense emotion.

He deeply lowered his eyes and slowly raised his arm, then tightly clenched his fist. Ho-woo’s worry deepened at the appearance of someone desperately trying to hold something back.

“It’s troublesome after all, isn’t it?”

Oh-yul, with his brow slightly furrowed and still expressionless face, answered in a slightly worn-out voice.

“It is troublesome.”

As he exhaled deeply, the breath rushed over Ho-woo, who was standing just a step away. It was a temperature carrying a slight warm heat.

At the same time, Oh-yul’s frozen expression slowly melted away. Wrinkling his nose tip as if troubled, he brushed up his neatly arranged hair and lightly pulled at Ho-woo’s cheek, who still couldn’t hide his apologetic look.

“Huh?”

“You don’t need to look like you’re dying over something like that. If it’s an incident related to you, I’d welcome it even if a monster covered the city.”

Ho-woo stared at Oh-yul. He had a stunning appearance that captured the glancing gazes of people far away, and while his eyes were curved in a long smile, it was a face that didn’t know jokes.

Every word feels like sincere truth etched into the bone. That’s why he couldn’t push it away lightly. Every word directed at him came down heavily on his chest, laden with emotion. At times like this, he didn’t know what to do and felt suffocated, buried in a deep sea trench under that weight.

It was a pleasant suffocation of being immersed in the other’s affection.

“When you speak, it’s hard to tell if it’s a joke or serious.”

“I like you.”

His still low voice was rough as if scraping the floor. But the sincerity in those words was certain. Unlike his joking words, Oh-yul clearly showed his emotions when facing Ho-woo and speaking his heart.

“You only need to remember one thing.”

“……”

“That I am always sincere to you.”

So please surrender soon.

The last words buried in the clattering noise of the subway pierced clearly into his ears.

***

The cheeks flushing red despite being troubled by his words, the gaze unable to meet his and wandering in the air. Even the gesture awkwardly trying to maintain distance, Oh-yul followed it all with his eyes without missing anything.

Even though he had watched for a long time hiding in Ho-woo’s shadow, it was too much to know everything. There were things that only came into view in detail when standing this close.

The expressions changing minutely according to emotions, the fidgeting fingers, the color of the slightly bitten lower lip – this was finally the position he had won to see all this vividly.

How much jealousy had he poured out towards those standing by Ho-woo’s side until now? Every time Ho-woo thoroughly messed up a relationship and received the numbing wound of a breakup notice, Oh-yul wanted to embrace him but couldn’t offer even one hug, couldn’t immediately fill that spot beside him, and it made him burst with frustration.

He doesn’t know how much effort he put into gently touching Do-hyun’s mind, who dared to pretend to be a friend and take the spot next to Ho-woo, trying to leave him as a good friend as much as possible. Now such things will never happen again. Because he was standing beside Ho-woo.

Even though the subway noise tormented his sensitive ears, Oh-yul sharpened his hearing acutely to not carelessly miss even one small voice of Ho-woo.

“I…”

What came back was hesitant wavering, not affirmation. It was as expected, but even without acting, the corners of his eyes naturally drooped with sadness. A bitter smile hung on Oh-yul’s lips.

Even in a one-sided relationship, the feeling of being rejected by the imprinted partner wasn’t very pleasant. He was this desperate. Moreover, as they got closer, Ho-woo’s emotions or thoughts were vaguely being transmitted, making it clearer.

Although shaken by his words, it was still a firm rejection.

This was also the reason for pushing without giving time to run away or think of something else. Oh-yul was more impatient and anxious than at any other time in his life. He pretended to have a calm face and smiled gently and beautifully, but if you looked just a little closer, there was a swamp of sticky emotions pooled there.

If Ho-woo took even one step in, he would never let go again, choking him and twisting his ordinary daily life. Knowing this was who he was, he still absolutely couldn’t let go.

“I guess I need to try a bit harder.”

“……”

Oh-yul showed his disappointment fully to his pair who apologized but didn’t give a positive answer. Still, his mood improved a little because Ho-woo didn’t shake off the hand he was holding.

The subway that had let Oh-yul and Ho-woo off at their destination once again ran fiercely along the tracks and disappeared.

When he first saw Ho-woo off to the subway, Oh-yul had even felt elation. Back then, all he could do was suppress the surging emotions while just watching Ho-woo’s back going down the stairs. Even now, the sound of his heart beating in a pleasantly fast rhythm made the tips of their held hands throb.

He wanted to do more certain guiding.

Desire writhed and raised its head, then stifled its breath again. The very faint flow of energy occurring as their skin touched was causing an increasingly severe thirst in Oh-yul, who was moving forward like a shipwrecked boat on the sea.