Episode 16.
“Happiness?”
Seonjeong tilted her head. Wasn’t that too abstract a condition?
“Guiding was leaking out all day yesterday.”
“Really?”
Only then did Seonjeong straighten up with a serious expression.
“When you ate, and yesterday too. The common thread was that you liked it too much.”
“Uh……”
Listening to him, it sounded plausible. It was only natural to be happy when eating delicious food. It was also natural to be happy when having fun.
The thought crossed his mind that perhaps that was why guiding had occurred.
“It sounds plausible?”
“I’m telling you. This time I’m really sure.”
Seonjeong fell into quiet thought. Happiness. Happiness, huh……
As mentioned, it was an extremely abstract emotion. But if that was the reason, she could understand why they hadn’t noticed until now.
‘Since awakening…… he had never once been happy…….’
Seoyul had grown up suffering all kinds of hardships because of awful adults. There was no way he could have been happy. Just getting by day by day must have been overwhelming.
It was heartbreaking and sad, but if that was true, there was hope. Because if happiness truly was the condition, then that meant he was happy now.
“Good. Then there’s one thing you have to do from now on.”
Seonjeong gave Doun serious advice. Having heard it all, Doun spoke reluctantly.
“……You want me to go that far?”
“What are you going to do if you don’t?”
“……”
Right. What could he do if he didn’t? His image had already flown far away thanks to the headband incident.
“Sigh……”
Doun let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
* * *
Seonjeong said.
‘If it’s something that would make Yul happy, do whatever it is.’
‘……Whatever?’
‘Yeah. Whatever. Even if it’s imitating a dog, absolutely everything!’
‘…….’
Of course, it didn’t seem like Seoyul would like such a thing, but you never knew. Doun was anxious.
But doing so changed nothing. For now, he delivered the news to Seoyul.
“My trigger condition is happiness?”
Seoyul opened his eyes wide in surprise. And for good reason; it was such an abstract emotion that he didn’t know how to accept it.
‘Still, if that’s the condition, it makes sense.’
He had been happy while spending time with Doun. Especially the moment when he’d said he was being guided—it had been such a wonderful time.
The amusement park had been the same. Doun said guiding had leaked out all day long. Seoyul recalled that he had been happy all day yesterday.
“Happiness is a bit tricky, but it’s fine. Now that I know for sure, I can practice properly.”
Doun said so, but Seoyul began to worry first. Happiness. Didn’t that mean he had to keep being happy in order to guide him?
‘Can I…… do it?’
Happiness…… It might be the easiest and the hardest condition. He hadn’t thought a Hidden Guide’s condition would be easy, but he realized it was quite a tricky one.
“So I gave it some thought?”
He began to convey his idea to Seoyul. Seeing him care for him yesterday and today, Seoyul gradually gained confidence.
‘Yes. It’ll be okay as long as I’m with Esper-nim.’
As proof, hadn’t they gotten along fine until now? Since they had figured out the exact trigger condition, all that remained was being able to guide at any time.
“So…… hey, are you listening?”
Doun was talking passionately when his face scrunched up. In the past, Seoyul would have hesitated out of fear, but now he knew. He knew that that expression was simply a habit of Doun’s.
‘Esper-nim isn’t scary.’
Seoyul thought so and gave a small smile. At that blank look, Doun let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.
But it wasn’t bad. Rather, Seoyul looked happy, so they began to slowly discuss what to do from now on.
After exchanging various opinions, they decided to try the one that seemed most likely to work.
Namely, imagining a happy moment!
“Hmm…….”
The two held hands quietly and focused on guiding. It was Seoyul who was straining, but Doun also couldn’t take his eyes off him, remaining tense.
How much time passed like that? Seoyul’s shoulders slumped.
“……Why? Is it not working?”
“……I…… don’t know……”
It seemed it wasn’t working because he wasn’t immediately happy. Moreover, the times he had guided as a Hidden Guide had been unconscious leaks, so he couldn’t get the hang of it.
“I didn’t think it would work from the start. Let’s keep trying.”
Doun comforted the sulking Seoyul and held his hand tightly. Then, he seemed to gain a little strength.
“Yes! Then I’ll try again!”
Seoyul’s eyes sparkled as if to cheer up again. He tried to guide while recalling the happy time at the amusement park.
‘Hmm…….’
But still, he couldn’t feel any difference. Guide energy flowed into Doun steadily, neither increasing nor decreasing.
“…….”
After repeated attempts, his face colored with disappointment again. But Doun kept comforting him, allowing them to continue guiding.
“Um. Esper-nim.”
After trying to guide for a while like that, Seoyul cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um…… could you grant me one request?”
“A request? What is it?”
A request? Since Seoyul rarely asserted himself, it felt quite novel. But since any request at this point would obviously be about guiding, he nodded willingly.
“Um…… at the amusement park……”
“Yeah. What about the amusement park?”
Was it okay to say it? Seoyul hesitated once more, but thinking this was all for Doun’s sake, he shouted it out.
“Um…… could you please wear the headband one more time!!”
I-I said it! Seoyul rubbed his chest in relief and raised his head. But Doun’s face was colored with bewilderment.
‘That thing…… he wants me to wear it again?’
He recalled the item he had tried to throw away but somehow couldn’t because it kept catching his eye.
“……”
“……Is it…… not possible?”
Seeing the face cautiously watching his reaction, Doun’s heart stung. He scrunched up his face slightly but eventually sighed and nodded.
Right. His image had already been ruined long ago anyway.
“Nothing’s impossible. I’ll wear it, sure.”
“Really? Thank you, Esper-nim.”
From the greatly delighted Seoyul, energy bubbled forth and leaked out again. To think he liked it that much…… He must have quite liked that headband.
‘Sigh…….’
* * *
The next day.
Doun went to the guiding room with the headband. Before him, he saw the Guide’s face full of anticipation.
“……You’re really going to wear it?”
“Yes! Then I think the emotions from that time will come back vividly.”
Energy was already bubbling out from Seoyul, who had shouted so. If he didn’t wear it…… it seemed like it wouldn’t work.
‘……Do I really. really have to wear it…….’
Even now, it was leaking out like this as radiation guiding; did he really have to wear this again? But rather than it leaking out like that, Seoyul needed to feel it himself and guide intentionally.
‘Sigh…….’
Doun let out another deep sigh and put on the headband. If there was any fortune, it was that only Seoyul could see him right now. Since no one else would enter the guiding room anyway, he figured it didn’t matter. If this allowed them to do guiding, wasn’t it a gain?
But wearing it at the amusement park and wearing it at the center were enormously different.
“…….”
“…….”
Doun’s mood was gradually deteriorating without him realizing it. Seoyul tried hard to concentrate, but he couldn’t focus at all because of Doun’s face changing from moment to moment.
Still, he tried to focus. But……
“Is this right? Are you sure?”
Those words sounded quite sharp. Seoyul broke out in a clammy cold sweat and barely opened his mouth.
“……I-It seems right……”
The kind image of Doun built up until now crumbled instantly. Terrified out of his wits, Seoyul tried somehow to guide properly, but it was impossible.
‘What do I do…….’
It was obvious he hated the headband. He shouldn’t have asked him to wear it……
Seoyul felt like crying, thinking he had hurt his feelings.
‘Could it be…….’
Had he hated it even at the amusement park? At that thought, the fun memories began to fade.
‘It’s my fault…….’
Seoyul’s shoulders slumped again, and his hand fell limply down.
“Huh……?”
Doun opened his eyes wide in surprise at Seoyul’s suddenly changed appearance. Without any awareness of what expression he’d made or what words he’d spat out, he was simply bewildered as to why Seoyul was acting like this. He had even worn the headband he didn’t dislike, so why on earth was he acting like this?
“……I’m sorry.”
A small, murmuring, depressed voice buzzed. Doun had no idea what he was thinking. It felt like just yesterday that he’d thought it convenient that his thoughts were read as they were, but at times like this, it was frustrating that they weren’t.
Sigh……
“For now……”
It seemed too much for the two of them alone. Doun led Seoyul to the research lab. A slightly more objective perspective was needed.
And then……
—Thwack!
“Aack!!”
Seonjeong struck Doun’s back hard.
“You’ve been receiving guiding with that expression all this time?!”
“What’s wrong with my expression!”
“If you don’t do something about that rotten expression, even the most positive person would just die. Die.”
Seonjeong clicked her tongue and nagged. He clearly hadn’t wanted to wear it because he’d been teased so much about the headband, and since he was saying it not with words but with his expression, it was understandable that Seoyul had gotten scared.
“Sigh……”
Seonjeong let out a huge sigh. But Doun seemed completely oblivious to his own problem.
“Doun. How could you treat Yul so roughly like you treat us. Hmm?”
Want to die?
At her appearance, gritting her teeth as she threatened him, Doun flinched. He wasn’t usually scared, but at times like this, cold sweat ran down his back.