Episode 27.
That night. Dowon had a dream.
Seoyul appeared in the dream. He was standing there wearing the pure white hoodie and shorts he had worn that day.
He was still adorable, exuding such a refreshing atmosphere that it was difficult to look away.
Whoosh.
A cool wind blew through the wide-open window, tousling their hair. Fresh green leaves rustled down, falling onto their heads.
Dowon smiled softly and reached out his hand. Parting Seoyul’s hair, he removed the leaf, indulging in a bit of ulterior motive.
His heart fluttered as much as the strands of hair brushing against his fingertips.
Why had only one leaf fallen?
Smacking his lips in regret, he withdrew his hand. Then, Seoyul smiled beautifully with the same lovely smile he had seen that day and said,
“Thank you.”
His heart trembled at that smile, so beautiful no matter when he saw it. Can someone be this cute? Can someone be this pretty? Can someone be this lovely?
While countless emotions crossed his mind, Seoyul continued,
“Hyung.”
Thump.
Dowon’s heart sank.
* * *
“Hah!”
Dowon jolted up in surprise. Since that day, he had been having the same dream over and over.
Having consecutive dreams where Seoyul appeared was a good thing, but the words he uttered at the end kept weighing on his mind.
“Damn it. Who the hell are you saying that to!!”
Dowon tore at his hair and thrashed about. At first, he thought it was directed at him, and his heart had dropped.
Hyung… of all things.
Since Seoyul always addressed him respectfully as Esper-nim without fail, the feeling of suddenly becoming close had put him in a good mood.
But as the dream repeated a second, then a third time, things that bothered him began to appear.
The first was the background.
The place where they stood in the dream was a school. One that Dowon had also attended, somewhere in the school that Seoyul would attend going forward.
It wasn’t a place where Dowon and Seoyul could realistically stand at the same time.
And the second was whether the person before Seoyul’s eyes was truly himself.
Seoyul called the person before him “hyung.” But his current title was not “hyung.”
So he couldn’t help but doubt.
‘What if I’m not the protagonist of this dream…?’
he thought.
It might be someone else’s dream, not his own. The more he thought about it, the more impatient he became.
Seoyul in the dream was still so beautiful, and needless to say, Seoyul in reality was utterly lovely.
“Haaaaaaah….”
Dowon let out a long, drawn-out sigh and roughly rubbed his face. He felt that this wretched dream was tormenting him until the very end.
Beep beep beep!
Just then, the cell phone at Dowon’s bedside rang loudly. Dowon irritably turned off the alarm and checked the time.
[AM 7:30]
Today was the fateful day when Seoyul would attend school for the first time. Praying that there would be no terrible guys at school, he raised his heavy body.
But in his head, the image of Seoyul calling him “hyung” kept lingering.
“Uaaaagh!!! Seriously!!”
Dowon screamed, tearing at his hair. And he resented the innocent Seoyul.
“Ah, really! Why do you have to be so pretty and make me suffer like this!!”
Seonjeong and Munjin would have clicked their tongues had they heard this, but unfortunately, only Dowon was here.
* * *
‘Finally, today is the day.’
Seoyul felt his heart beating restlessly on its own. Because today was the day he would go to school.
He had been fine even just yesterday, but now that the time was approaching, he seemed to be getting excited.
But it wasn’t only excitement.
Although his body’s age meant he had been a student just a few months ago, in reality, he hadn’t properly mingled with people for seven years.
And what about the three years of high school?
That had been a time when he had to juggle longing for his mother, guiding medication, and studying all at once, so he had never properly exchanged a single conversation with his classmates.
‘My personality… played a part too.’
He remembered always being alone due to his timidity. Though he was trying to change his personality now, conversing comfortably with unfamiliar people was still difficult.
Still, Seoyul steeled his heart.
“I can do it!”
Since he had done it once before, he thought he just needed to work hard this time too.
Reorganizing his mindset like that, he began preparing to go to school. Since Dowon had said he would take him to school, he didn’t want to make him wait.
Seoyul washed his face with warm water, neatly tidied his hair, put on the clothes Seonjeong had gifted him, and slung his bag over both arms.
Before his eyes was unmistakably a youthful figure who looked like a student. The fact that he had returned to the past suddenly felt real, and he was seized by a restless, fluttering feeling.
‘Stop thinking.’
Feeling his thoughts would continue endlessly, trailing one after another, he shook his head and went out to the living room.
The living room was quiet. Wondering if preparations weren’t finished yet, he tilted his head at the firmly closed door.
‘Should I… keep waiting?’
He might have forgotten. Since there had been no mention of it until yesterday, Seoyul nodded and thought,
If he doesn’t come out after I wait about ten more minutes, I’ll just go alone.
‘It might be better to go alone.’
Dowon was such a famous figure that it might attract attention if he took him to school. So he had strongly declined, but they had compromised because Dowon had insisted on taking him only today.
So he should feel relieved going to school alone. But a lingering feeling of regret kept circling. If Dowon went with him, he could be a little more courageous….
‘Hup!’
Seoyul hurriedly covered his mouth at the flood of thoughts.
To think he had been relying on him this much. He couldn’t rely on him forever. Since he was already causing all sorts of trouble, he had to show that he could do well on his own.
‘I guess it really would be better to go alone.’
Just as the resolved Seoyul tried to turn his body to leave, the door burst open and Dowon appeared.
“Huh?”
Dowon’s hair was wet. Since he was the type to wash before bed, it was strange that his hair was wet.
‘Did he not wash before sleeping yesterday?’
Unable to think otherwise, Seoyul approached while reasoning it out to himself.
“Did you sleep well, Esper-nim.”
Seoyul greeted him with a happy smile. Now that he saw him, joy simply took precedence.
“Esper-nim…?”
But Dowon just stared down at him with an inexplicable expression. Seeing Dowon’s strange state, Seoyul tilted his head and called out to him once more.
But still, there were no words.
‘Uh….’
The staring gaze was unsettling. Seoyul rolled his eyes around, struggling to avoid the gaze.
Then suddenly, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps it was because Dowon was lacking in guiding.
‘I see!’
Having arbitrarily concluded so, Seoyul fidgeted as he approached and grasped one of Dowon’s fingers. And he began to softly flow guiding energy into him.
Then, not long after, Dowon let out a long sigh while covering his face.
“Haaaaah….”
Was this… not it?
Seoyul fidgeted restlessly, wondering if he had done something unnecessary. Dowon carefully unfolded and held that hand, speaking softly.
“You can stop the guiding.”
“Ah….”
Though the words were nonchalant, his voice sounded fine. Seoyul finally smiled sheepishly in relief.
But contrary to such Seoyul, Dowon’s heart was turmoil itself.
‘Aah. Really!’
The act of cautiously observing before guiding with his small hand was nothing short of lovely. Dowon was dumbfounded as his troubled and anxious heart from moments ago vanished in an instant like melting snow.
To think he had to send someone this cute and lovely to a place swarming with terrible guys.
Anxious feelings rushed in repeatedly, but seeing Seoyul smiling brightly without knowing anything, his heart melted away softly again.
“Ahem. Let’s go. I’ll take you.”
“Yes!”
His heart completely loosened at the lively voice, and a chuckle burst out.
Right. He just had to endure a little more and move more diligently to block those terrible guys.
Thinking so, Dowon adjusted his grip on the hand once more and said,
“Your guiding is leaking.”
“Ah!”
Startled by those words, Seoyul quickly withdrew his energy. It seemed energy had kept leaking out because he was so relieved.
Seoyul could now control his energy quite well, but there were occasional times when it came out unconsciously like just now.
“Can you really attend without getting caught?”
Dowon asked with concern. Knowing what worry lay behind those words, Seoyul nodded confidently and answered.
“Yes! I can do well. It’s only like this because it’s you, Esper-nim. I won’t be like this outside!”
“Still, be careful. There’s no good in being found out yet.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
Seoyul’s heart warmed at the words of concern for him. So he smiled softly and nodded. The fact that someone worried about him gave him this feeling of his heart filling up completely.
The feeling of the empty place being filled by Dowon was so nice that he liked it immensely.
‘I have to study hard. Study hard.’
Since Dowon was one of the reasons he had decided to attend school, he intended to work hard without forgetting his goal.
He had also vowed to pass the exam on the first try and stand proudly by his side next year.
He had a feeling that somehow everything would work out. Perhaps that was why?
Inside the car filled with Dowon’s scent, a humming tune naturally flowed out.
The weather was sunny, everything seemed to sparkle, and his mood seemed to get better and better. He even wondered if it was okay to feel this good.
He felt like his guiding energy might burst out with a pop because he felt so good. It definitely seemed that the energy amplified when he was happy and joyful.
‘Since it’s only Esper-nim here, wouldn’t it be okay? But would it be troublesome since he’s driving?’
He wanted to guide him. As a token of gratitude for waking up early and taking him to school.
‘Alright. I’ll guide him when the car stops.’
Seoyul clenched his fist with firm determination. He didn’t forget to tightly gather the overflowing guiding energy within his fist.