FETCH 9

Even though he was merely following along, it seemed his health was truly poor as his breath felt tightly caught at the tip of his throat. Only when he was breathing roughly, “Heo-eok, heok,” finding it difficult to inhale, did Han Kang finally slow his pace a little.

“It was really annoying because people kept staring at us since this morning.”

At those sudden words, Jaechan tilted his head to the side.

“So you’re walking this way just so the two of us can be alone?”

“Originally, I was going to go to your house, honey, but while walking, I saw this place. It’s nice and airy, isn’t it?”

Han Kang took a breath so deep that his chest swelled significantly. Even so, the sky was gray today. He wondered what was so good about breathing in air so full of fine dust. Jaechan shook his head at Han Kang, who was heaving his chest while looking at him as if telling him to follow suit.

If they were going to talk, they should have just gone home like he said. By the time he came to his senses, they had walked a long way in the exact opposite direction of the house.

It would take another long while to get home from here, and he already felt lazy and bothered. At times like this, he often thought it would be nice if he could just close and open his eyes and be in front of the house.

But human greed is endless, and he thought it would be even better if he were already finished washing up by the time he arrived home. He hoped that by the time he coaxed himself into finishing a shower, all the housework would be done too.

This was like a form of inertia. Just as he hoped for a Guide manifestation, after manifesting as a Guide, he would probably hope for a high matching rate with Han Kang. After that, he would hope to be matched with him, and after that, he would hope Han Kang would have feelings for him too.

The reason Jaechan wanted to manifest as a Guide so badly all stemmed from him. The desire for Han Kang to cross the line with him.

He began to wonder if the way their natural physical affection suddenly cut off in the middle, or the way Han Kang would stand up with a frown, was ultimately because a guiding wavelength wasn’t coming from him.

Even though they were still doing the light pecking they did as childhood friends, progress never went beyond that. Their relationship still being “just friends” was a problem, but his status as a regular person surely played a large part.

Han Kang, who called him “honey” and requested skinship every time, was clearly mentally attracted to him, but Jaechan had long thought that perhaps Han Kang’s feelings cooled down because he couldn’t follow through since Jaechan wasn’t a Guide.

That was why he wanted to be a Guide. He felt that only then could they become perfect lovers, and only then would Han Kang cross the line with him.

He also wanted to be confident in the eyes of others.

Jaechan sincerely wanted to be by his side by any means necessary.

His chest felt tight with his again-rising desire. Since he wasn’t feeling well anyway, the thought of just going home like this and sleeping deeply also crept up. More than anything, it was because he felt a bit pathetic for wanting to manifest every single time but failing to achieve it.

“I can’t go to the Olympics because I’m worried about you, honey.”

“Don’t be like that and go safely. I’ll be waiting here.”

“Okay. I’ll definitely hang a gold medal around your neck.”

A send-off given without being able to pour out one’s true feelings was always lonely and heartbreaking.

.✦ ݁˖

Jaechan was leaning against a mop, staring intently at the screen.

—Yes, currently you are watching the match of the male Espers competing in their first Olympics. It is the Korea-Japan match. The shoulders of our Espers are heavy.

At the voice of the commentator coming from the TV, Jaechan stopped his hand, which was taking medicine, and looked up at the screen. On the screen, the Esper match in which Han Kang was competing was unfolding urgently.

Because he had kept the sound turned down, the voices of the commentators weren’t very clear, but he could still tell that Han Kang was putting on a tremendous performance. Since he watched his matches as a habit, he had practically become an expert.

“Oh, oh-oh.”

The moment Jaechan let out an exclamation was when the snow gusting from Han Kang’s palm transformed into a massive whirlpool and slowly began to swallow the surroundings.

He said he was training hard and well, and his techniques had become noticeably larger and clearer. He was already someone whose offensive power was second to none, but having begun to handle his freezing ability freely, he started to suppress the opponent by adjusting things like the thickness and size of the ice.

Regarding such a Han Kang, people called him an all-rounder who excelled in both defense and offense. Though Jaechan hadn’t quite agreed with those words at first.

“He really is an all-rounder.”

Jaechan gave a wide smile.

He remembered the conversation he had with Han Kang on the day he had the body aches. Having said he had to leave for the airport with his teammates at dawn and asked Jaechan to come meet him upon his return instead of seeing him off, he had smiled brightly at him.

‘I want to hang the gold medal around your neck, honey.’

Every time he thought of those words spoken without a hint of embarrassment, he couldn’t help but laugh helplessly. Who would hate it if the person they liked hung their first Olympic medal around their neck?

Ultimately, he had said yes, and Jaechan was praying for Han Kang’s gold medal more sincerely than anyone else.

Just as he wished, Han Kang was putting on an enormous performance in the Olympic match. The Korean male Esper team, which was recording an undefeated streak in the tournament-style match and moving step-by-step toward the finals, was being discussed as a strong candidate for victory.

Because of that, one could see stories about Han Kang just by going on the internet. From match news to his personal life, which was known in trivial detail. Now was a golden opportunity to receive interest regarding anything related to Han Kang and the Espers.

He’s amazing, truly amazing. The moment he shook his head “Jeolle-jeolle,” Flash! A large light cast over and his vision blurred.

Startled for a moment, Jaechan closed his eyes tight, “Ah,” then opened them. Even though it was just a screen, an afterimage remained, making his field of vision dizzy. The moment he frowned.

“Wow, wah!”

A gentle commotion was heard within the store. He looked at the screen again. A giant ice wall was standing tall right in the middle of the stadium. Han Kang, who had climbed on top of it, began to press the opposing team by gradually expanding the volume of the ice.

Because he hadn’t seen the match from the beginning, he couldn’t tell how this match was being conducted.

Is it land-grabbing?

The moment he tilted his head, a blue light flashed, “Banjjak,” in the spot Han Kang had pushed through. Simultaneously, the score at the top left of the screen went up by one point.

[JPN 11:14 KOR]

Jaechan smiled proudly, saying “That’s it.”

There were various events in Esper matches. Land-grabbing, flag-pulling, PvP, touchdown, and so on. Because any form of team match using supernatural abilities was possible, there were many types.

And the Olympics adopted all those events. At first, there were voices of concern asking if there weren’t too many types, but that was only temporary. The scene where the captains of each team personally drew lots just before each match to be granted the match format acted as another point of interest.

In a way, it was an Olympic Games where a misfortune had turned into a blessing. He was just thinking that this, too, would stabilize after passing through a transitional period.

“Let’s turn the sound up a bit more to watch.”

Jjeong—!

Even before Park Minjun’s words could finish, a powerful, ear-splitting bursting sound rang out. When a startled Jaechan opened his eyes wide, Park Minjun, who was closest to the TV, blinked his eyes.

“What was that…?”

The TV screen, which had no problems until just now, had turned black.

After the confused commotion settled for a moment.

Perhaps there wasn’t a problem with the TV itself, as the commentator’s voice immediately came from beyond the black screen.

— Yes, right now, uh… it seems the supernatural ability used by Japan’s Esper Makoto collided with Esper Han Kang’s supernatural ability, causing a temporary interference in the transmission.

— While the screen is not being broadcast for now, we will continue to provide commentary. Esper Han Kang has practically made a house out of ice. It seems difficult to take any more land from the Korean side.

— That’s right. As many places predicted from the start that Korea would be superior in the match against Japan, aren’t our Espers, who are exhibiting overwhelming skill, truly cool?

— Esper Han Kang is currently increasing the size of his supernatural ability while receiving radiated guiding. Yes! Can you see it now? Ice crystals have begun to form in the air!

— It is indeed Team Korea! The sight of Esper Han Kang being unbothered by Esper Makoto’s supernatural ability is truly dignified! It’s not the maturity of a twenty-year-old!

— Our Korean team is truly amazing. Are they not indeed worthy of being discussed as strong gold medal candidates?

The voices of the commentators, who were quickly hitting and pulling back, were quite excited. Around the time the frustration was growing because he couldn’t confirm with his eyes what was happening.

— He’s pushing through! It seems Esper Han Kang is planning to do a final stake-out!