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“Did you finish changing?”

“…Yes.”

“Then why are you just standing there like that? Do you not like the room?”

After leaving work together, we had scattered to different bathrooms.

Once I finished washing up and stepped out feeling refreshed, I saw Kang Juha standing sullenly in the living room, having already changed into his pajamas. For someone who had insisted on coming here first, he looked exactly like he’d been dragged here against his will. When I asked why he was acting like that, the corners of Kang Juha’s mouth drooped.

“The house is too big.”

“Is that so? I thought it would be similar to your place, Mr. Kang Juha.”

While I didn’t know the exact figures, since his wages included hazard pay, Kang Juha’s income would naturally be significantly higher than mine. Still, I held a position that received decent treatment from the Center, so I was using a detached house as my quarters.

If he called it unfair, I’d have nothing to say, but considering it was quite far from the Center’s welfare facilities, public areas, and the cafeteria, and that the nearest building was the National Security Bureau… wasn’t this closer to isolation?

“I thought it would be a bit smaller.”

“I also think this house is unnecessarily large.”

“And… this.”

“Ah, the clothes?”

Kang Juha grabbed the pajamas he was wearing and pulled them taut. They were gray pajamas provided by the Center.

The clothes made by the Center were rumored to be of high quality even on the outside, so they were one of the things I was fairly satisfied with. These pajamas were made of pure cotton, and I liked them because they felt soft against the skin.

“Do you not like them?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that they’re new.”

“Well, I couldn’t exactly give you ones I’ve already worn.”

I had gone out of my way to ask Juyoung for them. It’s not like it’s sick house syndrome; is there such a thing as new clothes syndrome?

While I was feeling bewildered, not knowing what the problem was, Kang Juha spoke in a voice that sounded like it was crawling away.

“I wanted to wear your clothes, Teacher.”

“My clothes?”

“Yes.”

“You, in my clothes, Mr. Kang Juha?”

When I asked back in disbelief, Kang Juha nodded.

“Mr. Kang Juha, I think you would rip my clothes rather than wear them.”

“…”

“There is a concept called ‘size’ when it comes to clothing. I’m sure you already know, but just in case.”

I said it just in case. It’s not that I thought Kang Juha wouldn’t know the concept of clothing sizes, but otherwise, there’s no way he would spout such nonsense about wanting to wear my clothes.

In fact, I had just barely managed to get the only remaining pair of pajamas in Kang Juha’s size, which happened to be gray; a person should really have a bit of a conscience.

“…Why are we using separate rooms?”

Well, obviously.

“There’s no reason to share a room. There are so many rooms here.”

“Why are there so many rooms?”

It was as if he had turned seven years old again; he was overflowing with all sorts of questions. At this rate, he seemed ready to ask why the sky is blue and why it turns black at night. I wondered if this was childcare or treatment.

“I don’t really know since I didn’t design the house.”

“Why is there a bed in every room?”

“It’s been like that from the start.”

I was also flustered when I first moved in because there were beds in every room, but now, I just leave them be since I never go into any room other than the master bedroom anyway. They told me I could redecorate, but I didn’t really see the point.

It seemed the place was built to be used as group or team quarters. For some unknown reason, this house happened to fall into my hands. I was just using it exactly as I’d received it.

Kang Juha, who had been pouring out questions the whole time, looked at me with a dissatisfied expression and said:

“You’re promiscuous.”

I never thought I’d live to hear those words again. Now I was becoming a promiscuous man for no reason at all.

I contemplated for a moment whether he had entered puberty straight from age seven or if I should just crack open his head to see what was inside.

“I find it difficult whenever you act like that, Mr. Kang Juha.”

“Have you ever let anyone else into this house? Like that Guide from before, or that Guide, or that Guide.”

Why did it feel like I was being interrogated when I hadn’t even done anything wrong?

“I haven’t. In the first place, no one has ever come to this house. You are the first, Mr. Kang Juha.”

“Even that Secretary Park?”

A strange joy was blooming on Kang Juha’s face as he asked that.

“Yes. Ju… No, Secretary Park was horrified and refused even when I told him to come in.”

It was so funny seeing his face turn pale as if I were handing him a cup of poison that I had intentionally invited him a few more times. In response, Juyoung would scream, asking if I knew how terrible it was for a boss to make such a proposal.

“Why did you tell him to come in? Teacher, do you like that person?”

Is his train of thought… a primary schooler’s? No, I don’t think even primary schoolers these days think so one-dimensionally.

“No more questions. If you ask more, I’ll kick you out.”

As if he didn’t want to be kicked out, Kang Juha shut his mouth tight. Seeing him like that, he’s actually quite cute.

“If you don’t like that room, you can use another one.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Kang Juha started walking somewhere. But that direction was…

“That’s my room?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, so you went there knowing that. If you want, you can sleep there.”

The types of beds were all the same anyway, so it didn’t really matter where he slept. Although I didn’t use it often, it was my house after all.

I thought the bedtime debate had finally ended, but Kang Juha, having reached the bedroom door, didn’t go inside and instead turned around. He then followed right behind me, acting restless.

“Do you dislike that room too?”

“It’s not that, I want to sleep with you, Teacher…”

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

What? Did I hear that correctly?

“I want to sleep in the same room with you, Teacher.”

As if he were worried I might not have understood, Kang Juha spoke very kindly and clearly. It would have been better if I actually had a hearing problem and had misheard him.

“Because I’m scared to sleep alone.”

His voice was quite pitiful.

The current Kang Juha didn’t have his seven-year-old persona, nor was he in a situation where he needed my protection. No, rather, if something were to happen in this house tonight, Kang Juha would be far more reliable than me. Whether it was a thief, a ghost, or a monster, Kang Juha could dispose of them in the blink of an eye…

“If you want, I can make it so you fall asleep immediately like last time.”

Then he’d fall sound asleep before he even had a chance to feel afraid.

I thought it was a fairly kind offer, but Kang Juha’s face darkened in an instant.

“Are you going to leave me alone again once I fall asleep?”

“…Pardon?”

“Back then, Teacher, you abandoned me… and that Senior Researcher person tried to take me away by force.”

Ah.

A sigh escaped me. So that was how that event was connected in Kang Juha’s memory. It was a completely unexpected realization.

Somehow, I’d felt like he had been obsessively following my movements since that day; was it for that reason? Because he was afraid I would abandon him again?

“I won’t do it. I won’t use my ability.”

“…”

“If you really can’t trust me, I’ll sleep with you. Let’s sleep together.”

It’s not like sleeping together was a big deal. Why couldn’t I do that for him? While the incident back then was entirely that bastard Kim Kunwoo’s fault, it wasn’t as if I, as the person in charge of Kang Juha, felt no guilt.

At my proposal, Kang Juha’s face brightened noticeably.

“Really?”

“Yes. Instead, since there’s only one pillow in my room, I’ll have to bring one from another room…”

Before I could even finish speaking, Kang Juha opened a random door, went inside, and came out clutching a pillow to his chest.

“Let’s go sleep together, quickly.”

Unable to resist Kang Juha’s urging, I moved toward the bedroom.

An Esper wanting to sleep with another Esper—it was a subject worthy of research. No matter how special the environment and the rapport built were, Kang Juha seemed to have a more severe attachment than average.

Usually, Espers feel discomfort just by their bodies brushing against another Esper. Especially those born with sensitive senses can feel the energy wavelengths of other Espers, so there were cases where physical rejection occurred, not just psychological aversion.

And as far as I knew, Kang Juha was exactly that kind of case. I had read his counseling records from his Academy days, which stated he had a hard time with group life because he felt an instinctive repulsion toward other Espers besides himself.

I had vaguely guessed that such reasons played a part in why Kang Juha didn’t belong to a team and worked alone like a mercenary.

That Kang Juha felt no repulsion toward only me was truly an extraordinary thing. Furthermore, he currently didn’t even have a pair Guide because his Guiding wavelengths didn’t match anyone’s.

A case like Kang Juha’s would actually be more comfortable living with ordinary people who had no supernatural abilities. How uncomfortable must it be for him to be confined to the Center just because he was S-class?

“I’m not a Guide, so I won’t be of any practical help to you, Esper Kang Juha, but…”

“It doesn’t matter. I just like being with you, Teacher.”