HLSEBT - 60

60. His Grandfather 3

Did Chairman Cheon want to turn his fire-immune grandson into an Esper? Or did he wish to revert him back to being an ordinary person?  

What had Professor Yoon so desperately wanted to conquer? And now, years later, had he achieved his goal?  

Cheon Geonyoung wanted to resolve the mounting questions stacking up inside him. If he followed the threads of these questions, he felt he might eventually arrive at the graves where his parents lay buried.  

Separate from the fact that the woman who killed his parents was deeply connected to the Ark, he was curious about the dream Professor Yoon had pursued.  

In truth, he suspected the two were linked.  

That was partly why he had secretly welcomed the opportunity to infiltrate Korea’s Shelter.  

The examinations that began when he was eleven stopped when he turned fifteen. Professor Yoon had deemed further testing meaningless.  

Am I truly neither an Esper nor a Guide?  

He had asked this question countless times, and the answer had always been the same.  

Even during the rigorous government-mandated physical exams upon entering the academy, he was classified as an ordinary human.  

But now, here he was—a Guide within the Shelter.  

Perhaps he had anticipated this all along—that he would one day be categorized elsewhere.  

He had expected it to be as an Esper, not as a Guide.  

A Guide with fire immunity? It was suspicious, unsettling even, like an odd self-introduction.  

After all his classes ended, he headed straight to the shooting range and began training for the upcoming evaluation matches.  

While smashing dozens of holographic monster cores, his attention kept drifting to the phone resting on the storage locker.  

Yoon Taeha usually responded promptly. Whenever she discovered something new, she reported it to him immediately.  

But today, from morning until now, she hadn’t replied.  

She hadn’t even read his messages.  

Was she angry? Or avoiding him?  

As he fired at another charging creature, a small notification popped up on the screen. Distracted by its blinking light, his aim faltered for a moment—an uncharacteristic mistake. Holding his breath, he finished off the remaining holograms.  

After emptying his magazine, he strode out of the training ground with long steps.  

---

Yoon Taeha woke up at 9 p.m.  

Having slept for over twelve hours, she felt a faint sense of guilt and frustration at having wasted an entire day. She sluggishly rose from bed.  

“Jet, if there are any messages, read them to me.”  

- You have two unread messages from Cheon Geonyoung.  

“Open them.”  

- Transfer complete.  

- Tired, question mark.  

“…Tired, question mark?”  

Still groggy, she muttered the words aloud. Realizing he probably meant “Are you tired?” brought a deflated laugh.  

Asking someone else to read texts for her clearly wasn’t working.  

Rolling around like someone cursed to die if they left their bed, she grabbed her phone and checked the messages herself.  

Shortly after sending a survival report, a reply came in. He told her to wait in his dorm room.  

Yoon Taeha hesitated for a moment, her expression serious.  

“It’s someone else’s room…”  

- By the way, Master, you broke into Hong Eunsoo’s dorm without permission 24 hours ago.  

“I’ll apologize.”  

- Technically accurate.  

After quickly showering and changing clothes, she slipped out of her dorm.  

The cool night air helped clear her mind somewhat. Thinking about Kwon Min-gi’s test results, she hurriedly crossed over to her partner’s balcony.  

“If his health isn’t compromised, that’s good news.”  

- The drugs were administered just in time. They’ve concluded it won’t affect his lifespan.  

“Eunsoo will be relieved.”  

- An Esper who likes Espers—how unusual.  

- Interesting.  

Breaking into his room, she sat down on the familiar sofa.  

The layout was the same, but the atmosphere was subtly different. For one, the level of tidiness was exceptional. There were no half-dried clothes hanging around anywhere.  

“There are more cases like this than you’d think.”  

- Do they fall for each other during real combat?  

“After sharing life-and-death situations.”  

- Many Guides have extensive combat experience too.  

“They think they’ll be abandoned, though. We do.”  

Staring at the perfectly pressed bedding, Yoon Taeha muttered bitterly.  

“I always feel that way. If I make a mistake, my partner could easily leave me behind. That I need to do better. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way…”  

- Is it better if both of us feel insecure, then?  

- Jet finds this hard to understand.  

- It seems like an illogical leap.  

“I find it difficult too.”  

It had always been difficult. Speaking in a low voice, she removed her earphones. She’d forgotten her glasses, so she freely pressed her palms against her eyes to relieve her fatigue.  

Click. Just then, the sound of the owner returning echoed through the room. Yoon Taeha awkwardly rose from her seat.  

Though she had just showered, Cheon Geonyoung entered looking even fresher, his muscles taut under his white short-sleeved shirt, as if he’d been exercising.  

“Sit comfortably.”  

She sank back onto the sofa, feeling guilty for sitting as if she hadn’t waited long at all.  

Casually, Cheon Geonyoung opened the bag he’d brought. He handed her an ion drink, which she accepted without hesitation and drank despite herself.  

Meanwhile, a disposable lunchbox emitting a delicious aroma was placed in front of her. Yoon Taeha made a genuinely foolish face.  

“You want me to eat this?”  

“Do you think I poisoned it?”  

The warm kimchi fried rice topped with a perfectly cooked sunny-side-up egg seemed to beckon her to take a bite.  

The smell was intoxicatingly good. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t eaten anything all day.  

There hadn’t been any mention of other incidents while she was asleep…  

She remembered the fire immunity. But how that connected to kimchi fried rice was beyond her. Other than the shared element of fire, nothing made sense.  

While pondering this, Cheon Geonyoung handed her a spoon.  

“…Why are you doing this?”  

“Don’t you like fried rice?”  

“No, I do.”  

“Then eat. I heard you skipped class today.”  

“Who said that? Hong Eunsoo?”  

“I overheard Kim Soochan talking about it at the shooting range.”  

“Ah, Kim Soochan.”  

“He’s moving exactly as we predicted. Looks like you’ll have more things to watch out for.”  

“That’s not something I need to worry about.”  

Cheon Geonyoung perched casually on the desk chair. His usually neat hair was slightly tousled today, and he looked a bit tired.  

“By the way, if you’re hungry, you can ask for leftovers at the cafeteria.”  

“Braised cod.”  

Her spoon weakly pierced the yolk as she gave an apologetic look. Cheon Geonyoung opened his phone and kindly recited today’s menu.  

As the list went on, her expression changed.  

“Finally, kiwi juice.”  

Other than the kiwi juice, everything sounded terrible. Even the kiwi wasn’t her favorite fruit. Reading her expression clearly, she replied:  

“I’ll eat well. Thanks.”  

“You should’ve done that earlier.”  

The fried rice was warm and delicious, as if freshly made. Eating in front of her superior wasn’t entirely comfortable, but her body welcomed the food.  

Cheon Geonyoung rested his chin on his hand and watched her spoon move slowly.  

At least Yoon Taeha didn’t seem angry.  

She did appear slightly dazed and slower to react than usual, perhaps because she had woken up abruptly. Sensing this, she apologized sheepishly.  

“Do you want some too?”  

“I planned to use that as an excuse for you to finish it all.”  

Her eyebrows twitched at the word “excuse.” As she nodded, her messy hair bobbed along. Cheon Geonyoung leisurely observed those unpredictable strands.  

Soon, after finishing the lunchbox, Yoon Taeha sprang up to clean it.  

“Stay seated. I’ll clean it faster anyway.”  

“Sorry…”  

“Between us?”  

At the phrase “between us,” she visibly flinched. Pretending not to notice, Cheon Geonyoung cleaned up the trash.  

The Esper sucking on the straw of his ion drink looked like a graduating student thrown into a final exam unprepared, chewing on the straw as if hoping answers would appear in the drink.  

After tidying up the room, Cheon Geonyoung pulled the desk chair closer to the sofa.  

Instead of turning the chair around, he sat facing forward, resting his arms on the backrest. Somehow, he sensed she preferred a certain distance.  

True enough, Yoon Taeha felt a psychological comfort from the chair’s backrest and inwardly sighed in relief.  

With determination, Cheon Geonyoung said:  

“Shall we hold an inquiry?”  

She felt a slight sense of helplessness as she stared at the empty PET bottle in her hands.  

She had agonized over what to ask right before falling asleep, even scripting potential lines. But the fried rice had reset everything, leaving her feeling like she was back at square one.  

He kept deviating from her predictions, making her impulsive. All the lessons drilled into her at the Shelter felt futile.  

“You have something you want to ask, right?”  

Prompted gently, she fidgeted with her hands before asking in a low voice:  

“Are you hurt anywhere?”  

“What a strange place to start with your first question.”  

“It’s important to me.”  

“Check for yourself.”  

Summoning her courage, Yoon Taeha rose from the sofa. He gestured for her to sit on the bed opposite him.  

Perching lightly on the edge of the bed, she cautiously took his hand.  

When she hesitated after grabbing it, he extended his hand further and bowed his head deeply. His large hand dangled limply, as if awaiting judgment.  

“Take your time.”  

While only the backrest of the chair was visible to Cheon Geonyoung, warm fingers gently prodded the back of his hand. Like petting the crown of a sleeping cat, the touch was so light it tickled.  

From an angle she couldn’t see, he bit his lip.  

“When you’re done, tell me. I’ll lift my head then.”  

“Does it really not hurt? It looked like your hand was completely burned back then…”  

“I’m pretty good at exaggerating too.”  

Returning her earlier comment, Yoon Taeha let out a small sigh. Her serious gaze meticulously examined his handsome hand.  

The neatly trimmed nails, the prominent blue veins on the back of his hand, the large palm that could suffocate when gripping tightly—all parts of the hand she had often held during their movements. Though she had never examined it this closely before.  

Deliberately, Yoon Taeha commanded in a businesslike tone:  

“Turn it over.”  

He complied immediately. She observed the calluses on his palm, familiar yet newly intriguing.  

The small scars and cuts hinted at the perilous trials he had endured.