CH 47

“Tae-Woo, can I come in?”

As soon as So-Won knocked on the door, he heard the usual answer from inside, “Come in.” So-Won peeked open the door and checked inside. Tae-Woo was coming out of the dressing room.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Uh, uh…”

Tae-Woo asked as So-Won stood far away with his mouth open. Tae-Woo was wearing a suit, breaking So-Won’s expectations.

Black shirt, jacket, pants. The tie was all black, so he felt a little intimidated, but at the same time, it looked very good on him. So-Won didn’t even know he had other clothes, but it was strange and unfamiliar to see him dressed up in a suit. It was like someone else, not Tae-Woo.

“Lee So-Won?”

When So-Won looked at Tae-Woo and said nothing, Tae-Woo called him in a deep voice. So-Won finally came to his senses and looked at Tae-Woo. Then suddenly, he was shy and couldn’t make proper eye contact.

“Oh, can you… could you help me with my tie? Something’s wrong with me doing it’s….”

Suddenly, his perfectly tied tie caught his eye. At the same time, he didn’t forget to look at Tae-Woo’s suit.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Tae-Woo came close and leaned over. So-Won held his breath without realizing it.

He thought they were about to kiss for a moment. When Tae-Woo’s movement stopped in the middle, So-Won realized that it was his illusion and coughed embarrassingly.

Tae-Woo carefully touched the tie, quickly loosened the tight knot, and began to tie it again. So-Won felt a careful touch that would break if he touched it, so the scruff of his neck was tickled for no reason.

A large hand moved in front of his eyes and took away So-Won’s gaze. Tae-Woo’s eyes were fixed on the necktie So-Won was wearing. So-Won was staring at Tae-Woo’s face, but there was his gaze was firm as if he hadn’t noticed it.

So-Won glanced at Tae-Woo. Somehow so-Won thought he looked a little different, but only the hairstyle was a little different from usual and the rest were the same. Thick, dark eyebrows and sharp eyes, a face expressionless but no longer scary, and the veins around his eyes lighten enough that only So-Won, who had seen his face every day, could notice. If he moved his eyes a little bit there, he could see only his black eyes through his eyelashes.

“It’s done.”

“Thank you.”

Tae-Woo let go of his tie and took a step back. So-Won dodged the glance that was peeping at him in a hurry. Suddenly, an object sitting around his neck caught his eye.

He wondered why the shirt was even black, but it was probably because of the ring on the neck. If Tae-Woo wore a white shirt, a rough ring would have stood out. So-Wont looked awkward in his suit, and Tae-Woo looked really good in a black suit. At the same time, he was a little worried that his tackiness would affect him.

So-Won asked timidly.

“Tae-Woo, are you okay with me? I don’t think it suits me….”

“It looks good on you.”

Tae-Woo said so and arranged So-Won’s hair sticking out. Tae-Woo’s finger, which was carefully fixing So-Won’s hair, brushed his forehead. The area flamed up as if it had been burned. His heart beat fast.

What’s wrong with him?

“Hey, shall we go now?”

So-Won suddenly seemed to have a fever on his face, so he quickly turned around and ran away to the first floor. Soon after, Tae-Woo was heard following So-Won

***.

Before the event began, So-Won and Tae-Woo came to Tae-Woo’s private room located on the 10th floor of the association. There was about an hour left until the briefing session began, so they were going to wait in Tae-Woo’s private room for a while and go. The order of meals was put in his head to some extent, and So-Won planned to move just in time for the start because he thought it would only draw attention if he went early. Tae-Woo also nodded agreeing with So-Won.

“…”

So-Won was sitting on the sofa and drinking the green tea that Tae-Woo made. He even chewed the paper cup. Tae-Woo was watching the scene, asked.

“Are you nervous”?

“No… yes…”

So-Won tried to pretend he wasn’t, but when he saw the end of the paper cup, he nodded. When he heard Tae-Woo asking, he was embarrassed because he thought he was too obvious. Before he did eat the paper cup completely, he put the cup in his hand on the table.

Tae-Woo stared at the figure quietly with his mouth closed. He wanted to do something for So-Won, but he didn’t know what.

So-Won suddenly reached out his hand.

“I don’t have much time. Do you want to have a guide for a while?”

“All right.”

Tae-Woo held So-Won’s hand. This was not difficult for Tae-Woo either.

So-Won felt a warm warmth that reached his palm and his conscience was stabbed for nothing. He was nervous and just wanted to hold hands, so he lied with an excuse for guiding. Still, it calmed him down little by little when Tae-Woo’s wave flowed in with his hand. So-Won closed his eyes quietly and felt the waves.

It was easy to feel that everything was much better. This easy thing, no, it wasn’t that easy, but why was he so scared eight years ago?

…If So-Won had been a good guide, he wouldn’t have died.

He missed Tae-Woo even though he was next to me.

The event took place in a large hall inside the Esper Association building.

When So-Won arrived in time for the start, people from outside and association staff were mixed up, and the surroundings were bustling. He didn’t know there would be this many people. So-Won was nervous and slipped next to Tae-Woo.

“Oh, hello. You two can sit in an empty seat in the front.”

Soon the guide approached and told them their position. So-Won and Tae-Woo’s seats were in the front, but fortunately, they were in a corner. So-Won confirmed her seat and nodded satisfactorily. He wanted to sit out of sight as much as possible to avoid public attention.

However, there were two empty spaces around whether the association deliberately arranged the seats like this, or whether people avoided it in advance because they knew it was Tae-Woo’s seat. That’s why he sat down and they seemed to stand out more than when mixed among people.

So-Won sat still on the chair and rolled his eyes. There were reporters everywhere, and there were a lot of cameras, politicians, and people who seemed to be from companies that he sometimes saw on TV. So-Won expected it, but it was more uncomfortable than he thought.

“Well…”

It was my first time attending an event like this. So-Won was very nervous because he didn’t know when and where the picture would be taken. Tae-Woo, sitting next to him, didn’t seem to care. So-Won was putting strength on his face not to make a relaxed expression as usual. So-Won quietly asked Tae-Woo.

“Have you ever been to an event like this?”

“I was present from time to time a few years ago.”

“How many years ago? When was that?”

“It’s probably been about seven years.”

Seven years?

His head rolled fast. Seven years ago, So-Won was at the age of middle school. It was a long time ago, so the embarrassed So-Won couldn’t ask anything more and kept his mouth shut.

The conference began on time. However, he couldn’t hear what was being said in front of him because he was nervous. Suddenly, he saw a person shaking like him. In So-Won’s eyes, the situation was a little different. He was shivering at the sight of Tae-Woo.

“What’s wrong with him…”

So-Won murmured grumpily. Tae-Woo heard him and told So-Won the reason.

“There was an accident a few years ago when I broke his hand.”

“Ah.”

It wasn’t a rumor, it was a fact…

So-Won was silent, recalling the rumors he had heard before. Tae-Woo couldn’t control his strength because he didn’t receive guidance and broke someone’s hands while shaking hands. Then So-Won thought he could understand that reaction. At least So-Won never got hurt while guiding Tae-Woo, but he thought he was very unlucky.

“Tae-Woo, are you okay?”

“Do you mean…?”

“I think you must have been very surprised…”

On the contrary, I was worried about Tae-Woo. He just grabbed the other person’s hand to shake hands, but his hand was crushed. If that happened to So-Won, he would have been traumatized enough to never hold another person’s hand again. When he imagined it, his hand naturally became tense.

“…”

Tae-Woo looked down at his hands and remembered the feeling that still remained vivid. The flesh and bones that were crushed in his hands, the screams that filled his surroundings, and the blood on his hands.

He had never done it before. And no one ever said that to him.

His heart ached when he saw So-Won look up worriedly at him. Tae-Woo thinks he is sick, but couldn’t figure out what’s wrong.

Tae-Woo wants more comfort and wants So-Won to keep on going.

“Come to think of it….”

There should be a procedure for shaking hands with the person before the end of the briefing session. So-Won blurted the end of his sentence as he recalled his memory.