GP | Chapter 1.4

“Is it… like combat rations?”

“Pardon? No. There are lunch boxes too, and all the ingredients are there. It was made with spatial storage, so the food in the storage room does not age.”

“Ah, yes.”

The man answered Seoh’s questions and then continued explaining.

“Cleaning is automatic, and laundry rooms are on each floor, so use whichever is convenient.”

The man’s eyes met Seoh’s through the rearview mirror, then quickly dropped away. He looked rather sorry for the state of the boy, covered in some sticky unknown liquid, but that was not his concern. His job was only to bring Yoon Seoh here and give him a brief explanation.

“I wasn’t given any specific instructions about the rooms, so I think you can just look around and use whichever one you want. Do you have any questions?”

At the man’s question, Seoh looked around briefly. Only grass, trees, and the mansion were visible.

“Can I… go outside the mansion?”

“I’m sorry, but no. As an A-rank Guide, your security level is high. And since you’re Esper Song Taejoon’s exclusive Guide, we can’t assign an Esper bodyguard, not even as a precaution. It would be pointless to assign a normal bodyguard too, so… please understand that. You may only go out when you are accompanying Esper Song Taejoon, so please ask him.”

“…I understand.”

Since he had expected something like this, Seoh nodded. There were anti-government groups that targeted Guides, and unregistered Espers as well, so Guides could not freely walk around outside. That was why they generally did not leave the Guide Center. They only went outside when guiding was involved.

“Then I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you.”

Seoh bowed his head and got out of the car. Rubbing the stiff ache in his waist, he looked up at the mansion.

It was only two stories high, so not especially tall, but the floor space looked fairly large. There were also many windows, so he guessed there might be quite a few rooms.

While he was examining the mansion, the car that had brought him here headed toward the iron gate.

By now the sun had almost completely hidden itself, and the surroundings were dyed red. A long shadow stretched beneath the tall wall, creeping toward Seoh’s feet. He stood there for a while, then carefully started walking.

He went up to the front door and opened it. Since there was no lock, it seemed there was a barrier running around the wall rather than around the mansion itself. That meant the garden was still part of the safe zone.

He passed through the entrance, took off his shoes, and stepped into the living room. What he saw first was a huge aquarium occupying one entire wall.

“Wow.”

The aquarium looked like a scene from deep in the woods. Aquatic plants became leaves here, and sand and pebbles became a floor of earth. Fish swam freely through the air there. As the rippling water reflected the light from the lamps and painted the whole room blue, it felt like an ocean.

Seoh could not tear his eyes away from the beautiful sight and stared at it for a long time. Because the Esper controlled water, he seemed to really love it, or so Seoh thought.

As he followed the fish with his eyes, Seoh noticed a white shape in the corner of his vision. It was a sofa and table arranged so one could look directly at the aquarium.

That was the center of this vast underwater forest.

Seoh unconsciously took a step forward, then noticed the unpleasant liquid still clinging all over him. Only then did he realize how he looked and retreat. If he went in like this, he would dirty the clean interior, so instead of stepping inside, he looked around the other areas.

The living room had only the aquarium, sofa, and table. There was no television or display cabinet, no ordinary furniture at all. It was a space made entirely for the aquarium.

He liked the first impression, so a small smile touched his lips as he began opening doors one by one and wandering around.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

But the first floor had been mostly empty rooms except for the laundry room, and he could not find a bathroom. After closing the last door, Seoh looked toward the stairs leading to the second floor. The living room ceiling was open to the second floor, so the corridor above was visible. Since there were many doors, he figured the bathroom was probably up there.

Seoh went upstairs and began searching again for a bathroom. While he opened each door and checked, his face shifted from confusion to embarrassment in real time. Unexpectedly, the second floor also had empty rooms. He could not find a single room with an attached bathroom. The only place with any furnishings at all was the laundry room tucked in a corner.

How could the rooms on the first and second floors all be like this? It was such a strange, incomprehensible mansion.

“…”

Only when he reached the room at the end of the corridor did he finally find one that felt lived in. A bed, a wardrobe, a single recliner sofa, and a small table. This was probably where Song Taejoon stayed.

There was one room with a bathroom, and that room was occupied by the owner. Then where was Seoh supposed to stay? Even as an exclusive Guide, it did not seem right for them to share the same room. He had not expected to end up worrying about something like this, and it left him flustered.

For now… since he said he would not be back until tomorrow evening, I’ll use the bathroom and then ask him when he returns. I need to find out where I should stay.

Seoh went into the laundry room, washed the dirty clothes, put them in the dryer, and took them back out. He took only one set and headed to the bathroom in Song Taejoon’s room.

After washing off all the sticky gel and finishing his shower, Seoh went back down to the living room. He folded the freshly washed clothes neatly and placed them on the table, then sat carefully on the sofa. There was no other decoration, but the furniture looked expensive enough that he kept hesitating.

Even as an A-rank Guide, he was punished so often that Seoh received pay cuts as routinely as eating meals. Still, a certain amount of money was paid out, but his father used it all, so the money that actually reached Seoh might as well have been nonexistent.

That meant he had no spare money for hobbies and no reason to buy things. While he had lived at the Guide Center, all his basic needs had been taken care of, so he had not really needed anything. To be exact, it was more that he had not had the energy to care.

Seoh cautiously spread out his hand.

It had not even been a full day since the fingertips began aching as if being pricked. And yet his whole hand was already tingling. It felt like dozens of needles were stabbing into his muscles and nerves.

For the time being, clenching his fist tightly helped reduce the pain somewhat, but before long it would climb up his entire arm. Then the fingertips would begin to feel as if they were being slashed apart with a knife.

It was like that as guiding energy built up. When he first manifested as a Guide, it had not been like this, but at some point the unknown pain had begun.

That was why people did not believe him. A Guide who had had no problems all of a sudden complained of pain, but every time they tested him, nothing was wrong. Anyone would be suspicious.

Why had this happened to him? Why was he the only one who had to hurt? At first, he had felt wronged, even despaired. But those feelings were a luxury. There was no room to think about anything else in front of pain. Even a twitch of body hair felt like torture, and breathing itself was hell.

And yet he wanted to live. He held on to the small hope that one day this pain would end. He believed there would be a day when he could live an ordinary life like everyone else. The pain had come suddenly, so perhaps it could vanish suddenly too.

Seoh sighed and leaned back heavily on the sofa, then looked at the massive aquarium in front of him.

Watching the aquarium, which held nature just as it was, made him feel as if he were floating in an ocean forest. The soft sound of water and the wavering shadows at the bottom soothed him. The thoughts that had been making his head spin began to disappear one by one. It felt like he had met a friend who asked for nothing, only staying by his side.

Seoh gave a faint smile at the absurd thought. A friend? How could he still dream of something like that in his situation. He shook his head, trying to brush it off, and then a sharp jolt of pain surged up.

“…”

Seoh clenched his fist hard to endure it. Blue veins stood out over the white-knuckled hand. Yes, that was right. This was reality. He had floated away for a moment, only to be slammed back to the ground as if to say there was no chance of escape. It felt bitter for some reason. The reality that did not even grant him the leisure to compose himself on his own felt terribly cruel.

He rubbed his tingling hand and arm while steadying his breathing, when he saw water-shadow patterns falling over the back of his hand. Seoh watched them quietly. As the water moved, the shadows rippled and flowed, relaxed and unhurried.

Feeling like they did not suit him at all, Seoh hid his hand behind his back. Then he turned his gaze back to the aquarium. The swaying aquatic plants and moving fish came toward him as gentle ripples.

Night was deepening.

He did not know when he had fallen asleep, but when he opened his eyes, his mind slowly began to clear. Seoh let out a heavy breath and blinked slowly. Then he saw a large shape wavering in a blur.

He thought it might be the tree or plants inside the aquarium, so he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and opened them again. But an unexpected person was leaning against the aquarium.

Black hair that curled slightly, and eyes blue like the sea. A straight nose and lips curved gently beneath it. A firm yet graceful line to his face.

The man was smiling softly with a beautiful, strong-looking face, and he somehow looked familiar. Someone he definitely knew… Seoh stared at him, tracing back his memory, then suddenly came to his senses and remembered who he was.

The man in front of him was Song Taejoon, his exclusive Esper.

Seoh jumped up in alarm. Hadn’t he said he would not arrive until tomorrow evening? He was so flustered he wondered if he had slept the whole day away. More than that, he should greet him first, but he had no idea how to speak. His brain still seemed half asleep.