An Unforeseen Awakening

It’s said that what you speak aloud manifests into reality.

That very thing had actually come to pass.

“……Is this real?”

“Yes. You told me to get tested, didn’t you? So I got tested, and this is the result. I’m an Esper. A B-rank, no less.”

Seo Dowoon, with a rather proud expression, unfurled the wave test results and showed them. The rank written there was indeed B.

And it was psychokinesis.

It wasn’t as if presbyopia had set in, but his vision suddenly seemed to dim, so Han Gureum squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Seo Dowoon’s widely smiling face held a hint of excitement, unlike his usual demeanor.

‘Wow……’

Is this even possible? He had only told him to get tested, and now Seo Dowoon had appeared, clutching a conclusive Esper test result. Han Gureum had considered the possibility that he might be an Awakened, but he never truly expected it to be real.

He was utterly dumbfounded. He knew he should congratulate him, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the results. It wasn’t so much a feeling of ‘I suddenly became an Esper!’ as it was ‘I wished to be an Esper, and so I became one!’

If Seo Dowoon hadn’t spoken about it constantly, Han Gureum would have been surprised by his awakening, but now…

‘It feels like he’s just brought back something inevitable.’

Despite not having children, he felt an unwarranted sense of being a parent. Still, this was something to celebrate, so he reached out and gently stroked Seo Dowoon’s head. Due to their height difference, he had to stretch his arm upward.

“Dowoon, you’re amazing. B-rank, already. Congratulations on becoming an Esper.”

“……”

Realizing he was currently stroking Seo Dowoon’s head, Han Gureum felt a jolt of alarm and quickly withdrew his hand.

“My apologies. It’s a habit from dealing with the kids……”

Having known Yoon Dokyung and Lee Beomgyu since high school, the habit of praising them had become ingrained, surfacing instinctively. He must have felt a certain familiarity with Seo Dowoon from seeing him so often. Seeing Seo Dowoon with his head bowed so low, Han Gureum wondered if he had offended him, leaving him at a loss.

‘Did I upset him……?’

His hand, hovering in the air, was caught by a large one. And where it was moved was none other than Seo Dowoon’s head, which his hand had just touched. Seo Dowoon bowed his head even further, placing Han Gureum’s hand on top of it.

“Do it more.”

“……You want me to stroke your head?”

“Yes. It feels good. Being praised like this.”

Though his face was hidden by his bowed head, the overwhelming emotion in his voice was fully conveyed to Han Gureum. Han Gureum’s touch, initially stiff, gradually became more natural.

The black hair brushing against his palm was incredibly soft. Unlike Han Gureum’s own dry, often messy hair—which he washed with bar soap instead of proper shampoo or even brushing—Seo Dowoon’s hair was visibly different.

Han Gureum felt a tickle as the strands of hair brushed between his fingers, but he didn’t stop.

Like a cat purring contentedly, Seo Dowoon took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. Despite the uncomfortable posture of bowing his head, he smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling with happiness.

‘It feels good.’

Seo Dowoon had learned a few things while growing close to Han Gureum.

Han Gureum tended to speak quite directly, yet often regretted it afterward. And he ran his washing machine frequently. While he neglected other cleaning tasks, he always did laundry. The problem was, he didn’t fold the clothes; he just stuffed them into the cabinet once they were dry. Seo Dowoon had helped him organize his cabinet once and had seen Han Gureum delighted to find a single sock in a corner, believing it to be lost. So, he’d installed transparent three-tier drawers that fit the cabinet’s size, keeping things neatly separated.

Furthermore, while Han Gureum didn’t usually eat meals properly, he ate with great relish when they ate together. His face was small, and his mouth was small, so when he took a large bite, his cheeks puffed out as if they might burst, which was subtly adorable.

Beyond that, Seo Dowoon had discovered a wealth of information: despite his lean physique, he was surprisingly robust, made entirely of muscle, and possessed strength renowned even within the Herbivore Guild. He had a sweet tooth but avoided sticky sweets, and despite being sensitive to the cold, he loved ice cream.

Outwardly, he appeared neat and tidy, but in reality, he was a bit of a klutz, making it understandable why Kim Ajun always looked out for him.

Aside from these, Seo Dowoon meticulously remembered countless other details that most people would simply overlook.

Most importantly, though…

The most crucial piece of information was that when he had skin-to-skin contact with Han Gureum, his tinnitus and headaches vanished.

He had confirmed this through several experiments. So now, with Han Gureum stroking his head, his body relaxed, growing languid, and sleep gently beckoned. It felt like an aromatherapy session, courtesy of Han Gureum’s natural scent.

He wished he could just fall into a deep sleep right there.

While he slept to maintain his physical condition, it was never because he felt genuinely sleepy. Even his awakened state was manageable as long as an item imbued with Han Gureum’s scent was nearby.

That’s why, when the scent faded from the items he took home, he always swapped them for the most fragrant ones from the office. In secret, of course. He would return the items once their scent was gone and take new ones, repeating the cycle. Yet, not a single person in the office noticed. Perhaps they assumed there was nothing worth stealing, or simply lacked interest in office belongings. Even Han Gureum, who practically lived at the office, was no different, making it perhaps unsurprising.

“If the results are out, you’ll be taking the test soon, won’t you?”

His closed eyes snapped open at the clear, refreshing sound of the voice. Not wanting to lift his head, he answered in the same position.

“The written exam is next week.”

“You took the test yesterday, and the exam is next week? That’s fast……”

“That’s why, Hyung…… Please teach me a bit.”

“……What?”

Han Gureum adamantly refused, claiming he wasn’t capable of teaching others. He explained that while he had taken the exam before, that was fifteen years ago, and things were very different now, shaking his head.

“Everything you need is in the book the Center gave you.”

“I’m going to study with that, but understanding something makes it stick in your memory longer than simply memorizing it, doesn’t it? Couldn’t you explain things to me? I won’t bother you; I’ll just ask about things I don’t understand. Please?”

Seo Dowoon didn’t back down easily. He could use the test as an excuse to be with Han Gureum, and he didn’t want to miss that opportunity. All day long, whenever he had a chance, he pestered Han Gureum to teach him. It was an uncharacteristic display for him, one that would likely have horrified Yoon Changwoo or Lee Jongho had they witnessed it.

“Hyung, they say portal colors distinguish their duration, but how accurate is that?”

“There are options. 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%. Pick one.”

“It’s quite accurate, so… number three, 80%?”

“As of this year, it’s 94%. The accuracy increases every year.”

“Ah, it was number four.”

Even though he couldn’t tutor him, Han Gureum diligently answered Seo Dowoon’s occasional questions. Watching Seo Dowoon concentrate, even though he was uncomfortably sitting on the sofa rather than at a desk, reminded him of the youngest members.

Despite having awakened, they had to take the Suneung because they were minors, so they had studied diligently even at the office.

Though he had gifted them sticky rice cakes and *yeot* for good luck on their Suneung, they both reportedly bombed the exam entirely, simply eating their packed lunches before leaving. Since they couldn’t advance to university anyway, and their path as Espers was already set, their early resignation also played a part.

‘He seems like a diligent type, studying like that even though he’ll surely pass anyway.’

In the first place, the passing score for the written exam was low. The path for Espers and Guides was set. It was safe to say there were no other options than joining a guild or government agency to clear dungeons.

This was because there was an opinion that if superpowers were used in daily life, it could relatively deprive civilians. Unless it was a truly special case, the lives of Awakened individuals and civilians were distinctly different, as if a line had been drawn between them.

‘He’s made a lot of progress.’

Han Gureum, gazing idly at Seo Dowoon studying, wore a very relaxed expression. The sight of him with a book open on the table, scribbling with a pen, seemed perfectly appropriate for his age. Perhaps because of this, his continuous requests for tutoring felt less like an annoyance and more like the pestering of a younger sibling. Even if he was a towering, dark-haired man over 190 cm tall…

Still, Han Gureum did not grant Seo Dowoon’s request.

“Are you really not going to?”

“What I can’t do, I can’t do. You should spend this time studying more, instead of talking to me.”

When Han Gureum refused to the very end, Seo Dowoon, realizing it would be difficult to persuade him alone, immediately contacted Kim Ajun.

[Awakened Test Results.jpg]

[Hello. This is Seo Dowoon. I recently awakened as a B-rank psychokinetic Esper. This ability is currently absent from the Herbivore Guild, and my membership would be a valuable asset for dungeon subjugation. Furthermore, as both an Esper and a building owner, if I were to join the same guild, I am willing to provide all facilities and conveniences free of charge to ensure smooth guild operations, and I promise to offer improved facilities. Most importantly, considering the reinforcement of our combat power with a B-rank psychokinetic Esper, I kindly request your positive consideration for my guild membership.

P.S. – I believe that receiving tutoring from Esper Han Gureum before the Esper exam would enable me to achieve even better scores and abilities, further benefiting the Herbivore Guild.]

Although it seemed a bit long-winded, he was confident that Kim Ajun would understand the underlying meaning of the message, so he sent it immediately. As expected, Kim Ajun replied at once:

– Welcome!! Dowoon! 😀 Let’s start tutoring tomorrow!

Nowhere in that exchange did Han Gureum’s own wishes exist.