Unexpected Company

Seo Dowoon, who had been crouching for quite a while, quietly rose as dusk settled, surveying the office. While it contained all the necessities, it was neither tidy nor well-organized. A strong sense of ‘just leave it and use it’ permeated the space.

He stood before the office’s sole bookshelf, which was, predictably, overflowing with Kio merchandise. The variety was astounding, ranging from ceramic figurines to unmistakably handmade plushies.

‘Are these people obsessed with this dinosaur?’

He had long since realized that Han Gureum was the most fanatical among them.

Everything else seemed like mere clutter, but one item caught his eye. It was a basic photo frame adorned with Kio stickers, its value significantly elevated by the picture nestled within.

‘This one’s rather tempting.’

Seo Dowoon picked up the frame, examining the photograph closely.

It was a group photo of the Herbivore Guild. Though he didn’t know when it was taken, Han Gureum looked much the same as he did now. He felt an urge to cut out just Han Gureum’s part, disregarding everyone else. Knowing he couldn’t, he set the frame back down without lingering regret.

Next, he stood before a cabinet. Before opening it, he turned his head to check if Han Gureum had woken up.

“Gureum-hyung.”

“…”

“Hyung?”

“…”

“…Han Gureum.”

He truly slept soundly.

A typical Esper would awaken quickly, yet Han Gureum slumbered without a single twitch. How was such deep, undisturbed sleep possible?

In a way, sleeping so well was a blessing. Most Awakened individuals struggled with deep sleep due to their far more developed senses, leading many to be quite sensitive.

Seo Dowoon opened the cabinet. A creak of old metal echoed, but predictably, Han Gureum remained asleep.

“…”

As he’d observed earlier, the inside of the cabinet was an absolute mess.

Wrinkled clothes lay crumpled at the bottom, evidently never properly hung. Underwear and socks were somewhat separated, but only by being stuffed into separate delivery boxes. Moreover, the entire interior was plastered with Kio stickers. Still, a few photos were taped to the inner wall.

‘A family photo?’

Perhaps it was a graduation photo; Han Gureum, dressed in a school uniform, clutched a bouquet. Beside him stood a middle-aged man with a similar appearance, a slightly younger boy, and a gentle-looking woman. Even without knowing anything, one could sense the warmth of a harmonious family just by their bright expressions.

Han Gureum, in particular.

‘He makes expressions like this too.’

Gazing at the family photo, he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. The click echoed in the quiet office, yet Seo Dowoon didn’t check if Han Gureum had stirred. Since Han Gureum hadn’t woken even when he’d been moving freely around the office, a mere camera shutter sound wouldn’t rouse him.

Seo Dowoon returned to the group photo he’d seen earlier, zooming in to capture only Han Gureum. A deeply satisfied smile spread across his face as he looked at the two photos saved in his gallery.

****

The dim sky gradually brightened. The thin window, unable to resist the light, allowed it to pass through, casting shadows in the shapes of the haphazardly applied window film.

On the long sofa in the center of the office, a green blanket stirred. Only a wisp of light brown hair was visible, but then, with a few creaking, robot-like movements, a head abruptly emerged.

Eyes that were remarkably clear for someone who had just woken up blinked rapidly, then, with a sudden jerk, the upper body straightened, and he surveyed the office.

The spot where he had been sitting was clearly a single-seater sofa. He had no recollection of moving here in his sleep.

“…Seo Dowoon-ssi?”

Seo Dowoon was nowhere to be seen within the small office.

Checking the clock, he saw it was already past 1 PM.

“…Hah.”

It seemed his attempt to endure had simply resulted in him falling asleep. Sleeping so deeply and for so long without waking was entirely due to the side effects of the guiding medicine. He preferred wavelength stabilizers over direct guiding from people, and this time was no different, but it just so happened to coincide with Seo Dowoon’s arrival.

Han Gureum, looking flustered, ran a hand through his hair, then pressed down on his throbbing head. The medicine still had reported side effects, so his condition was usually poor after taking it.

‘I’ll have to apologize next time I see him.’

Deciding that since things had come to this, he might as well try to sleep again, he started to lie back down, just as the office door opened.

“Oh? You’re awake.”

It was Seo Dowoon.

“I brought some food.”

With a smiling face, he held up a bag adorned with a cute toast character.

Inside the bag were warm toasts, along with takeout coffee and hot chocolate. He had initially planned to buy coffee but remembered Han Gureum enjoyed hot chocolate, so he purchased that instead.

“You didn’t leave. No hangover?”

“No, I don’t. You must have been quite surprised yesterday, right? I didn’t expect to fall asleep like that…”

“I was a little surprised. You seem to have a low tolerance for alcohol, so in the future, you should check your limits… Wait, yesterday?”

Han Gureum, who had been speaking, widened his eyes in surprise. The only thing that had changed since he fell asleep yesterday was his location. The sunlight streaming through the window was just as it had been. When he’d checked the clock, he’d been certain he’d only slept for about three hours…

“You kept sleeping, you know? I was worried and almost called Esper Kim Ajun-nim.”

While Han Gureum remained agape with surprise, Seo Dowoon set out the food on the table.

“I brought toast; is that alright?”

“…Yes, I eat it well.”

“I bought two ham and cheese and two bacon toasts. Which would you like first?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Hmm… then have this one.”

Seo Dowoon peeled back the toast wrapper, making it easy to hold, and handed it over. As their fingertips brushed, a smile spread across Seo Dowoon’s lips.

‘As expected.’

For a fleeting moment, a mere instant, it was as if all the world’s sounds had been cut off, as though he were wearing earplugs. He regretted that their hands parted so quickly, but he couldn’t keep holding on too obviously.

Throughout the night, he had listened to Han Gureum’s breathing, carefully letting his fingertips graze him, wary of waking him. After experiencing it once, his desire to escape into that quiet world had only intensified. The suffocatingly potent scent of Han Gureum’s body further fueled that longing.

Han Gureum, holding the warm toast, checked the clock and let out a wry laugh. Even with severe guiding medicine side effects, it was absurd to have woken after twenty hours, only to find he’d slept for *another* twenty. This had never happened before, leaving him feeling bewildered.

“I’ll eat well.”

He took a bite of toast, then looked at the hot chocolate in front of him, letting out a chuckle this time. While he liked hot chocolate, he’d never had it with toast before.

Regardless, a guest had arrived, and he had indeed fallen asleep. Moreover, that guest hadn’t gone home and had even bought lunch for the next day. It seemed like an odd situation, but it wasn’t bad.

A sudden thought struck Han Gureum, and he quickly chewed and swallowed the toast in his mouth.

“Dowoon-ssi. Didn’t you say you were a university student?”

“Yes. I attend Dongjak University.”

“…What about school today?”

A whole day had passed without his knowing, so it must be Friday. It could be a free day, but he asked to confirm, wondering if Seo Dowoon had overslept and missed class.

Seo Dowoon, tearing open a toast wrapper, replied casually.

“Class was canceled. So I have plenty of free time today too. I can stay here longer, right?”

“Ah… a free day. You can stay, but won’t you get bored?”

“No, I won’t get bored.”

Seo Dowoon, taking a large bite of toast, answered with clear pronunciation even while eating.

As the two sat side by side on the sofa, eating toast, Seo Dowoon’s large build and hands made the same-sized toasts appear like a large and a small. Even their bite marks differed. Half of Seo Dowoon’s toast had already vanished, while Han Gureum’s, which he’d started earlier, still had a long way to go.

Seo Dowoon swiftly devoured one toast, then unwrapped another, asking,

“I have so many questions. Can I ask them all?”

As he spoke, sucking the sauce from his fingers, a sudden youthful innocence shone through. In the dungeon, he’d seemed like merely a fearless civilian; last time, he was a building owner. Even yesterday, there wasn’t much difference, but today, strangely, he exuded the fresh charm of a university student in his early twenties.

Han Gureum nodded, giving his assent.

‘Is it because I’m getting older?’

Twenty-one years old. Seven years his junior, a person who had lived an entirely different life.

Gazing into those curious black eyes, he felt an urge to answer every single question. Perhaps it was the realization of Seo Dowoon’s youth that made him feel so generous.

Officially, the youngest member of the Herbivore Guild was Lee Beomgyu. He was the same age as Yoon Dokyung but, being a December baby, held the ‘youngest’ title. As the youngest, he ran many errands but also received double the love and care. Lately, he’d been a bit prickly, as if going through a belated puberty, but to Han Gureum, anyone in their early twenties felt like a child.

While Han Gureum was still working on one toast, Seo Dowoon had polished off both toasts and the coffee entirely. Without dropping a single crumb, he neatly folded the wrappers, tidying up meticulously.

Eating while cleaning, and cleaning immediately after eating. This was a type of person Han Gureum rarely encountered. Choi Seongsu occasionally grumbled while cleaning the office, but most of them prioritized neither tidying nor cleaning, leaving the office perpetually in disarray.

“Hyung, what do you like the most? Besides Kio.”

Han Gureum, who had been about to answer ‘Kio,’ had to close his opened mouth again.

“Nothing comes to mind right away?”

“…Hot chocolate. I like this.”

Han Gureum said, shaking the hot chocolate he was holding. It didn’t pair particularly well with toast, but he was drinking it simply because he usually enjoyed it.

He had always liked chocolate, but wasn’t particularly fond of chocolate drinks. He preferred chewing over drinking. He couldn’t quite recall when, but after trying chocolate milk once and discovering its taste, he began to enjoy drinking it regularly.

“So you like sweet things?”

“…It seems so.”

“Next time I come, I’ll bring you lots of sweet treats.”

Even if he was a building owner, he wasn’t so shameless as to let a young man spend his money, so he politely declined.