SS 8(2) Part 2

Vomit spilled onto the blanket that, although it looked shabby to others, he diligently dusted every day and washed once a week.

“…Sorry.”

Bomin wiped his mouth, glancing at Song Jaeho. It had definitely felt like a dream when he was in the pure white space. But the moment he crossed over here, everything felt incredibly real.

Fortunately, he hadn’t eaten anything, so the blanket was only stained yellow.

“I’ll wash it.”

Bomin was aware of the situation. The inside of the shack was so small that it would be completely filled if Song Jaeho and he lay down. Nevertheless, traces of someone living there were strongly evident everywhere.

From the blanket Bomin had soiled, to the water pitcher and cup neatly placed on one side, and the folded wooden table. On the wall, a landscape poster, torn from somewhere, was precariously attached with tape.

“…Follow me.”

Song Jaeho was about to let out the nausea rising in his throat, but the moment his eyes met Bomin’s black pupils, he swallowed it down with a groan.

It was the first time he had properly looked at Bomin’s face. Even when Bomin was standing, he had thought his face was exceptionally small and his features delicate, but his gaze had been drawn to Bomin’s slender legs.

However, Bomin’s face, observed up close, was the most beautiful among all the people Song Jaeho had met in his life.

Even more so than the celebrities on TV at the store where he worked.

With his heart beating strangely fast, Song Jaeho thought he should train his stamina even more and got up.

“Ugh…”

Seeing Song Jaeho’s expression harden frighteningly, Bomin immediately tried to follow him but grabbed his leg and sat down.

Perhaps due to the relief that those chasing them were no longer visible, the pain in his foot, which he had forgotten, was felt intensely.

“You’re really high-maintenance.”

Song Jaeho let out a deep sigh, stopping halfway through lifting the cloth covering the entrance. Seeing Bomin looking at him like a rained-on puppy, he couldn’t get angry.

“…But why aren’t you wearing any underwear?”

This time, it was Song Jaeho who muttered in a low voice, feeling the smooth skin against his arms as he lifted Bomin into his arms. His expression was serious as if he were angry, but his skin was gradually flushing from his neck up.

“…It wasn’t intentional.”

Bomin also wanted to know. If they were going to send him somewhere, whether it was a dream or not, why not at least dress him properly? Why throw him out half-naked?

At home, he walked around as he pleased, but the Song Jaeho he met here was still at an age where he had soft fuzz on his face. Being in this situation with him felt like he was doing something wrong.

Even though it wasn’t Bomin touching Song Jaeho, but Song Jaeho supporting him.

“Wear this at least.”

Song Jaeho, about to take Bomin outside, stopped, put him down on the floor for a moment, rummaged through a box placed on one side, and handed Bomin a bundle of cloth.

The cloth, crumpled with all its seams ripped, was a small pair of triangular underwear.

Bomin bowed his head towards Song Jaeho and turned around to put on the underwear. A lingering gaze followed from his ankles to his legs and thighs as the cloth went up.

“…I’m done.”

Fortunately, the shirt was long enough to cover half his thighs. Bomin, having put on the underwear so as to minimize exposure of his b*ttocks, turned around awkwardly.

“Come here.”

Song Jaeho, his face even redder than before, held out his arms towards Bomin. The moment Bomin cautiously wrapped his arms around Song Jaeho’s neck, Song Jaeho effortlessly lifted him into his arms.

“How did you end up in this neighborhood? Dressed like this, too.”

The place Song Jaeho took Bomin to was a stream located behind the shacks. It was bustling with children burying their heads in the water to drink and people carrying loads of laundry.

After settling down in one spot, Song Jaeho sat Bomin down on a flat stone. Bomin watched with curious eyes as Song Jaeho splashed water on his injured foot.

Song Jaeho must have been quite kind when he was young.

He showed none of the slyness he had seen when he first entered the novel, nor the selfish behavior driven by his own desires. It was strange that even though he was clearly meeting Bomin for the first time in his current situation, he didn’t abandon him and even helped him.

“…I don’t know. I just opened my eyes and I was here.”

“Huh?“

At Bomin’s words, Song Jaeho, who had been concentrating on cleaning the wound, abruptly lifted his head.

“You don’t remember anything?”

Would that work?

Bomin, observing Song Jaeho’s expression, nodded. He didn’t even know where this place was, so he couldn’t just barge into the association.

If Song Jaeho was this young, it meant others were young too.

It seemed Song Jaeho hadn’t even awakened as an Esper yet. That’s why he couldn’t fight off the guys chasing him earlier and had to run away diligently.

It didn’t make sense for an S-class Esper to live in such a shabby neighborhood.

“Anyway, thank you for saving me. I might have been in big trouble if it weren’t for you.”

He didn’t know what kind of miracle had brought him to meet the past Song Jaeho, but Bomin decided to enjoy the situation since it had turned out this way.

At Bomin’s words of gratitude, the corners of Song Jaeho’s mouth twitched. He seemed to be trying to control his rising smile, but his cheeks were reddening, making it pointless.

‘He’s just as honest with his emotions as ever.’

Instead of Song Jaeho, who was suppressing his smile, Bomin showed a bright smile, his eyes curving into crescents. The heat concentrated on Song Jaeho’s face deepened, and now he even burst out laughing.

Song Jaeho’s pupils dilated at the sound of Bomin’s laughter, ringing clearly over the murmuring water.

With his lips half-parted, he was the picture of a boy in first love.

Bomin reached out and poked Song Jaeho’s cheek. A soft and squishy feeling touched his fingertips. It was like a jelly molded in the shape of an apple.

“Wh-What are you doing?”

At Bomin’s touch, Song Jaeho jumped up from his spot as if his b*tt were on fire. Because of that, Bomin’s foot, which Song Jaeho had been holding, plunged into the cold water.

“Ugh, my foot’s cold.”

The weather was warm and the air was balmy like a spring day, but the water was as cold as melted ice. Bomin quickly lifted his soaked foot, but his lips trembled involuntarily.

“Why would you touch someone’s cheek so carelessly…”

Song Jaeho squatted next to Bomin again and started to wipe the water off Bomin’s wet foot with the clothes he was wearing.

His touch was careful as he patted the cloth, avoiding the wound lest he rub it. Unable to resist the impulse again, Bomin placed his hand on top of Song Jaeho’s head.

It had looked slightly frizzy when he saw it, but as he stroked it, the hair flowed smoothly between his fingers.

Song Jaeho’s light brown eyes wavered uncontrollably. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had stroked his hair.

Song Jaeho had been in an orphanage since he opened his eyes. The orphanage was a battlefield. After monsters appeared in the world, there was an overflow of children who lost their parents and became orphans.

Before the system was properly established, human trafficking was rampant.

Fortunately, the orphanage where Song Jaeho grew up wasn’t run by villains who bought and sold children. Because of that, there were even more children than in other orphanages.

The donations received by the orphanage were insufficient to properly care for all the children, and there was always a shortage of helping hands to look after them.

In the end, the orphanage chose to send the children out as soon as they were old enough to earn a living. Song Jaeho had left the orphanage that way a year ago.

At first, he felt a sense of liberation. He had always dreamed of a place where he could be alone, after living crammed in a space where it was difficult to even lie down properly with other children his age.

He thought he would be able to get a decent room soon. He was stronger and more agile than others.

‘This is this month’s salary.’

‘…This is too little. The amount you initially promised was double this.’

‘Do you have proof? Do you have proof?’

However, the world was full of adults who exploited the young Song Jaeho.

It was common to receive less than half the average hourly wage. Since Song Jaeho was not yet an adult, employers cleverly circumvented the law.

He went to the police station, but there were no police officers who would spare time for a poor orphan with no backing.

‘You went to the police station, didn’t you? Don’t come tomorrow.’

Moreover, as rumors spread that Song Jaeho had tried to report them, he was fired from the store where he worked. He was frustrated. He was only young, but he had worked more than the adults.

But he received less than half of what they earned. In a fit of anger, he went to the homes of the employers who had cheated him out of his money and stole the money he hadn’t been paid.

The people chasing Song Jaeho earlier were the thugs hired by those employers.

“I stroked your hair without permission again, didn’t I? Sorry.”

As Song Jaeho froze and stiffened, Bomin removed his hand with an awkward smile. He had wanted to stroke his hair out of gratitude for Song Jaeho taking care of him even in this situation.

The original Song Jaeho would always push his head forward as if asking for more whenever Bomin stroked his hair like this.

But the Song Jaeho in front of him now wasn’t the Song Jaeho he knew. Even if they were the same person, it was like meeting him for the first time today.

As he thought of Song Jaeho in the present, Bomin’s eyebrows drooped. The medical staff had said he would wake up soon, but he hadn’t even seen him wake up.

As the place he had initially thought was a dream continued with a sense of reality, anxiety began to creep in.

“…Stroke it more.”

It was Song Jaeho who pulled Bomin out of his thoughts. Song Jaeho grabbed Bomin’s retreating hand and placed it back on his head. Bomin’s eyes widened.

With his head lowered, Song Jaeho’s face wasn’t clearly visible, but his reddened ears were. Bomin pushed aside his thoughts for a moment and stroked Song Jaeho’s hair to his heart’s content until he said it was enough.

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