FTE 011

To be honest, I’m just playing coy now. With my previous partners, I never asked such questions and wasn’t interested. Anyway, conversations naturally flowed, so I found out over time. However, with Chae Won-u, it’s unclear. It seems our communication isn’t quite connecting.

“Baekgyeom-ssi.”

Calling me ‘Baekgyeom-ssi’ suddenly instead of using Guide Yang probably means he wants to talk off-the-record?

“You’re dating Hunter Chae now?”

Ah man. Communication is really breaking down here! In the end, this conversation yielded no results except for increasing my frustration. Chae Won-u had followed me all this way, making me think he had something important to discuss, but now he was sitting aimlessly in the hallway, tapping his foot.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Did you need to use the restroom?”

“Nope. For my partner.”

Despite explaining earlier that we weren’t dating or close enough to warrant such behavior, he clearly didn’t understand.

“You don’t need to keep following me around. I’d prefer it if you didn’t.” My response was sharp due to sheer exhaustion.

As I turned and walked away without another word, Chae Won-u chased after me once more. Like chasing after goldfish poop…

“What will happen if someone takes your ‘Chae’?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, what would you do if someone took your ‘Chae’?”

He’s referring to me snatching this man who is roughly 183 centimeters tall… Who? How? Even I’d like to witness that spectacle.

“Who would do such a pointless thing? In any case, everyone knows from the contract that Chae Won-u is my partner, and it’s illegal to take someone else’s guide. I know better than anyone that they will be punished under military law.”

“…Really?”

“Huh? Really? The law is supreme.”

“…..”

“But hyung seems to know a lot.”

It was the first time I heard this. Despite being only a middle school graduate… However, I didn’t seem to lack knowledge or common sense compared to Chae Won-u. My confidence soared infinitely.

Ah, but this wasn’t the conclusion yet.

“In any case, nobody needs to take me away.”

“Well, many people have taken things from me before.”

“Really? You should report them.”

I responded nonchalantly. Did something get stolen when you were young? Otherwise, it wasn’t common to steal from awakened beings. Moreover, the abilities of newly awakened individuals were highly irregular and varied widely. Having reached this thought, I abruptly stopped and turned back to ask:

“So, what did you do about the stolen items?”

“I just forgot about them.”

“Wow, impressive.”

“Now, I can barely remember what was taken. So, hyung, are we heading back to the dormitory now?”

“I wanted to say no, but I’m extremely tired, so yes, we should go.”

“Okay.”

“If I fall asleep on the way, don’t carry me; just call someone for help.”

“I’ll carry you.”

Yes, does any of my advice even register with you? It seems our conversational wavelengths aren’t aligning, leaving me somewhat helpless.

***

I collapsed as soon as I returned to the dormitory. The bed was incredibly soft and the quilt had a great texture that felt amazing against my skin. I wriggled wildly under the quilt, making a mess of the neatly arranged bedding. My stress dissipated, and my mood improved somewhat.

I rummaged through my bag for glasses, turned on the television, and opened a book. Sometimes it was tiring to focus on just one thing at a time, so when I came back from outside, I often scattered my attention around. It was nice to slowly lose concentration before falling asleep.

I deliberately chose a book that I had read several times. As I mechanically flipped through the pages, the dull news stories sounded more interesting. However, after hearing them repeatedly, I became bored and wanted to mute the sound, allowing me to refocus on the book. This cycle repeated until my eyelids were nearly closed.

I didn’t resist the sleepiness pulling me down at all. Willingly, I plunged deep into slumber, lying on the crumpled quilt with my glasses still on.

It might’ve been a short or long time later when the sound of the book slipping from my hand and falling to the floor woke me slightly. Only half-conscious, I shifted positions.

I could feel the reading glasses pressing against my face, but I didn’t want to move even a finger. The thought of disturbing this light sleep was disheartening.

‘If only someone would take them off for me.’

As soon as that crossed my mind, I hastily added:

‘Just the glasses, not the clothes.’

Despite not being around an esper, it had become a habit to clarify such thoughts.

In any case, just as I was about to drift back to sleep, miraculously, the glasses were removed. At that point, I hadn’t fully adjusted to Chae Won-u’s presence, so it didn’t occur to me that he, my unexpected roommate, might be responsible.

It felt comfortable and good. So without realizing it, I muttered with a smile:

“Gyeon-u, thanks…”

“Gyeon-u?”

The voice made my eyes snap open… before closing again tightly. The room was dark; he couldn’t have seen me…

“Why are you pretending to sleep?”

There was no way he didn’t see.

“Who is Gyeon-u?”

“…Didn’t we agree not to ask about personal matters?”

“I understand. Don’t say anything.”

His response was unexpectedly smooth. Chae Won-u took out his cell phone and pressed various buttons. It wasn’t on silent mode, as evidenced by the loud AI voice that soon spoke up:

―Access granted for code 170009. Retrieving Yang Baekgyeom’s records.

“What are you doing?” I exclaimed, abruptly sitting up.

“Oh, your previous partner. You must’ve been close.”

“Do you realize how inappropriate you’re being, Chae Won-u-ssi? I’ve already shown my displeasure. Why are you acting like this? Grow up!”

“B-But hyung is my partner,” Chae Won-u muttered dejectedly. Despite his words, on Chae Won-u’s phone, the history of partners I had met was shining brightly. It included half assholes, one-quarter decent ones, and only a handful of good ones.

“There’s no rule saying I can’t consider other partners besides him now?” Chae Won-u mumbled while looking downcast. Seeing his defeated expression still didn’t calm me; it just made my frustration boil over.

“No, there isn’t.” I leaned aggressively towards him, pointing with irritation. “But accessing someone’s personal information without permission is wrong. Get out of my room.”

“It would be possible if your security clearance was higher.”

“Even so, do you think it is right to open it without permission as a real partner? If you think being partners is similar to dating, try doing half of what they do.”

“…..”

“Didn’t I say get out?!” My voice echoed through the room. Chae Won-u looked between my phone screen and me before bowing his head deeply and turning off the screen. For a moment, I saw that the clock indicated midnight. We had fought until the date changed. This made me even angrier.

I pushed Chae Won-u’s back forcefully. He dragged his feet outside, clearly separating us with the door. “What does ‘half of what they do’ mean?”

Without answering, I slammed the door shut.

“I really don’t know about this stuff. I’ve never been in love before.”

I had called him a ‘brat’, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I put my face against the crack of the door and spat out, “Search online or ask your parents. Now shut up and get lost.”

I returned to the bed and pulled the covers over me. My mood was dirty. It felt like fighting with a pet that I raised. I strained my ears to listen for any hint of crying outside, just in case he might be sobbing. Fortunately, such a terrible thing didn’t happen. After some time, the light seeping through the gap under the door went off.

“That brat was clearly wrong, and what I said was right,” I muttered angrily, “Why do I feel more fucked up…?”

It seemed as if I was the one who had done something wrong.

I kicked at the quilt with my feet before eventually taking out sleeping pills and putting them in my mouth. I swallowed the bitter medicine raw and tried to sleep. Please, please don’t let the alarm sound until noon tomorrow.

***

How could this happen? The alarm sounded at half past eight, and we went out again. Even more absurdly, it turned out to be a false call. I understood that there might be inaccuracies due to the unpredictable nature of dungeons, but being on the receiving end felt both frustrating and somewhat amusing. At least, thanks to this early start, I found myself enjoying a leisurely morning break amidst the bustling atmosphere.

We were in Euljiro, known for its artisans. An elderly grandfather, appearing to be in his late sixties, offered me a cup of buckwheat tea.

“Would you like some?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I was already feeling hungry. After hastily brushing my teeth and splashing water on my face, I hadn’t even exchanged greetings with Chae Won-u. Our relationship felt too awkward to be called partners, yet regulations mandated we stay within one meter of each other, making our proximity uncomfortably close despite not being truly familiar.

“Have some tea. You have suffered much despite your young age.”

“Thank you.” Chae Won-u bowed his head. I chewed on the rim of my paper cup before accidentally making eye contact with Chae Won-u. He stared at me intently, and feeling like averting my gaze would be conceding defeat, I held his stare.

“What are you doing, boys?” The landlady, holding a teapot filled with barley tea, asked. My eyes were dry from staring at him for too long. I mumbled, “Nothing, just doing our routine,” while rubbing them. Routine, my foot…

The landlady opened the door, revealing the interior. A green light, almost identical to the one we saw in the dungeon, was emanating from the back.

Euljiro. The place where blacksmiths, metalworkers, and all sorts of craftsmen resided. Items obtained from dungeons were made usable here. 

The green light meant they were crafting healing potions. It made sense now, why we were called out on a whim like that.

Healing potions were particularly tricky to craft among all items. Very few people could handle them, and these two were among them.