He went into the kitchen and then straight into the laundry room beside it. He shook off the dirt and the white, hardened semen as best he could and put everything into the washing machine. Seoh smiled with satisfaction at the cloth spinning around inside, then checked the time and tidied the area around him. If he came back in an hour and ran the dryer, it should be usable by lunchtime.

But did they have a needle and thread anywhere?

He needed a sewing kit to mend torn clothes, but he didn’t think something like that existed in this mansion. So what should he do…

Thinking about it wouldn’t help him find an answer right now. Seoh rubbed his forehead and shook his head. He would think about it slowly later. More important right now was his hunger. He hadn’t eaten anything yesterday because he had been too busy reading Taejoon’s mood, and his stomach was empty.

After leaving the laundry room and going into the kitchen, Seoh entered the pantry. After hesitating over what to eat, he picked up a cup of instant ramen. It had warm broth, and if he only needed to boil water and pour it in, he could carry it out and eat it, so it seemed convenient. Then he suddenly felt that taking only one somehow wasn’t enough.

“…Should I stash a few?”

There might be days when coming into the kitchen would feel burdensome again, so it might not be bad to bring over two in advance.

Seoh took out a few more cups of ramen and hugged them to his chest. It was nothing special, but it made him feel reassured, and a small smile formed.

“What are you stashing?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Seoh turned his head. There, leaning against the threshold with his arms crossed, was Song Taejoon.

“What are you going to use all that ramen for?”

Feeling his heart thump, Seoh squeezed the ramen tighter. It somehow felt like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

He hurriedly put the ramen back in its place and tried to leave the pantry, but Song Taejoon suddenly blocked his path.

Seoh sucked in a breath and stopped. With only a hand’s breadth of uncomfortable distance left between them, he stepped back two paces, rolled his eyes around nervously, and carefully looked up at Song Taejoon. Taejoon was smiling brightly.

“Weren’t you trying to eat?”

Seoh clasped his empty hands together and pressed them down. He had definitely been hungry just a moment ago, but now he couldn’t feel anything at all. It only bothered him that it seemed like he had failed to keep a promise.

“…I’ll eat later.”

“Why? I was just about to eat breakfast too. Bring it out.”

…Was he suggesting that they eat together?

Seoh thought he must have heard wrong. Song Taejoon wanted to eat with him? Didn’t he hate him? Yesterday he had suddenly asked for guiding, and today he wanted to eat together. Was this all to test him or something?

It would make sense for him to be suspicious, since the person who had been rushing at him until recently was suddenly acting different. But Seoh knew better than anyone that he wasn’t that kind of person to be wary of. In time, Song Taejoon would realize that too. If he quietly went along with whatever Taejoon asked until then, the wariness would fade quickly.

Seoh nodded slowly. Taejoon, watching him, gave a short laugh and took out a lunch box before heading outside first. Seoh picked up the cup ramen he had set back down and followed him into the kitchen.

Song Taejoon sat at the table with the lid of his lunch box open. Apparently he had no intention of waiting for Seoh, because he started eating right away.

Seoh filled the electric kettle with water and pressed the button, then sat quietly across from him. While the water was heating, he tore open the ramen packaging, lifted the lid, and dumped in the seasoning packet. After that there was nothing to do but sit there and stare at the water in the kettle. It still hadn’t reached full heat, so it remained still.

After watching for a long time, Seoh sensed something was off.

The water that should have been boiling by now wasn’t moving at all. Even though the kettle’s button was glowing red. Wondering if it might be broken, he brought his hand closer, and heat rushed up against it.

“……”

Seoh swallowed dryly and turned his head toward Song Taejoon in front of him. Taejoon had apparently been doing that for a while, since he was watching Seoh intently with his chin resting on his hand. A subtle smile hung at the corners of his mouth.

“Why?”

When Taejoon asked what was wrong, Seoh couldn’t say a word. He blinked a few times, then slowly lowered his head. The half-opened ramen lid came into view. The ramen that was supposed to become his meal didn’t look like it was going to do its job.

He didn’t really have much of an appetite anyway, so Seoh turned off the kettle. The heat that had risen so warmly couldn’t boil the water and slowly began to cool. Seoh closed the ramen lid and sat there obediently.

“The water isn’t boiling?”

At Song Taejoon’s calm question, Seoh gave a small nod.

“Is it broken?”

Seoh knew it wasn’t broken. He just wished that the water wouldn’t boil.

“Try using the induction burner.”

“…It’s okay.”

Whether he used the induction burner or lit a fire with firewood, the water would absolutely not boil. At least he had enough sense to know that much.

“Really? Then give it to me.”

Seoh looked at the cup ramen in front of him, then at Song Taejoon’s lunch box across the table.

The lunch box had hardly been touched, and it looked brand-new. It was probably an expensive one, because there were several side dishes and even a bowl of soup with seaweed rising from the steam. Seoh had once tried to eat that same kind of lunch box before, but the portions had been too much and he had given up.

He placed the opened cup ramen in front of Taejoon. Then, from somewhere, a stream of boiling water appeared, slipped smoothly into it, and the lid closed as well. Song Taejoon had used his ability. Controlling water temperature and fine-tuning it was very easy for him.

“……”

Only then did Taejoon’s motionless meal start up again. He used his chopsticks a few times with neat precision, then picked up the cup ramen. When he lifted the lid, a salty ramen aroma spread out at once. Stirring the well-cooked noodles, he began eating the steaming ramen.

Seoh closed and opened his eyes against the dry, gritty feeling in them. Even the smell tickling his nose didn’t bring him any particular thoughts. He was simply wondering whether he should keep staying here or not.

Seeing that he hadn’t said anything, it didn’t seem like Taejoon cared much.

Still, he didn’t think it was polite to get up first when he was sharing a table with someone, so Seoh waited until Taejoon finished eating.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Taejoon set down his chopsticks. Looking at the neatly emptied lunch box and cup ramen, Seoh wondered if he should get up now. Slowly lifting his head, he saw Taejoon staring right at him. He must have been waiting for their eyes to meet, because Taejoon gave a light smile and asked,

“You’re really not hungry?”

“…No, I’m fine.”

“Is that so? Then, whatever.”

He shrugged and stood up. While he threw the empty containers into the trash and headed for the living room, he didn’t spare Seoh a single glance, as if Seoh didn’t exist at all.

Only after Taejoon was out of sight did Seoh, who had been sitting there quietly, feel a small wave of relief. That level of pettiness was better than what happened at the Center.

There, he couldn’t even eat a meal properly, and there were plenty of days when food scraps got dumped over his head after he was done. So he used the cafeteria at times when there were fewer people, or in the middle of the night, whenever he could.

Right now, he could eat whenever he needed to, so it didn’t feel bad enough to count as bullying. If Taejoon kept calling him at meal times, then all he had to do was stay in his seat like this.

Seoh got up, poured the water from the kettle into the sink, rinsed it lightly, and put it back where it belonged. It was already cold by now, and he couldn’t even tell when the heat had risen.

“……”

He had seen Espers use their powers now and then, but every time he saw it, it was still amazing. What did it feel like to possess such overwhelming power? The power to move water, make fire, use wind, move the earth. Espers held in their hands a force so overwhelming that, if they weren’t bound to Guides, they could have ruled the world.

An S-rank Esper would be beyond comparison. That was probably why he hated this unfair society even more.

No matter how high the rank, they still had to bow their heads even to an F-rank guide.

Seoh looked down at his mottled palm, then quietly clenched his fist. For some reason, his mood was sinking. He had no idea why. He stared at the living room where Song Taejoon was for a long time.

He couldn’t hear anything, but he thought he knew what Taejoon would be doing. He would be sitting on the sofa, quietly staring at the aquarium. That was probably the only time he ever truly rested.

He only hoped the sound of the washing machine wouldn’t annoy him.

Seoh went into the laundry room and closed the door. He didn’t want to keep going back and forth and stir Taejoon’s nerves for no reason.

He would just have to wait in front of the washing machine and take it as soon as it was done.

There were still 30 minutes left.

Hugging the cloth scraps that had been dried as well, Seoh carefully opened the laundry room door.

Looking outside, Song Taejoon was nowhere to be seen. He closed the door and went back into the hallway behind the kitchen. When he opened the bathroom door again and stepped out, he could see his things. He set the washed cloth down beside them and sat on the floor.

“What should I do with this?”

No matter how he examined the cloth, no answer came to mind. His own clothes were almost rags or were torn into pieces, so even if he had a sewing kit, it wouldn’t be easy.

The only relatively intact thing was Song Taejoon’s clothes. The top had a long tear down the front and the sleeves had come off. The pants were torn at the knees and hem. Fortunately the clothing itself was large, so if he spread it out, he could probably use it somehow.

He folded Taejoon’s clothes neatly and set them aside, then spread out the pieces of his own clothes. He didn’t even remember when he had torn them so badly.

Taejoon’s tangled energy had felt far too intense, and he hadn’t been able to keep his head straight against the stimulation on his body. The sensations that made his whole body tingle, the pain of being scraped against the crushed stone. That was all he remembered from that day.